morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-19
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Camping, 1/2 mile past Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Wow, our first 18-mile day and we didn¢t even plan to do it!! We did 9 miles over Pond Flatts Mountain by lunchtime (nice hike, nice waterfalls at Laurel Fork). Took pictures by the falls, relaxed and ate lunch at a picnic area on Watauga Lake (part of the picnic area was under lake water). I loaded up with 3 liters of water from a public faucet and off we went (sunny and warm day). I thought we were going to stop at the Watauga Dam Shelter (10.6 miles), but we got there at about 1:30 (too early to stop), so we pressed on. Before we knew it, we had passed the last water source for 5 more miles (mostly up hill). So we had to keep going, we didn¢t have enough water to stop, cook, and hike the next day to the spring. We hiked across Watauga Dam, then up some long ¢dam¢ uphills!! Tons of them, they seemed to never end. Long, hot, sucking down water the whole way. We finally arrived at the spring and there was Lite Shoe, with her friends Louisa and Chandler eating dinner. They needed more energy to get to Vanderverter Shelter (and so did we), we joined them and ate our dinners, too. After dinner, we pressed on to the shelter but not before having and impromptu wine tasting of some wine Jan¢s friend¢s made. Smelled like plums/prunes, tasted fruity and slightly tannic and slightly dry, a good red. At the shelter, Jan and her friends set up tents and Wench and I kept going to find a tent site, away from the smoky fire they had going (was killing my throat), also so we could say we were ahead of Jan! Ha! Ha! We found a small area and made it work. Small tents will fit anywhere. 20 feet from my tent is a rock over looking Watuaga Lake. Very cool view. I sat there for a while and watched the lights below. Now off to bed. I hope I can breath without choking tonight.Note: 428.5 miles done so far. Cool! I¢ll be in Damascas, VA in 3 days. So far¢¦GA done, NC done. Soon TN will be done, too. Did I mention I weighted 200 at the medical clinic yesterday? I weighed 222 2 months ago. Wow!! I don¢t eat enough on the trail, but eat tons in town! Cool. Good night, more tomorrow.Flag Note: I¢m carrying Ted¢s American Flag again. Teresa (Wench) has been carrying it for a while; I took over at Kincora Hostel. Northwards to Damascas we go.
Date: 2003-04-20
From: Camping, 1/2 mile past Vandeventer Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Well, last night sucked. I couldn¢t lie down without chocking (my chest ticked and I would hack away). So I slept a couple hours (took an hour to fall asleep), then I woke up every hour all night. In the middle of the night I had to sit up and read for a couple hours, drink lots of water, take Chloraseptic and Tussin PM, then barely fell asleep for my 1 hour and continued the cycle, I was very tired when I got up. Today I felt worse than yesterday. Trouble catching my breath all day, periodic coughing, irritated throat. Still hiked 14.1 miles. It was a nice day to hike and the trial was rolling (ups and downs were not too bad). I just didn¢t enjoy it much (except in the morning, at least, we had good views). Did I mention we saw a guy hiking yesterday with a goat? Today we saw a groundhog running away from us (do we smell?)It doesn¢t feel like I¢ve been out here, for 51 days, and hiked 440 + miles!! Time and miles go by fast. When we get to Damascus, we will have hiked about 460 miles. Damascus is a very important milestone. Most people have dropped out by there. They say if you make it to Damascus, you have what it takes to go all the way! Wahoo!! Hope my attitude picks up when this bronchitis goes away. Note: Soon I will ship home ¢some¢ of my winter gear (after Mt. Rogers) but I will wait a while to ship it ¢all¢ home and get my summer gear (end of May?) Did I mention we are 20% done? Cool! Note: Only 2 people in the shelter tonight.
Date: 2003-04-22
From: Damacus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

Sorry if I am repeating myself, but I had sent my journal pages home and forget what I already wrote!We stayed at the Old Mill restaurant/Inn/Conference Center last night. We got a huge suite!! 2 Queen beds, a sofa bed, swivel rocker, coffee and end tables, dining table¢¦ COOL! Of course I am still sick so I can¢t lie down, I had to sit up on the sofa propped up all night. I got three hours of sleep (10 minutes at a time). But I drank 12 glasses of water¢¦ so after a night of little sleep, I got up, showered and went to breakfast at the Sidetrack Caf©, then went to the Post Office, and back to the hotel to sort out mail drops. We finished up and checked out of the hotel around 1PM, then went to the Cowboys Deli for lunch. We hit the trail and hiked up to the Saunders Shelter. 9.4 miles for the day with a 2PM start, not bad. I feel much better when I hike, I feel bad again, when I stop. I gag all the way from my chest. Anyway, this is a nice shelter, well built and with a nice privy. Virginia does it right (listen up Tennessee, you might learn something). Only 3 people here at the shelter, lots of room to roll, I hope I don¢t choke all night. Looks like it will be in the 30¢s tonight, time to bundle up (we¢ve been spoiled by nice weather lately). People we hung with in town: Sonic, ¢Guana, Fly and Smoothie. Also in the hotel: the White brothers.Note: Great hotel, but it¢s off-season so we were the only ones there, and the restaurant/bar was closed (not open on Mondays and Tuesdays). Need to check it out sometime Sonic! Hope your ankle is ok! Fly, hope you feel better (he has the same thing I do). Anyway, here I sit in the shelter journaling and looking at what tomorrow has in store. Stay tuned.Note: Still carrying Ted¢s flag, I picked it up at Kincora hostel.
Date: 2003-04-23
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: clear sky

What a dope! I told myself to do short days, take it easy, and let my bronchitis run its course. So, what do I do? I hiked - 18 miles/14.1 miles/18.5 miles/9.6 miles/18.6 miles days in a row. (The 9.6 were done in one afternoon). Oh well, fatigued but OK, here I am (barely, I almost collapsed a half mile from the shelter). There were 2 ponies next to the shelter, a mom and baby. Very cool. We started the day at 8:45, ended it at the shelter at 7pm. A long day. En route, we passed Fly and Smoothie having breakfast by their tent (at 10:30). Saw 3 groups of kids out backpacking, 2 young groups and 1 teenage group. They were American Adventure Corps groups, future thru-hikers. To make a long story short¢¦We chased Sonic and ¢Guana all day. Fly and Smoothie chased all of us all day. At the end of the day, we all ended up at the Thomas Knob Shelter. Cool¢¦. (Sing: ¢Reunited¢ by Peaches and Herb here).This shelter has a cool, clean, high tech, solar privy. What a difference from the filthy pit privy we have seen. I headed down to the spring to get water (it¢s in a fenced enclosure to keep the ponies out), and when I got to the Barbed wire, I tripped into the fence. Smooth move, now my wind jacket has a few holes in it, but no harm, no foul (I was more tired than I thought). As I approached the spring I was pleasantly surprised to see animal poop in the spring (so much for the fence), so I made sure I got my water from the small cascade¢¦ The one before the pile of crap in the stream¢¦ LOL! My lungs are still not right, but at least I slept 10 hours last night (aided by many drugs¢¦cough syrup¢¦etc.). Sat against the wall so I wouldn¢t choke the rest of the night. (It got to 35 degrees last night). Tonight at Thomas Knob, the wind is howling and the temps may be in the 30s¢¦..Brrrr. Someone rigged a tarp over the opening to the shelter to block some of the wind. We are sleeping on the second level, which is dustier, but has no wind. Too bad some asshole is smoking downstairs in the shelter (in his mummy bag, with only his mouth, nose & cigarette sticking out of the bag), it¢s killing my lungs. Always keep your winter gear until after Mt. Rodgers, even if it is warm before there (at altitude, anything is possible). I¢m still carrying Ted¢s flag. It¢s been a long day, I¢d write more but I¢m tired and my brain is fried. Good night.
Date: 2003-04-24
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Camping, just past Dickey Gap
Miles today: 21.2

Well last night I slept ok. Woke up a lot, but got lots of sleep. Woke up late and got a 9:05 start on the day. The terrain was not too bad, coming off of Mt. Rogers. Nice scenery and lots of rocks as we hiked through Mount Rogers Recreation Area and then through the Grayson Highlands. We saw lots of ponies yesterday and today (Pretty cool), and heard a few screaming close by¢¦ Never did figure out what that was all about. We also hiked through the Fat Man Squeeze Tunnel (a gap under and thru rocks, there are only 3 of these on the entire AT). The only real climb was later over Iron Mountain and that wasn¢t too tough. The last 6 miles was downhill and level, so we ended up doing a 21.2-mile day. WOW!! Well, I must confess, I almost didn¢t make it past 20 miles; I had a bit of an accident. I was on a side trail under rhododendrons and caught my foot on a hidden root. This time I didn¢t catch myself. I did a few stumble steps as I pitched forward and was just able to get my arms under me as I hit headfirst (how I missed those 2 pointy rocks, I¢ll never know), and rolled off the trail down the hill (luckily I was stopped right away by a bush, so no roll all the way down the hill was involved). And there I lay, not moving, on my back. I landed on my face, so my glasses and forehead took the brunt of the fall, but I think my forearms and hands broke the fall a bit. End result, as usual, Wench rescued me; she¢s a good one. She found my bent glasses made sure I was semi-ok and helped me out of the ditch. Then she got my pack and water bladder from the ditch too. So now I have bent glasses and 2 big bruises on my forehead, over my left eye ( I managed to turn my head at the last second as I missed my nose). This was my first scary fall. I expected to be hurt more than I was. As I lay there I just repeated, ¢Please don¢t let anything be broken¢. After she helped me up, I asked if it was bleeding, and she hesitated, (thinking, should I say yes, or no?) then said, not too bad. She said she heard a clatter of poles & hard foot falls and when she turned around I was rolling into the ditch and then I didn¢t move (She said ¢Oh, shit¢). Once she found out I was OK (I started moving & talking), I¢m sure she started laughing, it must have looked pretty funny. I cleaned up the bruise (bleeding a little), with antiseptic, then Wench put an antibiotic Band-aid on it. I was good to go again. We hiked another mile or so, found a campsite and called it a day. What a day. First major fall and first day over 20 miles!! Luckily, we had just stopped and eaten dinner before I fell, so I wasn¢t overtired, fatigued, etc. and could continue on after the fall. Now we are camped in a field by Dicky Gap, close to the road, but not next to it. Now I will take a few pills and roll off to sleep. An adventurous day, tomorrow on to Partnership Shelter (hot showers and a phone to order pizza!!) Cool. Good night all. Life is good.NOTE: Wench¢s, new name¢¦Florence Nightingale?
Date: 2003-04-25
From: Camping, just past Dickey Gap

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I slept OK, trucks going by, but less coughing (still some). We packed and hit the trail by 8 AM, it was a cool, drizzly day (a bit of drizzle, not much). It was a good day to hike (not too hot, not too cold). Stopped for breaks at the Racoon Branch Shelter and Trimpi Shelter, we saw cattle on the trail before VA 670. Pretty cool. We took our time and rolled into Partnership Shelter at about 3:15. Got a soda and a few candy bars from the ranger station, then ordered a pizza using the phone outside the ranger Office. Pizza and soda in the shelter, very cool. While we were eating, in walked Sonic, ¢Guana, Fly and Smoothie. They had done a LONG day to get to the shelter. Later, Ali and Gator showed up with 2 cases of beer and chips and salsa. Good people, Gator hiked the trail in 2001, now he¢s paying back the trail magic he got here on his hike. Well, the pizza and beer are gone and people are sitting around talking, must be time to go to bed. NOTE: My forehead and head are OK. They hurt a bit, but not bad. My left knee is bruised in 3 places, but also is ok. So no bad fallout from yesterday¢s fall. Life is good, this shelter is good. Hot shower, a sink, phone close by, not a bad shelter.
Date: 2003-04-26
From: Partnership Shelter

To: I-81 Interchange, Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Today turned out to be a nice cool day to hike, but we started it late, First we went to the Sugar Grove Diner for breakfast. There were 7 of us, so we got shuttled by ¢Annie¢, ¢Guana¢s friend, in 2 trips (with our packs). After a good breakfast, Ann, Sonic, ¢Guana, Wench, Hotdog, Fly and Smoothie all hit the trail, our goal the I81/US11 interchange (and Dairy Queen) Hiking in from the other end was ¢Guana¢s sister Michelle (so we had a car at each end). It was a very pleasant hike with such a big group. I lost track of time talking about marathons with Ann, and flying with ¢Fly¢ (Andy). He¢s a pilot, getting his instructor rating after his hike. Now he flies tail draggers and tows banners around the sky. Great bunch of people. Sonic and ¢Guana are leaving the trail for a month after tomorrow. ¢Guana is competing in a canoe race but has to train first, then they will both came back to the trail. We stopped at an old time school building (pioneer type school), and then met up with Michelle (she hiked in and met us at the old school house), we hiked on to I81 over the rolling hills, seeing Dairy Queen, but never seeming to get closer to it (nice rolling hills here). Sonic, ¢Guana, Fly & Smoothie were playing like kids the whole way in, hiding on each other, jumping out & yelling, chasing each other, it was fun. Finally we arrived at the road, got a room at the Relax Inn, and ate dinner at the Barn Restaurant, then got desert at Dairy Queen. Now we are all squeezed into 2 rooms at the Relax Inn (not bad, only $41.80 a room, divided by 4) T.V. refridge, micro, etc¢¦better than a hiker hostel. Note: We just had a surprise (sort of) birthday party for ¢Guana. Toilet paper streamers, beer, cards, presents, the whole works. It was fun, but now I need to sleep. Tomorrow we resupply and head down the trail to Bland VA. Life is good.
Date: 2003-04-27
From: I-81 Interchange, Relax Inn

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was another late start day. We hung around the hotel, shopped at the Texaco mini-mart (good resupply here), ate breakfast (we had honeybuns and fritters, some went to a restaurant.) Then we all hung around some more saying good by to Sonic and ¢Guana, Michele and Anne. Finally we checked out and went to the Texaco minimart to get drinks before we left (and ice cream, and Little Debbies and Gatorade). Finally, we hit the trail at about 11:30, not sure how far we would get by nightfall (Fly, Smoothie, Wench, and I headed north). We took breaks at the Davis Path Shelter, Crawfish Valley and by VA. 42 (an area of beautiful rolling hills, farms, and pastures). Here we met ¢ELI¢, he is a reporter with the Nashville City Paper (www.nashvillecitypaper.com), hiking the trail and writing a weekly column while he is hiking. Very nice guy, turns out he grew up close to where I grew up in NJ. He was from Chatham, I was from Basking Ridge (small world). Anyway, after talking for a bit, we all headed up the trail (we were in beautiful farm country, rolling hills, green pastures, farm buildings, really cool!) We went to the Knot Maul Branch Shelter, Eli camped 2 miles before there (he already did 20+ miles). It was a tough up and down day. My knees, ankles and feet hurt, but also I started getting an ache in my right Achilles¢ tendon area (not good). NOTE: We are 25% (1/4) done with the trail now!! Total miles=548+. Yeeha!!. When we arrived at the shelter, Pop Pop was there; we haven¢t seen him since Hot Springs! Cool, more familiar faces. Now lots of hikers that started later are catching up. 4 more people at the shelter. One from Maine, one from Jersey, Wicked Wizard, I forget who else. Well enough for now, time to sleep. Gotta save my strength for tomorrow¢¦sigh¢¦slow and steady wins the race¢¦I keep repeating this. Life is good.
Date: 2003-04-28
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Camping, 1/3 of a mile from VA 623
Miles today: 14.9

Up early, ate breakfast, ¢Eli¢ stopped by and dropped off donuts. Then he took a ¢Ted towel¢ and group picture with Wench, Hotdog, Smoothie, and Fly in it.ELI¢www.nashvillecitypaper.com. His is the ¢Journey of the Thoughtful Fool¢. Well, it was a tough day. One that wore me down more than any before. Not that it was harder, or longer or anything. But just that I am so fatigued already, that today was so much worse than it should have been. We did have a 5 mile section of uphill, some very steep, after another steep uphill. But already tired legs, combined with hot sun, steep long hills and later add in more hills and rocks, I was beat. We probably only did 15 miles (we are camping, so we aren¢t sure yet.) But my legs felt like Jello, my knees, feet, hips and legs all hurt. I was stumbling for no reason other than fatigue. I need a day off in Pearisburg. Too many long days.Having said all that¢¦the hilly hike up to Chestnut Knob Shelter (a big rock shelter at 4,410 feet) was worth it (stopped by a giant Oak tree on the way up). The views on the way up were great (grassy hills and lots of mountains). The view from the shelter was awesome. A hidden bowl of a town, surrounded by mountains, it¢s called ¢Burkes Garden.¢ This was the Vanderbilts¢s first choice for their Biltmore Estate. It is a large crater shaped depression see how it got its nickname ¢God¢s Thumbprint¢. Awesome view. We had hiked 9 miles by the time we got to the shelter, and it was 3 p.m. I wanted to stay and rest but the test of the group wanted to continue on, so I went on (after naps in the sun). Big mistake, I hated the next 3 hours of hiking because I was so exhausted (I was constantly stumbling & swearing at the trail), I felt aweful (I watched Smoothie double time it up a few hills & I felt old.. but I plodded on). But life goes on, I survived and we are camped somewhere on the ridge along the side of the ¢Thumbprint¢. My tent is set up, my bed is comfy and life is good again. NOTE: another fall today. Slipped on rocks, bruised arm, strained everything else¢¦But nothing broken, so on we go. Good night, more later.
Date: 2003-05-01
From: Camping, 1/3 mile past Dismal Falls side trail

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: few clouds

Wow, we went over 600 total miles today (613.3). Unbelievable !! and I¢ve been out hear hiking for 62 days !! Today was an easy day (relatively), less miles then usual, with more breaks. The heat still got to me, so I stopped to drink more often after and rested more often. It was a lazy day right up until the thunderstorm and rain started my way. Then I raced to the shelter (mistake, it got me overtired and I still got wet). Turned out to be a drizzle, the storm stayed away. So here I am at the shelter, it is 6PM and Schemer and I are the only ones here¢¦So far the others can still conceivably get here, unless they are still playing at Dismal Creek Falls. I hear they stopped there to play and swim today. I kept hiking, with thoughts of food and beer in my head. So, today I got here early, ate early and will probably go to sleep early. Tomorrow lunch is Pearisburg, a day off, a shower, laundry, BEER!! And get my pack re-stitched and other errands. Did I mention DAIRY QUEEN !?!??! YUM !!! Note: I camped with a chameleon last night. Today I saw Ben and Jasper, also Push/Shove and Jessie (dog), hiking southbound in sections (we see them everyday). Today, they were with 2 slacking thru-hikers (father and son we saw at Partnership Shelter).
Date: 2003-05-02
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA - Holiday Motor Lodge
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Up and out by 7:45 and on the trail. I just wanted to get to town today. Stopped for a half of an hour break on a ledge over Pearisburg, then hiked into town. After an easy hike, I picked up my bounce box and checked into a hotel. Later I did laundry, went to Rite Aid, and to Dairy Queen (Cheeseburger, fries, strawberry sundae and a small cone). I talked to other hikers at another hotel, but no Wench, Fly or Smoothie yet. They must have stayed and played at Dismal Creek Falls yesterday. If they get into town today, it will be late. Well, they rolled in at about 8PM. After a 22 mile day! Hungry and smelly they were, so we all went to the sports bar attached to the hotel. Wow what a long night. Food, beer, shots, karaoke and arm wrestling. Pearisburg had it all, there were some great locals there last night, friendly and fun. We closed the bar with them. Now it is 4:30 AM and I am journaling. Sigh, some way to start a zero day¢¦.hung over ? Oh well, off to bed, I have to get up and set up my bounce box and go back to the post office.
Date: 2003-05-03
From: Pearisburg

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today is an off day, and after last night I was lucky to get up by 10:30. I went to the Post Office and sent gear home, bounced a box of gear to Daleville, VA (lets see if I miss any of it). Wench & I went to Dairy Queen again (of course), shopped at Magic Mart, Food Lion, WAL-MART (thanks for the ride Chief), Auto Zone (for fuel), then ate a Chinese buffet (so-so food). I mostly sat around and relaxed (my knees needed that, and still do¢¦), read the paper& watched TV (it¢s going to be rainy/stormy all week). Clouds Sunday, Rain Monday, thunder storms Tuesday, Scattered thunderstorms Wednesday, and chances of rain thru Saturday. Fun, fun, fun¢¦ (Little did we realize that this was to be the way our whole summer was to be¢¦ sigh¢¦) Maybe we will leave late Sunday & only hike to the first shelter, then again¢¦ Maybe not. More tomorrow.