morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-30
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Brown Mtn. Creek Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: few clouds

Oh my goodness, it¢s getting cold here fast, I barely slept a wink last night and I shivered most of the hours when I wasn¢t asleep. It wasn¢t fun, and the morning was so cold that I¢m surprised we all left the shelter before 8 am. Today was the first day since parts of the presidential in NH that I hiked with my long sleeve shirt on. As soon as I can, I plan to look into buying a down jacket and maybe some down bootie/slippers too. It¢s guaranteed, we¢re hitting snow and winter conditions before Springer Mtn. I¢ve decided today that if 3oz and Stinger are still planning on going to ¢the gathering¢ in New Hampshire around October 10th, I¢m going to take a break from the trail and join that road trip. Mileage wise, I¢ve got 50 days left and must average 16.5 miles per day (allowing that I take off 5 days fort his road trip)¢¦ an obtainable goal, so why no? It gives me a chance to spend some time with 3oz and Stringer again, the chance for another fun adventure, a chance to see some friends from up north (okay, so probably just Rick and Mat¢¦ but still!) and (hopefully) a chance to do all that application and phone interview stuff for working for the AMC this winter. I¢ve promised Junkie, Riddler, and Moose to return to their group and finish with them¢¦ something I completely intend on doing. I¢ve really enjoyed my time with these guys, but I am looking forward to changing stuff up some. Still no word from ¢Best¢ as to her whereabouts and I¢m really hoping that she¢s still on the trail closing the gap between us distance wise. That¢s all I can write at the moment. It¢s 11:11pm and we¢ve all just night hiked from Buena Vista (a town where we hitched in and out for dinner.) Great hitches, even the one at 9:30pm although I was doubtful that we¢d get picked up. The first hitch (in), we got a ride from a traveling salesman selling bluegrass music. That was great to listen to in the car as we were driving through the mountains, picturesque.
Date: 2003-10-01
From: Brown Mtn. Creek Shelter

To: Under the footbridge that crossed the James River
Miles today: 20.0

Today the group decided to wing in and head into town, not knowing if the motel or campground were open or with vacancies. We were pretty confident that things would work out based upon all the other times that we¢d gotten lucky. Well, guess what? Junkie and I ended up sleeping under the footbridge that the AT follows over the James River just 10 ft from the train tracks and 50 feet from route 501. We felt much like characters from Huck Finn and prided ourselves the next morning on our skillfully excited hobo-ness. The story goes like this: at 6:30pm, 5 of us tried hitching the 6 miles into town on a not so busy road (VA501)¢¦ around 7pm we still had no luck, so Junk and I split from the group to try walking and hitching further down he road. It started getting dark soon after, so we knocked on one of the few houses lining the road and used heir phone to call the motel for a shuttle and room. The motel was booked for the night! Who would have thought?... WED pm, no nearing holidays and the foliage isn¢t that great yet¢¦ anyhow, there went our ride too. So it¢s dark by this point and we¢re with headlamps on and walking back to where we left the boys to tell them it¢s a night under the stars for us. And wouldn¢t you know it, they got a hitch!They were gone from where we left ¢em¢¦ so Junk and I are now camped under the bridge hoping that the train bridge isn¢t too active during the night! Maybe hitching in the morning will bring more luck. It betta¢¦ I¢ve got a maildrop that I¢ve got to get to.
Date: 2003-10-02
From: Under the footbridge that crossed the James River

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Yea! Junkie and I made it through the night. We counted 3 trains at 2, 4, and 6am¢¦ but we saw Casiopia (the constellation) and Orion in perfect brightness, so that was pretty cool. The colder these nights get, the less I¢ve been sleeping¢¦ and the more I¢ve been spending those shivering early morning hours thinking about down jackets, booties (like moon boots¢¦ but they¢re warm slippers), and the down body bag that must be made for really lazy people who want to keep warm¢¦ to walk with in on, you must waddle like a penguin, but it sounds soo appealing when I¢m freezing at night. Our hitch into town actually took us one town too far and we went to the wrong Post Office. Silly hikers! But we got a quick hitch back 3 miles and there met up with the guys, who had a whole story of their own from the night before. Quasi, Moose, and Riddler bunked in with our 3 other friends who had taken the last room in the motel¢¦and they had sent the police out to look for Junkie and I once they figured out that we hadn¢t gotten a hitch. But hey, everything worked out in the AM, and I called the police to let them know that we were found and fine. After the P.O. pick-up, we all hitched out of the dinosaur town (yeah, there were large plastic dino replicas everywhere in town¢¦ a tourist trap attempt I think) and were back on the trail. About 4 miles into the climb, we found a hiker lying on his back and barely able to move. The story goes that he threw out his back when putting on his backpack. He didn¢t expect to be able to walk out of the woods for another day or so. He had 3 days worth of food with him and the guys set up his tenet and gave him their H20, while I made phone calls to a local trail angel and later 911 to report his injury and get him some assistance in getting out of the woods. Although thinking back on how we handled the situation, I recognized a lot of questions that I wished I had asked him at the time, although I recognized even more mistakes made by the 911 dispatcher / receptionist woman who answered my call. She put me on hold 5 different times for starters, despite knowing that I was on a cell phone in the woods w/o the best reception. Good thing it wasn¢t too serious and injury I suppose! We hiked on to our shelter of destination feeling a bit better that at least someone with more expertise and resources knew about that hiker. Glad to have had the cell phone, I¢m finally starting to feel justified for carrying it.
Date: 2003-10-03
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Okay¢¦ it was in the 30¢s last night and this has now been the 3rd night where I¢ve barely slept due to the shivers. My attitude relaxes a lot once the sun pops up to warm me, but I¢ve made the decision to get to the next town and wait for my 0 degree sleeping bag to come in the mail. Luckily the guys are all for this plan and I think they¢re pretty happy that I¢m no longer thinking of taking 4 days off to go to the gathering with 3oz and stringer. It¢s just getting too cold to enjoy taking time off. Plus it seems like I¢ll be spending the winter at home with mom¢¦ (something I¢m now looking forward to since I got her loving letter in Glasgow)¢¦ so I won¢t need to apply for the AMC hut job anymore (another reason I wanted to go to the gathering0. Mmm¢¦ so it was a 10 mile day today and I¢m pleased. My left foot was hurting pretty bad coming down off the ridge those last 1000-something steps¢¦ yes, I counted my steps over those 2 miles to keep my mind off the pain, so I¢m please that I¢m not required to hike more today. I met this beautiful big shelter with a fire at the end of the day too, and that certainly put a smile on my face. Sounds like tonight we¢re going to do another round of songs near the campfire. Junkie and I are still trying to master Tracy Chapman¢s ¢Fast Car¢ after our failing attempt at karaoke the other night. You¢d think that it¢d be an easy song that we all know¢¦ but we sure surprised everyone that night with our inabilities. Yeah, maybe we¢ll practice some more and save that for another campfire. In 2 days I¢ll be getting a shower, and in 3 days comes my warm sleeping bag. I love having things to look forward to.
Date: 2003-10-04
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was kind of a blah day for me. No great views, no main highlight of the day¢¦ just no real character to the day¢¦ only the repetition of walking.I guess these days have to happen to help you really appreciate the other days¢¦ but it was a bit discouraging for me today. I had thoughts flowing through my head about not finishing the trail / getting off the trail soon / etc. Not the kind of thoughts I want myself to dwell in. Some have said that through hikers will go through a period of time where they don¢t enjoy their hike and are ready to call it quits. If this is the beginning of that time for me, I hope I¢ll pull through it. I guess the cold weather is bumming me out a bit¢¦ and I¢m starting to get anxious for the things I¢d like to do after the trail. I have decided not to go to the Gathering in Hanover, NH with Stringer and 3oz¢¦ an off trail road trip that would last 4 days. At this point I think it might be too enticing and may keep me from wanting to get back on the trail. Better to just stick it out and hope that it won¢t feel like I¢m just ¢sticking it out¢ much longer.
Date: 2003-10-05
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: EconoLodge - Daleville
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Yeah for days like today, the kind that are forecasted to be rainy, but turn out to be sunny and clear. The reaming 5 miles from the last shelter into town were bald grassy hills, reminding me of the Pennsylvania or Vermont. I loved it¢¦ that was the highlight of my day¢¦ or maybe the highlight was coming out of the trail to a Pizza Hut where the guys already had a pie on the table ready and waiting. Hey, the highlight could have also easily been my shower or laundry as well¢¦ I mean it was just an excellent day.
Date: 2003-10-06
From: EconoLodge - Daleville

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow¢¦ so much to day for today or rather for tonight. I left town at 3pm after discussing with my mommy over the phone how to solve the credit card problem. Ah, the joys of bills, and the things I have to look forward to when I¢m finished with the trail. At mile eleven I was at Tinker Cliffs at dusk. It was so perfect, so beautiful, so amazing¢¦ that I just had to do it. I sang to the mountains with the orange glow behind them, I sat on the cliffs-edge and ate my snack, and I hiked quite a distance in the balmy night air before ??obeing up to something semi-decent. It¢s not the first night hike, but it was the first night hike alone and it just had me in smiles. I was aware of so much around me, I found lots of heal-all in its winter stage near the trail and I picked some to show Quasimodo. The moon is waxing at the moment and helped to shine my hike along the ridge to the shelter¢¦ it should be full in 5-6 days it looks like. I heard a mooing similar to a cow¢s tonight, amongst the crickets and katydids chirps. Now that I¢m at the shelter, I¢m hearing an owl too. Thank you, thank you. It was a wonderful night and it really helped restore to me the feelings of awe and amazement that I used to get from hiking. The girls; Susannah, Sammy Jayne, AE, Sarah D, and Megan K would have loved a night like this, I just know it. Oh! There go those mooing noises again¢¦ I wish I could describe them better; it¢s like a calf¢s groan. I wonder what sort of animal is making that sound.
Date: 2003-10-07
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Dragons Tooth
Miles today: 13.0

0.7 miles into the day and we were up on McAfee knob (a high ¢cliff-y¢ area well known along the trail). We stopped for some pictures, and tried to think of creative poses for the possibility that the AT Data book may need a new cover photo for their 2004 book. Hey everyone gets their 525,600 minutes of fame at some point, right? [Transcriber comment: 15 seconds was written and then crossed out]After hiking for a bit I felt a painful burning sensation on my back where the pack rubs. The guys think it may be poison ivy from my ¢freedom hike¢ of the night before. Fro this reason, I hitched a ride into Catawba with them to find a bathroom where I could wash my back off with soap and wash my shirt too. Hopefully it won¢t spread now. The sun¢s out and I¢m leaning against the P.O. flagpole drying myself off as the guys are sorting out there maildrop stuff. So, 2 hours later and we¢re off again. A few quibbles about where we¢re going to sleep tonight because the shelter no longer sounds appealing¢¦ I mean really 12 a mile off the trail¢¦ No way! We got up dragons tooth around 6:30 pm and wow, what a place! So, we¢re staying. We can catch up miles some other time, this rock face is amazing and not something to pass up. Plus we¢re thinking that there will be a great sunrise in the morning, so why would we possibly turn it down? It¢s under the stars for me tonight. So glad that I¢m loving the trail again¢¦ even with the weight of the winter gear in my pack. Oh well, the day was almost perfect. My dinner tonight (that I bought in bulk prior to the hike) turns out to need to be pre-cooked¢¦ just like those beans that I bought in bulk. Live ¢n learn!
Date: 2003-10-08
From: Dragons Tooth

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: scattered clouds

6:58AM I¢ve spent the past 20 minutes watching the salmon pink glow slowly surface from behind the farthest ridgeline that I can see. At first it was no brighter or brilliant than a good pastel pink. The colors between us being the ochre-greenish leaves immediately surrounding me and then a dark to light fade of grey for each subsequent mountain ridge further toward the horizon line. There¢s fog in the valleys between these ridges and as it rises it makes the contrasting colors of the sunrise feingter and I¢m wondering if I¢ll actually see the brilliant ball rise or if it will be shrouded by the mist. The sky is already dramatically lighter and I can no longer see the moon or a bright planet. Cows and roosters in the valley are making pillow talk and the dog is trying to communicate as well. Cows are small specks with triangular rays of light shining their way through the dim valleys. Looking up, I think I missed it¢¦ the sky has faded to a nectarine colored peach and around there, near white. It¢s time to motivate, pack up and roll¢¦ 7:25AM ¢ there it is, the orange sun is finally rising¢¦ so glad I was here to see it!Okay, so now I¢m at the shelter, not the once we planned on¢¦ no, 25 miles wasn¢t happening once a rash started developing¢¦ I¢ll spare the details because I¢m sure to remember this painful day for quite a while¢¦ lets just say that I was hobbling to this shelter (6 miles from the planned shelter) when I stopped. Amazing how some simple pink-red skin and raised bumps can be disabling after a few hours of hiking. Youch!
Date: 2003-10-09
To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, what do ya know? No chafing today at all! I was worried for about the first 6 miles, but then I just kind of forgot and got lucky I guess. Bodies can be mysterious. I got trail magic twice today¢¦ one in the form of pears that were fresh picked from a fruiting tree in the valley and left in a box by a stile (A shaped frame ladder that lets hikers avert the barbed wire fences which typically surround farms). And another time in the form of a cooler with soda, beer, and mini candy bars. I haven¢t seen magic in a while, so it was really great to get it twice today. Last night I met this guy named ¢Tin Cup¢ who showed me some mushrooms and berries that were edible. Then today I found both on my own while hiking and that was really rewarding. As were the apples that I picked yesterday for this mornings breakfast and lunch. It feels good to me to find my own food in the woods, although I don¢t have enough faith that I¢ll find it all the time¢¦ and so I still depend on maildrops and grocery stores for the majority of my grub. I passed through a hillside today littered with these flowering white plants that smelled of old lady perfume. Evidently someone has already bottled and widely distributed their aroma. Fine by me, but not my smell of choice. Junkie, Maude, and I didn¢t stay at the 21 mile shelter today as planned because of the seasonal spring that apparently wasn¢t in season by the time of our arrival. We night hiked that last 4 miles together to the next shelter, with plans to meet Riddler and Little Moose in the AM there. It was a nice night hike, and oddly enough I still had plenty of energy when we got here.
Date: 2003-10-10
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Holy Family Church
Miles today: 19.0

Man, 7am and I was laying in bed when Moose and Riddler showed up at our shelter. Those early risers! I¢m much happier that I night hiked rather than morning hiked to make up the difference. Still, the fact that they caught up with us that early kind of forced me out of bed anyway. The majority of today was a ridge walk around 4,000 ft high and in the orange, red and brown leaves. Quite nice, really!Maude and I hiked together for a while up to the shelter where we stopped for lunch right near some grazing cows. Usually the guys hiked ahead of me, but today Maude and I were in front and we soon found out why. The guys serenaded us at lunch with their altered rendition of the ¢12 days of Christmas¢. The 12 days of hiking¢ was extremely entertaining and had us laughing the whole way through. After lunch it was a quick 7 miles into town where I immediately found the grocery store and got my ice cream fix. Yea, sometimes you gotta obey the cravings!Junkies friend Scott (who lives nearby) came to pick us all up and chauffer us to the hostel 3 miles away. It¢s quite the nice little barn, complete with shower, fridge, and stove. Some are going out to the bar tonight that¢s 1 mile away, but as for me, I¢m in the chillin¢ mood tonight. Livin¢ it low key at the moment.. a ¢me¢ night.
Date: 2003-10-11
From: Holy Family Church

To: Pearisburg Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

The 4 snails that Quasimodo and Righton picked up for me along the trail on their 32-mile day. Now that's love, don't you think? These land snail shells are so light and delicate like the strength of a fingernail, easily broken if hit at the wrong angle, but otherwise quite useful. They're somewhat transparent when uninhabited as well. I think I'd really like to learn more about snails when I return home. Geez I really miss drawing. I've gotten terrible at it, it's been so long. Well, here is a brief sketch of Maude writing a letter¢¦ most likely to her grandmother¢¦ but that's just a guess. Maude's from Rochester, NY and she, Harold, and I all started this hike on the same day although we haven't really hiked that much together over the past 4 months. Maude's got beautiful coloring that comes from a Japanese and Caucasian mix.. I'd like to draw her a bit more in detail at some other time¢¦ I've never drawn dreads before. Ah, this is refreshing. So, as for today¢¦ we've been driven around town by Melvin, the "used-to-be town drunk", who's now around 75, wrinkly as heck, and quite the character arguing with another local over taxi shuttling hikers around town without credentials to do so (while we were at the post office in the parking lot sorting out our good.) The library in town didn't have Internet service after all, but the Laundromat was still able to do us some services. Now it's late afternoon, and we're out on the porch reading, writing and taking it easy. Tonight Moose's girlfriend and friend from Tennessee have arrived at the hostel. They'll be joining him for the next week or so. It's nice to finally meet Rachael since we've heard so much about her. The night ended with some games of UNO, Rummy, another rendition of the "12 days of hiking" (mostly for the benefit of Rachael and "Boof") and a bedtime story from a "choose your own adventure" book. Special thanks to Right-on for reading to us!
Date: 2003-10-29
From: Pearisburg Hostel

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Ah, silly me. at Miss Janets, I decided to do some morning stretches in my bed...it wasn't even a concious decision really, i was just hot lying there, so i spread myself out ( i had a double bed all to myself...luxurious!)--and from there started to stretch my legs. I was stretching my quads by pulling my heel back to my butt while stretching the other leg out in front of me (while lying on my back, hips turned). I thought the pain was good for me, slight enough so that my leg could relax into the position after a while. The left leg however, didn't relax into the position, so after a while i just released it. Didn't give it much thought to it until around mile 6, the first shelter. By then my leg was starting to bother me--but it was only 4 pm, 2 more hours of light, and 11 miles to the next shelter...it was a judgement call, but i thought that the walking would warm up my muscle...again a good pain...because stopping made it cramp up. On I went. Just as dark was approaching, I crossed a paved road. the temptation was huge to hitch back to Miss Janets and rest my leg. It was really sore by that point, and causing me to hobble. Still, the 4 in front had gone on, i didn't know if Moose would be staying back at that last shelter or still coming up behind me, and i didn't want to hitch alone. I pressed on. Nearly 1/2 an hour later, i saw headlamps in the woods and "skiooo" calls. My friends were waiting for me. i was really happy!I hiked with them for a little while, but was constantly falling behind. They'd wait on me, but i would tell them that i was fine, just hiking at a different hiking pace on the uphills. I didn't want their concern or sympathy, i didn't want to admit my stupidity this morning in stretching, so i kept my mouth shut. It's something that i know i have to get over-but i was being stubborn. Eventually, when the pain was so bad that i was biting back tears with each step of my left leg, i told them. I felt better that i had, but i also felt like i was just giving excuses for my slowness. Oh well!We finally got to the shelter and i climbed into bed. it's a nice shelter tonight, and there's a privy (different appalachian trail club takes care of this secion we're in now, and luckily, they like privies...i'm so thankful!). When i'd turn in my sleeping bag, i could still feel the soreness in my muscle. Looks like i'll be doing a low mile tomorrow in hopes that i feel better. Oh, and that ibuprofen didn't seem to do much-but i'll still be using it tomorrow. Can't believe i pulled a muscle while stretching, my body's starting to fall apart!
Date: 2003-10-30
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Miss Janet's Hostel
Miles today: 1.5

Well, maybe i'll be a gimp for Halloween. That would be fitting. I hiked a mere 1 1/2 miles today before realizing that even my newly planned 10 mile day would be excessively painful for myself.Thank goodness for cell phones!I called Miss Janet's & told her of my situation--she was so great, and let me know that she'd be there to get me as soon as possible. While talking with her, i met 2 day hikers who took me to the nearby gated community where Janet could come pick me up. Perfect timing & great luck!'Bookworm', a previous thru-hiker actually came to pick me up, it turns out that she was visiting Miss Janet when Miss Janet's van broke down (disabling her to get me). Back at Miss Janets, I saw "leaf" again, a Nobo of this year who is now going to bike 400 miles back to his home in Alabama. Just can't get away from the adventurous life. good for him!I iced and hot padded my leg in between movies and sanding and staining Miss Janet's front door. It's actually getting a little more sore despite nearly a full day of not hiking on it. 4 more ibuprofen tonights, and i'll make my judgement about what to do with myself tomorrow morning. oh, and Miss janet's van was fixed by midday--now that's good service!