morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-15
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

we thought we were taking it easy today. we woke up with the sounds of the river and the rumble of trucks driving past to see a beautiful blue sky and the tall tree branches hanging over us. after a trip to the heated bathrooms which i enjoyed quite a bit, we packed up our gear and headed back to the River's End Restaurant to get soem french toast and eggs before walking back down the the river to toss the frisbee before we left. we spotted bear, compass and snake who had just come in with pebbles and tortoise and went over to say hey. they proposed a rafting trip for the day, and we werent sure whether to spend the 40$ per or not so we flipped a coin which landed rafting side up. we didnt end up going rafting though, as we heard that there would be better rapids further up the trail. at about 1 we headed out for what would be 7 miles all uphill, one of the roughest days for me so far. we were thankful to finally reach the shelter, and had been told that it would get down to 20 so we decided to sleep in the shelter for a change. after relaxing with a bowl of velveeta, ramble on, treefingers and helium came in, saying they were going to press on another 3.5 and try and get to fontana by tomorrow night. we talked about pink floyd and other such good music, when they told us they had a radio and had been able to catch some zeppelin the night before. they seemed like good company so we packed up our gear for some green blazing and a little night hiking. we finally got into the sight and helium proceeded to get a roaring campfire going while we sat around and talked. it was a nice, clear night, and the moon was so damn big and beautiful we just couldnt resist some cowboy camping, so we went ahead and slept under the stars. the best sleep ive had so far.
Date: 2006-03-16
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

this morning we found out that our 3 compadres are very early risers. or at least helium is. he had woken the other 2 up at about 6:30, and had pretty much woken me and stinky up too. i didnt really feel like getting up, but we agreed that we would try and make it to fontana tonight and catch up with the other guys. after some good morning frisbee we headed out. it was an up and down day, though we tried to use the other guys 666 method. thats 6 miles then rest, 6 miles then rest, 6 miles and youre there. it sucked. but thats cause we were real low on food and were still tired from last night. after a pretty uneventful 11 miles, i maneged to catch up with the guys but they decided to head out before stinky caugh up. we had a little to eat and then proceeded to do the last 6 which seemed to take forever. when youre standing at the top of a tall mountain, and you can see youre destination at the very bottom, its gonna take you twice as long to get there as it normally would. it felt like hours on those last switch backs as we watched as the dam never got closer, until finally we made it to the road that we needed to. i tried to hitch a ride from a cop who just shook his head as he drove past. apparantly hitchhiking is illegal. the strangest thing thats happened so far this trip though, was when a very nice woman stopped to give us a lift, only for us to find out we were trying to go the wrong direction. she couldnt give us a lift the other way so she offered some snacks which we were grateful for and then asked stinky our trail names. as it turned out, she knew who we were and had been reading about us. what a small world. we finally got a lift to the Hike Inn, where they brought us into town for some good food and some groceries and then back to our lodgings where we had a shower and a bed waiting for us. anyways, tomorrow is st. pattys so were gonna take a zero and enjoy not doing anything all day. peace
Date: 2006-03-17
From: Fontana Dam - Hike Inn - Room #3

To: Fontana Dam - Hike Inn - Room #2
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we did nothing, and it was everything I ever hoped it could be. After waking up around 10, I took a shower and then went back to bed. Stinky and me watched the Flintstones and the Price is Right, before moving next door to watch more tv. Around 3 we went into town, got some journals done in the library before going to Wendy¢s for dinner and back to our motel. We were stuck in a dry county for St. Patty¢s day, but lucky for us we are underage so of course we wouldn¢t be drinking anyways. We took the rest of the night to eat snacks and relax, watching a ¢That 70s Show¢ marathon. It doesn¢t sound like much but it was a great day.
Date: 2006-03-18
From: Fontana Dam - Hike Inn - Room #2

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

We got onto the trail around 9:30 and proceeded to hike. We hiked past the dam.We hiked over some mountains.We hiked next to some trees.We hiked through the air.We hiked into a shelter.We stopped hiking.The Smokies are beautiful.
Date: 2006-03-19
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: overcast clouds

We planned to do 12 miles today. We did 5 12. We are awesome.        After spending 2 hours trying to get Stinky out of bed, we finally got up and started packing our gear. After spending another hour or so screwing around, we finally got going at about 12:30. We did 3 miles and stopped for lunch. We did another 3 miles and stopped for good.         We saw 2 deer yesterday. The shelter is full tonight with lots of people. We have a fire going. Maybe I will get better at writing journals.
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

We haven¢t been happy with our performance lately. This morning we were shooting for a 26 mile day, hoping to wake up at 4:30 and catch the sunrise on top of Max Patch. That did not happen. Instead, we got up around 9 and got out about 10. We slowly made our way to Max Patch about 6 miles away to catch the less appreciate, but also less awe inspiring afternoon sun. The one good thing about getting there late was that it was the warmest weather we¢ve seen in a while. At a nice 50o on top of a mountain in the grass, we just couldn¢t resist a nap, and so we fell asleep. We don¢t know how long we were out, but we do know that after a couple more miles we got the time and it was 4:45. We still had 18 miles to do. While we are trying to be optimistic out here, we weren¢t sure we were going to make it. Instead we stopped at a shelter where three hikers had a fire going. I think there were John, Tom, and Chris, who were out there for a week. We warmed up and talked to them. There had a lot of questions about thru hiking which was neat, cause we hadn¢t really had a chance to tell anybody about our experiences yet. It was nice meeting people who were so interested in what we are doing out here, though we know there are people back home who want to know just as much. It¢s hard putting all we¢ve been through down on paper though, cause after talking so much about it, I realize a lot has already changed for us. And anyways, I am tired and ready for sleep.
Date: 2006-03-28
From: Walnut Mtn Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a rough day. We thought it was going to be mostly down hill but we were wrong. It was disheartening. We managed to keep a good pace despite the icy uphills and muddy downhills, but it was difficult nonetheless. We are excited however because today is 4 weeks that we¢ve been on the trail. We were so happy that we decided to celebrate by walking some more. After getting into Hot Springs, we picked up some groceries and got some dinner. We sat for awhile and tried to think of where we could stay for free. It¢s noisy under the bridge so we pitched up in a campsite that¢s closed for the night so we¢re hoping it¢s under 10 bucks. Also, Stinky is dead. He fell of a mountain so now I will be hiking solol until I can find a new partner. Peace.
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Hot Springs

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: broken clouds

As usual we got a late start on the day. We had some extra town food so for breakfast I had a pack of saltines and Stinky had half a bag of cookies. We made our way over the river and wandered around the rock face on the other side until finally deciding to get started with our day. It was difficult hiking since we had packed out 5 days of food. We stopped at a lake for a snack and then made our way to the next shelter where we had lunch. We decided to press on another 8 miles for the 20 day and managed to nake it into camp about an hour after nightfall but not before seriously considering giving up for the night. We met Crazy Creek, Quarters, and Jaywalker who had a fire going and chatted with them before heading to bed.
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

We were slow getting up after our long day yesterday, thus making another long day for ourselves. We had wanted to put in another 20, but with how sore we were we knew that wasn¢t going to happen. Instead we took our time and tried to enjoy the sights, such as the ridge trail that we did about midday. Not much happened today that was eventful. When we stopped for lunch however, two section hikers came through going south and asked how tough the terrain was, trying to decide whether they needed to fill up on water. Stinky told them it was easy and that they didn¢t need more than a liter. We later found out that they had run out of water in the middle of the section. Whoops. Anyways, we got in just at dawn, cooked up some mac and cheese and wrote in our journals.
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Damascus

To: unknown
Miles today: 0.0

to everyone keeping up with my journal i apologize that it has not recently been updated. i have not been writing daily though several of the last couple weeks journals have been written. when you finish hiking for 8 hours all you really want to do is eat and fall asleep. over the next couple weeks i will try to catch up on some of my writing though many days will be summarized since there is so much to do. once i get it all together, i will try to get back to writing full entries but im lazy so i apologize if that does not happen. ill do my best. anyways, thank you to everyone who has signed my guestbook, its great reading what everyone writes so keep writing and thanks for everyones love and support.we are in damascus and will be hiking 10 out tonight and stepping up our miles during virginia. our total miles right now is at about 460 too. peace and love
Date: 2006-04-25
From: HelveyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mill Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Late start today. We got up this morning and everyone was gone. I think I¢m missing a kidney. One of the hikers must had taken it and skipped out before we woke up. We lazed around for awhile, contemplating another short day when Curly Rambo showed up after already hiking 14. He¢s about our age and seems like a good guy. We sat around for a bit while Stinky got a fire going to warm up. I told him all he had to do to warm up was put a shirt on but he didn¢t seem to understand. At about 2 o¢clock we finally got moving on our supposed 15 mile day. It was a really easy hike, all along a ridge and no climbs over 100 feet. We came into the shelter around 6 to find out about thunderstorms tonight. Knowing there would be no camping or water for 7 miles we decided to stay. We met the Rens, a couple on their 3rd thru hike and learned how different things were on the trail just 15 years ago (a 45 lb pack was light) and we met Moat, another younger guy like ourselves. We relaxed for a little while til the rain started up and started getting ready for bed. The rain has been going for a while and its supposed to get worse. Hail possibly. But our tent is strong and we shall prevail. Time for a snickers and then sleep, we might be doing 30 miles tomorrow.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Doc's Knob
Miles today: 22.6

We got up early and got out late. After leaving around 11:30 we made our way north up the Appalachian Trail. We walked along a nice stream for a while and took lunch at a waterfall which was really nice. It was a long day but not much happened. We¢re trying to make it into Pearisburg for Stinky¢s birthday so we had to put in some good miles. We played give or take to help pass the last 4 miles and we¢re happy to find that Curly Rambo was still awake when we arrived. After a little food it is time for bed after our longest day so far.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Doc's Knob

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today was Stinky¢s birthday so naturally we slept in. C-Ram didn¢t have to be in town early so he stuck around for awhile. After snickers for breakfast we headed out. We took our time since we had a short day, taking plenty of breaks. We had an easy walk up to the ridge line, accompanied by some incredible views. Right before an easy descent into town we came across Angel¢s Rest which was an awesome spot to do a little rock climbing and take a break. I thought Stinky had wandered off to look around and I explored the area for awhile before realized that he had actually continued down the trail. After running down the mountain to catch up, we had an easy walk into town. Some guy was actually getting ready to hit a golf ball into the woods at us just before we stepped out and he realized we were there. We got Hardee¢s for lunch and DQ for dessert before getting a room at the nearest motel. We spent the rest of the night just relaxing and watching tv. Stinky got to talk to his family so I hope he was happy about that. I think we¢re taking a zero tomorrow so we can get a few things done; we seem to be loosing a little steam. Hopefully Lil¢ Bro and No Worries will catch up to us soon since we¢ll be taking it really easy and maybe get us motivated again. Maybe the change in seasons can lift our spirits a little. Doing well all the same. Peace.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Pearisburg

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We got to sleep in today. Checkout wasn¢t til 1 so we work up and watched tv (Price is Right!) before making our way down to the laundromat to do our first laundry in 2 weeks. Clean clothes, another one of life¢s simple pleasures. After finishing that, we rand down to the post office real quick before making our way down to the church hostel for another relaxing day. We met some new people today, and saw some old ones that we hadn¢t seen in a while, including Cookiepuss. Since we didn¢t really get to celebrate Stinky¢s birthday, Jenny Wren baked up a delicious lemon cake to go with some Twix ice cream. We all sat around having a good time talking and listening to Chuck Norris facts. It was great having a party with a bunch of people we had met that day and feeling like we all old friends. I¢m glad Stinky got the party he deserved. We all crashed around 11:30 and looked forward to a very probable 2nd zero the next day.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Pearisburg

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Waking up and knowing you don¢t have to walk anywhere, not even a couple miles to the laudromat or wherever is such a good feeling. And the mattresses in the hostel sure are comfortable too. After a great night¢s sleep, me and Stinky made our way down to Walmart to pick up our groceries and some fixins for breakfast. After a nice relaxing morning, Stinky Uber Dude and I played a game of monopoly in which I completely dominated. Never underestimate the power of the light blue property when you own 3 hotels on em. There wasn¢t much to do which was really nice. We also got a couple games of chess in before the Maine Train arrived. 6 hikers trying to stick together, which is pretty damn difficult. I don¢t remember any of their names but they seem nice. We went down to Wendy¢s for dinner. They never disappoint. I¢m really ready to get out of the South. I can¢t take any of these small towns anymore. If I see one more sleeveless shirt I might kill someone. We hit up another game of monopoly before heading to bed. Tomorrows gonna be an easy day out of town. So we are looking forward to it. Maybe some old faces will have caught up to us and maybe we¢ll get to see some new ones.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Pearisburg

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 61: We have been stranded out here for almost 2 months now. We are having trouble finding mice to eat so we have had to start eating our own limbs for substenance. I no longer have any felling in the left side of my body and all of my hair has fallen out. I¢m hoping a bear will kill us before we die of hypothermia or starvation or both. I can¢t write much more, the black widow bite on my temple is throbbing again and I¢m starting to black out. What a beautiful view from the shelter.
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Pineswamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: broken clouds

Month number 2! It¢s like we¢ve practically finished the trail already.This taking it easy stuff is nice. First thing wakingup this morning was eating some donuts and snickers. Always a choice breakfast. Next was off to the field for some Frisbee. I was a little rusty but picked it back up quickly. Virginia¢s gonna be nice with how many fields and meadows we¢ve been seeing. We¢re hoping to start playing more, especially now that it¢s warming up. We packed up and headed out around 12:30 and made it a mile and 12 to the last water source til the shelter. We were just chillin out when a south bound section hiker named Argo came down. We didn¢t really feel like doing much so we hung out and ended up eating lunch. About 6 people roaming out of town passed us. We finally got out of there around 3:30 I think. It was a really beautiful ridge walk. You could see off of both sides almost the entire time. Stinky and I hiked the last 7 together and on the last little stretch, just after a beautiful sunset, we saw two deer. We actually got within 15 feet of one of them. He was pretty funny cause he kept looking at us. We got into camp about 30 minutes after dark, cooked up some dinner, and headed to bed. All in all, it was a perfect 2 month day.
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Pineswamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Shelter hoping ¢ eet ees so nice. Got up and out in good time this morning; we think it might have been before noon. Bear showed up out of nowhere just before we left so I guess he finally caught up or we just finally slowed down enough. Made our way down to where a bridge was out to ford our first river. Some people actually chose to road walk instead which I don¢t understand. Actually climbed across on a tree that had fallen. First time a blow down has come in handy. Got a little trail magic of grape soda right after. Hung out at the next shelter where Bear caught up and also met Dirt and Night Ryder who were some pretty cool guys. Hung out there for a little while and got a little more trail magic from Bear. We all hiked out together and had a nice walk to the shelter. It rained a little on us but it was no big shakes. Managed to get in before sunset which we were really happy about and managed to finish cooking before the rain. A relaxing day. I could definitely get used to this twelve mile a day business. I forgot to mention I saw my first snake yesterday. A little green one no longer than a foot. He was real cool. He bought me some beer and we just chilled out with some of his snake buddies. Anyways, it¢s bed time.
Date: 2006-05-03
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Lots of strange dreams last night, maybe it was the shelter. Got up around 11, maybe a little earlier and was greeted by Ten Speed, already putting in some miles for the day. We were dismayed to find out that he had started April 1st. WTF. Anyways, we pulled out about 12 and had a nice walk to the next shelter for lunch. While there we met Ajax, Freight Train and Jetwash. Actually we met F.T. and J.W. when we were leaving the first shelter. A. and F.T. were pretty cool guys. We were really excited to find out A. had started 3/1 just like us. He seemed just as happy to learn this news. We chilled with them for awhile, then Stinky and I decided to start signing each other¢s entries in the register (At each shelter there is a register that hikers can write in to let everyone else know what is going on). Now that we¢re doing them for each other they¢re getting pretty bad and kind of gross. We made the last bit in good time. It was pretty easy walking through a bunch of fields and we saw a bunch of cows who we talked to for a while and even came across a donkey standing in the middle of the trail who did not want us to ride him. We got into the shelter which is really nice, especially with its privy which I give 5 starts, and cooked up some dinner. Novocaine and Sleeper came in who we had not met yet and they seem like some pretty awesome guys. They seemed to really our recent register entries. Anyways, this shelter has a Calvin and Hobbes Anthology, which is the whole reason we came to this shelter and I am freaking out cause it just got passed to me. We are also at Satan¢s shelter. It¢s right at mile 666. No wonder it¢s so nice. Can¢t write anymore.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Sarver Hallow

To: Sarver Hollow
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Never underestimate the power of Calvin and Hobbes. Got up this morning and grabbed the Anthology, and didn¢t put it down until I was finished. By that time neither Stinky nor I felt like going anyway. We were still thinking we might put in the 16 we were planning on when 4 other hikers (I can¢t remember their names, but they were more of the younger crowd hiking with the people who passed us in the last couple of days) came through and we told them we gonna head out soon but we lied and that never happened. We decided to take a zero. Why? I don¢t know. I guess it was for the best. I twisted my ankle yesterday and it¢s the first injury of this type that has me concerned. It¢s swelled up so I wrapped it up but it doesn¢t seem like it¢s getting any better. Whatever, I can¢t stand the people who complain about stuff like that all the time so I¢m gonna shut up about it. We really didn¢t do anything today. Anything. I didn¢t even have any extra food to munch out on since we are doing a supposed 26 tomorrow which actually just turned into a 30 into town. Swiss and Happy Feet just walked in and that¢s their plan so we think we might tag along. We¢re getting up at 4:30 so that should be a lot of fun. But anyways, no food, gotta save all my calories in my little bad until tomorrow. Maybe I¢ll get hit by a truck in town and not have to walk anymore. Maybe not. Well I¢m sure stuff happened today that I¢m forgetting but I don¢t care to remember it right now. Sleep time.