morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Brown Mountain Creek, VA

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, VA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I wasn't in any rush to get out this morning. I felt pretty whipped from the day before. Note to self: Four days off makes the hiking harder. I think the days of pain are proportional to the days I took off. First thing on the menu was the 3000 ft. climb to Bald Knob. It was a toughy, as the heat was on and I was sweating. I popped the headphones on to distract myself from the pain. When I finally hit the top, I took a huge break laying on some rocks. All the gang eventually caught up to me there. After my hour long break, I set off again down the hill. Then it was up again to Cold Mountain. The 700 ft. climbs don't seem like much after the 3K ones. It was nice and open up top, and I had some views off into the haze. Then it was down again to Hog Camp Gap. When I got there, I found Biscuit swinging on a tree swing. I was out of water, so I headed down a trail to a spring, then back up. The whole crew laid around under some shade trees for awhile. More ups followed, then some downs. The last couple miles were flatish into the shelter, and that was a good thing. Just about everything hurt, so sitting on the bench was just the thing. Dinner, tent set up, then rain finally chased me into the tent. Now that I'm back on the trail circuit, I've noticed that there is a ton more people out down here. Lots of section hikers, day hikers, and random people. This, of course, is in addition to the other thru hikers I haven't seen before. Before Trail Days, there were only a handful of people I'd see aside from the traveling group. Now, it seems there are many more hikers than that out. Everywhere's a crowd, but with luck things will thin out some. It's nice seeing some new faces, though, reminds me we're not alone.
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, VA

To: Harpers Creek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

So the rain quit at some point last night, so my tent was only a little wet this morning. The shelter folks had a little fire going, so I stood by it and ate my pop tarts for a little while. I got out on the trail just before 9. The sky was overcast, so the walking was nice and cool. Just one decent sized up in the morning, but no views. Socked in by clouds. I tried a new eating style today. I stopped every couple hours for some mini-meals, then kept on. I felt better doing that than just snacking continuously until lunch. Passed over a mountain called The Priest today. I had heard about it before, but the clouds weren't allowing a view. I just got a long, drawn-out downhill run. Better than going up it though. When I got to the bottom, I found a note from Biscuit and Dew telling us they were hitching to Waynesboro from there and slackpacking the next two days. I stopped and thought about it for a minute or two, but I felt the urge to keep going. Added an addendum to the note for those behind and kept on trucking. I was going to go about 8 more miles, but only ended up going about 2. It was early, but the rains loomed and I had a big climb ahead. Had there not been space in the shelter, though, I was going to press on and just hike until quitting time. Haven't stayed inside a shelter in some time. I'll probably be reminded tonight why I've been tenting, but forget about it in the morning when I'm not packing up wet things. Anyway though, I'd just as soon save the climbing for the fresh legs in the morning. On a side note, I ran into Caroline and Bedhead (two people I started out at Springer with) at this shelter. Went to Trail Days with Bedhead, but hadn't seen Caroline since the snows of April. As near as I can tell, of the group that started on 3/7, 5 are left and 3 of those are here tonight.
Date: 2005-05-20
From: Harpers Creek Shelter, VA

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter, VA
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Glad to be in the shelter last night as it rained cats and dogs all night. By morning it had slowed to a drizzle. I was slow to pack up and go on account of the weather. By the time I left, the rain had pretty much finished, leaving clouds and a fine mist. First order of business was the climb up Three Ridges. It was a steep climb of a couple thousand feet. I was glad I didn't try to do this last night. Had just a glimpse of the valley covered in clouds from an overlook, and that was the last view we had all day. During the climb, Sean and Caroline caught up to me. Their pace was a little quicker than mine, so I turned up the speed a bit to keep up. If I walk faster and with people, the day goes by easier. Or that was my thinking at least. The rains came again once we reached the top. Walked a few more miles and took a break in a shelter. While we were sitting there, Biscuit, Matt, English Bob, and Mtn. Dew caught up. They were coming from Waynesboro and slackpacking the 30 miles that day. I was then even more glad that I decided not to go in with them yesterday. Pack or not, 30 sounds like a death march to me and that just ain't my style. So off they went and onward the three of us plodded. Kept a good pace until we ran into some rocky trail for several miles. Nice, slick rocks too. I stayed on my feet, but barely. Did more slippin' and slidin' than the Ice Capades. And so the day went on. The terrain got a little easier in the form of less rocks and better grades. The last 5 miles were the toughest. It was all downhill, but I was whipped. Had to push to stay with Sean, but I kept up. Got through the last couple miles by belting out some songs. Took requests too. When we finally got to the shelter, I dropped all my stuff, got dry clothes, and crawled into my sleeping bag. Happy Wanderer and GG were there, so we caught up on the latest trail gossip - who's on, who's off before I drifted off to sleep.
Date: 2005-05-21
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter, VA

To: Rockfish Gap, VA Waynesboro
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

Up early to make it to the post office before they closed at noon. Had a quick hike down to the Gap. Stopped for coffee at the gas station, then headed over to the road for the hitch in. Didn't take but a minute for one of the local Trail Angels to stop and pick us up. Waynesboro has a big group of people that shuttle hikers around town and trail. Bill brought us down to town. Today happened to be Soap Box Derby Day. Main Street was roped off and lined with hay bales and spectators. Little kids in derby cars raced down the hill. We watched for a little bit while Sean waited for someone to let him into the office of tourism. The office was closed, Sean had a package there. The local police went looking around for the guy with the key to the building so Sean could get his mail. Real nice of them. Yet another example of folks going out of their way to help out hikers. Lunch was Chinese buffet, then to the YMCA campground. Laid out all the wet things, sat out in the sun and drank a beer. The usual town chores followed. I'm starting to have to work out arrangements for getting to a wedding in a couple weeks. Planes, trains, and automobiles.....
Date: 2005-05-22
From: Rockfish Gap, VA Waynesboro

To: Calf Mountain Shelter, VA
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

Slept in until the sun came out and the heat inside my tent got unbearable. Wandered around outside in our little camping area or reclaimed industrial wasteland. Packed up leisurely and headed over to Weasie's for a pancake breakfast. Sun was shining and temps were in the 60's. Set out from town around 11:30 with Matt and tried to score a ride up to the trail. After about 10 minutes, a van pulled up and took us up. Another Trail Angel spending the morning shuttling hikers around. Waynesboro was definitely easy to get around and the people were friendly. Good stop. So off we hiked up the trail into Shenandoah National Park. They say Shenandoah is pretty easy hiking by way of comparison to what we've come through up to this point. The hike today was nice. Nice breeze blowing, blue sky, and a nice rolling trail. Just a beautiful day to be out. The trail took us over rolling hills and ridge walks. The scenery was broken up by a couple of clusters of antenna towers, but no big deal. One oddity though was a row of seats near one of the towers. Looked like old metal tractor seats planted in the ground. We took a minute to sit there and catch some breeze. We walked 7 miles really quick, it seemed, so we ducked into the shelter to see where the rest of the crew out ahead was going to stop for the day. Turns out, it was the shelter. I suppose we could have pushed on a little further and camped, it was only late afternoon, but sitting around in the nice weather seemed like an okay decision. Nice weather, getting out of town, and peer pressure contributed to making it a lazy day. I suppose I should be doing miles to get to Harrisburg, PA by the 9th, but I'm not too concerned at this point. Can't let deadlines get in the way of my hiking experience, eh. So we sat around, played in the fire, and relaxed. Mtn. Dew packed out a supermarket tabloid, so we all took a turn reading it. It provided conversation topics at least, I suppose, but definitely would have been better in the fire.On a side note, I've seen that the TN Walkers are a day ahead. I'm looking forward to catching up with them.
Date: 2005-05-23
From: Calf Mountain Shelter, VA

To: Loft Mountain Campground, SNP, VA
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Quickest 20 mile day Ev-er. The walk this morning was nice. Cool, sunshine, some breeze. The trail was nicely shaded and meandered through seas of blueberry bushes. Spotted some blooming mountain laurel (or at least I think it's mountain laurel) along the way and more budding. The pink azaleas are still out too. Beautiful morning. Around noontime it clouded up all of a sudden and thunderstorms started popping up around the ridge. I made an effort to take big strides and knock out the miles. The terrain was flattish, just lots of little ups and downs and the trail was nice too. Saw lots of creatures on the hike as well. Several deer hang out around the trail. It's a national park, so I guess they're pretty used to people. Doubt they're well hunted either, but who knows. So there I was coming around a corner when I came across a turkey. Damn near stepped on it, then it spread it's wings and flew off a little ways. So, after the heart attack passed, I watched as the turkey moved off a bit, then back toward me. Then across the trail over to the other side, all the while clucking as it circled my position. Since I was pretty sure the turkey wasn't after me, I started looking around the weeds on the side of the trail. Sure enough, I spotted turkey chicks hunkered down, quiet and motionless. Mamma turkey wasn't leaving the kids. Looked for more for a second or two, then moved about 20 yds. down the way. When I looked back, about 4 more turkey chicks materialized and went running up the trail toward Momma, going "eep eep eep" all the way. Amusing. Rains came a little later. Drizzle, Pouring, Drizzle, then back to some sunshine. Matt caught up to me and we headed on to the campground. We arrived at about 3:30. Even though it went quickly, my feet still knew they'd gone 20. We hit up the campstore and the laundry and shower. I hadn't done proper laundry in the big Wayne, so it was good to get that done. And of course, showers are always a treat, even if it was a dollar for five minutes. Scored snacks and some dinner at the campstore before it shut down at 5:30. Then it was off to find a campsite. There's a fee, but split among five of us. Pitched just as a drizzle started up, then hunkered down inside with my yuengling and waited for it to pass. It'd be nice if every twenty mile day ended up like this one, eh.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Loft Mountain Campground, SNP, VA

To: South River Picnic Ground Trail, SNP, VA
Miles today: 20.4

Rains came in and I woke up to drizzle inside my tent. No airflow through the tent, so the condensation on the roof made drops that fell on me as the rain hit. Slept later than usual anyway. Waited for the campstore to open up at 9 so I could go grab snacks and such. Packed up and had a coffee, OJ and cinnamon bun in my hand shortly after the store opened. Sat around in the laundromat since it was nice and heated. Did I mention it was a bit chilly out? So, eventually I started out hiking. It was cold and raining. I sought shelter at the first hut I came to and tried to wait out the storm for about an hour. No luck there, so back to the trail I went. Not much to look at through the fog and everything, just put my head down and hiked. Hike to stay warm. Passed lots of folks along the way, too. Thought about calling it quits at the 14 mile shelter. Sat there for awhile freezing. By then the rain had stopped and it almost looked like the sun was trying to punch through the clouds. This was enough to lure me out of the shelter and back onto the trail. That, and a sense that I should get while the gettin' was good, so to speak. So I blasted onward and ended up at the picnic area. Cooked dinner and got out of the drizzle. At dark, we were motivated to move our tents back into the woods from our not-so-stealthy camp spot on picnic grounds. By motivated, I mean told by the ranger we couldn't be there. Just as the rain started back up too. So I opted for a spot on the side of a hill to pitch my tent again in the rain. It wasn't much fun, but that's what ya get for being a rule-breaker. It'll make for a better story later, I'm sure.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: South River Picnic Ground Trail, SNP, VA

To: Rock Spring Hut, SNP, VA
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

Still raining. Slid down the hill in the night and soaked the foot of my sleeping bag. Packed up and started hiking. Stopped at a campground about 5 miles away with the intention of throwing the bag in a laundry drier. Before I could, though, the attendant at the campstore decided she wouldn't allow it. Apparently I needed the gate-keeper's approval to use the washer or dryer. Since I had no intention of first putting my sleeping bag in the washing machine, the Queen of the Laundry deemed my bag unworthy of the dryer. The bag was going to forever taint and defile the sacred purity of the dryer, rendering it unworthy of future laundry. I tried to explain the nature of laundering a down sleeping bag - front load machine, special down wash or non-detergent soap, air dry-tumble dry, etc., and that it's an all day process for us mere mortals. The Queen wasn't budging. She offered that I go another nine miles to the Big Meadows campground and use the laundry there. Now, needless to say, I was mildly irritated by all of this. One might use the letters W, T, and F to describe my response. The Queen of Laundry attempted to smooth it all over with a cup of coffee. That's right, after blocking me out of the dryer, inviting me to hike nine miles to be someone else's problem, and so perceptively sensing my brewing rage, she kicks me a cuppa joe. This was all so ridiculous I can't believe I wasted the paper and ink just now to write it. But anyway, temps hovered in the 50's and it was good and fogged in on my hike to the next place. Saw a ton of deer hanging out around the trail. Scared up another turkey, too. Rain fell off and on, so I listened to the radio when it wasn't falling from the sky. Got to the Big Meadows campground mid-afternoon. First stop was the laundry. I found the machines unguarded, so I threw my sleeping bag into a dryer. Fluff. No heat. Then it was off to the Wayside Restaurant for some lunch. Unfortunately, it was about a mile away. In the rain. But I got me some hot chocolate, a cheeseburger, and blackberry cobbler for dessert. It was good. Grabbed a few groceries on my way out and trudged back to the laundry. Packed up and headed out again. I was tempted to stay in a campsite there with Mtn. Dew and English Bob, but decided to keep the cash in my pocket and hike to the next shelter, or hut as they call them. Besides, I also heard the TN Walkers were up there, so I was looking forward to catching up with them as well. Got to the shelter a little late, so it was full. Had to set up the wet tent in the rain again. Used my last dry bandana to towel off the floor. Didn't bother with dinner, hung out a bit and went to sleep in my dry sleeping bag. Oh, and the coffee wasn't that great.
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Rock Spring Hut, SNP, VA

To: Pass Mountain Hut, SNP, VA
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

Sun came out this morning. Oh Yeah. Laid in my tent with the door open, catching the rays. Threw all my wet things out into the sun and breeze. Waited for it all to dry, which means I didn't leave until about 10:30. No worries. Beautiful day. Had clear views off of the sides of the ridge. Must've been the cold air. Hiked part of the way with Dubois. We found a nice couple of overlooks on top of big rocks. Met up with Josh and Hannah for lunch at a picnic area. Hannah's mom and grandparents fed me well. I laid around for awhile with the folk and set out to hiking again. Creeped along with the Walkers for another 5 miles.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Pass Mountain Hut, SNP, VA

To: Compton Gap Fire Road, SNP, VA
Miles today: 22.7

So there I was...walking down the trail. Looked over to my left and what did I see, but a giant North American black bear standing in the weeds a mere 20 yds. away. I froze in my tracks. The bear watched me as I quickly scanned around, looking for little bears. Saw another big bear much further down the hillside, but no cubs. Didn't want an angry momma bear after a piece of Porter. So, deciding I was probably safe for the moment, I stopped and watched the bear. The bear watched me back. Hike-ku caught up and joined the bear watch. The bear didn't move much, just stayed right under a tree. Then Red showed up. So now, there's three of us doing the bear watch, taking pictures, etc. It was at this point things got a little more interesting. The bear started moving around more, looking up it's tree, then at us. Then it started moving. Bear walked up toward us, then turned off and walked parallel to the trail. Then up to the trail. Then to the other side of the trail. Then on top of a nearby stump. Then back to the trail. Then it walked up the trail toward us. Bear dead ahead, coming this way. Just about the time I started wondering if we should maybe do something besides taking pictures, say, leave, the bear turned off and headed toward it's tree. I exhaled. Though we couldn't see them, there were definitely cubs in that tree. Now that we'd been thoroughly checked out by momma, it was time to leave. We'd gotten her agitated, and while nothing she had done was aggressive, per se, we were definitely getting a hint thrown our way. So go we did. No more bears the rest of the hike. Stopped at Wayside to gorge myself. Chicken tenders, fries, moonpie, bag of peanut M&M's (big one) and a soda. Burp. Hiking after that was hard. Really hard. Sun was out, making things nice and warm. I eventually snapped out of it and hobbled a little faster in the evening. Had some nice views off of rocks in high places. Round about mile 18, I was hurtin'. Had a small peak to go up and over (Compton, yo) and then down and over levelish ground. Rolled a half mile off the trail to the Terrapin Station Hostel. What else you gonna call it when you're a fan of Maryland and Jerry? It was a nice little hostel with a shower waiting when I stumbled in. Settled in, cooked some grub, and watched the Yankees and the Bo Sox duke it out on the diamond. Relaxing end to a too long day.
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Compton Gap Fire Road, SNP, VA

To: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Said goodbye to the Spenden-dough-es today. Woke up and caught a shuttle to Front Royal for re-supply. It took a little longer than I thought, so I made some phone calls. Trying to get my travel arrangements squared away for my 4 day hiatus. Glad I've got other people looking out for me, as it's about all I can do to make it to the airport on time. After that I had some lunch. Then the rain started. So there I am sitting inside while some thunderstorms roll through. Me go out in the rain and hail? I think not. So I sat on the couch, watched TV, and cracked that beer I was saving for dinner. An hour later, I was back hiking. Late in the day, and I just wasn't feeling it. Part of it was the 23 yesterday, part of it was getting such a late start. My knee was unhappy also, so that was good motivation to knock off at the shelter. Had the intention of going further, but not today. Five o'clock, friends at the shelter, 11 days to get to PA. After some quick division, I rolled out the mat and called it home. Nice shelter, too. Porch, comfy bench, and a hut for cooking. Hung on the porch with Happy Wanderer, GG, and Vapor til dark. We'll get those miles later.
Date: 2005-05-29
From: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter, VA

To: Ashby Gap, VA
Miles today: 15.3

Sunny skies this morning. Hiked with Vapor for most of the day. Actually, you could probably say he hiked with me. My knee seems to be acting up again, so I was pretty slow. Haven't had this problem since early on, and it feels like the injury I had before I started hiking. I can put some weight on it, though, and if I go slow it only bothers me a little bit. So anyway, we spent the day walking through a green tunnel. No high points, no views, just up and down. The forest gave way to meadows around Sky Meadows State Park, but then we were right back into the tunnel. I was glad to have Vapor along to talk with and take my mind off of my knee. Things seemed to go better that way. Our plan was to head to the shelter just after Ashby Gap, but as we were crossing the road, we saw a car slow down. As it went by, somebody waved. That somebody looked a lot like Matt, who I'd been hiking with for several weeks up until Shenandoah. He's from the area, so we hopped in the car and went back to his parents' house after hitting up some fast food. Sat around the pool and soaked my feet in the cold water. It was nice. Got a hot shower, made a snack and beer run, then laid around and watched TV. Much more relaxing than the shelter scene. Guess this proves that sometimes it pays to go slow.
Date: 2005-05-30
From: Ashby Gap, VA

To: Winchester, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Spent the morning on the internet getting my plan together on how I'm getting to the Harrisburg airport next Thursday. Decided to leave out of Carlisle, PA instead of Duncannon. It's 20 miles further south, but looks to be an easier hitch into the airport should I need to hitch it. This is, of course, as always, subject to change at a moment's notice. So, with time to spare, I went canoeing down the Shenandoah River with Matt and some of his friends. Had a good time, except for some showers. Everybody else is taking Memorial Day off, so why can't I? When we got back, Matt's folks had the grill going. A couple burgers later, I was done for the day. It was good to take a zero day and do something else besides lay around town for a day. When I do that, it almost seems like a wasted day. This day, however, was not wasted. I'll hike tomorrow.