morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-11
From: Ribble Trail North Jct. 

To: US 460/Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

Day 49, 12.1 miles, 7 am - 1 pm   Another rainy day on the trail. We woke to it, got soaked and cold, ate cereal and packed in a downpour, and took off early.    We hiked just to get it over with. Sometimes we chatted but mostly we put one foot in front of the other and kept our heads down. We caught up to Ruin at the shelter, where we took our only break. Low fog in the valley, drippy rainy ridge, not much to see.    We hiked into town, dropped our packs at the motel, and headed to Dairy Queen where we spent better than $20 on fish sandwiches, french fries, onion rings, ice cream, and sweet tea. I have never in my life eaten in a DQ. It was pretty good, considering.    Our room is kind of utilitarian, but it's still great. A good hot shower is really all I want at the end of the day anyway. The woman who runs the place even did our gross hiker laundry!    I'm getting spoiled by 5 day stints on the trail, but the next leg is 7 days out, zzzz....
Date: 2009-05-12
From: US 460/Pearisburg, VA

To: US 460/Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 50, Zero Day Pearisburg   Yogurt, berries, avocado, coffee, a big veggie sub, 2 quarts of ice cream, chips & salsa, and a large overloaded veggie pizza...too much.    Today we were very busy and probably walked 10 miles around town. We changed out our winter gear, ordered a few replacement pieces, mailed stuff everywhere: Waynesboro, NJ, IN. We resupplied. We walked to the library. We dried out, stretched out, watched ESPN. We ate sandwiches and at a Pizza Hut. We saw the Browns, Josey, CousCous, Motor, Bunyan, and Freeze. I took another hot shower. The people in this town are very friendly and helpful. The guy at the Pizza Hut put like 5 pounds of veggies on our pizza and gave us free beer. I think he was mostly sticking it to 'the man' but I guess it was still nice. I'm not ready to leave here tomorrow, today went really quick, and lots of errands has left me still tired. But it's time to go tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-13
From: US 460/Pearisburg, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 51, 19.3 miles, 11 am - 8:15 pm   I slept great and awoke to bright sunlight coming through the windows. Matt was already awake and watching ESPN. Another day to hike, but first I took my sweet time getting ready. For the last time I went across the street for breakfast: fruit, yogurt, coffee. We ate, packed, and watched a Bruce Lee movie. It's hard to leave when you start thinking of your motel room as your 'apartment.'    We walked back down the highway and found the trailhead. The woods smelled heavenly, and it's because the wild roses are blooming. They have pale pink, almost white petals. Their tiny buds are so pretty. We stopped often to 'smell the roses' which was a great way to get into this next section. There was also a 19th century cemetery to look around in.    The sun stayed out, it was breezy and cool, and the climb out of the valley was on graded trail. Finally a nice day out of town! The trail was also dried out from all the days of rain. No wet feet--yet.    We were carrying lots of snacks and took a lot of breaks. We got to Rice Field Shelter at 3 pm. It was nice there, but we felt good so we went on. More ridgewalking to Lambert's Meadow. We had planned to camp there for the night, but the water source was weird. Hard to believe we'd come upon a bad one but here it was. It was shallow, stagnant and loaded with tadpoles, and edged with a shiny green fluid. 5:15 pm saw us hustling down the trail, praying for forecasted rain to hold off. We lucked out. We did the 7 1/2 miles in 3 hours, and the evening was breezy, comfortable, and benign. It was such a pretty evening to walk in. 10 minutes before getting the the shelter we found an absolutely gushing spring to fill up on. We got to the shelter and only Mr. Ed and Lightweight were there. We ate, set up in the shelter, and now it's almost 10 o'clock. I didn't plan on 19 miles out of town but whatever works.
Date: 2009-05-14
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

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

Day 52, 12.7 miles, 8:30 am - 3:45 pm   Slept only OK and woke up late. Mr Ed and Lightweight left before we did, and it was nice to have the shelter to ourselves for awhile.    No rain overnight and so far no rain today put me in a good mood today. The trail wound around the river, which was pretty, and then we went back up the ridge, which was often open and grassy.    We decided to make this a short day. Like it or not we're going to be shelter rats until all the forecasted rain ends, at least another week. So we walked slowly, took 2 long breaks, and got here before 4. I'm pretty tired for some reason, anyway, and I have what I think is an allergy headache, so stopping early is fine with me!    I'm out on the picnic table writing and being rained on by gypsey moth poop and gypsey moths themselves. They are already chewing up the spring leaves like crazy. Hopefully they won't defoliate the whole damn forest.    It's just us and Mr Ed/Lightweight again, unless you count the nest of Phoebes up in the rafters.    In other news my appetite has been greatly controlled as of late, since we're carrying more food. Today we had cream cheese & honey on pitas, cookies, fritoes, prunes, cashews, cheese and crackers, peanut butter and carrots, and couscous w/salmon. All that for 12 1/2 miles.    Well goodnight.
Date: 2009-05-15
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 53, 12.6 miles, 8:30 am - 4 pm   Stream of consciousness entry today...   Thunderstorms overnight, with the downpour ending in the morning. Jungle like humidity and fog for our late start. Many times I said, "This would be nice if it wasn't in standing water/raining/flooded" etc. Up the ridge toward Kelly Knob. Gypsey moths are mutilating the trees and breaking my heart. Cheese and bread break at Laurel Creek Shelter, then some sun (!) finally. Matt found a copy of 'Dune' at the shelter which was crazy since he'd been talking about how he wanted to read that book lately. Magic. Early and flame azaleas blooming, the mountain laurel will bloom soon, too. Pastures and hot sun and grazing cattle at the Keffer Oak. The limbs on that tree qualify as their own individual entities. Actual fording of Laurel Creek, twice, the creeks are running so high and fast I almost was knocked over by the force of the water. Otherwise quiet day on the trail. We saw no one else on the trail today. Good cold spring at the shelter.    Now our vacumn is ending, it's after 6 pm and other thrus have come in. We may have to tent in the rain tomorrow. I should be strong about it, and feel lucky that it hasn't rained much during the day, mostly at night, but truthfully I don't want to deal with it at all anymore. Maybe we'll hike the Arizona Trail next. * * *Matt professes that the trail is practically his religion and truthfully it gave back to him many times. It was uncanny. He found a copy of Dune when he wanted to read it, a pair of hiking pole tips after his broke, a pen when he forgot to bring one out, a headlamp when his LED burned out, and a pair of gloves during unseasonable weather. I am not making this up.
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: broken clouds

Day 54, 16.8 miles, 6:30 am - 2:30 pm   Leaving off, even though the shelter was 0.4 miles off the trail straight down into the valley, it was well worth the side trip. It was a newer, Nantahala style shelter, very clean. The spring was walled with rocks and ice cold. Matt and I seem to be the only ones who selectively treat our water, we drank straight out of the source while everyone else filtered/treated.    Anyway, despite a full shelter (Pyro, Tanglefoot, Snuggie, Blisters, and the other Matthew) to my shock everyone layed down and went to sleep by 8 pm! Amazing. Good sleep, and we awoke early to no rain-yet. We didn't know when the downpour was supposed to start so we packed and got out early.    Cloudy, foggy day to start on the ridge, but it quickly cleared and we actually have some sun and blue sky! Amazing to see sunny woods in the morning. We haven't had sun in the morning in literally weeks.    Nice terrain today, rocky ridgelines, beautiful creekwalking in the valley, the kind of places you want to hang out all day. VA often has what I jokingly call 'catalog trail' of beautiful mixed forest, perfect treadway, and blooming laurel and rhodo. So lovely. Today put me in very happy thoughts.    So we walked purposely today to beat the rain, especially since quickly enough I started to see clouds stacking in the west. Now it is nearly 5 pm, and I am going to take a swim in the river in a minute. I had a good time chatting w/everyone here so far: Mr Ed/Lightweight, Snuggie/Blisters. Tanglefoot came in and I told him I would deliver a hot breakfast to his tent in the morning, ha ha. Blackfly bites on my legs are driving me crazy. I am a little scared of bad weather over Dragon's Tooth tomorrow, but it can only cause a painful and untimely death. We'll find out!
Date: 2009-05-17
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 55, 13.6 miles, 8 am - 4:45 pm   Last night Tinman & Gaspard came in just as it was starting to rain, around 8. We squeezed them in, maxing us out at 8 people in a 6 person shelter. It was a tight fit but I was happy to be in the shelter because it poured all night long.    It was still raining when we got up and I slowly got ready. One by one we filed out and we made our way to Dragon's Tooth. Light rain and fog the whole way, so we didn't bother with the side trail to the monolith. The rocky ridge was slippery, and tricky, but we went really slow and did fine.    The ridge was so pretty today, there were black pines and a whole mountainside of blooming rhodos. So pretty!   We stopped at a convenience store 10 minutes off of the trail and tanked up on calories, hot choc., doughnuts, and ice cream for me, and Matt had chips and soda. It was my 'birthday party' and today I turned 30. A '96 thruhiker named Melody gave us a ride back to the trail. She had 2 border collies with her and I sat in back with them.    For better or for worse crap food gives great energy, and we hiked steadily through the drizzle after that, past a pretty stream, pastures with roses, buttercups and different grasses, and back up to the ridge. Cool temps, lower humidity, beautiful woods and terrain, a huge snack, scented air of rose, honey, and earth, a good time with Matt, and eventual clearing skies gave me one of the most relaxing and happy day that I've had in awhile on this trail. I thought alot about turning 30 today, what that means, and what's next. Hopefully the next decade will bring less floundering and depression.    Anyway, ultimately I am looking forward to Daleville in 2 days, but I have really enjoyed doing this section slowly over 7 days. I'm pretty relaxed, I like poking around and hiking slowly and such, and I'm hardly tired at all. Also, this week wasn't as rainy as I had feared it would be, and I'm glad I was in the shelter for the nights it did rain. There are those who don't like shelters, but I think they all hiked in a drought year or something. The shelters saved my sanity this year for sure.    7:15 now and Matt & I are the only ones here. We're in our bags, writing, drinking tea. It is peaceful and quiet. It is supposed to be only in the 30's for the next few nights. Hopefully I won't freeze w/out my winter gear!
Date: 2009-05-18
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Tinker Mountain
Miles today: 15.0

Day 56, 15 miles, 8 am - 5 pm   We had a great night at the shelter. It was peaceful and fresh out, we watched the resident bird feed her young, we read & drank tea, and no one else showed up. So we had the place to ourselves.    COLD overnight! I stayed warm enough but poor Matt froze in his thin quilt.    Bright sky and sun early, a sight I swear I haven't seen since APRIL!!! A brisk but beautiful morning as we took our time over McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, taking requisite pictures and enjoying a rare beautiful day out here. Pretty woods, fantastic views, fun rocks, what a nice day.    Everyone we have been hiking around for the past few days jetted into town this evening, but we cooked dinner early and walked slowly to camp up on the ridge. We are on a flat spot only a few feet off of the trail, and we can hear the drone of the interstate. Different but nice to finally be back in the tent. Only a 4 mile day into town tomorrow, perfect. I've loved taking it slow this week. I am only hungry and wanting a bit of a break. Next section will be a challenge as we need to average around 20 mpd/7 days. It'll be hard but hopefully a fun change of pace. Well, in the meantime--today was a good day, and HoJo's and food tomorrow!
Date: 2009-05-19
From: Tinker Mountain

To: US 220/Daleville, VA
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 57, 4 miles, 7:30 - 9:30 am   I weighed myself at the outfitters and I only weigh 108 pounds. Bunyan and Tanglefoot made fun of me and told me I look like Olive Oyl. Thank God they are leaving town today or else I might get a trailname!    Anyway, last night we had a soft tentsite, a cold night, and then a bright and brisk morning on the ridge. We got ready, ate the last dregs of food from our foodbag, and continued on down the mountain. Lots of mountain laurel in bloom, and as we came down in elevation, rose and honeysucke are blooming and smell good, and raspberry bushes have white blossoms.    A sunny clear day as we popped out on the the busy US highway. I went to the HoJo's and paid for a room, and they said we could check in at 9:30 am! Yay! I got a huge coffee from next door, got wired, and we went and did our chores. Somehow it took forever to resupply, we have 8 days coming up, and I need allergy meds, floss, conditioner, etc. It all adds up.    We ate lunch, showered/laundered, processed the food we bought, ate a ton of food, and now somehow it's 8:30 at night and we're watching Family Guy. Where did the day go? It was a good townstop but it always goes too fast.
Date: 2009-05-20
From: US 220/Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 58, 11.2 miles, 11 am - 5 pm   A good night relaxing & eating of course but it always goes too fast. Before I knew it I was awake and getting up around 6 am.    Another morning eating, packing, showering, and watching Comedy Central. I think we've developed a routine here. Hard to leave today, despite a perfect day waiting for us.    It is hard to leave town. I don't quite understand why I feel like this. The pool, the comfy room, hot water, everything was pulling at me today and I didn't want to go. I was so disappointed that our town stay was over so fast. Matt and I talked about it at length and decided to try to enjoy each moment as it comes, and not worry about the fleeting nature of it all. The moment you sling down your pack, hot water hitting your skin, the first bite of ice cream, the second you lay down on a soft bed, it's all so good and you can enjoy, but you also have to move on to the next thing. So here we are.    Anyway, more sun and roses on the way out of town, which was nice but really aggrevated my allergies. Lucky for claritin. Up to Fullhardt Knob Shelter, where we took a 1/2 hour break. Quiet, just me and Matt at the picnic table, eating, for a moment I felt a very deep peace.    Onward to Curry Creek for another 1/2 hour break. The stream was so pretty, we splashed around in it for awhile, took in our surroundings, and spied a really long snake bobbing in the water. He had a diamondback pattern. We watched him until he slithered under a rock in the water.    We were the 1st to the shelter, and now there are about 12 others here, 1/2 are section hikers. It's 7:30 and we are in the tent.    We also talked today about how were are getting a touch of the "Virginia Blues." I love this state so much, but already we have hiked over 730 miles and it is barely a dent. This is a LONG trail. Summer and full foliage are here, so the woods look the same day to day, the insects are coming out, landmarks few. Day to day this is a ton of work, and the time we spend is starting to bleed into each other. My feelings for this trail will undoubtedly change over time, and I shouldn't try to resist them since they are not wrong to have.    Anyway, tomorrow we may shoot for 25, our longest day. I am carrying 10# of homeade gorp for a reason!
Date: 2009-05-21
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 59, 25.6 miles, 6:30 am - 7:30 pm   A good night at our soft, flat tentsite, and we were the first ones up and out. A clear start to our long but nice day on the trail. We went out to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) for the 1st time today and it was very pretty. It's a quiet 2 lane road with views, info boards, and picnic areas. It would be fun to bike its whole length.    Anyway despite the miles we did take quite a few breaks today, esp. at Jennings Creek where we waded around for awhile. Our last break was at Bryant Ridge Shelter, where I ate a ton of gorp to fortify myself for the 5 mile, 2500' climb, and all I got was an upset stomach. The climb felt never ending and hot, but it was still a good evening to hike in.    We arrived at Cornelius Creek, dove into chores-Matt on dinner/tent, me on water-chatted with Scout, Tinman, and Gaspard, and tucked into our great tentsite behind the shelter at dark. Our longest day yet.
Date: 2009-05-22
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Rocky Row Run
Miles today: 20.6

Day 60, 20.6 miles, 6:45 am - 5:15 pm   Ugh, morning came way too fast. We have to do good miles this section, and so it goes.    More uphill for my tired out legs, but we say pretty flowers again at 4000' like white violets, pink trillium, purple soapwort, and fuschia early azaleas. And of course white mountain laurel. They are so cute they remind me of little white cupcakes. So that was nice. Part of today's hike was in a wilderness area, so there were nice blanket views into the valley.    I had a noisy mind today as I walked. I am trying to deal with that. I want a quiet mind so I can absorb but I am in battle with my jumpy, noisy head.    We originally were planning to camp at the next shelter, but this aptly named stream is very pretty, so we found a doable spot to pitch the tent and stopped here instead. We are camped in a river gorge that has laurel blooming all over. I made a fire, Matt made dinner, and I had the greatest swim ever in the stream. The water was calm and past my knees, and I found a secluded rock to lay on for awhile. The breeze and evening air was heavenly. Sometimes it's good to be naked in your surroundings! Now I am relaxed and happy in the tent. This type of camping wipes away the fatigue of hiking all day and is a great way to end things. More long days to come.
Date: 2009-05-23
From: Rocky Row Run

To: Brown Mountain Creek
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: broken clouds

Day 61, 19.3 miles, 6:45 am - 5:45 pm   Beautiful woods today, mountainsides of blooming laurel, mature forest with open understory. A long day with trailmagic 2 miles to the end from Flash and Hot Flash. Another long day tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-24
From: Brown Mountain Creek

To: Priest Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: light rain

Day 62, 22.7 miles, 6:30 am - 6 pm   Another long day on the trail. I had a bad night's sleep last night but it didn't affect me too much luckily. We went slowly up Bald Knob and got rained on bit it didn't last. Lots of bright pink early azaleas, tons, they are so pretty I wish I could take them with me.    Humidity makes me sticky, things have turned really buggy with blackflies, and rain is forecasted throughout the week. Great. Doubtful now of 2 days into Waynesboro, depends on the tent getting wet tonight.    Leapfrogged with Scout all day, he's gone on to the next shelter. Packadivas are here and Tinman/Gaspard are in the shelter. Someone told me this was a nice area but it's okay. Perspective. We're tented in a sinkhole hopefully it won't rain too much tonight.    Not too sore from long days but I'm getting tired and really hungry. Not looking forward to more rain.
Date: 2009-05-25
From: Priest Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Day 63, 13.7 miles, 6:45 am - 2:45 pm   Not a bad night last night, it only showered a few times, and rain held off as we broke camp.    Dark, still morning as we hiked 6 miles back down the mountain, through beautiful laurel tunnels, to the Tye River. No wind, silence in the woods, crazy dank humidity, only my noisy thoughts as I walked.    Harper's Creek was absolutely beautiful, a great place to camp and hang out--if it was nice out. The climb up 3 ridges just about killed me. It was a long steep climb, but the last significant one until Massachusetts. Weird.    Leapfrogged and camped again with Tinman and Gaspard. We arrived early at the shelter, and I absolutely crashed for 3 hours. Previous days on top of this one left me completely exhausted. I spent 3 hours in a kind of stupor, not asleep, but unable to move or talk. I think Matt was really bored this afternoon, but I was just done. At least he has his radio. I wanted to walk down the Maupin Trail but I was too gone this afternoon. Now it is past 7 pm, it's starting to rain and I'm glad we are in the shelter.    Fantasizing about food, 2 days now until Waynesboro and I can't wait. So hungry. I said I wouldn't do another 8 day stretch out but here I am again. This section has been really good though, alot of mountains and climbs, as wells as views, flowering trees, creekwalks. I am ready for Shenandoah and some sun, though.
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolf Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: moderate rain

Day 64, 15.8 miles, 7:30 am - 3:30 pm   Torrential rain all night! I'm glad we were in the shelter, plenty of room with only 4 of us in it. I slept fine and woke up late and slowly got ready as it was still raining. We were the last to leave, even the tenters got out before we did. They are all going into town today. It was oddly liberating being the last ones out.    It was dark and drizzly as we slowly walked down rocky trail. The Dripping Rocks area was a little slippery so we took our time. The trail ran out to many outcroppings where we got to see whiteout, what else is new?    Actually I was not in the worst mood until 12:30 when we took a break. I was accosted by bugs, so I coated myself with a nice layer of DEET. Suddenly it darkened even more. It was like someone turned the lights out. Then the downpour started. Drenching rain. Sustained. Despite raingear the rain was so intense I was soon sticky wet, with my glasses fogging up, and DEET running into my eyes. The trail turned into a calf deep river that actually had waterfalls and whitewater as we ascended. Wow. Tranquil streams turned into fords. It was so dark and my glasses so foggy I couldn't see a damn thing.    We walked nonstop for 3 hours during the downpour. When the very nice Wolf shelter came into view I could have cried. I was so happy to get there and get dry bunkspace on the top deck. The shelter also has a covered porch/cooking area. I put on dampish clothes and huddled under my bag, content, until I had to go out into the hurricane and collect water for dinner.    15 hikers who had been at Rusty's came through the shelter on their way to town. It seems we temporarily got ahead of Motor and Co. but now they are back in front of us again. So it is just us and Maytag and Knuckles, who hiked last year and are out for a few days.    We ate a remnental dinner and now I'm going to sleep. It's only 7 pm but it's too dark and wet for anything else. I hate the fucking rain.