morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-06-03
From: Waynesboro, Va

To: Beagle Gap / Waynesboro, Va
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 88I was out of the hostel at 9am and on my way to the Trail. It took over 45 minutes, after walking the 5 blocks to main street and another 1/2 mile to a road junction, to hitch a rude back to the Trail. In almost no time at all I was feeling just as crappy as I had before my zero day. I had no strength in my body, I was sweating instantly and the first tiny hill sapped all my energy. I figured I would just shoot for the shelter 7 miles away and call if a day. I stopped at the permit station for The Shenandoah National Park and filled out my permit. The park is free this weekend for the normal folk so there should be plenty of opportunities for trail magic.The further I hiked the weaker I felt. There had been lots of talk about limes disease at the hostel last night and several people had picked deer ticks off their bodies. One guy had a friend who had gotten the "target" around the bite location. So I was beginning to wonder? This weakness I was feeling wasn't hikeitus since that is usually cured by a zero day. On the top of a mountain about 3 miles in I pulled out the Droid and did a search for symptoms of lime disease. Turns out they are similar to the flu. Hmmmmmm. I haven't seen a "target" but I can't see under my very short hair or my butt or back. I'm seeking volunteers to inspect my butt for tick bites. Send your application to: Have you lost your Mind Way, Waynesboro, VA. So anyway lime disease is easily treated if you catch it early, and is a lifetime of joint pain if you don't. I that when I crossed Skyline Drive again in 2 miles I would hitch back to town and get an antibiotic for it. So hear I am, back at the hostel. I visited the emergicare place a few miles from downtown and got a prescription for doxycyclinasomethingorother. The doc was good enough to write so that I can get 2 more refills. That way when I am in New York and Connecticut, big hotbeds for lime disease, and I suspect lime again I can skip the doctor visit. The visit was expensive, I hope my out of state insurance pays up. I was told this Medicine will make me sensitive to sunlight so I imagine I have a few sunburns in my future. I'm not sure what I will do tomorrow. I think I should give it a day to let the medicine work and to make sure I don't have any weird reactions to it. We'll see. Tonight we watched Galaxy Quest on the big screen TV after a very long selection process. It was actually pretty amusing how divergent all our top 3 choices were, but in the end everyone really enjoyed Galaxy Quest. 8 more days until I see my family.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Fear of A Life Long Debilitating Disease Dream.
Date: 2010-06-04
From: Beagle Gap / Waynesboro, Va

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 89So I zeroed today because I didn't want to hike while taking a new medicine. I did a lot of nothing today. Mostly I just hung around Stone Soup, reading a book on the front porch rocking chair and eating a French onion soup and 3 cheese sandwich and drinking a Blue Moon. Once the hostel reopened I walked back over there and found old friends slackimus and q-tip sitting in the grass. It was good visiting with them again.Tonight was pretty laid back. I called to arrange a ride to the trail in the morning then just read and socialized till midnight when I went to bed.Goodnight and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Doxycicline Dream.
Date: 2010-06-05
From: Waynesboro

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 90So one of the hostel volunteers is a nurse and she recommended that I should zero today because I waznt looking to good. It doesn't take much to convince me to stay in town especially when the church is having a spaghetti dinner and then driving hikers to the next town to the movie theaters. She's a nurse, so I'll follow the medical advise. When they kicked us out at 9 I went to the library to read the book I bought yesterday, Master and Commander, which weighs a pound. I really would like to finish it before going back to the trail. I read until 1 then decamped to go get lunch at the Chinese buffet. On the way out I saw Trinket on a computer and stopped to chat for a minute. He and another guy decided to join me. After lunch I went back to the church because they were opening early for today's "HikerFest" We watched Lionkings video on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Then we ate spaghetti and went to the movies. Get Him to the Greek was pretty funny. Back at the hostel I read for a while then went to bed. Goodnight and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the So Stuffed with Food it Hurts Dream
Date: 2010-06-06
From: Beagle Gap / Waynesboro, Va

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 91After 860 miles I've finally seen a bear. Two bears actually, in two different locations. The Shenandoah National Park might not have any views from the trail but its full of bears. They seem so tame. The first one I saw was about 50' away walking parallel to me thru the high ferns along a ridge. It didn't seem to care that I was there. I walked with it for 50' or so while I dug out my camera, when I stopped to take pics it stopped too. Looked at me as if I was a great annoyance then turned away and sauntered over the ridge away from me. It was odd how neither the bear nor I had any fear. The second bear was bigger than the first. I saw it 0.2 miles from the shelter trail at the end of the day. It was raining and I saw it up ahead just off the trail. I walked up to it with it in full view the whole time and it never left. The trail turned slightly away from it and I passed it with only 15' to 20' between us. I stopped to check him out and we just stared at each other for about a minute. Then I got a little nervous because I was getting the feeling that he was feeling challenged so I moved away and then turned and continued walking. Due to the rain, my camera was wrapped up and to hard to get to so no pics.I was on the trail this morning at 9:30. It was very windy, overcast and cool and the Trail wasn't very steep, yet I was covered in sweat almost immediately and I felt like I was at a Mob party wearing cement shoes. The AT in the park is ridiculous. It goes up and down and all around without any views while skyline drive, always in view or hearing, is so smooth and gentle with views all the time. Tomorrow I will be hiking on the road instead. I still feel sick and weak but I made my 15 miles to the shelter. Its jammed packed here. 10 people in the shelter and probably 15 camping. I'm going to sleep early.Goodnight and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Face to Face With a Bear Dream.
Date: 2010-06-07
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 92On no, I think I have fallen into a bubble of early risers. From dawn till 8am the shelter was a beehive of activity. That didn't stop me from rolling over and going back to sleep (and snoring if you want to believe the lies). I got up at 8 when the hubbub died down and was out by 8:30. The day started with a climb which I wasn't very happy about. I dragged myself to the top of Black Rocks and discovered a really cool pile of rocks a couple acres big. It looked like a giant dumptruck had backed up to the edge and dumped a giant load of rip rap rock.I started downhill after that and was virtually flying. I was feeling much better even though the uphills were still taking a lot out of me. I made it to the campground store 6 miles away in just over 2 hours. There I had a couple cold sinks, some BBQ chips and a tub of pimento cheese for lunch with a hiker named Able. I have to confess from here I decided to walk the road for a few miles instead of the AT. The AT in the park has almost no views while you can't swing a dead cat on the road without hitting a view. I was rewarded with great views on both sides of the road. It felt weird to walk on the smooth road so mostly I walked on the stone guardrail walls that line the Skyway. Its strange how the uneven wall felt more comfortable to walk on. All to soon I arrived at the Ivy Springs overlook where the AT met up with the road. I chatted with a couple motorcyclist from Ontario then returned to the trail and its silly ups and downs. I hadn't seen a bear yet today and my head was swiveling left and right searching for one. Alas, I reached the first shelter at 1:30 without seeing any critters. I'd only done 13 miles and it was too early to stop so I took an hour break to eat read and rest.It was 8 1/2 miles to the Hightop Hut and looked to be a lot of hill climbing to get there. I was still feeling good and I was making good time. I came around a bend and a huge deer was stopped on the trail 50' ahead of me. We both watched each other for a few seconds and then the deer walked across the trail and I walked on. That was my only animal sighting today. Right after that I caught and passed 4 thrus hiking together. They caught up to me a little later when I stopped at a view. We chatted a while and I took off again. The hills seemed much steeper than they looked but I eventually made it to the shelter by 6pm. Not bad for a 21.4 mile day. I need to be in Front Royal by Thursday night where hopefully my brother in law will pick me up for my visit with my family. So I will have to do a lot of big miles. I hope I can keep it up. There are only 2 of us in the shelter tonight with around 5 tenters. Its nice and quiet and I like all the room. I just wish there was a phone and internet signal.Goodnight and sweetdreams to all of you out there not living the 21.4 Mile Dream.
Date: 2010-06-09
From: Skyland Resort

To: Luray, Va
Miles today: 10.0

Day 94I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain. My first thought was "Yay! I haven't been eaten by a bear!", the second thought was "why am I awake" so I rolled over and went back to sleep. It was still raining when dawn came, and it rained off and on the rest of the morning. I was snug and dry inside so I just slept off and on and read a little. Finally the rain stopped long enough to suspect it might have poured itself out for the time being. My brother in law was scheduled to pick me up in Luray around 6:30 that night and the road to Luray was only 10 miles away. I had plenty of time since thats less than 4 hours of walking. We finally got packed up and out of there between 10 and 11, I forgot to check, and started down the trail. It didn't take long before the trail intersected the road and we were road walking again. I highly recommend walking Skyline Drive when hiking the AT through the park. The views are amazing and plentiful, (plus it passes closer to the waysides ) The views from the AT are there but they are few and far in between and usually just a whole in the trees where a rock sticks out. On Skyline Drive you might walk for hundreds of yards next to an expansive view before heading into the trees again. Today the views were great, especially watching the way the clouds rolled up the valley and surrounded us with rain. Good bye views, hello thick fog and inattentive drivers. What a fun morning. Hiking through the 700' long tunnel in the fog was awesome. The cars sounded like freight trains coming up behind us. A mile later we arrived at the road to Luray, Va and my hiking was over for the next 5 days.Hiking with Tornado and Sofar is fun. They like to make jokes and take digs at each other, too. Its a shame they'll be way ahead of me when I get back on the trail. Sofars Aunt and Uncle came to pick him up for the day and they gave me a ride into Luray. I went straight to a pizza place and ordered a large pizza figuring I had hours to kill and would have plenty of time to finish it. After I ordered I checked my phone and finally had a signal. My bro in law had left me several messages that he was in town to pick me up so that was great. He had picked up a bunch of groceries and had them in the trunk so told me to throw my pack into the back seat. We weren't even out of the parking lot before he suddenly pulled over and said, "New Plan. The pack goes in the trunk, I'll make room." I never notice how rank that thing is but he did lol. Now I am back at his place in front of a big screen TV with an extensive movie collection to watch. Civilian life is great. Can't wait to see my family tomorrow night.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Foggy Tunnel Dream.
Date: 2010-06-14
From: Luray, Va

To: Matthews arm? campground
Miles today: 10.5

I am back on the trail, or shall I say road since I am still walking on the Skyway. Trish and the kids dropped me off at 3:30 and took off for home. It was weird to see them drive off without me. Probably more so for Trish since I have grown accustomed to being dropped off in the woods. Part of me wishes I was in the car with them, so I hiked hard and fast to keep from thinking about it too much. I did 8 miles to the last Wayside (restaurant) in the Park and stopped in for a blackberry shake to go with my leftover chicken strips and fries from lunch. It rained pretty hard for about 45 minutes and I was soaked thru and thru. At the wayside I met I guy called Stix and since it looked like more rain we decided to hike 2 miles to the Park campground and split the $15 fee for the site. Ahh, what luxury... soft grass, picnic table, flush toilets and water from a fawcet. The visit with the family was grand. The first day and a half I was at my bro-in-laws by myself so I watched a ton of DVDs on his big screen TV. Then my family arrived thursday night around 12:30 am. When I had talked to my wife earlier the GPS said they would be arriving at midnight so I stood out by the main road for a half hour watching for them. I was very excited about their arrival. Finally they turned in and I hugged everyone then let Jason crawl up on my shoulders - his favorite spot in the world. He was very happy. It was great spending time with him. Even the girls seemed happy to see me . It was also good to see Trish able to relax some while I chased the little perpetual motion machine around. During the visit we watched lots of movies, visited the Marine Corp Museum in Quantico and went to a renaissance fair in Spotsvania. The marine Corps museum was pretty awesome. They really knew their business when they designed that place.
Date: 2010-06-15
From: Matthews arm? campground

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Stix and I left the campground pretty early, around 7 am. After a couple miles the trail crossed Skyline Drive again and I recommenced my road walking. Stix stayed on the trail. Once again the views were fantastic until the rain arrived, even then you could still see into the valleys. Still, I am getting tired of being wet and dry back and forth all day. After about 10 miles the AT crossed Skyline for the last time and I took a break in the parking lot in case Stix came along. He never did but another thruhiker named Boston Dan drove up in a car. He had just spent a week paddling on the River and was quitting the trail. That was the first thruhiker that I had talked to after they had quit. It was a sad conversation, but I scored some food out of it so atleast his decision is helping another hiker move up the trail. A few miles later on I left the Park Boundary.In another mile or so I reached a shelter a few miles before crossing the Highway to Front Royal. I pulled in for a rest and heard a hiker coming in behind me. I thought it would be Stix but it was Q-Tip, my friend who started on the same day I did. He was surprised to see me, not knowing that I had taken time off with the family. Trinket came in soon after. They were planning to stay there that night so they could hike into Front Royal the next day for a hotel night. I was sorely tempted to hang with them, but I cant do a town stop already. So after hanging around for nearly 2 hours I took off down the trail again. A few hours later I arrived at the awesomeness that is the Molly Denton Shelter. It had a nice overhang on wooden porch with benches and a chair, a covered cooking pavilion with a picnic table and a solar shower. There is a whole new group of thrus here that I have never met. I suspect that this is how it will be for me for the rest of the hike. Everyone I know is days and weeks ahead of me. 23 1/2 miles is a very very long day for me so I was soon in my sleeping bag and ready for sleep.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Long and Lonely Trail.
Date: 2010-06-16
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I had absolutely no strength today. The humidity was 100% so it didn't matter when it was raining or not since I was just as wet either way. I took a fall in the mud, my first fall in a month or more. The only good thing about today is that it ended and that I found a tree with blackberries on it. I'm told its a Mulberry Tree and they are the sweetest tasting fruit ever. Then I found another one near interstate 66 that wasn't as sweet. I guess in fruit trees as in real estate, location really does matter. My phone is acting up. The screen is jumping all over the place and when I try to type one letter it puts multiple letters of something else. I am sure its the humidity. Just another thing to piss me off.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Wet and Miserable Dream.
Date: 2010-06-17
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: few clouds

I am at the Bears Den Hostel tonight. I was planning to hike the 18 miles to the Blacburn AT center since its a free hostel but this place is just to nice. It's run by awesome people, past thruhikers, its clean, it has mattresses on the bunks, shower, laundty, internet, a free phone, a full kitchen and frozen pizzas and ice cream available for purchase. The upstairs, which is availble all night is a comfoatable lodge style sitting area. Downstairs is cable TV and a DVD player. I couldn't pass this place up, even if I wasn't walking on jelly legs. Today started "The Rollercoaster" a series of 10 hills that the sadist trail designers decided had to be gone over rather than around. I waited for 30 minutes for the ride to start but no coaster cars arrived and I realized they expected me to walk it. Why the hell would you build a rollercoaster and not put some tracks on it? It shouldn't have been as tough as it was, but last night I felt so tired that I hardly ate and now I am paying for it today. I am thinking I may also have a vitamin defiency since I am not eating right or taking a multi-vitamin. Or maybe its just the heat sapping my energy. whatever, it was a joy to arrive at the Bears Den Hostel and any ridicules thoughts I might have had about moving on evaporated when I stepped inside.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you not living the Frozen Pizza and Chubby Hubbie Ice Cream Dream.
Date: 2010-06-18
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Blackburn AT Center hostel
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was another bad day of hiking even though the trail wasn't that difficult. I didn't leave the Bears Den until noon and it still took me over 4 hours to hike the 8 miles to the Blackburn AT Center. I should have been hiking 3 miles an hour on this terrain, in the shade, and this short distance. And the trail to the Blackburn Center is longet than the 0.2 miles in the guide book. It feels like you are descending the mountain and I was thinking I went the wrong way before the buildings came into view. What an awesome place this is. Its actually a rental Cabin run by the Potamac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), but on the grounds is a smaller cabin with 4 bunks and a wood stove inside for hikers. and if no one is renting the cabin, hikers are allowed to sleep on the large wrap-around screened in porch. The caretakers here cooked us an awesome dinner and the night spent here was just great. The PATC is an awesome trail club and maintain the best series of shelters so far. I love the large overhangs, the wooden porches and the covered picnic table areas.Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Screened-In Porch Sleeping Dream
Date: 2010-06-19
From: Blackburn AT Center hostel

To: Keys Gap, WV 9
Miles today: 6.1

Good grief!?! The trail was as flat as it could possibly get today and I still struggled. The sun is finally out in full force and the hummidity is still up. Thank god for the green tunnel. I think hiking on a Bald would have killed me. I reached a highway, right on the Virginia/WVA border, 5 miles short of Harpers Ferry and walked the 0.3 mile in the sun to a conviniece store for a cold mountain dew and some chips. While there I used their phone book to find a Verizon store because my phone was now for all practical purposes unusable. The touchscreen has gone crazy, it may or may not recognise a touch and if it does it will do something besides what you want. The screen bounces around and slides up and down. I want to throw it off a cliff. But there isn't a Verizon store in this part of West Virginia. The clerk recommended Virginia. I tried hitching a ride to Leesburg, Va, 20 or so miles away, but 30 minutes later I gave up and walked back up to the trail. When I got there a dayhiker I had passed the time with earlier was coming out of the woods. He agreed to give me aride into town. Bob is a great guy who has grown fascinated with the AT. He seemed to be genuinely interested in my journey and the time passed swiftly, only when we got to the address he had found using his I-Phone it was now a framing shop LOL. I fiddled and fought and pleaded with the Droid until I got it to work long enough to give me an address to a verizon store 6 miles further on. So Bob drove me there and offered to drive me on into Fairfax where my brother in law (BIL) lives. I told him I might be at Verizon for awhile so he might as well go on home. Once again I have been reminded how many good people there are in this world. I think the best lesson the AT has taught me is to ignore the less than good people and try to look for the good people as well as be one myself.The verizon store didn't have a service center but the salesman gave me an 800 number to call and said they would send me a new one. But like with all things mechanical, the damn phone started working perfectly again as soon as we had turned into the parking lot. i'll keep the number in case it acts up again. Now I was thoroughly well off the AT by many twists and turns and hitching seemed unlikely to be a succesful venture. My BIL lives only 30-40 minutes away and its a saturday, so he has no problem with coming to pick me up and driving me back tomorrow. While I waited i went into the grocery store and picked up some centrum Ato Z vitamim supplement and took 2 of them. If this hiking doesn't get back to the normal less than pleasant felling rather than the miserable jelly legs that it has become within the next 100 miles I may have to call it quits. Good night and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the Jelly Leg Misery Dream.
Date: 2009-11-06
To: Preparation #1
Miles today: 0.0

Welcome to iTrod's 2010 Trail JournalToo heavy! Wallace will just have to stay home.I am working on my GA-ME 2010 gear list presently.I have been busy weighing my gear on a small digital scale deciding what stays and what gets to go.Please feel free to comment or ask questions regarding my selections.Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be. -Kurt Vonnegut