morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-21
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn

To: ElmerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Sunnybank Inn 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Elmer's Sunnybank InnStart: Elmer¢s Sunnybank Inn Finish: Elmer¢s Sunnybank InnMiles: Zero DayWeather: Hot! 94 Degrees. Sunny. Rain at Elevation.Breakfast: Granola, Apple Juice, scrambled eggs w/ broccoli, biscuits & gravy.Lunch: NoneDinner: Creamy Tuna Parmesan, 2 Nestle Crunch Bars.Trail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Black snake.People: Sarah, Tom, Postcard, Carp, Smack, K-Bear, Trogador, Mickey & Mallory, Wayne, Sparks, Reverend Yukon Jack, Belle, ElmerI rolled out of the sack around 0815 and was greeted several minutes later to an enormous and very good breakfast. Elmer and his crew definitely do things right. All in all it was a very relaxing and leisurely day.Elmer has an enormous library of books. I started reading the Tao Te Ching in the morning, in the study, where Lauren engaged nearly everyone in the house in games of chess. K-Bear rolled in so we ran down to the outfitter. I waited until later in the afternoon, when UPS dropped off the store¢s shipment to buy my new Granite Gear Ozone Pack. That thing is mint! I¢ll be sending home my Osprey and will begin using that one again when I get up north. The Osprey is simply too large and heavy for my summer needs. My pack weight is between 25 ¢ 30 pounds with food.In the early afternoon I walked down to the river, and read more of the Tao, napped and worked on my tan. I do believe I may be a darker shade of white tomorrow. Elmer's BackyardI wasn¢t in much of a social mood today. I spent most of the day by myself reading and meddling with my gear. I forgot to sign up for the group dinner and missed that, however I am not much for stir-fry, which was prepared tonight. When dinner was done a bunch of us rolled down to Paddlers Pub. Every Friday Blue Grass musicians from the area come to play. While at the Pub I made my acquaintance with the one and only Baltimore Jack.Baltimore Jack has thru-hiked the trail 7 times in the past 8 years. He carries a reputation of mixed reviews. But I found him to be a friendly character. At first we argued a bit over Officer Taco¢s marijuana incident, which by the way has stirred up a firestorm the whole length of the trail. It is all the talk this year. We smoothed things over and chatted trail for a good 45 minutes and had some beers. It was nice meeting you Baltimore, thanks for the advice, and keep on hiking.It¢s back to the trail tomorrow and I think it will be a warm one too. I am well rested and ready to get hiking again. Bye.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-05-24
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Breakfast at Jerry Cabin ShelterStart: Jerry¢s Cabin Shelter @ 1238 Finish: Hogback Ridge Shelter@ 2021Miles: 14.7Weather: Perfect! Sunny with some clouds, 70¢s, slight breeze.Breakfast: Chocolate pop tarts.Lunch: PB on tortilla, m&m¢s, snickers.Dinner: Chicken stew, Hostess cupcake.Trail Conditions: Well maintained, grassy.Animals: Garden snake, centipede, millipedes, snail, cows and hawk.People:Smack, Sarah, section hikers.Yesterday afternoon remained sunny and the stars even came out at night. It was a nice change of pace to all the rain and clouds of the past several weeks. I got a bit chilly so I put on my tights and thermal top and all was well. Smack never showed up to camp last night, and we were quite concerned for her welfare ¢ considering everyone who passed her stated she seemed kind of tired and blah. Everyone in camp was somewhat worried.I decided this morning to wait for Smack to arrive, and see if she was OK, before I pushed on. Everyone hit the trail shortly after 0700 and I slept until 1015. Smack finally showed around 1130, it was a relief to see her walking in good form. She had been dumped on with rain the night before, and when she woke wasn¢t feeling to motivated too walk and wanted to dry out. So she started before the ridgeline and called it a short day. Groovy dude. We¢re glad your OK.Everyone was pushing at least 15 miles today, so we followed suit¢¦.we just had a late start. The first 6 miles were gravy and we rested briefly at the shelter and passed on. The last 9 miles had several good climbs. I was very hungry, my feet ached, and the time passed rather slowly. Along the way I heard what sounded to be two small caliber gunshots. I announced that hikers were coming through then I saw some rustling on the mountainside and a person duck and hide behind a tree. Needless to say we were kind of weirded out by that and we picked up our pace. View from an Unknown GapThe slow miles were aided by good conversation and rousing games of ¢ask me a question¢ and ¢Which is worse." I think it was the need for good hiking company that kept me waiting more than anything today. We finally rolled into the shelter as the sun went down.Completely exhausted I unloaded my junk, set up my bed space, and cooked a healthy meal. Only Sarah and two section hikers were at the shelter. Everyone else pulled a 22 mile day and expects to hit Erwin tomorrow. I am ready to get to Erwin. I may pull a 26 miler tomorrow to get into town. We¢ll see. Take care.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-05-26
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Miss Janet's
Miles today: 6.3

View Heading into Erwin - Also the location of my lost trekking poleStart: No Business Knob Shelter @ 0708 Finish: Miss Janet¢s @ 0945Miles: 6.3 Weather: Overcast.Breakfast: Elm¢s Restaurant: Eggs, biscuit & gravy, croissant sandwich, O.J., milk.Lunch: 4 Snickers, some pizzaDinner: Chili, Pizza Pocket, Famous Amos Cookies.Trail Conditions: Well maintained, downhill.Animals: Bear, dogs.People: Miss Janet, Yogi Clyde, Goofy, Terrapin, Shoe, Postcard, Belle, Carp, Pop-up, Shoe, Scorch, Smack, Sarah, Tom, Mickey & Mallory, Weebles, Uncle Johnny, Kiwi.I had a very short night last night and slept lightly. I awoke with throbbing feet and very hungry at 0600. Wanting to get to Erwin, I rolled my butt out of my bivy and packed up. I decided to skip breakfast on the trail and slammed some grub in town.The hiking was easy, although there was a decent climb out of Temple Hill Gap. I passed Carp who was folding up his tent. He will only be passing through Erwin today. He is hard core. The ridgeline view overlooking Erwin were very nice. There were dark skies, giving the mountains an ominous feel. Along the ridgeline I had my first confirmed bear sighting!!! It was so neat! A bear cub was snacking on some greens in the top of a tree. The bear saw me and scampered down the tree and ran off down the mountainside. I kept on hiking. Further along the trail I stopped to take a picture and set down my trekking poles. I took the picture and inadvertently nudged one of my poles and it slid over the side of the mountain! I have vowed to one day retrieve it, but in the meantime I¢ll visit the outfitter. The Nolichucky RiverI rolled into Erwin and stopped by Uncle Johnnies where some of the gang was hanging out. I didn¢t want to stay there, so we got shuttled us to Elms Restaurant where Smack, Mickey & Mallory and I devoured a great breakfast. The place has super cheap prices and great food! We walked to Miss Janet¢s.Miss Janet¢s was a madhouse this morning. There were a bunch of folks I hadn¢t seen in weeks so it was fun to catch up. I got a bunk bed for myself and took a refreshing shower. I also washed my clothes, which hadn¢t been cleaned in nearly two weeks. It was nice to air out all the wet gear.Tomorrow I will be zeroing at the hostel. Janet is letting me do a work for stay, which will save me some money. Anywho, the crew is watching Deliverance. I¢ll go join them and cook up some nutritious hot pockets for dinner.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-05-27
From: Miss Janets

To: Miss Janets
Miles today: 0.0

Miss Janet's Hiker HostelStart: Miss Janet¢s Finish: Miss Janet¢sMiles: Zero DayWeather: Sunny & warm.Breakfast: O.J., Milk, Bread Pudding, Rice Casserole, Sausage.Lunch: NoneDinner: N/ATrail Conditions: N/A.Animals: Dogs.People: Scorch, Dude, Belle, Doosie, Gingerfinger, Bookworm. I slept like a million bucks last night in the hostel. There were 11 of us all together at the hostel. I awoke to the hustle and bustle of people in the morning and the smell of great food for breakfast. Miss Janet fixed up a feast of bread pudding with raisins, peaches, and carmel sauce, a rice casserole, sausage patties, scrambled eggs with sausage links, and orange slices. It was absolutely divine. We all ate outside on her picnic tables.During breakfast Officer Taco called the house! Ben and I have been playing phone tag for the past several weeks so it was awesome to finally talk with him. He was calling from Pinkham Notch, NH. He says the Whites are beautiful, and he should be done on or about June 20. We chatted trail for quite some time and he loaded me down with some good pointers.To save money I did a work-for-stay. Miss Janet as a lot of ¢honey-do¢s¢ (chores your wife typically nags you about). I worked with Not Yet, another hostel visitor, and we did a bunch of landscaping projects. First we reworked part of her compost pile, then spent several hours planting flowers in her yard. Miss Janet is such a cool lady, she just gave us the work and let us run with it. She was very pleased with how the yard looked when we were done.The pace around the house is much slower today. There are fewer hikers coming and going, and all my gear is all cleaned up. I spent some time putting my journals on the internet and also wrote some letters to my sister and Nancy. Everyone went out to dinner tonight. I opted not to go, to save some money and work on trailjournals. I had the whole house to myself for about 1-1/2 hours. The quiet was very nice. Although her house is absolutely wonderful, it does admittedly get cramped with so many people. Smack, Lamby, Mickey & Mallory, and Pop-up all hit the trail today and will be a day ahead of me. Tomorrow I will be leaving with K-Bear and Doosie. I plan on doing about 16 miles. I am going to get my gear packed for tomorrow and call it a night.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-05-29
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2

View Enroute to the Summit of Roan MountainStart: Cherry Gap Shelter @ 0842 Finish: Roan High Knob Shelter @ 1617Miles: 15.2Weather: Sunny/Partly Cloudy, brief drizzle, sun at night.Breakfast: Chocolate CIB, Strawberry Poptarts.Lunch: Beef jerky, Oat n' Honey, Mr. Goodbar bites, m&m¢s.Dinner: Chichen Alfredo, Mr. Goodbar Bites, m&m¢s.Trail Conditions: Decent conditions, very rocky up Roan Mtn.Animals: DogPeople: Ross & Bob, Jacob, Barkcloud, Goose, Symposium Club.Last night I slept quite well. I had to wear my long johns, but I stayed warm. The potential storm clouds blew over and I awoke to a nice sunny morning. I whipped up some CIB and set out for the day.There were a lot of PUD¢s for the first 9 miles. It was nonstop up and down for no real reason. I ran into a German couple that came to the US for several weeks, specifically to do day hiking along the AT. With them, they had a very friendly, and young, black dog. It ran up to me and I petted it. Turns out it wasn¢t their dog, rather it was a stray dropped off at the gap and is in need of an owner. I was hoping the dog would follow me, however, it went with the Germans. I told myself if I see the dog again I¢ll try to take it under my wing. I stopped for a quick lunch at Curley Maple Gap Shelter and shot the bull with Ross & Bob and some section hikers. Then it was on to Roan Mountain.Roan stands out in my mind as the last great hurdle before miles of flat Virginia hills. The mountain lived up to its reputation. It was long and steep. Definitely one of the more memorable climbs of the trip. I am glad I have good trail legs or else it would have taken me far longer than the 1-1/2 hours that I hiked it in. I was determined to kick that mountain square in the chops. I was expecting wonderful vistas from the summit, however, was pleasantly disappointed when all I saw was tourists, a parking lot, and heard some teenager¢s sub-woofer. Plus, the views weren¢t good. One of the things that has irritated me most is that many summits are accessible by road. It really detracts from the quality of the outdoor experience. If you want to relish in a good view, earn it¢¦.hike for it.I cooked up dinner at the shelter. Goose rolled in and the stray dog was with him! The dog was so hungry and tired. We all felt very bad and fed it crackers and beef jerky. She is staying at camp tonight and I plan on taking her with me tomorrow. If she stays with me I¢ll buy her food in town, get her to the vet, and hike the rest of the trail with my new dog. There is Troop of Boy Scouts at camp. There are five guys in their late 40¢s calling themselves the Symposium Club. They have been friends since high school and take a yearly trip for several days. All these guys are bigwig doctors and lawyers (one is Assistant Attorney General for Arkansas, another a renown intellectual property lawyer). They have been fun to talk with and we all stood around a toasty campfire ripping farts and talking about law. They also shared some of their gourmet menu food with us grungy thru hikers. Thanks guys.I¢m off to bed now.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-01
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora's Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 6.1

Kincora Hiker HostelStart: Moreland Gap Shelter @ 0847Finish: Kincora¢s Hiker Hostel @ 1111Miles: 6.1Weather: Sunny - Rained during the nightBreakfast: Chocolate Frosted PoptartsLunch: NoneDinner: 2 frozen pizzas, 34 tub of Ben & Jerry¢s Phish FoodTrail Conditions: Muddy, lots of streams/spring crossings, a new re-route was opened on SundayAnimals: Horse, dogs, snailsPeople: Mickey & Mallory, Lamby, Smack, Terrapin, Goofy, Spider, Bearkiller, Bob & Pat Peoples.We got another cold and steady rain last night. The temps dropped below 50, so I was a bit cold sleeping in my bag liner. I again opted for a late start given the brevity of the day¢s hike and rain. The trail to Kincora was fairly easy, and a new re-route was opened on Sunday, so I had the privilege of walking on new AT. I rolled into Kincora and caught up with my crew from the ¢Ice Cream Socialist¢. I had been a day behind them for quite some time, however, I hope to catch up with them soon. The benefit of not always hiking with the pack is you don¢t have to compete for shelter space, deal w/ crowded hostels, and other miscellaneous drama. But I am sure to have missed out on some fun times. Then again, I am meeting new people every day and having a fun time.It turns out Goofy goes to GVSU! What a small world. We chatted for quite some time and I informed him of O.T.¢s hike. Goofy is a nice kid and I look forward to hiking with him more. I had the hostel all to myself today. There were 13 people the night before, and 20 the day before that. I took a refreshing shower, washed my stinky clothes and aired out all my wet gear. Bob drove me into town and I re-supplied with food for my three-day push into Damascus.Bob & Pat Peoples are wonderful folks, and their hostel operation is A1. I got talking with Bob, and although I didn¢t get to pick his brain half as much as I would have liked, it is clear he is a dedicated person not only to the trail, but also the local community. Thanks again for your hospitality, I look forward to returning!Bob has this enormous bloodhound ¢ reminds me of the dog in Maraduke ¢ named Shadrack. They recently got him, after finding him in a field. The dog is super nice, although they are in the process of training him. Anywho, I bought fudge rounds today. I left four on the picnic table, went in for like 3 minutes, and when I returned the dog had eaten two of them and was getting ready to have a third! I don¢t care who you are, you don¢t mess w/ a hiker and his fudge rounds! Shadrack is a huge dog, so we wrestled for a bit and I was able to get the fudge round before he ate it. Covered in dog slobber I took the unscathed fudge round package, rinsed it under the faucet, dried it up, and will be able to eat it tomorrow¢¦by the grace of God. I am still trying to recover from the loss of two fudge rounds. I will survive¢¦.I plan on a late start tomorrow as I still have a frozen pizza and a 14 tub of Ben & Jerry¢s to eat. Tomorrow¢s hike will be short and easy. My only hope is that it doesn¢t rain again.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-02
From: Kincora's Hiker Hostel

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Bridge over Laurel CreekStart: Kincora¢s Hiker Hostel @ 1327 Finish: Vandeventer Shelter @ 1005Miles: 17.5Weather: Sunny and mild. Perfect hiking conditionsBreakfast: 2 Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar, 2 Quaker Cinnamon Roll OatsLunch: FudgeroundsDinner: Chicken Quesadillas, Fudge RoundTrail Conditions: Several tree blow overs, lots of flat sectionsAnimals: Deer, dogs, centipedesPeople: Bob & Pat Peoples, Spider, Boyscouts, Atlas & Amy, Team Aquablaze - Lamby, Mickey & Mallory, Terrapin, Goofy, Smack,I slept like a rock last night at Kincora¢s. Only two other people, Atlas and Amy, showed up to the hostel. I awoke around 0800 to the smell of pancakes they were cooking, but I missed out on the action so I tossed down some oatmeal. Bob gave Atlas and Amy a ride to Watuga Lake and they did a SOBO slackpack back to Kincora, and then planned on getting another ride north and pushing to Vandeventer Shelter.I got all my gear dried out and packed up. I polished off my pizza and ice cream for lunch. I wanted to depart around noon, however, I got talking with Bob for about 2 hours. He is a really neat person. I finally got moving and hiked past the beautiful Laurel Falls. I also ran into Atlas and Amy completing their slackpack. For some reason I was feeling quite weak and lightheaded. I stopped for several minutes and thought I might pass out. I sucked it up though and pushed on. I missed a turn-off and went about a 12 mile down a blue-blazed trail. That was only mildly irritating. After I got back onto the AT, however, I made good time to Watuga Lake Shelter, and figured I would push on.I rolled into Watuga, and much to my amazement I ran into the whole crew Lamby, Mickey & Mallory, Terrapin, Goofy, Smack. They had been a day ahead, however, after wild night of unexpected debauchery they were quite hung over and not in the hiking mood. Their excitement began the day before, when playing on the rope swing Hans mooned some people on a pontoon boat. The boat, piloted and occupied by a bunch of drunken dudes, turned around and came to them and surprisingly enough offered them a lift. The all tossed their gear aboard, and Bubbles, a 300-pound gay guy, took everyone back to his mountain top spread where they all proceeded to feast and get drunk. The hikers renamed themselves ¢Team Aquablaze¢.So I ran into Team Aquablaze. We caught up on events and pushed on to the next shelter. We encountered some injured Boy Scouts, whose adult Troop leaders left them. We helped them out and got them on their way. We rolled into Vandeventer a little after 10:00pm. There were several tents pitched with Boy Scouts in them and Atlas & Amy were the only ones in the shelter. We were making quite a bit of noise and woke the Boy Scouts up (or so they told us in the morning). The view of Watuga Lake from Vandeventer was awesome. There was a full moon out and it was partly cloudy. The glow of the moon off the lake was surreal. We all sat perched on a rocky ledge taking in the view. Calling it a good day, I went to bed.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Sheletr
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: clear sky

View from Vandeventer ShelterStart: Vandeventer Shelter @ 0937 Finish: Abingdon Gap Shelter @ 2129Miles: 23.1Weather: Sunny. Perfect Hiking ConditionsBreakfast: Strawberry Poptarts, m&m¢sLunch: m&m¢s, Fudgeround, Starburst, PringlesDinner: Cheesy Chicken Enchilada, 4 Cheese Potatoes, 3 FudgeroundsTrail Conditions: Easy! Several climbs, but long, long stretches of flat!Animals: Birds, insectsPeople: Team Aquablaze, Brother, Boyscouts, Atlas & AmyI had an okay nights sleep considering the late arrival and full and cramped shelter. We were all slackers in the morning, and I was the second to start for the day at 1000. I hiked at a lazy pace until the first water source and took an early morning break and re-hydrated. The rest of the crew caught up and we chilled for a bit. We chugged onto Iron Mountain Shelter and ate a long relaxing lunch.Spider left first from lunch and I followed suit shortly after. Spider let me borrow her radio so I hiked listening to top 40's music. It was a refreshing change of pace. I caught up with Spider and we hiked for several miles. I took my first big fall of the trail. I was going down hill, caught my toe on a root, and went flying forward about six feet. While I was in mid-air flight I rolled onto my side and crashed on my right shoulder and left knee. It was crazy. My trekking pole whacked me across the bridge of my nose and gave me two cuts. I scrapped my knee and it bled on down the front of my shin. I was covered in dirt. Spider helped me up and I dusted myself off. I hiked about 1-1/2 miles all bloody before I got to a stream and could clean up. The trail was quite level and I made good time to Double Springs Shelter. Enroute I walked thru some beautiful grassy fields and passed old and weathered barns. The Green TunnelI rolled into Double Springs feeling really good and not tired. I was very hungry and ate an enormous dinner and rested for two hours. I decided to push on to Abingdon Gap Shelter, 8.3 miles down the trail. As I packed up the rest of the Aquablazers showed up. I said my farewells and pushed on ahead. The trail was very flat with only a few very minor climbs. I hiked it nearly 3.5mph and felt truly great. I rolled into the shelter after dark and was very pleased with how I felt after my longest day yet on the AT. Not long after I got in it started raining. I was happy to beat the storm. The radio is calling for rain all day tomorrow. Good news is I¢ll be in town and can dry off.One Year Reflection