morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Hooray-it's a zero day! It just doesn't get much better than that on the trail. We went to Dairy king for the king of breakfasts-pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, coffee and OJ. Hikers filled the diner. Then we went back and sat and talked on the deck at our hostel and welcomed arriving hikers to Damascus. Our other responsibilities for the day were to hitch a ride to the grocery store for supplies not available at Dollar General, one small load of laundry (next door to Dairy King so we had chocolate shakes while we waited for the wash), and an hour on-line at the library. Of course, there were many rest and conversation breaks in-between. We ended the day back at Dairy king for burgers-their food is good, but more because they are the only restaurant in town open on Tuesday! We want to say HELLO to Ms. Ross's 2nd grade class in Waynesboro, Virginia. The class is following our hike, and we hope to meet them before school is out. We'll leave town tomorrow to start our climb up to Mt. Rogers, the highest mountain in Virginia.
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mt. Shelter 
Miles today: 15.8

We woke up today at 7am to Thunder and Rain, so we remained in bed hoping it would go away. It didn't. We finally got up at 8:30, ate took showers and did anything we could to delay our departure. Most hikers had decided to take another 0-day but rain is forecasted for the next 4 days. We finally decided to leave in the pouring rain and thunder at 10. After hiking in it for 3 hours it stopped and got partly sunny a couple hours later. We didn't have many views due to the rain and fog. There were several streams/rivers and we saw a couple great rock formations. We climbed 4,213 feet but there were a lot switchbacks which made the climbs fairly easy. We ran into several southbound section hikers including the "Hammer" (see pic). She reads our Trail Journal and recognized us on sight. She's a College instructor from St. Augustine, Florida, and loves hiking. We got into the shelter at 5:45 and again were alone. But this wasn't just a typical shelter, it was a fairly new log shelter with a privy that could be in "Better Homes and Gardens".We hung up our things to dry and then had dinner by a great fire. It turned out to be a good day given how it started.PS: We didn't have any cellular connection) from 4-19 to 4-28, so we couldn't update our joural.
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Wise Shelter 

To: Troutdale 
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Not the greatest nights sleep but when we got up at 6, Cathy was feeling fine and she didn't display any symptoms of a closed head injury. The ER Physician said she would be fine to walk if she wanted to, which she did. She's a tough lady. We had a quick breakfast and were off by 6:30. We had some difficulty finding our way back to the AT but were walking the white blazes by 8. We hiked through several old pastures which were different from what we've been seeing. It was quite cool and breezy. Sadly it started to rain a couple hours into our hike and didn't stop the rest of the day. We crossed several large streams and saw a couple small beautiful waterfalls. The Trail was fairly easy and we only climbed 2,570 feet. There were several dreaded sections of rock but we had no falls. We got to the road that would bring us to Troutdale, VA at 3. It only took a couple cars until we were picked up and brought right to the Baptist Church Hostel. After a hot shower and dry cloths, we walked a couple of blocks to the Troutdale Trading Post. It's the only store/restaurant in town. But it was great food and nice people. On our way walking back a man just stopped and gave us a ride back to the hostel. Craig did the journal and read awhile but Cathy was fast asleep by 6:30, with a smile on her face. A better day.
Date: 2006-04-22
From: Troutdale 

To: Partnership Shelter 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: moderate rain

Although we had planned to have breakfast at the Trading Post next door, it was already raining when we woke up, so we decided to make our oatmeal in the hostel where we were still nice and dry. It was difficult to get a hitch out of town early on a Saturday morning, but finally a truck stopped and let us ride in the back (our favorite hitch) and took us right to the trailhead. As we were riding out of town we saw hiker friends Casey and Doodle hiking into town. It rained off and on all day, which meant we were continuously taking our rain gear on and off. It works great at keeping the rain out, but keeps the perspiration in, is so very hot to hike in. Our goal today was 14.7 miles to Partnership Shelter. (elevation gain 2310 feet) This shelter actually has a hot shower and a wash sink with running hot and cold water. The shower was a treat, but we especially loved not having to filter stream water and that it comes out with just a twist. The shelter can sleep 16 and there are 14 of us here tonight. Cathy collected wood and Craig built a fire, which everyone enjoyed. One hiker told some campfire stories which were great and we relaxed there until bedtime-8:30 pm!
Date: 2006-04-23
From: Partnership Shelter 

To: Reed Creek Campsite
Miles today: 17.8

We were up early and on our way by 6:50 am. We had 11.5 miles to Atkins, VA where a mail drop awaited us. We arrived at the Relax Inn at 11, and picked up the last box we had prepared before leaving home (Jodi mailed for us). We also had a box from Cathy's mom with special treats she selected for each of us. A surprise package was also there from Chad & Jodi with "goobers" and a favorite magazine for each of us. Our final package was a new hip belt for Craig's backpack; he has gotten so thin that the "large" belt would not tighten anymore. The item that had not arrived was our train tickets. We ordered them via phone on April 15 to be sent to Relax Inn. This was not good. After repacking our packs with all of our new "goodies", we decided to get some lunch and figure out what to do about the train tickets. Through our first call to Amtrak, we learned the tickets had been mailed on the 17th and could take 7-10 days (it had been 8 days). However, Craig called back and was told that we can cancel those tickets and buy new ones right on the train! Immediately our spirits were lifted, and we decided we could hike further. The next shelter was only 2.8 miles, but when we got to it, there was no water source; we would have to walk .5 mile back down the trail to get water. We decided to keep hiking and find a spot to pitch our tent. What a beautiful spot we found 3.5 miles further-alongside a stream, on level ground, and with a carpet of leaves. We handwashed some clothes and cleaned our bodies before building a campfire to eat our dinner by. It ended up being a long (17.8 miles, 3210 feet elevation gain) but a very enjoyable day!
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Reed Creek Campsite

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: broken clouds

We washed our cloths last night because warm clear weather was forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Sadly for us, it started storming at around 3 am. We fixed breakfast in the tent and it finally stopped raining at 7:30. We wrung out all our clothes, packed up a wet tent and went merrily on our way. Well, maybe we weren't quite that happy. The sun finally came out at around 11, so when we got to the next shelter at 12 we stopped to try to dry things out. We decided to have our dinner as well and were there for a couple hours. When we left we had another 9 miles to walk and 2,500 feet to climb, bringing our total to 5,180 feet for the day. The sites weren't particularly great but we did have a couple good photo shots. We got to the Chestnut Knob Shelter at 6:30 and were greeted by Bear and Tortoise. They were friends we had last seen in Damascus. Later Food Lion joined us as well. The day ended much better than it began which is always better than the opposite.
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter 

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter 
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up early because today was going to be our longest day, 24 miles. The next shelter from here is only 10 miles and then the following one is anther 14. Food Lion was also going to do this but Bear and Tortoise were just going to go the 10. We left at 7:45 expecting that the first 10 miles would be an easy, flat, ridge hike; it wasn't. We had 1,500 feet of climb and the trail was almost entirely a rocky path. It was hard on our legs so we decided to take a break and to have our dinner then. We left again at 1:30, which again was difficult for the first 7 miles. We had to ford streams 12 times that were wide and fairly deep. Our feet were wet but we thought we were through the worst of it. That is until we came to Laurel creek! It was missing its bridge and, as the picture shows, quite wide and deep. There was no other place to cross so we had to walk close to the waterfall edge and keep our balance against the heavy current with our poles. We survived and the rest of the trail was great; we climbed a total of 4,180 feet. The only other bad thing that happened was that it started to rain off and on at around 6, but it kicked it up a notch an hour before we reached the shelter. As we started to look for the shelter sign, Cathy saw a shelter sign and post laying on the ground. Given the time of day and the rain, we became concerned in that we could see no trail. We decided to keep walking and finally found the trail sign about a 1/4 mile farther down the trail. We finally reached the shelter at about 8:30. Then when we arrived the shelter was already full, and it was raining. Because we've hiked more miles lately, we caught up to people that we hadn't seen in a month. We thought it would just be Food Lion and us, but now there were also Sass and Crumbs, (they're the sisters whose parents gave us a ride to Gatlinburg), Bushwhacker, Low Key and 4-today. They quickly made room for us without us saying a word. A tough day with another good ending. We were so tired of walking for 12 hours we were asleep by 9 pm. Today's hike reminded us again that you take what the Trail gives you and then you make the best of it.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter 

To: Jenny Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to the sound of rain this morning. Not the most enjoyable sound to wake up to. Our original plan was to walk 16 miles and then tent for the night because the next shelters are either 10 or 24 miles ahead. However our things are already pretty wet and the prospect of putting up a tent in the rain was just out of the question. As a result we decided to only go to the next shelter 10 miles away. We stayed in our warm sleepng bags until 9:30 and then had breakfast. Then after getting water, a 1/4 mile down hill, we were on the trail by 10:30. It rained almost the entire hike and we had no views due to the fog. The hike was fairly easy, and we got to the shelter by 2:30. About an hour later the rain stopped and Craig was able somehow to make a fire. We dried some things out and were able to enjoy dinner by the fire until it started to rain again at 6:30. Shortly after the fire died, Buttercup and Freeze Out showed up as did Casey and Doodle about 2 hours latter. It was nice seeing everyone after last seeing them all in Damascus. It continues to rain but we're hoping for some sunshine tomorrow!
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Jenny Knob Shelter 

To: Wapiti Shelter 
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Everyone was up and ready to get going early. You can tell we're getting close to town! Our shelter partners are all hiking 23 miles today, and encouraged us to join them, but we're just going 14 miles to the next shelter. We need to be in Pearisburg Sunday to get Cathy's stitches out, so we don't need to push ourselves to be there early tomorrow. The first 6.5 miles were a breeze, and all six of us were together at the suspension bridge. Again we were encouraged to take a break and push on the 23 miles. But we had another idea-1/4 mile down the road was a deli, and a short hiking day meant we could stop for a snack. We stopped, and shared 3 hamburgers, 2 orders of fries, and a quart of chocolate milk! We were a bit sluggish when we left, but certainly enjoyed our "snack". We got to Wapiti Shelter surprisingly at 3:30 (climbing 2040 feet today) to find Casey and Doodle having lunch there! They moved on as we settled in for the night, getting a fire ready and relaxing on our pads, and reading our magazines. As we sat by the fire, Fog joined us for the night. He is a retiree from Chicago. We have been surprised by the number of hikers close to our age. Adventure strikes at any age!
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Wapiti Shelter 

To: Pearisburg 
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up really cold at 6:15 and decided to get up and get going. We were on the trail by 6:45! The hike was actually quite manageable. Elevation gain didn't seem like 3,240 feet, because there were more of the "bumps" not the steep climbs. As we were hiking past Doc's Knob, we encountered a couple wearing T-shirts with Holland Rescue Mission on them. Rich and Mary were from Holland Michigan! Soon after leaving them, the city of Pearisburg came into view, from the top of Pearis Mt. The climb down was long and difficult at times because of the ROCKS. When we finally reached Pearisburg we called the Holy Friends Church hostel, and the manager came and picked us up. After showers we headed for the laundry mat then Pizza Plus, where we spent 3 hours. Our final stop was Wal-Mart for snacks for tomorrow. When we returned to the hostel, a group of hikers was discussing trail names. We joined them and we all continued the discussion about the trail names. However we were included in that the past suggestions have not been a good fit. Some of the suggestions being made for Matt Parker were pretty discussing, so we thought we'd better come up with something fast-and we did. Craig will use the trail name "Upload" based on his need (desire) to check for an Internet connection at every opportunity and upload pictures and our writings to our joural. Cathy will go by "Stitches" because...well you know the story. In the journal we will continue to be Craig and Cathy, but on the trail we are Upload and Stitches. We went to bed feeling good about our new trail names.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Pearisburg 

To: Rice Field Shelter 
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We found a Medical Center that will take Cathy's stitches out at the end of the day on Monday. As a result we decided to hike a few more miles until then rather than just sitting around the hostel. We found a shuttle that would pick us up north of here, so we started hiking once again, but a little late. As a result we only got to the Rice Field Shelter. It was a short day, and when we got to the shelter we were all alone. As we were preparing dinner, three hikers arrived and joined us for the night-Buttercup, Stinky, & Orangutan. We again collected wood and had a nice fire. Cathy was very happy in that it continues to be very COLD! She says that it looks a lot like summer but it's as cold as winter. Craig keeps reminding her of the Snowkies.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Rice Field Shelter 

To: Bailey Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Again it was cold enough for hats, gloves, and down jackets when we woke up-Cathy thought we were past the cold! The oatmeal and hot cocoa helped, and we were on the trail at 8:30. As we hiked, we noticed that the trees are really getting leaf covered and dense. Many places it is not possible to see beyond the trees to the view below. The trail led us through a grove of apple trees which are in blossom. They were beautiful and fragrant (and Craig insists Cathy walked more slowly through this area). Our elevation gain today was 2590 feet. We arrived at the shelter early (4 pm), and were alone again. We thought some hikers, who hike late, would show up later, but we guess they're stuck in town. We gathered wood for a fire because it became a little cool. However it really got cold and windy, so we rushed from the fireside to our sleeping bags and read for the rest of the night! We're noticing that we're staying up until 9 or 10 whereas in the beginning of the Trail we'd be asleep by 7. Our bodies must finally be adjusting to this lifestyle.
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Bailey Gap Shelter 

To: VA 42
Miles today: 16.8

Again a cold morning, which works well to get us moving, even though it's quite uncomfortable. The Trail started out rough-lots of boulders to maneuver around. At least the terrain was pretty level, but it still really slowed us down. It is so easy to trip that we have to step carefully, and many times the boulders are stacked quite high, which takes Cathy some time to cross. The end of today's trail was much easier with switchbacks down the mountain. From Laurel Falls Shelter we walked through pastures, with many stares from the cows grazing there. They look like massive animals, but they don't move, nor do they take their eyes off you as you walk past. We climbed 3,130 feet some easy and some hard-Cathy thinks anytime you're going up, however, is hard. We got to highway VA 42 where we called for a shuttle to take us back to Pearisburg. Cathy got her stitches out and they said everything looked fine. We continue to appreciate your concerns and thoughts expressed in our guest book. We have now hiked 662 miles and are only 62 miles from having completed a 1/3 of the Trail. We remain in good health and good spirits. We will now prepare for our "vacation" to Michigan. We have family events that we feel we should be a part of. We plan to take train home and will return to the Trail on 5/15. Some people are concerned about us returning after experiencing the comforts of home again ....Our goal is to finish the Trail this year by at least the middle of September and we will be back.
Date: 2006-05-13
From: VA 42

To: VA 42
Miles today: 0.0

We had a wonderful and busy week at home. Our daughter Jodi and grandson Levi picked us up at the train station in Chicago and drove us home to Michigan where Cathy enjoyed a baby shower in their honor and had a chance to catch-up with additional family and friends. On Friday night our son-in--law Chad joined us for the weekend. We all visited Cathy's sister and family, recognizing her son David who is graduating from high school this month. We also met Craig's sister and husband for dinner, and had lunch with Cathy's Mom and husband who just returned from wintering in Florida. Finally, we briefly visited our 97-year-old neighbor, other close neighbors, and our pastor and family who are leaving our area during our hike (and will be greatly missed).   Three days were intense "work at the house" days =re-start underground sprinkling, re-charge air conditioner, spray exterior of house for spiders, and clean, clean, clean...our house is on a lake and in the city limits, so there's a lot 'required' to do. Craig didn't particularly enjoy these actives nor did he enjoy the speeding ticket he received on the way to see our children. But the vacation ended happily with visits to both of our children's homes and good times playing "Settlers" and adoring our two grandsons. We're on the train now headed back to Virginia and we hope to be on the Trail tomorrow. We're not sure how long our bodies or minds will take to re-adjust to being back on the Trail. It was difficult to leave our family and friends again as well as all the comforts of home. Craig's hoping that it doesn't take him another two weeks to adjust to these changes again.... Time will tell.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: VA 42

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter 
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: light rain

We arrived at Hinton WV at 12:30 PM but our ride to Pearisburg VA was not there, and we were unable to reach him. After some creative discussion, we started to hitch hike. Four hours and 4 rides later we were back to the Wal-Mart in Pearisburg at 4:30 pm. All the people who gave us rides went way out of their way to help us. This reminds us again as to how wonderful people are. Many thanks to Huggy and her children Caleb and Summer who drove us from Hinton to Princeton. Also many thanks to the two couples who brought us from Princeton to tne VA state line, and a big thank you to the Wal-Mart employee who took us into Pearisburg. The best was our last ride. We didn't know if we still wanted to try to hitch hike to the trail , which was 24 miles further since it was getting late. While eating dinner at Wendy's, we were discussing what to do and listing the pros & cons to trying to hike the Trail yet tonight.   A couple at an adjacent table came up to us and offered to drive us to the trail even though they weren't going that way. What great Trail Angels! We were back on the Trail by 5:30 and arrived at the next shelter at 8:00. It was only a 4.4 mile hike and the Trail was pretty easy. We climbed 1,480 feet but there were very few rocks and roots. The Sarver Hollow Shelter was new and had a covered wood deck with a picnic table. Pretty cool. We shared the shelter with 3 other Thru Hikers and 1 Section Hiker. We got to talk with Identity Crisis a little but the others came in after dark. Cathy read in the shelter joural that Energizer Bunny is only 3 days ahead and that Miss Parkay is about 6 days ahead. We hope to be able to catch up to them in the coming weeks. It rained off and on all day but all in all it was a great day and it's good to be back on the Trail again. Cathy says it could just be a little warmer. She really means a lot warmer.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter 

To: Pickle Branch Shelter 
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light rain

What a cold night--below 40 degrees! Cathy really missed her long underwear and literally refused to get out of bed when we usually get up at seven. This was our first morning to have cold cereal for breakfast, which made getting up even less appealing. We finally dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags, ate our cereal, and got on the trail at 9:30 am. We ridge hiked for most of the day but did manage to climb 2,930 ft. The first half of the hike was more difficult with angled slabs of rock or just rocks and boulders. There were many different flowers all along the Trail, and we even saw our first Rhododendrons in bloom. We reached the shelter at 5:30 and were happy to make the whole day with no rain. It looked like it was raining all around us but we only had a few sprinkles, that is until we went for water. We did so with no rain gear so, of course, that would be when it rained. We didn't get terribly wet but wet enough. We shared the shelter with the same hikers except for Stu. We were in our sleepng bags by 6:30 because it was COLD. We would all like it to get warm again, but no one more than Cathy.