morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-09
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

While Susanne makes clear she is not running a bed and breakfast for hikers, she decided to make breakfast this morning. Breakfast featured gravy and biscuits, egg, and fruit, with juice and coffee. The gravy was a floury concoction based on pork juices and pork bits were in the mix. I really liked it. After breakfast I said my goodbyes all around and walked off to the laundromat to use the phone. I talked with Lee and then with my parents. I was actually hiking out of town by around 11:30. I was directed down the Virginia Creeper Trail by two men near a bike shop. I was soon coming upon Beagle, Mo Juice, and a friend. Beagle was suffering injury from some new shoes, which made me rather glad mine had failed to arrive. I walked on ahead, but I stopped near a bike bridge over Laurel Creek to eat peanut butter, to watch the stream, and to let them pass. I was carrying more food this time, because I was persuaded I had not been carrying enough. But it was heavy. Soon I was climbing Saunders Mountain.
Date: 2004-05-10
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: broken clouds

The walk this day took me over the shoulder of Mount Rogers and on to Thomas Knob Shelter. On the long diagonal climb I passed ¢K2,¢ a hiker I had not met before, and I passed Mushroom and Robert at the summit, who had stopped to take in the view. Soon I was in the savannah-like Highland area looking for Thomas Knob Shelter. Because much of the area beyond Mount Rogers is bare, I found the threat of storms a little nerve-wracking. A thunderstorm threatened as I neared Thomas Knob Shelter, where I stopped for the night. I had not planned to stop so soon, but it seemed the sensible thing to do, even though others chose to go on. Hikers were ¢going on¢ in either direction, because, while many were continuing north, many had ¢flip-flopped¢ to hike back to Damascus for ¢Trail Days¢ for three days starting May 14. To flip-flop, one needed to be shuttled to a point north and to walk south. They then needed to be shuttled back up the trail to continue north. Over the next several days, I would meet many people walking south, including a number that I knew, and a larger number of hikers who had hiked some or all of the AT in other years.In any case, Thomas Knob Shelter was a crowded shelter and contained some wonderful snorers, so sleep was broken.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Site at 505 AT miles
Miles today: 17.4

The moon was high and bright at 5:00 a.m. when I gave up trying to sleep and packed up. While my walk the day before had been five miles shorter than I had intended, the wait to walk through the Highlands was well worth it. Instead of ducking lightning and being blind to vistas, I walked into clear weather and sun. I was soon in rhododendron thickets which gave way to clear inclines and high outcrops. I negotiated the ¢fat man¢s squeeze¢ and took some photos from one high point. The ponies were everywhere. My attitude was ¢New York pedestrian¢ as I walked through them quickly without looking at them. I hadn¢t brought food for them and was afraid of a mugging. (One southbound hiker reported that he had to use his trekking poles to discourage a group of ponies that were licking at his legs and arms.) At one point several deer ran through the ponies. As I was leaving their area, I did give some time to watching a mare munch grass, because her foal had pressed into her, looking back at me in fear. None of the wild ponies solicited anything from me, although the domestic pony grazing across the fence in the state park did approach me. I wasn¢t carrying anything, so he got the New York brushoff.As I approached Wise Shelter, a couple approached it from the north and the man greeted me and they turned into the shelter, which already had a stack of trekking poles propped against it. Shelter builders always turn a shelter¢s back toward the northbound traffic, so one could not see inside, but I knew there were hikers there and I walked on to the stream to take on water. More forest and I was back out in savannah where some Damascus-bound hikers greeted me. One kind-hearted fellow from Maine sticks in my mind. Up and over a long hill, I was descending to a campground. I met Stands-with-Fist walking south among the rest.I was soon back in the woods with a stream flowing through a rhododendron thicket on my right. I walked down an old road recently traversed by heavy equipment clearing the site for a new ¢Hurricane Mountain Shelter.¢ I continued down that road until I stopped seeing the white blazes, and walked back up the road until I found the point where the AT left the road, which I had missed. I was headed for Raccoon Branch Shelter, but I stopped at 3:30 p.m. out of weariness and the threat of another storm, and because the level ground below me offered what I needed, namely a flat space to pitch my tarp and a water supply. The tarp was up before I noticed I was fifty yards from a gravel road. But nothing went by while I was there.
Date: 2004-05-12
From: Site at 505 AT miles

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today¢s walk took me over the South Fork of the Holston River. There were placards attached to the rails of the wooden foot bridge describing things pertinent to trout. I did not read the placards, attempting instead to read the water, and I marked this stream in Wingfoot¢s book. I would be back here someday, I knew. Crossing VA 670, I was soon climbing to cruising elevation again. I arrived at Partnership Shelter in the early afternoon to find two young hikers, one finishing a pizza. This shelter is esteemed as the only one around where a pizza could be delivered, because of its proximity to the road and to the park¢s visitors center. As much as I would have liked a pizza, I was not prepared to stop, although I wanted a soda and got one at the visitors' center. Robert and K2 were there and Robert told me he was waiting for his family to arrive there later in the day. It rained briefly while I sipped my soda. K2 mentioned there were three mountains to cross before one would reach the next shelter. Weighing my options, I decided to cross those three mountains and suffer the rain, were it to continue.Each mountain required climbing, and the descents were often over rocks. The mountain tops, in full spring array, provided quite a spectacle. I eventually made it down to Chatfield Shelter. K2 was already there, which I could not understand, because I hadn¢t seen him pass me. Anyway, we shared the shelter that night and I found K2 an interesting fellow. Fifty-four years old, he had been an anti-war organizer during the Vietnam War and had spent years in the Peace Corps. One posting had taken him to central Asia and we were able to share notes on the Muslim world. Our talk was punctuated with a lot of slapping of biting flies, which were getting progressively worse as the summer came on.
Date: 2004-05-13
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: I-81 to the Relax Inn
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

The short walk to I-81 was across farmland, railroad bed, and bog. I was soon walking up to the Relax Inn hoping to get a room. As it was, I got the only room available. The Relax Inn, which was run by a South Asian Indian couple, was full of hikers, including Polar, Pilate and Jack the dog, and Eric, whom I had been meeting repeatedly throughout my hike. ¢Bone Spur,¢a wiry forty-something, appeared later wondering if one could get to Atkins, the factory town with the only grocery store nearby. I needed to resupply too, so we arranged with the manager to go over around 5:00 p.m. Atkins is not as hiker-friendly as Damascus. Meanwhile the Barn, one hundred yards from the motel, is a lousy restaurant. But, this being the night before the official beginning of Trail Days, I was wondering how hiker-friendly Damascus was going to be after the pounding it was getting from thirty thousand hikers.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: I-81 to the Relax Inn

To: Lynn Camp Creek
Miles today: 14.3

Crossing the highway at an underpass, I was soon back in farmland and wondering whether that large black animal showing so much interest in me was a steer or a bull. Safely over the stile, I was soon passing Davis Path Shelter, where three women were hoisting their packs to move on. Out again on another farm, I met an elderly gentleman walking his dog. He had a water bottle in his vest pocket and carried a walking stick. He had been greeting hikers during his walk and I advised him he would soon be greeting more. I also met three members of a volunteer trail crew.Eventually, I was overtaken by Bone Spur and we both slopped through the trail along the Holston River¢s north fork (we had crossed the middle fork some time before). The AT was soon finished with farmland and back up in the mountains.Thunderstorms were threatening daily, especially in the afternoons, and I camped at Lynn Camp Creek at the base of the next mountain. I took this opportunity to struggle with cooking rice on a Trangia stove. This would of course have been no problem if one had not shipped the ¢simmer ring¢ home to save weight, as I had done. Anyway, the trick was to super-heat the water in the rice and then to put the pot aside to let the rice absorb the juices without heat, which it did. A couple blew through and threw me a quick greeting as they began to ascend the mountain.
Date: 2004-05-15
From: Lynn Camp Creek

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today¢s highlight was the ascent to Chestnut Ridge and the long walk up its bald slope toward Garden Mountain and the Chestnut Knob Shelter. Midway along the ridge, about even with the pond and spring. I encountered an unusually large Boy Scout troop, marching south, which had just gotten up from a rest stop. Proceeding further, I approached the woods atop Garden Mountain and watched an eagle prowl over the trees at the side of the mountain. Over the top of the mountain, I found myself on a very rocky trail with large boulders strewn around. But I was quickly in the open again, where I came to the shelter. The day before the trail crew had told me that their colleagues were working on a new privy at Chestnut Knob Shelter, and here they were. I gave them an appreciative wave and moved on after scribbling in the register. By midafternoon, a storm was threatening again and I was out of water. I was passing dried springs. I was also anxious about my supply of Aquamir. As it happened, I came upon a spring a thousand feet downhill. It was sufficiently Georgia-like for me to take it untreated. Now with water, I did not need to go to Jenkins Shelter, although I wanted to get as close as possible. Soon I saw a large flat area just short of Jenkins Shelter that was covered with blueberry bushes. I walked down into this area and, as I had nearly finished pitching my tarp between two trees, the rain hit. The rain, however, was sporadic during the evening and overnight.
Date: 2004-05-17
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

I left the shelter at dawn intending to get as close to Pearisburg as possible. Archyopterix reviewed the map and profile the night before and the walk was much as he described it: as ridge walk reminiscent of the Damascus dash. Entering the Dismal area, I noted some friends had signed in during the day and I hoped to see some of them at Wapita Shelter. It stormed in the afternoon once I was in the Dismal area and I was shy of the lightning. By late afternoon the streams and streamlettes in the area were at flood stage and one foot bridge was more or less washed out. I lost some time trying to find a drier way across, but eventually stayed on the flooded trail.
Date: 2004-05-19
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today there was no more hiking, but there were hikers. On my way to the convenience store past the Dairy Queen I encountered Polar¢s Jack tied to a pole. I petted him enthusiastically and moved on. I would speak with Polar and Eric several times during the day, twice while I was perched on the brick standard bearing the motel¢s big sign, waiting for my parents to arrive. By 2:00 p.m. my craving sent me into the Dairy Queen for my last blizzard and I found my parents in there eating lunch. Somehow we had missed each other, but no harm done. I had had to leave the motel at 11:00, but the manager let me put my pack in the laundry room. I was able to walk back to the motel, extract my pack from the laundry room, and walk back to Dairy Queen before my parents were ready to drive off.
Date: 2006-07-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So that long section hike was two years ago. I'm a two weeks away from an eight-day walk from Pearisburg to Daleville. I have just completed my first year at the University of Macau which, fortunately for backpacking, is located on a big rock in the Pearl River Delta. When I arrived ten months ago my left knee kept giving out, but now it's a lot stronger. I live right next to a higher hill, exactly half the height of a mountain (500 feet), but as it is another rock in the South China Sea it seems like a mountain. It's good for training. So I walk across its ridges when I can and I do the stairmaster and the crosstrainer and the treadmill. I won't be doing any 20-mile days, but I'll have to do some 15-mile days to keep my timetable. Recently I've enjoyed sending new, lighter equipment to the place in Illinois.I remind myself of a section hiker I met in Virginia who was in his sixth year of hiking 100 miles a year. At the rate I'm going, I will make the halfway point in four years. So anyway I'll lurk back in 2004 when it all began, hoping to complete the walk eventually. As I say, I may not do it in order, since it would be a shame to spend a week walking in certain parts of the Mid-Atlantic only to die before doing the Hundred-Mile Wilderness. My regards to all the people I met in 2004. Some year soon I hope to spend the week among thru-hikers.
Date: 2006-07-23
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Dickinson Gap
Miles today: 14.2

I arrived on Saturday evening after a protracted Greyhound bus trip from Champaign, IL, to Bluefield, WV. When I arrived in Bluefield, Denise was already waiting to drive me in the rain over to Pearisburg some 38 miles (and $41) away. I called the Plaza Hotel from my cellphone and bounced from van to rental office to Room 8 all within about five minutes. I sent a letter to myself from the post office to certify my presence in Pearisburg and I dined at the Dairy Queen around the corner, where I had said goodbye to some trail friends two years earlier. I made one sally down the hill to the Food Lion to fill out some gaps in my food bag and, on the way out, photographed Pearis Mountain, which had been such an effort to descend back in May 2004. I was awake by 1:45 a.m. with a caffeine headache and by 5:00 a.m. I was over at the all-night convenience store buying coffee, a cheese Danish, and a bottle of berry water. Before I planned to, I was on the trail. I had no trouble picking up where I left off and crossing the New River in the dim light. I did have some trouble farther on, walking a quarter-mile on a mountain road before realizing I was off the trail. Returning to the last sign I noted the small diagram indicating that the route I had taken was the wrong one.I was soon climbing the long track up to Peters Mountain. It was a glum morning. And I was feeling dislocated and a little foolish. I was worrying about bears, so I whacked my trekking poles together, had loud conversations with myself, and even sang hymns, it being Sunday and all. I saw no bears, but I may have seen scat. I flushed several grouse within the first two hours. I was walking on the ¢Devonian Shale¢ Chew mentioned and soon the ¢Silurian Sandstone.¢ By 9:00 I was text-messaging my wife for the last time in several days, because I was about to walk out of service.I arrived at Rice Field Shelter by 11:00 a.m. in full sun. No question I felt better under these conditions. Here was sun, here were views down into West Virginia, and here was a fairly new shelter, which, like all the shelters I was to see this week, I had all to myself. I flushed a deer near the privy. I ate lunch, took photos, and then headed on. The ridge walk was somewhat boring except in the bald areas, such as at Symms Gap. By 5:00 p.m. I was tired and made dinner and by 6:00 p.m. I realized I was not going to make Pine Swamp Shelter and set up the tarp at Dickinson Gap. This was when I discovered I did not have my groundcloth. This was an important omission (it was home in Lee¢s pack) and kept me in shelters for the rest of the time. There was no competition for these and even the mice seemed to have decamped for the summer.
Date: 2006-07-24
From: Dickinson Gap

To: Baileys Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: scattered clouds

The barred owls sat on Dickinson Gap throughout the night and were particularly noisy just before dawn. I got up tired and took my time moving. The first move was back up to the dinner spot of the evening before to see if the ground cloth was lying around. It was a sunny morning and the climb wasn¢t hard. The climb northward was more challenging. I made the Allegheny Trail by 9:00 a.m. and Pine Swamp Shelter an hour later. I read ¢no-name¢s¢ entry in the shelter register, in which he wrote ¢Had a run-in with a bear on Peter¢s Ridge.¢ I encountered a nonchalant deer on my ascent and took a photograph. Then soon I was down the road at Stony Creek reading a sign announcing that the footbridge across Stony Creek had washed out in 2004 and giving me the choice of continuing on the AT and fording Stony Creek or walking up the road. Well, I had come prepared to fish and I was soon trying to swing a heavy stonefly imitation on my six-piece 3-weight, which was too small a rod to do this well. I settled down by Stony Creek with lunch and surveyed the water. I was soon trying to cast beadhead nymphs into the runs and spills and some small fry showed interest. I had removed my hiking shoes and put on the Crocs to wet-wade the stream. At one point I decided to walk downstream to a rock wall. I had the rod in my left hand and my leader in my right. A bad fall on slippery stones, sore legs, and loose Crocs shattered that rod and battered my little reel. The top two sections exploded and I think the handle section was cracked just above the cork grip. That effectively ended any ideas about combining trout fishing with AT walking. I put what was left of the rod back in its tube, finished my lunch, and walked on. The fishing component of my trip was ruined, but there were still the 1.5 pounds of fishing items to carry.It was with a somewhat heavy heart that I ascended Big Mountain. I was soon in a wide area covered in rhododendrons and again wary of bear meetings. The anxiety was greater because I was low on water and the status of the spring near Baileys Gap Shelter was uncertain. But it was running fine when I arrived at 4 and I spent a long time filtering and treating water and making dinner at some remove. I collapsed at the shelter around 5 p.m.
Date: 2006-07-25
From: Baileys Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The rain hit at dawn as I was returning with the food bag. I walked in the rain through the early morning and then through the damp woods for the rest of the day. By 10 I was at Wind Rock and took a photo in the haze. I also forgot to attempt to make a phone call. I reached War Spur Shelter by noon, having walked almost 9 miles during the morning. It was a good morning¢s walk, recalling those moments in 2004 when I felt as if I was skiing, or when the zen feeling took over. However, the right knee, which had been rock-solid all the times before, was starting to hurt, which was a surprise. So the patellar brace went on the right leg even though it had been brought for the left. I made Laurel Creek Shelter by 5:40 p.m. after a tough uphill and downhill, and after some incidents of ¢shelter mirage.¢ I had charged past the Kelly Knob views only to read a comment in the shelter register indicating that those views are now obstructed by trees.
Date: 2006-07-26
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

Of course I was right that it would take a 22-mile walk to Pickle Branch Shelter to keep my hopes alive of making Daleville within the time allowed. I walked quickly down to Sinking Creek Valley, where I was soon crossing all of those stiles. My shoes, which had dried out with yesterday¢s walk, were soaked in no time in the wet grass. The sun was breaking through and it was a nice walk. I flushed a deer and a covey of quail in a stand of pines between pastures. I crossed a small spring creek, then the road, and then started up Sinking Creek Mountain thinking that I had misplaced the Keefer Oak somewhere. But I was soon out in more pastures and sampling some of the blackberries. I found the Keefer Oak surrounded by cattle and calves and moved quietly through, turning only at the top of the hill to take the obligatory photograph. I had eaten a large Snickers bar to prepare for the climb. I was unprepared for the 600-foot loss of elevation entailed by getting water down near Sarver Cabin. In one way I was glad I saw the cabin and the shelter (although I failed to photograph either), but the time taken and my general exhaustion put Pickle Branch Shelter out of reach. By the time I was on the large rocks among the lizards on the highest reaches of the ridge, I had decided to stop at Catawba and, raising Lee on the first service connection in days, I told her that that was my new plan. This sensible idea cheered me up as I ascended to Niday Shelter on semi-blown knees. There I made dinner and did some laundry and made my first AT fire with sticks and branches others had furnished. This fire was to dry things out.