morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-09
From: whitetop laurel creek

To: thomas knob sheltetr
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

day 46 sun may 9   14.0 mi 487.8 totalthomas knob shelter   early on i pass over a very impressive, tall, and long (150+ feet) footbridge spanning over the 20 ft wide laurel creek. there's a plaque saying it was built as a monument to a timber magnate 100 years ago. as i start across the bridge, there's a whistling coming up from down below, sounding soft at first, then growing louder. i look down over the railing on the left. i see a compound thru the trees,and a small group of men marching in formation. they are wearing WWII british khaki. one of them, with a short riding crop, looks just alec guinness. they're whistling col. bogie's march. he looks up at me briefly, salutes, and goes on marching. one of the men in his troop looks like my hiking buddy, wizard. he gives me a brief wave. i look down over the right railing. there's some japanese soldiers, and an officer, who looks up and shakes his fist at me. i look back where the bridge starts, and there's 2 british commandos with blackened faces, carrying a long coil of wire on a spool. one of them gives me a signal to keep quiet. in the shadows, i see wires running the length of the bridge. i widen my stride to get to the other end of the bridge, and head on up the trail.    for two hours around midday, i get hit with severe stomach pains. i worry it might be giardia, but it passes. later, i'm up on whitetop mtn where 2 picnickers, seba and randy, treat me to oreos, water, soda, and stories about the area. i continue on, only to get lost. yes, folks, (cue angry jack nicholson voice here, please) i can handle the truth, i am directionally challenged. i cannot find the A T, tho there are all sorts of faded white blazes. seba and randy reappear and try to help and the 3 of us find ourselves in the woods mystified. then randy suggests we try the NE side of whitetop and there just inside the woods is the real A T. thank you randy and seba, for all yer help.   i hike into the evening to reach thomas knob shelter, just past mt rogers, at 5729 ft, the tallest mtn in virginia. the sun is just setting and to the east are two thunderhead cells. they are white and silver and gold from the setting sun. a most beautiful evening sky.
Date: 2004-05-10
From: thomas knob shelter

To: old orchard shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

day 47 mon may 10 11 mi 498.8 totalsunny   hiking thru grayson highlands, i see at least 60 ponies, in groups or 7 and 8. they look very well fed. later someone tells me that many of them are pregnant.   at the shelter are stands with a fist (colby grad), seeker too (dan saucier, from camden, maine), arthur (from union, maine), a guy named sug, and his girlfriend sharon , from the chicago area. seeker too gets a great campfire going, and sug tells us about his pct hike last year. he says he carried as much as 2 gallons of water some days thru the southern desert areas.   dan saucier mentions that he went to school in caribou, maine, where i went in the early sixties. he was about 5 years ahead of me.   later i meet a woman from east holden, maine who works at miller's restaurant. i'm sorry i don't remember her, wait...newsflash, this just in...her name was maine dish. of course.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: old orchard shelter

To: partnership shelter, va
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: light rain

day 48 tues may 11   24.7 mi 523.5 totalpartnership shelter   easier terrain allows me to cover a longer stretch. i hike until near dark and find poler, pilot, sug, sharon, hotrocks, good time and blueberry bert, and others. they treat me to 3 kinds of still warm leftover pizza that they ordered from a phone nearby. and at this shelter, there's a shower! with hot water! i sleep out under the stars. there's a great chorus of peepers below us, and i see my first firefly of the season. a shower, and pizza, and firefly, oh my.
Date: 2004-05-12
From: partnership shelter

To: rural retreat, va
Miles today: 11.6

day 49 wed may 12   11.6 mi 535.1 totalrural retreat, va   we hike thru some beautiful farm pastures and fields, they smell of something like timothy or alfalfa (well, otay, butwheat), i don't know what it is exactly, but it smells great. and the temp is in the high eighties, which seems to magnify the aroma. azaleas are starting to bloom, and there's crickets and grasshoppers already.   i find a motel, and there's wizard, palmtree, catdog, lonesome dove, and hawk. many of them are going back to damascus for traildays (a great festival) and they try their persuasive best to get me to go. but i want to keep hiking.    i see sharon again, and just happen to find out she has hiked the triple crown (AT, PCT, and CDT) over the last six years. she also did the long trail in vermont,and trekked in nepal this past february. i ask her how many people have hiked all three trails; she says more than 100. i would guess very few of them were women. she's a nurse; very nice woman. i am in awe at what she has hiked. i would love to hear stories of her treks, and to hike with her for a bit, but she's getting off the trail to go back to work.   i have dinner with my friends and then we have sundaes in an open air gazebo.
Date: 2004-05-13
From: rural retreat, virginia

To: note from commander barb
Miles today: 0.0

rural retreat, virginia (close to Atkins)total miles to date: 535.1editor's note from surry control: after a day of refueling (one cheeseburger, two hot fudge sundaes, two [or was it three?] dairy queen blizzards, one steak dinner -- yes, all in one day) meanderthal is back on the trail. he'll be out of cyber reach for the next five or six days. we can look forward to news from pearisburg, va. in the not too distant future. stay tuned...team meanderthal signing off for,
Date: 2004-05-13
From: rural retreat

To: knot maul shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

day 50 thu may 13   13.9 mi 549.0 totalknot maul shelter   we've gone 1/4 of the whole AT. so many sights, so many memories, already.   in the afternoon there's a great honking thunderstorm, and a heavy downpour for over an hour. it feels good; i don't mind it. i come down into rich valley as the rain passes. the edge of the rainstorm forms a great white wall at one end of the valley. there's farms and rolling hills and a curvy paved road, but i don't see a soul. i hear a goose at a farm below. it looks like a countryside in england or scotland. it is beautiful beyond words.   there's all sorts of tall wooden stiles to clamber up and down over, everywhere there's a fence, and there's a lot of fences here. it brings to mind images of obstacle courses in boot camp movies, and the old imagination kicks in, and there's gomer pyle's voice coming out of nowhere, going, "soo-prize, soo-prize, soo-prize, meanderthal, why, there's another stile." thank you, gomer, and let's cue the g.i. jane mental image instead, shall we?   by a stream in the sun, i take my boots off to drain them, and to wring out my socks. there's a great, very old barn nearby. 200 years old perhaps. it looks like it's collapsing in extremely slow motion.   i camp near a shelter with pilot, poler, jack, and hotrocks. i am very careful to not mention gomer or demi to them.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: knot maul shelter

To: jenkins shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: scattered clouds

day 51 fri may 14   19 mi 568.0 totaljenkins shelter   one glorious morning, when i was seven, way on up in caribou, maine, my mother sent me out to join the neighbor's kids. we found ourselves at a crossroads on a hill, facing a street that ran down and then up again to the horizon, where the most beautiful clouds had gathered. the other two kids were a little older than i. one of them, i'll call him sam, said they were going to walk to the horizon, step up onto the clouds, and walk around on them all day. and then, in a moment of meanness, he said that i could not go with them.   now i'm a half century old. i find myself hiking up in the clouds a great many days. occasionally, i wonder if sam, wherever he might be, takes notice of them.    a few days ago while hiking, i got woefully sick. i thought it might be giardia, but it passed in two hours. and then i got lost, again, for almost three hours. i laughed off both setbacks, hiked into the evening, to mt. rogers and a shelter just beyond it, and was brought to my knees by one of the most beautiful evening skies i have ever see. to the east there were two great thunderclouds, towering up 60,000 feet, and slowly sailing for the coast of virginia. they could have passed for spanish galleons, laden with tea and exotic treasures. they would do a Constable (or Parrish or N.C. Wyeth) painting proud. it was the sort of sky that could carry you thru a difficult day,unharmed. and i'd share it with anyone.   even sam. especially sam.   today, we went 19 miles, that included a long ridge with few distant views and little water. i had a close encounter with a black snake, almost 5 feet long.
Date: 2004-05-15
From: jenkins shelter

To: helvey's mill shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

sat may 15 whoops, my paperwork is back at the church benefit supperi got time for one sloppy entryi walked down into bland, for sustenance, and lo, there's a library w/internet not mentioned in my data book. i'm gonna pass out some big, sloppy thank you's to suzi leeman, nancy hastings, mr. don, ruby wilde, michelle, and voodoo child (morning, sports fans!). lordy, your notes in the guestbook carry great power out on the trail, especially on the occasional bad day. yesterday was difficult: a long, 19 mile ridge walk with no distant views, and almost no water. today is awesome. i hope to access internet again in approx. 5 days, in pearisburg. bless you all!and namaste.(appended may 19)day 52 sat may 15 13.8 mi 581.8 totalhelvey's mill sheltermet a man bojangles... no, excuse me...met a man named mushroom on the trail, who said he read dimple's and goldberry's trailjournals from last year. we both agreed we liked goldberry's and skeemer's writing.i took a sidetrip down into bland, va, and ate my fill at a church benefit. a woman there named dottie told me the library next door had internet, so i went to post that entry immediately above.when i came back, dottie shuttled me back up the mountain road. she works as a paralegal in bluefields, west virginia. about 12 years ago, she went and spent a year in norway thru a 4-H program. spent a month or so with each of ten different families, with goatherders and fishermen and even laplanders. she became fluent in norwegian and last summer went back to visit for 6 weeks. when i mentioned one of my favorite movies was the pathfinder, a 1000 year old laplander legend, she said they were filming it there when she was first in sweden. she's never seen it, and i suggested she might be able to google to find a company who might rent a copy to her. after she dropped me off, i hiked thru a rainstorm up onto a ridge with thunder and lightning. most flashes and thunderclaps were 2 or 3 miles away. but there was a great rippin' crack a mere half second after the flash. very close, like being in the same room with it.i set up camp in the rain and cooked in a heavy downpour, keeping nearly dry under my tarp.
Date: 2004-05-16
From: helvey's mill shelter

To: jenny knob shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: broken clouds

day 53 sun may 16   9.8 mi 591.6 totaljenny knob shelter   now i'm in hiker recovery mode today, and decide to hang by the shelter til 11 a.m., to do some serious journal catch-up, and to eat and rest and dry gear out. packing up, i set out for a single digit day. why not, it's sunday.   at the next shelter, i'm unpacked and about to cook, when a fellow comes in with a straw hat (degas?), a great and noble nose (cyrano?), and a tall, narrow obelisk poking up out of his backpack, ten degrees off zenith (quixote, with his windmill tilter?) his trail name is doc, and he's from boston. he's been a pediatrician, then worked for the CDC, and most recently for the world health organization, in efforts to deal with polio in east and west africa. he tells me stories about nigeria, somalia, eritrea. he says he loved kenya and its deserts; he mentions visiting an oasis, children and goats playing round a well. he tells me about the pervasive corruption, about different codes of ethics, and tribesmen who feel all cattle belong to them and simply take any they see.   soon two couples arrive, eagle eye (from atlanta) and pooka, and then carter and close call (from nova scotia). when i mention meeting a thru-hiker named gimp (also from n.s.) last september on katahdin, she (close call) breaks into a big grin. she contacted him and met him while planning for this trip.   then it turns out carter is good friends with someone who lives right next to the thomas hill standpipe in bangor, which is right above what used to be the children's home, where i stayed for two years as a child.   we're all sitting on the shelter's edge, facing out, when a whompin' rain starts to fall, inches away. we all feel like millionaires, what with this little roof keeping us dry.   doc's obelisk turns out to be a narrow backpacker's guitar and some of us take turns playing it. it's a very nice group of people.
Date: 2004-05-17
From: jenny knob shelter

To: tillie wood's hostel
Miles today: 20.4

day 54 mon may 17   20.4 mi 612.0 totalto tillie wood's hostelcrash on the levee, mama,water's gonna overflow.                     -bob dylan   she's an ash blonde, about 50 years old, attractive and personable, sitting on the bench in the shade in front of trent's country store. her name is carmella. she's asking me about the trail, what kind of miles i'm doing. i ask her if she works nearby; she says no, and her eyes send me a message: wrong question, there's something more important going on here today. her man sheldon (about 60) is sitting beside her; they both seem nervous about something. (what is it?) and then it rushes out of her. "we're gonna get married this morning (it's eleven now), and she points down the road to some unseen justice of the peace, just 'round the corner. "we've been friends for a long time...you're only the second person we've told this to." i get excited for them, shake their hands, wish them a wonderful ceremony. i feel quite honored.cue the sound of the wind in the pines, pleaseand now the crash and roar of thunder   it's raining fast, heavy, and hard, and i'm in a bottomland where the trail crosses Dismal Creek again and again, and the drainage is poor, and the creek propagates into many caramel-colored creeks that rise within two inches of the undersides of the numerous small bridges that span them. half-way across one, i spy a log-torpedo bearing down fast, straight for me and my bridge. i hear alec guinness' calm, detached voice say, "go with the force, meanderthal," and his face appears before me with that great beard, to die for, only not right here and now, thank you. and i'm past it, and there's another bridge with a great pool, overflowing, coffee-colored, beyond it, and i step into it up to my knees; take a few steps left and it's up to my crotch. better go right, instead. up on a small ridge, i look back, past it, relieved. i look ahead. there's more of the same.   after 14 miles on the day, i catch up to my new friend, doc, at a shelter. he says, "the day's still young. i'm going another six to tillie's hostel." i'm game, too.   a little later, the sun comes out, and everything sparkles.namaste,
Date: 2004-05-18
From: tillie wood's hostel

To: pearisburg, va
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

day 55 tues may 18   10.0 mi 622 mi totalpearisburg, va   last night at tillie's hostel, there's bb bert and good time, badger and papabear, m and rising sun. tillie comes down from her house nearby and tells us about the place, and her husband, now deceased. how she's been taking in hikers for 19 years now, and how she did not want to, at first. she says some of the timber in both buildings dates back to 1820. that she winters in marietta, ga.   she and two friends make breakfast for us in the morning. m tells me he took the name cuz he bought 43 pounds of m and m's for this trip. rising sun (christian name: dawn) says her mom asked her why rising sun.   after a ten mile hike to the verge of pearisburg, papabear, badger, doc, and i hit a trailmagic jackpot: beer on ice in a cooler by the trail. (now it's 2 p.m. and hot.) a woman (trailname: missing kink) pulls up in a car, steps out and offers us a ride into town. i ask if she wouldn't happen to be an undercover constable, would she, and we all laugh. she takes two in. doc and i drift down thru the woods into town, in fine form.   doc says when things cool down in asia, he wants to ride a bike from istanbul to ulan bator. there's a pause. i ask him if he can name the countries he would ride thru, in sequence. and he does it, with extra particulars on each country. i tell him about goran kropp, who rode a bicycle from sweden to katmandu, towing his mountain climbing gear behind his bike, then attempting to climb up everest, then succeeding.   we find a motel, then a laundry, then a pizza hut. we trade more stories. back at the motel, hotrock tells us he, poler, and pilot saw a bear and a rattler yesterday.
Date: 2004-05-20
From: pearisburg, va

To: 2 zeros
Miles today: 0.0

days 55, 56 wed, thur may 19, 202 zeros in pearisburg   doc heads out wednesday.   hotrock, pilot, poler, goodtime, and bb bert head out thursday. i tend to new summer gear sent from surry control, and to sending back some winter gear.   the townspeople here are trying to deal with an overabundance of pizzas, salads, and hot fudge sundaes, and they've asked me for assistance in this matter. i volunteer to stay two days to resolve this looming crisis.   and then i get word that wizard has bypassed p-burg and is a day ahead. it seems he's cut his pack weight from 14 down to 3.7 pounds, and now his feet barely touch the trail. i'll never catch him now. but i'm going to head out tomorrow morning anyway. next town: catawba.buenos nachos,
Date: 2004-05-21
From: pearisburg

To: pine swamp branch shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: overcast clouds

day 57 fri may 21   19.1 mi 641.1 totalpine swamp branch sheltergood morning surry control and planet ellsworth   this is intergalactic master and commander meanderthal reporting from the planet glasgow in the virginian galaxy.   it seems i wuz misinformed. wizard is still in p-burg, and this morning we go to breakfast with catdog and lonesome dove, who is staying on for 2 days to help with that ongoing looming crisis, selfless and noble creature that she is.   wizard and i hike together to pbs shelter, sharing it with gaiter girl (sue, a nurse who did the peace corps thing in jamaica), palmtree, epiphanias, and pitaman, a young man from israel whose other name is eye-al neetshka (phonetic spelling).
Date: 2004-05-22
From: pine swamp branch shelter

To: laurel creek shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

day 58 sat may 22   18.5 mi 659.6 totallaurel creek shelter(some days ago)   far-flung bits of honeysuckle blossoms fill the trail, and their scent fills the air. we're loosely scattered accross a high ridge, with intermittent views to a brooding thunderstorm far off to the east. it's hot, touching 85.   a hiker, trail name beartracks, comes back asking for poler and her golden retriever, jack. i tell him they're just a virginia minute behind. he's says there's a rattlesnake in the trail ahead. he goes back to warn her. i hike ahead, hoping to see the rattler, because it's on my list of adventures-to-experience.   i want to see a rattlesnake, a bear, a tornado, a plague of locusts, the ragged edge of a hurricane. i want to see an aerial night-light display involving fireflies, meteorites, and heat lightning. i want to dance with the ghost of a young and carefree katherine hepburn til dawn, to jam with the reincarnation of jimi hendrix, to reach into the glowing, sparked-up, cinder-stung maw of hell, wrench out the broomstick of the wicked witch of the west, and lay it in the lap of the wizard of oz. i want to pat audie murphy on the back, hand him a cold beer, and say "good job, man."   it doesn't all have to happen in one day. and a rattlesnake would be a good start.   but i don't see him. thirty minutes later, my four friends and jack stream by. they all saw the snake, right by the trail. they all admonish me. even jack gives me a look that says, "and i trusted you to watch out for me."   that evening at the shelter, i'm reviewing the pics on my camera. beatbox, knowledgeable in the names of wild things, says, "yep, that's an azalea. and sure, that's an empress tree blossom." i ask him, "what about this?" it's a photo of a snake, species unknown, that i took 2 weeks ago in grayson highlands. it seemed harmless, so i got within a few feet of it. "why that," says beatbox, "that's a copperhead."   i am redeemed, my honor restored.
Date: 2004-05-23
From: laurel creek shelter

To: niday shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

day 59 sun may 23   12.4 mi 672.0 totalniday shelter   the following is an interview conducted with poler's golden retriever, jack. poler's friend pilot, helped served as translator. pilot and poler are women; pilot is a teacher from seattle, poler is a teacher from wyoming. jack is, well, a dog among people.m: first off, how has trail magic been for you? has there been magic just for dogs? or do you simply settle for the magic meant for humans?jack: i wish for more dog biscuits. i did get some pepperoni, and i loved the cherry pie and pizza, but i am an advocate for separate but equal. to be honest, i am looking for more dog magic.m: how are you holding up physically?j: physically, i am beating the crap out of these people. i could do this thing twice over, while they are still on round one.m: shinsplints? cravings for ice cream and beer?j: no problemo.m: how has the 2004 season stacked up in terms of hiker babe canines?j: there are none, it's a dry season. i was expecting a real meat market, and there's nothing.m: have you had any personality conflicts with other hikers?j: yes, with pilot (our translator). i would like to date her, but she's playing hard to get.m: how about black snakes? the grayson highland ponies? how 'bout them longhorn cattle?j: yes, they were very nice, and they looked tasty, too.m: do you have any issues with your owner you'd like to discuss?j: oh, she snores in her tent, and takes up too much room, and tends to her feet, more than mine.m: do you have any special celebratory rites in mind when you reach katahdin? you know about the large wooden sign there?j: i plan to gnaw on the sign, pick it up, and lug it back down the mountain.m: any advice for would-be canine thru-hike wannabes?j: yes, ditch the humans, and hike your own hike.m: may we say that's a fact, jack?j: rolf.
Date: 2004-05-24
From: niday shelter

To: four pines hostel
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

day 60 mon may 24 17.5 mi 689.5 total4 pines hostel   it seems the chocolate lab here has eaten my maildrop package, all 15 meals. he did leave me 2 pairs of underwear and 4 teabags. i did not hold a grudge, and played fetch with him thru the evening. his 16 year old owner, joe offers to take me 60 miles round trip to a walmart in roanoke and to cover the cost of replacing my food, now gone. i ask if he can simply take me to the nearest store, a mile away. as he peels out of the driveway with 3 of us in the back of his pickup truck, one of my hiker friends says he (joe the young driver) is going to court in the morning to face a reckless driving charge. i'm glad i chose not to go to roanoke. we all hold on for dear life.   two days ago palmtree fell on the trail, and distracted, dropped and forgot his glasses. another hiker finds them and relays them thru 2 other hikers up ahead to palmtree, 2 days later. he was like a kid on his birthday, so excited he was. and we were, too, for his sake.