morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-20
From: stealth camp near VA 615, Laurel Creek

To: Davis Farm Campsite (condo!)
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

start: stealth camp near VA 615, Laurel Creekfinish: Davis Farm Campsite miles: 7.6day: 44SouthboundThis completes our southbound section caused by bailing at such a remote trailhead. I'm sitting here under a tree in a bit of shade waiting for Stumpknocker to come and whisk us away to the land of cotton clothes, flush toilets, and refrigerators. Especially refrigerators - it's hot today in the sun. Of course it's all the hiking that makes it feel so warm - we did a whopping 15 miles in two days. It's nice here under the tree, but I really feel like putting in more miles. I'm not tired enough to nap, even.We've seen so many people today because we're going south. First, at this morning's campsite we met Alan Ashworth coming with a fresh case of fruit drinks to refill the trail magic cooler. He is involved with three local churches that have all gotten together to do the cooler, provide a garbage can for thru-hikers to toss their trash, and ... every Monday and Thursday until mid June they come by the VA 615 trailhead between 9:30 and noon and shuttle hikers into the church for a free breakfast! Unfortunately today was only Wednesday, but help get the word out, eh?We also ran into our friends Pierrette, Kodak, Tea Break, Gel, Super Cheese, Cocoa Bean, Chestnut, Magoo, Bill, and Snail. I think we saw some others as well. Everyone was amazed that Goldilocks was still alive We hadn't met Chestnut before. He got me all fired up about the IAT - the northern extension of the AT from Katahdin to the Gaspe Peninsula.So now we're sitting here, with almost no water. Goldilocks has been carrying a Coke as trail magic for Stumpy who is within a mile of completing his 2004 thru-hike, but I may convince him we have to drink it ourselves.[later...]Stumpknocker showed up around 3:00 and had all kinds of stuff for us to eat, including my favorite - root beer. We spent an hour driving down the twisty mountain road, and then got on the highway headed for Virginia Beach, many hours away.Stumpy informed us thay he'd finished his 1.1 miles of last year's hike, so he's now a three-timer, and is trying to figure out what to do next.The scenery sure is pretty driving across the bottom of Virginia in the slanting afternoon light. Lots of small farms and wooded mountains.We stopped at a Shoney's and had a good workout on the buffet. I decided not to call Mrs. Moosie to let her know we were arriving a day early - more fun to surprise her.Or not. We finally arrived at the condo around 1:00 am and knocked on the door. No answer. After knocking for a bit we decided to just go sleep in the truck. Hugely uncomfortable, but what the heck.The other guys are mad at me for not calling ahead. Oh well.
Date: 2005-04-21
From: Davis Farm Campsite (condo!)

To: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)
Miles today: 0.0

start: Virginia Beach, VA(Bland)finish: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)miles: 0.0day: 45Whoo boy, I don't sleep well in car seats. Plus, there were people (drunk?) in and out of the parking lot in front of the condo all night long. Take me back to the woods. I actually noticed myself tensing last night as we drove into this populated area, with multiple lane interchanges and a lot of lights and noise. I've become much more comfortable in the woods than in "civilization".At dawn we resumed the knocking on Mrs. Moosie's door.Finally she opened it and got big hugs. Apparently she heard us last night but was afraid (remember, it was 1 a.m. and Mrs Moosie was sound asleep) to come to the door in this unfamiliar, sketchy neighborhood. I was properly shamed and chastised by everyone for not calling ahead.After catching up on news we all went to a real nice upscale grocery store. We got an amazing amount of food for the next couple of days, including fresh fruit, vegetables, juices, and two huge hunks of london broil for the grill. Then we went home and ate some food and put the rest away. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, consisting of a shower, a nap, TV watching, and eating at a seafood restaurant. A relaxing day off.
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)

To: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)
Miles today: 0.0

start: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)finiish: Virginia Beach, VA (Bland)miles: 0.0day: 46More relaxing today. We ate a large breakfast and went to the library to use the internet. We met Moonlight, who works there. He's a nice guy who thru-hiked in 2002, but got off halfway due to a family illness. It was fun talking with him, as he and Stumpy knew lots of the same people.Moonlight pointed me to some donated paperbacks I could keep. I picked All Things Bright and Beautiful, by James Herriot, and The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy. They go well together, don't you think? I'll tear them into sections and read 'em as I go north. Now I have enough energy at the end of the day to read, and miss all the reading I normally do when not hiking. Early in the trip I had no energy left for reading in the evening.Mrs. Moosie and I went for quiet walk on the beach this afternoon. That was nice. I miss her company. We saw Goldilocks sitting on the beach playing his guitar. He had ridden a bike down from the condo.We went home and cooked up all the meat and vegetables and had a feast. Stumpy got some cobblers for dessert, and we demolished those as well. Then we just chilled in front of the TV, and talked a bit before calling it a night.A very good zero day.
Date: 2005-04-24
From: stealth camp 0.5 miles south of Helvey's Mill

To: stealth camp 0.5 miles north of Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

start: stealth camp 0.5 miles south of Helvey's Mill Shelterfinish: stealth camp 0.5 miles north of Wapiti Shelter miles: 25.0day: 48Winter's here again. I slept well but sporadically last night. It was very cold, far enough below the range of my 30 degree sleeping bag that I was a bit cold. The wind was roaring all night, and it was snowing. Every once in a while the snow would swirl in and fall on my face.In the morning there was a fair amount of very fine, dry snow in the tarp, and about 1/2 inch on the ground outside. We skipped making tea and packed up and began walking around 7:15, pretty early for us. We had to keep moving to keep warm. The wind was blowing steadily and it was still snowing.We moved fast, about 3 MPH all day until we got to Wapiti Shelter around 5:30. It never warmed up much during the day and only stopped snowing for an hour or so. By 6:00 we were setting up our tarps after leaving the shelter. The temperature had dropped, the wind picked up, and it was snowing steadily.What month is it? Wet Spring snow I could almost understand, but my water bottles are freezing. It feels as cold as when we started this hike, perhaps colder!Our original plan had been to do over 30 miles today, but I wasn't thrilled about climbing 1500 feet to the ridge just north of our campsite and freezing all night. Hopefully it will be warmer down here, and we'll just do the miles tomorrow.It now looks like we may end up staying in Pearisburg tomorrow, as we'll hit the Post Office in the afternoon. We're now 16 miles out of town. We just need to get in so we can use our bounce boxes before the PO closes at 4:30.I made a cup of tea, and mashed potatoes for dinner with lots of bacon bits and vienna sausages (filet de haute dawg). Now it's time to read a bit and sleep. I think the snow has stopped for now, but the wind is still roaring.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: stealth camp 0.5 miles north of Wapiti Shelter

To: New River, Pearisburg
Miles today: 16.2

start: stealth camp 0.5 miles north of Wapiti Shelterfinish: New River, Pearisburg miles: 16.2day: 49What a great campsite last night.  I didn't want to get up, it was so sweet.  The snow stopped and it warmed up during the night, but the wind persisted and dried everything out.  I love it when my down bag has all it's loft.We packed up and I downed some donuts and an orange.  We purified water from the stream a tenth north on the trail and then began our only major climb of the day.  There was about two inches of snow on the ridge, beautiful blue sky, and wind roaring above the trees.  A great day for hiking.Our target today is the Pearisburg post office, where we have bounce boxes and food waiting.  We want to get there in time to refill items from our bounce boxes and re-ship them before the post office closes at 4:30.  Ideally we'd be able to do all that, grocery shop, and get a meal, and still have time to hike 6 miles north of town before dark.We had a snack at Doc's Knob Shelter, a nasty little affair with lots of mud, but a good spring.  Further up the ridge there were a couple of great rock ledge vistas overlooking the valleys below.  After the final vista, Angel's Rest, the trail plummeted down into the valley.  My feet were pretty sore by the time we got to the bottom.We had a pretty easy hitch into town, and did our business at the post office.  We saw whole bunches of familiar names signed into the register there, many of them earlier today.  Are we catching up?  In walks Tea Break, and Kodak is across the street.  Good to see them.After catching up, and convincing ourselves we didn't have time to hike out, and making plans to stay at the church hostel, we headed to the restaurant.  We tried the chinese buffet, but it looked lame so we left and went to the sports bar where we had great patty melts, fries and salads.  Next we went grocery shopping, and I'm still amazed at how much fuel we need to get a few days down the trail.The walk to the hostel was long, and uphill.  Townspeople were quite friendly, telling us sometimes conflicting directions, but no rides were offered.  The mattress here is soft, the shower was good and hot, and I was able to share some fuel with a hiker named Darcy, who we haven't met before.Now it's time for bed, but most of the hikers here are still downstairs talking loudly.  This the main thing I don't like about hostels, but the price is right.All in all, another great day.  Looking to do a pretty big day tomorrow.
Date: 2005-04-26
From: New River, Pearisburg

To: stealth camp 2 miles north of Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

start: New River, Pearisburgfinish: stealth camp 2 miles north of Bailey Gap Shelter miles: 25.0day: 50Woke to see a beautiful sunrise.  Quietly took all my gear downstairs and packed up, then made a cup of tea and ate fresh fruit and chocolate milk.  We walked the long way down from the hostel to the main road.  From there we were able to quickly hitch a ride to the trail.The trail goes past a big factory on the edge of town, and boy does it stink up the air.  I was glad to get out of range.  The day started with a big climb and then a ridge walk until late afternoon, when we descended into a valley and climbed the other side.  In the valley was a sign that last year's hurricane had wiped out a bridge and we'd have to ford or take this 1.5 mile road walk (with no white blazes) instead of the 2 mile section of trail (with white blazes).Can you guess which we chose?  Right, and that water was damn cold, too.  Once, I couldn't find a place among the rocks to put my bare foot and I almost went down.  Really leaned hard on the Lekis.There were lots of pointy rocks on the ridges today.  Boy, they wear out my feet.  Saw Darcy on the trail today, as well as Steak-n-Eggs, who we met in Erwin before he had a trail name.  He and Goldilocks seem to have a lot in common, as he'll be a freshman this fall at a very small school in North Carolina, majoring in Outdoor Leadership and Music.  Add art and it sounds like Goldilocks!  We also met Cotton Joe for the first time today, and saw Snail at Bailey Gap Shelter.We have this plan - to walk 26 miles today and 27 tomorrow, then 19 into the Homeplace to eat there again.  (All good hiker plans revolve around food.)  The miles are a bit ambitious.  We hiked past a shelter in early evening, into tons of nasty little rocks, trying to do 3 more miles.  Between the rocks and the rain, which had threatened all day and finally wet us, we only made 2 miles.We had to set up in the rain, but once under the tarps all was cozy, and the rain stopped.  Hard day, time for sleep.
Date: 2005-04-27
From: stealth camp 2 miles north of Bailey Gap Shelter

To: tarp near Niday Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: broken clouds

start: stealth camp 2 miles north of Bailey Gap Shelterfinish: tarp near Niday Shelter miles: 25.0day: 51Today was a pretty bad day.  The physical conditions were only slightly bad - overcast and some rain, and it got cold, and my feet hurt a lot.  But the hard thing was that all the little things added up and all I thought about all crappy afternoon was quitting the trail.  Not that I'm quitting, don't get excited.  But my dark mood kept returning to that idea, all the ramifications, including all the "comforts" I could have back home.I've thought briefly about the *idea* of quitting before, but this was different.  Kind of scary how easy it would be to end all this, and then regret it.I conclude that this old guy has pumped the miles a bit too fast all of a sudden - a few too many each day back-to-back, and a bit too fast of a pace throughout the day.  I'm trying to keep up with Goldilocks and he's getting concerned about finishing in time - before he goes to school in early August.  I'm sure something will work out, and that tomorrow will be better.On a brighter note, we walked through some of that great Virginia pasture today, saying "moo" to lots of bulls, and then realizing the trail passes over a stile and puts us right in their field with no fence between us.  Oops, sorry if we said anything rude.We also saw the huge Keffer Oak, which is, um, really, really big.  A stupendously thick trunk, I think 18 feet around, and lots of branches that are themselves the size of large trees.  It's good to see that it looks very healthy, just getting hints of green leaves on all it's branches.After one particularly long climb we came to a gravel road in the middle of the woods.  A very auspicious setting...  What's that Goldilocks is hunched over?  Looks like a blue and white cooler!  TRAIL MAGIC!!  I full out sprinted the last couple hundred feet uphill, poles flying every which way.  Super Dave, that was the best darn orange soda I've ever tasted.  So cold and bubbly.  And the camera in the box is such a cool idea!  (I'm the handsome unwashed guy with the beard holding up the orange soda.)  Thanks a lot!  It really did make my whole day.We met Flu-bug today, a nice girl with a big pack doing a section hike.Tarping next to Niday shelter where a couple of years ago we first met Mr. President.  Got to sleep fast, as we're starting earlier tomorrow to do the 22.5 before The Homeplace opens at 4:00 pm.  Somewhat of a death march, but with really good food at the end of the push.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: tarp near Niday Shelter

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: scattered clouds

start: tarp near Niday Shelterfinish: John's Spring Shelter miles: 23.5day: 52Ugh, 5:45 came way too early.  It was v-e-r-y tempting to sleep in and forget about The Homeplace.  But then we miss the food and the last two days's efforts would be in vain.  So I got moving, not cooking my cream of wheat and just eating pop tarts and an orange due to the time constraints of the day.Off we go.  It's a lovely day, blue sky with puffy white clouds, and it's refreshingly cool.  My dark thoughts of yesterday are gone, if not for good, then at least for now.  Go away demon, it's a great day to hike!The miles went pretty fast.  We passed a hiker named Coredump on the first big climb.  The approach to Dragon's Tooth had way too many false tops, fooling me each time.  But the view from the top was fantastic.  We ate the last of our food here, and then Goldilocks hurried down the 3 miles to the road.  From there he walked 1/2 mile each way to a grocery store and got some supplies for both of us for tomorrow when we go into Daleville.  I stayed on top a bit longer to allow the ibuprofen a chance to work.  Imagine your feet are a cantaloupe and all these rocks are a baseball bat, and you keep whacking the melon, never hard enough to break it.  One million times.  Goldilocks just whistles and runs down the trail.  I can't wait until he gets old and decrepit like me.As I hurried to meet Goldilocks at the road, wait, what's this?  Another cooler with sodas on ice!  Yippee!  Thanks Southpaw!  And I really enjoyed the little chair.  Aah, take a load off the old dogs.Goldilocks was waiting for me when I got to the road - boy he's fast, and he presented me with a hot dog.  We have this thing for gas station hot dogs.  This one was as sweet as they come.For the final 6 miles into The Homplace's trailhead we walked a rocky, lumpy ridge. We've been doing this a lot the past few days.  But from this ridge I could actually see The Homeplace.  Arggh.  We're not getting any closer!  Finally, with some running as conditions permitted, I got to the road and we had a ride in 10 minutes.  We walked into the restaurant around 5:00 pm.  Not bad.We feasted.  I could hardly believe it.  I had driven myself all day with visions of the food on my plate - fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, pulled pork, cole slaw, biscuits, etc.  I kept waiting to wake up still on Dragon's Tooth.  Our waitress was really nice and gave us biscuits and ham to pack out.  Four bicuits and half a pound of ham each.  Sweet.  We had some trouble getting back to the trail until two guys purposely left The Homeplace to give us ride.  Then they were going back to eat.  Nice guys!  Thanks, it was getting cold, spitting rain, and all we wanted to do at that point was sleep.We waddled in a mile to this shelter.  The pressure's off for now.  Tomorrow I plan to sleep in a bit, and cook my darn breakfast.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Rt. 220, Daleville
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

start: John's Spring Shelterfinish: Rt. 220, Daleville miles: 18.8day: 53It was fairly warm last night, but just cold enough to be good sleeping weather.  The rain held off pretty much until dawn.  Now I'm sitting here in the shelter watching a gentle rain, preparing to cook some breakfast.  Unfortunately it looks like no views for us (again) on McAfee's Knob or Tinker Cliffs.  Rats.  I have very little motivation to go out there and get me and my stuff wet.  Ugh.We started hiking around 9:00, a late, leisurely start, but we only had 19 miles to do today into town.  The pace was somewhat slower than the past few days.  The rain fell gently in the morning.  The skies cleared mostly in the afternoon, it warmed up, and we had some views.  We had already passed McAfee's Knob and Tinker Cliffs in the rain and mist though.We got into town around 6:00 and had to walk the mile through the interchange to the Comfort Inn.  They didn't have any non-smoking rooms left, but it wasn't too bad.  We went next door to Shoney's for the seafood buffet.  Goldilocks was feeling quite predatory and ate amazing amounts of food.  I was still satisfied from The Homeplace, and the biscuits during the day, so I only ate three plates plus dessert and two root beers (yes, root beer in the south!).  We saw Magoo there, and a section hiker named Mountain City.  There are possibly lots of other hikers in town, but we haven't seen them.This bed is really comfortable, I think I'll go to sleep now.
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Rt. 220, Daleville

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

start: Rt. 220, Dalevillefinish: Wilson Creek Shelter miles: 11.2day: 54Raining today.  Woke around 7:00 and headed down to the motel's continental breakfast.  Had to wade through a busload of 80 year olds - they were trying to eat my food, but they were pretty easy to push aside  Spent a long time down there eating and checking some stuff on the internet and talking with Magoo and a section hiker named Mountain City.  Later I talked with Mrs. Moosie and finalized plans for Trail Days with Underpants.Sure is tempting to stay here and wait out the rain, but we should push on today.Del, the local trail angel calls my room phone looking for Johnny Blaze.  It ends up that he swings by and Johnny, Goldilocks and I get a ride to Hardees, where I eat two - count 'em, two - Monster Thickburgers, fries and a milkshake.  Those sandwiches should have four little legs and a tail, they're so meaty.  Goldilocks mailed some unneeded stuff ahead from a UPS store (cool).  Then we went to Kroger's, a very good grocery store.  I was worried I wouldn't buy enough food on a full stomach, but I think I did OK. Saw Darcy and Coredump in the shopping center.  Darcy had just bought a new Mountainsmith pack at the outfitter in an attempt to lighten her load.  Hope she likes it!  Finally we get dropped off at the trailhead around 2:45.  Thanks a lot, Del, for shuttling us all over town.  It's much appreciated.The hiking was easy but I was feeling kind of lazy after that huge lunch.  But the miles rolled by, and around 6:30 it looked like rain.  We put pack covers on and it came pouring down.  We abandoned ideas of setting up in the deluge and headed for the shelter 2 or 3 miles away.It's full in here tonight, and the rain has stopped.  I don't like sleeping in a full shelter, but am too lazy to go set up outside.  The folks here are Johnny Blaze, Steak-n-Eggs, a section hiker whose name I didn't get, and a long distance couple Merry Turtle and Sundance.Unbelievably, I'm too full from lunch to worry about making dinner.  This is definitely the first meal I've missed.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Stealth camp near Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

start: Wilson Creek Shelterfinish: Stealth camp near Bryant Ridge Shelter miles: 20.6day: 55Aah, what a great day.  Sunny and warm, but breezy on the ridges.  Perfect hiking weather.  Also, we're trying something new.  Slightly reduced mileages.  Boy, what a difference that makes.  We still did over 20 miles, but took lots of breaks and hiked at a reduced pace - almost ambling along.  We got to camp around 6:30 and purposely decided not to push on even though there was light left.  The terrain was very easy today, crossing and re-crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway, which helped, but we'll try this for a few days and see how it goes.  Lately we'd bumped up the pace and it was all short breaks, very few of them, always watching the time, and walking just a bit faster than was comfortable (for me).  Hopefully this change will still allow us to get the miles done, but in a more enjoyable, sustainable fashion.Saw some interesting architecture today.  First, the privy at Bobblet's Gap Shelter had a plexiglas cathedral roof and cedar handrails.  One of the nicest privies I've ever seen.  Also, the shelter we're near tonight is a multistory affair, with platforms on 3 or 4 split levels.  It's huge!  We hung out for a while with Johnny Blaze, Loki, and Steak-n-Eggs, but climbed the nearby hill to set up in a nice flat spot in a stand of white pines.  Very nice.  Mountain Man and Mountain Dew are also at the shelter tonight.  I said hello to them as I entered the camp and they responded, but didn't encourage further conversation.It sure feels good to be in the tarp tonight.  Those shelter floors are so hard, for one thing.  There was an owl (barred, I think) calling earlier.  I like sleeping in woods where there are owls.