morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-21
From: VA 16- Marion, VA

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 14.2

Well, after a rough night's sleep, I went down to the hotel lobby for a breakfast of stale dounuts and something that looked like orange juice, but I'm not really sure what it tasted like. After packing up, we decided that it was going to be nearly impossible to hitch out of town during rush hour, so we called a cab, and paid the $3.75 to take us to where the guy that gave us a ride yesterday dropped us off. We had a hitch in about ten minutes and he took us all the way back to the trail. These new shoes were working great! The terrain wasn't too bad, just rolling ups and downs. The only thing bad about the Walmart shoes is that you can feel everything you step on, but not as bad as the crocs were. I also have to be very careful not to twist an ankle, since the shoes are low-cut. The day turned very warm, and Stick and I stopped at the shelter before atkins around noon for a rest. The last four miles to the road went from warm to downright hot. There was some walking through open fields, so that didn't help the matter much. At a small road crossing, we found an old schoolhouse from the 1800s sitting by the road, so we went inside for a look-see. Apparently, this is some sort of tourist attraction, there is a gift shop just up the road. Inside, it is complete with old-time student desks and a wood burning stove. On the chalkboard, some hiker wrote, "Thou shall not yellow-blaze". For those readers who don't know what yellow-blazing is, it is hitch hiking to skip sections of trail. It gets its name from the yellow paint on the road. After walking through some more open fields, we finally reached the road into Atkins. Normally, this wouldn't mean anything, since I wasn't going into town again, but there is a truckstop, hotel, resturant and a Dairy Queen right on the trail!! So, I proceeded to go inside and eat a cheeseburger, fries, ice cream cone and about 5 glasses of pop. Stick settled for just a burger. I should have done the same.We messed around DQ for almost an hour, when we noticed the sky was getting very dark, so dark it had us a little nervous. So we made haste and hurried down the trail. Stick got ahead of me, since I was loaded down with all that good greasy food. But it didn't load me down for long. After hiking for 15 or 20 minutes, well, I'll leave that to your imagination. It started to pour about ten minutes before I got to the shelter, so I pretty much ran the rest of the way, why, I don't know. There, I found Shadow and Sassy, who had spent last night in the hotel at the road crossing and took an easy day out. I had passed Stick, who stopped to get water at the shelter's water source, which I learned was about a mile and a half back. So I made due with what I had. It rained steadily for a good part of the afternoon, but we were in no rush. Sassy has told me that since I am such a nice guy, that I can have a pick of any one of their daughters to marry. Thanks Sassy, I'll be sure to come by after my hike!
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

The humidity when I woke up was almost unbearable. The air was so think, you could cut it with a knife. Ate a small breakfast and was on my way. I stopped at Crawfish Valley for some water and a snack. Most of the morning was quite depressing. It was very gray and I seemed to have no energy. I just trudged along listening to my music. Towards noon, the sky cleared and the sun came out. I hiked through a lot of cow pastures, complete with cowpies. At a road crossing, I saw a picnic pavillion right off the road. There was two of the section hikers we had met at Partnership Shelter there drying out their gear. Their ride was coming to pick them up there. I sat down for a rest and talked to them for a bit. Since they were getting off here, they gave me white gas, gatorade mix, and some oreos. Thanks guys!After they left, I sat around for a bit, until again, I noticed the sky getting dark. I hurried on up the trail, but it was too late. It soon startedt to rain, not too bad at first, but it became more steady. I was walking as fast as I could, practically running. Luckily, I reached the shelter just as it started to pour. I decided to call it a day, even though I only did 11, I really don't like walking in the rain if I can help it, ha. Got dry and warm and waited for a break in the rain to go down and get water for dinner. Shadow and Sassy came in a while later, bringing the total to five in the shelter tonight. Made a huuuge dinner tonight, complete with extra ramen. Some section hikers came in close to dark, we had room for one in the shelter, but the rest tented. I am not looking forward to tomorrow, we have to do 19 miles tomorrow, to make it to Bland by Sunday. I am getting a little concerned, I am running real low on food and my appetite is not getting any smaller!!
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up around 6 to a really gray sky, so I stayed in my bag until about 7:30. Stick on the other hand, was packed and gone before I even woke up. I quickly packed and left with Shadow without eating breakfast. After about 20 minutes, it started to rain. I stopped to put on my rainjacket and grab some poptarts. Let me tell you, until you have eaten poptarts while walking in the rain, you just really haven't lived!Passed Shadow and Sassy a bit later, I didn't know it at the time, but this was to be the last time I would see them. I really enjoyed their company and Sassy's witty comments about beavers. (Don't ask) The terrain wasn't too bad at first, but then it went up, up, up all the way to the shelter. The whole time, the weather kept getting worse and colder. The wind had really picked up, making it difficult crossing the several open feilds that I passed that morning. Although it wasn't as bad as Max Patch back in NC, I still had to hold on to my pack cover to keep it from blowing off. Visibilty was probablly about 50 feet and the wind was blowing about 45 mph or so. Not a fun time. By the time I had reached the shelter, it had started to snow. Luckily the shelter had four walls so I went in and shut the door. Saw the register, had an entry from Rhymin Worm about 10 days prior. I read a book that he wrote about his hike, so I thought that was kind of neat. I was trying with no luck to get warm and could tell the early signs of hypothermia were starting to set in. Very scary stuff. I started shivering uncontrollably and just couldn't get warm. So I could either stop and pull out the stove and cook something hot or keep going. I decided to keep going since I was about out of food anyway. After about 10 minutes of walking I was pulling off layers because I was so warm. And soon after, the sun started to poke through. But it didn't last for long. Most of the afternoon, the trail was covered in rocks, which did little to help my poor soaked aching feet. Around 2:30 or so, I still had about 4 miles to go from what I could tell and it started snowing again. I walked as fast as my poor feet could take me and finally made it to the shelter to find Stick and Selina warm in their bags already. I quickly filtered water, changed and hopped into my bag, cooking the last of my food. I only have two packs of poptarts for tomorrow to get me the 12 miles to Bland. A while later a man that I had passed early in the day came in. His name was Lumbermack and it ended up just being us four tonight. The temps kept dropping all evening, probably reaching as low as 15-20. This being one of my most physically demanding days on the trip so far, I fell asleep very easy.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: US 21/52- Bland, VA

To: VA 606
Miles today: 18.6

I woke up to the sun peeking through the windows. The nasty weather had all passed. Quickly packed and went down to Subway, which serves breakfast. We met a guy named Carl there, and talked to him while we ate. He is slackpacking his wife, Purple Rose and her friend, Zig Zag for a week or so. He gave us a ride back to the trail and an invite to stay with them at the campground about 18 miles up the trail or so. After the first initial up, which really sucked, the terrain wasn't too bad. Couldn't have asked for better weather. Skipped the first shelter, since it was off the trail and made it to the second around 2:30 or so. Stopped there for a short lunch. I was feeling really lazy today, so I was tempted to stay there for the night, but pressed on, leaving Stick and Selina at the shelter. Eventually changed my mind, trying to make a few extra miles to the next shelter, would make for my longest day, but my feet said otherwise. At the road to the campstore, I decided to call it a day. The store is about a half mile or so down the road, so after the walk, I found Carl and his wife and friend here, who fed me pasta and salad and wine from their VW bus/camper. I started feeling sick, probably from drinking the wine when I barely had anything to drink all day. I went back to the store to call home and saw Stick getting some food, who is pressing on. I will catch up to him tomorrow. I want to make it into Pearisburg tomorrow, but it'll be a long push, longest day yet, but it all depends on the weather. Oh, on a side note, today I finally relized I am an official thru hiker. I was eating some fruit snacks while walking along, when I dropped a few. Without thinking or hesitation, I scooped them up and popped them in my mouth. Dirt and all.
Date: 2005-04-26
From: VA 606

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I got a much later start than I had hoped for. Wanted to start around six or so, but it was really cold and I didn't want to get out of my bag. Packed up and Carl gave me and Lumbermack, who came in later last night, a ride back to the trail. The first 8 miles to the shelter were relatively flat. I flew along thinking I could have probably made it last night but oh well. Caught up to Stick here, stopping for a snack. The miles to the next shelter were a lot harder. Mostly uphill and rocky, not to mention the chafe fairy came to visit me. Made it to the shelter around 3:30 and stopped to make dinner. Didn't really want to keep going, but I really wanted to make it to town tonight so we could take a full zero tomorrow. After taking an hour, Stick and I both decided to push on, we'd be glad we did tomorrow. Dark clouds were rolling in around the time we were leaving the shelter so we put it into fourth gear and just trudged on. The climb up Pearis Mountain made us think we were back in Georgia. I about had to use my hands to get up that thing. The rest was ridgewalking, but still a lot of rocks. By the time we could see the city lights, it was starting to drizzle and the wind was picking up. We were walking as fast as our feet could take us. And after doing about 21 miles so far, that wasn't very fast. The downhill was brutal. We found Selina waiting for us at the road. We were done at 7:50, almost 12 hours of hiking for me. We made it to the laundrymat after getting a hitch around 8, about 45 minutes before they closed so we stripped down to our raingear and threw everthing in the washer. It was just finish drying as they were closing. Talk about good timing. Some other poor folks had to take home wet clothes because the lady wanted to close up. She had on a WWJD shirt. What would Jesus do? I'm sure Jesus would have let those people finished drying their clothes. We found the hostel, which was run by the church and it is very basic, but adequate. We had it to ourselves. After a shower, I walked down to Walmart Supercenter to buy new shoes to mail off to Daleville, ready for when the ones I have now wear out. Walked to Wendys but they were closed and wouldn't let me walk through the drive thru. I told them I had walked 621 freakin miles for some Wendys, but they were not sympathetic. So I had to settle for a lunchable from Wally World. Called home from the payphone to brag about my new longest day haha. Finally made it back to the hostle and fell asleep around 1am. I think I'm going to get a room tomorrow and get some much needed rest.
Date: 2005-04-27
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up suprisingly early, since I didn't get to bed until really late. Packed up and sat out on the pourch swing enjoying the sunrise. Left around 8:45 to go to the library and spent 2 hours there working on journals and email. Went down to the Plaza Motel, which was very nice for 35 bucks. For lunch, I went to Pizza Hut, where I had the worst service I've ever had. I had to get my own drink 3 times, but it's not like I'm not used to it by now. People don't like smelly people like us, but I was cleanly showered and laundered, but still in my hiking attire. After a horrible lunch, I went to the PO to take care of all my buisness. In my maildrop, I had new shorts, and letters from home and my good friend Amanda. I spent most of the afternoon sleeping and watching TV. Later went to Dairy Queen and tore up some ice cream. It felt really good to do hardly nothing at all today.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Was up by 8, packed, called home and talked to Mom for a bit before heading back to the trail. On the way out of town, I stopped by Hardees from some breakfast. Out of all the fast food chains, they have the best breakfast. Three biscuits, two cinammon rolls, and countless glasses of pop later, I was back on the trail trudging up the mountain. It was up all the way to the first shelter, with pleny of rocks too. It was a nice clear day, and could see way into West Virginia to our left. Caught up to Stick at the first shelter and we pressed on together. After that huge breakfast settled, it was actually a pleasant walk. We ran into Purple Rose and Zig Zag coming south and a few other section SOBOs throughout the day. After that initial up, most of the day consisted of ridgewalking and was quite nice. The new short I got yesterday are working out well, I am pleased with them. My feet started hurting after about 16 or 17 miles, but that's expected with cheap Walmart shoes. It started drizzling around the time we got to the shelter. In the shelter, we found a bag of trail magic hanging from the sting and I got a mountain house meal out of it. I'll be saving that for a special occasion. Here tonight is Me, Stick, Selena, and Iceman, who we met in Damascus. He tells us he is trying to get to Waynesborro in 10 days. Crazy. It is supposed to rain tomorrow.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up around 8, but it was raining, so I turned back over and didn't get up until after 9. While we were packing up, Purple Rose and Zig Zag came in, going south again for the day. Finally got going, and down at the road, just a mile later, there was a sign saying that a bridge was out up the trail aways. Decided to take the road detour instead of fording the stream cuz it was still really cold out. I'm glad that I did; it would have been a big ford. Once back on the trail, it started raining real steady. After a long up to the shelter, I found Stick and Selena here, curled up in their sleeping bags! I stated, "Now that's a great idea," and followed suit. I took a nice long nap, not waking up and leaving until 2:30, a three hour break! The trail was so rocky for the next few miles, really putting a beatdown on my feet. It eventually flattened out into a ridgewalk, then a two mile downhill to the shelter. Here tonight with us three are two section hikers from Kansas. Their rendezvous didn't make it to the road up ahead, so they kept coming south to the shelter and are going to try and get a ride out tomorrow. We only did 12 miles today, less than I had hoped. If the weather is bad again tomorrow, we'll do another 12 and pick up the pace when the weather turns nice again. No worries though, I still have plenty of food to make it to Daleville.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Lost Spectacles Gap
Miles today: 21.1

Slept in a little late this morning, it turned out to be quite chilly starting out, although it warmed up nicely. The first six miles to the next shelter were moderately difficult. Most of it was on open rockface that was slanted at an awkard angle. Stick tells me that last year, when coming though this section, a teacher that was with a school group on a feild trip broke her leg and a helicopter had to airlift her out of here. We made it through with no injuries of the sort. Stopped briefly at the shelter for a snack and met River Otter before continuing on. The climb past the shelter went on for 3 or 4 miles. It wasn't too steep, thank goodness. Just long and tedious. Near the top, I stopped and waited for Stick and met three ladies out for the week; Gator, Phlegm, and Sooner. After coming down off the ridge, I stopped at a creek to cook super and Stick continued on. I would hopefully catch up to him at Dragon's Tooth. After a quick supper, I hurried on, only to be slowed down by the massive amounts of rocks. Climbing over and around moderately sized boulders really made the five miles up to Dragon's Tooth not much fun at all. But once I reached the tooth, it was worth it. It was something else. I found Stick and Selena both here hanging out. You can climb up the backside of the tooth, about 50 feet up or so. Me, not being very fond of heights, for whatever reason I do not know, decided to climb up to the top and have Stick take a photo of me. I sure hope that picture comes out, because I am sure as hell not climbing back up there for a re-take!The next mile down was very hard on the knees. Several spots had metal bars drilled into the rock as ladder rungs to help you down. A very slow mile later, we found ourselves at the gap, where we cowboy camped. No water here, so I am skipping supper tonight. There is a store at the road just a mile or so up ahead, where we will be stopping for breakfast in the morning.
Date: 2005-05-02
From: Lost Spectacles Gap

To: Lamberts Medow Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

We didn't get started until 9, due to the fact that it was just too cold to get out of the sleeping bag. We practically ran the mile to the road and walked down to the store, where I proceeded to down a quart of chocolate mile, a can of pringles, and a big slam of pop. Not the best combination if you are going to be hiking, I would soon find out. I called home and talked to Mom for a bit. Finally made it back to the trail around 11. Stick had made the same mistake as I, consuming way too much food and drink. It made hiking very difficult. Selena left us in the dust. We past a bunch of cow pastures and since we were in no rush, we stopped to make fun of the cows. Why? I have no idea. Maybe because hiking on a full stomach of chocolate milk isn't a good idea. Once our food settled, we picked up the pace and made good time. Before McAfee Knob, there is a stretch of about 6 miles or so that had three shelter. We stopped at the one right before the knob for a snack (We were hungry again already, go figure). There we met a bunch of weekend warriors, once who thought he knew more about my gear than I did. The conversation went something like this:WW: Hello.Me: Hi.WW: Is that a Jansport Rockies pack you are carrying?Me: Yes, it is.WW: Do you know that thing weighs 7 pounds empty??Me: (Sarcastically, since I already know the answer to that) Noo, Really!?! No wonder my pack is so heavy.I suppose since I've made it only 700 miles humping 45+ pounds that I have no idea that my pack weighs 7 pounds empty, but I do, and believe me, I don't forget it for a second!!The climb up to the Knob wasn't bad at all. The view couldn't have been better. It was very windy, sustained winds around 30 mph if I had to guess. It was very chilly, so we didn't stay up there for long, just enough time to take a few pictures and admire the view. Another mile down to the shelter, where we stopped to eat dinner. We debated going on or not all throughout dinner. Staying here would mean a 16 mile day into Daleville tomorrow, instead of a quick 10. I finally said I was going on, leaving those two at the shelter. I was walking along Tinker Cliffs right around sunset. The view was absoluetly spectacular, one of the best so far. I could have stayed there forever, but I wanted to make the shelter with a little bit of light left. About 1/2 mile before the shelter, right at dusk, the deer started coming out. I probably counted at least 15 of them by the time I got to the shelter. I got there to find two people in the shelter. I hadn't met them yet, but soon learned that it was Gel, a thru hikerfrom, of all places, Destin, Florida which is about 45 mins west of my home. His son had joined him for the summer. About 20 mins later, Stick and Selina showed up, making 5 of us here tonight.
Date: 2005-05-03
From: Lamberts Medow Shelter

To: US 220- Daleville, VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I set my watch alarm for 5:30, so I'd be up in time to start hiking at first light, which I did. This is by far the earliest start I can remember. It was very cold starting out, had on all of my clothes at first, but as the sun rose over the ridge it warmed up quickly. The hike into town wasn't too terribly hard, just very tedious, as Stick had warned me yesterday. It was a rollercoaster of sorts, just lots of little ups and downs. In my haste to make it into town, a few new blisters developed and my knees started aching. I made it to the road around 10. I went down to the hotel and checked in and left a key at the desk for Stick. Made calls home and to Neels Gap concerning my boots I had sent back. Took a shower and headed out to start the long walk to the Post Office. I saw Stick coming out of the lobby and said that he met a guy, Del, who'd give us a ride to the Post Office. Del was a nice guy who took us there and waited and drove us back to the hotel. I'm glad we had a ride because I had 4 boxes waiting for me; food drop, summer sleeping bad I had bounced forward from Damascus, my Gregory Acadia pack that I'd be using now, and a new pair of sneakers I'd bought in Pearisburg since these were worn out. We put our clothes washing and headed down to the outfitter so I could buy a Jet Boil stove. They were all out so my next bet is Waynesborro. Stick and I ate at this place called 3 Little Pigs, a BBQ place. I highly recommend that all hikers do not pass this place up without eating here. The food was awesome with the service to match. Later on, I sent most of my winter gear home; my sleeping bag, big pack, pants, heavyweight longjohns, extra shirt, and one nalgene bottle. The box I mailed home with all of this stuff weighed a little over 20 pounds!!For supper, we ate at Taco Bell, the first one on the trail that we have found. Mickey D's was across the street, so after I ate, I bought 4 double cheeseburgers for a snack later on. Unfourtunately, on the mile walk back, only 1 of them made it back to the hotel room.