morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-05-26
From: Lick Creek

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 64 5/26: Hail!A long, but beautiful day. The weather was great in the morning, but storms festered above us the entire day. It is fun to watch the clouds develop, but not so much fun to reap the "rewards" of those clouds.We had a steep and long climb up Chestnut Ridge, a mountain meadow next to Beartown Wilderness. We went from 2500' to 4500' in 4 miles. The walking kept going and going and all I wanted was to eat lunch.Chestnut Ridge was another one of my favorite places on the trail so far. The colors were astounding; greens in all shades, red shrubby plants, bright purple poison ivy, yellow butter cups, and a sky the richest blue. I didn't want to go back into the woods, but lunch and shade were calling. All of this would have been missed had I not taken a minute to turn around and look behind me.It is amazing how the beginning of the day can be so different than the end. After leaving Chestnut Knob Shelter, we had 10 miles to go before getting to Jenkins Shelter for the night. From Walker Gap to VA 623 (5 miles), we walked just below the ridge-line going up and down repeatedly, even if only slightly.We finally saw a bear! Trudge startled it and the small brown fuzzy-butt went bounding away. We didn't see a mama, but you can bet she was near by. And, Trudge didn't run like the old lady in Atkins said he would.On the way down the mountain, the thunder got progressively louder and louder. Could we make it to the shelter before the rain? This is a negative. Soon, the torrential downpour is upon us with marble-sized hail stinging us over and over. It is dark and we are drenched. We start to run, but fast movement is a bad idea. My glasses are too wet to be of any use and I fall and scrape my knee. I look like I have little kid legs all cut up and hairy.We finally make it to the shelter around 9 ish. Shaggy, Cat Woman, Bam Bam, and D-man make some room for us. Just snacks for dinner, no energy for cooking.
Date: 2011-05-27
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: moderate rain

5/27 Day 65: Bland, VA lives up to its name.Today started out wonderful! D-man (an elderly man, southbound section hiker) woke up around 4:30 and started rustling his gear and cooking breakfast at Trudge's feet. Oh, the wonders of staying in shelters. If Trudge had moved his feet just a little bit D-man's steaming pot of ramen noodles would have spilled its contents everywhere. This went on for over an hour or so and then the person on my other side got up. All hope was lost for Trudge and I to fall back asleep.So, we got up and moving. But not very fast. The sky started dripping again, so we laid out our sleeping pads and bags and took a cat nap.   We wanted to make it to Bland, VA before the post office closed at 4, but we also didn't want to start out hiking in miserable conditions. We tried to hitch from VA 615, but no cars drove by. Then as soon as we started hiking we heard a car, but couldn't make it back in time. No, yellow-blazing for us yet.We did however get an easy ride into town once we got off the trail. We were cleaning our gear and setting it out to dry in our hotel room, when Trudge says "I think I just saw Splitter." He was right. Splitter, StrawHat, Segway, and Janna were hanging out in a motel room near ours.A great big thank you goes out to Ceil and Paula for providing the gift card we used to pay for the hotel!
Date: 2011-05-28
From: Bland, VA

To: near VA 611
Miles today: 10.0

Day 66 5/28: Quickest in and out of town on record!We managed to leave town and get back on the trail before noon. This never happens. Of course, since we didn't have cell service in town, but at the trailhead; we didn't start hiking till several hours later. We picked up our new home at the post office and sent home the old one. My pack weight is down; no tent, no "brain", no hat, etc. I keep offering to take the filter or stove from Trudge, but he hasn't taken me up on the offer. I guess I won't complain.Bland, VA has little to nothing to offer hikers. No laundry at the motel, no real restaurants to speak of, and no real grocery stores. I convinced Trudge last night not to buy cereal and pepperoni at the extremely over-priced store, because there was an IGA in town. Turns out the IGA was out of business and we were too far to get back to the over-priced store. I guess Trudge was right.A local man offered us and Animal and Fro a ride back to the trail in his pickup. Sweet! The trail was a series of up and downs that really wear on me. I think the bugs decided today was the day to pester me. Every kind of bug either bit, crawled, buzzed in my ear, or otherwised annoyed the hell out of me. It is almost as if once one bug has found you, they tell all their friends. And as soon as you kill one they all come back in droves to get revenge. I didn't choose the best spot to set up our new tent, but it worked ok. The new tent is spacious, lighterweight, and we can even sit up in it. Hopefully, it works well in storms.
Date: 2011-05-29
From: mile past VA 611

To: Dismal Creek Falls
Miles today: 11.5

Day 67 5/29: Our miles lie.We made 11.5 miles on the trail, but actually walked 9 or so. No, this is not a riddle. We headed off trail and walked on a road half mile to get to Trent's Store. Their grocery supply was minimal, but we did get some Cajun fries. After some debate, we decided to cut a couple miles out of the day by walking a mile down the road to Dismal Falls. We walked maybe a half a mile and a nice lady offered us a ride. Sure, why not. The rest of the afternoon was spent frolicking in the beauty of Dismal Falls. Many other hikers were there (Irish Charm, Falling Turtle, Cookie, Redbeard, Habitat). No reason to go on. We make friends on the trail by baking. We presented the crew with a delicious chocolate cake with cream-cheese icing (the same icing that went over the cliff). Redbeard said that this might be one of the most ridiculous things he has seen on the AT yet! I guess that was our goal. I think one of the hardest parts of the trail for me is trying to accept the "Hike your own hike" adage. It is difficult not to compare yourself to others. Why am I not faster? Why can someone else hike 25 miles in a day and not appear to be the least bit exhausted? I get frustrated when we get to a shelter and a hiker is there that I know never passed us. It is obvious that a little yellow-blazing is going on. This shouldn't concern me, especially when Trudge and I have now joined in on this sticky slope away from white-blaze purity. It is a quick descent.
Date: 2011-05-30
From: Dismal Falls

To: Wood's Hole Hostel
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 68 5/30: And the blue-blaze begins.Well, since we have already yellow-blazed (walked on roads/hitched hike to cut miles), we might as well blue-blaze.We decided to shorten the hike by about 4 miles today and walk on the blue-blazed Ribble Trail. That may have been a mistake. The map didn't match the trail and the trail wasn't well-marked. We got to our destination without too much problem, so in the end maybe it was worth it.We spent the night tenting at Wood's Hole hostel, which is a Chestnut Log bunkhouse and cabin built in 1880. I immediately fell in love with the place. Peaceful, relaxing, sustainable. They have well-maintained gardens, make their own soap, and a brick pizza oven.We found many friends at the hostel. We decided to head to the beach after all and invited our friend Whisper, whom we hadn't expected to catch up to.
Date: 2011-05-31
From: Wood's Hole Hostel

To: THE BEACH
Miles today: 0.0

5/31 Day 69: VACATION!We shuttled into Pearisburg, VA with Neville from Wood's Hole hostel. The car was so full that I had to sit on Trudge's lap. Every time I turned, Trudge would wince.She took us to Enterprise, where Trudge, Whisper, and I proceeded to rent a car and head to the beach. Many hours later, we arrived at Point II in Hatteras. It is wonderful to see family, friends, and swim in the gorgeous ocen.We spent several hours at REI on the way down. As thruhikers, we were in awe of the gear and almost overwhelme.
Date: 2011-06-01
From: THE BEACH

To: THE BEACH
Miles today: 0.0

Day 70-76 6/1-6/6For the past week we have enjoyed the outerbanks of North Carolina. I thought lounging on the beach would be difficult after spending two months hiking. Boy was I wrong. This vacation has been precisely what I needed to rejuventate my mind, body, and soul. The ocean has been warm, the beer cold, the food delicious, and the company even better. Thank you to Trudge's family for this opportunity.Tonight or tomorrow we head back to the trail. Wish us luck!
Date: 2011-06-06
From: THE BEACH

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 75 6/6: A sad last day at the beach!We found out that the rental car had to be back at 12:30pm, instead of at the end of the business day. Since we are poor drifters and didn't want to pay the extra late fees, we left the beach around 10 pm tonight. Trudge drove straight through the night with minimal stops for napping. I HATE riding in cars for such long distances; just couldn't get my legs comfortable. Maybe I have restless leg syndrome. We eventually made it to Pearisburg around 11 am. Do we really have to continue hiking?
Date: 2011-06-07
From: Pearisburg

To: Glasgow, VA ?
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 76 6/7: A wasted daySince we had the rental car till 12:30 we decided to grab some lunch at Friends and Family Restaurant. On trail I always tend to crave salads, so I ordered a chicken teriyaki salad. It was sure tasty, but probably not the type of salad my body was really searching for. That's ok, because whenever Trudge gets a salad I am always the glad recipient of his unwanted tomatoes and cucumbers.Whisper went to the store for running shorts. We skipped going to the outfitter since it was 6 miles out of town and we would have run out of time.After returning the car, we were all very tired and out of sorts. We have become good at loitering. The swing outside of Rendezvous motel provided some much needed shade and a place to hang our hats for a few hours. Trudge fell asleep sitting up without even realizing it (until he noticed that he was drooling.)The beach time was great, but we wanted to get back on our "schedule." Let us do the ultimate yellow-blaze and hitchhike north about 150 miles by trail. We stood near an on-ramp for VA 460 for about a half an hour with no success at getting a ride. I was so desperate that I called a friend that I hadn't seen in a long while who lives over an hour away from Pearisburg. I didn't really think he would be able to help us out, but it was good to chat for a bit.One guy stopped and told us he would take us, but he was going the wrong direction. Why even stop?? Then he peeled out and made a dangerous U-turn right in front of several fast moving cars. Maybe, we didn't want to ride with him anyway? I hope we don't cause an accident in our attempts to mooch a ride. Two state police officers drove by and we were positive that would be the end of our hitchhiking in this town. They just waved.Well, I guess we had to walk after all. We weaved our way on trail through town and forest and tried to hitch 2 more times. We ran into Cool Runnings (who used to be SB for Southbound). We met him way back at Burningtown Gap trail magic in North Carolina. It took us awhile to figure out that we had met him before and where it was. He also wanted to hitch a ride north.This wasn't our day for air-conditioned fast-moving car rides. We went on our merry way and camped in a clearing along side the trail behind an industrial-looking building. Whisper went down to ask if they minded if we camped there. The young kid at the front desk said he didn't think his manager would mind. I hoped he knew what he was talking about.We managed to set our tent up just in time to avoid the heavy rain. First time in a storm with this new home! Whisper sent his tarp ahead so all he has is a bivy. He made a shelter for his head on a nearby sawhorse. Unfortunately, he finished when the storm was ending.
Date: 2011-06-09
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 78 6/9: I wish I had some punch.It was hotter than blazes today. Shade didn't even offer enough reprieve. We could barely move for fear of heat exhaustion. I don't think I have sweated more in my life! I could squeeze water out of my belly button. I bet you didn't really want to know that. In a matter of minutes the small divets in the tops of my hiking poles were filled with sweat. But, girls don't really sweat, they glisten, right? The humidity was unbearable. We met four young men (Littering Lost Boys) today who seemed to be completely out of it, ill-prepared, and maybe slightly ignorant. They were planning on being out 2 nights, but bailed before the 1st day was over. At the end of the day the Littering Lost Boys showed up at the local watering hole to get some aqua. Some treated their water, others did not. And those that did treat their water with chemical tablets didn't wait the required 15-20 minutes. Trudge nonchalantly asked them how long it took for their treatment to work. One guy said 15 minutes and I responded "You should probably wait the whole time." He said "I know the risks." Oh well, you can't help the unwilling.We saw venomous snake, either a Copperhead or Timber Rattlesnake, curled up in grass next to the trail. I almost stepped on it, but side-stepped just in time. Trudge threw a few sticks towards it to get it to move. It didn't even flinch. We both wanted to see it stretch out, but didn't want to risk getting bit. Later, we spoke to Matt who thinks he saw the same snake, but was a bit more lively then. Good thing, we didn't disturb it too much.We ran out of water for the last three miles!!! This was a horrible thing to do on such a hot day. We had planned on getting water at a spring, but there was a hand-written note on the trail sign that said "NO H2O" I tried to convince myself that I was cold as we were hiking. It worked slightly.
Date: 2011-06-10
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Buena Vista
Miles today: 11.3

Day 79 6/10 Never ever pass up a chance to swimToday's temperature wasn't too bad. Still hot, but not unbearable. I hear about people who don't want to hike in the heat so I think they should (or will need to) jump up to New England. Summer is here to stay. As I was getting ready to pump water this morning, I saw a salamander jump off a rock into the spring. I was surprised that these little critters would take such a nosedive.There were some steady climbs today, but nothing too too bad. Both Trudge and I are getting sores from our packs rubbing. These are usually easily remedied by just a little time off.We passed by several places where we could have swum today. We walked on a ridgeline near deep clear blue beautiful Pedlar Lake wishing that the trail would drop down next to the lake at a sandy beach. No suck luck. We passed by a small swimming hole in the lake and kept going hoping for another one. Once again no suck luck. The trail started to head away from the trail, so in a last minute effort I went wading (or rather sat) in a small creek that fed into the lake. I've decided that from here to Maine I will never pass up a chance to swim! Unless of course, the water is cold.We hitched into Buena Vista and are sharing a room with Whisper and Chloe. We get to see my parents in five days! Our ride into town could have been eventful. We were picked up by a redneck hillbilly in a truck. I rode in the back and enjoyed the sunset along Blue Ridge. Trudge road upfront and tried to converse with the driver as he constantly spit out chew and drank a bud light with clamato. Hard to understand him, but at least we got there safe.I do not recommend staying in the Budget Inn. Dirty bathroom, towels that smelled like smoke, several mattresses were being stored in the 2nd room. The continental breakfast consisted of only juice and pre-packed pastries. Yumm! Come'on we are hikers.
Date: 2011-06-12
From: VA 60 trailhead

To: Seeley-Woodworth shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 81 6/12: Strawberry delightI finally ate a wild strawberry today that actually tasted good. Apparently, I had been eating the wrong ones and before they were ripe. There are at least 2 kinds of wild strawberries and one of them tastes better than the other (and more like a store-bought strawberry). I had the pleasure of hearing Trudge say "I told you so."We have learned to identify several edible plants so far. The latest is cowparsnip, a large tooth-leaved plant with many leaflets and a white umbrella-shaped flowerhead. The roots and shoots are edible.We had good and bad timing with rain today. We escaped the first storm by setting up our tent at Hog Camp Gap right before a downpour. Nothing better than an afternoon nap. The next storm though we weren't so luck. Sopping, dripping wet we arrived at the shelter where Chloe was trying to sleep, Catwoman was cooking, and Deb and Ian had set up their tent in the shelter. We decided to tent even though there was room in the shelter. We didn't want to wake up with Catwoman at 4 am. Back at Hog Camp Gap an elderly lady told Trudge that we have to go to Dutch Haus B&B and then gave him 2 pepsi and 4 tango puddings. The puddings were 20 percent real and tasted like tang in pudding form.
Date: 2011-06-13
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Tye River, VA
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 82 6/13: Crazy dayToday was eventful! Since we had been told we had to check out Dutch Haus B&B, we decided to give it a try. The problem was it is a long walk off the trail. The guidebook says that they offered a free lunch to hikers, but we weren't sure if it went till 1 or 2 o'clock. When we got to the dirt road that heads toward Montebello, fish hatchery, and the B&B we decided to give it a try. Who doesn't want a free lunch? Even if we might get there late?Eventually we get to black-top road and kept going and going. When we found Dutch Haus B&B, we ran into Hot Drinks. He was in a robe, which was strange to see. Louis from the B&B made us 2 chicken salad sandwiches to go since we missed lunch and drove us as close to the trailhead as she could. The generosity of trail angels is amazing.The afternoon proved to be just as fun. I accidently got off the trial and headed towards Spy Rock. By the time I realized Trudge wasn't coming and that I wasn't on the AT, it made sense to waste more time to scramble up Spy Rock and see the view. The massive boulder reminded me of the top of Mt. Monadnock in NH. When I got back to the AT I unknowningly turned the wrong direction and started walking south. Oops. I went about 0.3 back down the hill we had just walked and met Molasses who informed me that I had gone the wrong way. I finally caught up with Trudge right before the Priest Shelter. We cooked dinner and read the hilarious confessions left by other hikers in the shelter log book. What do you think we wrote?We decided to night hike, becaue we hadn't walked many miles. Going the rest of the way up Priest Mt was easy, but heading down the other side at dusk was miserable. Rocky, steep, and rocky, and steep. I thought we would find a campsite on the downhill side. WRONG, we had to walk about 5 miles before it was flat enough. And Trudge now refsues to camp in a less than ideal spot. Our first night in the new tent had tons of dead standing trees. But, I guess can you blame him for trying to keep us safe?
Date: 2011-06-14
From: Tye River

To: Reeds Gap
Miles today: 10.6

Day 83 6/14: The brewery awaitsI pity those people who do not like good beer. I sometimes tease Trudge when he accepts free "bad" beer from others along the trail. Maybe, I should be nicer. We didn't make great miles today (10.6), but we did have an amazing evening at the Devils Backbone Brewery near Reeds Gap, VA. We climbed up Three Ridges, which was tough but not back-breaking. A little farther down the trail at Hanging Rock Overlook we had a great view of where we had hiked over the past few days, including The Priest and Three Ridges. At one much-needed break along the way, we met a day-hiker named Paul from near by and Torch, a thru-hiker from Rockville, MD. We mentioned to them that we were interested in going to Devils Backbone Brewery. How did we learn of said brewery?Someone had taken the time to write on the cover of Harpers Creek shelter logbook how you MUST check out the brewery. We didn't require much convincing. While getting ready to leave the shelter, I accidently yelled loudly at a deer, but surprisingly it didn't run away. The buck acted as if it wanted to be as close to the shelter as possible. Trudge managed to get a few photos of the deer, before it ran off. Why did it run off? I was getting tired of standing still, so I asked Trudge if I could get going. Oops. When Trudge caught up to me, he said that the deer had walked parallel with the trail for awhile. Anyway, we were lucky to have met Paul. Thank you! He had parked his car at Reed's Gap trail intersection and offered to wait a half hour or so for us to catch up to drive us down to the brewery. Luckily we weren't too slow, so he didn't have to wait. Torch, Paul, Trudge, and I had a delicious dinner and beer at the Brewery. The restaurant, which looked to me like it should be out west, had a 360 degree view of mountains. Trudge and I couldn't decide whether we wanted to hitch back to the trail or not. Turns out, you can even camp at the Brewery. Joe (the owner or manager) was extremely friendly; told us where we could set our tent up, offered us his farm house for a shower, and to take us back to the trail in the morning. Ahh, such is the life of a hiker!
Date: 2011-06-15
From: Reed's Gap

To: Dripping Rock Parking Area
Miles today: 4.8

Day 84 6/15: A wild goose chase ensues!This lovely morning we got a ride back to the trail with Joe from Devils Backbone Brewery. I highly recommend checking out this establishment if you are ever in the area. A big thank you goes out to Joe, who went out of his way to make us comfortable. While chit-chatting about our lives with him, we learned that he previously was in charge of the exports for Julio Gallo wine for Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Wow!My mom, Wendy, arrived today for a nice long visit in Shenandoah National Park. My dad was supposed to come too, but he had to help take care of his mother who is ill. We had made plans to meet mom at 6 pm at Rockfish Gap. A wild goose chase ensued, because when Trudge and I got to Dripping Rock Parking area we decided that we wouldn't be able to get to the gap in time if we hiked.At Dripping Rock Gap, we ran into Debra and Ian, whom we had been hiking with for the past several days. They were with their friends Charles and Mary, who were visiting on their way up to New York. We decided to get a ride with them into Waynesboro around 1ish and wait for mom there.Turned out my mom was closer than I thought. Of course, she didn't have cell service, I found all this out by talking to my sister, Amy. We got a ride back with Charles and the crew to Rockfish Gap, but mom wasn't there either. Now, what do we do? We decided to ride all the way up Skyline Drive to Loft Mountain Campground where they were camping. This was convienent, because my mom was supposed to set up camp there as well. Maybe we will find her there and save her the trip down?We kept our eyes peeled to the road, just in case we saw her pass us. Car after car went by and there was no sign of her. Then all of a sudden a blue Toyota 4-Runner is coming our way and the person inside is waving. Did she see us? Nope, she was waving because there were kayaks on top of our truck. Immediately, Charles pulled into the nearest overlook and I called mom. All I said when she answered was "Turn around." Eventually, we did connect and had a pleasant evening catching up over taco salad. We hope to slackpack most of the park with mom's help. Slackpacking means hiking with just a daypack and having someone to help transport you to and from the trail. Often times, hostels will offer this service, but this will be our first time slacking. Thanks, mom!