morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Campsite 430.9

To: Low Gap campsite 444.6
Miles today: 13.7

Skeemer pulls out ahead of us this morning and despite intentions to leave early we don't make it out until 8:45. It's a bit chilly at first but it soon heats up and after a short climb we start shedding some layers. There is lots of ridge walking again accompanied by nice views. Mr. Sweepers passes us and later when we take a break Peanut passes us too. She tells us to ambush the two guys behind her but we don't have time because they come up close behind her. When we get going again we meet a dayhiker going south. My mom tells him that's she's huffing and puffing... in Dutch (hijgen en puffen). So the man is quite puzzled until I translate for him. We catch up with Peanut, Southshore and Ribeye at Double Springs shelter and chat and eat. Ribeye made himself four tortillas with tuna and cheese but can't finish the last one. Although I put myself on a diet (haha) I help him out. It was quite tasty. Bearbait (whom we had met at Kincora) catches up to us here. We all leave close to each other. The boys soon pass us and the other two are already ahead of us. We are camping again tonight and we have the site to ourselves so we have more 'pee freedom' (I just made that up, sounds good doesn't it?). It makes my mom very happy. It is only 7pm but we are already in our sleeping bags and I think I hear my mom snoring. I'll be sleeping soon too. The last couple of nights have been a bit too chilly for my super lightweight summerbag. Maybe I should get my mom her own sleeping bag so I can have my nice and comfy winterbag back. Oh, the things you do to keep your parents happy... I won't give her my superduper Belcher pillow though.Two more people show up, my mom will have to look for a tree after all...
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Damascus

To: Iron Mountain shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday had town food, movies and miniature golf. How can we top that? Well, an easy trail with ice cream along the way comes pretty close. Yay for the Virginia Creeper trail! So I didn't follow all the white blazes... I followed them last year and thought mom could use some easier trail. She's been hiking really well these past days but why make it hard when you don't have to. Plus the Creeper is really nice along the creek and there was a cafe with ice cream (not that I knew that in advance). In short, it rocked!!!We've made good mileage which puts us in a nice place to get to Troutdale before Traildays. It's nice not to push the miles so mom can actually have somewhat of a vacation.We made it to Iron Mountain shelter where there are more hikers then I've ever seen. I'd say about twenty or so.Fun conversations are had and we got a good laugh when Da Ox said Gonorrhea(sp?) instead of Giardia. A thru hiker is easily amused...
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Iron Mountain shelter

To: Thomas Knob shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

I actually cooked breakfast this morning. My mom wanted some coffee so I had the stove out anyways. I usually eat my oatmeal for dinner but I guess it won't hurt for breakfast; )Jaybird offered my mom some Poptarts so she could get a good taste of American food and L.B. gave her a peanut butter ball. Interesting morning meal for her.The first hiking wasn't too hard but once we hit VA 601 there is some real climbing again. We take it slow and lots of people pass us. No worries we'll make it to the top. When we get to the spring at White top mountain mom thinks it's a good idea to take a lunch break. In itself a great idea except that a thunderstorm seems to be blowing in. Mom doesn't have experience with thunderstorms in the mountains and thinks it will stay in the valley. I convince her that we should get going and it's good we do because as soon as we cross the road and head in to the forest the storm hits us. We are prepared though. My pack cover is on, moms poncho and my rainjacket are accesible. Too bad my rain pants are still in Holland...Luckily we are heading down and towards more cover because mom is scared of thunder and lightning. When I hear some guys approaching saying something like 'Auntie Em, a twister!' I yell 'It's not a twister, it's .... err.... something else' (the word thunderstorm didn't come to mind). The one guy yells back: 'I know that voice'. It's 4Winds!!! Burrito's friend who I visited in March. He and his friend are on his way to Damascus for Traildays. How fun to run into him like that! We hurry along but the thunderstorm is really close now and it even starts hailing. There isn't a good place to take cover so we just go on and luckily it stops when we get to Elk Garden. We have to start climbing again and the weather is not nice enough to take a break so mom gets pretty tired. She's still doing great though which is good because I can't wait too long. My pants have gotten pretty wet and I don't want to cool off too much. We're both really happy when we make it to the shelter. The sun has come out a little and our clothes are drying and the views are great!!!The shelter is packed. I'm glad I'm in here though because it just started thundering again.
Date: 2005-05-11
From: crappy campsite

To: Old Orchard shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

Old Orchard shelter, 11 milesNormally hikers will be quiet when they pack up early. Not so this morning. Two section hikers start packing before 6am, aren't considerate at all and wake everything up with their noise. Some people...By the time we start packing (a few hours later) they are still not ready. Mom and I are amazed. The views over the Grayson Highlands are awesome. Low clouds hanging in the valley. Just as I set up my camera to take a picture of the both of us against the dramatic background Clearwater comes by and offers to take the picture for us. Thanks Clearwater!We approach the ponies. Clearwater, mom and I enjoy a few moments looking at them from a far. Then they notice us and come towards us. They start licking our hands and the top of my trekking poles. Are they looking for salt? We leave the ponies and enter the rocky and exposed terrain of the highlands. Gorgeous! We leapfrog some with Jaybird and he takes some cool pics of mom and me on top of some rocks. A few moments later we see Clearwater and Jersey Fresh high up on a big rock formation. They are sooo cool ; ). I stay safely down with my mom and try to snap their picture. When we get to Fatman's Squeeze my mom and I squeeze ourselves through but Jay bird gets stuck because of his pack. He has to take it of to be able to continue but eventually makes it.Expect for a short rain and some distant thunder the day has been so nice. I'm glad I got the chance to show my mom this beautiful area.
Date: 2005-05-12
From: Old Orchard shelter

To: Dickey Gap
Miles today: 10.0

Dickey Gap (Troutdale), 10 milesEverybody is talking about Traildays. To go or not to go... that is the question. Well, I know my answer. I'm going!!! I hope to see some buddies from last year and hang out with Squanto, 4Winds and Mad Mike. Squanto is supposed to pick me up in Troutdale so that's the destination for today. The ten easy miles fly by.Once we get to the road I try to thumb a ride to Troutdale. Mom isn't too fond of the idea. She has never hitched before and heard too many scary stories so she's trying to get me to walk the 2.5 miles. I don't want to walk the extra hour so keep hitching. Mom is very surprised when somebody actually pulls over and it turns out to be a nice guy. We make jokes about how he's going to kidnap us and drop us in the middle of nowhere.He lets us out at the trading post though and we enjoy a great bacon cheese burger. Then we find our way to the Church hostel where we meet up with Clearwater again. We take a shower, do laundry and call Squanto.He picks us up in the afternoon and we're at Traildays!!!
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Rd 311

To: Lamberts meadow shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

Lamberts meadow shelter, 10.4 milesBriarpatch drops us off at rd 311 so I can show my mom some of the highlights of the AT. Mc Afee knob& Tinker cliffs. We have a good climb up to the knob. We are proud of ourselves when we pass some day hikers. They have to take a break while we can just go on eventhough we are carrying packs and they are not. We are so cool; )The weather is great today and we have good views from McAfee Knob. My mom is a little afraid of heights but she still comes pretty close to the edge and we pose for a picture together. She turns her back to the view though when someone sits on the very edge. We push on to Tinker Cliffs and see an amazing sky. Sun beams are shooting from breaks in the clouds.   Mom loves it! She says this was worth all the effort of climbing up here.We started around 11:30 am this morning but still make it to Lamberts meadow shelter. Way to go mom!!!We chat with Peeps and Hardcore Hiker, two very cool girls. Too bad they are actually two weeks ahead of me.
Date: 2005-05-16
From: Traildays Damascus

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Daleville, 9.4 milesToday brings us a very rocky ridge. Mom doesn't enjoy the rocks very much but we both like the views. One side has Virginian country side the other lots of trees and a big river. We dilly dally. Mom is in no hurry to get to the end. We take lots of breaks and enjoy the sun. It feels like vacation! We've got the whole day to do 9.5 miles and we're both in better shape so there's no need to hurry.We eventually do make it to Daleville though. End of the hiking for mom : (Mandy picks us up from the gas station and we have another good night's sleep in Catawba.
Date: 2005-05-17
From: Catawba

To: Catawba
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

17/5 CatawbaBig plans for today. We're going to do Trailmagic near Audie Murphy, do some shopping and drop my mom off at the airport in Roanoke.First we go to the Dollar store and buy lots of goodies. We then drive up the dirt road, tie some balloons to the cooler and leave the drinks and snacks near the bench hoping hikers will enjoy them.Because we have been kind of lazy this morning we now have to hurry to get my mom to the airport in time. Everything goes smoothly though. I'm trying to prepare mom for her change of planes in Cincinnati. She's a little nervous since this is her first time changing planes by herself. I later hear that everything worked out fine. She sat next to a nice gentleman who walked her all the way to her gate.On the way back Mandy and I stop at a fun hippie store and I buy a cool hemp bracelet. After some good food we check up on the trailmagic and everything is gone!!! Wow! There must have been a ton of hikers coming through. Cool!!!
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Catawba

To: Partnership shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Partnership shelter, 14.5 milesToday is the first day of the rest of my hike. I hereby promise not to take more than two consecutive days off and more importantly I will stick with the AT!!! No more talk about taking off to Colorado. I'll save that for after I've summited Katahdin. I need to get serious about this thru hike. No more dilly dallying or vacationing.If I break this promise feel free to sign my guestbook telling me that I'm a wimp or a wuss ; )Anyway, Briarpatch drops me off at the Greyhound station in the morning. In the bus I meet two guys who are going to do trail maintenance. I'm thinking maybe the person that will pick them up might give me a ride. The distance from Marion to Dickey Gap doesn't seem too long but hitching by myself is not one of my favorite things to do. When I get to Marion however I spot a thru hiker and a girl in the parking lot. When I get out of the bus I walk over to them and ask if they happen to be going to Dickey Gap. The hiker isn't because he's leaving the trail but the girl turns out to be Rising Phoenix who is doing trailmagic. She is happy to give me a ride. It couldn't have worked out any better!!! I'm so lucky! At the trailhead we meet two more hikers and chat for a while. They want to go into Troutdale so I take off by myself. It's around 2:45pm so I don't know how far I'll get but the weather and trail are great. Close to Trimpi shelter I meet two hikers going south. They ask me where the shelter is. I didn't expect that question because I thought the shelter was just up ahead. Oops! I missed it! No big deal I'm a little low on water but there should be some in two miles.I get company from Tomato Head. He's from Canada. We chat and walk together for a bit but he doesn't want to go as far as I want. I've decided to try to push for Partnership shelter. I'm thinking I should get there before 9pm. The hiking is fairly easy though and when I get to the shelter around 8:30 it's still light out. Nice!!! Several people have ordered pizza and I get a slice. Yum!There are a lot of hikers here. Lots of new faces and names. I hope I'll remember them all. I've taken a nice warm shower and am now comfortable in my sleeping bag. Good night!!!
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Partnership shelter

To: campsite
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

Campsite, 17.8 milesA lot of early risers this morning. Maybe I'll get back into that maybe not... Mellow, one of the hikers at Partnership last night catches up to me on an uphill and we leapfrog for the rest of the day. It's fun having a buddy for a while!There's lots of up and down today, many stiles to cross and plenty of mud. We take our time at the truck stop. In 2 1/2 hours we manage to eat burgers, go grocery shopping and have way too much milkshake. Remind me never to order a large milkshake ever again!!!I also saw a ground hog today.
Date: 2005-05-20
From: campsite

To: chestnut knob shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

Chestnut knob, 16.7 milesWe had some rain and tunder last night and today it's drizzling most of the time.After lots of climbing we get to Chestnut knob helter. Fog is all around. The place has kind of a mystical feel to it.At the shelter we catch up to Hopeful Hiker who's always good for entertainment. I don't remember why but at some point he asks me if I want to touch his underwear. Eeuwww!I think this is when I lost my concentration and melted a hole in my jacket. Or could it be that I'm just clumsy?
Date: 2005-05-21
From: chestnut knob shelter

To: crappy campsite
Miles today: 17.5

Crappy campsite, 17.5 milesA 100ft freefall from a rock and a bear attack... oh really?!It's a beautiful foggy morning again. The views over the clouds in the valley are awesome. The sun is poking through the clouds above us. Will it be sunny today?We do some rocky ridge walking with nice views again and take a break on a big rock. When I climb back down I slip and slide down. Okay, not a 100ft free fall... but I do bleed a little.There is more ridge walking and a sign that says view. I turn and tadaaa!!! Great view.Finally there is a nice gradual down hill. I have lunch at Jenkins shelter. I think I lost Mellow at the viewpoint. Then it is time for the multiple creek crossings. It is muddy. I don't like muddy because I'm hiking in my sandals today. I get to clean my feet at the last crossing though. This is where Mellow finally catches up. He had taken a nap at that viewpoint. The lazy bum!There is a nice campsite near the creek but we both want to hike a little further. It is hard to find good campsite though. We check out an abandoned forest road but decide to look for something better. When I turn the corner I see three bears! A mamma bear and two cubs. One of the cubs climbs in a tree so I get to have a good look at him. So fun!We end up camping on an abandoned forest road anyway. There is nothing else around. There are lots of sticks underneath my tent let's hope they won't poke a hole in my therma rest.
Date: 2005-05-22
From: crappy campsite

To: campground at store VA 606
Miles today: 22.6

I actually slept quite well last night. No sticks were poking me. We get up real early because we want to do a 20 today and Mellow says he can't do a 20 if he doesn't start early. He loves to take breaks.We spot a bearcub again. The same one as yesterday?It's an easy hike to the road to Bland. It's very tempting to hitch in and grab a Pepsi and some pizza but I continue hiking. Such a determined girl.I'm hiking fast and getting a little bored. I think the shelter should be closer but discover it's 16 miles from where I started this morning. I almost step on a small green snake and scream like a girl (how else?). I get to the shelter at 2pm, nice!!! In the process I think I lost Mellow. Too bad, it was fun hiking with him.I decide to take a long lunch. I even cook and almost set my bracelet on fire.The last 6.5 miles are a lot slower than I want. It's very rocky over the ridge crest, ugh!!When I get to the bridge over Kimberling Creek there are some obstacles. Human obstacles that is. Two fisherman are blocking my way through. With some effort I can squeeze by the first one but the bridge is too narrow for me, my pack and the second fisherman. He has to wak all the way to the end to let me by. A little akward but not as akward as me and my pack pushing him aside.I finally get to the road and walk to the store. I meet more hikers and join them at the 'campground' (more a grassy field). There are showers, laundry and pizza! There's lots of talk about trails and long distance hiking. I ask the repeat AT hiker why he keeps hiking the same trail and doesn't do any of the others. It just baffles me. There is so much more than just the AT.Anyway, I've got clean clothes and a clean body and lots of people to talk to. Yippee!I was listening to Paul Simon's 'Graceland' song today. Such beautiful lyrics. I wrote them down:'losing love is like a window in your heart, everybody sees you're blown apart. Everybody feels the wind blow'.I don't know it kind of touched me.
Date: 2005-05-23
From: campground at store VA 606

To: wet flat spot near viewpoint
Miles today: 21.2

After the long day yesterday I feel like taking it easy today. Swifty, Hookie and I have breakfast at the store. I discover the ideal hiking partner here. His name is Hunter Dan and I decide to take him with for as long as he wants. I make him leave his hunting accesories behind because of weight issues. He's a little sad about that but also excited about being in the woods again.I'm all packed up to go after breakfast but decide to check my e-mail and get lost in that. Swifty and Hookie in the meantime have packed up to and we head out together. It's around 9:30 now. Seriously late. I lose my new friends as soon as the trail starts climbing (as if that's something new). The climb isn't bad though. It's followed by a nice semi-level stretch. Enjoyable miles.I notice that by not focusing on the next destination (shelter, stream, road...) I'm enjoying myself much more. I'm just dilly dallying. Taking pictures of the azaleas, taking food breaks and rest breaks whenever I feel like it, staring at the clouds for I don't know how long... I'm liking this freedom.My day dreaming gets disturbed when I see a big black snake on the trail. Mommie, help! I poke it with my trekking pole trying to get it to move from the trail. It stays put though and just hisses at me. In a very mean and wicked way. I stare at it for a while, take its' picture and finally see it move away. I step around it leaving plenty of room between us. It still coils up and hisses at me when I pass though. I prefer bunnies...All the relaxing etc. results in lots of time spent and little miles accumulated. When I arrive at Doc's knob I still have about five miles to go to where I want to camp. I decide to have dinner there and then continue trying to get to my site right before dark. The older gentlemen from the night before are here too and there is lively conversation and rave reviews of 'EZ Does It's' dessert.I push on. Everything goes well until it starts raining. At first I hope it will blow over. It continues though and get more intense. I keep thinking that I'm almost at my site and don't want to stop to put raingear on. Almost there... almost there...I end up getting soaked and realize that I really need to put my tent up. It is now almost dark and I am wet. Now why didn't I stop earlier? I'm so smart ; )I find a sort of flat spot, throw my Tyvek down which immediately starts accumulating puddles of water. I throw my tent on top of the puddles and try to stake the whole thing out. Except for the fact that some trees are preventing me from setting it up tightly I manage to get some sort of tent like thing going. I crawl in and remove my cotton (!) top and shorts.Dry and warm fleece... so nice!!!
Date: 2005-05-24
From: wet flat spot near viewpoint

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 2.7
Weather: light rain

I slept remarkably well in all the wet weather. I dream about being caught in a snow storm and not needing the rescue team that people have sent after me. See, even in my dreams I can peel my own beans (Dutch expression ; ).I only have a few muddy miles to go before I enter Pearisburg. Because of the wet stuff I decide to take a room in a motel. There are a ton of hikers here. Fun! I share my room with Hammer who has to stay in town because of an eye infection. The poor guy's eyes are oversensitive to light so he can't do much more than stay inside and listen to me chatter away. I try to focus on the ton of journal entries that have to be written but find so much stuff to talk about... poor Hammer indeed.I get to take nice bath in Phoenix Rising's bathtub (she's next door). Our tub has huge cracks in it so I don't think the downstairs neighbors would appreciate us using it.Town food, a nice and comfy bed, a bath... Life is good!
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Pearisburg

To: Campsite mile 634.2
Miles today: 12.5

I have bought enough breakfast stuff so that I don't have to go out and can leasurely do breakfast in bed. So nice!!! I finally get my lazy butt in gear and go to the motel office to put my new journal entries online. Before I know it it is lunch time. I run in to Drifter (one of Squanto's buddies) and we grab a burger together. We meet Tillie from Woodshole Hostel and she gives me hard time about not having stayed at her hostel ; ) She's actually very nice and now I wish I would have stayed. When I'm almost done with my burger one of the other older ladies at the restaurant points out that one of our buddies is walking down the street. It's Clearwater! I soon start to chase him down and catch him right at the trailhead. We chat for a while until it goes uphill and I have to let him go. I pass Lost&Found and Sunshine, a couple that is hiking a big section. During the long gradual climb I listen to my radio and when I'm busy changing stations Hammer catches up to me. His eyes look much better and hurt less too. Not long after he passes me I notice that my sunglasses are gone. Not again!!! I lost a pair last year in Chama and I really don't want to have to buy new ones again. I'm all nervous when I hike back down. I hope I'll find them, where could I have lost them?? When I see Lost&Found I ask him if he's seen them. Of course with a trailname like that you have high expectations. And he found them!!! I'm so relieved. I thank him and hug him. I'm so happy!I hurry back to my pack and continue the climb. I pass Clearwater who is enjoying a late lunch. I tell him all about how happy I am (yes, I'm a little hyper). He says it's only 3 miles to the shelter. Wow! I'm moving right along.I check in at the shelter but decide to go a little further. The weather does look a bit threatening but it's only 5 o'clock and I'm not tired at all. The views are great. I'm high on the ridge and can see quite far. Everything is so green. Beautiful!!!The hiking is easy and I cruise along till I suddenly see a bear to the right. Mu third bear sighting! It's close enough to take a picture, too close for comfort. I move swiftly past him.More nice views follow and I meet Hammer and un unknown at the campsite. The unknown remains unknown because he never comes out of his tent eventhough it's only 6:30pm when I arrive. We do hear him snore however.After dinner we watch a great sunset.These are the days that keep me out here. Fun!