morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

View from Pearis MountainStart: Wapiti Shelter @ 0920Finish: Pearisburg (Holy Family Hostel) @ 1651Miles: 16.2Weather: Rain in morning/evening, Hot & Humid. Sun briefly peeked outBreakfast: Bagel w/cheese & pepporoni, Chocolate CIBLunch: Bagel w/Cheese & PepporoniDinner: Macaroni & Cheese, Snickers, OCP, fudgeround, WaterTrail Conditions: Hilly, Rocky, Muddy. Much like GeorgiaAnimals: Deer, Turkey, BirdsPeople: Belle, Shivers, Utah, Slow Barbara, Scorch, Brother, Willy, Yogi, Dig Doug, BackdraftI was quite tired so I opted for a late start. To no suprise it was hot, humid, muddy, and wet. Once again I was in no rush and knew I would be arriving in town at the end of the day.Shortly after I started walking it begain raining again. Having done several big mile days I decided to walk slow and went about two miles an hour. Fortunately, the skies cleared and I was able to get some great views a top Mt. Pearis. I crossed pathes with Slow Barabara who was also heading into town. Utah opted to stay at Woodshole Hostel, which has a wonderful reputation along the trail.I rolled into town a little before 5pm and began the trek across town to the hostel. Walking into town is always overwhelming with all the noise and traffic. I feel, and am, far safer out on the trail. I got to the post office at 5:30pm, an hour after they closed. However, Tina was still working and gladly got me my maildrop. Several minutes later as I left the P.O. Tina and her kids were leaving and offered me a ride to the hostel. I cordially accepted and was dropped off at the church. As I rounded the hostel I saw many familiar faces including Belle, and Yogi - who had hurt his ankle a bit and had to hitch to the hostel from Atkins. I finally met up with Shivers and several other hikers who were a bit ahead. We swaped stories, I ate some dinner and sorted my food drop. I also took a nice long and warm shower. It really lifted the spirits. Back Porch of Holy Family HostelThe hostel is plenty nice and I am looking forward to zeroing here.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-15
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Holy Family HostelStart: Holy Family HostelFinish: Holy Family HostelMiles: Zero Day 1Weather: Hot & Humid & RainyBreakfast: Forgot...Lunch: Bagel w/ Cheese & PepperoniDinner: Skillet Sensations Chicken AlfredoTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Dog, MothsPeople: Belle, Yogi, Shivers, Brother, Willie, Scorch, Shivers, Mellow Mike, Bill, Dig Doug, Backdraft, Car Wash guys, Truck Driver Dude It was nice to finally sleep in a bed, in a dry room. I stood up and nearly fell over my feet were so stiff and sore. I ate some breakfast and milled around the hostel with some of the crew before making my way into the city to take care of my chores.First stop was the pay and spray car wash to hose down my boots and pack. My boots were so laden with mud and crust I did 6 minutes of spray with soap and 6 minutes of spray with just plain water. Amazingly enough the emerged super clean and smelling fresh! I then sprayed off my pack with water. I set my stuff in the hot noon sun at the car wash, to begin drying, and I went to the Dairy Queen for a blizzard. I ate the ice cream at the car wash and shot the breeze w/ the two workers. I then pressed on to the Laundromat.Consistent with the weather pattern it began raining once again. It took about an hour to clean my crusty clothes. I chilled with Brother and Willie and shot the bull with a Puerto Rican truck driver. I then pushed off, in the rain, to the local library. I sent out e-mails to the friends back home and used the bathroom.When I got to the hostel Lamby and Goofy had arrived from Woodshole. Also, a lady named Ellen, who was leading a church group, came in. She had gotten terrible blisters and had to stop hiking. She was driving a large van that could hold about 15. She kindly offered to drive us around so we took an impromptu trip to Blacksburg to catch the movie Troy. Although there were cool battle scenes I was overall very disappointed with the acting and poor character development. On the return home we hit the Wal-Mart late at night and loaded up on some food.Back at the ranch everyone was sleeping, so we kept the voices low and cooked a midnight dinner. I ate on the porch listening to classic rock, writing a friend, and watching fire flies.It was nice to be dry and my morale definitely improved.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hanging out on the PorchStart: Holy Family HostelFinish: Holy Family HostelMiles: Zero Day 2Weather: Hot, Humid, RainyBreakfast: Apple Crisp Oatmeal, Bagel w/ cheese & pepperoniLunch: Homemade Flour Tortillas w/ eggs, turiso, hashbrowns, tomato, avocadoDinner: Red beans & RiceTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: DogPeople: Ellen, Dig Doug, Backdraft, Atlas, Lamby, Goofy, Terrapin, Smack, Mickey & Mallory, Yogi, Brother, Willie, Bill, Jacob, Hawkfeather, ScorchThe bunkhouse was full last night and was sweltering hot. Ellen and I decided we would purchase box fans for the hostel to keep the air moving. I had contemplated taking a Nero (were you don¢t start until afternoon and only hike a couple miles) but decided to settle for another zero. My boots were still wet, feet sore, and I just wanted to relax and enjoy being dry.We all pretty much did nothing all morning and into the early afternoon. Yogi, Lamby, Scorch, Goofy, Brother, Willie and I chilled on the porch listening to classic rock, reading, and carrying on relaxed and low key conversation. Another hiker had told Brother how to make tortillas out of flour and water. We fried them up on the electric skillet with olive oil and put on various toppings. They were very good to eat. Shortly after Brother and Willie left to go to Woods Hole Shelter. Belle headed north to stay with a friend and rest her feet. Atlas left to attempt a hitch to Washington DC.The rest of our crew made a run with Ellen to Wal-Mart to get dinner, supplies and food for the next day. On the way back I had her drop me off at the corner gas station down from the hostel. I thought they had a pay phone¢¦.they didn¢t so I walked a half mile to the Dollar store and called the folks. I also called my buddy Cory and caught up on the news in the home front. He¢s doing an Olympic distance Triathlon this weekend, hopefully it all goes well.We got the box fans operational that Ellen and I had bought. There was also a small TV/VCR combo at the hostel. Some of the crew had rented several movies, so we set up the tube on the porch and watched the Ring. It was an okay flick. Afterwards I called it a night, knowing I would take yet another zero.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Breakfast at the HostelStart: Holy Family HostelFinish: Holy Family HostelMiles: Zero Day 3Weather: Sunny & Hot. NO RAIN!Breakfast: French ToastLunch: Bagel & cheese w/ pepperoniDinner: Chicken Tenders, Mashed Potatoes, AppleTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: DogPeople: Team Aquablaze, Snatchy & Monk, Mountain Goat, Ellen, Nomad, Kiwi, JacobI¢ve been meaning to write this entry for quite some time, and after 40 days I finally have the time. So here is what I still remember of that day¢s events.At Wal-Mart the day before Yogi decided to pick up the goodies necessary to make a french toast breakfast for about 12 hungry hikers. In the morning he took over the kitchen and started cooking. Everyone else helped pitch in and set the picnic tables outside and do the dishes. All of us feasted on a great breakfast and took some group photos of the event.For the first time in ages we had a day with no rain, which was really nice. A bunch of us made plans to meet at the swimming pool down the road in the afternoon. I went to the library, caught up on e-mail, photo copied a slew of journals for the folks, and went to the community pool afterwards.Swimming was thoroughly refreshing and it was quite relaxing sitting along side the pool playing cards and passing the afternoon by. Unfortunately, I remained exposed to the sun far longer than expected and ended up with excruciatingly painful sunburn. By the time evening came my back had blistered some and it hurt to even put on a shirt. I was pretty miserable. I got some Solarcane at Wal-Mart and used about a fourth of the bottle, but even that didn¢t help. I just tried to psyche myself up for some really pain intensive hiking the next day.Ellen stayed with all of us at the hostel for those three days. She is really a wonderful woman with a very kind heart. She had a large van and shuttled us all around town and to the store without ever asking for or accepting our gas money. Ellen is a breast cancer survivor and continues to remain active leading church groups on outdoor trips, volunteering as a Paramedic (her formerly paid career), and doing other community services in her hometown. And to top it off she is nearly 60 and remains that active. To me she remains a very inspiration person and I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet her. Thanks for all your help!I don¢t recall too much more of what happened that day, so that¢s all I got.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

Warning!Start: Holy Family HostelFinish: Pine Swamp Branch ShelterMiles: 19.6Weather: Sunny/Hot in the morning, Rain and overcast in afternoonBreakfast: Coco Dyno-bites, Apple, Bagel w/ cheese & pepperoniLunch: Snickers, trailmixDinner: Cheesy Enchilada, CTL, Twix, FudgeroundTrail Conditions: Rocky, Muddy, Ridgeline walk after steep climbAnimals: Frog, Hawk, RattlesnakePeople: Everyone from hostel, Jacob, Lamby, Daniel, 4 old guys, TimI could not sleep last night. My sunburn hurt so terribly bad I could not lay on my back or either side without pain. I stayed up until 0430 and was able to get about three hours of sleep. Morning definitely came to fast. I slammed some Coco-Dynobites (generic Coco Crispies). They were good. Ellen dropped me off at the trailhead about a mile from where I originally came into town. Not wanting to miss a section of trail I back tracked and then started out.I began hiking with Lamby. The trail was quite overgrown for the first several miles and then went into a long uphill climb. It started off real hot and humid, but once on the ridgeline it started raining and clouded over. I stopped in for lunch at Rice Field Shelter and chatted with Slow Barbara and a guy named Moses. The first thing Moses started talking about was how his psychiatrist would be upset with him because he extended his weeklong trip into a whole summer excursion. Interesting¢¦. Rice FieldWearing the pack with my sunburn was excruciatingly painful. My back was blistered in several places. The first ten minutes when my pack went on were the worst. Then my shoulders would just get this numb feeling. I also had over 40 pounds of stuff, the extra weight being in supplies for by B-Day celebration. The additional weight really caused my back to ache to the point my muscles cramped and it hurt to breath. I stopped several times to take my pack off and rest my back.I walked into the shelter around dark and cooked up dinner and chatted with the folks there. There are four old guys there out for the weekend. They have been fun to banter with, however they say they are early risers. We¢ll see. Anyways, off to bed now.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

Birthday Cake! 23 Candles AblazeStart: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter @ 1020Finish: War Spur Shelter @ 1654Miles: 12.7Weather: Sunny Morning, rainy & Overcast in afternoon, Mostly Cloudy nightBreakfast: Vanilla CIB, Chocolate Poptarts, Bagel w/ cheese & pepperoniLunch: Trailmix, Oat n HoneyDinner: 4 Cheese Lasagna, Twix, Snickers, Hostess Cupcake, CokeTrail Conditions: Rocky, Muddy, reminded me of the trail in N.C.Animals: Birds, insectsPeople: Lamby, Jacob, Section HikersHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! I am now 23. A wonderful day with a terrifying start. I slept like a rock last night, however, was rustled from my slumber around 0530, when the four old guys began getting up for the day. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the whitey tighties plastered to the ass of one of the old codgers as he stood straddled over me grabbing his stuff from his bunk. His ass was like 3 feet from my face. It was horrifying! I will be checking myself into therapy when I arrive at the next town.I had ambitious goals of an 18-mile day, however, my late start, and the desire to relax on my B-Day, put the kibosh on that idea. It was a nice sunny morning, but consistent with the trend, turned to rain in the early afternoon. After numerous ups and downs over rocky trail, I pulled into Bailey Gap for a lunch break. I chatted with several section hikers, one of which had heard of Ben and my trips via Trail Journals. Lamby showed up just as the rain started and we chilled for over an hour until it stopped. We said our farewells to the section hikers and headed to War Spur to have my birthday extravaganza.I rolled into the shelter nice and early and the only other company for the evening was Jacob and Lamby. The sun peeked out again and we took our leisure time cleaning up, cooking, and shooting the breeze.I had been planning my birthday celebration for several days in Pearisburg. I purchased some Hostess cupcakes, a 20oz. Coke, and some sparklers for the occassion. As I hiked today I thought, how could I make the sparklers be cool? So for a pyrotechnic display, I lined all 36 of them in the crack of the picnic table. Beneath them I put a strip of toilet paper and doused it in denatured. As I hit the TP at one end the fire would pass across the table and light the sparklers. I hoped all day it would work¢¦At the shelter was a 2 x 10 laid over a log. It was positioned just right so that it acted as a catapult. I stood at the fulcrum end, placed a cupcake at the opposite end, and successfully launched it toward me, 5 feet in the air, and then I caught it. In a fit of celebration I spiked the cupcake. Surprisingly it didn¢t even smoosh. Lamby got it all on video. Then I squeezed 23 candles into one cupcake and lit them all. The cake turned into a huge fireball and lit up the dark woods. I blew out the candles and initiated the sparkler event. It went off without a hitch. It was awesome! Lamby wrote a hysterical play by play in the Shelters register.With the celebration completed and feeling a year older we all called it a night.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-20
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarvers Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Open FieldStart: War Spur Shelter @ 0957Finish: Sarvers Hollow Shelter @ 1621Miles: 12.2Weather: Gorgeous out! No rain! Sunny, temps in the low 70¢sBreakfast: Strawberry CIB, Chocolate Chip PoptartsLunch: Pop, Baby Ruth, Nestle Crunch, Trailmix, Bagel w/ pepperoni & cheeseDinner: 4 Cheese Chicken Helper, Fudgeround, Apple, SnickersTrail Conditions: Rocky, Several miles in open field, two steep climbs, ridgeline walkAnimals: Fawn, Birds, Hawk, ButterflyPeople: Jacob, Lamby, 2 dayhikersA front must have passed through last night, as the temperature dropped into the low 50¢s. Considering the heat wave of the past few weeks, in the 50¢s was cold. Needless to say I didn¢t sleep to well as I spent most of the night curled in a ball shivering. When I finally got up the sun was shinning brightly and it looked like it might be a good day.The day started with a big climb and followed more ridgeline. The sun stayed out all afternoon, and the shade of the woods made for great hiking conditions. By far the best I¢ve had in several weeks. The trail was quite rocky. I came across some awesome trail magic left by ¢Super Dave¢, a cooler full of Kroger brand Mountain Dew, Moon Pies, Fudgerounds and candy bars. I enjoyed a pop, a moon pie, and snagged two candy bars for the road. Open FieldThe trail passed into open field. At the wood line I saw a fawn. We stared at each other for a bit and I took its picture. The fields were a welcome change, but the stiles got annoying after a bit. I fell into one of my hiking zones and cruised right on by the Keffer Oak. I couldn¢t believe I missed it! I was disappointed to have missed the largest tree along the A.T., especially after all the neat pictures I¢ve seen of it. The trail took another climb and followed more rocky ridgeline. I arrived at the junction to Sarver¢s Hollow and stopped for dinner, and to wait for Jacob and Lamby. While waiting a lady came up from the shelter (which was a 14 mile down hill) and advised that there was pop, beer, fruit, and candy all waiting in the new shelter. It didn¢t take much thinking before the three of us headed for the shelter. We enjoyed the magic and cooked up dinner. I decided to stay the night as my Achilles has been hurting. "Tigger" the Guard CatThere is a cat that lives at the shelter and keeps mice away. She survives on hiker handouts. The kitty is named ¢Tigger¢ and is very friendly. The old homestead from the 1800¢s, where the shelter is built is really cool. The water source is the old farm well. After checking out an old cabin at dusk I determined the area to be haunted and scurried back to the shelter. I journaled a bit and hit the hay.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Sarvers Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Audie Murphy MemorialStart: Sarvers Hollow Shelter @ 1017Finish: Pickle Branch Shelter @ 1835Miles: 15.9Weather: Overcast all day, warm, occasional sprinklesBreakfast: Bagel w/ PB, Chocolate Frosted PoptartsLunch: Trailmix, Twix, Snickers, Pink LemonadeDinner: Arroz Con Queso, FudgeroundTrail Conditions: Rocky, steep climb followed by ridgelineAnimals: Cat, Wolf Spider, Dogs, ButterflyPeople: (forgot to record this info)Ah yes, the longest day of the year¢¦.and naked hiking day. I slept like a rock, it was another cool night. I opted not to hike naked due to the cold. Maybe next year? I got another late start, and my Achilles was really achy on the underside of my heel. I would get a sharp stabbing pain in my heel if I flexed too much. Consequently, I walked the 14 mile uphill to the trail backwards so as to not overwork my heel. Hiking backwards is a good workout too!After several miles my heel began feeling better. I made it a point to stretch regularly. On the ridgeline I crossed paths with a guy named Steven who is section hiking. He used to be an ultra marathoner and tri-athlete. A nice guy. There were some really nice views also. The land is folded like a ruffled potato chip and all we¢re doing is walking across these large folds going up, hiking some flat ridge, going down, and repeating this over and over.The climb today was big but not very steep. I passed a lady, the same one as yesterday who told us of the chow at Sarvers, she is rewriting/updating the ATC Guidebook for Central Virginia. I should have told her to include a note advising that Virginia is not flat.I passed the Audie Murphy memorial, he was the most decorated soldier in WWII. I lost my pack cover that Miss Janet had given me. It looked like we might get rain all day, however, I only got sprinkled on briefly. My Achilles finally warmed up and I didn¢t hike with too much pain.I rolled into the shelter around 5:45. It is a long ways off the AT, very old, and the water source is several hundred yards down hill. I cooked up dinner with Jacob and we shot the breeze. Not wanting to miss out on naked hiking day I went several hundred yards down stream and stood butt-ass naked and washed my dishes, rinsed off, and dripped dry for about 30 minutes. Something I regularly do anyways if there is a good stream.I returned to the shelter and some kids from a program called Venture Crew rolled in. It is a mix program between the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. They are out for several days. Jacob and I answered a ton of questions about gear and offered them advice. They are a real nice group.I am getting eaten alive by bugs. It¢s so bad I can barely journal. I¢m going to pull my bag over my head and call it a night.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-06-23
From: McAfee Knob Shelter

To: Daleville - EconoLodge
Miles today: 16.1

Me on McAfee KnobStart: McAfee Knob Shelter @ 0848Finish: Daleville EconoLodge @ 1630Miles: 16.1Weather: Overcast, rain, hot & humidBreakfast: Strawberry Poptarts, Bagel w/PBLunch: Pringles, 2 Snickers, Honey Roasted PeanutsDinner: Alpine Aire Turkey Thyme Rice, Fudgeround, SnickersTrail Conditions: Exposed cliffs, Rocky, PUD after PUDAnimals: Dogs, Squirrel, Birds, ButterflyPeople: Sealegs, Jacob, Nick & Phil, LambyWoke up to a splendid view from McAfee Knob. Clouds rolled in over night, harbingers to the afternoon rain. It was a cool breezy morning, so I ate in my bivy and then packed up. Sealegs, a thru-hiker who has been trailing us, showed up early. We chatted and took some pictures from the knob, and then pressed on.The day started down hill and then went up, and remained PUD¢s the rest of the way to Daleville. Tinker Cliffs was awesome. Unfortunately, the rain had begun and clouds obscured the views. I parked it on the cliffs for a few minutes and enjoyed some lemonade. Jacob caught up and we headed for Lamberts Meadow Shelter. The rain really started coming down while at the shelter so I stayed for about an hour eating food and rehydrating. We planned on going to the EconoLodge and left Lamby a note (he was behind us) to meet us there. The rest of the hike into town was quite uneventful. The terrain was all ridgeline and went up and down the whole way. I crossed paths with a box turtle. I picked it up and we checked each other out. I then put it several feet off the trail. Later I had the splendid privilege of passing under high tension wires that were crackling with surging electricity. I also saw a large deer that ran off as I approached. Other than those encounters not too much happened. I was anxious to get to town and shower and enjoy an air-conditioned room. The last six mile you could hear the traffic from US 220 from the ridgeline which was irritating, you could also see the tale tell signs of suburban sprawl. Suburbia...In the Wilderness!?Anyways I got into town and managed to safely cross the highway. Going into town really requires serious readjustment. I got to the EconoLodge and got situated in a room Jacob had already rented. I scooted over to the post office, which is at least 1.5 miles from the motel, and arrived just before they closed and got my drop. Back at the Econo I sorted my food, cleaned my gear, and watched the idiot box (TV). It¢s my first time I really watched TV on the trail, and was quickly reminded how much I dislike it.Lamby rolled in around 6:30pm and the three of us shot the breeze in the room. I cooked up the turkey dinner that Women on the Verge had given me. It was delicious! Thanks ladies. Sitting in a comfy bed, in an air-conditioned room, I called it a night. Oh how the trail can be so rough¢¦