morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-21
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: broken clouds

After a good night's sleep, I woke up very rested and ready to make that 18 miles. I left at 7, but the Indiana family slept in as this was their last day and they had until 2:30 to go 5 miles. I did get to say goodbye to Andy as he was up early. The climb up Kelly Knob wasn't that steep and their was a nice vew at White Rock. I passed a family out for a day hike on my way down Rocky Gap. At the road crossing was some trail magic of sodas left out by Super Dave. I left the Indiana family a note alerting them to the magic. I wanted them to experience the wonderful generosity of the trail community. Down the hill was a terrible blow down and my pack got caught and ripped a hole in the side pocket. Ugh! Then I got down to the Johns Creek area which was really nice. I stopped for lunch at the War Spur shelter then I climbed up Lone Pine Peak. The forest became really quiet, like eery quiet. There was no animal movement and no rustling of the leaves from the wind. It's like the forest was on high alert or was giving reverence. I felt like I should pause too. The ridge walk was pretty nice and the weather was perfect for hiking, 60-70 ish and breezy. I came to a trail junction and saw a bunch of people out car camping. I realized I was at Wind Rock - nice view, beautiful sky. After leaving Wind Rock, the next four miles totally sucked. Its like VA was trying to imitate PA. It was so frustrating. I was so happy to get to Bailey Gap Shelter to eat dinner and take a load off my feet. There was a dad and son out for a few days at the shelter and we chatted about running and being motivated to complete a goal. Like right now, I am motivated to keep hiking because I know by tomorrow I will have less than 175 miles to go to reach my goal of thru hiking the AT. The next four miles to Pine Swamp Branch look as though they would be easy and flat - a river walk, but they were frustrating in their own way. It was a steep downhill to Stony Creek Valley then its pretty nice for a while as you walk through a rhodo forest that has obviously been damaged by fire. I don't know if it was a wild fire or a controlled burn but only one side of the trail appears to have been affected. I guess the trail is at mineral soil which acted like a fire wall. Then I got to the Stoney Creek and the bridge was taken out by a hurricane in 2004. I had to ford the creek which was kind of refreshing. My feet got a bath. And then the trail turned ugly. It was step pud after steep pud. (PUD = pointless up and down.) It was so frustrating. Finally, I arrived at the shelter and it is the nastiest shelter I have seen in VA AND it has a tree in the roof. At least it has a good water source going for it. I set up my hammock, get some water and head to bed. I think I'll go into Pearisburg tomorrow which means another big day so I'll need some good rest.
Date: 2007-07-23
From: Holiday Motor Lodge - Pearisburg, VA

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hey, Just wanted to put in this blurb to let you know that I have written my journals, but my transcriber is helping my sister move from TX to LA so not sure when he will get them up on the website. Also, while I won't be able to upload pictures of this summer's hike until I get back home, you can see other pictures from my hike by logging onto http://picasaweb.google.com/megasuperstar07.And, this just in: My finish date will be AUGUST 3rd in DAMASCUS, VA! If you are around, come join the party!
Date: 2007-07-23
From: Pearisburg

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: light rain

So I tried to sleep as late as I could this morning, but ended up getting up about 8. I enjoy the rest of my Chinese food and beer for breakfast and I set about planning the last two weeks of my journey and called Chief to confirm some information and talk about him meeting up with me at Partnership shelter. I journal some and watch tv and then pack up and leave by the check out time of 1 pm. I head to the office and use the Internet and speak with Lois, this lovely elderly woman working the front desk. She gives me directions to the laundrymat and set about cleaning my clothes and talking to my sister. Then I hit up the grocery store and and Magic Mart - a mini walmart like store. I found out while I was doing laundry that my shoe has a hole in it and I was hoping to find some shoe goo, but no luck. Also, the strap on my gaitor broke. Hope my shoe will make it another 160 miles!Wow! It's almost 4 o'clock. I need to get on the trail. I stop in at Dairy Queen for an early dinner and discovered I don't much care for their food. Then I walk down the road to the trail. The hike up Pearis Mtn is steep and I am moving slow. Chief told me you can tell an old trail by how steep an incline it has because new rules are in effect as to how steep you can make new trails and reroutes. Well Central VA must have some old trails because they are definitely steep! I arrive at the top, at Angel's Rest and it is beginning to thunder and I can hear organ music. This is a bit freaky. The view from the viewing rock at Angel's Rest is not that impressive, so I quickly move on hoping to beet the rain. Walking across the mtn is nice and I see several deer as it is dusk. I ctoss under 2 sets of powerlines and have just three miles left. Its a smooth flaat and downhill strtch that passes through lots of rhodo tunnels which is nice but makes things even darker. I can smell a campfire so I know I must be close to the shelter even though I can't see it. When I arrive, I am greeted by two young guys and two older women. Both couples are heading north, the! fellas, from Damascus to Pearisburg and the women, from Bland to Daleville. It's a friendly, chatty bunch and I am happy to have folks to talk to. The guys even share a beer with me to celebrate my 2000 mile accomplishment. Its a late night and I am tired.
Date: 2007-07-24
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

I woke up late and panicked about making miles today, but then realized I wasn't going anywhere soon as it was beginning to thunder and lightening and pour down rain. No one else in the shelter was stirring either. So I resigned myself to get behind schedule and take advantage of this storm to catch up on sleep. Don't you just love sleeping in on a rainy day?No one got up til almost 11 and then it was talk about taking a zero and how we would keep ourselves entertained. But the boys had to go as they had a ride possibly picking them up at six. The sky began to clear and the ladies decided to try and make it into the hostel in town. Carol really wanted a shower. I decided I would hike to the next shelter but took my time getting packed up which turned out to be a good thing because after the four left, the sky let out buckets more rain. I finally left aroun 2:30.The trail wasn't too bad, a little rocky at times (like walking through a carnival Funhouse - the rocks move when you step on them) and very cold, 60'ish, and overgrown which meant I was getting wet. Why did I send home my rain jacket in Glasgow? I met Trip and her dog Reilly. I have seen their names in the logs and hoped I would catch them. She is section hiking and is doing some nobo and some sobo depending on how she arranges her shuttles. Reilly is not really enjoying the hiking all that much and she having to arrange her hiking accordingly to accommodate the dogs needs. Nice lady and well behaved pup. Woods Hole Hostel is closed. Too bad - I had heard nice things about it. I don't see another soul until I am heading up Sugar Run Mtn - two couples out doing a nobo section. Friendly group. I think they are just as excited to see another person on the trail as I am. The summit of Sugar Run Mtn is cold and really windy. I practically race across it. The descent is steep and the trail is eroded. Probably from locals riding their horses on the trail. I know this because I can see the horse poop and because some of them signed the journal at Wapiti shelter. It starts to rain about a mile before I get to the shelter but since I'm in rhodo tunnels, I don't get too wet. No matter what time of day, rhodo tunnels are dark places!There is no one at the shelter and its pretty nice, in kind of an open flat area. I set about making dinner and my bed and drying out. Funny, how it doesn't take long for the stench of MILDEW to overtake everything you are and everything that you have. Darkness comes early and I fall asleep.
Date: 2007-07-28
From: Lick Creek

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 14.3

At about 1 am last night it poured rain in a thunderstorm. Will be carrying a wet hammock tarp today. As I am packing up, I hear a tree fall on the other side of the creek and am glad I did not camp over there. I am again moving very slow today and to be honest am not having such a pleasant day. This hiking alone in the rain and humidity is getting old and has really dampened my spirits. My thoughts are mostly of going home.Today's hike had a lot of little ups and downs although a couple of the ups felt really tough. The water and the shelters are not near each other which is frustrating. I walked through several cow pastures today which were smelly and meant dodging cow poo. I had to go through 11 stiles in 3 miles today and only two of them were not the kind that you have to climb up and over. (Climbing them breaks your stride and pace and sometimes requires a lot of balance and coordination.) Saw five people on trail today, all men. A young guy with his two dogs, a father son, and two guys from FL who were clueless as to where they were or what they were doing. Funny though.I got rained, no poured on, about a mile and a half from the shelter. Put on the poncho that I bought at Trent's grocery but I can't say that it helped me stay dry. Realy frustrated. Thought about hiking another 3 miles to the Relax Inn, since I was already soaked, but while I was fueling up on a Snickers, and letting my frustration simmer down a bit, I read account after account in the shelter log about the terribleness of the Relax Inn. Just couldn't bring myself to go spend money on a fleabag motel, so I stayed here at the shelter and hope that things dry somewhat and that tomorrow is a better day. As I am reading before bed, I can hear the humming of the trucks rolling down I-81. So loud, will need ear plugs tonight.
Date: 2006-01-23
To: 40 Days
Miles today: 0.0

Well, it's official. We've been reading other people's trail journals for weeks now, and finally we have one of our own. Guess this means we're really going for it!Forty days from today we leave the comforts of home and the noise of the city, and begin our walk to Maine. It's hard to believe that we started planning this trip a whole year ago. It seems like just yesterday that we bought our first (of many) books about the AT and started researching equipment. And now, it's just 40 short days away. I have so many thoughts I don't really know where to start.When we've told people of our plans to quit our jobs and spend 4.5 months in the woods, we've been met with very different reactions. Some people are as excited as we are, some are scared for our safety (THEM: "Are you going to carry a gun?!" ME: "Do you know how much a gun weighs??"), and some think we're just plain crazy. Personally, I think it's pretty awesome to walk 2000+ miles through 14 states. Obviously, not everyone shares my opinion. I take great comfort in knowing that there is a community out there that understands how I feel - those people who have completed this journey before me, and those that will complete it after me. Reading the other entries on this site has done wonders for my confidence.At this point in the game, most of our preparations are complete. With the exception of food and a couple/few gear items, we are ready to roll. Too bad our start date is still 40 days away...
Date: 2006-01-25
To: Background Info
Miles today: 0.0

Guess it would be nice if I included a little background information.Will and I got married in July of 2004. We met in 2002 at a summer camp when I was in college at Virginia Tech, and he was in grad school at Union PSCE. That summer, he and a couple of friends ran "the mega hike" at night in something like 45 minutes (when it usually takes counselors and kids all day to walk it), and what can I say, I was impressed. After we got married we moved here to Richmond, VA so that Will could finish grad school. We now find ourselves working office jobs and saving as much money as possible before we leave in March. And just for the record, I hate working in an office. Although I am extremely thankful for this job, I have never enjoyed sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. For the past 3 years or so, every job I've had before this one has been outside. What a contrast - stale air-conditioning air vs. fresh air, sitting in a chair vs. physical labor, looking out a window vs. looking into a window. I would much rather be outside. But back to the original point of this entry...Both of us come from relatively small towns, Will from Farmville, VA, and me from Carlisle, PA. While we were both extremely active in sports back then, these days we like to spend time on our bikes or just walking the (paved) trails by our apartment. Lately I¢ve been running those trails in an attempt to get back in shape before our hike. We decided to hike the AT because we wanted to get some sort of adventure in before we ¢settle down¢ with jobs and kids and a house. We might be in trouble though, because from what I¢ve read in other people¢s journals, hiking the AT doesn¢t calm the restless feet of those who walk, but instead leads to more dreams of adventure. Who knows, maybe some day we¢ll complete the Triple Crown.Only 38 more days...
Date: 2006-01-29
To: Moving day
Miles today: 0.0

Actually, I guess I should say "packing day" since we aren't going anywhere that the mailman can find us on a regular basis. We are staying with my father-in-law in an attempt to save some money before we head for Springer in a few weeks. So on Friday morning we had a POD dropped in front of our apartment. At first glance I thought that thing was going to be way too small. But by some miracle of great packing, we fit all of our stuff in to that POD. Amazing. What I want to know is where the heck we got all the stuff we packed into that thing. You never know how much crap you have until you pack it all up. Boxes and boxes full of stuff that I "might need at some point". Yeah right. I should have thrown half of it away. But alas, it's hard to part with such things as my college graduation hat. Yes, that stupid little flat thing that you attach the tassle to. The tassles, yeah, I'm definitely keeping those. But why the hat?? Who knows. I better come up with a good excuse by the time we unpack that thing or it'll probably end up in the trash. Four months in the woods ought to give me some good ideas...we could use it as a serving tray...very large coaster...fold it in half and it could be a potholder... So anyway, we got it all in (we finished around 11pm...got some good use out of our headlamps although I'm sure we looked ridiculous), and they came and picked it up yesterday morning to take it to the POD warehouse and stack it on top of lots of other PODS. It was unbelievably convenient. I would highly recommend the POD process to anyone I know. So we cleaned the place up and just have a few more small things to take care of, and then we're done with the whole thing. All I have to say about that is "whew". Feels good to be done, although it's also a little nerve-racking if I'm being completely honest. It's really true. We are not moving into another apartment, we are moving into the woods. I have always wanted to do this. In other news, my truck is being sold tomorrow. My first ever "owned-it-by-myself" vehicle is a brown '87 Nissan pickup truck. No power-steering but that thing has 4-wheel drive, ac, and a cd player. Although the spedometer and odometer broke on me a few months ago, it still runs like a dream. Hope the next owner enjoys it as much as I did!Think that's all for now. 33 days...
Date: 2006-02-04
To: The state of things
Miles today: 0.0

After taking last week to adjust to a new schedule and new living arrangements, we are spending our weekend getting back on track for the hike. After work yesterday, we got outside for some conditioning in what looked to be one of the last warm days of winter. Since that crazy groundhog saw it's shadow (I can't remember the last time it didn't see it's shadow, can you?) the temperatures in central Virginia are getting colder. After several weeks of consistently above average temperatures, we are about to head back into the 30s and 40s. 40 degrees is good hiking weather though so I'm not complaining. So Friday we were out in shorts and t-shirts running around the block over and over again to see what a week off had done to our legs. This morning we spent a few hours going through all our gear. We separated things into 6 piles: his, hers, split, bounce, return, and "forget it". Since there are two of us hiking, we have the luxury of splitting up the tent, food, and other smaller items. Because of this, we are hoping to keep our total pack weight at about 25lbs. So in the his and hers piles we had respectively a pack, sleeping bag and pad, clothes, headlamp, water bladder, small knife, trekking poles and pack cover. We split up items such as the tent, stove and pot, water treatment and personal items according to weight so we'd each have about the same amount. Then we put all our extra items (suntan lotion, bug spray, soap, etc) that we might need later in the trip into a bounce box. I'm sure we'll add to that as we get out on the trail and figure out what we really need and don't need. In the return pile we put a pair of Will's gloves that are too big, and also fleece liners for our sleeping bags. We're trading the fleece for silk liners that are less bulky and lighter although more expensive. And finally, in the "forget it" pile, went our water filter. We're carrying Aqua Mira purifying drops and think it might be worth leaving the filter (and the extra weight) at home. Anybody have any thoughts on that? Do we really need both or are the drops enough?The rest of the day was filled with miscelaneous activities that all got us one step closer to Springer. Sold my truck (for real this time), bought some seam sealer and a firstaid kit at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, found a giant can of denatured alcohol at Lowe's and went to our second-to-last service at WUMC. Every weekend from now until we leave will be spent on the road visiting family and friends. Tomorrow we head to Charlottesville with our packs for a hike up to Monticello. 27 days...
Date: 2006-02-05
To: Monticello
Miles today: 0.0

Spent some time in Charlottesville today hiking the trail up to Monticello. Feet, legs, packs all felt good. We hiked almost 5.5 miles in 1.5 hours. I know we won't be going this fast on the trail but it was good to check out our pace with packs. Only one complaint - my hips are a little sore from the belt. Think I'll stop by Blue Ridge and get them to mold it or whatever it is they do to the Osprey hip belts. Hopefully that will fix the pack problem and then onto the next...food. This week we're going to Sams Club and another bulk store to buy our first few days of food, plus lots of granola and power bars and miscelaneous items for our bounce box. We've opted to buy the majority of our food on the trail rather than have it all shipped ahead in mail drops. Not sure if this will be easier or not, but we're going to try it.
Date: 2006-02-13
To: Getting there
Miles today: 0.0

Today I looked at our schedule for the next 3 weeks and had a small breakdown. Seems like I turn my back for a second and we're that much closer to Springer. So many things to do, so little time to do it all! Actually, we've done pretty good this last week at getting things done. We hit Sam's Club and went home with oatmeal, trail mix, beef jerkey, granola bars, dried fruit, lipton dinners, hot chocolate and a few other things. Tonight I finished the shopping by picking up some poptarts and chicken in a bag. These things will get us started, and we'll probably end up sending 1 or 2 boxes out just so we can use all of it up. We'll be buying fresh fruit and vegetables any chance we get. So the food is set to go in the new bear bag we got last week. That bag is tough - supposedly black bears can't rip into it, but hopefully we won't ever have to find out if that's true or not. Also stopped by Blue Ridge and had my hipbelt molded although now I'm not so sure that was the problem. After a few adjustments to the shoulder straps it felt a whole lot better. The guy who helped us just completed his southbound hike in January. He offered us some insight into trail life and had some good stories to tell. We spent the weekend in Farmville with Will's mom and one of his brothers. Had a great time visiting and playing in the SNOW that passed over the east coast leaving the woods behind the house looking absolutely magical. Friday night (before the snow) we took the tent out to the backyard for a little test run. Woke up in the middle of the night to rain that continued on through the morning. Neither one of us slept well. Probably a combination of sleeping in a new environment and being without pillows - two things we will adjust to. Even without the seam sealer, we stayed warm and dry in the tent all night, although we're definitely putting that stuff on before we head out.All that's left to do now is put together an (approximate) itinerary for our families to follow, decide how much food we want to carry those first few days, and practice packing our bags. Springer can't come soon enough. 18 days...
Date: 2006-02-17
To: BEACH
Miles today: 0.0

We're spending this weekend in North Carolina at the beach with my parents, one of my sisters and some family friends. Being at the beach is second only to being in the mountains. Can't wait to get down there.It's hard to believe that 2 weeks from today we will be in a car headed to Georgia. I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm already there - hiking the mountains in my head. Soon enough!! Soon enough. Last night we put 4 days worth of food in the bear bag and packed our packs as they'll be on the day we set foot on the approach trail. We're taking them to show mom and dad this weekend since they haven't seen any of our gear yet. It's tough living hours from my parents and sisters. Sometimes I feel like we all miss out on stuff only hearing it on the phone. Think we finished buying our gear (FINALLY) with the purchase of Will's crocs. We're ready to go!Two weeks. Two weeks. Two weeks. The dream is about to come true...
Date: 2006-02-22
To: getting closer
Miles today: 0.0

Back to the daily grind after a wonderful weekend at the beach. On Friday we all spent several hours sitting down on the sand catching up on all that's been going on. It was so good to see my parents and my sister, and our family friends who were also spending a weekend at the beach. Our days were filled with shopping, eating, talking and playing a new card game that dad taught us. Will and I even set all our gear out on the big kitchen table and set up our tent in the living room. Hopefully we'll have some pictures from the weekend up here soon. After much thought and debate about choosing a trail name for ourselves or letting someone on the trail name us, we decided to choose for ourselves. Will is convinced that if we don't, we may end up with something we hate. So he has chosen to go by "Swiftcreek", a name that comes partially from our summer at camp. I decided to go with "Small Wonder", which is the name of one of my favorite books by Barbara Kingsolver. There's a better description of the names under the "Trail Name" section over there on the left. Thanks to those who have signed the guestbook so far. We appreciate the advice and the encouraging words. Think that's all for now. Only 9 days to go...