morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-19
From: The Place

To: The Place
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Ah, what a difference 24 hours makes. A zero day in Damascus is justwhat I needed, a real zero day where I don't run up and down town 20times like at Trail Days. I got to sleep in until 9, had a relaxingmorning at Mojoe's Coffee Shop, and took it easy the rest of the day. Iwas all about any activity that involved sitting, so I went to thelibrary and posted pictures, ate lunch at the pizza place, and went toparuse the outfitter. I got a new dry sack, a new pair of Smartwoolsocks, and some more Spyroflex, which I live by for almost any medicalneed known to man. A stop a the grocery store, another Food City,rounded out my day. Actually, I went back up town and got a beer and amilkshake, and ate my leftovers from lunch. Good times.I woke up this morning stiff as a robot, but I'm much better now. Lotsof extra stretches today. Guess who just stopped by the hostel at9:45pm? Anne Marie, or Hardcore as she's known now. I haven't seen hersince the NOC, she just did the 40-mile walk from Watuga Lake with herbrother today! What the hell? She said she took a week off the trail,but didn't say why...hmm. Maybe because she's crazy? Nah, that's notfair to say, but she did 40 miles so she must be alright now. MaybeI'll see her tomorrow on the trail.Oh well. Damascus is a great town, small and cozy. The type of townthat has a 1:1 business to church ratio, everything closes at 7 o'clock,and alcohol is frowned upon. The town has three outfitters, 2 hostels,and 3 B&B's, and couldn't survive without hikers. Well, we couldn'tsurvive without Damascus, either. It's great, and makes me miss home alot.Kick: Never enough time in a zero day. Waking up stiff as a board. Thehomesickness roars its ugly head.Kiss: Town food, laziness, cold beer, $4/night hostel, and a classytrail town.Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-20
From: The Place

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Another crazy day on the AT. First of all, Happy Birthday to Kim, my stepmom, I hope your day was great!I started by spending all morning trying to convince myself to leave town. Damascus, like all good trail towns, lure you in and try to get you to stay by tempting you with running water, chairs with backs on them, electricity, a hot cup of coffee, and showers. It's not the endless food options, real grocery stores, and quality outfitters, it's the little things. Finally I got on the trail at 10:30 and immediately ran into the best trail magic yet. 10 feet into the trail, there were three Budweiser's sitting on the side of the trail. Not in a case or anything, just three lonely cans. I thought it must be trash, but they aren't opened. I thought they must be warm, but I pick one up and it's ice cold. I thought it must be old, but the born on date is 4 weeks old. I was dumbfounded. Bon Bon walks up behind me and shares my state of shock. Unbelievable, we each had a cold Bud at 10:30 this morning, leaving the last one for another lucky soul (what was I thinking??). It was the perfect dessert to my breakfast.Fast forward, the day's hike was a largely uneventful 16 miles. Now I'm at a shelter with Hardcore and her brother, Brad, who's out here with her for a week. And we are joined by a very interesting group of hikers. A crew that is traveling together, I think. Dreadlocks, piercings, tatooed faces, big wooden stretch-your-ear earings, lots of drugs, fireworks that they shot off and almost hit someone with, loud and crazy hikers. 6 of them. One guy doesn't quite have dreads, it just looks like he hasn't touched his hair in about 15 years and that's what happened. They're not friendly, the type that doesn't even say hi back when you try to talk to them. They're making a small bon fire outside the shelter. Bon Bon and I are fairly sketched out, and their conversations are bizzare. Appearances and beliefs aside, I'm ok with about anything, but these guys are just rude. Planning on an early start and a 23 miler tomorrow to try and get ahead of them. Tomorrow is Mt. Rogers, at 5700' it is the biggest mountain in Virginia, it's good to get that out of the way so soon into the state.So far, Virginia is great. There are actually signs to help you figure out how far you've gone, well maintained trails, privies at the shelters, and lots of switchbacks. But, we're only 20 miles in and still in Mt. Roger's National Recreation Area. 400 something miles still to go at least. Ugh, I don't even want to think about it.Kick: Leaving town with a full pack is always tough, especially when you don't really want to. It's 9:30 and the group is still loud as hell.Kiss: Catching up with Hardcore, who I haven't seen in about 300 miles. Drinking beer this morning was awesome and turned my mood from sour to sweet.Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-21
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow, I love Virginia so far. What a great day today was. Bon Bon and I left early and got a good start on the day and it was absolutely beautiful weather. Today I hiked Virginia's tallest mountain, at 5700', Mt. Rogers, and the second tallest mountain, Whitetop. The climbs were long but moderate and provided some really great views. About 8 miles in we came to a road crossing and got some awesome trail magic. A guy named Denver Dave just completed a 600 mile "section" hike, and had some time left over to come to that road this particular day and give me a Snickers, 3 Muskateers, Cinnamon Bun, and a PBR. Truly magical. We hiked over Mt. Rogers and into Grayson Highlands State Park. I think it's my new favorite section of trail so far.The terrain is very different, rocky and grassy with a scattering of pine trees, and lots of wild ponies. These ponies were awesome, they're so used to people they walk right up to you. They also like to lick you and all your stuff because it's so salty. We played with a group of 4 and got some great pictures and a cool video. They were so much fun, I got a ton of pictures. You had to be careful, the ponies would bump right up against you, looking for food and liking your stuff. As one guy put it, "It was cool and everything, but one of those ponies owes me dinner and a movie after what he did." Haha.Oh yeah, back at the magic there was a bunch of cows roaming the trail, after the park there were a bunch of horses, and I saw a whitetailed deer this afternoon, too. So much wildlife! Oh, and this guy named Rest Up who hiked the trail in '03 and was on a dayhike gave me a Moonpie! Thanks, man, I've never had one before, it was so good! What a day! Trail Magic, wild ponies, beautiful weather, and I still got 23 miles in! Oh, and I crossed the 500 mile mark today! Awesome! I am getting to meet a whole new group of hikers now too because everyone's clumped together after Trail Days. Tonight I met Classic Rock, Lion King, Gaia, Mossey Brown, Haiku, Jim Dandy, and others.Kick: Today was great, but climbing Pine Mountain at the end of a 20 miler kinda stunk. My phone turned itself on in my pack and drained all of the battery.Kiss: The whole day was awesome, probably one of the best yet!Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-22
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Timpini Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Well, it has been another great day in Virginia, I can't say enough about it. I started at Old Orchard this morning, dreaming of OOB in the summertime, and Bon Bon and I took off around 8:15 this morning. It was pretty easy today, and we did the first 5 miles in an hour and a half, took a break, then did another 5 miles in an hour and 45 mins. We were moving pretty easy, and then we got to the road crossing around 12.Then, the weirdest thing happened. It was 2.6 miles to Troutdale, and it's definitely not a stretch I wanted to walk. As Bon Bon and I walk out to the road, before we can even stick a thumb out, this guy slams on his brakes, rolls down his window, and yells "Hey, you need a ride to Troutdale? I'm about to pick up my son." Timing is everything in life. We hopped in and got a nice ride into town, easy as pie.Jerry's Kitchen and Goods hit the spot. I got a double bacon cheeseburger, fries, an ice cream bar, and lots of snacks for the next couple of days.. It was a great little stop and we got a hitch out of town almost as easy as we got in. I packed out some snacks and two "Tall Boys", 24 oz. cans. Yes, that's right, I packed out 3 pounds of beer and when I got here I met a guy named "Shameless Blue Blazer" who's been carrying some good ol' southern moonshine. Like, real moonshine. Honest? I'm a little drunk right now and it's awesome. Another first.Now I'm at the shelter with a whole bunch of people and we're having fun swapping stories. Life is good, except for the fact that I don't have reception AGAIN!Talk to you later...Kick: No reception!Kiss: Town food and ice cream, an easy day over 14 miles. Good times with some new hiker friends.Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-24
From: Partnership Shelter

To: The Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Well here I am at the Relax Inn with Shameless and Jim Dandy, splitting a room for cheap. I think this has to be one of the classiest places in Virginia. At a truck stop near an exit off I-81, it's the type of place you wonder when the sheets were last cleaned and you could probably rent a room by the hour. Oh well, it has the best shower I've seen since at least Franklin, and we have cable TV.I was able to completely resupply at an Exxon gas station here that caters to hikers and has all the stuff we need. I got 4 days of food for $35. The rest is nice, but I will be pulling big days from here to Pearisburg, trying to do 23/24/23/16 into town. We'll see how that goes..Bon Bon went ahead today, about 6 miles to a campsite up the trail. I might be able to catch up in a day or two, but she's planning out some big miles, too.I am excited for the girls to join me, I can't believe how long I've been out here already. I'm starting to miss Maine, I'm not really homesick, I just miss the familiarity. Thinking of you all often, talk to you later.Kick: Another short day, I'm starting to miss the hikers I made friends with who are now behind me.Kiss: Being able to get food in an uncertain situation, not having to hitch, having a real bed and shower.Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-25
From: The Relax Inn

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: light rain

Well, today sucked. Worst day on the trail yet. I got some sweet trail magic, but the rest of the day was terrible. I knew today was going to be tough, but I kept making it worse. I fell down hard twice today, once right on my hip, and once into a river and I soaked my leg up to my calf. Boot and sock completely submerged. It didn't matter though, today was so wet from the rain last night and the humidity was about 95% all day. Temps in the high 70s.I have been soaked to the bone all day. Imagine soaking in a bathtub for 4 hours and your feet are pruned beyond recognition. Then, while in the water put on all of your clothes including your socks and shoes. Then go walk for 20 miles and tell me how your feet hold up. Mine didn't fare so well, my feet are absolutely destroyed after today.The one saving grace is that we had some pretty awesome trail magic today. Some folks from Arkansas came out for Memorial Day and cooked us food. I had 3 hamburgers, a hot dog, chips, and 2 cupcakes, plus a half gallon of Gatorade. It was great, and made me feel a lot better, but I was in a pissy mood again by the end of the day.Today was 23 miles, and the last four were horrible. 2000' straight up, a climb equal to Roan, to a shelter with no water source, meaning I had to carry 3 liters of water for half of it. I used to practice hike on a Mtn called Old Speck at home, today was like walking 19 miles, and THEN hiking Old Speck at the end.Okay, okay...enough whining. Tomorrow will be much easier. I will live to fight another day. I'm tired, talk to you later.Kick: Chestnut Knob at the end of the 20-miler was a bad idea.Kiss: Trail magic...and today is DONE!Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

Another long slog on the AT. Today was much better than yesterday, but still no walk in the park. It continued to rain all last night, and I slept like a baby. I woke up and hiked the first hour or so in the rain but it stopped soon. It didn't matter much, I had the cold, wet clothes on that I wore all day yesterday.The first five miles were really hard, straight up and straight down 5 or 6 times, hasn't anyone heard of switchbacks? I drank almost all my water last night thinking there was a spring a mile north, but ended up going 10 miles without anything to the first shelter. I got there in about 4 hours, but I was still feeing like crap. Only 14 more, I thought to myself. I passed on the privy, which was essentially a toilet on a wood platform, and home to a swarm of yellow jackets. That would be the wrong place to get stung!I made it 20 miles today in the sunshine, 3 miles before the shelter the skies open up and absolutely drench everything, great! Now everything is soaked again. It stopped right before I got here. Another new group of hikers, all people I don't know again, last I checked most of the people I'm hiking with now started in mid to late March. Some as early as March 10. Wow, I can't believe how far I've come. One thing I forgot to mention in my rant yesterday is that I passed the quarter-the-way-there mark. Wow!Kick: My feet, pruned and beaten again today, are very sore.Kiss: Reception at a shelter! Whoa, that hasn't happened in weeks...Oh, and Gatorade trail magic on the side of the trail.Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: moderate rain

Wow, another day of firsts and memorable times. I could talk about the 24 miles I did today like I usually do, but I'd rather not. My feet have just hiked 70 miles in 3 days in wet socks and wet boots and I've worn the same wet clothes and had a tough couple of days. I'm getting my first blisters, my pinkie toenail on my right foot is just about to fall off, and my feet have been pruned since Monday morning. That's all well and good, but there are better things to talk about.Today is day 42, if my brain still works that means it's been 6 weeks today. 6 weeks and 600 miles down. I thought I'd take a moment to reflect for a moment on all that time, since I don't very often. 6 weeks is a long time, and I can't believe I still have over 3 months left. It's a bit daunting and this is when a lot of people may experience the "Virginia Blues", where you have to really confront your life as a hiker and realize this is all your going to do for a long long time. It set in on me a little bit today. I hope I don't start to freak out.600 miles is a long ways, there are a lot of mountains between Springer and here. A lot of steps, too. If the whole trail is 5,000,000 steps, I have done a little over...1,300,000 or so? This is one crazy trek. I can't believe I am doing this. I'm tentatively planning on doing about 325 miles over the next 3 weeks, but we'll see how my feet heal up with lots of rest and epsom salt tomorrow and Friday. I feel like I practically have trenchfoot.Tonight we're packed in like sardines again. A full shelter and about 10 tents and hammocks. I'm in the clusterfunk of people who all left Trail Days at the same time, and there are more in front of me. Some names are: Bon Bon, Ninja, Birdie, Bubbles, Stickman, Slapshot and his two friends, Legs, Minnesota Smith (who hiked in '06 and loooves to talk), Why Not, and about 6 section hikers, plus others. I am super tired. Talk to y'all later.Only 22 days left...Happy Trails,Transition
Date: 2009-05-28
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: The Plaza Motel - Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, today was another very tough day. I got the absolute worst night's sleep last night. We had 6 people crammed into a shelter, and 13 tents or hammocks outside. We had a couple REALLY loud snorers, the worst of which was 3 people down from me. I was in the shelter for 10 hours and got maybe 5 hours of choppy sleep, even with my Ipod on full blast. I woke up groggy, pissed, and with wet socks and boots...again.Then, I walked 1500' up in a little over a mile, and the trail was in horrible condition. Dismal Creek has swollen its banks, there's mud up to your ankles, and the trail was literally a river. Just another great start to my day on the AT. Soaking boots, huffing and puffing up the hill, and blisters forming by the minute, I was dreading the next 16 miles.Fast forward, 3 miles left before town, I've completed 13 miles in 5 hours, trudging along in 80-90% humidity. I am an hour from town, so what happens? Pouring rain and thunderstorms all the way down the very steep hill. Well, thank god it stopped and the sun came out right before I got to the hotel. I wouldn't want it to rain while I was inside.Blah..I'm here now, the nice lady here did my laundry, I went to the Food Lion across the street and bought all the Epsom Salt they had, took a shower, drank a beer, and ate a pizza. My feet are in the worst shape they've been in yet, I have sore spots and blisters all over. I am taking a zero in town tomorrow to rest up. There is a big hiker feed planned 16 miles north of town on Saturday that I'd like to make it to, some guy is cooking burgers and dogs and is letting people camp in his yard, use his shower and internet, it should be a good time.Hope tomorrow goes a little better. Talk to you all soon.Happy Trails,TransitionOnly 22 days...
Date: 2009-05-29
From: The Plaza Motel - Pearisburg, VA

To: The Plaza Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Pearusburg has been good to me. Being able to talk to you all has been great, too....Dani, Heather, Mom and Dad, Dan, my where's Matt rep from work, it's good to talk to you all. I feel a lot better and more motivated again, my feet still have some healing left but are much better than they were. I have a big blister underneath one of my toes, right in the crease where it bends. I'll survive, and if that's my only complaint after 625 miles, hey, I guess I'm not doing too bad.Back on the trail tomorrow, I'm going to try to make it to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, 19 miles out of town, and only 3 miles after the big hiker feed. It should be 5 days to the Daleville/Troutville area, 3 more to Big Island/Glasgow, and another 4 more to Waynesboro, VA, my next planned stop. From there it'll be a scenic 100 mile, 5 day tromp through Shenandoah National Park to get to Front Royal in time to meet the girls. I'm so excited to see them, I just want this time to fly by. On the other hand, there are some beautiful stops between here and there and I don't want to forget to smell the roses. There's Keffler Oak, Dragons Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs, and of course, the Shennies. I'm looking forward to it all, let's just hope it doesn't rain, haha.Kick: It's going to be hard to leave town againKiss: Recovery! And talking to everyone.Happy Trails,Transition21 more days...
Date: 2009-05-30
From: The Plaza Motel

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: few clouds

Fun! Today was fun again! What a difference dry weather makes. Today was great. It is 9:15pm and I just pulled into camp, it was my first time pushing on into the darkness. My last mile was in the dark, and it was kinda fun, another first. Needless to say, this entry is going to be short.As you can tell by my mileage, my feet feel so much better. It was really hard to leave town again today, I slept in, took a long shower, and didn't get on the trail until almost 11. The highlight of the day was making it to Captain's, the big hiker feed with a gigantic free bar-b-que, free beer (Natty Ice, but it was still awesome!), free showers, the works. I got to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter and there were people from the Sierra Club giving away burgers, watermelon, potato salad, and brownies there, too! Two hiker feeds in one day, what luxury!I played some "cornhole" bean bag toss, socialized, and drank some beers at Captains, and decided to push on another 2, 2.5 miles to get to this shelter. I think it was a wise choice, there are only 3 people here and about 40 at Captain's. I wanted to avoid the mass exodus tomorrow morning, so I left at 8:00.It was fun, and I got more miles in than I thought I would. Good times, talk to you all later.Kick: A late start led to a late finishKiss: Fun at captains, free food all day, I did a taste of night hiking, and I did about 19 miles in 6 and 1/2 hours earlier today. Kick ass!Happy Trails,Transition20 more days...
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Sarver's Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night we had the most intense thunderstorm I've ever been around! The thunder shook the shelter, the lightning cracked over our heads like I've never heard before, it was so loud from like 3-5 this morning! Overall though, another good day on the AT, my second big day coming out of Pearisburg, setting up an easy 3 days into the Daleville/Troutville area by doing 16/17/15. I am at a new, clean, pretty big shelter tonight, the only problem is that it's .4 miles straight down hill off the trail. Whatever, it'll be a good warm up first thing in the morning. I am two days away from Catawba, where the well known Home Place, with their legendary food, will be closed. They're only open Thurs-Sun. Oh well, maybe another time.Today went really well, and it was nice to be able to hike completely alone all day. Bon Bon is ahead, Ninja is behind, and I am meeting more and more new people all the time. I feel like I am hiking my own hike again. Friends are good, too, though. I was talking a lot about catching up to people who had started a lot earlier than me before, today I met two guys who started on April 27 and haven't taken a zero yet. I guess it takes all kinds! I'm really looking forward to getting to take it easier the next couple of days, and to getting to Daleville, where I have a letter waiting for me from Dani.Don't let anyone ever tell you that Virginia is flat, it's not! I had a 1600' climb in the middle of my day today, and finished my day with a 1000' climb. It's very 'plateau-y'. You'll hike in a valley for awhile, hike up to the top of a mountain and follow a range for awhile, the hike back down again. Flat, straight up, flat, straight down. As long as you plan your days out alright, it's not bad. The day of no rain helped out a lot, too! The next couple days might be bringing a heat wave and afternoon thundershowers, more excitement!Oh well, it's late and and way past my bedtime, hope all is well with you all.Kick: The climb in the middle of today almost made me want to cut my day short, it was brutal. Ending with a steep climb was no fun either.Kiss: Easier days ahead! Well, shorter anyways, and it was another day of beautiful weather!Happy Trails,Transition19 more days...