morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-29
From: Mile 592.2 campsite

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

We woke to a cooler morning and when I went to get out of the tent I found that a bunch of centapedes and spiders had decided our packs and tent wall was a nice warm place. It took a while but Suzie made sure they were all returned to the wilderness intact.    We got started and the morning went well. our only plan for the day was to hammer out some miles with one detour to Trent's Grocery. The only thing we were not able to get at our resupply was a fuel canister for our stove and Trent's carries them. While we were there we decided to have a double cheeseburger and potato wedges for lunch. Trent's is not your average convienance store. they do have everything you would expect but they also have all of your hunting and fishing needs.... including steel leg traps for catching small game!       With our bellies full we headed out for the last 8 miles that seemed to take forever. We finally arrived and crashed. 21 miles will do that. We read in the shelter register that our buddy Stats is back on the trail. The illness was just a stomach bug and nothing more serious. He is actually ahead of us because his dad has been slackpacking him so he could make up some miles.
Date: 2012-04-30
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, Va
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: light rain

We woke today headed for Pearisburg Virginia. We had another day of good weather ahead.We had a nasty climb first thing out out of the box. 1500 feet over a 2 mile stretch.Once our breathing returned to normal we headed for Doc's Knob Shelter. I am not sure who is right and who is wrong but the book says the distance between Wapiti and Doc's Knob is 8.4 miles. The sign at Doc's Knob says Wapiti is 9.9 miles away. We just hope we didn't get cheated out of a mile and a half! After Doc's Knob we headed to town. We heard our usual lawn mower as we got close. We checked in at the Rendezvous Motel.Laundry and Mexican food finished off the day. The tablet decided it didn't want to work tonight so we will have a future battle with Verizon. I doubt they will be as accommodating as the gear companies have been.
Date: 2012-05-01
From: Pearisburg, Va

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: light rain

The rain came in over night, but was gone by morning. It is always a late start leaving the comforts of the motel. We headed out across the New River bridge, we are not big fans of walking with trucks rocketing past right next to us! We headed up our morning climb, the maintainers in this area must have a chip on their shoulder about having easy trails to hike. They don't have alot of ups, but when they do they go straight up! I can hear them know " So Virginia is easy huh? " . Once we made it up, Suzie took off, and it was all I could do to keep up! The miles melted away. We ran into a light shower, but the main storm stayed to the south. As evening descended we arrived at the shelter, along with Fetch, Tipsy, Huff 'n Puff, and Four Spokes.
Date: 2012-05-02
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Rocky Gap Va 601
Miles today: 15.5

It never fails! Everytime we stay in a shelter instead of our tent, the snorer ends up right next to us. We packed up and head out, with two climbs ahead of us, we wanted to get moving. We started out hiking along Stoney Creek with just a few ups and downs. We soon came to the spot we were actually shooting for last night, "The Captain's" place. You can camp in the backyard but the cool thing about it is you have to use a zip line to cross the creek. It sure looks like a cool spot! Our first climb was steep, we made it to the ridge line only to find a rock garden for the next four miles. By the time we made it thru our feet were killing us. We hit Mountain Lake and had much nicer tread from there to War Spur Shelter, where we took a break and pulled off the boots! After filtering enough water for our final run of the day. Our next climb was just as steep and rocky as the first. About a third of the way up my left calf started tighten up. We stopped to so I could put the knee brace on that might give it some support. We headed up again, but after about three steps I felt a sharp pain in the calf. The next nine tenths of a mile took an hour and a half with me hobbling my way up to Rocky Gap where Va 601 crosses the trail. We knew I wouldn't be able to keep going, but of course there was no cell service. Luckily I was able to walk down hill with out much pain. We headed down Va 601 until we got cell service. Suzie called Del, a gentleman who runs a shuttle service for hikers. He was to far away but knew someone closer to us and gave us her number. After a brief phone call Brenda was on her way to pick us up. She carted us into Blacksburg, Va. and dropped us off at the Red Carpet Inn. We were going to be taking a break off the trail starting saturday, but it just got moved up! Hopefully I've just strained the muscle and not done anymore damage. A week off should have me good as new. Cross your fingers and say a prayer!
Date: 2012-05-03
From: Rocky Gap Va 601

To: Maryland Break Time
Miles today: 0.0

We woke up and made arrangements to get a rental car for our trip to Maryland. We loaded up and headed up I-81. As we road along we kept watching the ridgelines we will have ahead of us when we get back. In just a few hours we covered what will take us 2 to 3 weeks to walk. We made it to my daughter's house and settled in. Imagine.... we had pizza for dinner. The leg is tender but maybe a little better.
Date: 2012-05-10
From: Maryland break time

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

We're back! The good news is my calf survived day one. The bad news is everything else on our bodies hurts after a week off the trail.    We dropped of the rental car and were shuttled back to the trail head where we had exited last week. We thanked Brenda for our shuttle and headed up the mountain.     Most of the day we were hiking at a turtle pace not wanting to stress the calf. The bodies were not happy to be back out on the trail.     We were headed for Sarver Hollow Shelter, a nice 9.4 mile day. Of course the shelter is four tenths of a mile off the trail. . . WHY? We decided to move on further to the next shelter 6 miles away. Naturally we would end up with a rocky ridge line to contend with most of the way. At the end of the ridge we came to a sign telling us we had been hiking the Eastern Continental Divide! We got to the shelter at 7, set the tent up and crashed.
Date: 2012-05-11
From: Va 601 to Niday Shelter

To: Dragon's Tooth
Miles today: 14.3

Aleve worked it's magic and the bodies felt pretty good. We did lay in and didn't get started until 9. Our big climb of the day was Brush Mountain. We enjoyed the switch backs and found ourselves on top soon enough.      Our first stop of the day was at the Audie Murphy Memorial site. For those who don't know Audie was the most decorated soldier in World War II. He also became a movie star. The site is where he was killed in a plane crash in 1971.      After we crossed Trout Creek we headed past Pickle Branch Shelter. It wasn't long before I saw Suzie jump off the trail. Just to the left of the trail was a big timber rattlesnake all coiled up. I think Suzie scared the snake as much as he scared her!    The rest of our day was spent making our way to the Dragon's Tooth. This is a huge stone monolith. We must have climbed all the way from his tail to get there! The day was getting late so we decided to camp for the night.     All in all, a pretty good day!
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Dragon's Tooth

To: Tinker Cliffs 
Miles today: 17.7

What an amazing day! Sunrise from the Dragon's Tooth was off the charts. We woke at 5:30 when some boys came to watch the sunrise. We took picture after picture enjoying it all. Then packed up and headed down. Let's say Suzie was not happy with the decent. Sheer stone walls including steel hand rails to help you down.Soon we were hiking through meadows and crossing stile after stile as we moved from one ridge line to another. We were on our way to McAfee Knob which is one of the jewels of the trail. What a magnificent view. Suzie took my picture but she didn't want to sit on the edge. Go figure! As we were getting ready to leave our friends Big E and Fatherman showed up. We hadn't seen them since Damascus!We headed on hoping to get half way to Tinker Cliffs but the trail was so nice we made it all the way. As we were almost there Suzie came upon an antique mower that would have been pulled behind a tractor. For those who know Suzie this was very hard to leave behind.We got the tent setup and then went out on the cliffs and cooked dinner. Sunset didn't match the sunrise but we still enjoyed the view.
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Tinker Cliffs 

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We were up early to head to town for a resupply and some barbeque. The ten miles to town went well with a nice ridge walk. We stopped at a rock outcrop and made our Mother's Day phone calls. We were headed down and could hear Cicadas in the trees. The sound was deafening. As we got further down we could see thousands of them hanging on every bush and tree. You could also see the holes in the ground were they had come out. They were a little overwhelming!    Once in town we headed to the Three Little Pigs for lunch. Talk about some good food! Next was Kroger's grocery. You really get some funny looks with two backpacks in your cart. We stopped by the outfitters but found them closed for Sunday.     With our chores done we headed back out of town and to the next shelter. Oh, I almost forgot. We had our first mulberries today! Yum!
Date: 2012-05-14
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Well, as you can see we didn't hike today. The rains came in last evening and continued all night. When we woke this morning it was still pouring. We still have fond memories of the last time we broke down camp in the rain. We were soaked from our wet gear and near hypothermia. Not wanting to repeat that we decided to wait it out. We made a call home and had Suzie's boys check the radar. The forecast was for rain all day so we decided to take a zero in the tent. We know we will have to hike in the rain but not today.       One good thing about it was Suzie's knee had started to give her fits yesterday so it had a day of rest. We can't remember the last time we slept so much. We had just enough of a break in the rain to get out of the tent and fix dinner before the next round of showers came in. We will be hiking tomorrow rain or shine.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: light rain

I told you we were gonna hike! Holy cow! We couldn't sleep any more so we are were hiking by 5:30. The trail today was wonderful and the miles just flowed under our feet.     The. Streams were still full from the rain and twice we had to take our boots off and put our crocs on for the crossing. The rain apparently washed all of the immature spotted efts (lizards) onto the trail because Suzie had to save a bunch of them from certain death.     We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time today. We will be crossing it for the next 100 miles.     We had planned a 20 mile day but arrived at the shelter earlier than planned so we decided on 2 more miles. Well one thing lead to another and we ended up at the next shelter. Needless to say we ate and went to sleep.
Date: 2012-05-16
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter 

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: broken clouds

Up and gone by 7. The Bryant Ridge Shelter is by far the nicest one we have seen on the trail. We spent all morning hiking from 1300 feet to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain at 4200 feet. For those doing the math that is almost 10 football fields high. We stopped at the FAA tower for our morning break.    Last night I had a dream of one of my best friends who pasted away 7 years ago. He kept telling me we needed to get our watches synchronized. I told him I didn't have a watch only the one Suzie wears. He said to give it to him and he would set it. So today the alarm on her watch went off. It has been turned off for the last month. Thanks Chris for letting me know you are out here with us!    The rest of the day was filled with a series of ups and downs. We topped our last climb and Suzie spotted a black racer that had to be 5 feet long. What an impressive specimen. We pressed on to the shelter and set up the tent right next to a beautiful creek. One more big day then a nero (short mile day) to resupply.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

It's getting harder to get up after doing 20 + mile days. We were still moving by 7. First off we had a nice walk beside the James River followed by a walk across the longest footbridge on the A. T.    Next up was a steep climb up to Big Rocky Row. We stopped so I could make some phone calls home. Today is the anniversary of my father's passing 12 years ago. For those of you who knew him you better believe he was on my mind and in my head all day. I miss you Dad!    After that climb we headed for Bluff Mountain. It wasn't bluffing either. From there I was able to call and get us a room at the Brierley Hill B & B for tomorrow. The rest of the day was just spent grinding out the miles. We are heading for Hardee's first thing tomorrow. Cross your fingers we get a ride fast!
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter 

To: Lexington, Va.
Miles today: 2.0

We woke knowing we had just 2 miles until town food! It took about 5 minutes to get a ride thanks to Danny who turned around and came back to get us.    Danny dropped us off at Hardees and we had biscuits and gravy first, then we split 6 cinnamon rolls and washed it down with sweet tea! We made our way through town getting most of our resupply done at the Lewis Grocery. Pam even gave us water and chocolate milk for free! We stopped by Uncorked Wine shop and had a nice conversation with the owner as we picked out some beer for our day off.    With that done we called the Brierley Hills B&B and Ken came and picked us up. What a place! Our room has a bedroom, bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and a sitting room with a fireplace. Hiker Special for 50 dollars! Thanks for the suggestion Bomber.    We went to Walmart and finished our resupply and grabbed a couple of pizzas for dinner. Finished up just relaxing and waiting for our free breakfast in the morning.
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Lexington, Va.

To: Seeley Woodworth Shelter 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Waking up in a nice soft bed is a strange feeling these days but by no means bad! We finished up resetting our packs and then had a very nice breakfast courtesy of Joyce and Ken, the owners of Brierley Hill B&B. We want to thank Ken and Joyce for their wonderful hospitality and suggest to other hikers to visit their place. Suzie was able to get new pictures up before we headed back to the trail.   Right of the bat we had our big climb of the day. 2000 feet up gets the body's attention. Next was Cold Mountain but it was anything but cold on top so we took a break and soaked up the sun.       We headed on to the shelter for the night. A pretty good day considering we didn't start hiking until 11:30.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Seeley Woodworth Shelter 

To: Maupin Field Shelter 
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: few clouds

A 6:30 start had us moving along the ridge heading towards The Priest Mountain. Alot of the hikers were waiting for the Dutch House free lunch at 11 but we wanted more miles so kept going. The climb up wasn't bad but the climb down took forever. About half way down we came to Cripple Creek so naturally the song by The Band kept playing in my head.     When we got all the way down to the Tye River there was Trail Magic! One of the hiker's family (Nitrous Oxide ) came to see him and take good care of all the rest of us. Hot dogs and hamburgers, fresh fruit, all sorts of sweets, and sodas! After we had gorged ourselves we thanked them and headed for our big climb of the day.     The climb up Three Ridges Mountain was six and a half miles and took three and a half hours. The only bright spots on the climb was seeing a tiny mouse and a nest of baby Carolina Wrens. By the time we made it to the shelter we were beat so called it a day as soon as we were set up.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Maupin Field Shelter 

To: Afton Va
Miles today: 21.0

The rains came in overnight so we had to break down camp in the rain. We had hopes the trail would be nice as the elevation changes were not bad at all. Well no luck with that! The trail was covered with rocks which meant slow going. At one point we came to a stretch without any rocks and I asked Suzie if she thought we should call the trail maintainers to let them know someone stole their rocks. We decided to keep it our little secret.      The rains subsided by mid afternoon and most of the rocks had too. As we headed towards our stopping point we passed a small graveyard and the remnants of a small cabin. Our plan was to find a stealth campsite close to the road so we would be set up for the next day. Of course there was nothing there. We walked out to the road to figure out what to do. We saw a guy selling Kettle Korn so we grabbed a bag and a couple of sodas and had a seat. We looked up on the hill and saw the Inn at Afton. We knew they had a hiker special so we gave them a call. We grabbed a room and ordered Domino's pizza.     Tomorrow we enter the land of gumdrops and lollipops. Where the trail is so magical all you have to do is crawl out of your tent and you have 20 miles done. Where is this place? THE SHENANDOAHS! Well, that's the story we hear on the trail. We'll just have to wait and see. . .
Date: 2012-05-22
From: Afton Va

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

We were up at 5 to get ready for our day. First up was to eat the remainder of our pizzas from last night. We finished up and were gone by 6:30.      We stopped and got our back country hiking permit and headed into the park. Suzie and I were ready to kill someone because the trail was so bad for the first 6 miles to the first hut. How could so many people be lying to us! Then it happened. Kinda like in the movie Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens the door and everything is in color. The trail became so much better. We were able to make good time and even stopped a couple times to grab a lollipop and a couple gumdrops.     One cool thing we saw was a mother grouse and a young chick. The mom was going to kick Suzie's butt.     On a side note, why after over 800 miles would we get our first blisters on our feet? Also, there are five dogs here at the shelter tonight. We must not have gotten the memo to bring a dog for the Shenandoahs! J
Date: 2012-05-23
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: moderate rain

What a night! We had a little shower and then as soon as it was dark the Whippoorwills started and didn't stop all night. There must have been a dozen of them all around us. Back an forth they went. On top of the birds Suzie's knee was bothering her and she couldn't get comfortable. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep.     Morning came but we were in no hurry to get up. As we're laying there we hear a couple of the dogs get in a fight. We looked at each other like really? We love dogs but the trail is not the place for them.      We finally got hiking at 8 but with no sleep we weren't setting any records. One nice thing about the Shenandoahs is the camp store where you can stop to get something to eat which is what we did.    Hoping a full belly would give us energy we headed back out. Soon the rain came and man did it pour. We splashed our way up and down the mountainside for several hours until it finally subsided.    We had planned on finding a stealth campsite for the night to escape the nonsense from last night but none were to be had. We ended up at the Hightop Hut just before the rain started again. We finished up and called it a night.
Date: 2012-05-24
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadow Campground 
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The rain came in last night but were gone by morning. We packed up and headed down the trail. Our first big climb of the day was Saddleback Mountain followed by Baldface Mountain. We were on our way to Lewis Mountain campground for lunch and a resupply to get us to Front Royal Va.      The nice thing about the Shenandoahs is all of the food vendors. Our afternoon hike was to the next campground called Big Meadows. We knew we would have to move as the wayside store closed at 6. We went as fast as 2 old mules could move. We arrived at 5:10 only to find out they closed at 5:30 and were a mile away from the campground. We then found out the lodge served until 9 so we decided to get a campsite, do the shower and laundry, and then dinner.     We had just got to our campsite when we see a momma bear and 3 cubs cruising across a fern covered forest floor. Suzie grabbed the camera to get a shot. Before you knew it the momma bear had found a baby deer laying in the ferns. She grabbed it and off she ran with the cubs at her side. The sound of the fawn was chilling. Of course when we returned from our showers and laundry the momma deer was standing by our tent. Suzie really could have done without that.      We went to dinner and then returned to our tent to crash. It figures our first bear sighting would be out of the ordinary!
Date: 2012-05-25
From: Big Meadow Campground 

To: Pass Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 18.4

A slow start to the day. We were gone by 8 but had no energy. After the race yesterday the legs were dead. We had planned to hike straight through and not stop for lunch at Skyland wayside. Well with our low energy level I thought some food might help. Not so much! We did take time to make some phone calls before we hit the trail.    The rest of the afternoon was much the same as we crawled to the shelter. We're glad we don't have many of these days because it leads to bad thoughts. We are so ready to get to Harper's Ferry and take a couple days off. The bodies and the minds need to be recharged for the second half of the journey.
Date: 2012-05-26
From: Pass Mountain Shelter 

To: Tom Floyd Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: few clouds

What a better day than yesterday! Our energy levels were much better so the miles came quicker. We knew we had 23 miles to make today so we were hiking at 6:30. The trail started off well and we made good time to the wayside. We elected not to stop for food and kept going. Our big climb of the day was Hogback Mountain.     With the big climb out of the way we stopped at the Gravel Springs Hut for lunch and water. As we were leaving we ran into a group of Boy Scouts and got the twenty questions about thru hiking. It is always funny to see people's eyes light up when they find out you are a Thru Hiker.      From there we set the body on cruise control and headed out of the Shenandoahs and for our final destination of Tom Floyd Shelter.      Now that we have seen all of the Shenandoah National Park we can give our opinion. It is not all Gum Drops and Lollipops. While most of the foot tread is good there is still some rocky sections. Ultimately you still have to climb mountains and there are very few switch backs. This means you climb straight up and down. All in all not a bad hike but don't kid yourself, it's not all a walk in the park!