morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-04
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Log entry: 33Starting time: 0800Ending time: 1900Weather: Cool in the morning but nice the rest of the day.Breakfast: Jello, vanilla CIB,Lunch: browniesDinner: I think I had pudding, not sure on the main courseTrail description: Some of the coolest stretches of the trail so far. The cool part was the stretch from Dennis Cove Road, past Laurel Falls, and through the gorge. A nice loop would be from Dennis Cove then hang a left on the low water route (white blazed AT) down to the river then follow it until it reaches the blue blazed high water route which leads up to the shelter and then back to the road. Like 3 miles maybe. The river is cool and the trail is real tricky right next to it. Don't screw up. Also once you start up pond flats, tighten your pack strapscause its a tough long climb to the top. Beware the psuedo summit, you still have a good bit to go... People: Mikey, the Solemates, BeetleAnimals: Sasha dogMoney spent: noneComplaints: Water source for shelter was long ways away. Half mile blue blazed and also lose about 400 feet of elevation (seriously, check a topo map)Thoughts: *** another entry that fell victim to the pocketmail failure ***Today was a great day, looking back. Mikey and I hiked all day with the Solemates. we have a lot of fun today, lots of good breaks and the weather was great. As I said earlier, Laurel Creek is a neat stretch of trail. Very rocky. Also the climb up Pond Flats was rough. It looks bad on a profile map but is almost worse in real life. On the map there is a stretch that is almost 90 degrees. It was cool.We spent some time at Watauga Dam throwing rocks out into the lake. The goal was to try to get one to "skip" but from 200 feet above the surface no one was successful. As we climbed out of the dam we were passed by a runner who stopped for a while to say hi. He and his wife are hiking from Springer to Harpers Ferry once he gets done with school at the end of April. Maybe he'll run into Andy and Lauren. This dude did the Pacific Crest Trail when he lived in California. Nice dude.Once you gain elevation back the trail gets pretty flat. It¢s a ridge walk with nice views off to the right. The sun went down on us so we missed a lot of good views I think. Finally we strolled up on Vandeventer Shelter where Beetle and Sasha dog greeted us. The cool thing is that the shelter has a Dutch name and a great view out the back. The bad thing, which trumps the view and surname is the water source. The hand book says "0.1 miles south on AT". There ain't no spring there, trust me. The source is on a blue blazed trail that goes down down down. Not any fun after a 24 mile day. I felt for Mikey, poor kid. Once water was fetched we fell fast asleep.
Date: 2004-03-05
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abington Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Log entry: 34Start time: 0800End time: 1845Weather: Warm night and a warm and sunny dayLunch: browniesTrail description: One of the flatest, easiest days so far. No big climbs, but still a long day @ 23 milesPeople: Mikey, the Solemates, BeetleAnimals: Sasha dogMoney spent: noneComplaints: Sad that my time with Mikey was almost overThoughts: *** original was lost, here's the best i can do ***I don't remember much about this day except that it was easy walking. What sticks out most was how nervous we all were that the shelter (Abington Gap) was going to be full of people. As we approached the US Forest Road there was a pickup truck there. The shelter was just a mile up the trail. We knew Beetle was going to be there and from shelter logs we figured that the northbounder we had been following for weeks, Icecold, would be there as well. then add a pickup full of pot-smoking hippies and you get a full house. It was Friday night as well. But my prayers were answered and only Beetle was at the shelter. Icecold had pushed on into Damascus. So it was all good in the shelter.
Date: 2004-03-06
From: Abington Gap Shelter

To: Dave's Place (Damascus, VA)
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Log entry 35Weather: Rained hard overnight but only foggy to start out the day, sunny by 1000.Trail description: Down into Damascus, easy and fastThoughts: We made great time into Damascus and as we were on the side walk walking towards Sicily's pizza we saw Jacob¢s parents and his sister Lauren. We all ate a hearty lunch of bacon and pepperoni pizza. Good stuff. We then spent time at Mount Rogers Outfitters and tried to soak in some of the knowledge from Dave and Jeff Patrick. Such nice and knowledgeable people. After showers Mike and I headed to the laundramat and read 199 issues of backpacker. Lets just say technology has been good to backpackers. We were expecting Gina (my sister, Mike's wife) anytime and we both fought back tears when we saw her running up the sidewalk. She made great time and even got pulled over. She said that the officer got dispatched to an in-progress call so she got off with a break. After the laundry was dry we all headed into the nearest Outback Steakhouse. Good eating there. I nailed ribs and tried sweet tea for the first time, very sweet. After supper we retired to the hostel. I did some journaling while Mike, Gina, and Jacob played chess.
Date: 2004-03-07
From: Dave's Place (Damascus, VA)

To: Dave's Place (Damascus, VA)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Jacob's parents spent the night at the Lazy Fox Bed and Breakfast and it was okay with Miss Jenny that we all eat there in the morning. So Mike, Gina, Jacob, Trisha, and I all headed over there to eat. It was one of the finest spreads I have ever seen. I had grits for the first time and they were great. These weren't average grits though, they were in a casserole with cheese and Ritz crackers. The Lazy Fox is a cool place if you can swing it. I plan to return someday. Miss Jenny is a sweet lady. After dinner Mike and Gina left, which was sad. I know Mom wanted me to be in that car headed back for Michigan, but I have 1600 miles to walk first. The Cartners advised me that they planned on heading to the First Baptist ofDamascus where we were again welcomed with open arms. The sermon was more about raising kids but a lot of the verses spoke to thru-hiking and persistance. The pastor used a power point presentation to aid his sermon. That was pretty cool. It felt like I was back in Allendale taking classes.After church I headed to the brand new Food City Supermarket to resupply. It'swest of town up the hill. Maybe a mile, but probably less. I also bought a salad kit for dinner. In addition to normal hiker foods I picked up a box of Cocoa Krispies and powdered milk. I thought I'd try it this week.Back at the hostel I journaled some more. I'm trying Aunt Marcy, but this typing stuff is a lot of work I pretty much journaled and went over stuff to send home til 1900 when theSolemates and I went to Subway. Wow, i love Subway. Then back at the hostelagain I typed some more and made some phone calls. It snowed a little, glad tospend the night inside.
Date: 2004-03-11
From: Old Orchard Shelter

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

Log entry: 40Start time: 0900End time: 1330Morning weather: Cold but sunny, high 30sAfternoon weather: Sunny and mildEvening weather: Clear again but warmBreakfast: Jello, CIB, and OCPLunch: Poptarts, OCPs, Fudge Rounds with Skippy Squeeze Peanut Butter.Dinner: Mashed potatos and gravy, puddingTrail description: A quick and easy 14 miles. I should have gone on to partnership but we had great afternoon chillin.People: Icecold, the SolematesAnimals: Bo and tweety birdsMone spent: noneComplaints: noneThoughts: I hiked hard today. I put the wood to it man. My bag was a little damp from nights in the bivy so I wanted to get to the shelter as early as possible. So I did. With God's help I was able to maintain 4 mph and even take a nice lunch break. The quote of the day belonged to Coach Myers who explained to his 8th grade English class the right way to break a horse. How is it done? Well to start you "Look 'em dead in the eye and hit 'em square in the head". That's exactly what I did to that climb out of Dickey Gap.Once at the shelter I spread my gear out in the sun and sat down to journal. My heart sank like cat that you tie a brick around its neck and then light it on fire and throw it in a lake. My pocketmail was unresponsive. So I replaced the batteries, fired it up and noticed that all my journalls from the 3rd on, were gone. I shrugged it off, no use being in a bad mood. Icecold rolled in at 1430 and the Solemates at 1530. We made a fire, played Yahtzee, and did a lot of just visting.. a great afternoon on the AT. Even though I knew I had lost over 10 hours of work and would have to make up for it in the days to come. Oh well. Wallow in self pity or look life dead in the eyes and hit it square in the head.
Date: 2004-03-12
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Log entry: 41Starting time: 0800Ending time: 1600Morning weather: warm and sunnyAfternoon: warm and sunnyEvening weather: you guessed it, warm and sunnyBreakfast: Jello and CIB, OCPSLunch: candy barsDinner: Don't recall, I think RamenTrail description: Another easy stretch. I could have done 60 miles today. I should have pushed onto Atkins probably, but I had a good afternoon.People: Icecold, the Solemates, Crash Test DummyAnimals: BoMoney spent: noneComplaints: Not a oneThoughts: The day flew by. I moved along again today. The terrain just screamed "hike me hard and fast". I stopped for like 2 hours at Mt Rogers headquarters. I talked with Andy for like 45 minutes. He scheduled my classes for me next fall and winter while I waited on the phone. Nice work, Andy. The Solemates were heading into Marion to celebrate Jacob's birthday. Happy b-day Jake.I moved on and spent a quiet afternoon at the shelter. I expected someone else to show up being a Friday night and 0.2 of mile from a forest road. Since I wasn't going to journal writing anytime soon. So I got caught up on my Bible reading. It felt good and from now on I read the days Bible before I type my journal for the day.
Date: 2004-03-13
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: The Relax Inn (Atkins, VA
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

Log entry 42Starting time: 0745Ending time: 0900Weather: cold, clearBreakfast: OCP and orange jelloLunch: Chicken strips basket and fudge brownie thingy from Dairy QueenDinner: Pulled pork bbq, fries, and a grilled ham and cheese with Dr Pepper from The BarnTrail description: Down and fast into Atkins, pretty cool hiking in the early morning.People: The Solemates, Icecold, Jason, and BoAnimals: noneMoney spent: $37 for hotel, 30 for groceries, 8 at DQ, 12 at The Barn (wow, pricy day)Biggest complaint: Such nice morning I didn't feel like stopping.Thoughts: I woke up at 0630 and tried to quickly get packed up. It still took an hour but once I hit the trail my feet were movin. I got to the motel at 0900 and the dude at the place said that we would run into the post office and then to the grocery store. While I waited for him to get ready I sat in my room and watched CNN. Wow, what a sad day in the news. I also called home. At 1030 the dude beeped the horn and we were off. I first got to the PO and opened my box of candy bars from the good people at HPD. The Cliff bars are great Marlene, thanks. After that we headed up the road to the grocery store. Atkins grocery is okay for resupply, not too much variety though. Prices were okay.After groceries I got food from DQ and headed back to my room. I spent theafternoon watching ESPN, college hoops from noon to midnight. I also read, didthe phone call thang, planned for the next week or so and had a relaxing day. as I was reading I saw a familiar face pressed up against the window. Jacob! The Solemates chilled in my room for for a little over an hour or so. It was cool to hang with them again. But they had to press on so they did. College hoops are cool and even Dick Vitale didn't get on my nerves, which is nice.
Date: 2004-03-15
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

Log entry: 44Starting time: 0845Ending time: 1630Morning weather: Cloudy and warm. Last evening's rain was short lived. It rained a litte during the night but nothing once the sun came up.Afternoon weather: Mostly sunny and warm. Breeze was a little chilly at times.Evening weather: Overcast now, 1815, but still mild. Feels muggy too. Maybe rain?Breakfast: 2 Moonpies and Jello, mixed fruit flavor I thinkLunch: Imitation Oreo cookies(yum), peanuts, oats and honey bar, Cliff barDinner: Kool-aid, Lipton Rice (chicken flavored), puddingTrail description: Great trail today. Besides the climb up to Chestnut Knob, not a bad day. The last 2 miles up to Chestnut are all on a bald so the views take more of your breath away than the incline does. The section from Walker Gap to VA623 is awesome. It's 4.5 miles of ridge walk that is all out- croppings of bedrock. The cliff on your left (northbound) is pretty impressive. A cool loop would be to hike the AT part then climb down and walk the base of the cliff back to Walker Gap.People: Icecold and JasonAnimals: Bo, crow, lots of birdsMoney spent: noneComplaints: No one to share the cool trail with but not lonely, once back at camp my left shoulder really ached. It felt okay throughout the day.Thoughts: I was pretty nervous about the climb up Chesnut Knob by the looks of the profile map and the first 3 miles are a legit ascent but nothing to call home about. I think I hear a dude shouting, brb. Not sure what his deal was but I grabbed my first aid kit and headed for theforest service road like .1 mile from here. I think I heard a truck leave as Iapproached but I couldn't testify to it. I scouted the area for a bit but didn't find any "deads" or "bleedings" for that matter. Oh well, serve and protect. So anyways the trail was 4-star today. The cabin up on Chestnut Ridge is sweet. I had 3 seperate people tell me to stay there but it wasn't in the cards for me.The Solemates are tenting like 6 miles from here near Laurel Creek probably.They are going to be at Jenny Knob tomorrow night and I hope to catch themthere. Icecold and his greenhorn friend Jason were only going to head forChestnut Knob. I hear more voices...
Date: 2004-03-18
From: Doc's Knob

To: Holy Family Hostel (Pearisburg, VA)
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

Log entry: 47Start Time: 0745End Time: 1100Morning weather: Cool and partly cloudy, 40 degreesAfternoon: Cool and windyEvening: Raining and thunderstorms, high winds. Cool. My first lightning of the trip.Breakfast: MoonpieLunch: Pizza Hut lunch buffetDinner: Wendy's, 3 Jr Bacon Cheesburgers, 2 5 piece chicken nuggets, Great Biggy Fries, bucket of FrostyTrail Description: One short climb but a long downhill into Pearisburg. The view from Angels Rest was cool but the rocky overlook a half mile before is even better.People: The Solemates, Melvin Whittaker, Father Prinelli, Bill Gaultier, MikeAnimals:   BirdsMoney: $50 at Walmart, $8 at Wendy'sBiggest Complaint: None today!!!Narrative: The solemates and I hit the trail early without eating breakfast, we ate on the run. Which is cool but I bite my tongue and the inside of my cheek a lot when I do that. Ouuch. We made good time with no real stops except for one that rocky vista and a short jaunt to Angel's Rest. Once we got to the first road crossing, we saw a flyer for that the Holy Family Hostel was open. We planned on chilling at the Rendezous (sp?, sorry I don't know French) and watching basketball all day but 50 bucks a night when we can have a donation place to stay so we tried to hitch a ride. The first car that rolled by was Melvin Whittaker. He's a old favorite and has shuttled many many hikers. We read about him in the shelter logs up and the mountains. The first thing he said as we sat down was, "They shot my boy you know and since then I have been hauling hikers". "Okay", I mean what do you say to that. He dropped us off at the Pizza Hut and we preceeded to spend an hour eating and listening to songs out of the jukebox. Good times. We then hauled up the hill to the library and killed some time on the old http://www. and then continued up the hill to the Hostel. We got there with no one around and finally found Father Prinelli inside. He shall hereby be known as Friar Tuck. Nice enough dude. After some conversation Bill swang up there and gave us a ride to the post office and then the laundrymat where we did the laundry thing and then he came back and brought us back up to the hostel. We showered and made a fire in the woodstove. As I was in the shower Mike, a dude that had been following trailjournals stopped in because he read that we were there (Jacob updated). so he brought us to and from Walmart and to Wendy's as well. What a peach of a guy. If you read this tonight yet Mike, we could use a lift back to the trail in the morning, Saturday. We extend an invitation to hike but we will be doing a 19 mile day. We should be at the hostel all evening (Friday). No problem, otherwise we can hitch. After we got back we went over groceries and planned for an early morning. I journaled and read a bit.
Date: 2004-03-19
From: Holy Family Hostel (Pearisburg, VA)

To: Holy Family Hostel (Pearisburg, VA)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well, we decided that instead of doing 7 miles out of Pearisburg we are going to do 19 miles on saturday and chill here in town. The hostel is pretty rockin. A nice place to relax. I am at the library now rocking out to all my songs I have been having in my head for the past 47 days from Launch.com. Nice. Also I sent some emails and updated yesterdays journal. I lost a weeks worth of journals, Erwin to Damascus and Mt Rogers as well. I have some adventures to fill you all in on. It's been a good time. OT is out for now. We should be in Daleville/Troutville in like 4 days.Hike hard or go home.
Date: 2004-03-21
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Log entry: 501. Start time: 08002. End time: 17003. Weather:        b. morning: cold and windy, snow in the air but nothing accumulating        c. afternoon: cold and windy, more snow but still not sticking         d: evening: cold, just at freezing, but clear5. Trail description: Some pretty good climbs up to the ridges, but once on the ridge the slope was mild and tolerable. The trail wound through a lot a pastures latter in the day, more toward Sarver Hollow. Once atop the ridge which rises out of the Sinking Creek Valley, there are a lot of stone cairns, they actually look to me like graves. I am not sure what they were but they were pretty cool and they definitely did not serve as trail markers and were in abundance.6. People: Some day hikers, the Solemates7. Animals: Deer, birds, squirrels, moo cows8. Money: none9. Biggest complaint: I got pretty tired after the final climb out of Sinking Creek Valley, but the views from the ridge were splendid.10: Thoughts: The trail today was fun and very different. The first 19 miles or so were through woods and on ridges with cool rock outcroppings and then you dropped down into some pastures and past some farms. The wind and deep cold really sucked the energy out of me but the last push to the shelter was magnificent enough to keep me going.The Sarver Hollow Shelter is .3 of a mile off the AT and it is very downhill. It is however newly built and has a nice porch and a decent water source. Over by the springs there are some old cabins, barns, and corn cribs. The shelter log carries 2 very distinct tones by most of the hikers who penned thoughts. The main point of view complains about the hike down to the shelter and the authors worry about how tough the climb up will be. Trust me, the climb down seems like it will be a tough walk back up but in actuality the switchbacks are friendly and isn¢t as bad as foreseen. The second thing most people seemed to write about was the spooky cabins by the spring. I can see how one would get a little creeped out as I kept a watchful eye on them as I pumped water; alert for movement. But alas, no men in black robes with sickles, axes, or bowie knives. Darn.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Stealth Camp near Troutville

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

Log entry: 54Start time: 1000End time: 1830Morning weather: Clear and warm. I was in shorts 1st thing.Afternoon weather: Clear and sunny, breeze was a little coolEvening weather: Clear and coolBreakfast: PoptartsLunch: I planned on eating my Cheese-Its but when Loon dropped by he gave us: Chicken fingers, Belgium chocolate, gatorade, and pine nutsDinner: Lipton noodles, Alfredo (the Solemates had tacos which they shared)Trail description: A pleasent and delightful day on the AT. The climb up Fullhardt wasn't was bad as we had thought though it would have been much tougher had we done it yesterday on full bellies. We got our first taste of life along the Blue Ridge Parkway which meant lots of trash cans, and nice views too.People: The Solemates, Loon, and his friend, not sure of her name but her husband is a professor at Virginia Tech and she is doing a thru-hike with the dude that uses van support; he writes a guidebook I think.Animals: Deer, squirrels, birdsMoney spent: NoneComplaints: NoneThoughts: I was happy to wake up and not be soaked in dew or rain. The previous night had been clear and starry. Since I got service on my phone I talked almost the whole morning away with myDad and eventually Andy. Andy had a list of pre-thru hike questions and I did my best.The morning went quickly and soon we found ourselves at Wilson Creek Shelterwhere after pumping water we enjoyed the sunshine. There was no shelter log but we instead read from A Purpose Driven Life when we were greeted by Loon and his friend, maybe daughter?. They were both doing some training for upcoming thru's.I think this was Loon's 6th time, he leaves again April 1st. He showered andspoiled us with a hearty lunch. The pine nuts were especially tasty, butexpensive, $16 something a pound. Loon gave us good advice for upcoming sections as well as advice for Maine. It was a delightful lunch.We ambled the last 7.3, taking our time, soaking it all in. It was a greatafternoon for a walk.At the shelter, we cooked for the first time on the picnic table. All othermeals have been cooked out of our bags. Spring was finally almost sorta here.