morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-10-11
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

Day 132 (Wednesday)Up @ 7:20 & woke up Jack by saying, Hey, Jack?" which he thought was creepy for some reason. Reils on trail 1st & Jack behind him (going for a 28 mi day to position to meet his family). I stuck around to catch up on my journal (going for a 21 mi day initially which turned into an 18). Breakfast - 10 grain cereal & Jack's Mom's hot chocolate (very good). On trail 10:40 - slow moving hiking (as usual lately). Arrived @ M. Rogers visitor center @ 2pm. Met an older couple from TX who was touring the area, the guy had hiked @ Philmont previously. Got water & headed to Partnership shelter 0.1 mi away, had lunch (pepperoni) & saaw a sign saying Raccoon Branch shelter had been removed, so I decided to stay @ Trimpi shelter instead. Confirmed info w/ the staff @ the visitor center, running into Tentpole on the way back over. Talked w/ Tentpole @ the shelter for a few minutes & then took a shower (Tentpole hiked on) & read the Dec 2006 Backpacker sitting in the shelter. Back on trail @ 4pm to do the last 11 mi. Easy hiking but it started to rain around 6:30 as I crossed the south fork of the Holdon River (saw about 7 deer in between). Passed a pasture full of cows (some of them about 2 ft from the trail) & reached the jct for the shelter at 7:20. Hiked 5 min down the Slabtown trail before realizing my error. In camp @ 7:30 just ahead of some strong T-storms. Dinner - Turkey Orzo Stew (very good) & lemon poppy sees cake. In bed 9pm (Tentpole & Reils also in the shelter).
Date: 2006-10-14
From: Saunders Shelter, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 135 (Saturday)Up @ 7am & packed up as quietly as I could to make what I thought was a noon closing @ the post office. Jack & David both gave me the "Clint Eastwood" look @ 7:30 & Jack said, "Could you possibly make any more noise?" to which I replied in the affirmative. Ate 3 chocolate chip cookies before hitting the trail @ 7:50 after listening to Jack criticize my decision to begin hiking w/ my jacket on (temp still in the 30's). Trail paralleled the Virginia Creeper trail for a while (followed it for about 300 yds the night before, btw) beforee veering off. (The VA creeper trail is a rail-trail named for the railroad that used to run it serving coal mines on a route laid out by Daniel Boone). Talked to Melissa & Jonathan for a while from Iron Mtn (last cell signal before descending into Damascus). Picked up the VA creeper trail again heading into Damascus & almost got run over by a bicyclist when I turned around into their path to see where a ringing sound was coming from (turns out they were ringing a bell to alert me to their presence). Hiked into town & checked out "The Place" church hostel (empty) before going over to Dave's Place (outfitter hostel-much nicer) & running into Easyrider who said Cowsie was also in town & that both were hiking out that day. Easy also mentioned that the post office closed at 11, not 12, which I found to be true when I went over there at 11:40. Tried to figure out why I thought it was 12 when the book says 11 & realized that that was what Jack had said & I didn't bother to check. Ran into Jack's dad again @ Mt. Rogers outfitters where I found Tentpole & bought new superfeet insoles (1 size smaller @ their recommendation), a can of jetboil fuel (for better cold weather performance vs. MSR fuel), & a new pocketknife ($15). Got a room @ Dave's place (split w/ Tentpole for Sat night) & went over to the Baja cafe w/ Tentpole, ate a burrito & read 2 Outside magazines (articles about Lance Armstrong & 2 guys who went to Iraq to work for the C.P.A. after selling "Yankees suck" T-shirts outside Fenway Park for a living. Met Tentpole back @ Dave's place & went to Dairy king for early dinner (Bacon cheeseburger & fries & peanut butter milkshake - shake was very good) & then over to Sundog outfitter to surf the net & check out their gear (they carried my Mont-bell jacket & the Mont-bell elastic baffle sleeping bags). Had 2nd dinner back @ Dave's place (split a 1/2 sausage 1/2 hawaiian pizza & garlic knots w/ Tentpole). Met 3 section hikers going to go thru Mt. Rogers & back to Damascus & talked w/ them for a while (colleagues from a Florida based electric company), & read some old Reader's Digests. In bed about midnight.
Date: 2006-10-15
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 136 (Sunday)Up around 9am. Over to breakfast w/ Tentpole @ "In the Country" restaurant. Tentpole beat me there & got a table. I sat down w/ him & asked him if he had ordered yet (there was a line at the counter & a big sign that said, "Please order here.") He was under the impression that someone would come along & take our order for some reason. Finally got up & ordered after about 20 more people walked in (pancakes, sausage, 2 eggs over medium, OJ & fried apples). Very busy in the resaurant (busiest day of the year). Back to Dave's place to hang out & read some more old Reader's Digests. Went over to Sundog to surf the net & asked about riding the Virginia Creeper Trail; they said they had an opening for their 3:00 shuttle & I asked to go. Went to the coffee shop next door for lunch (chicken saladd sandwich & strawberry banana smoothie) on the recommendation of 1 of the guys from Sundog (both good) got a popped Waldies strap fixed @ Sundog also. Back to Dave's place to prep for my ride. Tentpole gave me $10 to mail his old pack home for him (He bought an Osprey Atmos 50 @ Mt. Rogers Outfitters b/c his 2nd Granite gear vapor trail was starting to fall apart at the seams). Back to Sundog where I waited about 40 minutes for the shuttle & rented a bike (we were using hostel bikes around town, but I wanted a decent bike for the trail). Bike & shuttle combo was $17. The owner @ Sundog mentioned that he had shuttled Keifer Sutherland up Iron Mtn earlier in the day but hadn't recognized him (his employees told him who he was afterward). (Apparently he's in town for a movie). Got the shuttle @ 3:40 w/ 6 women - 2 dropped @ Iron Mtn & 4 @ the Creeper trail w/ me (1 doctor, 1 mtn bike racer from Athens, GA). The shuttle driver was a mother of 4 who drives a schoolbus during the week, & estimated that 1000 people were on the Creeper trail that day & that she had shuttled about 150 of them. Creeper Trail was a well graded, slightly downhill easy ride; saw a bike laying on the side of it w/ no one around & reported it to the shuttle driver. Passed a few restaurants along the trail & had a hot dog & donuts @ one. Passed the place where the AT & creeper trail intersected & noted how much easier it was on bike. Passed 1 guy w/ a broken sprocket & another w/ a flat tire. Back to Sundog @ 5:30 pm to return the bike & went back to the Hostel. Over to Sicily's where I found Reils working on his websites & had a chicken parmesan dinner.   Back to the Hostel where I met a few more section hikers going out to Mt. Rogers. In bed 11pm.
Date: 2006-10-16
From: Damascus, VA

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter, TN
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 137 (Monday)Up @ 8:30 when Reils asked if I wanted ot go to breakfast. Brought clothes to do laundry & threw them in on the way (split a load w/ Reils who insisted on using athe large cap washer b/c they do a better job). Back to In the Country for breakfast (same breakfast as yesterday exc had hot chocolate & no fried apples). Much less crowded that morning. Dried laundry & returned a backpack I had borrowed for the Creeper trail to Sundog. Reils got a new Black Diamond headlamp (same one as Jack) & gloves. Wished Reils bon voyage & picked up maildrops from the post office, repacked & sent extra maps back to Kellee. Bought some loratidine, Dayquill, & cough drops @ the pharmacy & had a BBQ philly cheesesteak @ Sicily's for lunch (Tentpole's recommendation - not bad). On trail @ 1pm. Easy hike to Abingdon Gap shelter after crossing the TN/VA state line. Reached camp about 5pm & met 2 section hikers (Greg & Dave?) who maitain trail S. of the Shenandoah Park near Rusty's. Greg? mentions he usually sees Rusty in the winter & I asked if he would give him $20 to make up for the $ Tentpole forgot to give him & he said he would see that it got to Rusty (cool). Dinner - Southwestern Beef (good). Started to rain that evening, but Greg & Dave were both tenting. They mentioned there might be 2 more guys coming from the south, but they never showed up. Cool, windy, & rainy overnight; low 47. In bed 9pm.
Date: 2006-10-17
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter, TN

To: Ridge S. of Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 138 (Tuesday)Up @ 7:30 - very windy out. Breakfast- 20 grain cereal w/ peanut butter & honey. On trail @ 9:30 am. Slow hiking made difficult by high wind (up to 50 mpf per radio report - felt more like 20-40). Reached Double Springs Shelter about 2pm (8mi) after taking a 12 min roundtrip detour down a blue blazed trail to make sure the shelter wasn't on it. Also, met 2 guys missing from the day before (they had stayed at the "emergency" shelter at McQueen's knob about 2 mi south of Abingdon Gap). Also passed 2 guys we had met in Damascus the day before out slackpacking. Passed a monument for Nick Grindstaff (a local hermit who was robbed going out west to seek his fortune & lived there for 40 yrs - plaque said, "He lived alone, suffered alone, & died alone." Sad. Saw a black bearat 150ft range (much more comfortable than my last bear encounter in VA) & reached Iron Mtn Shelter @ 6pm. Met "Sarge" there (US Army, retired in '83 (infantry) worked ROTC program @ St. Bonaventure, AT '00, '01 - out for a section hike.) He had a fire going after pulling a short day. I was tempted to stay, especially when it started to drizzle, but I wanted to get into Kincora early the next day to get my glasses fixed (I had rolled over them in my sleep the night before & bent a temple), so I decided to hike on, leaving at 6:30pm to head to Vandeventer Shelter, another 7mi S. Reached a spring 3 mi S. of the shelter & considered camping there, but decided against it & hiked on, reaching Vandeventer Shelter @ 10:30pm (moving slow all day - in part to clear blown down branches, partly due to listening to talk radio all day, & partly just sluggish) to find shelter full of sleeping people (at least 3). Hiked on, not wanting to bother them & found a spot to cook dinner (Turkey, garlic & herb couscous & english pea & corn salad leftover from before Damascus). Hiked on until I found a decent tentsite about midnight (trail was on a narrow ridge), set camp, & went ot bed @ 12:30 am.
Date: 2006-10-18
From: Ridge S. of Vandeventer Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel / Dennis Cove Rd
Miles today: 15.0

Day 139 (Wednesday)Up @ 9am & laid in bed until 10:00, waiting for fog to burn off to get a good view of Watauga Lake. Breakfast - granola w/ chocolate pudding. On trail 11am. Reached Watauga Lake shelter @ 2pm after passing 1 elderly couple w/ 3 dogs (unleashed) who growled at me - 2 collies & 1 german shepherd. They controlled the dogs & apologized & I hiked on. Met a 62 yr old (Harold Whitman?) out hiking w/ his grandson (Travis Wilson?) (6?) who whittled a stick w/ a swiss army knife while his grandfather talked w/ me. It made me happy to know that there are still places in the world where kids can go out in the woods & whittle sticks w/ knives while hiking w/ their grandfathers. Left the shelter @ 2:40 & met the same 2 guys I had seen the day before & in Damascus out slacking. They reported having seen Cowsie earlier that day. Hiked on to Kincora after a 2000ft climb up & over Pond flats where I passed 3 section hikers, & past Laurel Fork Falls (impressive) at about dusk. Got some trail magic (slim jim & starburst) @ Dennis Cove road & hiked the 0.2 mi to Kincora hiking hostel, arriving @ 7:40pm. Met the owners, Bob & Pat Peoples, & NOBO section hikers Cornfed (f) & Vega (f) (Springer to Damascus - met each other in the peace corps in Kenya). Alazar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca from Augusta, GA & a former hospital administrator from MN whose name I forget with whom I split a pizza & 2 liter Sierra Mist. Read several Backpacker Magazines before going to bed around midnight (also did laundry & learned that Natty Boh is short for Natural Bohemian & learned how the Ghost of Natty Boh became a ghost). Also called Tom re: glasses & he advised it would probably be ok to try to straighten w/ pliers.
Date: 2006-10-19
From: Kincora Hostel / Dennis Cove Rd

To: Moutaineer Falls Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

Day 140 (Thursday)Up @ 8am & borrowed needlenose pliers from Bob & fixed my glasses. Breakfast - granola bars, jalapeno cheese crackers, peanut butter & hot cider from the hiker box. Hung out all morning b/c rain was forecast & the only shelter between there & Roan Mtn was 6 mi S, & I didn't want to tent in the rain. Hiker "Rogue" showed up & mentioned there was a new shelter 15 mi S (which Bob confirmed), Mountaineer Falls Shelter, so I hiked out @ 12:30 after playing 2 games of sudoku w/ that as my goal. Hit the trail magic @ the trail head for another slimjim, little debbie oatmeal cream pie & smores crackers. Reached Moreland Gap shelter @ 3:15pm & hiked on, passing Breeze w/ alaskan malamute, Denali. Passed 3 guys tenting @ 5pm & asked one if he was Krispy (a new SOBO 1 day ahead in the registers) to which he replied, "Yeah, I'm Catholilc, why?" (There was a loud brook nearby). Clarified, talked for a few minutes & hiked on. Passed walnut mtn rd @ 6:40pm & reached the shelter @ dusk (7:10pm) to find Cowsie there. Swapped stories & cooked dinner (beef stew flavored w/ navy bean soup courtesy of Cowsie, kit kats (also courtesy Cowsie) & choc chip cookies. In bed @ 9pm & caught up on journal backlog of 5 1/2 days, until 11:40. Raining out since 9pm.
Date: 2006-10-20
From: Moutaineer Falls Shelter, TN

To: Overmountain Shelter, NC
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 141 (Friday)Up @ 9:15 am to a light rain, clearing. Logged pictures. Breakfast 10 grain cereal w/PB & honey. On trail @ 10:30. Passed Mountaineer falls & a mysterious dead end blue blaze. Stopped @ Jones falls @ 12:00 after passing the Elk River. Reached US 19E @ 3pm & tried to hitch into town, but hit the Mountian Harbour B & B 1st & caught a ride from Mary Hill. She had a hiker just arrived from Paris, France & reported that Jack & Tentpole had stayed the night before & watched "50 First Dates" & were laughing uncontrolably. Picked up mail drop @ the Roan Mtn P.O. & got dropped @ Bob's Dairyland restaurant for a large burger ($3.55), fries, hush puppies, root beer & a peanut butter shake ($9 total), & met some kids from Appalachian State & UNC Chapel Hill on fall break (Miles & _____?), & caught a ride back to trail from them & a resupply for Cowsie. Hit trail @ 4:30 & reached the Apple House Shelter @ 4:45 where I met Bean, a homeless guy living on trail who talked loudly, lived in Costa Rica, & had worked in Alaska, & Casino, a NOBO thru hiker/ Appalachian State student from Brentwood, TN who worked @ REI there (I think Lowkey told me about him on Moosilaukie in NH) w/ 3 of his friends. We swapped some trail stories & Cowsie showed up @ 5:30. We built a fire, had a good time & then Cowsie & I decided to hike up to the next site. Hiked out about 6:45 & managed to hike w/o headlamps until 8pm when we hit the campsite @ Dolls Flats. We weren't tired, & it was windy, so we decided to hike on. Nice exposed meadow over Hump Mtn; stopped to cook dinner on a rock @ 11pm just past Bradley Gap. Dinner - Rosemary Chicken (mashed potatoes & olive oil - good) Temp down to 31 deg & platypus was just starting to freeze. Hiked on to Overmountain shelter @ 11:45pm, slightly behind Cowsie. Caught Cowsie @ 12:15am as she was staring at a pair of eyes in the darkness ahead of her on the trail that she was afraid might be a bear. We started banging our poles & yelling & the eyes started coming towards us. Turns out it was just a bear dog which followed us all the way to Overmountain shelter. Passed a guy w/ a dog tenting @ Yellow mtn gap (the shelter jct) who directed us to the shelter. We thanked him, aplologized for waking him, & reached the shelter @ 1am. Met "Jute Keko" there who asked if we had any cigarettes or peanuts (we didn't). In bed 1:15 am & promptly fell asleep.
Date: 2006-10-21
From: Overmountain Shelter, NC

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 142 (Saturday) Up @ 9:15 am. Learned that Jute Keko had started in NY 6 1/2 mo ago. He asked if we had any extra food, & I gave him some gatorade, whey protein supplements, & a butterscotch pudding. He mentioned that he was planning to go into town tomorrow b/c "Churches always hook you up w/ food." Cowsie left promptly @ 10am w/o breakfast & I was on trail @ 10:45 (33 deg when I woke up, but warmed up to 40 by the time I started hiking. Passed a few sets of weekenders & stopped to remove my thermals before reaching Stan Murray shelter @ 12:15 where I caught up w/ Cowsie (also wore sunglasses & sunscreen for the 1st time since the White mtns). Met a group of 4 (1 woman, 1 man & 2 kids) & Cowsie warned them about a "homeless guy" @ the barn (Overmountain Shelter). Had some lunch & some Lipton rice courtesy Cowsie & started hiking @ 1:15 when I realized I didn't have my knee braces on. Asked the woman (from Cincinatti & thought she knew the Sierra Club group from Mt. Rogers, btw) to send them to Hos Springs if she found them. Reached the trail to Grassy Ridge as a group of about 20 scouts from Georgia hiking north on the AT started following the side trail (the AT splits off & if you are hinik north & not paying attention, it's the more natural way to go). I asked the 4th to pass if they were hiking the AT & he shrugged his shoulders. Asked the leader (16th in line) & he said they were & I told them it turned off & he yelled to the kids in front & he redirected them. I declined to lecture tem on their appalling lack of group controls (even though I was lost overnight once on a scout trip in a similar manner). A guy from Cameroon going to ETSU walked by & I asked him if the view from Grassy Ridge was worth it & he said it was, so I took the 0.5 mi side hike, leaving my pack at the trail junction (picked up water from a spring before the junction, where I passed Cowsie, btw). Passed several dayhikers & shot some panorama near the top. Over 6000', the only natural bald peak that high near the AT. Picked up my pack & walked down to Carver's Gap, passing several day hikers back & forth & stopping to talk to a few along the way. Found Cowsie looking for the trail @ the parking lot of Carver's Gap & we hiked up a well graded piece of trail to Roan High Knob shelter. Stopped for a snack & hiked on to Clyde Smith shelter from 5:45 to 9pm. (Cold & windy on Roan High Knob (low 40's)). Found 3 others in the shelter & Yogi'd soime water & cooked dinner (spicy scezuan chicken noodles). In bed 10pm.
Date: 2006-10-22
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Miss Janet's House (Indian Gap),Irwin, TN
Miles today: 16.9

Day 143 (Sunday)Up @ 8am. Breakfast peaches & cream oatmeal w/ added milk (carrying too much). 2 of the hikers were a fater & son (Cole) on an overnight from Carver's Gap. Cole had a blister on his heel & I gave him a blister pad & duct tape & his dad gave me a banana nut bread power bar. (Earlier I apologized for coming into the shelter so late & he said, "That's allright, not everyone needs 12 hrs of sleep.") On trail @ 9:45, last besides Cowsie. Passed a hunter dragging the carcass of a deer he had just shot w/ a bow down the AT. Reached Cherry Gap Shelter @ 2pm after passing a couple of horeseback riders at Iron Mtn Gap (riding a parallel horse trail) & some section hikers (4), most in camouflage w/ heavy gear, but 1 of whom had the same pack as me (red & grey Osprey Atmos 50). I said, "Nice pack" & we chatted briefly & he said he would look me up on trailjournals. 10ft after I passed him I realized that with my pack cover on, he couldn't see that I had the same pack as him, explaining why he didn't respond to my "nice pack" comment. Picked up the 9/06 Reader's Digest @ Cherry Gap Shelter, ate some summer sausage & took somephotos of some cool drawings in the register. Hiked on @ 2:45 & ran into a day hiker named Fred from Greensboro County, NC who wanted to see a bear on trail. I advised him to try Iron Mtn N. of Watauga Dam & he corrected my pronunciation of Watauga (wa-TAW-ga, not wa-TOO-ga), saying, "That's OK, everyone from the north pronounces it that way." Climbed viewless Unaka Mtn & got a bit of cell svc on the backside & talked to Kellee & aaron & left a message for the 'rents. Saw a few people out on the road to Beauty Spot & chatted w/ a few. Down to Indian Gap @ 6pm & caught a ride from a couple on their way down from the Beauty Spot who said there were "bad people doing bad things" up there at times & said they would pray for me. Dropped me @ Miss Janet's house where I found Jack & Tentpole, along w/ a section hiker named Chuckwagon. Jack & Tentpole were watching a movie when I got there & said, "Oh, it's Book" when I walked in & I said, "Yeah, good to see you too." Got aphilly cheesesteak & onion rings from Sonic, took a shower & then went over to Huddle House for dinner where I tried to order a chicken tenders platter but got a chicken patty instead b/c they were out of tenders, along w/ sweet potato fries, slad & chili. Back @ Miss Janet's house we watched Zoolander & Office Space & surfed the net. In bed 2:30am.
Date: 2006-10-23
From: Miss Janet's House (Indian Grave Gap),Irwin, TN

To: Miss Janet's House (Nolichucky R) Irwin, TN
Miles today: 8.3

Day 144 (Monday)Up @ 7:30 am when I heard Miss Janet & Chuckwagon talking. Met Miss Janet, who had been asleep the daay before (slept 15 hrs after spending 3 days w/ her daughter who just had a baby). Breakfast - scrambled eggs w/ sausage, OJ, & toast from Miss Janet. Discussed slackpacking options for the day - 7mi or 18mi. Got my bounce box @ the post office, donated the hand sanitizer, gold bond & Ibuprofen to the hiker box, threw out some peanut butter molasses mix I had been bouncing since June, took the rest of the food out, & sent the rest back to Kellee. Used a new box so I wouldn't have to pay priority postage, but the box ended up costing about $0.70 more than the difference in postage (you can't win). Back @ Miss Janet's, went shoppig w/ Tentpole who is meeting his 'rents in Hot Springs Thursday to hike w/ them; Jack had gone to meet his Aunt & Uncle for breakfast. Met NOBO section hiker "Harlem Hillbilly" (3rd black distance hiker I've seen this trip (Springer-Damascus)). Miss Janet went to ddrop Tentpole @ trail & said to tell Jack to get his stuff ready & she would be back in 15 min. Jack showed up & I met his Aunt & Uncle (in town for the "wiggle worm festival" (Google it- I'm not going to explain it here). Rode back to Indian Grave Gap w/ Jack & Miss Janet's dog, ______. I asked her if she knew anything about "bad people doind bad things" on Beauty Spot, & she said that 1/3 of the kids in town were probably conceived up there, but other than that, she didn't know what they were talking about. Slacked the 7mi from Indian Grave Gap back to Erwin very quickly, passing "The Dude" (NOBO section hiker) at the Curly Maple Gap shelter along the way. At the Nolichucky River, Jack decided he didn't want to slack another 11mi, and I went with him back to Miss Janet's b/c it was cold & I didn't want Miss Janet to have to make a special trip just for me. Walked around town looking for Irwin burrito only to find it closed on Mondays & returned to Miss Janet's where I met Goldilocks (NOBO '05) who goes to Brevard College in Ashville & was out to hike on fall break when he got busted up on Beauty Spot for underage posession of alcohol & weed (he was pretty bummed about a $1600 fine). Miss Janet's daughter asked her to come back over, so she dropped Jack & I off at Pizza Plus where we ate pizza & salad while watching a 7th heaven rerun. (We were the only customers.) Hitched back to Miss Janet's stopping at a drive thru window at a bar to pick up a few beers on the way. Back @ Miss Janet's Cowsie arrived & we watched Ciderhouse Rules & Mr. Deeds. In bed @ midnight.