morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-16
From: Cosby Shelter

To: Standing Bear
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Great Day! Woke up to little bit of wind but not too much. Sunshine felt great as we continued our decent out of the smokies. Time flew and before we knew it we were taking our last steps out of there at Devenport Gap. There at the bottom was TRAIL MAGIC. This was one of the most uplifting moments on the trail so far. We sat in lawn chairs (the comfy thing I had sat in for four days) and enjoyed WARM SUNSHINE, fruit, candy, bars, banana bread, soda, orange juice, cookies, chili, and other treats. The people doing the magic were so nice. They let us raid! I left with 2 days of snacks. awesome. After we walked down the rest of the mountain and crossed a river. We saw two groups of rafts going down it. Then we crossed 1-40 one way was Knoxville and the other way was Ashville.... About a mile later we came to standing bear hostel. It was a deep southern Appalachian mountain place. The man who owns it is Curtis. Nice guy and keeps the place very well run. Rocket was the care taker. He was walking the Appalachian Trail last year and when he walked into Standing Bear, he never left. Over time he was hired and became the caretaker. Oh yea they had Frozen Pizzas there and a little oven. That was the best frozen pizza I ever had. Lots of hikers spent the night including us. Lots of fun.CaribouOkay here's a typical day MORNINGWake up 6-7Breakfast and pack up 7-8Walking 8-12Snack 9-10:30AFTERNOONLunch or Big Snack 12-2Walking 12-6Water refill sometimes 3-4NightSet up camp 6-8Dinner 6-8Chill 6:30-9Bed 7-9
Date: 2013-03-17
From: Standing Bear

To: camp site 21 mi. past SB
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: broken clouds

today was yet again another great day! we woke up, got some coffee, ate and got our day underway. we planned to make it to Hot Springs in 2 days from here. as we started up the hill to get out of standing bear, it was not too bad, we met a girl named juggs who is also thru-hiking, she said she was going 20 miles that day. caribou and i looked at our map and decided 20 miles was not bad at all so we changed our plan and shortened our second day. we kept walking and were feeling great. it was beautiful out. we ran into a little bit more trail magic at this gap, this guy Shepperd, a former thru-hiker gave us mtn. dew and cany cakes! it was awesome! we eventually decided we wanted to do 35 miles. things had not been going in our favor so much this trip in certain aspects and we were feeling a bit crazy so we were going to go for it. we got to this place called maxs patch which was amazing, we walked through the woods and out on to a bald mountain of grass, 360 degree view of beauty. we could also see where we had started out that day. eventually we decided 35 miles may be pushing it because we have never done that big of a day yet, we went back to the 20 miles, but decided to go a mile further to a camp site to set our hammocks up. it was nice to be out of the smokies. i enjoy the terrain better, the smokies were more so just walking on mountains, up the down them on there ridges, but the rest of the AT is more woodsy and feels more vast. i guess it makes me feel a bit more free. today was very flat for the most part so it was not hard to get the 21 miles done. we got to camp, made us some mac an cheese and went to bed, ready for an easy 12.5 miles into town. thats it for today, have a good one!Dovetail
Date: 2013-03-18
From: camp site 21 mi. past SB

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Okay I'm going to make this entry a little different. I'm going to talk about today the 19th and yesterday the 18th. First yesterday. It was a good day. We woke to screaming pounding wind against our hammocks but thankfully no rain. We were really ready for Hot Springs at this point. Those 12 miles were beautiful but probably the longest 12 miles of the trip. Before Hot Springs we were on a mountain ridge. We finally saw town a 1000 ft below us, what a beautiful site. It was time to spend a day out of the woods. Once in town we found a great room at the iron horse. We cleaned clothes, and took showers (first time in 7 days (we smelled)). We decided to take a zero here in Hot Springs. We needed some time off our feet... So now I sit here in the library on the 19th. Its funny to think were in some random small town in North Carolina. Its funny to think we walked 274 miles to get here. wow. The town is really cool one street and I'm pretty sure the town still here simply from the hikers coming in and giving it business.All I can say is that this has been the time of my life. I've learned things these past three weeks that no school can teach me or no parent can show me. I've learned things that are simply from the experience. I've learned how simple life really can be. There is so much fun to be had, even when the weather is crap, you still come out on the other side smiling and existed for the next adventure within this journey. Next stop Erwin Tennessee about 70 miles from here. Can't wait for both the journey and the destination.CaribouThanks Mom and Dad I couldn't be here without you.
Date: 2013-03-20
From: Hot Springs

To: Campsite 8 miles
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up at 6 in the Iron Horse Inn. It was still dark out. We packed up our bags and went to the Lobby for coffee. It was enjoyable to wake in the warmth of a building. It was then time to move on. As we headed down the one street in Hot Springs with heavy packs, the warmth of the sun shinned down upon us. We walked for half a mile on a flat trail before heading up a steep hill. I (Caribou) started to feel my calfs buring and an ache on the outside of my left (dominate leg) knee. Not a great feeling on my birthday. This was worry some because I've experenced this pain last year after running and it brought me down to a limp. We took it slow and said nothing to Dovetail about my knee hoping a small day would make it feel better. So, we set up our hammocks at a nice camp site with benches. The time was 12 so we had all day to hang out. There was a fire tower up the hill and we hung out up there for a long time. We could see back all the places we had been from this tower. Hot springs, Max Patch. The Smokies. Very cool. After we hung out around the campsite. Built a big roaring fire. and made a great dinner... Going to bed the temperature was dropping like crazy. It was okay at the time because I had a warm sleeping bag at 20 degrees which I bought in Franklin. I feel asleep at 730 and slept soundly as could be. At 12 I woke up and noticed my tarp was touching my hammock. At first I thought a line had came loose, but then when I pushed on the side of the tarp, I heard a sliding noise and a thud. I was very confussed at this point, so I got out of my sleeping bag and hammock. First I noticed that it was FREEZING, second I notices an inch of snow on my tarp! What the !@#$! was the first thing that came to mind. This was not cool! I'm done with snow. As far as backpacking in it I'm done... But life continues and the only way is forward.CaribouWana go fast go alone, wana go far go together.
Date: 2013-03-22
From: Hemlock Hallow Hostel

To: Hemlock Hallow
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Pictures Added look through journal to find them!!!! Picture on this log is from Smokies. Were just hanging right now. Not to much to talk about. My Knee is doing okay...The Plan though.For today- Hangout and rest up at HostelTMR- We are going to slackpack. Take one pack with only food and water for one day to cut down weight... To do this were going to take a shuttle 18 miles north on the trail. Then we will walk back, southbound 18 miles to the hostel. This will give my leg more rest while completing some of the trail. When we go back on the trail again we will start at that point 18 miles away and head northSunday- Here is our problem. We want to go on the trail and get to Erwin, but there is going to be a super nastey storm. So we might be staying. 90% chance of rain and a temp hanging around 35. Wow that is nasty as it gets. It be better for it to just snow. haha I hate snow, but not as much as freezing rain.Monday-50% chance of rain. Makes Sunday all the better to stay, but we are for sure leaving by then.CaribouThankyou mom and dad for helping out with our stay here. I'm feeling much better and its going to make this trip a lot better.Shout Out to all my Brother's (Brendan) Friend's reading our journal. Read on guys! love the interest up. It's inspiring for me to keep hiking when I know people are interested. For everyone in NYC, we hope to see you in early June when we plan to make a trip in the city to visit Brendan... Don't be afraid to sign the guest book guys!Shout Out to Johnny (Tucker's Brother) and Friends. We know you guys are reading! Hell yeah good stuff!         Hike, Live, LoveShout out to all Friends and Family of both Dovetail and I! You guys rock and inspire us to keep loving the trail. The calls and messages really keep the home sickness down. If anyone wants to leave a message ANYONE you can at the guest book on the left side of the screen, or text me at (717)413-4128, or email at hikerdood@gmail.com, or Tucker Westphal on facebook (Connor/Caribou has no face book sorry). We might not get back to you so sorry if your message involves a quetion but leave it anyways. We might awnser it for you in a log.Rock out.Much Love to, Mom and Dad of Caribou, Mom and Dad of Dovetail, Brendan, Kaitlyn, Johnny, Kaitie, Madison, Andy, Ashley, Mya, Violet, Chloe (dog), Sadie (both sadies), Trevor, Max, Morgan, Cassidy, Lily, Aaron, David, Schnides, Maire, Brad Bones, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and many others.
Date: 2013-03-22
From: Hemlock Hallow

To: Hemlock Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I know there are a lot of you guys out there looking to support. Thats really cool guys and we will appreciate support in any way. Here is what you can do.1. Contact my mom for an adress so you can send your package to the right town. You can do this by reaching her at kakmcc10@aol.com2. Send any of these things.Mountain HouseSoups no cansOatmealDried FruitPoptartsBreadPre Cooked BaconJerkyApplesBannasNuts, almolnds, cashews, postachios, ect...Pasta sides***RamenCandy (chocolate stuff mainly)CookiesRaisensPenut ButterChocolate ChipsNature Valley BarsCliff BarsChex MixFreeze Dried Mash PotatosMac and CheeseNutellaAnything light and nonparishable.3. If you wana send money for hostel stays conact my mom4. Make sure you have C/O general deliverary. and an ETA and hold for AT Thru hiker on the box. To figure out how to do that all right contact my mom.5. Our Next Destenation for this is Damascus. With an ETA of April, 5. Mail before march 31 though.6. We love you guys so much. There is no need to send anything at all, but we are hungry and always need hostel stays, so were not going to reject anything.Peace and Much Much LoveCaribou and Dovetail.
Date: 2013-03-23
From: Hemlock Hostel

To: hemlock hostel 
Miles today: 19.0

hey there! today was pretty great, we tried out slack-packing, we decided to do it because it was a chance to get miles done while we had to wait for caribous knee to get better, it was also a good work out for his knee because we didnt need as much weight. we ate a tasty breakfast again. Eggs, buiscut, sausage, and home fries. got a ride 19 miles up the trail to a gap. We had one of our backpacks filled with food and water, from the gap we hiked 19 miles south, it was a cloudy day, but not raining and it was rather warm, well somewhat. i was hiking with my shirt off which felt nice. we shwitched wearing the backpack at the half way point, we moved quick since we didnt have so much weight to carry. we got back to the hostel around 4 and got a ride into town to get some food since it will be raining all day tomorrow and we will be here one more night. When we leave we will be dropped off at the gap we went before and start north again. in the end we will have done 19 miles of the trail south but it was a good idea over all, it was also a very fun experience. we get to eat a nice tasty dinner soon and a good night ahead. have a very good night everyone.Dovetail
Date: 2013-03-25
From: hemlock hostel 

To: Greeneville
Miles today: 0.0

This is depressing. I have only a huge respect for all hikers out in this weather right now. It is straight up UGLY outside. Its 31, snowing hard, and 40 mph wind gust at least, and that is down off the mountain in greeneville TN. I'm so thankful to be here instead of outside. Dovetail and I are in a comfort inn waiting out some of this storm... Could we be outside hiking... Yeah. Am I stupid... No. This trip so far, besides maybe four or five days, has been winter. I'm tired of being cold. I'm tired of having to worry about the ice. I'm tired of my sleeping bag being my one warm haven at night... Look if you truely are having a bad day, home is always there for you with a couch, tv, dinner, and warmth to enjoy it all in. When ur out in below feezing temps, you got to make dinner, brush your teeth, filter water, and worst off all wake up all shivering cold... Okay I'm done complaining to you guys about this. Don't get me wrong this trip is by far the most fun, happest time of my life! and its only going to become better as the warm comes... Tmr if the trail has less then a foot of snow, we press on. It will be cold and it will probaly not be the most fun, so pray for us. And pray for us to have high spirits as it is going to be hard to smile in the cold tmr. Most of all pray for the people out in this right now. There is no fun, unless you like being snowy, wet, and on the edge of hypotherma... The drop out rate for thru hikers, I know is high right now. As I have Witnessed. Only the truely passionate push on in this... Ricky (my buddy from VA) you may never read this, but if do, ur a trooper man. The smokies are ruff anytime, unless you have perfect conditions. This is far from perfect. Press on man. May God be with you.Hike, Live, LoveCaribouI brave the journey and the wild, only a walking friend is earthward.Stay unpluged, live simply so others may simply live.
Date: 2013-03-26
From: Greeneville

To: Greeneville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Quick update. The weather has not broken yet. We still can't see the mountains that are on eitherside of greeneville. The wind is better, but the temps are below freezing in the mountains. The snow is only building up. Uhhhhhhh. Oh well I'm only going to have to accept. We decided to stay low again today because it will be cold and snowing in the mountains all today... Tmr is going to be the end. The snow will back off. Then on Thurs the temp starts to rise. By monday the snow should be completely gone. Then our dreams of long sunny days should come true... Tmr we leave our comort inn prision and head out. We will brave the snow on the trail knowing no more should come. I can do one or two cold days and nights... belive me I had practice... Then sunshine and rainbows... or at least above freezing temps.Caribou
Date: 2013-03-29
From: devils fork

To: big bald
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was goood and not so good. The good. We finally got back on the trail! After being trapped in town for a week nothing felt better than getting back to the trail. Unfortunately I did not have the best start to my day. I realized just as our shuttle left I had forgotten my I pod in the car. Luckly they do shuttles to erwin which was our next destination. I need my I pod so I had to do what I had to do to get it back. When I got service I called the hostel and arranged for it to be taken to erwin. It ended up being 73 dollars. Wow. I wasnt the happiest but it was the price I paid for leaving it. At that point I started thinking of how much money I had. It wasnt much. I startes to wonder. How could I make it the whole way with this much money? If I had spent the amount I did in the first 5 weeks there was no way I could make it. Thats when things got really bad. At this point, I wanted to be able to fund this trip by myself with no help. There wasnt a chance. I didnt want to and couldnt bring myself to ask for the amount I thought I needed. It didnt feel right to me. At this point my hike was over. I cried for ten miles. Which by the way, hiking up mountains covered in snow and ice and crying is very difficult. The day was terrible. Snow again and this. After I made it final that I could not make it and told caribou it only got worse. He didnt know what to think and decided he couldnt do it on his own so he was going home too. That made me feel worse. We trucked to the shelter very sad. Preparing to go home in erwin. After a little while caribou decided he would go as far as he could without me. I was going to try to get to damscus with him but being in the shelter made me feel worse. Being around the other thru hikers and sleeping in the shelter just reminded me of my defeat. I could only get to erwin. We went to bed to get ready for my last day tomorrow. This wasnt good. My dream was over.Dovetail
Date: 2013-03-31
From: iron mountain

To: uncle johnnys hostel
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

hello there everyone! today was just about the best day of my life. We decided to slack-pack again because it was supposed to be very cold and raining all day. we are tired of being in the cold since we have been dealing with it for the past 5 weeks. it also have us a chance to over miles instead of taking a zero. hiking in the rain back to a warm shower and cabin sounded prime. last night i slept for maybe 2 hours. all i could do was lay in bed and smile. i was so very happy i was staying on the trail. i knew going home would have been just about the worst decision i could have made at this point. i learned maybe the most valuable lesson i have on the trail yesterday. it was important for me to do this on my own, but when i ran into my situation the encouragement and support from everyone brought me back. knowing not only how important to me to finish but to everyone back home for us to finish. i also think the cold was getting in my head. we expected maybe a week of cold, and have had 5. it has made this trip much harder with the weather. snow, ice, freezing temperatures. i also realized in i had a friend or family member in the same situation i would do whatever i could to keep them going. so with that i felt like me again and happy. we had a wonderful day slackpacking. we had snow and ice in the morning, it was also starting to melt so it was very wet. knowing i could dry my shoes later was a good thing. wet boots is not fun. the days hike was not hard. we had some beautiful views and good laughs all day. we made it back to the hostel just in time for the dinner shuttle. i got myself a subway sub and hung out in the laundro matt with some other hikers for a few hours before the shuttle came back. when i got back i got a shower and made my way to bed for a nice 20 mile day tomorrow. happy easter everyone! and have a wonderful night.dovetail
Date: 2013-04-01
From: Iron Mountain

To: Over Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Roan Mountain- The End Of The WorstWe woke before the sun was up in uncle Johnny's Hostel. We packed our bags and though them into the van. Grim the care taker took us up to were we had started our slack pack the previous day. The whole time he drove he told us dirty hiker jokes. There a little too dirty for the journal, but remind me to tell some of you older fellers them when I get back in Pa. Okay Now to the hike. Our day started out cold, but sunny. We had quite flat terrain in the begging all the way to Roan Mountain. It was quite enjoyable to not be walking in snow... Then the day changed very fast... In Dante's inferno the 7th circle of hell is not a firery lake, but a frozen lake of ice and cold wind. That is what I thought of going up Roan mountain. It was a 2,500 ft climb, and as we went up the clouds rolled in. The last mile of the mountain also the steepest was a sheet of ice. It took us an hour to walk this part, consistently slipping. One step up, half a slide of a step back. Curse the snow and ice. This is not what I signed up for... At the top of the mountain there was quite a lot of snow and ice right under it. Spirits were low and we were on the verge of laying down and quitting life into-an icy grave. But the will to live and move and be warm once again pushed us on. We passed the highest shelter on the trail. Roan Mountain Shelter at 6,200 ft... Then finally we went down hill, slipping and sliding like a drunk on a steep hill. At the bottom the ice cleared up. We continued trough the Roan Mountain Highlands. They were balds free of trees, very beautiful, but very very windy. Down as we were it started to sleet, and to make matters worse both Dovetail and I had our shoes completely submerged in water. We were in the 7th circle of hell. With puddles on the bottom of our shoes we pushed on. We came to a shelter 2 miles before Overmountain (our final destination). We sat with grim looks on our faces. We stared into the abyss of the forest in front of us. With tired legs we picked up our packs for the last two miles... In my head I was saying "Where is my break. Does God not love me. Why?... Will it's a test, a test of determination and strength. This was me proving to god that I will live and push on no matter what happens, because I'm human and my life to me is worth all the gems and gold in the world. I will not fail! I am human and I am alive!"... Finally we came to our shelter. A converted barn and one of the few completely inclosed shelters on the trail. Will that was great, but it was COLD COLD COLD. All my layers were on before I knew it... There was a group a of spring beakers and one thru hiker at the shelter. We were all cold. We made dinner and eventually hit the hay... To Be continued...CaribouThe day starts at Midnight