morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-27
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

After packing up, helping get the car loaded, and saying Good-bye to Susan and the grandchildren, I started up the Approach Trail. A clear, cool day, really nice for hiking. I passed only a few thru-hikers: an older couple [I use the term loosely] fairly soon as they stopped to adjust their gear, and a young man named Jake who had camped on the side trail to Len Foote Inn -- I also met quite a number of day hikers from the inn, going up or down. There was light snow on the ground but not on the trail. In spite of the sign at the road predicting 6 hours to reach the top, I was up there in 3.5, so I thought I was starting off pretty well. It was very crowded at the top, and cold; so I didn't stay long. I asked someone to take a picture, which isn't very flattering but proves I was there.There were many day-hikers, friends and family giving a send-off, and what seemed like lots of thru-hikers all starting down the Trail together. I've always thought the trail to the parking lot is quite easy, but today, there was a good bit of ice, so we had to be careful. At or before the parking lot I spoke with 3 women from Madison, Wisconsin, plus a young woman from Knoxville who had a group of friends or family doing the first part of the Trail with her. Later in the day, I met 2 women from Milwaukee -- must be a lot of us trying to escape the snow . . . only to find it in the South.The Benton MacKaye Trail winds back and forth thru the same area, crossing the AT numerous times. It's a reminder of the man who orginated the idea that led to the AT. The markers are well-painted white diamonds -- the fading AT blazes are much less frequent and harder to see, which can be a bit confusing. Thru-out most of this first day, I saw lots of green ribbons and then orange ones hanging on low branches. I thought: "Leftovers from someone's St. Patrick's Day hike!" until someone told me to look at the writing on them -- things like "Fix water bar here" that showed that trail maintenance scouts had been out. Thanks, Georgia ATC! I've done a lot of such scouting on the North Country Trail, but didn't bother with ribbons because I was usually the one who would come back to fix the problem.Getting to Hawk Mountain Shelter a little after 5:00, I thought I'd have supper and go on. My original hope had been to get to or near Gooch Mountain Shelter -- I could see I wouldn't make that, but maybe another 2-4 miles and camp. Well there was room in the shelter and about a dozen tents around it, so I decided to stay. Some people had built a fire, and it was a good chance to meet some other hikers, including a woman who looked to be about my age. But it can get a little cold standing around a shelter waiting for the sun to go down.
Date: 2013-04-02
From: Blue Mtn Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

So far, I haven't managed to get on the Trail in less than 90 minutes from the time get up. I've got to improve on that. Maybe I'll get more organized. If my sleeping bag has to go on the bottom of the pack, that means everything else has to come out and can't be packed till I'm done with the bag. I like to have some food near the top to eat during the day, but even that could be in 2 or 3 different places! Fortunately, my pack has lots of places to tie things on the outside, and I've been experimenting with what can go where [and stay all day]. After the Smokies, I plan to use a lighter and more compact tent; that should help, along with a lighter sleeping bag after Mt Rogers. I have a heavier pack than a lot of people, but I don't want to get rid of anything yet, and I'm getting used to it.My legs are doing well, especially on level trail and slight up-hills [I find I can keep up with or stay ahead of most people there]. The down-hills, especially over rocks or steps, are more difficult. I just have to slow down and adjust my sights. Things growing along the trail today were my first bluets of the season, some "wake robin" trillium getting ready to open, and a few more evergreens: white pines, holly trees, and some small hemlocks. Also some tiny white flowers I can't identify -- maybe edelweiss? "Yeti" & "Squatch", mother/daughter from Madison,joined me at Tray Mtn shelter for lunch. Several others decided not to walk in the .3 miles to the shelter and spring. I knew it was a ways behind the shelter, but I remembered it as good water. After I had had lunch and was packing up, "Greazy", from Atlanta arrived with "Trail Magic", my first of the trip! She had McDonald hamburgers & cheeseburgers, various kinds of chips, cans of Coke which she had packed up the mountain, and a bunch of candy from an "after-Easter" sale. Thank you, Greazy! Some others then arrived to get the benefits. But when I reported on the event later to those who had just missed it, they accused me of "April-fooling" them. Later, in cleaning out my pockets, I found I'd stuck the McDonald's wrapper in my pocket, so I gave them the "irrefutable proof" they demanded.It was another beautiful day, cooler in the afternoon. I toyed with the idea of going past Deep Gap Shelter, another 3.6 miles to the road to Hiawassee. That would have meant another long hill to go over, and getting to the road at dusk, which might be difficult for hitch-hiking. It just didn't seem feasible, so I went the .3 miles off the trail to Deep Gap Shelter.The shelter was larger than some, but very crowded, with many people I'd seen last night and others from earlier in the trip. I decided to tent this time, which I think was a good idea -- I got to dry off the rainwater from Monday night that I had been carrying for an extra day.
Date: 2013-04-08
From: Burningtown Gap-- Aquone Hostel

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Aquone Hostel is a beautiful place, but not very enjoyable because they have so many rules designed to keep it nice (from their viewpoint). So if you want to get away from the Trail for a night or a day and loaf around, or if you want to slack-pack [hiking without a full pack, where someone drops you off and picks you up at the end of the day] in the area, it's a good place. If you want to be able to spread your stuff out to dry or to sort and re-pack, it's not so convenient. They almost insist on doing your laundry ($4.00) as part of keeping the place clean, and they provide clothes to wear while they are washing yours. The breakfast was excellent for $4.99: waffles with strawberries, coffee or tea, & an orange for each person. The only other hiker there was Sugar Buns, who was slack-packing. Shuttle back to the Trail was timely, & I started off at 9:10. Cold Spring Shelter has been improved a little, while still preserving its historic character [Built by CCC with chestnut logs]. Some guys were there giving samples of trail food which they are starting a business to sell. In the course of the next ups and downs, I was passed by Blimey [from England], Hot Foot [from Belgium], and a girl from Atlanta named Bethany. The top of the mountain had an observation tower, from which one could see the Nantahala River, Fontana Lake, and the Smokies ahead. After stopping for lunch at the shelter, I headed down [way down!] the mountain to the Nantahala Gorge. At first, it seemed like the trail went over the edge of every ridge, often over rocks. Rocks and steps slow me down considerably. After a while, the Trail smoothed out, with lots of big switchbacks. That's where I do my best. So I began stopping to take pictures of wild flowers. More of them out than I'd seen before: in addition to the bluets and dandelions, I saw bloodroot, Spring beauties, Rue Anemone, and blue & yellow violets.At one of these stops, I became aware that a group of hikers was approaching and would pass me if I didn't get moving. So I did. Another late-afternoon energy spurt, a smooth trail, and getting to the shady side of the mountain all helped me to stay ahead of them and arrive at Nantahala Outdoor Center 6-10 minutes before them. We all registered for the bunkhouses and took quick showers before heading to the restaurant for supper [closes at 7:00 this time of year]. A good group of big eaters: Tags, Sriracha [whose dad gave me the ride to Murphy last week], Jet Lag, Peaches, Dip N Sip, Blimey, Chaos, & Nick. The younger half of the group then got a ride into town to watch the final game of "March Madness'. The rest of us went to bed. Slept on a bunk above a man with trail name Goethe, pronounced "Go-Thee". I immediately knew he was from Chicago, where the street of that name [near North side, among the other German poets' streets] is pronounced that way. He turned out to be the big snorer of the evening.
Date: 2013-04-10
From: Swim Bald

To: Cody Gap
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

I found someone's entry in a shelter register: "I'm happy to start seeing bugs because that means the weather is finally getting warmer." So far, it's not the kind of bugs that bite; just ones that buzz around your face annoyingly. It's been in the 80s last two afternoons, which is quite hot without shade.Indie & scavenger were two new people I hiked with today. I went up over Cheoah Bald, still a very pretty place with good views in one direction.Along the way, I hiked also with Alex, Nema (from NJ), Goethe. When we got to Stecoah Gap, there was a Forest Service car with 2 women in it. One of them told us they were monitoring a controlled burn -- smoke some distance behind us. I guess that's why the Nantahalah Gorge had seemed so smoky yesterday.It was quite hot (85?) all day. Hard to avoid a little sunburn in the open woods. Mostly, it makes all the ups &downs that much harder.Every highway crossing means going way down and then back up again! i'm definitely carrying too much weight because with all that, I only made about 13 miles, camping at Cody Gap because I didn't think I could do the other 3 miles to Cable Gap shelter, where the others were going.Nice quiet place to tent.Many wild flowers are coming out now -- I saw my first Trout Lily, after several days of seeing leaves. Red maples are budding out, and so are the Buckeyes.Once again, I am going much slower than I'd hoped, i.e., toward Fontana Dam. I could be carrying a lot less weight if I had decided to resupply at Fontana rather than NOC. Carrying less food at a time makes for greater speed, but NOC is right on the Trail, while Fontana PO is much less convenient both in location & in times available.
Date: 2013-04-11
From: Cody Gap

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

This was supposed to a day of thunderstorms. Hikers have been talking about it for days, since it was supposed to be our first day in the Smokies. I was camping by myself because I had trouble keeping up in the heat with 4 or 5 who were going on to Cable Gap shelter. That meant I had 3 miles further to go than the others, so I wanted to get up early. I didn't wake up till 6:30 & didn't get going till 7:45. By then it's more than light enough to hike . I just can't seem to get going quicker.At Cable Gap I met Mountain man & Nomad packing up (everyone else was gone). They soon caught up with me and we walked together for a while. They stopped for a break when some others caught up, but I kept going. I felt really good in the cool morning, tho I did twist my ankle for no reason. One of the things I like to do as I hike is a little trail maintenance. Mostly that means knocking sticks off the Trail as I go along, occasionally pulling something big out of the way. Today I found a major disturbance where some dead trees had fallen across the path. It was on a slope that made it difficult to go around or over. So I walked down a bit to where I could get my pack off easily and went back to clean it up. I think I did pretty well without any tools -- wish I had taken before-&-after pictures. So many things I'd like to photograph, which I only think of later.I was passed by Kawabunga just as I got to the marina. He was going into Fontana Village; I was going on the poorly marked trail to the shelter.Got to Fontana Dam shelter [also called the "Fontana Hiltom" because it's so big and has other amenities nearby, like showers] about 1:30.There was an obscure outlet in the rest room where I could get phone & batteries recharged. I felt good after a shower!Nothing was open at the dam visitors' center, not even a vending machine. I thought of going on into the Smokies, six miles to a camp-site. Then the sun came out, and it felt too much like the last two days: hauling a lot of weight up a long, long hill in the hottest part of the day, not to mention facing a thunderstorm after I got there.So I stayed. There were about 25 people crammed into a pretty small place. Fortunately the rain didn't start till most of us were ready for bed. Only a few people were noisy later, so I got a pretty good sleep, hoping to get up early to start on the mountain. I'm carrying too much weight and walking too slow to keep up with the young people unless I get an early start [or they spend too much time in town].
Date: 2013-04-13
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

Lots of frost on the grass this morning (Yes, there is a bunch of grass around Spence FIELD shelter).Today's hike began with uphills with nice views, but also many stone steps. I'm discovering that I can hike quite fast on smooth trail (up or down), but rocks or rock steps really slow me down.That's what I started out with today, but the afternoon was much faster. So far, I'm keeping up with the young crowd for the moment.Speaking of crowd, just about every one I've mentioned recently has ended up at the same shelter tonight. Most are happy with that because they can tent instead of staying in the shelter [rule in the National Park is no tent camping unless the shelter is full]. I'm OK with the shelter because I think it will help me to get an earlier start. We'll see!There's a young couple from Florida, whom I hadn't met before, and a middle-aged couple from Maine who started in early March & have had all kinds of bad weather & delays.I had hoped to go farther today, but the next shelter was 6.8 miles farther, over Clingman's Dome, plus a half-mile off the AT. It seemed a little too late to do all that & have time to see anything from the highest point on the AT (last time I came this way, it was totally fogged in). Deciding to stop gave opportunity to talk with more people, but sitting around didn't feel right when I wanted to be walking."Double Springs" refers to the fact that the shelter is on a ridge with a significant spring very close on each side. Actually, most of the flat area around the shelter [including the path to the privy] was wet. I guess it's a good thing, since not every shelter makes it easy to find water!
Date: 2013-04-18
From: Along AT @ Cherry Creek Trail

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: broken clouds

A nice day on the Trail!I started out going over Max Patch, a well-known bald [no trees on top].Then into the woods, where the wild-flowers are popping out all over: Red, white, & even ivory trillium, multiple kinds of violet, plus 6-7 other flowers. Around Lemon Gap, I came upon about a half-mile of little American flags along the Trail, ending with a group giving out breakfast at a road crossing. They were there especially for the "Wounded Warriors", [whom I hadn't seen the last 2 days] but were feeding any hikers who came by. Nice!
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Clyde Smith shelter

To: Doll Flats
Miles today: 20.9

A long day but not quite long enough.I was the first one out of the shelter, but not by much. Going South again much of the day, the main climb was up over Roan High Knob, highest mountain between here & New Hampshire, and home of the highest shelter on the whole trail. It's not a point of high visibility, because the top is well-wooded [unlike NH]. There used to be a hotel up there, reachable by cog railway -- they probably had a view! Going up, a hiker passed me & asked if I had dropped a sandal (which I tie to the side of my pack). Sure enough, I had; so I started back to try to find it, pretty sure it fell off in the last mile or so. By the time I had gone half a mile, I met Dragonfly or Sip N Dip [Isn't it terrible that my memory is so bad?], who had brought me the sandal. It's a good example of how people on the Trail try to help one another: a sense of community that most miss in ordinary life. Sometimes, it's hard to know whose a found item is and what direction he or she was going, but in this case he knew there weren't many people besides me ahead of him. Coming down the mountain was on a very rocky old road, which made for slow going for me, compounded by the fact that there were not many white blazes to reassure us that we were still on the right track. I am annoyed when trail maintainers do that. Once we got near the road at the bottom of the mountain, the trail changed to gravel carefully laid on a bed of plastic sheeting; that continued up the next hill. I met two groups of slack packers, Cabo, Floater, & Ghee early on; OB, Pathfinder, & Headbanger later in the afternoon. The latter were the group that had promised to give out "Trail Magic" [Home-made brownies & ginger snaps were specifically mentioned] to North-bound hikers as they headed South. I was disappointed that they didn't offer me any [I found out later that other people had gotten some], but I didn't want to ask because I wasn't perfectly clear in my mind that they were the ones. But I didn't see any others!After Roan High Knob [6,275 ft], we traversed a number of lesser but still high mountains that were mostly bald [Round Bald. Jane Bald, Little Hump Mtn, Hump Mtn ¢ except for Mt Rogers in southern VA, these are the last 5,000-footers we'll see till the White Mtns in NH]; so the views were very good all afternoon. I didn't want to stop at the barn (Overmountain shelter), where I thought most people were stopping, some distance off the Trail. I thought some about stopping at Mountain Harbor hostel, at Route 19E, but I would have got in pretty late; so I decided to camp at Doll Flats, about 2 miles from the road. On the way down, there was some rough trail & I got involved in some trail clearing, so I didn't get there till just about dark. Mostly, it's open field, but I found a tree near enough to the fence to tie one end of my tent to the fence. The fence was on the state line, with the water supply in NC, the tent sites in TN. That's the end of NC for this hike.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Quarter mile before Va 611

To: Woods Hole hostel
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I started out earlywith a long day ahead.I'd camped along the Trail in a flat spot on the ridge, just a short distance up from the road crossing where I had had to leaveSusan last time thru because she was sick & I had to go get the car to pick her up.After stopping briefly at Jenny Knob shelter, I continued most of the morning along Brushy Mtn. & then down to Kimberling Creek. No time to check out the grocery store down the road. I passed a couple of older-than-average hikers [separately], thanking them, since I so seldom get to pass anyone these days.There were lots of flowers out all along the way, & only a little bit of poison ivy. Today, I saw my first azalea flowers, just a little sprig poking up, not even a real bush. I was surprised, because I always think the rhododendrons come out ahead of them.Mid-afternoon felt pretty slow, following Dismal Creek & its more exciting tributaries [just kidding!] thru the lowlands, so I didn't even take the time to check in at Wapiti shelter before starting back up Brushy Mtn. This was an area I'd gotten "lost" in last time thru, but it looked simpler in this direction. I called the hostel to let them know I'd be there about 7:00 & was informed that that was when they served dinner. I was really trying to make it to Sugar Run Gap on time, but my guide book said there was a grassy road 1.5 miles before that. When I got to a grassy road after 6:30, I called to say I'd be late. This was an area where they'd just done a controlled burn. It looked pretty bad, & I got to reflect on the irony of the situation ¢ we've been asked at numerous privies along the way to collect partially rotted leaves or "duff" from the forest floor to help with the composting of waste; here they are burning off the duff to discourage the spread of forest fires!It turned out to be only a half mile to the road & a quick half mile down the road to the hostel; so I arrived only a few minutes late, just as they were sitting down to eat. They kindly invited me in, even tho everyone else had had a shower first. There were at least a dozen guests, many of whom I'd met before, including Molar Man & his wife [retired dentist from Springfield, Ohio]. He was ahead of me now because he's been doing a lot of slack-packing. Also a young man named "Disciple" who described himself as a "nonjudgmental Baptist".
Date: 2013-05-13
From: Rice Field shelter

To: War Spur shelter
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It seemed like one of the coldest nights we've had. Susan was concerned about frost hurting the blueberries back in Wisconsin ¢ the man I was sharing the shelter with was concened about his garden in NC. There appeared to be a little frost on the grass as I started out, with my jacket & gloves on. Those came off fairly soon as I warmed up from walking, but the nippy wind kept up all day, & I had my jacket & gloves on again in the evening part of the walk. I wanted to do a long day today so I'd be in a shelter tonight & have only 8.2 miles (over a Mtn) to do tomorrow to get on a main road where I could hitch a ride into Blacksburg, get a local bus to Roanoke, where I'll catch the Greyhound for Charlottesville early Wednesday. (Should this be called "grey blazing"?)Even tho there seem to be plenty of hikers in town, at motels, & hostels, on a typical day I only see a few on the Trail. Same today -- only Cyclops NOBO + Oma & Taz SOBO section hikers. I got in too late tonight to find out who is in the shelter. I saw my first Jack-in-the-Pulpit today -- just a little one, right next to the Trail.