morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-25
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Started today off in our hotel room in Franklin, NC. Surprisingly I slept very well and didn't even have a headache when I awoke, despite the large amount of beer I had consumed the night before. We all packed our stuff, got a shuttle to the trail and were hiking by 11am. During our climb out of Winding Stair Gap it began to snow and the higher in elevation we went the colder and more snowy it got. For most of the day we were walking in about 3 inches of snow but in some places there was no snow at all. The temperature sat right around 30 degrees most of the day as well.I actually enjoyed most of the hike in the snow today... the woods looked beautiful covered in a blanket of snow. Plus the snow didn't really impede on my hiking, although the uphills were still a pain in the ass.When we made it to Wayah Bald there was a tower at the summit and I was able to take some cool pictures of the valley. Visibility wasn't that great but you could see just enough to see places that the sun had illuminated and also see other mountain peaks covered in snow.We set up our tents not far from the Wayah Bald peak, and the temperature quickly began to drop. As I am typing this the temperature is 15 degrees. Brrrrrr!I also got a trail name today. The Guv, Teddy, Shinanigans and Rambo (who is now Sketchy McGee) had been throwing out ideas for trail names all day, but they finally settled on "Patches." The name is derived from my failed attempt to grow a beard or anything resembling normal facial hair for that matter. I haven't shaved in 12 days and all I have is these pathetic patches of hair on my checks and chin. Oh well... Patches it is.Also while hiking today I kept thinking of the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," it just seemed to fit the day perfectly. The problem is that I can really only remember like 3 or 4 lines of the poem. But the final line seems to ring very true to me right now... "I have miles to go before I sleep."
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Wesser, NC (Nantahala Outdoor Center)

To: Sassafras Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up in the "dog house" and I actually got a pretty good nights sleep. I went down to the bath house to take a shower only to discover that there are no towels of any kind... there isn't even a hand dryer. So to dry myself off from my shower I had to resort to using toilet paper. Now this may sound odd... but to a thru-hiker this is not as strange as you can imagine. Either way it felt great to get a shower and be clean.I got all my gear together, put in a load of laundry and went to check out the outfitters. I bought a knee brace and I hope it will take care of the sharp pain I have been getting in my right knee.I got on the trail at about 1pm and the first 6 miles out of NOC was all uphill... up 4000ft for 6 miles. It was very steep and probably the most intense climb I have done so far.Made it to the shelter around 4:30 and I am joined by Teddy, Shenanigans, Leprechaun, Novocaine and Sketchy. We got a pretty nice fire going and it looks to be a fairly relaxing night. A couple of us have been talking about hiking 20+ mile to Fontana Dam tomorrow, but we will see if that happens.
Date: 2006-03-28
From: Sassafras Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Village
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

Today was a big day... my first 20 miler... and I am in pain.But first a funny story about the Sassafras Gap Shelter. After writing in my journal last night I went to use the privy. But this was no ordinary privy... it seriously looked like it had the hell beaten out of it. It was an old style out house but about a 5th of the door was missing and the door was seconds away from coming off it's hinges. On the inside the lid was only about 50% there and the seat was missing on one whole side plus the smell was just terrible! On the back of the door in big black letters someone had written "Jesus Saves!"... which I thought was a little odd because I don't know to many people that contemplate religion while pinching a loaf. But here is the best part, just below "Jesus Saves!" someone had written in equally big lettering "Jesus needs to save this privy!" Classic!Anyways, moving on, I was on the trail by 8:30 and was able to pump out 5 miles pretty easily. That's when I hit this 800ft climb in a half mile with no switch backs. It was not fun. After lunch I stopped shortly to take off a layer of clothing and take some ibuprofen. When I put my pack back on and started down the trail I got this heart stopping pain in my right knee. Every time I took a step it literally knocked the wind out of me. I made it about 20 feet down the trail before the pain forced me to sit down. I sat in the middle of the trail trying to stretch out my knee... I was seriously worried that I was going to be stuck on the trail with my bum knee. After about 30 min I decided to try walking... my knee still hurt but not nearly as badly. Eventually my knee stopped hurting and I was able to move at a more normal pace.Made it to the last shelter around 4... at this point Sketchy, Little Easy, Leprechaun, Novocaine and me all decided that we would hike the last 6 miles into Fontana Dam. This put us over 20 miles for the day... my first 20 miler!We got a room at the Fontana Village and at the only restaurant that is open. Also got to take a shower... exciting I know!On a side note I was reading a shelter register today and read an entry by a guy named Uhaul who had decided to get off the trail. In his entry he had a great line that I wanted to share: "It's a simple ridiculous truth, wherever you are, there you are... and the work is just as hard." How very true... how very true...
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Fontana Dam Village

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day!Today was a very relaxing day and I also got to rest up my knee and ankle which was much needed.I resupplied around noon and in doing so I ran into the Jersey Boys (Shank, Twista Fate, Rad McBadass and King Pin). In talking to them I realized that King Pin went to Colgate and knows my sister (Katie) pretty well... I also found out that he and Rad McBadass both worked at NIH... which is where Katie works. Small world!After resupplying we all bought beer and about 17 of us hikers sat out in front of 2 of our hotel rooms and just relaxed and drank beer. It was exactly what all of us needed and it was helped along by the gorgeous 65 and sunny weather.Tomorrow we will start to tackle the Smokey's... I am pretty excited, I have never been to the Smokey's before.
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Fontana Dam Village

To: Mollie ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: few clouds

Today was kind of a strange day... lots going on... lots to think about.Woke up in the hotel and was able to watch a couple of episodes of Saved by the Bell while packing my gear. Got a shuttle down to the trail at about 11:30 and we began the 1 mile walk to Fontana Dam.Fontana Dam was pretty cool. The thing is huge and the AT goes right across the top of it. I spit out over the ravine side of the dam and the wind got ahold of it and it seemed to float until I couldn't see it anymore. It took me about 30 min to cross the dam, but then again I took my time and enjoyed the scenery.Just on the the other side of the dam we entered Smokey Mountain National Park... it was a photo opportunity but knowing we had a lot of hills to climb made it a little bittersweet. A short walk from there a lady named Jingles in a pickup truck offered all of us sodas, donuts, candy and fruit. I love trail magic! I had been craving donuts for over a week and it definitely hit the spot.The couple of miles in the Smokey's were steep but I was in a pretty good mood so it didn't seem too bad. About 4 miles in we climbed this peak with a fire tower on it. I climbed to the top and was able to actually go inside the lookout room. The view was amazing! I can't wait to put up my pictures. Great views of the Smokey's, the dam and the other NC mountains that we had crossed only days before.It was soon after the fire tower, however, that my meltdown began. For the next few miles I was miserable... I was tired and cranky and my whole body hurt. On top of that my mind just really wasn't with it... instead of thinking about random things or singing songs to myself, I was thinking about the pain, the annoying bugs and how much hiking at that point sucked. I also had only a little bit of water left and the next water source was about 5 miles up the trail. Needless to say I was not a happy camper.3 miles from the shelter I ran into Teddy and Shinanigans and this kind of snapped me from my self-deprecation. I spent the next 3 miles contemplating why I was hiking the trail and really what I want to get out of it. Just thinking about this made me feel better... even though I may not have a pure answer for you. Part of me thinks I am looking for something out here... but I am not sure what it is. This is my hero's journey... or at least I hope it is... and my hope is that I come back from this journey stronger mentally as well as physically than I was before I started. Plus if I can have fun and meet a lot of really interesting people along the way... then, even better!Ok... my rant is done.
Date: 2006-03-31
From: Mollie ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started out cold and windy, so I spent an extra hour in my sleeping bag before starting to pack up. Hit the trail by 9:30 and by 11:30 I had already completed 6 miles. I was flying down the trail and feeling really good. Stopped and had lunch with the Jersey Boys and then pushed on to compete the less than 6 miles to the shelter we were planning to stay at.The next 6 miles were the opposite of my morning hike. There were lots of elevation changes and the terrain was very challenging (lots of mud and rocks). I have decided that the worst hill climb I have come across is the next one, as every one feels harder than the previous.I have overall enjoyed hiking in the Smokey's... there is just something different about them. First off it is a different type of wooded area... the forests have a very clean forest floor and often have grasses growing everywhere as well. Second, you walk across a lot more meadows with many of them offering amazing views. But it is also just nice to be in a very open area for a little bit.When we got to the shelter it was threatening rain so we all quickly made our dinner and got in our sleeping bags. It is only 6pm... and it isn't raining. Oh well, early to sleep tonight.
Date: 2006-04-01
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mount Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

It rained, hard, all night last night but by morning it had stopped and was very sunny. It was a gorgeous day... 65 sunny and breezy all day. The early miles flew by and there were a couple decent views to make the steep up hill climbs very worth it.Around 2pm I reached Clingmans Dome which at 6643ft is the highest mountain the AT crosses. It is also the second highest mountain on the East Coast. The view from the top of the tower was beautiful and it was pretty amazing to look at the mountains to the south and know that I had already walked over them.I have also started to notice that my average miles per hour has started to increase. Early on I was hiking about 2 mph but now I am normally hiking about 2.5 to 3 mph. So even though my body is in pain at least I know it is kind of getting use to hiking.The remaining 4 miles to the shelter after Clingmans Dome was very slow going due to the massive amount of mud on the trail. Every step I took would kick large clumps of mud up on to the back of my legs, which is not a pleasant feeling. I had to give my legs a mild bandana bath just to get them clean enough that I felt comfortable sticking them in my sleeping bag.For the most part on the trail I have felt very well fed, but for some reason I was very hungry for dinner and ate a lot! I had:Raisin Bagel w/ lots of Peanut Butter = 800 Calories2 Packages of Ramen = 800 Calories2 PopTarts = 400 CaloriesThat's a 2000 calorie dinner... and I am still not sure if I am full.Tonight at the shelter we are currently at 199 miles on the AT... tomorrow will be 200! Plus we are going into Gaitlinburg, TN to resupply and hopefully hit up a Pizza Hut buffet and a Shoney's breakfast buffet on monday morning. Get Excited!!!!
Date: 2006-04-02
From: Mount Collins Shelter

To: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg, TN)
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up and it was still dark out (stupid time change). We then hiked the 5 total miles to the road crossing at Newfound Gap. We hiked the 5 miles in an hour and half... we were flying! We then began to attempt getting a hitch into town, but before we had a chance to flag anyone down, this guy in a van who had just dropped some other hikers off offered us a ride.One of our biggest goals in coming into Gatlinburg was to eat at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet... but sadly when we got there we found only over priced pizza. Sometime sortly after arriving at the Hut, I lost track of Rambo, Teddy and Shinanigans, so I began to wander Gatlinburg alone. Now a few short notes about Gatlinburg... It is by far the tackiest place on earth. I have never in my life seen so many rednecks in such close quarters. T-shirts such as "I love hot moms", "Blondes have more fun", "I'm with stupid" and "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant" might as well be declared the manditory uniform of Gatlinburg. It is like an unclassy version of Vegas... if such a thing is possible. But I must admit, people watching was both very scary and tons of fun at the same time.Anyways, back to my story. So I lost track of my friends, which really sucked... but I ended up finding this little restaurant that served breakfast for lunch. I ordered the biggest platter on the menu and then proceeded to devour it. Twice my waiter came over and made joking comment on how fast I was eating... but it didn't faze me and I continued.Later I was able to find my friends, we got a hotel room, showered and I then went out in search of an internet connection where I could upload my trail journal and pictures. I walked for forever but couldn't find anything, so hopefully I will have time to go to the library on Monday (tomorrow).After a mid-afternoon snack of several slices of pizza I went about resupplying for the trail. I got all the food I need for about 3 or 4 days. I also purchased my dinner... a half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. In hindsight this was probably not a good idea... after eating over half of my half gallon I did not feel good. Anyone who has ever eaten a half of a half gallon of ice cream will know exactly what I mean. After about an hour of wishing that I hadn't eaten so much ice cream I was able to begin drinking the beer I had also purchased.For the rest of the night me and the rest of team ramrod just talked and drank our beers. It was a good time and I definitly learned a lot of things I didn't know about my new friends.
Date: 2006-04-03
From: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg, TN)

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Teddy, Rambo, Shinanigans and I all woke up at 8am and helped ourselves to our hotels all you can eat breakfast. Two bowls of cereal, Two Donuts and two waffles later I went back to the room and began packing up my gear.We checked out and made our way to the public library. I had tons of emails and I regret that I was only able to respond to 1 or 2, but I did get a kick out of reading all the nice messages posted on my trail journals guestbook. It kind of stunk but the library wouldn't let me upload any of my daily journals so all I could add to my trail journals page was the mileage I completed each day. Hopefully I will be able to up date everything soon. I was able to spend about an hour and a half on the internet and it was still not enough time to get everything accomplished I really needed to. I have a bunch of people I need to email and I really do regret that I didn't get a chance to do that.After the library we made our way back thru Gatlinburg to the outfitters where we had left our packs. I looked at some gear that is lighter than some of the stuff I currently have, but decided to wait till it got a little warmer before trading out my gear.Rambo and I then made it to the road and we attempted our first hitch back to the trail. After about 5 min a lady stopped and we hopped in her car. The ride back to Newfound Gap from Gatlinburg is about 15 miles and the lady who picked us up had no earthly clue what the Appalachian Trail, The Smokey Mountains or Newfound Gap was. After giving her directions she proceeded to tell Rambo and I that she is mentally disabled and starts into a tirade about how hard her life has been. Then completely out of no where she looks directly at Rambo and says "You guys aren't going to hurt me are you?" How do you respond to a question like that?!! We both issued hurried "no way"s and thanked her again for picking us up. We got dropped off at Newfound Gap and waited for Teddy, Shinanigans and Sumo. While we waited a family from Cincinnati began to talk to Rambo and I about the trail. They were in awe of what we are trying to accomplish and wanted to take pictures with us and the mother actually gave both of us hugs. It was great and I had a lot of fun talking with them. Although it did kind of feel like were one of the parks attractions... but I did appreciate the encouragement. The rest of group ended up getting a hitch from this really nice guy who had hiked the AT like 2 years ago. As he was wishing us luck he starts digging in his truck and pulls out 6 beers, Yuengling to be exact. Hurray for trail magic!!We hiked the 3 miles to the shelter only to find it packed. We were able to somehow squeeze in, but I am anticipating a long sleepless night. Tomorrow I think I am gonna put in a big day to try to get ahead of this large group of people.
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

Was on the trail by 9am and by 11:30 I had hiked 8 miles and had left the Smokies. I then hiked the 1.25 miles down a dirt road to Mountain Momma's where I was able to order a cheese burger and pick up my mail drop. The cheese burger was excellent, it was the perfect remedy to hiking 30 miles in 2 days. I also got a letter from my Cousin Evan which was great. The mail drop from my mom really only needed to contain a map of the next section of the trail... but in perfect motherly fashion she sent a shoe box full of stuff. So much stuff that I ended up giving away quite a bit of the food, of coarse, I did save all the really good stuff for myself. She also sent me a book and a couple cut out newspaper articles to read. So I will hopefully be starting The Monkey Wrench Gang very soon.After organizing my pack I started back on the trail. I checked my cell phone and noticed I was getting really good reception so I called my Uncle Tom and told him I had hit up Mtn. Momma's. He seemed to get a kick out out of getting a call from me on the trail as well. The trail then passed under Interstate 40, so I stopped under highway and called my dad and then called OSU Human Resources to make sure my health insurance was taken care of.There was a big long climb coming up out of the valley that I-40 passed through so I spent most of my afternoon climbing the 3500ft to the ridgeline. On the way I did get to see lots of little wild flowers in bloom and with it being almost 70 degrees without a cloud in the sky it felt like spring for the first time. My knee really hurt for much of the up hill and twice I had to stop and take some ibuprofen. This definitely made it feel better, but it would wear off after 2 or 3 hours.At the top of the ridgeline there was a really neat meadow and about 200 feet off the trail there was an FAA radio tower. The area near the tower offered some amazing views, I bet I could see for 100 miles or more.I made it to the shelter and for the first time in a while it wasn't crowded, only Teddy, Rambo, Figy, and me. Shinanigans is MIA however, and we really don't have any idea where he is. Teddy is really worried... but I think he just went on to the next gap about 2 miles ahead. We will find out in the morning I guess. I have heard rumors that a trail angel named Apple is doing trail magic at the next gap so we are all kind of excited for tomorrow so we can see what is going on.In a recent email someone was asking if I had seen any animals. And the answer is "No." I mean I have seen some animals but nothing really cool. Here is a list of what I have seen: 2 mice, 1 squirrel, 1 frog, 1 salamander and about 3 dozen birds... that's it. No bears... no lions or tigers or... uh... bears. Not even any deer. It is kind of hard to believe that it is possible to walk 250 miles in some of the most remote areas of the east coast and not see any animals of note. Hell I can see more squirrels in my Memaw's backyard than I have seen on the trail. Oh well, maybe it is for the better that I haven't seen any large mammals besides other hikers.
Date: 2006-04-06
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a slow start this morning, didn't hit the trail till a little before 10am. About 3 miles into our hike we were greeted by a trail angel named Apple who offered us donuts, sodas and hot dogs. Score! We also found Shinanigans... he was just sitting there hanging out at the trail magic.Soon after leaving the trail magic it started to rain a little... just enough to make my put my pack cover on, but not my rain coat. We came upon this huge open field called Max Patch, I was told that from the top on a clear day you can see 5 states. I am still not exactly sure which 5 those are, but it didn't matter to me because it wasn't a clear day. The view from the top was still pretty cool, however. I wanted to take pictures but there was just a little to much rain for me to feel comfortable whipping my camera out.The last 5+ miles of the day flew by. Until the very end they were mostly flat and I was able to pump them out in about an hour and a half. Not to shabby.Just before our shelter we all had to walk through this area of the trail that had been clear cut. It was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. Once to the shelter there was a sign that explained that it was part of a restoration project. Restoration project???!! How in the hell do you restore something by clear cutting 15 acres of pristine forest? The other sad part of all this is it didn't look like the trees were going to be used for logging purposes either. All the chopped down trees were just thrown in huge piles. What moron thought this great idea up? Anyways, moving on.Walnut Hill Shelter is one step above a hell hole. There are huge cracks in the walls and the floors so the wind just whips through it, plus there are lots of nails sticking out all over the place and I ripped a hole in my long sleeve shirt. But enough with the bitching... overall today was a pretty good day.Tomorrow I will be going into the town of Hot Springs, NC where I will shower probably stay the night and hope to be able to update my trail journal. I feel bad... it has been almost 14 days since I posted any of my journal entries and I know my adoring public is hungry to know what I have been up too.