morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-15
From: Rainbow Springs Campground

To: Wine Spring
Miles today: 11.3

Woke up to the patter of rain this morning. It cleared off after awhile, and Quincy Girl and I got a shuttle back to the trailhead. Shortly after we started hiking we passed Beavis and Butthead hiking with the Canadians. They're shadowing the Canadians because they never found their water filter. Quincy Girl and I found some trail magic in the form of cold vanilla cokes at Winding Stair Gap. I really wasn't thinking and i drank one, now i have to pack out a coke can for 3 days. It was really misty all day and it rained off and on. Quincy hikes at a slower pace than i'm used to but i didn't mind because for the first time on the trail i actually had some company while i hiked. It's really amazing how fast the time flies when you have someone to talk to. I learned a lot about New Hampshire and Quincy's family and life. In all actuallity, Quincy Girl is the last person you would expect to find on the trail. She's a 40 something housewife from New England. She's never held an occupation other than raising her children and even in college she majored in home economics. Yet i never could have imagined having so much fun hanging out with a mom from New Hampshire. The trail definatly lets you encounter interesting people from various walks of life. Late in the day we noticed a gathering rain cloud closing in on us so we tried to pitch our tents as fast as we could. Quincy got her's up pretty fast but the rain definatly caught me. Me and my tent are drenched now. God i hope the sun comes out tomorrow. I hate packing and carrying a wet tent. Being all wet and cold really put me into an angrily sarcastic mood. Oddly enough Quincy found my sarcastic temperment hilarious. She couldn't stop laughing. It's really good we both camped together tonight, because we both would be probably miserable if we were alone. I can't stop shivering.
Date: 2004-03-16
From: Wine Spring

To: NOC, Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

What a long day. Woke up to more rain; nothing was dry. Things got pretty desperate this morning. Everything i had was wet, including my down sleepingbag. Quincy's stuff was the same way. We both knew that with wet sleepingbags, our night in a shelter would be suicidal, and tenting was definatly out of the question. So in our desperation we decided to try and push hard for the hotel at the NOC, 20 miles away. We packed everything up, soaking wet, and hit the trail around 8:30. For a while things were looking pretty gloomy. The weather didn't slack up and Quincy's back started giving her problems. I was seriously doubting we were going to make the 20 miles. Then we met our first Trail Angel. His name was Apple and he was just chillin on the trail. He took us back down the trail to his huge dome tent that resembled a playground jungle-gym. He gave us free cider, snickers reeses cukps and hotdogs. I ate 4 hotdogs, man they were good. After we left Apple, the whole day turned around. He let us use his cellphone and we called ahead to the NOC and reserved their only motel room. of course the room was $70, but at least no matter what time we pulled in, we had a room reserved. Even the weather changed to blue skies and endless sun. We saw some great views of the Smokies from Wesser Bald. We passed Sweating Pig and finished the 20 miles pulling into the NOC at 6:15. All the resteraunts were closed here so we hitched a ride to the Nantahala Village. We ended up at probably the nicest resteraunt within a 100 mile radius. we felt really out of place wearing trail clothes and smelling terrible while we filled up on rib eyes and white wine. We got to let all our wet stuff dry out in the motel room; which was terribly dissapointing. The room reaked of fresh paint, there were no shades or curtains on the windows, no bedspreads, no TV, a phone that only calls the empty front desk, and a coffee maker with no mugs. and all for only $70. But for right now i am completly content to be clean, warm, dry and having a full size bed to myself.
Date: 2004-03-17
From: NOC, Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

I actually slept in this morning for the first time in a while. By the time I got up, Quincy Girl had already hiked a mile and back to get coffee and hotpockets from a gas station. She has way too much energy. Everything was dry this morning, what a great feeling. I packed up, ate a hopocket, compliments of Quincy Girl and then headed over to the outfitter store. I bought some food for the next two days, some coffee and a small package of Burt's Bees products that i later mailed to Tracy. While i was doing this, Quincy Girl had gone to politely complain to the motel management about our hotel conditions. She was hopeing to get maybe $20 knocked off the price but to both of our great surprise the lady gave us the room for no charge. Definatly a pleasant start for the day. We also ran into Sweaty Pig. Since it was St. Patty's day he was looking for somewhere that sells beer so he could properly celebrate. The climb out of the NOC was gruelling. Quincy had left her poles back in Hiawassee so we shared mine and we both climbed with one pole each. We got to the shelter at around 3:20. We had done 7 miles but there was a campsite in another 3. Quincy wanted to push on, but i wanted to stay. For me, i would rather stay in a nice shelter and make up the miles the next day, rather than hike an extra hour and half just to set up a tent. plus rain was in the forecast for the evening. So we parted ways. i was actually really sad to see Quincy Girl go. She was so far the best friend i had found on the trail. It made me feel lonely again for the first time in a while. The shelter was probably the nicest one i've seen yet. i has a loft and even glass windows. Around 6 Sweaty Pig arrived. It was really good to have the company.
Date: 2004-03-18
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

Today was a walk in the clouds, literally. i left the shelter really late this morning. from 6 until around 10 it poured really hard. Eric the Red had come in late last night; so i talked with him after i finished breakfast. Around 10:15 i felt the rain had slowed enough and i trudged into the weather. I pretty much ran over Cheoha Bald, just trying to warm myself up. I fell for the first time coming down the other side. I stepped on some slick mud and ended up sliding into home. other than that, i felt great this morning. I really took off; in lots of parts i literally jogged along the trail. the scenery was really interesting today also. The trail followed a ridge line all day and to one side were endless clouds and on the other side it was crystal clear. There were a bunch of times when i just stood and watched the clouds waft to the cusp of the ridge and then spill over. It was like water boiling over. At one point today i got a clear view of what should have been the Smokies. Instead what i saw were endless white clouds filling the valley below. The tops of mountains jutted above the cloudline like purple islands in a sea of white. I never saw Quincy Girl today. I'm guessing she made it to Fontana. Brother Nature showed back up later in the afternoon. I think he and i are going to share a hotel room tomorrow when we get to Fontana. Sweaty Pig is here tonight, along with Daniel from Tallahassee Florida. He doesn't have a trailname yet so brother nature and i are going to try and find one for him.
Date: 2004-03-19
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Hike Inn/ Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: clear sky

Wow did it storm last night. Daniel and Brother Nature left about an hour before me. So when i finally got on the trail, i really started booking it to catch up. I passes Sweaty Pig, not sure where he's staying tonight. I finally caught up with them at the Fontana Visitor Center. We got a shuttle to the Hike Inn. The owners are really friendly. After we got showers, they drove us into Robinsville. The town didn't have much geared towards hikers but i got a lot done none-the-less. We ate lunch at a good Mexican Resteraunt for lunch, then later i shoved a quick meal from Wendy's down my throat because the lady was coming to pick us up. i picked up my maildrop. good god 7 days of food weighs a ton. I just missed Quincy Girl, she started the Smokies this morning. From what i've heard, she's having a difficult time, maybe i can catch up to her.
Date: 2004-03-20
From: Hike Inn/ Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: few clouds

The first day of Spring and the first day of the Smokies. The climb up to the ridgeline wasn't as bad as i was expecting. The only problem i had today was my pack weight. With 7 days of food, my pack weight has to be over 50 lbs. the uphills killed me because of that weight and my feet really hurt. Other than that the Smokies themselves aren't that bad (knock on wood). The weather was beautiful today. Just blue skies and white clouds. Brother Nature hiked on today to the third shelter. I met a thru-hiker todya that i've really enjoyed hiking with. His trailname is Traillite and he's a KA at Ga Tech. Two more thru-hikers showed up later today; Blaze and Boxcar. Daniel, who i've started calling "Sunshine" passed through for the other shelter. Also in the shelter tonight are 3 sections hikers from a town near by. They've built a fire in the shelter's fireplace and now it's really comfortably toasty in here.
Date: 2004-03-21
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

The day started off great. Traillite and i saw some great views and hiked over our first balds. The weather was beautiful. We climbed RockyTop of Tennessee football fame. of course when i got to the top i sang the taunting Auburn version of the song Rockytop. I think the gods of the Smokies must be Tennessee fans because right after that the weather changed. Clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped and the wind really began to pick up. The rest of the day the temperature never reached above 40 degrees and there's no telling with the windchill. that wind was cutting right through us. We got to the shelter around 4, ate dinner, shivering the whole time, then got into our sleepingbags. We're the only ones here tonight it looks like. i found out reading the shelter register that the 3 guys i knew from Auburn on the trail are only a few days ahead of me. Adam and Jason Harvell's trailnames are Talks with Trees and MountainGoat, respectivly, and then Gavin Finly is Red Dog. i really don't think catching up with them will be a problem anymore. Well it's 6:00 and i'm freezing so i'm going to sinch up my sleepingbag hood. oh yeah before i forget. last night i set my mousetrap and went to bed. those section hikers who were in the shelter kept resetting the trap after everytime it caught a mouse and by the morning they had caught 13 mice. I didn't even know that a single shelter could house 13 mice.
Date: 2004-03-22
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: few clouds

Snow, Snow, and even more Snow; and then even more Ice. When we woke up it was 15 degrees and there was snow everywhere. Snow was still falling too and by the time we started climbing Clingman's Dome it was really starting to pile up on us. Traillite and i walked to the top of the lookout tower and got a photo. The wind was howling. The climb down Clingmans was even worse. I swear they must have built the trail on top of a creek because the entire way down was snow covered slippery ice. Both of us busted on the ice several times. After a while we seriously contemplated hitching a ride into Gatlinburg. Then around 12, the sun came out and things began to warm up. I think we're now ahead of about 20 March 1st hikers who escaped the cold and hitched into town. Two more days and we should be through the Smokies. We saw tons of tourists at Newfound Gap. The shelter tonight has about 8 hikers here. That's the most i've seen in a shelter yet on the entire trail. It's 6:30 and everyone's in their bags.
Date: 2004-03-23
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tricorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to a gorgeous sunrise. I couldn't find my stuff sack this morning. luckily before i departed one of the section hikers in the shelter discovered it in his pack. Lots of ice today, other than that a really beautiful day though. Not a cloud in the sky and the sky itself was even bluer today than normal. Traillite and i saw some amazing views today. all of today's hiking was pretty easy too. Mostly it was a lot of ridgewalking but towards the end of the day there were two tough climbs, both over 6000 ft. At the shelter tonight are me and traillite, mad german (a thru-hiker from kansas) and 5 section hikers. Traillite and i are getting up real early tomorrow and going to try to push the 18 miles to get out of the park. The weather's supposed to warm up during the week so hopefully tonight is the last night i have to sleep with my waterbottle to keep it from freezing.
Date: 2004-03-24
From: Tricorner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: broken clouds

Probably had my earliest start today. Woke up before the sun was even up. It was cold but not as cold as the past few days. there was a lot of ice as usual. something that really sadned me about the Smokies were all the dead Fraser Firs and Red Spruce. Apparently acid rain was to blame. Whole sides of mountain tops were covered in these white skeletal remains of forests. we made awesome time today, but Traillite's breakneck speed was about to kill me. i think his pace was spurned by the idea of his first zero day. When we got to I-40 and out of the park, Traillite's friend of the the family "TC" was already at the trailhead waiting on him. we had done an amazing 17 miles by 12:30. TC drove Traillite and me into town and treated us to the AYCE buffet at Ryan's. I ate so much food i was about to burst. After the huge meal they drove me to Standing Bear Farm, a hostel literally a few hundred yards off the AT. Traillite was doing his zero at TC's cabin so we said our goodbyes. i'm sure he'll probably catch me in a few days. The hostel is really interesting. It's an old tobacco farm. Everything looks antique, even the newly built stuff. They even had internet, which i spent a lot of time on. It was really great getting to call Tracy after so many days of isolation through the Smokies.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 13.6

Talk about a change in weather. Two days ago i was freezing and praying for sun. Today i was broiling and praying for shade. The temperature today was probably around 72, but with no leaves on the trees i was getting grilled. I got a late start this morning, hit the trail around 9:30. I made decent time though. Tonight i'm sleeping in a tent for only my second time on the whole trip. I've always wanted to sleep on top of Max Patch and watch the sun rise. That's precisely what i'm doing. It looks like i'll perfect weather too. I never knew that there was a road at the base of the mountain though. You kind of feel something special being lost when you hike some 13 miles to the top of a mountain and there is a family playing tag football on the summit. oh well, for the rest of the night the mountain is mine alone. Right now i'm warming up some water for a steaming Cappuccino while i watch the remaing embers of the sun fade. It's so beautiful up here no words can ever describe it, no photos can do it justice. Well i'm about to pour in my mix and enjoy the last of the waning sun.
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Max Patch

To: Elmer's / Hot Springs
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a long day. I woke up last night to some terribly strong winds. If a storm where to blow in, i would have to ditch my tent and run for the cover of the tree line. Luckily the wind subsided. When i woke up later, i was greeted by one of the best sunrises i've ever witnessed. I'm so lucky to see the sights that i have. I hit the trail around 7, one of my earliest starts. The first half of the day was a very pleasant hike. Gentle ups and downs following a creek. Then the sun came out and completely grilled me again. The rest of the day is a blur; just a lot of strong hiking. I really made good time today. I got into Hot Springs around 3:30 and got a room at the best hostel i've come across yet. It's an old Victorian house brimming with antiques in everyroom. This is the first town i've passed through with a pub, so that's where i'll be later tonight. I've already been enjoying the company at the pub with the likes of 30'30, Giggles, Wicked, Baltimore Jack and two Canadian southbound section hikers. This little town is really nice.
Date: 2004-03-27
From: Elmer's / Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Got to know Baltimore Jack pretty well last night at the pub. He's a celebrity among the thru-hiking community. I think he's thru-hiked like 9 times or something rediculous like that. we stayed until the pub closed, then i swaggered back to Elmer's. Woke up this morning still feeling the effects of last night. I had breakfast at the hostel. Elmer used to be this top notch chef before starting his hostel and he makes delicious vegetarian meals. I checked out around 10 and headed down to the outfitters. Baltimore Jack works there and he helped me pick out a hammock. I eneded up getting a hennessey hammock that weighs about a pound and a half. a lot lighter than my north face tent. Baltimore and i then did a shack-down of my gear and found some stuff to send back home. Now with food and water i'm at 40 lbs. not too bad. I checked e-mail, called some people back home then headed over to the campground grill on the way out of town. That burger was good, but way to greasy for someone who's about to hike the rest of the day out in the sun. I got kinda lost following the trail over the bridge, but finally found my way and hit the trail around 3. I did 11 miles by 7 to make it to the shelter before dark. two thru-hikers, Lars and Maisy are also here tonight. Bear Bag hanger came in to but hung his hammock. big day tomorrow, thinking about doing 20 to flint mountain shelter. the ridgewalk on the profile looks pretty easy.
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a really long day. Hit the trail around 8 and the climb to get to the ridgeline was a killer. There was a new section of trail, just built that followed an exposed ridgeline. Well the new section wasn't in the map and i think i may have hiked an extra 2 or 3 miles that i didn't expect to. I ran out of water too. I finally got to Jerry's Cabin Shelter at 3 and according to the map i had only done 16 miles while my legs told me i had done more than that. i ate a really late lunch and drank a whole quart of gatoraide mixed water. The rest of the afternoon was fairly easy. I passed through some real eery dead pine forest, though. Made it to the Flint Mountain Shelter and finished my 20 mile day at around 6. I finally met the hiker Dharma who's shelter entries i've been reading for a while. i was expecting a girl hiker and was surprised to find that Dharma is a guy. Also here tonight is a section hiker named Mr. Mule. He's an interesting guy and even gave me one of his extra mountain houses for dinner. I'm thinking tomorrow i'll just get to Sam's Gap and hitch to Erwin. That section on the ridge killed me today. I've never felt so bad after a day's hike. But i made it and i'm still here. Looking forward to a real bed tomorrow night.
Date: 2004-03-29
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Sam's Gap, US 23
Miles today: 11.2

Took it real easy today. Met up with the Slackers early this morning. They offered me and Dharma a hitch into Erwin from Sam's Gap. They also gave me a verty tasty coke. I hiked really slow the rest of the day. Saw a really neat grave. A lady who, if she lived 2 more days would've been 100. Saw an old homestead too. Did an easy 11 miles to meet back up with the Slackers. Drove into Erwin and i'm at Miss Janet's House right now. For the first time on the trail, there are a ton of people here. Red Dog (Gavin) from Auburn, Hoss, Rocky and Fozzy A.K.A. the "Lost Boyz" from Auburn. Jason from Maine (Sylvan Poet) is here too. Daniel from Tallahassee is here baking cookies. He's now going by the trailname "Sunshine" which i'm proud to say i bestowed upon him. It was really great to see Gavin again. The place was too crowded for him and Hoss so they're staying at Uncle Johnny's. i rode down there with them - found out i've already lost 15 lbs. We ate dinner at the Erwin Burrito. it was really good and there were close to 20n thru-hikers there. A lot different than what i'm used to. We came back and watched Fight Club till late into the night.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Sam's Gap, US 23

To: Spivey Gap, US 19W
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: light rain

I didn't really accomplish much today. Fight Club didn't end until around 1:00 A.M. so i didn't get much sleep. Breakfast was really good, but the shuttle wasn't until much later. i didn't hit the trail until around 10:30, not a good time to start a 24 mile day. the weather was terrible today. i was actually really flying this morning with only a small daypack. After Big Bald, though, the weather got really bad. Now i've been in some really bad fog before, but today was the worst i've ever seen. i reached my 14 mile marker at 3:30. but i still had 11 to go. i figured i would either have to run or i would be hiking the dark.   so instead i decided to try and hitch back to Erwin. Well i walked for a straight hour and only 2 cars passed my way. neither even slowed down. so i got desperate and knocked on the front door of a house i passed. i tried calling Miss Janet's House but luckily a guy at the house was going back into town anyways and he gave me a lift. when i got back Talks with Trees (Adam Harvell from Auburn) and Mt. Goat were both already here. It was great to see them. i bought a 6 pack and we all ate at that burrito place again tonight. we watched Stigmata when we got back. this place is so busy. i got to use the internet, but the phone was being used the whole time. i'll have to call Tracy tomorrow.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Spivey Gap, US 19W

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

Ate Green Eggs and Ham fro breakfast. Mt. Goat and Talks with Trees left this morning. Bear Bag Hanger, Scarf and Nails showed up after Breakfast. We all got dropped off to slackpack pretty late today. We all got dropped back off at Spivey Gap. Dharma and I hiked north towards Erwin. Bear Bag Hanger, Scarf, Nails, Lars, Maize and Miss Janet's dog hiked south towards Sam's Gap. The weather was terrible again today. All day it was rain mixed with snow. Dharma and I both got soaking wet. Did the 11 miles in pretty good time. Hitched back into town and had enough time to hit up the post office. The weather was even worse for everyone else on the trail today. Lucky Dog came back to Miss Janet's because it was so bad. Bear Bag Hanger, Scarf, Nails, Lars, and Maize all turned back because there was 2 ft. of snow on Big Bald. A thru-hiker named Boo's Goose from Miss St. hiked 27 miles into town to get out of the snow. i think the Lost Boyz and even Quincy Girl are coming tomorrow. After the post office a bunch of us went and ate at Elm's. It was really good. Got to go grocery shopping. bought soem ice cream and chocalate milk. we watched Joe Dirt and Mr. Deeds tonight. It felt really good to be dry and indoors today with al that sleet and rain outside. i got to call Tracy.