morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-10-07
From: Brook & Campsite @ 994.2

To: Tent Site At Mile 1,005
Miles today: 10.8

We began the Roller Coaster today and hiked a total of 10.8 miles. The Roller Coaster is a very physically demanding series of back to back steep climbs and descents, about 12 of them, which is an average of about one every 1.2 miles. The going us rocky a lot of the time, which makes it mentally demanding as well. We got about 2/3 of the way through today. I did it before in a day, but I wasn¢t carrying a 35 lb pack. We¢ll finish the last 5 miles of it tomorrow.We passed through the AT 1,000 mile mark today, quite a milestone! We¢re now only 21 miles to Harper¢s Ferry and 62 miles from journey¢s end, which we¢ll reach by this weekend!
Date: 2023-10-08
From: Tent Site At Mile 1,005

To: Mile 1,009.5
Miles today: 4.5

Day started out great. Crossed through Snickers Gap and did the two tough steep climbs up to Raven Rock, which were the last 2 big climbs of The Roller Coaster. Shortly after that, while climbing up from Raven Rock, that¢s when the day turned bad in an instant. I got stung by a Murder Hornet. I walked a little bit further down hill and felt my face and eyes starting to swell. Then my chest and throat began tightening up. I plopped down on the side of the trail, also feeling woozy. I immediately called ShowMe who was luckily just down the trail. When he got to me, he gave me a couple of Benadryls and called 911 since I began having difficulty breathing¢¦a bad allergic reaction! The amazing firefighters and EMTs arrived in about a half hour! Luckily we weren¢t too far from a road crossing. They gave me an EPI pen and checked vitals, etc. I felt enough better and said that I wanted to walk out and not be carried. I road in an ambulance and spent 4 hours in the ER. A scary situation for sure! It could¢ve turned out much worse since Murder Hornet stings can cause death. I now, luckily, have a good story to tell. The rescue team and hospital staff were just awesome and I was/am so appreciative! Will probably zero tomorrow to rest up and and let my swollen leg and ankle subside some more. We¢ll get back to the trail on Tuesday and finish this thing up by this weekend. So grateful to be able to continue. Only 58 miles to go!
Date: 2023-10-09
To: Leesburg Virginia 
Miles today: 0.0

Spent my last and unexpected zero resting and trying to get the swelling down in my leg and ankle. The bee venom settled and really swelled it up. Went to Walgreens for prescriptions and had a Chinese for lunch and Mexican for dinner. Also enjoyed the hotel hot tub and pool, which felt good on my leg. Back to the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2023-10-10
From: Blackburn Trail Center

To: Tent Site At 1,021.8
Miles today: 9.0

After the scary experience with the Murder Hornet, nearly passing out from breathing difficulties, getting rescued by incredible EMTs and firefighters, and spending time in the ER, and resting up for a day, we finally made it back to the trail. I definitely wasn¢t feeling 100%, but I pushed on. Because we couldn¢t easily find a way back to where we got pulled off trail, we decided to skip ahead a couple of miles to the Blackburn Trail Center, which is where we began our hike today. We actually got an Uber there, which was quite a long ride down a dirt road and up a bit of a mountain. We hiked through Keys Gap, got a quick hotdog and drink at a nearby convenience store, and got to a tent site a little more than 4 miles from Harper¢s Ferry.
Date: 2023-10-11
To: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Ferry
Miles today: 4.2

Unfortunately, we had to end our hike a little early ¢1   As if to kick me when I was down, after the Murder Hornet scare, overnight I got struck with a bad stomach bug (I¢ll spare you the details). I felt awful all night and again in the morning and really couldn¢t eat anything. After laying in my tent most of the morning, I finally forced myself to get moving and slowly walked the 4.2 miles to Harper¢s Ferry, where we made the decision to call it a hike. We made our goal of hiking over 1,000 miles! I really wanted to get to the PA line and celebrate with great friends, but it just wasn¢t to be.As we slowly made our way to Harper¢s Ferry, some sadness began to set in realizing that these were most likely the last miles of our Incredible journey. What an adventure it was, one that  I will never forget!  I saw and did amazing things for 4 months and made a great friend! I¢ve never done anything more difficult in my life, by a long shot, but I¢ve also never done anything more rewarding or had more fun. The amazing people I met along the way, the awesome trail community, made the long time on trail even that much more fulfilling and meaningful! Plus, there are great places that I definitely want to spend more time and new goals set for the future!ShowMe and I are already planning to hike the Ozark Trail next year and plan to get back to finish up the second half of the AT together. Until next time¢¦Trail Magic out!PS-A big thank you to my friend Mike! He was a huge help with coming to get us at Harper¢s Ferry, via a big detour, and shuttling us around my town and taking ShowMe to the airport. Much appreciated!
Date: 2023-03-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Tomorrow is the big day. The plan is to get up around 6:30am, eat breakfast at the hotel and get to the trail by 8:00am. The goal for the day is Black Gap, which is about 7 miles from the beginning of the trail and about a mile from Springer Mountain and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail.With all that said, and despite my words of confidence from my last entry, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous now. I don't really know how best to describe what I'm feeling but the closest analogy that I can think of is a person who quits their job, changes careers, and moves to a completely new city.I've tried to prepare as best as possible, but I'm not an experienced backpacker and I don't know what I don't know. Am I in good enough shape? Is my pack too heavy? Do I have all the right equipment? These questions and lots of others swirl in the back of my mind and it does take some effort to not get overwhelmed and allow self-doubt to creep in.I know these feelings are natural and I know the thousands of people who have done this before me have felt similar things, but when you're the one experiencing it, that knowledge is cold comfort. But, the die has been cast and the only move now is forward. On to tomorrow.
Date: 2023-03-26
From: Amicalola Arc

To: Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

The first hiking day is in the bag. I started at the famous Amicalola Arc and went about 7 miles to Black Gap Shelter.The first obstacle was about a half a mile from the arc. In order to get to the top of Amicalola Falls and continue on the AT approach trail, you have to climb 604 steps. It was difficult, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had read that it was the most difficult part of the trail, but I would disagree. About 3 to 4 miles on the trail, I began an ascent. It wasn't as steep as the stairs and I'm sure it was only a half-mile or so, but it felt like it went on forever. I was also starting to get fairly fatigued by this point, so that only made it harder.But, I made it and all things considered, I couldn't have asked for a better day to start. The temperature was in the high 50s to low 60s the entire time. It was mostly overcast, so I didn't have the sun beating down on me, and it only sprinkled rain a couple of times. Earlier in the week the forecast called for much worse, so I'm thankful for that. I'll have plenty of terrible weather days ahead. I didn't need to start out with one.Black Gap itself is relatively decent. It's basically just an elevated platform with three walls and a roof. If I had to guess, I'd say you can fit six or seven people side by side comfortably. The one drawback is that the water source is a little far away. It's about 1/4 of a mile and it's fairly steep on the way down. That means it's fairly steep on the way back up. Not ideal after just having hiked for 7 miles. But I didn't have to do it with a pack, so silver linings.When I got here, there wasn't anyone else here yet except one other guy who hiked on. Since then it's started to get a little busier. There are about seven people spread out over the area now.I did make a couple of rookie mistakes on my first day. The first is that I forgot my toothbrush bag at the hotel we stayed at I Alpharetta last night. I probably won't be able to get a new one for at least three days. So that's gross.Second, I didn't check my electronics before starting. If I had, I would have noticed that my GPS device got turned on inside my pack. It died pretty quickly on the trail. Fortunately I was able to get it charged back up with my power pack, but there is a gap in my trail tracking.I don't know what my destination is for tomorrow yet. But, it'll be around the 8 mile mark again. That's the limit I've set for myself for the first week while I get my trail legs.Breakfast: Hotel food. Eggs, 4 pork sausages, a bowl of oatmeal with about a tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of granola, and a carton of chocolate milk.Snack 1: A handful of Second Nature Keto Crunch snack mix.Lunch: 5 Old Trapper (I think) beef sticks and a package of cinnamon cookies (3 in a pack).Recovery Drink: 6ish tablespoons of Carnation Instant breakfast.Dinner: Mountain House ProPak Chicken and Rice
Date: 2023-03-27
From: Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So I'm going to get this out of the way.I woke up, ate a pretty terrible breakfast, and was on the trail by about 7am. It stormed pretty bad the night before and sunrise was around 7:30. So, it was dark, foggy, and a little cool and it was also a little rainy. But once I got moving on the trail, it was actually pretty comfortable. So there I am trucking along at a pretty nice pace when I get about a mile and a half in. I get to this clearing and I see this plague sticking out of the ground. It looked very similar to the same plaque I saw on the way to Black Gap the day before. Further investigation revealed that it was identical. Now this would have immediately raised some red flag in a normal person, but I actually walked about another 200 feet before I pulled out my phone and realized I had just walked south for about an hour. Now as I'm sure many of you know, Maine is north of Georgia, not south. It was a real gut punch and put an extra 3 hours and about 3 miles onto today's trip.With all that said, I got myself turned around and made it to the shelter. I'm now also officially on the Appalachian Trail (the first 8ish miles was the approach trail).The shelter area here is a bit more lively than last nights. I think there are probably more people, but I also think quite a few people skip the approach trail and go straight to Springer Mountain.Breakfast: Backpackers Pantry Breakfast Skillet.Snack 1: Handful of Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack Mix. Trail Magic: Oatmeal Cream Pie from Mountain Squid.Lunch: 5 Old Trapper beef sticks and a package of cinnamon cookies ( 4 in a pack ).Trail Magic: A mini cookies and cream Hersey and a Dr. Pepper from Papa Smurf.Dinner: Peak Refuel Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Date: 2023-03-28
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter 

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light snow

No major hiccups this time. Though you can bet that five minutes after I left the shelter I had my phone out checking to make sure I was going in the right direction. I did leave my phone on the battery pack overnight so it did drain it more than I would have liked. In the future, I'm going to journal if I can, charge the phone, then turn it off for the night.Last night was fairly interesting. A fire was built and most of the people at the site sat around and talked until about 9pm. Inappropriate jokes and one liners were told, laughter was had. It was a great time. I also found out that the Army Rangers have a training camp nearby when aat about 8 or so a bunch of automatic weapon fire rang out through the mountain. Then, at about 1am, a loud explosion went off with another one following several minutes later. Fortunately I was already awake because I still haven't gotten a nice sleeping schedule down yet. Though it was better than the previous night.The first 3.25 miles this morning were pretty brutal. There were a lot of ups and downs. There was one section that I later found out was called Sassafras mountain and it was a very steep incline and I don't know the distance, but it probably took about 30 minutes to finally get to the top. Once I got to Coopers Gap, I refilled at a water buffalo (a giant tank filled with potable water) and the rest of the trail was relatively flat with just a couple of small inclines and declines. Though by the time I got to the Gooch Gap Shelter I was pretty exhausted. I also did IT for the first time. If you know, then you know. If you don't then just think about what a person who has never done backcountry hiking before might do for the first time and it shouldn't take too much imagination to figure out. Nothing more needs to be said, but I wanted to mark the occasion for future posterity.I did make one other slight mistake. I thought that I miscalculated the amount of food that I needed before my first resupply because I didn't think the website I used took into account the 8 mile approach trail. So, I skipped breakfast this morning. Once I got to Gooch Gap, I did an inventory of my food and skipping breakfast was unnecessary. Breakfast: NoneSnack 1: Snickerdoodle protein cookie. I'm not sure if I'll get this again. I had to drink about half of liter of water as I was chewing it in order to be able to swallow it.Snack 2: A couple handfuls of Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack Mix. I've gotten this before and it's pretty good. I do wish it was a little sweeter though.Dinner: Peak Refuel Chicken Alfredo Pasta. It was good, but a little too watery.
Date: 2023-03-29
From: Gooch Gap Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Last night at the shelter was another fun one. At one point a group of people tried to start up a poker game using snacks as betting chips. They tried to rate each type of snack based on its desirability. After all it would be fair if someone threw in a candy bar and someone else called with a shitty protein cookie. About the only thing the could agree on was that a Snickers was definitely a tier 4 item. There were also several people who didn't know how to play poker at all. By the time we did a practice round, it started getting too dark to see the cards so we ended up calling it a night.I got started on the trail pretty early because I knew I would be hiking a longer distance today. Tomorrow is Blood Mountain, which is a steep and long uphill climb followed by steep and long downhill climb. I wanted to get to the closest shelter possible so that my legs would be as fresh. The good thing is that it's going to be a short 4 mile or so hike to Neel Gap which is my first resupply point. I'm going to try and rent a cabin for the night if any are available. The hike itself was long but pretty manageable. There was a pretty steep climb just past Woody Gap, but I was rewarded with one of the best views I've had so far. It was a giant rock outcrop and you could see out over the mountains for miles. It was beautiful. Tonight I'm staying at Woods Hole. It's probably my least favorite shelter so far. You have to take a trail that is almost a half a mile backwards from the main trail and the water source is a real pain to access. The main flow is low to the ground and it's about six inches back under a rock. It's better than nothing, but not great.Breakfast: Mountain House scrambled eggs with uncured bacon. It's not terrible, but it has the same issue that some of the other meals that I've had. It asks for too much water and I end up having to drink my eggs. You're not supposed to drink eggs.Snack 1: Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack MixLunch: 5 Old Trapper beef sticks and a package of cinnamon cookiesDinner: Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai with Chicken
Date: 2023-03-30
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: snow

There weren't as many people at this shelter as the last couple of nights. I think it's probably because of the distance from the trail and the requirement to have a bear canister to stay there. It didn't get as rambunctious as before but it wasn't uneventful either.Starting at about 6:30 or so, smoke started rolling into the area. By sunset, it completely blanketed the valley and turned the sun blood red. It was definitely a fire, but we weren't sure whether it was from a controlled burn or a wildfire. We checked some internet sites, but couldn't find anything definitive. I did try to get a picture of the red sun, but it didn't turn out well at all. We did worry that the smoke would make the view atop Blood Mountain the next day worthless, but it was gone by morning.The weather was pretty cold overnight. I don't know the exact temperature, but I think it was in the mid to low 30s. I know I woke up a few times shivering pretty good. The quilt I have is nice, but I haven't figured out how to deal with cold drafts yet.The hike today was short, only about 5 miles, but it still did a number on me. The ascent was close to 1000 miles in a little over a mile. It actually wasn't too bad. There were a couple of spots that felt like climbing stairs, but most of it was pretty gradual so it felt more like just walking uphill. The view from the top was amazing. Blood Mountain is the third highest point in Georgia and the highest point in Georgia on the AT. It makes me wish I had a quality camera that I knew how to use because the pictures I take with my phone don't capture the spectacle at all. The decent from Blood Mountain was a totally different story. It was about 1400 feet over a distance of a little over two miles. The majority of it was on straight Rock. No grass or dirt paths at all so my feet took quite a beating.But it did get me to Neels Gap and my first resupply point. I'm renting a cabin for the night and have already gotten a nice meal, a shower which felt amazing and finally a toothbrush and toothpaste so I'm no longer walking around with a literal dirty mouth.The cabin was pretty nice, but after sleeping on an air mattress for the past four nights, it probably wouldn't take more than a nice bed to impress me. It is supposed to sleep six (4 adults and 2 children). It had a small downstairs bedroom with a queen bed, a small living room area with a pull out sofa bed, a little kitchen, and a loft upstairs that had another queen bed. I completely forgot to get a picture of it.I met up with the group of hikers that tried to play poker with snacks at Gooch Gap. They were also renting a cabin at the same place. After I ate dinner, I ended up hanging out in their cabin for the rest of the evening. We even got to play some actual poker using M&Ms.Breakfast: Clif Nut Butter peanut butter and chocolate bar.Lunch: Pizza and A&W Root BeerDinner: Frozen hamburger, Pepsi, and a Klondike Bar
Date: 2023-03-31
From: Neel Gap

To: Whitley Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

I had to suspend journaling for a few days because I needed to conserve my phone's battery. I forgot to pack a USB outlet adapter, so I had no way of charging my electronics. I was hoping Mountain Crossing at Neel Gap would have one, but they didn't have the right kind I needed. I'm at a place where I can get everything charged, so I'm retroactively filling in the last few entries.The stay at the cabin was very pleasant. It was nice to sleep in a bed after having slept on an air mattress for the past four nights. The small kitchen also gave me an opportunity to eat something other than a meal that required just adding water.Leaving Neel Gap, the plan was to hike and stay at the Whitley Gap Shelter. I was aware that it was over a mile off-trail, but I figured since I was already trying to hike over 2,000 miles, a few extra wouldn't hurt. Also, the FarOut comments for the location said there usually weren't many people there and it had a good water flow. Only one of those things turned out to be true.The thing I didn't find out until it was too late was that there was about a 3/4 of a mile stretch that had a pretty significant decline. This would mean that I would also have a pretty significant incline on the way out the next morning. And I didn't even get the solitude that the comments talked about. When I got there, there we already 4 people in the shelter that sleeps 7 and by evening it was full along with several tents. One factor that probably contributed to the number of people was the forecast for severe thunderstorms that night.The flow at the water source was excellent though, probably the best I'd seen to that point and the company was nice. I met a hiker who came all the way from Portugal to hike the AT. I also met a volunteer that was not a fan of trail magic. Especially those who did elaborate setups like cook hamburgers or something of that nature. I don't know the exact reason, but I got the impression that he thought it took away from the wilderness experience. Personally, I think people who do that sort of thing contribute just as much to the AT experience as the trail volunteers who maintain the trails and shelters do. Hiking the AT is really hard and coming across a person or a group of people who are willing to feed you a decent meal can be a really great spirit lifter.Breakfast: I had bought two frozen Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwiches the night before, but I only ate one of them. They weren't terrible, but they weren't that good either.Lunch: A tortilla with peanut butter and honey. It was good, but I wish I had a banana to go with it.Dinner: Peak Refuel Chicken Coconut Curry. This was my favorite so far. It made me want to try the authentic version of it.
Date: 2023-04-02
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 2.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Overnight at the shelter ended up being alright. It was cold, but the wind had died down by morning so it wasn't unbearable. I was on the trail by 6 because I wanted to get into town as soon as possible. I'm doing a back-to-back nero (near zero miles) and zero day. It was a little over 2 miles to get to Unicoi Gap. From there I hitched into Helen, GA where I'm going to stay until Tuesday. A real nice lady picked me up after about 10 minutes of walking toward Helen and I'm really glad she did because as we were driving i realized that the walk would not have been fun if I had had to do the whole thing on foot.I didn't do much of note. Most of today was just spent preparing for Tuesday. Laundry, grocery shopping, that kind of thing. Though I did eat at a couple of good restaurants. It was nice getting a good meal.Tomorrow was going to be for seeing what the town has to offer, but they are calling for rain all day so it might just be another relax in my room day. Not what I wanted, but thems the breaks sometimes. Breakfast: Salted Maple Pecan YES bar and a bag of Kars trail mix. They were fine and served their purpose of giving me some calories. 2nd Breakfast: A banana, a banana nut muffin, and two glasses of OJ at the hotel.Lunch: The MVP Breakfast at the Huddle House. 3 strips of Applewood bacon, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, biscuits and grave and a waffle. $16.08 with tip.Dinner: Rocky Top burger. A 12oz burger with lettuce, gouda cheese, bacon, and a spicy BBQ sauce with a side of waffle fries. $20.47 with tip.ResupplyPeter Pan Honey PB: $4.49Fruit Mix: $5.66Knorr Taco Rice: $1.99Knorr Chicken Fried Rice: $1.99Pineapple Rings: $5.93Snickers: $1.39USB Outlet Adapter: $3.99Toenail Clippers: $1.00Fingernail Clippers: $1.00Bandaids: $2.65