morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-08
From: Lance Creek 

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 7.2

Another cold day and hiked with three layers. T-shirt, mid weight pullover, and LLBean puffy jacket. Keep me warm along with fleece gloves, buff around the neck, wool stocking hat and my OR hat. Snow flakes falling all day but no accumulation except in a few spots. Leapfrogged quite a few thru hikers during the day and saw two groups of day hikers. Going up and down Blood Mountain is no joke, but slow and steady did it for me. A few tough steep slick spots along the way. During the day, myself and another thru hiker decided to split the cost of a cabin at Blood Mountain cabins. Glad we did as another cold upper 20s night is forecasted. Now warm in a bed, showered and ate pizza for dinner. Nice feeling after a few days on the trail. O yeah, got laundry done as well.
Date: 2018-03-09
From: Neel Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Left Blood Mountain Cabins a little before 8. Temp around 30. Clear weather but at times windy through out the day. Actually a really good hiking day. Again saw several thru hikers, some I had met before and some new to me. Hiked most of the day with ¢mega cash pop tart¢ cool guy about 50 yo that has done a lot of hiking in the past few years. Came across my first ¢trail magic ¢ today. Trail magic is when someone is at a road crossing to give hikers drinks and/or food freely, they do it out of the kindness of their heart and most are/were hikers themselves and just want to give back. I meet ¢lionheart¢ at hogpen Gap, Ga state road 348. Out of his truck he was giving out water, soda, fruit, snacks to hiker that came along. I got some fruit drinks and couple of snacks. Thanks lionheart!! Very cool of you.At low Gap shelter area tonight. I set up my tent in the tent section as there are about a dozen or so 20somethings around the shelter. Mega cash pop tart and a few other tenters here as well.Gave out my first trail name that has stuck. The other night a guy was getting into his hammock and fell out. Other than embarrassed he was fine. I called him Gilligan from the tv show because of the hammock incident and plus he is skinny and young and it just fits him. Other hikers picked up the name and now he is stuck with it. Probably will get a ride into hiawassee tomorrow as it is suppose to rain starting tomorrow afternoon and all day Sunday.
Date: 2018-03-10
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light snow

Everyone on the trail the last two days were saying that Saturday afternoon thru all day Sunday was going to be rain and everyone was headed off trail to various towns. So I followed the group and headed into hiawassee, ga and now I¢m a hotel for 2 nights. And there is an all you can eat buffet next door!! Life is good. Btw yes it is raining now
Date: 2018-03-11
From: Hiawassee 

To: Hiawassee 
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day today, no trail miles. Stayed at hotel today, did laundry, tentative plan the next week hike, went to store resupplied food and generally just relaxed. Actually would have been an okay hiking day with just a little rain most of the day. But tonight it¢s suppose to start again and last to mid morning tomorrow. O well looks like my first couple hours back on trail will be in the rain. They say ¢No rain, no pain, no Maine¢. Hopefully it won¢t be too bad, I am ready to get back out there.
Date: 2018-03-12
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap shelter 
Miles today: 13.1

Left the HI in hiawassee about 745, shuttle was on time, thanks again Trent. Got to trailhead at Unicoi Gap and started hiking about 830. Cloudy cold and a little rain which turned to flakes at higher elevation. Finally about 130 the skies cleared but wind and cold stayed. Came across Trail magic again and same guy ¢Lionheart ¢ in addition to everything he had before he had hot chocklet, really good. I packed in 3 cheeseburgers from McD for lunch.Decided to hike a little further to get in a shelter tonight because of the cold and wind. Glad I did. Suppose to be in the 20s tonight
Date: 2018-03-13
From: Deep Gap shelter 

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6

Really cold last night in the shelter. About dozen hikers were inside and a couple in tents outside. Glad I opted to stay inside as the wind did pick up at times during the night. Everyone got up around 7 and most were on the trail by 830 including myself. Sunny skies made the hiking good. I decided to go to Top of Georgia hostel to rest up and spend the night as temps are suppose to be in the low 20s again this evening.
Date: 2018-03-15
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 11.8

Starting on trail about 930am. As normal, cold and windy. Started hiking with about 10 hikers including ¢Mosey¢ a hiker I¢ve been hanging with the last couple days. We spread out fast with the younger folks leaving us older ones behind. Depending on which side of the mountain I was on it was windy and cold or calm and a lot warmer. Had to take off/put on my jacket a few times throughout the day. All in all a good day hiking. Tenting at the shelter area tonight. Shelter is full and about 10 tents around. Always cool to see other hikers I hadn¢t seen for a few days during the day. Saw Duke and Prez. Both meet in hiawassee a few days ago.
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter 

To: Carter Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 12.5

Up and over Standing Indian Mountain today. Long up took all morning with some nice news. A trail maintenance crew was using horses to haul up wood and equipment to build a new privy at standing Indian shelter. Beautiful animals and it was a pleasure to chat with the crew a few minutes. Thanks to volunteers like them we have a trail to hike. The downside of the mountain can be just as hard. Always watching where to step, and always mud, rocks, and roots to deal with.  Was warmer today and the wind not as bad, that was good. Chance of rain late tonight so I might have to deal with packing a wet tent in the morning, yuck.
Date: 2018-03-17
From: Carter Gap Shelter 

To: Rock Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 12.2

Rained lightly during the night, not all night but off and on. Got up 7am and everything wet outside, inside the tent was dry. It was no fun packing up a wet tent but got everything packed and I was on the trail by 830. Rained a little during the morning and was a little cold but by mid morning rain had gone and sun came out. The climb up Albert Mountain was no joke, very steep for about half mile. Had to use my hands to climb up about four different times. Finally got up to the fire tower, windy on the summit. Of course I had to climb the tower for the views and snap a few pictures. Long hike down into Rock Gap not bad but tiring. Tenting tonight at the shelter and planning to go into Franklin tomorrow
Date: 2018-03-18
From: Rock Gap Shelter 

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day today to rest the feet and legs. Nothing hurts but I don¢t want to push it, slow and easy is good the first month or so. I¢ve heard of a few hikers already developed knee problems and now off trail. Sharing room with Mosey and now just relaxing. I had to check out the Lazy Hiker Brewing Co, good beer and meet a couple hikers there that I¢ve seen on trail. I¢ve resupplied food and will be ready to get back on trail first thing tomorrow morning. Having a good day.
Date: 2018-03-19
From: Rock Gap

To: Wayah Bald Shelter 
Miles today: 14.7

Longest day yet. I wanted to get to Wayah Bald Shelter as it is suppose to rain some tonight. But shelter already fun when I got here, o well I¢ll be dry in the tent. Also rained off and on during the day, not hard just enough to keep things wet. Leap frogged several thru hikers today, some new faces, some I know. Long up hill hike to the Wayah Bald tower. The whole area had a forest fire a couple years ago and there is still a lot of evidence of the fire. Wayah Bald tower is stone with a wooden roof. The roof was destroyed in the forest fire but has since been rebuilt. Foggy when I got there, no views but I still went up the tower just to say I did.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Wayah Bald Shelter 

To: A Rufus Morgan Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5

Another long hiking day but I wanted to get out of the high elevations as soon as possible as winter weather with snow was in the forecast. The 5 miles downhill hike to the shelter was no joke. Some of it very steep, sure glad it wasn¢t raining during this section. Made it to Rufus Morgan Shelter about 530 just as it started to rain. Putting up the tent in rain is no fun but managed to keep the inside dry, got inside and set up for the night. Tired and rain made my decision for me, no cooking dinner tonight. The rain turned to a light snow during the night and woke to snow all over the tent. A first for this Florida boy.
Date: 2018-03-21
From: A Rufus Morgan Shelter 

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC)
Miles today: 1.0

Pretty much a zero day today. Snowing all day so glad I zeroed here and got a bunk for tonight. Lots of thru hikers here with the same idea to wait out the weather. Walked in the bunk room and saw ¢Eskimo¢ who I haven¢t seen in a few days. Cool to see other thru hikers I know. Weather should clear up tomorrow, still cold but sunny. I¢ll head back out in the morning.
Date: 2018-03-22
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC)

To: NOC
Miles today: 0.0

Today started out well, it was sunny no snow so I headed out. As I hiked out of NOC the snow around and on the trail got deeper. I got about 4 miles up the trail the snow was half up to my knee on trail and could only walk in others footsteps as the trail was completely covered. I knew I had more elevation to climb and the snow would only get worse so I turned around and headed back to the NOC, too much snow for this Florida boy!! Born and lived in Florida my entire life and had only seen snow maybe ten times ever and never had hiked in it. That night watching the weather I saw that the rest of week there would be more snow and rain throughout weekend. I had a decision to make. Wait out the weather for several days or head home. I opted to go home.
Date: 2018-03-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

22 days to go to start my AT thru hike. I have most of my gear, just waiting to get a backpack that I have decided to go with. I chose the Osprey Exos 58L. Anyone have any thoughts on that selection. Besides the backpack, I have a few misc. items to gather but mostly need to get some food. Really looking forward to hiking the AT! Best of luck to all who are currently hiking and to all of you who are getting prepared to start.
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Mount Katahdin
Miles today: 0.0

my first post since starting my hike. I can tell you that it is Not an easy hike out of the gate. 40% of Thru-Hikers have already quit! Georgia is really a tough hike, where over half will drop out. A man doing trail magic at one of the Gaps said the drop out rate is higher this year than previous years. Who knows. But I can say that I have yet to get wet. Very very lucky, but it is coming. Today, Friday the 30th, I am taking a zero day. Stayed in Helen Georgia last night and will be getting a ride back to Unicoi Gap this evening where I left off. I will tent there then continue my hike oh the morning. The next 17 mi is the toughest part in Georgia. My next re-supply and zero day will be in Franklin NC. Which is 57 miles. I will be there in 6 or 7 days. Therefore, I will be posting again when I am in Franklin. I reached Springer Mountain on Sat., M24 at 12:10 pm. This is the official start of the AT. Started the AT 10 min later at 12:20. It was cloudy all day except just when I started, that is when the sun came out from behind the clouds for maybe 30 sec. I took that as a Positive Sign!In concluding, I have hiked 61 mi total, with 52 being on the AT.
Date: 2018-03-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

a couple side notes: a Safety Meeting on the AT means pot smoking time. Yellow Balzers are those that skip sections of the hike. These people are not true thru-hikers. I am surprised that young people do this too. Some in their early 20¢s. For the record, I do neither.All hikers have been really good. No issues st all. And then there is trail magic. That has happened four times already. Once was at a hostel at Neal¢s Gap. A group from First Baptist Church in Blairsville feed us which included meat lasagna, salad, brownies, drinks, etc. one last note, there is an 80 yr old lady thru hiking the AT, her trail name is Sweet Pea. I hope she makes it.
Date: 2018-04-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have currently hiked 109.2 miles. Today, I am taking a zero day and staying in Franklin, NC. Franklin is like Mayberry USA. My hike at this point has been good. While a physical challenge ( as I mentioned in my previous post), I am getting stronger and hiking better. As an example, the past two days, I have hiked 23.5 miles. 12.1 on Wed and 11.4 on Thurs. The past six days, I have hiked appropriately 57 miles.This morning, at 7:15, First Baptist Church in Franklin Shuttled us to and from breakfast which they provided at their Church, which included coffee, juice, pancakes, bacon, etc.-All you can eat! It is very generous and thoughtful of them to provide this to the thru-hikers. As of this morning, they have feed over 700.I have been the recipient of two single packages of Starbucks coffee from two hikers. One a weekend hiker from Atlanta  named Hiking Barbie 24 (she looks like Hiking Barbie), gave me a Vanilla Latte while the other named Cowbell from Chicago 29,gave me a Carmel Frappuccino. Do not only is there trail magic from non-hikers, but also among hikers themselves.Next is to make it to the Smokies which is about 58 miles. I have included photos, check them out. Thx everyone for all your encouragement and support!
Date: 2018-04-12
To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0

First, I want to thank all who are following. It means much and provides a boost! Since my last post, I have hiked from Windind Stairs to Fontana. My total hiking mileage is now 165.5. Tomorrow I will be crossing Fontana Dam and entering The Great Smoky Mountains Park. I am now 32 mi from Clingman¢s Dome and 39 fromNewfound Gap. One of these two destinations I will be picked up by one of my brothers, Burt and possibly Kare Ann. The pickup will depend on the weather. Sun n Mon could produce cold, rainy and snowy weather. I look forward to them doing this and our trip into Gatlinburg!From there I will meet up with second cousin Wes White for a few hiking miles. After that I will be meeting up with Steve n Carrie Peacock in Hot Springs, NC. The three toughest climbs have been in NC. One of which is approximately named Jabob¢s Ladder, it¢s vertically is unreal. This climb along with the one from Nantahala has worn me down somewhat. In addition to all the other climbs in between.i actually had my worst hiking day yesterday. I went to sleep at 7:30 to 4:30, maybe waking up for 30 seconds to roll over. Yoday¢s Hike ok, do maybe tomorrow I will feel physically better.Tomorrow bolds another tough climb out of the gate. Also, in the first few miles of theGSMNP, there has been a bear ripping up tents (2) as they were being slept in; therefore, the first shelter n campsite has been closed down. In closing, to this point it has been a wonderful experience. I will be listing Thru-hikers Names n where they are from in the near future. I will start with the ones out of country. Such a Luch fromSwitzerland. He said that he did not like hiking in the wilderness so he flew back to Switzerland. Luch is 25 yrs of age.I am going to post some pics now, enjoy.
Date: 2018-04-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

since my last post, I have hiked 8 straight days, approximately 90 miles. NC has the 5 most challenging climbs thus far in my hike. Compared to Georgia (which up n down constantly), NC Trail is in better shape, more flat or and gradual ups n downs, needs more white blazes in spots, but make no mistake, it is not easier than GA. It has worn me down to an extent but I seem to recuperate well.My brother Burt picked me up Sunday (yesterday) at Clingman¢s Dome parking lot. I got there at 2:40 pm. (Day was rainy, foggy with very strong gusts of winds). I thank Burt for picking me up ( though he really did not like the drive up there) and putting me up for the night and taking me to eat at Texas Roadhouse. He and Karen Ann also picked up some stuff I needed and brought it to me. Thank you Burt n Karen Ann!!The scenery is most beautiful in the mountains. There is nothing like standing on top of a mountain, such as a place called ¢Rocky Top¢ and looking beyond the casts ranges of mountains. The hike to this juncture has been most enjoyable. There are a lot of decent, caring, and sincere people thru Hiking. A lot of younger people, male and female, that are very impressive in their demeanor and intellect among other qualities. A lot of hikers in their 20¢s. Saturday I met a Mexican Family, Mother, Father and son I would guess is 12, which were day hiKing, talked to the father a few minutes and he was very much interested in thru-hiking. They went ahead of me and when I saw them the boy comes up to me and offers me a sandwich and cool ranch Doritos. I took some Doritos and later he tried to give me the whole bag, a big bag. Very considerate and thoughtful.I have now hiked just under 200 miles on the AT. I am taking 2 days off-to recuperate- and then back to Clingman¢s Dome to continue my Northward journey. I appreciate all following and comments!And signing the guest book. Thank you!I next stop and a couple days off will be in Hot Springs, NC. It is about 74 miles, maybe 6 or 7 day hike.Hikers from other countries:Ky-Germany-23Mattason-New Zealand-20?German Lady-Germany-45-50?Timber-Nicaragua-55?Mark-Devon,England-43Luch-Switzerland-25 (flew back to Switzerland)Rainbow-Australia-18Slayer-England-28Jeans-England-30Smoking Bear-Switzerland-55-60?Swiss Miss-Switzerland-55-50?
Date: 2018-04-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Had a great time in Gatlinburg w/ Burt, who fed me well n put me up in hotel for 3 nights. Thx to Burt n Karen Ann!!We went to Knoxville on Mon where I picked up a couple things at REI, resupplied at Walmart (food), Switche my phone service to Verizon ( which does much better in the mtns), tookBurt¢s truck by carmax and visited Donald, Amanda, Mr. Duke and Neely. Got to play Trucks w/ Mr. Duke, tons of fun! Also, Amanda fed us.We had baked spaghetti, and may I add that it was awesome!! Thx Amanda!!So since Gatlinburg/Knoxville, I have hiked: Wed, 11.1 miles, Thurs: 12.6 m, Fri: 14.8 m, Sat: 10.5 m but this was my best hiking day so far! Climbed over 3000 ft with one climb being 2500 ft. Handled it very well. I could have hiked 3 more hrs but decided to stay in shelter tonight, which was built in 1939 and could use an upgrade ( Groundhog Creek Shelter).Thursday¢s hike was very cold! It was like hiking in Winter Wonderland w/very strong winds. You will know what I mean when u look at the pics. I one point I thought it was snowing, but no. Than I thought that the strong winds were blowing pedals to help the Forrest regenerate itself. Nope. I was happening is that fog had turned to ice on the trees and than the wind was blowing it off the trees, in rectangular form. Some being about 3¢x1¢. Fog Ice.In concluding, my hike is going well and I keep getting better. It is very enjoyable.I have 27 miles to go to Hot Springs, NC to take some time off the trail and to meet up w/ Steve n Carrie Peacock. I am looking forward to seeing them!Thx all for all ur support!I will be posting pics
Date: 2018-04-25
To: Mt Katahdin 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I arrived in Hot Springs, NC on Mon., at 5 pm on April 23rd. Now Hot Springs has very very poor cell service. At places, very few, one can get a text out but no phone calls. So the reason I mention this is because I have a very good friend and his wife (which is also a friend) which I was to meet (Steve and Carrie Peacock). I had not been able to connect w/ them since Saturday. They drove their camper down from Indiana to meet up w/me for a couple days. So I stopped by the hostel to take a much needed shower then went into town to get some dinner. Now Hot Springs is a very small town, so I thought that maybe I would see them there somewhere. I stopped at the Iron Horse and as I walked in, a group of hikers invited me to eat w/them. Their table was just inside the door. So I took them up on their offer. As I was finished eating and asked for my check, I looked up and Steve and Carrie were leaving. They had been up front the whole time but we had not seen each other. I got their attention and we carried on from there. Had a great time with them. I had a very comfortable place to sleep for 3 nights and was fed very well by them. Thanks Steve and Carrie!! Especially for the Bannana bread!Took Tues and Wed off and will be back on the trail tomorrow morning, Thursday 4/26. At this point, I have hiked 274.5 miles or 12.6% of the AT. I will say the last 3 to 4 hiking days have been my best. Mountains are easier, or should I say not as hard, to climb or descend. I am looking forward to continuing my hike more than ever.I am going to be posting at least a couple times a week now. I will add some more pics.
Date: 2018-05-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 51.0

I have hiked 51 miles since Erwin,TN. The breakdown: Wed 12.6m, Thurs 13.6m, Fri 17.8m, Sat 7m. Staying at the hostel ¢Station at 19E¢ in Roan Mtn, TN. The last 3.5 days have gone well, with Fri  being my longest mileage day yet. Had the pleasure to experience Trail Magic on three occasions. The first on Thursday. Although it was a rationed TM, it was still awesome. Had a glass of sweet tea, a brownie (which was very delicious), and a chair. Chairs to sit in is about as important as the food.The second was on Fri at Hughes Gap, which was provided by Casper. He will also be doing TM up the trail into VA n MA. I had a root beer and some snacks.The third TM was also on Fri. The day I have hiked the longest pertaining to mileage and hours (nearly 12 hrs). I may add that there were a lot of elevations along the way, including Roan Mtn. TM came at Carver¢s Gap. I arrived there about 2 pm. The people doing the TM are from Bristol, TN. They provided hot dogs(not the cheap ones but more expensive ones) w/mustard n onion. Also, chips (I had Doritos) and drinks (coke). Let me tell you, it was awesomely good! I also had a banana. This food was like jet fuel. It propelled (up the mountains also) me to do the 17.8m w/lots of energy. It could not have come at a better time of day! Thx for all the people that take the time and expense to provide Trail Magic!!Thanks to all that are following my AT Hike! Also Happy Kentucky Derby Day!Bolt D¢OroPhotos added.