morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-05-15
From: Tri corner knob shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.0

Another slightly awkward distance day today - came into the hostel around 3pm having completed about 18 mostly downhill miles and was on the fence about continuing on - the next shelter was 8+ miles - but then good old Mother Nature intervened and decided for me as an old fashion downpour hit, and I decided to stay put. I am staying in a bunk room today - for someone of my advanced age and proclivity for high count pima cotton sheets this should be quite novel - I am sort of excited / nervous / sketched out all at the same time. I sure hope the bed bugs don't bite! but I digress a bit from the title of this post!  the drama unfolded as follows... I woke this morning pretty early and headed over to get water and get my ursack food bag down from the bear cable system. As I was getting water I noted P (full name withheld!) was headed out. I then went over to get my food sack and something was amiss. First of all, it was on the wrong cable, and second, it looked very empty. I took it down and lo and behold it wasn't mine. After polling the remaining group it became clear that it was probably P that took it. So I hustled and got all my stuff packed up and headed down the trail after him. I knew I had a shot at catching him - I had noted as he left that he was wearing long underwear under his shorts. He had at least a 20 minute head start - and as I jogged ahead I realized I didn't know if he was heading north (like me) or south! Oh sugar! Since I was meant to be going north and at worst I had his bag (but it was a very lopsided trade - in mine I had a bunch of "gourmet" prepared meals, food snacks after a restock in gatlinburg and all of my meds ) while in his all there was was 2 tuna sensations packets and a snickers bar.  well, I thankfully caught him about an hour later and sure enough, he had my bag! Disaster averted! Wish me luck tonight!Skittles
Date: 2023-05-16
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.0

Got a decent mileage day in today for my penultimate hike - did 21 miles. The hike was kind of wacky though (a tale of two cities if you will) - the first half was a very challenging uphill grind where I sweat like the dickens - over 3000 feet of gain in 5-6 miles (and then a series of uphills for another 5-6 miles), while the second half of the day was flat and winding alongside a series of creeks through a deep forest - a lovely walk in the woods... i certainly prefer them in that order fwiwI am sure you are all on the edges of your seats with respect to my experience at the hostel - the waking experience was great, while sleeping not so much. There was a resupply "closet" that had good snacks and soft drinks (I got a grape soda) and beer and Hard seltzers (i abstained), and then they made a group meal which was delish. There was also a campfire and music too (bluegrass)! So that part was great. The sleeping in the bunk room was a problem. I simply can't sleep when others are snoring, even if I am wearing earplugs. I basically knew I was in trouble when I saw B (name disguised!) - he had a thick neck and overall girthy proportions, and I knew this meant snoring (sorry to prejudge). What I didn't realize is that it also meant farting. Apparently it is ok to indiscriminately rip loud farts in a bunk room? Anyway, by 445 I was done trying to sleep and basically was up for the day and headed out onto the trail by 630. When I introduced myself to someone today as Skittles, he said "hey I heard about you"!!!!!One last thought... when I got to Max Patch Summit and looked back at the Smokies (see photo attached), i must admit I got a little of that smoky mountain mist in my eyes. It has been an incredible two weeks, and while I am ready to go home, as Ronnie Milsap, he of "Smoky Mountain Rain" fame, would say, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world..."13 more miles tomorrow and into hot springs to wrap things up! Skittles
Date: 2023-03-24
From: Amicalola Falls Arch (AT Approach Trail)

To: Tentsite before Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 5.3

We went on little sleep before we left Peachtree City to Amicalola Falls¢¦. About 4 hours. I (Chili Pepper) was exhausted. I slept for about 45 minutes in the car on the way to the trailhead. When we arrived we went to hiker orientation. Is was not long after receiving our AT Thru-Hiker tag that we were teased for how much food we packed and our pack weights. Fred and Lily were so kind to help us complete a pack shakedown! They were great, even though Fred was a little intense. HA! Two and a half hours later we had a bounce box full of items from our pack we decided we didn¢t need. We ended up forwarding the items to an inn in Fontana Dam. Day 1 was rough. The trail started with 600 stairs to the top of a beautiful waterfall. With our late start, around 3 in the afternoon, we knew it would be challenging to hit the first shelter. So about 5.3 miles in we found a campsite to stay for the night. Unfortunately, it¢s storming with lots of wind and rain. I hope we stay dry!!
Date: 2023-03-25
From: Tentsite before Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Campsite 
Miles today: 0.0

It stormed hard last night! 40 mph winds tore up our tent stakes to our tarp twice and it soaked the bottom of our hammocks. Despite pouring water out of my (Chili Pepper¢s) boot we were in fairly good spirits. It was misty in the morning, which made the trail seem serene. We met a lot more people today also thru-hiking!! They have all been so kind! Springer Mountain had a gorgeous view. It¢s nice that we are hitting miles that actually count now. It¢s only Day 2 and we have received trail magic! I drank a Koolaid Jammer handed out from a Georgia AT Ridgerunner named Mountain Squid. Another Ridgerunner was there named Moxie. She told us about something called the ¢tickler.¢ A ¢tickler¢ is where the cone shaped mound of human feces nearly tickles your bum at the privy, because it gets too high! At one privy she has to use a rake and mow it over. I laughed so hard!! She¢s the real MVP. Up until camp, we hiked with a gentleman who decided to hike the trail less than a week prior to starting! I was shocked and in awe at the same time. He seemed to be more prepared than us! I can¢t remember his name, but I called him Saturday in my head since he said he decided to start trail last Saturday. He hobbled into Hawk Mountain Campsite with us. When we arrived, our feet were killing us! At camp we realized we got sunburnt, and once we sat to eat we didn¢t want to get up. We took ibuprofen, and now we are reading scripture and planning our day tomorrow. We hiked 10.5 miles today, even though most of it doesn¢t count towards the total mileage for the AT.
Date: 2023-03-26
From: Hawk Mountain Campsite 

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.3

Mood: °This morning we met Ray when we were packing up camp. We were the last ones left at the campsite. Ray was so kind! He said we were the first hikers he¢s met that wasn¢t stressed about mileage, and he cherished that about us. That made me feel really good about how Moose Jaw and I are approaching this journey. A few miles into our hike we rested and received more trail magic at Horse Gap! Infamous Miss Janet was hilarious and gave us drinks and food. According to Miss Janet, ¢Drink before you¢re thirsty. Eat before you¢re hungry. Rest before you¢re tired.¢ She¢s extremely kind and loves her hikers. A couple of trail runners came through the area and she told them to ¢not make my babies feel bad about themselves.¢ HA! At this area we also met another Nick. He told Nicholas his name should be handsome because he has ¢beautiful eyes and perfect teeth and great hair.¢ That made me laugh!! I agree with this Nick. We hiked the next section to cooper¢s creek with Courtesy. He¢s such a kind man. He told us about geezer breaks where you stop and lean on your poles to rest. He learned this from a man he has hiked with before. He also taught us the principles of Leave No Trace. That was super helpful! At Cooper¢s Creek we received trail magic again! Some beef jerky, water, and a clif bar from White Wolf. His daughter Twilight was section hiking parts of trail. After getting some water we finished our hike into camp. We have seen a lot of people at this campsite,¢¦ the most we have seen on trail!! It¢s supposed to rain tonight. We saw the Germans and Ray again here at Gooch Gap. We didn¢t mingle much because we were exhausted. We are about to work on a hiking plan for tomorrow. Oddly, the pads of my big toes are numb! That freaks me (Chili Pepper) out a little bit.
Date: 2023-03-27
From: Gooch Gap Shelter

To: Lance Creek Restoration Area
Miles today: 8.2

It rained last night, and Nicholas got a little bit wet. Sleeping bunk style in our hammocks makes it challenging to get our tarp down to the ground (mostly due to our ridge lines). After we woke up early we hung around camp and talked to the Germans (Jan, Christopher, and Robin). We also played some music! Two mouth harps, a harmonica, and a nose harp. This was a lot of fun!! Of course, we were the last ones to leave camp again, but that¢s just fine with me!! However, we got a late start to the day because of that. We met Privy today. Ex-military. He got his name because the first night out he slept in the privy during Day 1¢s horrendous thunderstorm. Honestly, I don¢t blame him one bit!! He¢s super kind and funny. We heard he was blown up and had cranial reconstructive surgery. I hope he makes it to Maine! As we were walking he saw me choke on some water. He told me that I¢m supposed to ¢chew the air before swallowing.¢ This made me laugh!! I know this will be a new saying in our household. At Woody Gap we received trail magic from Spices¢s mom. We called her Mama Spices. Her real name was Karen. Today Moose Jaw hiked most of the way with Jan. They had a great time talking, and we have learned a lot about Germany. Jan said he learned most of American culture through his favorite TV show,¢¦ South Park. HA! We are hoping to stay in a cabin tomorrow. Fingers crossed we find availability. We also met jukebox today. He sings to himself all day long, hence is trail name. Our hammock setup is getting tedious. It seems as if the nice trees we find with flat ground below there are already people there with tents. Plus setup and tear down take quite awhile. Also, I miss talking to Moose Jaw at night. It¢s hard to hear each other in our separate hammocks. We had our first campfire around dinner time. It was fun, and many people hung out with us! It was a nice time. ¢o
Date: 2023-03-28
From: Lance Creek Restoration Area

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.4

Today was a little rough early on. I didn¢t sleep well because we had issues with our hammock setup and Nicholas was basically grounded so he was freezing cold. He kept moving and his movements kept me awake. It was rough night¢s sleep. Then we were irritated with each other some of the walk,... understandable since we didn¢t sleep the best! However, that turned around quickly. We had a good time talking to River Runner. He took our picture, and told us that he loves that a married couple gets to experience the trail together. He got his trail name in the 80s when he was chasing after another female hiker along a river. Apparently they were camping together. Ray got his name from some beautiful hipped when he hiked the Colorado trail. The top of Blood Mountain was gorgeous!! The views were great. We made it to Neels Gap and bought a frozen pizza and stayed in a cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins. At the outfitter we hung out with the Germans, low key, and Josh. I saw J, but he seemed to keep to himself. I hope he finishes the hike. He seems like a nice guy! We were sooo happy to shower. We went through our packs again and we are hoping to ship more items home tomorrow. I talked to my mom, dad, and younger brother today. I really miss everyone!
Date: 2023-03-29
From: Neels Gap

To: Hogpen Gap
Miles today: 6.9

Advice from Courtesy: ¢Never trust the first mile.¢ Couldn¢t have heard any truer words on trail. Nicholas likes to add, ¢Also, never trust a fart.¢We left Neels Gap today. It was so nice sleeping in a bed last night. Today for lunch we met Bag Man, Drunken Monkey, and Sits and Frowns. Everyone was a lot of fun. We hiked most of the day with Courtesy!At the gap we met Old Bay and Whispering Moose. They set up their tents near us. We ended up staying up past dark talking about celery. Whispering Moose says they are spicy dirt sticks. I agreed with him that they taste disgusting but Old Bay loves celery!! It made me chuckle when Whispering Moose said that carrots and celery are given with wings for a reason,¢¦ they are overgrown and the most disliked vegetable. I¢m not sure I agree with carrots being a part of that, but I see what he means about the celery! It is rather cheap at the store too!
Date: 2023-03-31
From: Tentsite 

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 3.4

Today it was so windy and cold along the ride of Blue Mountain. As we made our way down to Unicoi Gap we ran into Courtesy. He was actually there to pick us up and take us into town! He¢s VERY courteous!! He even gave us Gatorade!!! He has been a great companion on our hike so far. He has sure made us laugh a lot! Courtesy, Moose Jaw, Old Bay, and I went into the town of Hiawassee. We first got breakfast and then went to the outfitter. There we purchased trail runners and a 3P tent. We had finally given up on the Hammocks. It seems that this trail is more conducive to tents. After the outfitter we went to the hardware store to make a tent footprint. After Courtesy dropped Mosse Jaw and I off at the Budget Inn, we showered and then walked to the grocery store, Ingles, to resupply. We shouldn¢t have gone hungry,¢¦ we purchased too much food. Courtesy picked us up from the grocery store to go to the brewery with him and Old Bay. Dinner was a lot of fun!! We saw the Australians Shelly and Dan. Shelly had a lot of wine but she seemed so happy and as always she was super sweet! Old Bay has been great! He¢s super funny, ex-military, and is an avid back-packer. He showed us this App to keep track of our journey. Today was a good day! Pro Tip of the Day: If someone gets bit by a rattlesnake out in the woods, the first thing you do is check their wallet for cash! HA!!
Date: 2023-04-01
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1

Today was the first day we slept in a tent and hiked in trail runners! It was great! I¢m shocked we walked so much today. We are so tired. We can¢t wait for our zero day! We hiked mostly with Old Bay. It was great! I¢ve been in a good mood today. We shuttled to Unicoi after the rain storm this morning. There was a dad in the parking lot called Joke-o John. He was following his daughter who is also thru-hiking. He offered us snacks, but we were full from breakfast. We met a man named Karma on trail. He told us that in the past the Budget Inn had bed bugs. I¢m glad we checked for those and that we are out of that place. It was disgusting! I guess that¢s what you get for $60 per night. We ran in Lily today, and she said in places like those we should stick our packs in the bathtub (that¢s smart). We also met Lost and Found today. Old Bay, Moose Jaw and I actually reunited her with her headphones. They had fallen off of her a ways back. It was extremely windy today. We passed up many shelters due to the high winds and potential widow makers (down trees and dead branches). We finally made it to Deep Gap Shelter, and of course I burned the noddles. Moose Jaw and I had to choke it down. Despite the awful dinner, today was a good day!! I (Chili Pepper) am missing everyone extra today!
Date: 2023-04-02
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: DickÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6

Today felt rough. I (Chili Pepper) took two steps and my pack felt extremely heavy, despite feeling light the day before when we hiked 13.1 miles. We hiked to Dick¢s Creek Gap with Old Bay. As we arrived, there was trail magic. A group of female hikers were there serving thru-hikers tomato soup and grilled cheese. It was delicious!! They call themselves the hiking group with a drinking problem. Ha! Nicholas and I talked to the ladies for two hours while waiting on our ride to Henson Cove B&B. We are taking a zero day tomorrow to rest up before we head into North Carolina! One lady I met graduated from Notre Dame. She¢s very familiar with the area I grew up in. We also met Van Daddy. He¢s following his wife who¢s thru-hiking! He¢s funny and extremely kind. He told us whenever we run into him, to tell him what we need,¢¦ that he probably has it. Once we got to the B&B we showered, ordered pizza, and watched Major Payne. It¢s been wonderful resting!
Date: 2023-04-03
From: DickÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Creek

To: DickÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Mood: °Today was nothing short of amazing, peaceful, wonderful,¢¦ the list could go on! Henson Cove Bed & Breakfast is wonderful! We woke up to the smell of breakfast. Dave and Mariah cooked us scrambled eggs, bacon, and puffy pancakes with fresh fruit. Breakfast was superb!! We sat in a cute little corner table facing the mountains while eating our breakfast. Afterwards I had tea and took my time catching up on posting photos and journal entries. I have to post them all once I get wifi. After relaxing, moose Jaw and I planned the next four days of our hike: how many miles per day, where we will be sleeping, and how much food we need. Mariah then drove us to town to let us run some much needed errands. We stopped at Trailful Outfitters again to get a couple of items (The people that work here are great! They let us weigh our items and cut up our trail book to send parts home.), and then we stopped at the post office to mail more items home. This will be package #4 we have shipped. Of course Tiffany helped us again, and she was so sweet!! She said she had something for us and then gave us two mini bananas!! They were delicious and oh so cute!! Then we walked to Ingles to get some more food, and then next door to a local ice cream shop, Blazin¢ Scoops. This place was adorable and had amazing milkshakes! I (Chili Pepper) got a strawberry cookies n¢ cream milkshake. Moose Jaw went the chocolate and peanut butter route. The shop had Bible verses written on chalk boards at each table. I loved that! One sign had ¢2 Corinthians 12:9-11¢ written on it. There was a Bible laid out so you could look up the verses. Dave picked us up to take us back to the Bed & Breakfast. He is an engineer, loves car racing, and once lived in New York. He also drives like it!! However, Dave and Mariah have been extremely kind. They treated us with wine tonight. Cabernet Sauvignon. It was delicious! I did find out that my head was really dry. I kept itching it and was paranoid I had bugs in my hair. Moose Jaw searched for any and only found dandruff. So, I did a deep conditioning treatment to help with the dryness. Moose Jaw and I definitely feel pampered here. Today was pure bliss!! °¥°
Date: 2023-04-04
From: Neels Gap

To: Muskrat Shelter
Miles today: 11.8

Today was a good day. Tiring. But good. We made it to North Carolina!!! Yay!!! But as soon as we crossed the border it was three miles of tortuous incline. IT WAS HELL!! Racecar Dave dropped us off at Dick¢s Creek Gap. We arrived around 10:15 and then pressed on. We met Lindsey and Whitney about five miles in. They are from the mid-west as well. They are section hikers and are super nice!! Tropical Dr. Seuss greeted us at the NC/GA border. He has sistic fibrosis and plans to be the first one with his condition to complete the entire AT. Once we got to shelter we hung out with Bag Man. He¢s funny, and a great story teller!! He¢s from Florida but he currently lives in Ohio. He taught us how to hang a bear bag PCT style. We chatted with him until we went to bed. It was a good day!
Date: 2023-04-05
From: Muskrat Shelter

To: Beech Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.5

Today had gorgeous views! We wanted to walk further, but there were bear problems at the next campsite (Carter¢¦ apparently this has been an issue for years). However, we will likely walk 12 miles tomorrow. Our friends got their bear bag taken by a bear at Carter Shelter. Fortunately, other hikers gave them some food to last until their next resupply. I actually got to read today! That was nice. :)Bag Man keeps calling Nicholas Wish Mamoa, because you order Jason Mamoa on Wish and then Nicholas arrives (even though Nicholas is >> Jason Mamoa). We met Liz tonight. She¢s nice and works in forestry (I couldn¢t hear much outside of that). I can tell she¢s super smart and very interested in ecology. Lindsay and Whitney camped near us tonight. We talked about how Bag Man shot a beaver once that was messing up the area they go diving in. It was making the water murky. He showed us a picture and this sucker was HUGE! He said it was so heavy he could barely hold it with two hands. We deemed him Bag Man Beaver Slayer. He got the name Bag Man because he rescues people¢s bear bags out of trees and he also gives lessons on how to hang a bear bag PCT style. It¢s pretty nifty.
Date: 2023-04-06
From: Beech Gap Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 11.9

Today was a lot of fun!! In the morning we hiked with Bag Man until we met up with Zoey at a beautiful lookout. It was breathtaking! The mountains and trees were gorgeous, and seemed to go on and on. Apparently, at this spot Bag Man the Beaver Slayer said that I like to narrate things. HA! I never noticed that I did. We hiked to Albert mountain. I was sweaty and disgusting but the view was worth it!! Even better than the first view point. We walked up the stairs and took some photos. This is nearly the 100 mile point. Bag Man, Moose Jaw, Zoey and I all ate lunch here and hung out. The top of the fire tower was closed and as Bag Man, Nicholas and I were sitting at the bottom of the tower,¢¦ Zoey climbed over the side of the railing and stairs to the top! Way too dangerous for any of us below!! Bag Man told her to be careful because we were in the splash zone if she fell. I laughed so hard that! It was disgusting but true. HA! At this point we called a shuttle for tomorrow and it¢s a good thing we did. The free one into Franklin isn¢t running since tomorrow is Good Friday, but Bobby the Greek said he would pick us up and give us a deal. ¢o   We learned a lot about Bag Man the Beaver Slayer today. He was a scuba instructor before he moved home to help take care of his dad. He showed us these awesome videos he took of sharks and other sea life while he was diving. He says he¢s looking forward to picking up a trade once he¢s off trail and start making money. He¢s a little hard on himself, but he¢s done some pretty incredible things! Zoey is quiet but she¢s definitely a daredevil. We found out she¢s a climber which explains a lot! She¢s only 20 and very brave for hiking this trail by herself! Moose Jaw and I are very impressed. On trail today we also met Holy Shit and Smoke. Holy Shit hikes super fast. He started a week after us and is already passing us. He said, ¢I wonder when I will get my trail legs.¢ All I could think is, ¢dude, you already have them.¢ He easily walked 20 miles today. Smoke is a super hiker as well, but he¢s awfully kind. He talked to Nicholas for awhile at Carter Shelter during our break. He¢s from Yuma. A fellow Arizonan (Arizonian?). Zoey is from Indiana. It seems a ton of people are from Indiana!! We are resupplying tomorrow in the town of Franklin. Moose Jaw is looking forward to Wendy¢s. I wish the town had a chick-fil-a. I love my nugs!!! Today was a great day. We all laughed a lot. Lindsay and Whitney hung out with all of us at the shelter tonight. We all laughed a lot about smelling bad and food concoctions. Zoey didn¢t have a spoon so she ate ramen noodles with her knife. She says she has two knives, one for cutting and one for using as a spoon. She knows it doesn¢t make sense. I can¢t wait to hang with everyone some more tomorrow!