morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-01-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We are all pretty excited!Ally is cutting back her hours after the 1st so we can do some last minute planning and a few smaller trips.We are planning on mailing all of Mavericks dog food and it's definitely a pain. I've seen a few people post about buying food at stores. I can see how that would make life much easier, but I think i'd rather ship a high quality kibble out and buy him some meat for town stops. He will start with a small "running" pack that carries a little over 3 pounds of food and we will carry the rest; because of this, we will be resupplying more frequently.We are still planning on pre-packing out around half of our resupply boxes. The other half will be split between buying food in town, and mailing boxes out in-town. For the in-town resupplies, we are planning on mailing a 15 pound bag of dog food to town and dividing it up into boxes. I'm not sure how well this will work, but i'm thinking that having the extra food will be helpful if we choose to take a zero day, or if Maverick is eating a different amount. It will also save money on shipping because I can send the bag with Prime. We'll see how it goes.We are both from Connecticut and plan on getting a ride down to Springer Mountain.I bought a 2016 AWOL guide for planning, and versus 2015, I've noticed a good amount of the businesses either charge for mail drops, only offer them to guests, or have completely stopped giving the option. I understand why! but I hope that number doesn't decrease even more for 2017. We are already relying on a lot of post offices and they are always tough to hit at the right time. Just a thought.
Date: 2017-02-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

2/1: car rideWe rented a car and we are on our way down to Gainesville, GA! It feels great to have everything finished up and only our packs in the car.It's a long ride down from CT but we should be there mid day tomorrow and we will get shuttled right to springer mountain. The weather for the weekend has been changing but it looks pretty good. We were hit with some snow in CT yesterday so we pushed the date to today. Sunny and 45 to start the ride out.Our plan is still to take it slow and just see how it goes. It just feels great to be back!We hit a good bit of traffic today but we are going to crash out at a rest area in NC and we will finish the last 5 hours tomorrow.
Date: 2017-02-02
To: 2.8 stover creek shelter 
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: overcast clouds

2/2: car-stover creek shelter 2.8We spent a chunk of the summer driving across country and hiking wicked cool spots along the way and the car never gets much easier. Mavericks use to it but he gets a hot, and for us, all the sitting around in traffic gets old. Everyone is in a hurry.We got up at 2:45 and hurried to get on our way. 5 and a half more hours. Maverick started getting a little restless in the back seat early on.It's really warm out! We were up in Vermont last week and it was so much colder.We cleaned up the car and dropped it off at 1030. We've both never rented a car before and weren't sure how it would go, but we just gave them the keys and left. It was simple.Ron Brown picked us up and gave use a ride up to springer mountain. He's an awesome guy and was extremely helpful by giving us updates on the trail all the way up to the NC border. He also posts them on his FB page.Ron got us up to the springer parking lot around noon and we backtracked one mile to the summit of Springer mountain and then hiked to Stover Creek shelter at mile 2.8.It was so warm today and the sun was poking in and out. I was in a t shirt for a while. We feel a little silly with our micro spikes but it's still February.We finished the day up early and were in around 3. No fires aloud here so we spent the afternoon relaxing and eating some of the car snacks that carried over. Another hiker came into the shelter around 6.Looking forward to a full day on the AT tomorrow
Date: 2017-02-03
From: 2.8 stover creek shelter 

To: blackwell creek
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

2/3: 15.5 Blackwell creek - 12.7 We got up a little before 6 and got an early start before the sun came out. We made good time and got to hawk mountain shelter around 930. About 5 miles. It was a little cloudy and chilly in the morning but not bad. We met 4 hikers here and 3 were thru hiking. All of them were planning on staying at gooch gap shelter.We left there around 11 and stopped for a lunch break at Cooper gap. About 5 miles later. The sun came out for a bit and the wind picked up. It's not hot or cold but it gets chilly out of the sun when we are sitting and warm when hiking uphill. There's no snow anywhere on the ground.We stopped at Blackwell creek just short of Gooch mountain shelter. It was a little chilly but not bad.Maverick has been doing great so far. We think taking the longer 1 hour breaks during the day have been helpful by giving him some time to rest. He seemed tired when we were getting close to the campsite but was still moderately active in camp. He ate a lot of food. Maverick has been a little overprotective when in camp. He likes to let people know we are here by barking but gives them kisses when they get here. He's a big dog and I feel bad but he'll settle down as time goes on. Ally and I are both doing well and have been happy so far. We've had a lot of down time, especially tonight, we were in our tents at 615.Rain should be coming in the next few days.
Date: 2017-02-04
From: blackwell creek

To: slaughter creek
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

2/4: 28.2 slaughter creek - 12.7Pretty cold night! The tents were frosty when we woke up and the ground was frozen. Sleeping by the creek wasn't a great idea but the shelter .1 further had people in it.We were all up at 6. None of us slept well but we were still out at 635. First light is around 710 and we were on a ridge for a beautiful sunrise. When we made it to Woody Gap for our morning break we were reminded it was Saturday. The parking lot was full and there were people everywhere. A few dogs were making noise and maverick was getting all wild. We decided to pass up a picnic table in the sun and just dump our trash and move on. For the first time ever I tied maverick to a post right next to us so we could both go through our packs and he broke the leash.The trail north of woody gap was a mad house. We didn't take any breaks because of all the hikers and we were all getting cranky. Eventually, we got a few small snack stops in.Compared to summer months, there is probably hardly anyone out here but we like the less noisy areas.It was cold and windy today. The sun was out but it was just cold. We planned on passing woods hole shelter to avoid people and staying at a tentsite .4 after it. When we got there the spring was buried under leaves and we almost missed it. We got to slaughter creek around 330 and luckily it was off trail a bit because a lot of people were passing by all evening. We are only .7 from the summit of blood mountain.Neels gap tomorrow for our first resupply. We all still have extra food but maverick is doing the best at catching up on his.It's suppose to be a cold one tonight. Around 26 degrees and we are looking forward to spending the night in Hiawassee at at mile 52.If this is posted, we made it to Neels gap and will post again in 2 days.
Date: 2017-02-05
From: slaughter creek

To: Low gap shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

2/5: 42.9 low gap shelter - 14.7It got really cold last night and then it rained. The rain froze and our tents were coated with ice from the rain and so was the trail. I sleep in a fly creek ul2 with maverick and Ally has a copper spur ul1. I don't think maverick has been sleeping much and he's been grumpy. But so far it's ok.We got up around 7 and left camp around 730. We were .7 from the summit of blood mountain. There was a light coating of ice on the trail and we used our micro spikes. Maverick still went down the rocks three times as fast as us. It was foggy with no view.We had our first resupply box at neels gap. It was about 3.1 away and they didn't open until 9. We still have a lot of food in our packs.We hung out for a little while and got some stuff done and left around 11:30. Our packs were heavy with extra food but the sun came out. It was pretty warm all afternoon and a lot of people on the trails. We met 2 other thru hikers who were also heading to low gap shelter for the night.We didn't hike together but passed each other a few times. They are around our age and have moved a similar pace so far.There were a couple tough climbs today and also some really easy ridge walks. Hardly any dirt road crossings and a few paved roads.Maverick did well and kept up all day. He needed a few extra short day naps with the climbs but so did we. He was still running around with a stick in camp as he normally does. His pads look great and he's eating a ton. Hopefully it stays that way.He's still a bit protective to anyone near our relaxing spot but I think he's starting to be more comfortable. The rest of the time he just gets a little to excited to be near other people or just walks by without noticing them.We got to camp around 530, set up our tents away from the shelter, made dinner, drank a bunch of water, fed maverick a few times, chased him around, and discussed plans for tomorrow.We are all a bit tired and plan on getting a ride into Hiawassee and staying the night in town.Our spot is out of the wind and it will be around 30 degrees tonight.Ally is looking forward to Big ALS pizza buffet in town.
Date: 2017-02-06
From: Low gap shelter

To: unicoi gap
Miles today: 9.6

2/6: Unicoi gap - 9.6Not as cold or windy as yesterday night. Maverick slept well and straight through the night and we all woke up before 6 and got on trail around 615.It was a long but easy climb up in the dark and we had a sunrise at the top around 715. We only had 9.6 miles till town and we were looking forward to it.Around 5 miles in at 815 we stoped for a break on a ridge. The weather was great and so warm out. The trail got really rocky towards the end but we kept up a great pace till the road crossing. Maverick was getting grumpy and we took a break at blue mountain shelter before descending off the mountain to unicoi gap.I made it there with maverick and got us a ride right as Ally walked out of the woods. The lady was super nice and even waited for us to figure out our room for the night. We mad it there around 1230We got a room at the budget inn of Hiawassee. Maverick went to sleep right away and we unpacked all of our stuff. Dried our tents and washed our socks.We went and got some French fries down the road and then went to the grocery store.
Date: 2017-02-07
From: unicoi gap

To: streeltrap gap
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: overcast clouds

2/7: steeltrap gap - 7.4We slept in a bit and got breakfast at Huddle House. It's a breakfast diner type place where we got waffles and omelets. It was super good and we talked about plans for todayMaverick seemed pretty energetic and ready to go so we packed up and checked out. We were also bored and wanted to get out of there.So we decided to leave without any pizza.The rain predictions have been changing but it looks like thunderstorms were going to start around 4. We were hoping to make it over 2 big mountains before that.We walked to the edge of town around 1030 and tried to hitch a ride back to the trail. Unicoi gap 2 miles up the road then right 10 miles up another road. A cool guy with a truck picked us up pretty quick and I jumped in the bed with maverick. He was going the other way and dropped us off at a gas station around the right hand turn. We got a ride really quick with a guy from Kentucky.I was in a t shirt going up the two mountains. It got really windy near the top. Tray mountain shelter was surrounded by thick fog and the wind was going right inside, so we pushed on to the gap and set up at 330 right as the rain started.A lot of down time in our tents, but I'm still not sure how getting wet maverick into the tent will go.Some entries will be shorter. I can only post in town with wifi and sometimes pictures will be posted late if the wifi isn't great.
Date: 2017-02-08
From: streeltrap gap

To: plumorchard gap shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

2/8: plumorchard gap shelter - 13.8We woke up in thick fog and everything was a little damp inside our tents. It was drizzling a little bit. We got up around 645 and on trail a little after 715.It stopped raining in the middle of the night and it was really warm. I slept really well and so did maverick.Maverick seemed pretty normal today. Well rested and more like his normal relaxed self. So far, he's still protective but he's getting much better.We were fogged in all morning. At dicks creek gap, a little over 9 miles, we ran into another thru hiker by the name of bill. We took over an hour long lunch break around 12. The sun came out and it was a great place to cook up some oatmeal.We saw Ron again! That was cool. He dropped off another thru hiker who went by nickel. It was about 70 degrees this afternoon and we were in t shirts again. We pushed on and reached the shelter around 3 and combined couscous and a Mexican rice side for dinner. Nickel showed up a little later and we tented behind the shelter.It started raining around 5 so we were forced to our tents. Maverick passed out.Tomorrow's low is supposed to be around 22 degrees!
Date: 2017-02-09
From: plumorchard gap shelter

To: deep gap
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

2/9: deep gap - 11.2As we went to bed we heard thunder off in the distance and eventually it was right around us. It thundered and poured for half the night then let up.Around the time we usually wake up, it was raining again. It looked like freezing rain and then turned to hail. We both waited until the sun started to come out before we started moving and slowly broke down camp. We were on trail around 815, there was a dusting of hail/snow and it was cold. We kept moving until we hit the GA/NC border and we took a break. Right after that we had a beautiful climb up a really windy and steep ridge. It was cold.We kept pushing and made it to muskrat creek shelter, which was 4 miles from deep gap. We made some oats and talked about plans. We wanted to stay at standing Indian shelter (about a miler after deep gap) because it was at the base of a big mountain but we also could have tried to make it over the mountain. It was cold and we phoned one of the numbers to try to get a shuttle in from deep gap. The road was closed so we walked down the road 2 miles and met them at 300. It was a fast walk and was worth it to miss the 15 degree and windy weather. We would have been fine in the shelter but we agreed we would all be much happier eating pizza for dinner and sleeping in a bed. Dominos.Maverick passed out right away, we ate, ran to the store, took showers, looked over our gear, and then passed out.
Date: 2017-02-10
From: deep gap

To: betty creek gap
Miles today: 12.2

2/10: Betty creek gap - 12.2We got up early and just hung out in the room for a bit. Maverick was ready to go. He gets antsy inside.They said they could get us a shuttle back out at 930. We got a ride with David. He does a local shuttle and was a great guy to talk to. He dropped us off at the road block, which I tracked at 2.1 miles on my GPS. It was just as easy on the dirt road going back in and we walked it in about 35 minutes. Ron Haven said they close the upper road because people drive up there, ruin the roads by sinking in, then they get stuck and get frozen in place. Definitely inconvenient for us.We both agreed it was totally worth it to get a ride in for the night. We are so early and maverick (and we) can use the breaks.Sunny and warm while going over standing Indian mountain. It was a super easy and enjoyable climb and our first time up to 5500 feet. The weather was beautiful and really good hiking weather.Easy walk down on the other side and we stopped at carter gap shelter for a rest break around 3. It was 3.7 miles to the campsite. The ground was frozen in places all day, so it was warm warm, but it was nice clear and sunny skies. Betty Creek gap is closed for camping. It's between a big burn section on a ridge and a mountain. Both don't allow camping and there was nothing posted before but we ended up making it work.
Date: 2017-02-11
From: betty creek gap

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 12.2

2/11: winding stair gap - 12.2It was really windy above us last night. We were in a comfortable place surrounded by mountain laurels.It was a dry morning though and not too cold. I think maverick is adapting to sleeping outside now and seemed comfortable last night.We tented at the summit of Albert Mountain last night. Albert mountain has a fire town, it marks the 100 mile mark, and it's the first steep "scramble" on the AT. It's a short and steep climb on the south and a long and gradual decent in the north side.The summit was foggy and windy with a little mist/rain. We skipped the fire tower and moved on. A little after we took a breakfast break. Mavericks didn't eat this morning. Not sure why.About 5 miles before winding stair gap and half a mile before rock gap, we started seeing a lot of day hikers. There was a good amount of people even with the wet weather. There are a ton of road crossings in this area.We like seeing new faces and talking, but we were just trying to beat the rain which was coming around 2.When we got to winding stair gap we threw out our thumbs and had a ride to Franklin within a few seconds of stepping on the road. We both feel weird going into town so much, but there aren't cheap motels the whole way. We are taking advantage of it while we can, and while the weather is still colder. For the most part, we try to go in for a stay and get what we need done and move on.They gave us the same room we had the other day for 10 dollars off. I picked up the box with mavericks dog food, we went to the outfitter to socialize and get canisters for our stoves, we ate at the diner, and went to ingles for our resupply. It's suppose to rain tomorrow, so we might take it slow out of here. Next stop is the NOC in a few days where we will get a box, then 2 days to Fontana dam.There has been a change in the plan, maverick will be staying with loving care kennels in Pigeon Forge, TN between Fontana dam and standing bear hostel because he isn't allowed in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This is 75 trail miles.If you have any information about Loving Care Kennels, please let me know! Positive, negative, what you've heard around town - please email me. Thank you.
Date: 2017-02-12
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: wayah shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

2/12: Wayah shelter - 11We woke up early and the weather was nice. I don't think maverick is feeling well. Something with his stomach. He eats some weird stuff.We planned on hitching out around 1030 but Sly, the guy at the desk at the budget inn, offered to bring us up. Dudes a triple crowner. We were on trail around 1115. Last weather update said rain around 1 and it was already wet and humid in the mountains.We made it up to Siler bald and it was too foggy to see anything so we didn't walk the extra .2 to the summit. We did find someone's dog though. I stayed at the trail junction with maverick and Ally ran back to bring the dog to the owners. From there we were cruising, and passed a lot of people. Today was like an easy going rollercoaster. We went 2 steps up then one step down a few times and finally made it to Wayah bald. It starting raining about 4 miles before the shelter but it wasn't very hard. It eventually stopped. We were lucky enough to score a foggy view on Wayah bald. Can't win them all out here and we were happy to see something. Good weather the rest of the way down to the shelter and we met 2 other thru hikers at the shelter. They started after us. We may not be moving the fastest but we are having a great time.
Date: 2017-02-13
From: wayah shelter

To: NOC/stealth
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: broken clouds

2/13: 137.0 NOC - 16.5Today turned out to be super nice, but the weather was a bit cold when we woke up. The low has been hovering around freezing in the near by towns. Subtract a few degrees for every 1000 feet of elevation.A few ups and downs but not bad. We took our normal morning breaks to shed layers as the temperature went up and to eat food.We took an hour long break at Wesser bald and had a clear view from the fire tower.After lunch we had around 6 miles to the NOC, and it was a huge decent. Ally and I split up for the last 4 and a half miles. Maverick and I shouted up to the outfitter at 320 and picked up our box and Ally came in 20 minutes after. They closed at 4.We packed our new 2 day resupply into our bags, threw out our trash, and kept walking north. We skipped the hostel stay and found a stealth camp spot and set up camp around 445.
Date: 2017-02-14
From: NOC/stealth

To: brown fork gap shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

2/14: brown fork gap shelter - 15.8Normally, Ally and I can talk from our tents and we both get up together, but we were too close to the water and road. We were worried that we might not sleep with the noise but we both slept fine. We got up and climbed our way back up to the trail. Today wasnt too bad but it was a bit tough. It was a long uphill from the NOC (1700 ft elevation) to Cheoah bald (around 5200 ft) it was just a lot of uphill. We took a hour for lunch at sassafras gap shelter around 11 and called the dog kennel to arrange the pick up. She said she would have a hard time getting there Thursday during the day and Wednesday evening was better.We planned on doing around 13 miles today but pushed the extra 3 miles to get to the shelter.One of the thru hikers we met yesterday was at the shelter. He said the other guy he was with took a day at the NOC to rest his shins.We checked the weather and it's suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow morning.Overall, today was a beautiful and fun day, but it just took a little longer with the elevation gain
Date: 2017-02-15
From: brown fork gap shelter

To: fontana dam shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: overcast clouds

2/15: Fontana dam shelter - 12.8A hard rain fell last night and it was still coming down when we woke up. Ally woke up first and we both made some tea. We waited for the sun.We packed up our wet tents and were back on trail around 745. It was foggy, chilly, and windy.The trail was much easier than yesterday though. We walked 5 miles to our first break at a stream and everyone was a bit tired already.But we kept going and it got a little steep. There was a view of the dam and the smoky mountains.We called the dog kennel again around 1230 when we were about 3 miles away. She said she would meet us at the shelter at 5. The Fontana shelter is also called the Fontana Hilton because it's big, has a great view, has a heated bathroom, hot water showers and it's just a nice shelter.We at lunch/early dinner around 1 when we showed up and dried our tents in the sun. The sun and the wind both came and went.The longest I've spent away from maverick has been 2 days.Lida from the kennel showed up at 4 and surprised us. She brought us our 2 boxes and let us grab what we needed for the smokies and agreed to bring the rest to us at standing bear. Ally also left her tent and we are going to share my double if we need to. Hikers are required to sleep in shelters in the smokies. NON-thru hikers have to reserve a spot in the shelter. Thru hikers don't but if the shelter is filled, a thru hiker has to tent.We took hot showers and chilled out in the warm, smelly bathroom. The weather said a low of 26 tonight and it should warm up over the next few days.We both have 5 days of food but are hoping to make it through in 4 - 4.5 days.