morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-10
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

Today started with a riot. We awoke to a rainy morning, so there was no point in getting up before dawn. We wouldn¢t see the sun rise. Finally, we got out of our sleeping bags to start the day. Hopeful, Sprout and Last Minute were all ready to leave before me! They went on down to the Dam, I¢d meet them there soon. I was late because it had been raining (it had recently slacked off some) and I was searching frantically for a garbage bag that I¢d been carrying since Springer. Before I¢d been using it to sit on, etc. Now I wanted to make it in to a garbage bag skirt to keep the rain out. My homemade sil-nylon pants are just too hot to hike in, they don¢t breath well. Last Minute witnessed my frantic search but left because he got tired of waiting for me. When I finally rolled in to the visitors center at Fontana Dam, Last Minute was trying to tell a TVA maintainer that I lost my garbage bag and needed a new one. He was carrying lots of garbage bags and was busy replacing garbage bag liners as I walked up. He didn't really understand my need so I went on to explain "So I have rain pants, but they're so hot and don't breath well. But I hike in a skirt, so I started thinking, maybe my rain gear should be a skirt, too. That will breath well." He nods his head. I've got him this far. "So, see that's why I need a garbage bag to wear like a skirt." He skeptically extends one to me, so I grabbed the end, but he wouldn't let go. I pulled. I pulled harder. I start thinking - maybe I didn't really convince him that I NEEDED this enough. So, I put a southern smile on and put my body weight in to the tug. Yes! He released it. With many thanks for his generosity, we were off. We took pictures along the dam and at the enterance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Hiked in and on up. When it started to rain, I excitedly pulled out my YELLOW TVA issued garbage bag - made a hole in the top and climbed in. Ah, glorious yellow rain protector. I felt so chic. At one point we were on a rocky outcropping that overlooked tons of beautiful mountains the trail curved around. After we turned that corner the rain we were it turned to snow. We hiked up and up. When we got to the side trail that leads to the Shuckstack Firetower, where we had planned to lunch, the visibility was very low because of the snow. We took refuge in a cove of trees and ate quickly before moving on. We bunked down at Mollies Ridge Shelter. Thank goodness there was room for the four of us inside. Sprout and I had to share some space with Wrong Way Brown and Dimple Rock, but it made for a warmer evening. The snow was up to 6" by the time we went to sleep. We could get up to 12" as we continue in to the Smokies. Perhaps the snow will taper off. We've got plans to make it 12 miles - we may make it, we may not. Looking forward to using my feet warmers tonight. Boots are securely wrapped in plastic bag at the bottom of my sleeping bag to prevent freezing. My socks are between my thighs. It's going to be a good night.
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has been a rollercoaster for me. I woke up cold and unmotivated. By the time we hit the trail I was lauding our strength and so proud of us for getting up and getting out. We left Mollies Ridge Shelter around 9:30 and hiked through 9 to 10" of snow to Russell Field Shelter where we stopped for lunch. Along the way we had sing-a-longs with James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Indigo Girls and some John Denver tunes. It was great fun and I must say it was a sight to see me getting down singing Cecilia. I was just dancing and singing. After lunch, we realized that we'd never make the 11 miles that we'd planned to hike that day. We set our sights on Spence Field Shelter. It must have been the longest three miles I have ever hiked. My feet were soaking wet. I was hot but unwilling to strip off any layers. We hiked on through the slush, mud and snow with melting ice from the snow of the trees falling on our heads. The trails of the Smokies have been virtual streams - just absolutely full of water. My feet were sloshing within my shoes by midday. I realized when we left our luncheon shelter that if the weather should turn colder quickly that I'd be in a bad fix with such wet feet. That spurred me on and We must have picked up the pace. I don't think it took us as long as it did to do the first three miles. My spirits went from not-so-hot to worse. We got here and got to see some familiar faces though - Dimple Rock, Wrong Way Brown, Charity & Rocky. Rocky has hurt her foot and will most likely leave tomorrow with some nurses who have arrived for an overnight hike. Moose is also laid up here with a hurt knee. Hopeful injured his ankle on the way in to the shelter; I hope it feels better soon. We're stuck on the top level of the shelter. It sucks for two reasons. One, it's hell to climb up and down without a ladder and it's even harder to get down. Two, there's so much condensation on the roof that it keeps dripping on our heads - constantly. It's like water treatment. To top it off, everyone keeps talking about mice. Ugh! I can't think of more difficult circumstances to try to sleep in. Im just generally in a crappy mood. I'm ready for this crummy weather to pass - so I can pee without dreading to take my pants down and so I don't have to crawl in my sleeping bag as soon as I get in to camp. Hopeful and Last Minute have suggested that I be more candid with my emotions in my journal. I was telling them today how I seem to romanticize all the everything from the day by the time I go in to write it all down at night. It seems like I'm generally writing down only good stuff. I'll plan to give a more balanced, if not totally true to my emotions form, of what I'm feeling.
Date: 2003-04-12
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

It's 3:30 and I'm in my sleeping bad debating whether or not to take a nap to heal my sour mood. After we arrived here at Derrick Knob Shelter, I had already begun to start feeling better. We were supposed to push on. I just couldn't. I had a really tough day. We hiked from Spence Field Shelter, over Rocky Top and Thunderhead. They were pretty easy climbs. We headed down and stopped, not three hours later for lunch. After lunch my morale totally plummeted. I hit rock bottom. I was so emotional. Keenly awar that the ziplock bags I had stuck in my boots above my socks to keep my feet dry weren't working, I once again was slogging through mud puddles in the ice water springs tehy call the trail. I was heaving boots that were filled with water, and each step was a resounding Slosh.   My feet were part of the physical problem. And each time I took a step, it was a slide in the mud or a slip in the ice. The conditions just made it very hard to make any progress at all. I was constantly loosing my balance and having to recover. Ah! Total exaspiration. All the sudden I was down on myself, the trail, my hike. I couldn't believe myself. I couldn't come to terms with knowing that I was in the most beautiful place ( I knew this for sure only four days before ) and feeling so miserqable about being here. Oh, it was a big pity party. Only Hopeful was around to witness it. I wanted to cry and didn't all at the same time. Finally, it all came pouring out. Hopeful provided lots of support and kind words. It was nice to just get it out. Onward to the shelter where we stopped. Thank Goodness! That night I cooked my special Indian dinner of Palak Paner for Hopeful and I. I wanted to repay his kindness of the day. VERBATUM: Journal Entry from Derrik Knob Shelter register 4/12/03Was that the longest 6 miles or what? Despite the sunny weather, my spirits still felt like I was in a dense fog. I couldn't even see all the beauty that was around me. Thanks to stopping early today at this great shelter, a delicious (albeit heavy) Indian dinner and great friends like Hopeful, Last Minute and Sprout, I'm feeling a lot better. Looking forward to better days ahead (and warm, dry feet!). - Leanna
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Today - a day of many milestones. My biggest mileage day yet - 15 miles. I summitted the highest peak on the AT - Clingman's Dome. I surpassed 200 miles on the AT (and the approach trail). The part about Clingman's Dome sounds really impressive, but the climb was pretty moderate - our elevation has been pretty high all in the Smokies, so the actual climb was nothin'.We woke up at 6 and were on the trail by 7:30 or so. It felt great to get an early start on the day. Getting over half my mileage done by lunch time sure does make me feel better; I just feel like I'm accomplishing more. My right knee has been giving me a good bit of trouble. It's the outside part of it. If you take your right hand and place it on your right knee, where your fingers rest is where I hurt. I took Ibuprofen two different times today; three pills each time. At these points in time me knee locked up so bad that I doubled over - because it would release back to a straight position. I wrapped one of Hopeful's bandanas around the underneath side of my knee. That helped a lot. In fact, when we got to Clingman's Dome we put some ice from the last snow in a plastic bag and I put that on my knee as I elevated it. The swelling went down tremendously. I think this is the first experience I've had with my knee actually swelling. After that, just four more miles - but they were rough! The downhills were a bit painful. By this point I was just working on going forward to get to the shelter. Tomorrow morning we're hiking to Newfound Gap and hitching in to Gattlinburg where we'll hit Shoney's all you can eat buffet and maybe pick up some donuts along the way. It's also Hopeful's birthday.
Date: 2003-04-15
From: Icewater Springs Shelter

To: Peck's Corner
Miles today: 8.0

Talk about a lazy day. We hiked only about 8 miles today; I almost wish we had planned to do more. It was such a perfect day for hiking. We got in to camp so late last night - around 8:30 or so, that we ended up going to bed a touch too late. I slept so hard after the excitement of the day and didn't even wake up until 8 a.m. I really took my time getting ready this morning. When I finally got out of my tent, Hopeful had hot water waiting for me - which was an excellent way to wake up. He is the most thoughtful and helpful person. I took my time having my pop tart breakfast and eating my remaining trail magic apple. I talked with RifRaf (Ben & Tyler) and finally got ready to go around 10 a.m. It's fun to take time getting going but it does place my hiking schedule a bit off kilter - that whole get miles done in the morning thing. We started around 10:30 and stoppped for lunch at 12:30. We found a nice clear spot with no views to speak of, but nice nonetheless. Mrs. Gorp joined us for some of it. On we hiked. I took a nice photo of an old jagged tree in front of a big sky view. As we tramed along we saw more wildflowers (the first in a while since we've been in the high elevations of the Smokies) - white ones with purple veins and yellow ones that looked like tiny lillies. Also hiked a section of land today that had been part of a landslide. It was interesting and scary all at the same time. The trail was propped up by a long and everything below was demolished - only rocks remained. The trees were all lying lifelessly on top of each other 150 feet below. At around 3:30 we pulled in to Pecks Corner Shelter - the nicest shelter we've seen so far in the Smokies. I did some clothes washing and ate dinner (chicken soup orzo with onion and tomato). Met some funny charachters who have been traveling together since Springer - Kiwi, DreamWalker, Finch and PeterPan. My stomach has been killing me this evening. Maybe it was eating in town? I've already gone to the bathroom at least three times tonight. At this rate, I'm going to run out of TP. I took two pills for my stomach; I hope it feels better soon. I'm glad I didn't take Play-doh's suggestion to get rid of my stomach pills. I met Boonies today. He was a '87 thru-hiker. He's out for a five day loop hike and taking pictures. It was neat talking with him. He suggested a name for me - emerald - for my green necklace. It's interesting the naming process that happens out here. At this point, I've passed up so many names, I don't know what to do. Jessica is supposed to be tallying the votes from the website and bringing them to Max Patch when we meet on Saturday. Guess I'll have a name by then. It looks like a 13 mile day tomorrow then the following day we'll leave the Smokies. Rather than hold a grudge against the Smokies for the aweful snow storm, I've decided to only count the past three days as part of my Smokies experience.
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Peck's Corner

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I took a lot of time today to hike alone. While I'm drawn to the community that is on the trail. I'm feeling like I need more time on my own. A bit of independence. During my hike today I tried to be a good listener. I listened to the bird that sings so sweetly that it sounds like a music box playing an unfamiliar tune. I heard a tree giving way in the wind and it sounded like an old creaky door hinge. And the wind blowing through the trees will sometimes resemble the ocean waves rippling to shore. I've stopped at a great clearing. Sprout, Hopeful and Last Minute have joined me. We're testing our orienteering skills and Last Minute and I have been debated where, exactly, we are on the map. It's nice to just sit and relax in the sunshine that finally poked its head out for an extended period of time. A boy named Sue came along too. He stayed with us last night a Peck's Corner shelter. I got to talk to him for a while while we hiked along. It's nice to learn about new people. Eventually we split at a junction (I had to pee). On to Cosby Knob shelter which was already pretty packed when we got there. We had tossed around the idea of continuing on to Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower, another 2.6 miles away. After the 13 we'd already hiked, I was feeling very strong. My knee wasn't even bothering me. I really wanted to head on to the fire tower. I wanted to be at a point jutting out in the midst of the mountains, to see the sunset, the moonrise, and the sun awake me again. After eating dinner at Cosby Knob we all gathered our bags and pushed on. I felt so empowered leaving camp at 6 while everyone else was settling down for the night. We hiked on. Eventually we crested the knob and could see the sun setting over the range of mountains. We climbed the rest of the way. The fire tower looked just like a lighthouse misplaced. It proved a 360 degree view of the mountains and even the towns below. As the moon rose and night set in, we boiled some water for hot tea. After hiking nearly 17 miles, we had more snacks - pop tarts and crackers. Tasty! Sprout and I devoured our snacks and talked of the deliciousness of the pop tarts to such an extent that the father and two sons that were also staying with us in the tower sat agahst at our ravinous consumption of these items. Apparently Sprout and I were so innamored by the pop tart snack concept that the father and sons took pity on us - and gave us a set of pop tarts each before leaving in the morning. The wind picked up and rattled the windows and roof all night but we stayed warm and cosy in the enclosed building. All today I felt so strong and happy to be hiking. Every step was a blessing.
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Painter Branch
Miles today: 9.0

We awoke to the sun breaking through the horizon and the wind howling at the door. We gathered our goods, had breakfast and were out the door by 7:30. We headed to get to Davenport Gap - the border of the Smokies. Yes! Another milestone down! I walked this fine line between being happy to leave the Smokies because it had meant to much misery for me early on - snow, wet feet, anxiety, exaustion. But I also felt a little sad to leave because the last several days had been so incredible with nice weather and great views. Leaving the Smokies also meant we were loosing one of the crew. Hopeful was stopping at Standing Bear Hostel to get picked up by his wife for a family friend's wedding; we were continuin on. The hike today was interesting. We crossed Davenport Gap and POOF we were in a totally different zone of forest. It looked different - more pine. And lots of water! We walked beside the most beautiful water sources. Beside me, tons of wildflowers -all the ones I had lamented loosing once we had entered the high elevations of the Smokies. They were back! Yellow, white, purple, red, spiney, round, in bloom, about to bloom...ah, the variety. At the Pigeon River and road crossing we got to dip our feet in the icey waters that had been inticing us since we hit this section. I still could never make a difinative conclusion as to wether it was my feet that were slimy or the rock they were sitting on...Hum, maybe it's better not to know. We hiked on the Standing Bear Hostel, where Hopeful would stay. We had a little snack and relaxed. I found a couple useful food items in the hiker box and talked with Papa Tom who I had met at the RUCK in PA last January. He's taking some time off the trail to let some shinsplints heal. I hope they get better soon! We did some planning as to when we would see Hopeful in Erwin. We pushed off fairly quickly because the storm clouds were threatening. Sprout, Last Minute and I were off. We set up camp at an area where two streams converged and the drizzle set in. After dinner, I climbed in to the tent, turned on the radio and went straight to sleep listening to it.
Date: 2003-04-18
From: Painter Branch

To: Max Patch Summit
Miles today: 0.0

It rained and drizzled all night last night and stuck around to this morning. That made it very tough to get up and get going. We all lounged in our tents, talking and avoiding actually moving. We finally motivated for breakfast around 8:30 or so. It was nice knowing that we only had ten miles to travel for the day; this meant we could take it easy. Last Minute classically took full advantage of the lazy morning. We didn't head out of there until 11. We took a lunch break at Groundhog Creek Shelter where Homebound was laid up. He had hiked at least 10 miles already that day and his knees had just gone out on him. After lunch we set off again with lots more uphill climbs. After stopping for a long water break at Brown Gap we hit the hardest section of the day 3.5 miles up to the summit. I think I was running low on energy. It was all I could do to haul myself up that mountain. We reached the top in time for sunset but it was so cold I popped in to my tent to put some dry clothes on and before I knew it the sun had disappeared in lots of pinks and purples. We had a communal dinner. It would be the last night Last Minute, Sprout and I were together before Hot Springs. Sprout and I were going to hang out in the morning and wait for Jessica to arrive at lunchtime. Last Minute was moving ahead so he could have a full zero day in town and do Easter services on Sunday. Dinner was nothing short of exceptional. I had easy mac that I contributed. We made that Mac & cheese in to something else - we added crumbled cheese on cheese crackers, real cheese, parmesean cheese, garlic powder and pepperoni. Then Last Minute pulled out a surprise - GREENS! He had harvested dandilion greens all day; we steamed them and added them to the mac & cheese too. I'd never had dandilion greens before; they were awesome - a bit bitter - but much needed in my diet. After we polished of the main course, Last Minute had another surprise - dessert. He had one of those Mountain House just-add-water desserts - chocolate mouse or something like that. So we all shared that. Ah, dinner was great, especially because I was so hungry. We didn't even finish eating dinner until nearly 10:30. Off to bed. Hope my tent does ok on this meadowy area.
Date: 2003-04-20
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Just crawled in to my sleeping bag. I hate to put any part of my body inside. I'm feeling really gross righ now; it's been 12 days since my last shower. I think my skin was actually crawling today. It felt like I was walking through spider webs, or having spiders walking on me. I'm bunked down here in my tent in the vicinity of the Deer Park Shelter. Not too close, mind you, as the mice were super active this afternoon. I wanted to get far enough away that they didn't feel like a little romp over to the yellow tent was possible. The hike today from Roaring Fork Shelter was about 11 miles or so. There was a lot of downhill and my knee gave me a lot of trouble. I'm so exaspirated with this pain. I had to stop several times to pop some ibuprofen and take a break. I think taking some time off is definately in my future. Today is Easter. I had 8 hard boiled easter eggs that had been painted for the occassion by Jessica. She brought them to the picnic yesterday but after eating all the other food, there was no way to consume eggs too. I asked her if I could take them. No problem. As a surprise to those at the shelter this morning, I planned a little easter egg hunt. Sprout helped me hide the six eggs (yellow, purple, pink, green, blue, gold) within the shelter area - from the water source to the privy. After we had them stowed, I announced that because it was easter, we were having an easter egg hunt. If they could find an egg, they could eat it for breakfast. And whoever found the golden egg would get a little debbie that I had gotten from some Trail Magic yesterday. Oh, it was so much fun to watch folks' faces light up with the idea of a hard boiled egg for breakfast - or maybe just the fun of the hunt. The most perfect part of it was that there were six others at the shelter - the exact number of eggs hidden. The other two were gold, too, so Sprout and I each ate one of those. Still Bill had such a good time hunting around. After he found eggs for he and his wife, he went around spying others - and helping folks who needed clues. His wife Tripper said it's not Easter for him unles he's had an easter egg hunt. I was so glad that his enthusiasm was so genuine. Everyone got in to it. It was the perfect way to start the day and make people feel so special on a day when they are typically surrounded by tradition and family. Tomorrow - in to Hot Springs!