morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-20
From: Max Patch Summit

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

It did not rain last night but there was heavy fog and moderately high wind. I was glad to be in my tent. Overnight the wind shifted, the skies cleared, and it was another great hiking day. Got started at 8:15 am and stopped at the Roaring Fork Shelter to find some "trail magic" - apples, oranges, giant chocolate chip cookies, muffins, and oatmeal cookies. Thank you, Trail Angels. I hiked with Coyote, Run Away, Axel Rose, and Casey most of the day, although AR & C usually pull away. Saw a lot of trillium today: maroon, white, pink, and white with a red ring in one area. The wooded hills were covered with white trillium in bloom. Also saw more of flowers shaped like bleeding hearts, except they were white and had leaves similar to carrots. We hiked until 6:05 pm, ending up at the Deer Park Mtn Shelter where I pitched a tent. Again it looks like rain. Tomorrow it is 3.2 mi to Hot Springs where I plan to resupply, stay over, and take a rest day. It is 9:00 pm and for the last half hour a whip-poor-will has been singing its song. A nice ending to another day on the trail.
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: light rain

It was a dry most of the night. Woke up at 6:30 am to thunder, lightning, and light rain. Packed up, hiked to Smokey Mtn Diner by 9:00, had a large bacon, eggs, ham, and homefries breakfast, hooked up with Axel Rose and Casey, and the 4 of us (Coyote, Run Away, and Farmer) are now sharing a cabin with them. Stopped by the Outfitter Store, got tent pole sleeves (which had come loose), epoxyed, bought Wingfoot's Thru-Hiker Handbook (will send home Data Book and AT Thru-Hikers Companion) which has more info and less weight. Also got a water bottle pocket that attaches to the hip belt so that I don't have to remove the backpack every time I need a drink. It is now 12:40. It has stopped raining (but still looks very threatening) and am waiting for my internet access time of 1:00.
Date: 2003-04-22
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Last night our cabin was on the bank of the French Broad River under large cutleaf maple trees shedding their spring propeller seeds down on the cabin roof. Got up at 7:30 and after another real breakfast, a post office visit, and a call home, I got back on the Trail at 10:00. Coyote, Run Away, Axel Rose, Casey, and Farmer all decided to stay in Hot Springs and take a zero day. Looks like the U.S. Post Office has failed me and last the flash card that had all my digital pictures from the start to Fontana Dam.   Bummer. Hike today was uneventful, mostly up, with some level - temps in the low 50s. Arrived at shelter at 4:00, cooked dinner, and am ready for bed. It is 7:15 pm and getting quite cold. Time to get in the sleeping bag.
Date: 2003-04-23
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

It was cold last night and I was glad to sleep in the shelter instead of my wet tent. I wore every stitch of clothing I had, including my Gortex rainsuit inside my 20 degree sleeping bag. Even then I was cool the first part of the night. By morning it had warmed up and when I started hiking at 7:40 am it was up to 41 degrees. The trails were good most of the day except one rocky section lasting approximately 1 hour in the afternoon. The temp reached 71 degrees at one point but was mostly in the high 50s/low 60s - perfect hiking weather. I arrived at Jerry's Cabin Shelter at 4:00 and decided to stay, have dinner, and pitch the tent to dry it out and sleep in it. After dinner I went to pitch the tent and discovered a problem with the tent poles. This past Monday in Hot Springs I had borrowed some epoxy from the outfitter to epoxy some of the sleeves that had come loose back into the proper place. This I did and then slid them all back into the pole stuff bag. Well... two of the sleeves had slid down the pole and were unusable. I was able to loosen one of them by physically twisting the sleeve loose from the pole with my hands. The other one was in much more solidly and took more effort, which involved wrapping the pole many times with a line to get a good grip (thanks to Hopscotch for holding the line) and making handles of 2-sided sticky masking tape on the sleeve to give a much better grip. Then it was just brute force to twist the epoxy loose. We got about 1 inch of purchase and called it quits before we broke something. It is 8:20 pm and almost everyone is turned in. Here we have "Ulterya" (also Spice Bag), "Amble" (a 68 year-old that has done 15 marathons), "Hopscotch" (a secretary in a Maine public school who is section hiking the trail), "Grizzly" (he worked for EMS in Burlington and met Highlander II in the EMS store several months ago), and "Noodle Hat" (because he spilled some noodles he was cooking on another hiker's new hat).
Date: 2003-04-24
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Stealth Camping after Sam's Gap
Miles today: 18.1

The tent stayed up last night and mostly dried out. Hiking at 7:50 am, temp 43 degrees. Morning hike featured some rock "hopping" and many blow downs that had to be gone over, under, through, or around. The highlight of the morning was crossing the 300 mile mark of the AT at 9:30 am. Around noontime I was tightening my hip belt (it always seemed to be slipping) and the buckle broke. Using a piece of parachute cord I had found a few days earlier, some 3/8 inch dry oak sticks, the original hip belt, and a tautline hitch, I was able to fashion an adjustable replacement hip belt "buckle". It will have to serve until I can get a replacement buckle. Had lunch at 1:00 pm on a grassy knoll with Grizzly, Noodles Hat, and One Third. Hiked to Hogback Ridge Shelter at 4:30 pm. Fixed dinner with Amble, Ulterya, Grizzly Allen, Noodles Hat, One Third, Romeo, and Juliette. I felt good and moved on. Met Pete and we camped at an old abandoned campsite I found.
Date: 2003-04-25
From: Stealth Camping after Sam's Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:45 AM, packed up quickly to beat the rain. We did beat it, just barely. Off hiking at 7:50 AM in overcast and light rain. Went over Big Bald (5516 ft) at 10:00 in heavy fog. No view. Had lunch at Bald Mountain Shelter and by noon things had cleared up and stayed that way the rest of the day. Arrived at No Business Knob Shelter at 6:00 pm. It seemed like a long day.   Starting elevation = 4200 ft; ending elevation = 3180 ft. Maximum elevation = 5516 ft, plus alot of ups and downs. Tomorrow I get into Erwin, TN, for resupply, hopefully a new hip belt buckle, internet access, real food, shower, laundry, and a little rest. There are 2 very fast hikers staying at the shelter tonight - "Cloud Walker" (he has a white cloud backpack and started on April 5th) and "Overshot" (he has a pack weight without food or water of only 8 pounds and uses a Ghost pack. He started on April 11th, so he has been hiking 15 days and done 332.5 miles).
Date: 2003-04-26
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:45, hiking at 7:50. Rained lightly off and on. Reached Uncle Johnny's Hostel on AT at Nolichucky River at 9:20. Mostly down a net of 2000 ft with an up of 1000 ft to keep it interesting. Johnny had a replacement hip belt buckle and his hostel is really nice. I have a single room for $17.50 and they did all my laundry for $3.00. They shuttled into the Post Office and I filed a tracer on the lost photo memory card. Don't really expect anything, but it is worth a try. I went to the library and had about 5 minutes on my email before the shuttle came to take me back to the hostel where I showered, put all my clothes in for laundry, and waited for the next shuttle. After waiting for an hour without a shuttle, one of the other hikers came back on Johnny's bicycle. It was now 2:00 and the library closed at 3:00 so I hopped on the bike (with very marginal brakes and a seat all the way down) and peddled with my knees almost hitting my chin to the library in Erwin at 2:35. They say it is only 3.4 miles - I don't believe that. So I closed the library at 3:00 and peddled 2 blocks to the "famous" Erwin Burrito Company where I had a huge burrito and a bottomless glass of Coke. I sat and watched Main Street while I ate. Not much happening on Main St. in Erwin this afternoon, I can report. A half hour later (it is now 10:30 and the freight train is passing by, sounding its very loud horn) I hopped on the almost brakeless bike and peddled back, stopping at the grocery store on the way. When I came out and started out of the parking lot, the skies opened up and dumped. I went back to the store where Johnny was picking up some other thru-hikers in a pre-arranged shuttle. He tried to fit the bike in the back of the van, but it wouldn't fit. He said, "Leave the bike; we'll come back later," and he took me back to the hostel in the rain. Thank you, Johnny. You have a very hiker-friendly, class operation.
Date: 2003-04-27
From: Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: clear sky

I decided not to have breakfast in town since I would not be able to get hiking until 10:30 am. Instead I had the remains of last night's pizza which I could not finish. The pizza was a real deal - a large plate of dough sticks and two medium (14" diameter) pizzas. I had finished the dough sticks and one pizza for dinner the night before, so the cold second pizza served as breakfast. I left at 9:10 am. It was a very long 16.4 miles, starting at 1700 ft. Went up to 5180 ft and ended at 4100 ft, with a lot of ups and downs along the way. There was also a lot of rock hopping and root tripping on parts of the trail which made for slow going. I arrived at the Cherry Gap Shelter at 7:10 pm. "S.W.I.F.T." had prepared too much mashed potatoes with Cuban sausage and gave me half. It was good! Oh yes, "S.W.I.F.T." stands for S_ _ T What'd I Forget Today? (He is always leaving stuff behind.) Also met "Sue" (because he was singing "A Boy Named Sue" one day and the guys he was hiking with had never heard it before), "Blue Sky" (he named himself), "Tadpole" (a friend gave him the name), "Big Red" (she started hiking with a red Marlboro Country-like backpack). I also should mention "Carolina Cruiser 2002" (he thru-hiked the trail in 2002 and could really move.) He is out this year filming a documentary on hiking the AT.. He was filming when I crossed from GA to NC and several other times along the way when I passed by. Two days ago I flushed a turkey and saw white azaleas in bloom coming into Erwin. It is 9:30 and time to turn the light out in the tent.
Date: 2003-04-28
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

I am spending the night in a tent on the top of Roan High Knob at 6285 ft. Started hiking at 8:00 in shorts and a T-shirt in 60 degree temperatures. It got as high as 77 degrees but, by the time I arrived at the shelter at approximately 6:00 pm, it was down to 67 and has continued to fall. The day started at 3900 ft and ended at 6285 ft, with a low of 3180 ft and a number of significant ups and downs along the way. Another long day. One of the front tent pole sleeves snapped open when I put up the tent tonight because it was not centered on the two connecting pieces. I centered the sleeve and it is holding. I will use duct tape to hold all the sleeves in place and reinforce the damaged sleeve with duct tape also. In addition, I will call Sierra Designs to try to get a replacement. Oh, yes, I had 2 big glasses of pink lemonade from "Cookie"'s (her Dad always sends her a bunch of his homemade cookies which she shares with all her friends)Dad on one of the road crossings. He was returning her to the trail since she was too sick to hike with her friends "Tadpole" and "Big Red". She will make up the section she missed later. It is now 9:10 pm and quiet in the shelter and the tents.
Date: 2003-04-29
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 14.6

Nice night last night: in a tent on top of a six-thousand footer, in a Douglas fir forest. During the night the wind howled but the combination of the Douglas fir forest and the surrounding Rhododendrons reduced the wind to a slight breeze. Slept in a little bit and started hiking at 8:20 in and overcast sky and 52 degrees temperature. It did not rain and eventually got up to 77 degrees. Started out at 6285 ft, ended at 3000 ft. In the process, I went over four bald mountains. These are mountains with grass growing on top. Most of the mountain peaks down here are tree-covered. There is no tree line because of the warmer climate. Arrived here at approximately 5:45, rinsed out my clothes in the stream that runs behind the shelter, cooked dinner, and am now writing the journal entry at 9:15 in the tent. There are apple trees in bloom at this shelter with the petals just starting to drop. The Hermit Thrush gave its serenade a half hour ago and is now silent. All I hear is the stream beside me. The serenade was a fitting end to another day on the AT.
Date: 2003-04-30
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I passed the 400 mile mark on the AT. Started hiking at 8:00 am in 58 degree temperatures, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I was very comfortable and enjoyed good hiking all morning on "easy" trails. At 11:00, Ultreya and I stopped to get water at a stream and, while waiting for the AquaMira to react, we soaked our feet in the stream as the temperature reached 77 degrees. It was nice to relax for a few minutes. At noon, Amble and I had lunch in the shade of rhododendrons contemplating how great it was to be there. At about 1:00, the rumbles of thunder began, sometimes loud, sometimes 10+ seconds in duration. This continued for the rest of the afternoon. It rained lightly off and on until 3:00, when it really came down. I reached the shelter at 5:30 and was glad to find a spot out of the rain. I am here with Amble, Jim, Ultraya, Matt, Tadpole, and Cookie. It is still raining off and on.
Date: 2003-05-01
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 5.8

It did rain last night but by morning the rain had stopped and was 58 degrees, clear and sunny. I was awakened by the birds and out on the Trail before 7:00. I ate mixed nuts and a Snickers Bar for breakfast while hiking because I didn't have enough treated water for my dry cereal. Early in the day is a great time for hiking. It was mostly downhill 1300 ft to Dennis Cove Road with almost no speed bumps, but no water until within 0.1 miles of the road. The final part of the hike was across grassy, dew laden meadows lined by apple trees in full bloom and a very fragrant (like honeysuckle) bushes followed by a 0.2 mile hike to the Kinocora Hostel. Bob, the owner, sprinkled me with morning dew from the meadow. It seems that May 1st is the Keltic Irish/Scottish New Year and the sprinkling of the dew is supposed to give you one year of good health and happiness. I showered, did laundry, was shuttled to Elizabethton, TN, for supplies and to the Hostel. I called Sierra Designs to get a replacement tent poles which had become damaged due to poor workmanship and I called MountainSmith for a small backpack hip belt, because my regular belt was getting too big. With this all done my intent was to hike back out on the trail but, in the meantime, the sky darkened and opened up with a heavy downpour. It was approximately 2:00 and I was packing up when "Dirty Harry" and "Jim" convinced me it would be better to stay here and get an early start tomorrow, so here I am in the social area with a bunch of other thru-hikers. Bob and Pat Peoples run this Hostel and they are just great. I met "Nomad" who has hiked the Trail twice and his wife "Bogle" (childhood name) who has hiked the Trail three times. I also met "Kum-mu-gwee" (Pacific NW Kikutl Indians Cheif of the Sea) who is hiking the Trail with his mother, "Peppermint Patti" because she wanted to hike the AT. We are now listening to Bob tell stories about when he was in Special Ops and stories about thru-hikers. Very interesting.
Date: 2003-05-02
From: Dennis Cove Road

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, it was a good thing I decided to stay at the Hostel last night. In the middle of the night, I woke up with a good case of diarrhea. I can imagine having to deal with this in the middle of the night in the woods. One of the other hikers had a major case of the heaves. We both had pizza, me in the middle of the day and him in the evening. No others were affected. I braved one serving of bacon, eggs, and hash browns for breakfast prepared by Bogle and Nomad. It tasted good but I didn't dare have seconds. I started hiking at 8:30 am and hiked by Laurel Falls. Very picturesque, not only the Falls itself but also the rock cliffs and the pink azalea on the cliffs. Today I also saw red azalea, pink lady slippers, and - for the first time ever - a yellow lady slipper. The weather was great for hiking - overcast with a temp in the mid-60s. Then at 3:00 we got our afternoon thunderstorm that lasted until about 5:30 - heavy rain and wind with lots of flashes of thunder. I hiked through it all and arrived at the Vandeventer Shelter at 6:00. It was full, so I pitched my tent which is where I am writing now at 9:20. Time for bed.
Date: 2003-05-03
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abington Gap Shelter, TN
Miles today: 22.9

It did rain last night, but my tent kept me dry. Was up at 7:00 am, ate, packed up everything including the wet tent, and was hiking at 8:20 in a very heavy fog/cloud and 58 degree temperature. It was good hiking weather and trails. Had lunch at the Iron Mountain Shelter and by that time it had cleared and warmed to 67 degrees. I hiked on. By 2:00 the weather was threatening again and between 2:15 and 3:30 pm I hiked through a North Carolina thunderstorm again today. By 3:30 pm the rain had stopped and I reached the next shelter where there was a huddled mass of 8 hikers waiting out the rain. I signed the register, had a Snickers, and hiked on the the Abington Gap Shelter some 8 miles further. On the way another thunderstorm went by but without much rain. After that, hiking up McQueen's Knob I noted a significant amount of hail the size of green peas left by one of the previous storms. I arrived and pitched my tent to sleep in and hopefully dry it out. It is now 9:40 pm and I have been hearing the plaintive call of multiple Barn Owls for the last half hour. I will let their calls put me to sleep.
Date: 2003-05-04
From: Abington Gap Shelter, TN

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is a significant day in my AT hike because I reached Damascus which is considered the psychological one-quarter way point. Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee are behind me along with 458.9 AT miles. It deserves a YEH! Now Virginia (the state with the most AT miles, approx. 550, lies ahead as the next challenge.) The tent did dry out some last night but is still wet and had to be packed that way. It was very foggy when I got up to the sounds of birds singing. After packing, I was off hiking at 7:30 in 55 degree temps. The hiking trails were in great shape and I arrived in Damascus at 11:30. "Altreya" and I are sharing a room in Dave's Place tonight for 5 dollars apiece. It is a nice private bunk room with shared bath and free shower. Can't beat that. Had large fried chicken finger lunch with a Dairy King cone for dessert, did laundry, found and used an internet terminal in the Side Track Cafe, and had dinner of pizza and beer at the same place. Now I just have to sort stuff out, do my journal, get ready for the Post Office tomorrow, and write a few postcards. And it is only 9:50. Hope my replacement tent poles are in the P.O. tomorrow.
Date: 2003-05-05
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

My first zero day was today and was unavoidable. My mail drop from home with new maps came and was at the post office when I went to pick it up - but the tent poles were not. The post office said that they would not have them if they were sent by another carrier. I called Sierra Designs to find out the carrier and to get a tracking number, but found that they open 8:30 Pacific time (11:30 our time). I also checked at Mt. Rogers Outfitters to see if the pole came in there - no luck. Sorted out mail drop goodies, got supplies for the next 4 days, got cash at the ATM - the new card worked, and waited to call at 11:30. When I called it was interesting; they had shipped a set of rear poles Friday by UPS overnight to the street address of the post office. I explained to them (they were very nice) that what I really needed were front poles. She said that the rear poles had been breaking and that is why she sent them. She said she would send overnight UPS a set of front poles and they would be sent to Mt. Rogers Outfitters. I hope they arrive tomorrow in the 1:00 UPS delivery. By the way, the rear poles arrived in today's 1:00 UPS delivery at the Outfitter. They are very nice poles, seem very sturdy, are aluminum and a tiny bit heavier, and work with the tent. I will use the new aluminum rear poles and ship home the original composite rear poles. In the afternoon, I got some heavy aluminum foil and tested to see if I could cut down the height of the alcohol stove wind shield (so it would fit inside my pot for storage) and it would still efficiently heat water. The stove worked with the aluminum foil so I cut down my actual windshield. It now fits inside my pot for storage and also weighs less. Went out to dinner with Ultreya, Amble, and Vermont Pete at Dot's Inn. I had fish in beer batter, fries, coleslaw, and a 16 oz. draft. The bill was $8.20 and it was good. We walked home in the rain. It is now 10:00 and very quiet here except for the rain falling on the tin roof. That is what will lull me to sleep tonight.
Date: 2003-05-06
From: Damascus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up at 7:30 am, went to breakfast with Amble and Ultreya at Cowboys, a local cafeteria-style fast food place (I would not return there), and saw them off heading North on the AT again. I returned to the hostel, organized my backpack, used the Sidetrack Cafe internet to check the status of the front poles (they arrived at Knoxville, TN, at 6 am), got another small notebook for counting calories, expenses, and miles, called home to inform of pole problem and zero day, went to the library when they opened at 11 to check pole status (they went out for delivery from Hampton, TN, at 10:49 am), email & Trail Journals, had lunch, and took my pack to the Mt. Rogers Outfitters to check my pack weight. (It was 29 lbs with water and 4 1/2 days of food which is pretty good.) While I was there, Jeff helped me adjust my pack better. It has 7 adjustments for each side and 4 adjustments for the middle, a total of 18 adjustments. He was very helpful and my pack rode better this afternoon. UPS, which usually comes at 1:00, was late today, arriving a little before 2:00. Yes, my replacement front poles were there, and yes, they do fit. I did notice that they "crackled" a little bit tonight when I setup the tent. Oh well, I hope they don't break, but if they do we will have to deal with it then. Went to the PO to mail the old poles home, turned in my room key, and was hiking again at 2:30. I have to say that Dave and Jeff at the Mt. Rogers Outfitters were great in the help they provided me with my pack setup and tracking down the tent poles. They are definitely the class act of the outfitters on the AT that I have seen so far. Also Dave's Place where I stayed was a great deal. It had actually stopped raining when I started hiking and eventually became clear with 68 degree temps, although a little humid. I arrived at the shelter at 7:00, pitched the tent, fixed dinner, and got everything ready for the night. My tent is in a pine grove along with about 11 other tents. Saw my first rhododendron in bloom along the trail today.