morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-04-09
From: Jarrard Gap

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 5.0

Yesterday I mentioned I was mot feeling very well. I wasn't sure how much to tell, but I'll just say this:1. Thank God for trees in the woods.2. Thank God for Journey having shared her extra wet wipes back at the Motel Inn.3. Thank God for Journey, who was kind and patient and a good watchdog for other hikers coming down the trail. 4. Thank God I felt better today!I was a little shaky today but made the 5 miles over Blood Mountain, the highest in Georgia. I am at the Mountain Crossings store and hostel at Neel Gap. It's unheated and kind of a dungeon, but I got a bunk and a shower. A shower! I needed one badly! But the laundry is broke down so on went the dirty clothes. Journey had to put up her tent in back because of the dog. One of these days I'll post about hiking with a dog, but right now I'm going to bed!Quote: Two things worthy of note: 1) Hikers are smelly, and 2) The most predominant form of wildlife along the AT is the fly. Perhaps a coincidence?
Date: 2017-04-10
From: Neel Gap

To: Cowrock Mountain
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Journey says if we do 5 miles a day it will take us 500 days to get to Maine. Thank you, Journey, for your math skills!It's true. Only 5 miles today. I guess maybe yesterday's hike wore us out. But then today's hike was hard too. I guess it's to be expected in Georgia.Journey got a box delivered to Neel Gap Mountain Crossings so her pack was extra heavy today. She carries all her things and a lot for her dog. The dog has his own pack to carry of food and water.Hiking with a dog is not easy. Besides carrying extra weight, the dog likes to explore and either holds back or pulls forward, making Journeys hike twice as hard.Tundra is a good dog and she and i get along well, but I see how much work she is for Journey. She is never out of Journey's sight and journey keeps tight control of her. The dog also restricts where Journey can stay. Many hotels and hostels don't allow dogs. So Tundra has been fine to hike with for me...all her extra stopping gives me time to rest. And she eats my leftovers so less to pack out. But I would not have the patience to be responsible for her. Even if I did like dogs! LolQuote I heard today: I guess there's not much to like about this trail if I don't like the uphills and I don't like the downhills.
Date: 2017-04-11
From: Cowrock Mountain

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: broken clouds

We camped in a beautiful spot last night, though we were very low on water. Just as we started the day's hike, I came around a corner and saw the most beautiful scenery and view yet. It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. My uncle once asked me, "Where do you pray on the trail?" Well, this was a most perfect place. I did not get a picture, as it really was just a moment between God and myself. Lest you get the idea it is all hard and miserable, I made a list today of the things that are good and right.I love my boots.I love my poles.I love my bandanas.I love my front hip pack. I love my husband for putting up with my dream.I love Journey for sharing the hike with me.I love all the Encouragers who cheer me on. I like my tent.I was thankful for the breeze this afternoon. I am thankful for the Guthooks App that tells me my location as I go. There are many things to be thankful for. I cannot list them all. When I arrived at the shelter, I chose a tent site pretty close to another guy's tent. When I saw him I told him I was sorry I was close to him but it was the flattest spot left and I would be very quiet. He was great and said no problem. "Thank you for being considerate."Well right now there are four guys there and one girl flirting her best with them. She must be in her 20s but she acts about 15. They are talking and laughing loudly. It's 8:00. Hiker bedtime. Time to hang it up.But I am trying to practice this quote: "Rejoice always." I Thessalonians 5:16 This is my goal. Total AT miles 2017: 42.9
Date: 2017-04-12
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Rocky Nob
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

At this rate...it is still slow. Last night I was on a slope and I slid all over in my tent. And the ground felt harder than ever. We got back on the trail this morning at 8:30. It seems like the best time to get up, between 5 and 7, is also the coldest time and best to stay in the sleeping bag. And once I do get up it takes time to take down the tent and pack up. I don't eat enough. I can't get down any breakfast. I have been cooking Ramen noodles at noon and get about 1/2 of that down. Last night i had a little bit of a pasta side but couldn't eat much of that. I'm almost out of food and can't wait to get to Hiawassee and clean up and resupply. Oh, my. That's all I'll say about that!So it was a fairly decent hike and I trucked it all morning, making good time. Then I hit the wall, it got hot, and the rocks turned into boulders. When it started sprinkling, I was done for the day. There was a shelter 1 mile ahead, but I had arrived at a tent site with nice flat spots so I got my tent up in the sprinkles and got in and rested for an hour. Now the sun is out but I'm staying put. Just have to hang my food bag and I'm done for the night. I was asked what I think about while I hike. The answer is simple: Where's the next downhill! Please, God, bring on some down! I've also been listening to my music the last mile or so of the day. It keeps me going. They also wanted to know if there are bathrooms spaced along the trail. The shelters are spaced usually around 8 miles or so apart on this section. The shelters have streams nearby for water, and privies, or outhouses, for bathrooms. Otherwise, it's the woods. Gotta grin and bare it. Haha. Somebody asked for a picture of tundra so I put one in the photo section. She's quite popular among the hikers.Quote: You might be a hiker if...you have eaten your weight in ramen. You might be a hiker if...you've gone 12 days without a shower and besides a slight itch on your head, you don't really feel all that dirty.You might be a hiker if...you've ever wondered how much the label in your underwear weighs. You might be a hiker if...you know how much the label in your underwear weighs! You might be a hiker if¢¦your friends can identify you by your stench. Total AT miles for 2017: 49.2
Date: 2017-04-14
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Dave and Ben arrived at the hotel about 1:30 A.M., after a 13 hour drive. They settled in and were soon asleep.But not me! I tossed and turned, worried about the big climb out of Unicoi Gap. There were a couple of climbs for the day that looked challenging. They were for me, but Ben could have run up and down the mountains a few times while he waited for me. But he didn't. He just tooled along, stopping when I stopped and never once complained about the pace. When I asked him about it he said he likes to go slow. He likes to hear the crunch of his shoes on the trail, and he pointed out trees and bugs that I normally don't see because I have my head down and my eyes on the trail. We pulled off at a nice campsite just before another big climb. It was early but Ben's shoulders were hurting so we had a good excuse! Ben helped set up the tent, built a fire, constructed a bench for us to sit on, went and checked out the water source, and then we tried to make supper.Supper was a fail. My fuel ran out and our hot food was not hot. Bummer!I met Winkle on the trail today. She and I have emailed a couple times through Trailjournals, so it was fun to randomly run into her. She section hiked the entire trail and it took her 10 years. She lives nearby and was out for a day hike. Let me tell you, I would not be choosing to hike out of Unicoi Gap for a lark. It's not easy!Quote: "I asked him what time it was. He answered, "Half past awesome and a quarter to paradise.¢
Date: 2017-04-16
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: clear sky

I'm still shocked when I see my white hair in a mirror. I came out to the trail in 2016, intending to let my hair go natural. It took all last year, but this finally is my natural color, for all the folks at home who have wondered. Anyway, Ben and I put in a huge day yesterday. We ended up hiking 9.4 miles, tackling a very big uphill at the end of the day. Kelly Knob was a steep climb, followed by a .3 mile off-trail path to the Deep Gap Shelter. We were glad we did it because it made today shorter, and we were tired today. Ben had a great second day on the trail. He collected mountain water, he met some cool people, he got a trail name (LOC, pronounced El O Cee), which stands for Lewis or Clark, he got growled at by an unleashed dog, and he found a treasure on the trail. Lying on a log was a small wooden cross which had the AT logo woodburned into it. It was especially exciting because he himself is a woodburner. It was a good Easter momento from the trail. We cooked supper late, hung our bags, and headed into the tent. We heard this morning that mice controlled the shelter all night long. We were snug and happy to be in our tent. This morning we were tired and we had a few miles to hike to where Dave was picking Ben up to head home. For 2 days Ben had talked nonstop, saying he had 2000 stories to tell me. It was so fun to listen to him. But he must have run out of stories, because today he was pretty quiet. And hungry. I told him Grandpa would take him for a McDonald's. So as he hiked behind me, I'd hear, "Mmmm, a McDonald's hamburger!" Then, "Wow, I could eat 2 hamburgers!" Ben was ready to get back to civilisation. But he's convinced that he and his best buddy are heading out after college and hiking the whole trail...Georgia to Maine! Be ready, Brock!Dave picked us up and dropped me off at the Budget Inn in Hiawassee, GA. He only asked me once if I wanted to go home with them but he knew the answer would be no, and he was ok with that. He's a good supporter. I showered and crawled in bed and plan to stay here for a zero tomorrow...no miles hiked. I'll resupply and rest my feet and legs. Journey is out hiking now and we will try to meet up in 2 days, ready to head out for the next leg of the trip. Quote: "For anybody that may not enjoy sleeping in a tent, walk really far first, because this thing feels like heaven right now."Happy Easter to all!Total AT miles hiked in 2017:69.3
Date: 2017-04-17
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Budget Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

0.0 miles. That's not exactly true. Yes, no miles on the trail, but miles of walking around these mountain towns should count for something. More hills!I got in bed yesterday mid afternoon and stayed there till morning. And I slept good enough that when I started to wake up in the morning and I moved my legs, I thought, "What?? What's wrong with my legs?" And then, "Oh, yeah, I'm hiking." If it doesn't hurt here, it hurts there, and if it doesn't hurt there, it hurts somewhere else. But yes, I know, it's my choice, so no complaining!I spent the morning going through my pack, walking to Rite Aid to get a few things, walking to an outfitter store to see what they had, walking back to the outfitter store to return what I bought, and walking back to Rite Aid, same thing.I waited for the noon bus to show up but Journey wasn't on it so I headed down the street to a BBQ place for lunch. Those were some of the best ribs I have ever had. Might have been because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours, but I sure enjoyed them. I walked back to the motel and did all my laundry, which means I sat around in my rain clothes for a couple of hours. Journey arrived mid afternoon. Around 6 we walked a half mile down to Daniel's Steakhouse and had another great meal and then to Ingles grocery to buy food for our next 5 - 6 day trek. Funny for the day: Journey was done shopping and waiting on a bench out front of the grocery store. When I joined her she said she had been watching a vehicle sitting there for a long time. It was two older ladies who must be waiting on someone to come out. About that time another lady arrived and started talking to the two in the SUV. They were laughing and having a great time, so Journey said, "I'm going to go ask them if they will give us a ride back to the motel when they are ready to go." I thought, "Well, ok, I guess you can try that." Journey approached them and asked for our ride. They said, "Why sure! We're just up here people watching! All our husbands are dead and we come sit up here in the parking lot in tbe evening to see what's going on!"We climbed in the back seat with all our packages and had a hootin' time with sisters Faye and Joanne. These are the little things that make the hard days fun.
Date: 2017-04-19
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

No mice. Yeah!However, there was one gal who said last night that she was going to be up early and put in big miles today. Well, I know this...she was up early! At 5:30 her alarm went off and her day started with packing things up, very loudly. Up and down the scary ladder, rustling her things.That went on until everyone else was awake and getting up. By the time Journey and I had our packs on and were heading out at 7:30, she was just deciding to sit down and make a cup of coffee yet before she left. I think she was one of the last to pass us that morning, but I haven't seen her since, so I guess she probably did get her big miles in. As it turned out it was a very long day for me. Pam and Journey had moved out ahead of me. My knees were hurting and I was poking along. After I passed the GA/NC sign, I stopped to fill up my water bottles out of the stream and I ate my lunch and laid down for a few minutes on my blue tarp (one of my favorite things in my pack, always handy for a quick rest).When I got moving again...oh my. It was a very difficult climb. Very steep and very long and very hard. I came to one spot where two boulders joined and I absolutely could not step high enough to get up it. I threw my poles ahead and climbed up on my knees and somehow hoisted myself and my big pack up those rocks. But once I was up, I was still down! I could not stand up! I had to humbly crawl to the nearest tree and pull myself up that way. Then I had to go back and carefully bend over and pick my poles up off the ground, which is never easy with the pack on. It would have made a good video I'm sure. When I finally hobbled into the shelter I got a big cheer from everybody. Rather than be embarrassed, I said, "I want that big of a cheer when I finally get to Katahdin!" They all laughed and cheered some more.They had a place for me to sleep in the shelter, so I had a quick bite to eat and crawled in my sleeping bag, ready for another night of tossing and turning, side, back, side, back. And always trying to keep my head covered in case of mice. Shelters are not my favorite. Those last few difficult miles, I hiked alone and turned on my music for some encouragement. One of the songs that came up was just what I needed:He lovingly guides every footstep,He tenderly cares for me.His strong arms of love are about me,My Savior and Shepherd is He. What a comfort!
Date: 2017-04-20
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Beech Gap
Miles today: 9.3

Well, today was a good day. My legs felt strong, my knees didn't hurt, and Journey and I hiked 9.3 miles. It's still rainy and sprinkles sometime during the day, but it's been just light and we just keep hiking. It never lasts long. We have been hiking through burned out forest. Last year when I was in this area there were forest fires burning but I was just ahead of them. It's awful. We've been in it two days so far. Very sad.Our last 2 miles were downhill and seemed to take forever. Journey's knees are a concern and give her lot of pain. Down hills are the worst on the knees. We made it to Beech Gap and we were glad to see some of the rest of our group were there also. We were worn out. I ate a cold supper and got my tent up, hung my food bag, and crawled in. It has started to rain. Hard. It's pouring. I'll have to see how this goes in the morning, taking down the wet tent. Right now, I am ready to sleep!Quote: "Going uphill is hard on the soul, going downhill is hard on the body."
Date: 2017-04-21
From: Beech Gap

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

It poured rain last night. It was not a storm. No thunder or lightning or tree limbs crashing around us. But lots and lots of heavy rain. My tent did great. I was dry inside (and I WAS praying that no heavy limb would come crashing down on me.)When I bought food in Hiawassee I picked up a box of Kind bars...Popped, Salted Caramel. Sounded good. Well, I took a bite of one the first morning and it was NOT good. There was no hint of anything salted caramel in there, in my opinion. So I looked at the ingredients: oats, sorghum, millet, amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat...that's food for HORSES! So every morning I've been asking, "Anyone want a Kind bar? It's Popped Salted Caramel!" And every morning I have a new victim. No repeaters. Ha!Journey and I stuck together again today. It was a lovely hike with decent terrain, although again we were in burned out woods. You can still smell the fire smell. In the early afternoon we were passed by a group of 5 young boys with their dads. They looked about 10 years old. They were on a backpacking trip for a couple of nights. Looked like 4 of the 5 were having fun. Shortly after they passed us we came up on them at a stream and they were getting water. All of a sudden it started to rain. Everyone, including us, scrambled to get our pack covers and rain gear on. Pretty soon it was pouring down rain. We hiked fast and the rain kept coming until we were splashing in puddles of water and the mud and gushy leaves were coming up over our boots. Soon our socks and feet were soaked. At first it actually felt so good because our feet had been burning up hot from the hiking. And then the sun came out, the rain stopped, and we slogged through slimy mud for the rest of the afternoon. We stopped around 4:30 and we are camped at the same campsites as the young boys. It's 8:45 and their dads already have them quieted down. We boiled up our dehydrated suppers (the sweet and sour pork was delicious, the au gratin potatoes were a flop) and I went to look for a limb to hang our food bags. A couple of men were also looking and said the problem here was the squirrels! The one guy said a squirrel already destroyed his backpack right in front of him. Well, I hung the bags...too low for a good bear hang and probably just right for squirrels. If our bags are down in the morning and our food is gone, we won't worry because we plan to be in Franklin tomorrow evening. Hamburgers!But we have a big day of hiking first, including Albert Mountain. Oh boy.Quote: "The wonderful thing about the weather on the AT is that it makes you do the hokie-pokie with your rain gear. You put your rain gear on, you take your rain gear off, you put your rain gear on and it's sunny all about!"
Date: 2017-04-22
From: Betty Creek Gap

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: light rain

Finally! I'm in Franklin, NC in the Budget Inn. I am doing fine and I am at mile 105.8 on the trail. If that's all you want to know, you can pick things up from here. Otherwise, you can go back to the previous 4 days and catch up on my journey from there. I still have a lot of pictures to post but that will be later tonight. Ok, today. I found the food bags untouched by bear or squirrel, which was a relief. It rained again through the night, but we quickly packed up and got on the trail. We planned to do 8.5 miles today. We got to Albert Mt. and it was brutal. Worse than what I remembered. It wasn't hiking. It was rock climbing. Several times I had to pull myself up by pulling on trees or rocks. It was scary and exhausting. I tried very hard to make sure my foot was planted in a safe spot each time before I pushed off, but in some spots it was a bit iffy. I'm glad that experience is behind me. On top of Albert we crossed the 100 mile marker. And then we had 6.5 miles more to hike. It was thankfully mostly downhill, good for me, but very difficult for Journey as her knee was giving her a lot of pain. We hiked as fast as she could tolerate to catch a 5:00 shuttle to the Budget Inn here in Franklin. We climbed into that van like a couple of cripples. It was pretty pitiful for two women who think they're hiking to Maine!We cleaned up, ordered pizza in, and are spending the evening catching up our journals. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks on the trail. I miss all my family and friends. I love you all!
Date: 2017-04-23
From: Budget Inn

To: Budget Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I wonder how many times I said today, "I'm so glad we're not out on the trail!" It has been raining all day long. There's most likely more coming tomorrow and then the weather should make a turn for the better. Cloudy and cool is really the best for hiking, but I'm always happy with at least dry!It was a routine day. Did my laundry, shuttled to the outfitter and bought a pair of lighter weight socks, sorted and cleaned out my pack, rested, shuttled to a Chinese buffet and Wal-Mart where I shopped for resupply for 5 days. Now all I have to do is pack everything up in the morning and we'll head out of Franklin.It was cute at the Chinese restaurant, 4 of us were dropped off. The hostess asked the first couple how many in the group and they said 2. So that left another young man hiker and myself. He said 1 and I said 1. The hostess took us to two back to back booths and we ended up sitting looking directly each other. So I invited him to join me and we had a nice visit over our AYCE (All You Can Eat) feast. His name is Cody and he said he started at the Approach Trail on Monday! I said, "Well, wow! I've been out here 3 weeks!" And to myself I said, "Wow, I've been out here 3 weeks!" Tomorrow we are taking the 11:00 shuttle back to the trail and plan to hike 4.5 miles and then see how Journey is doing. Our motel next door neighbor was a chiropractor and he looked at her knee and worked on it and gave her some suggestions, so we'll see how it goes. It will be about 5 days to our next stop. If you can't find an updated journal entry, just figure I have no internet signal to get it done. If I can, I will post. If I can't, do not worry. I am doing fine!
Date: 2017-04-24
From: Budget Inn

To: Budget Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, another day has gone by at the Budget Inn in Franklin, NC. You don't make miles resting in a motel. But...the weather was iffy, with storms forecast for the mountains, and Journey could use an extra day to nurse her knee. So we took it. We will definitely head out tomorrow on the 9:00 bus and hike north. North. That's where I need to be heading. I don't want to lose the progress I had made with my strength and endurance. Journey and I, and Dynamite and The Gipper went to the Lazy Hiker to eat dinner, and we unexpectedly met up with Pam and Lucky Star there. We had lost track of them the last couple of days, so it was nice to see them and catch up on their news. Here's a video that is a great depiction of me trying to get up Albert Mt.