morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-01
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hightower Gap
Miles today: 8.1

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." -- GoetheWe started our journey today from Springer Mountain, taking the first paces that will carry us from Georgia to Maine. Fourteen states. Twenty-one hundred miles. Five million steps. The trip of a lifetime.The day started overcast and gloomy, but by the time we reached Springer Mountain, the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds. Our trail angel, Swallowtail, met us in Atlanta and drove us to the Springer access lot via Amicalola Falls State Park. There we signed in as thru-hikers, weighed our packs, and shot the obligatory photos. Then we headed up USFS Road 42 to the parking lot that is 0.9 miles from the top of Springer Mountain.The Appalachian Trail's southern terminus is at the top of Springer Mountain. The first white blaze is there--we'll be following those white blazes all the way to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. It was exciting to put our boots by the blaze and start off down the AT. While on Springer, we each picked up a small stone to carry the length of the trail with us. This is a tradition of the AT, and, considering that we have carefully considered every ounce that we've put in our packs, we searched diligently for very SMALL stones!Swallowtail carried most of our food, our tent, and extra clothes for us in her van, so our packs were much lighter than their normal 30 pounds. (This is known as "slackpacking".) She also met us at several "gaps" where the AT and USFS 42 intersected and treated us to cold drinks, snacks, and encouraging words. We joined up at Hightower Gap, 8.1 miles north on the trail, at about 4:00, and camped there for the night. Of course Swallowtail provided camp chairs, a table and some food treats, so our first night on the trail was cushier than usual!The weather was beautiful all day. We saw lots of wildflowers--lady slippers, trillium, miniature violets and irises--the birds sang, and the brooks babbled. The trees were outfitted in "new spring" green. It was a day of breath-taking beauty, and we agreed that we hope never to grow numb to the magnificence around us.
Date: 2003-05-02
From: Hightower Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: broken clouds

"Success is the sum of small efforts-repeated day in and day out." -- Robert CollierWe experienced a spectacular "light show" last night with a really wild thunderstorm. Our new tent held up well to the wind and rain, but I must confess that I questioned the wisdom of using a hiking pole (read: lightning rod?) to hold up the tent! All in all, I guess we were tired enough that we got a great night's sleep despite all of the noise.We awoke to a spectacular sunrise at Hightower Gap, and everything had that "fresh washed" look about it. Shortly after we hiked out of the gap we met up with Blair, a young attorney from Houston whom we'd met yesterday on Springer. He told us that the Hawk Mountain Shelter had been full last night, with 13 people, including eleven thru-hikers who had started at Springer yesterday. We were surprised to learn that so many were starting to hike this late in the season.We enjoyed hiking with Blair. The terrain was a little tougher than yesterday, but we made good time and lunched at the new Gooch Gap Shelter. There Blair was christened with his trail name, Pony Boy. At the USFS 42 road crossing at Gooch Gap Swallowtail met us with cold sodas, cookies, and apples. Yum! Thanks, Swallowtail.We were amazed all day by the beauty of the trail. The wildflowers are abundant and varied. We saw our first salamander--a cute little guy! The woods are teeming with butterflies, caterpillars, and birds. We crossed six or eight little streams (yes, I managed my first crossing on a "rolling" log!!) -- the mountains at their best for us.We hiked on another 4 miles to Woody Gap where we pitched camp and spent the night. We are pretty proud that we managed 11.9 miles today. Whew! Tomorrow is going to be challenging, with 10.7 miles including the tough Blood Mountain ascent, so we need a good night's sleep. Again Swallowtail provided cold drinks, chips and lounge chairs while we cooked dinner. We are spoiled, but we'd better enjoy it while we can because tomorrow is our last "van-supported" hike day. By the time we were ready for bed (at 7:30!) it had started to rain again. It really was lulling to fall asleep to the wind, rain, and lightning, snug in our little cocoon. Life is good!
Date: 2003-05-03
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

"Come to the edge/He said. They said: We are afraid./Come to the edge/He said. They came./He pushed them, and/they flew..."--GuillaumeAfter last night's storm, the day broke clear and cool--perfect hiking weather. We started out slowly--our bodies were protesting yesterday's abuse. But before long we warmed up and hit stride. Since it is Saturday, we saw a few more hikers today, mostly out to enjoy the climb of Blood Mountain.We stopped for lunch at Slaughter Gap and met up again with Pony Boy. I had worried all day about the climb up Blood Mountain--so many people had told me how tough it was, being the tallest point in Georgia. But we steamed right up to the top without difficulty. The views were spectacular. We could see all the way back to Springer Mountain, our starting point twenty-eight miles back. The shelter on Blood Mountain is an old four-walled stone building, quite unlike the other shelters on the AT. I read a poem by local poet Byron Reece (provided courtesy of our friend Lonnie)and we headed down to Neels Gap and a hot shower. The descent was tougher than the climb, oddly enough.After we'd showered, done laundry and shipped a few pounds of equipment up the trail, Swallowtail took us into Blairsville for dinner out with Coosa. Coosa is another woman from the Yahoo WomenHikers group that I belong to, so it was fun to meet her. We got back to the hostel at Neels Gap and chatted a bit with Starburst, Dandelion, Squeeze, and Shamrock--a great group of hikers!Just before bed time I called home to check in and was told that my father had passed away this morning. We scrambled around to make arrangements to get home for the services. Again Swallowtail helped us out--she called Coosa to arrange a ride for us for tomorrow. Coosa will drive us to Chatanooga where we can rent a car to get home. It is too amazing the way that our trail friends have helped us every step of the way. A heartfelt thanks to Coosa and Swallowtail for their assistance. We hope to be back on the trail again late next week.
Date: 2003-05-10
From: Us 19 E near Hampton, TN

To: .4 Miles North of Walnut Mtn Rd
Miles today: 10.5

"Whatever does not destroy me makes me stronger." NietzcheWe returned to the trail today following a week off to attend my father's funeral. We drove in from Arkansas, turned in our rental car in Johnson City, Tennessee and were shutteld to the trail by Pat Peoples of Kincora Hiker Hostel. We decided to pick up hiking in Tennessee instead of where we left off at Neels Gap, because we needed to be in Damascus, Virginia for Trail Days May 15-17. Our tent needed repairs and will be ready in Damascus. After Trail Days we are heading back to Neels Gap to hike the section we missed.Today's hike was really tough for me--I was emotionally and physically drained after the past week, and my mind wasn't on the hike. The terrain was exceptionally tough--no big climbs, just "roller coaster" climbs of 200 feet at a time. Even though the hike took its toll on me, the scenery was beautiful and a reward in itself.A large part of the psychological difficulty we had in hiking today stemmed from the fact that this section of the trail had been "relocated" this spring. The relocation was done by volunteer AT maintenance crews, and added 3.1 miles to the length of the trail as a whole. Such changes are relatively common, with portions being rerouted just about every year. The frustrating part of this for me (as an acknowledged control freak)is that the new portion of the trail was not described in any of the handbooks we carried, nor was it shown on the latest version of the map. Thus I spent the entire day in confusion, not sure where we were or how far we'd hiked. Water sources, campsites, and shelters were not where we expected to find them. Towards the end of the day we met up with a couple of hikers who explained the changes to us and told us where the relocation ended and we could expect landmarks to begin matching our guides again. I felt much better once I knew exactly where we were! We perservered, and made it 10.5 miles to a camp site in just under six hours. The weather is nice, so we are tenting without the fly and can see the moon and stars. Tomorrow will bring new challenges--we hope to hike our longest day yet and make it to Kincora Hiker Hostel for the night.
Date: 2003-05-11
From: .4 Miles North of Walnut Mtn Rd

To: Kincora Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: heavy intensity rain

"What goes down, must go up--seemingly twice as far."--Jitterbug BenderHave I mentioned that this hiking business is HARD WORK??? Today we hiked our longest day yet - 12.5 miles of roller coaster hills. Up and down, over and over again. It poured rain on us, and I developed blisters on my heels. Not to worry, Duck tape to the rescue!Once we reached Kincora Hostel, we were relieved to hear the other hikers complaining about the past couple of days being so tough--we thought it was just us. After a hot shower and clean laundry, we feel like new people, ready for tomorrow's challenges! Although we are at a hostel, we are sleeping in our tent on the lawn out back. The hostel (which sleeps about twenty inside) is full. We don't really care, as we can use all of the facilities (shower, washer, kitchen and a potty that flushes!), and we can hang out with the gang on the huge front porch.The hostel owners are Bob and Pat Peoples. The hostel is actually attached to their private residence, and they are very popular with hikers. Evidence of this is found in the "wallpaper" on the interior of the hostel. Every available inch is covered with photos of hikers at Katahdin and thank-you notes. Bob and Pat shuttle the hikers to the post office, grocery store, and restaurants, as well as "slackpacking" hikers for a section of the trail nine miles north of Kincora back to the hostel. This is clearly not a money making venture for them at $4.00 per head per night--it's obviously a labor of love!The other hikers at the hostel--Baltimore Jack, Twigs and Nuts, Miracle Mike and Kam, Footslogger, and Rumbler--are all interesting to talk to and encouraging to us as beginners. Baltimore Jack is an AT legend, having hiked the trail start to finish seven times already. Footslogger has a set clippers in his bounce box and found himself in the barbering business, buzz-cutting hair and shaving the AT symbol on the back for several hikers (Rumbler, Twigs, and Martha). I resisted temptation and left my tresses long!
Date: 2003-05-12
From: Kincora Hiker Hostel

To: Kincora Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: scattered clouds

"To lie sometimes on the gras...listening to the murmur of water...is hardly a waste of time." Sir John LubbockToday was a beautiful, relaxing day. We slack-packed from Kincora, travelling past the Laurel River and Laurel Falls. The falls were awesome--the prettiest I've seen outside Yosemite and Yellowstone. We ate a picnic beside the river and took our time hiking the 8.9 miles back to the Hostel. The weather was perfect, and the Mountain Laurels (there's a shock--laurels along the Laurel River--coincidence or not?) were in bloom. The trail itself was an engineering miracle. The climb from the falls to the mountain top was paved with perfectly cut rock staircases. Each rock had to have weighed several hundred pounds, and there were hundreds of them--and hundreds of steps up--along the trail. Amazing!I am continuing to push the envelope, doing things I never thought I could do. Today I edged along a rock face the ran along the river just below the falls. One slip would have landed me in the rushing river. It was actually fun, but it was a challenge that I probably would have skipped in my "pre-hike" life!Once we got back to Kincora, the Peoples' shuttled a group of us into town where we visited a grocery store and an AYCE (all you can eat in trail lingo) chinese restaurant. It was a belated Mother's Day celebration for me, and a treat for our tummies. Tomorrow we hike over Watauga Dam and start towards Damascus.
Date: 2003-05-13
From: Kincora Hiker Hostel

To: Campsite on Vandeventer Mountain
Miles today: 12.8

"He who limps is still walking." - Stanislaw J. LecWe set another distance record today, covering 12.8 miles. We had planned to start out hiking much lower miles, but we feel good and the miles seem to click by. My blisters aren't bothering me much, using "second skin" and duct tape--the quote isn't exactly accurate. We're still walking, but not yet limping! Today we left Kincora Hostel and headed up and over Vandeventer Mountain. We crossed over Watauga Dam and later had stunning views of the dam and lake and from the top of Vandeventer mountain. The climb was tough, but we realized early that we wouldn't be content with staying at Vandeventer Shelter as we had originally planned. So we pushed on to a campsite about four miles further on the other side of the mountain. We had our first opportunity to do a camp clothes wash tonight. It was harder to do than we had envisioned, but our clothes are noticeably cleaning looking, so it was worth it! We added camp soap to a stuff sack, poured in water, added our socks and such and then shook the heck out of the sack. Then we changed the water and rinsed. Duane was the wringer, and then we hung everything to dry on our make-shift clothesline (twisted tent cord) suspended between two trees. Hopefully things will dry overnight!Our "hiker legs" haven't kicked in yet, so every climb is a challenge. Duane's stamina is better than mine (all that walking the golf course, carrying clubs, I guess!), but he is patient with me. We average about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 miles per hour including breaks. We hope to bump that up to 2 miles per hour over time. All in all, I'm satisfied with the progress we're making towards that goal.Tomorrow we're going to shoot for 14 miles, to get us within striking distance of Damascus, VA on Thursday. Damascus has an annual trail festival every year in mid-May, and thousands of hikers congregate for the weekend. We're headed there to pick up our lighter-weight tent and a rain poncho, and to check out the action.
Date: 2003-05-14
From: Campsite on Vandeventer Mountain

To: US Hwy 431, near Shady Valley, TN
Miles today: 13.9

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go>" --T.S. ElliotToday we experienced "trail magic" twice.After hiking out early this morning, we came across "Taro" a former thru-hiker, at about noon. He was there handing out ice cold Cokes to hikers as they hit the intersection of the AT and TN 91. What a welcome treat after a long morning's hike! Thanks, Taro! The Coke energized us so we made great time and reached our goal of a campsite just short of Hwy 431 by 4:30 p.m. We decided to take advantage of the picnic table and water source there and fix and early dinner, then hike on for a few more miles. Just as we finished eating and were repacking our packs to leave, who should come along but Bumpkin and her husband, Papermaker. (If you will remember, I know Bumpkin from the Yahoo Women's Hiker group, and we met up in Hot Springs on April 29th and had lunch together.) They were finishing a slackpack and had their truck at the road next to our picnic table. They offered to give us a lift into Damascus, and then help us to slackpack the remaining 15 miles from Hwy 431 back to Damascus tomorrow. The prospect of securing a tent site for the weekend early and then slacking the 15 miles tomorrow was just too tempting to pass up. It was a great opportunity to get to know Bumpkin and spouse, too, so we jumped at the offer. Bumpkin and Papermaker dropped us at the campground outside town. We found a spot next to some other thru-hikers, and walked into town to get a cold coke and check out the town. It was just over a half mile into town, and most everything was closed up by the time we got there. We walked over to the hostel run by the Methodist Church, "The Place", to see if anyone we knew was there. We didn't know anyone, but ran into an ex thru-hikr named "Geezer" who advised us to snag a campsite on the lawn of The Place rather than staying at the campground. He said that the campground would turn into "party central" for the weekend and we old folks would be happier hanging out together in town. He offered to drive Hoover out to the campground and gather or gear and bring it back into town. While they did that, I went to find Bumpkin and Papermaker and arrange a rendezvous for tomorrow's slackpack. Tomorrow we'll hike the 15 miles from where we left off today into Damscus to spend the weekend resting up and enjoying the festivities.
Date: 2003-05-15
From: US Hwy 431, near Shady Valley, TN

To: Damscus, VA
Miles today: 14.8

"Good company in a journey makes the way to seem the shorter>"--Izaak WaltonWhat an adventure this day was! We started out from Hwy 431 near Shady Valley TN at about 10:00, and quicky hiked the five miles to the Abingdon Shelter. There we lunched with Bumpkin and Papermaker, then set out to finish the hike into Damascus. Before we'd hiked ten minutes, the skies opened and it poured for the next two hours. Soon our shorts, socks and feet were soaked, but we hiked on. The trail was slippery the hiking was tricky. Hoover's right ankle started to hurt about eight miles out from the town. We wrapped it with my bandana, and he hobbled on it, in obvious pain. I had visions of spending the night on the mountain without our tent/sleeping bags, and was worrying about making it back to town before dark. My biggest consolation was that I knew Papermaker and Bumpkin were behind us, and could send help if the situation worsened. We were very happy to see town, and Hoover was anxious to get his boots off and rest his ankle. After a short visit to the outfitters to buy Trail Days shirts and to the Dollar Store to buy sandals for Hoover, we headed back to the hostel to take showers (cold) and clean up for a meal (hot). We are meeting Bumpkin and Papermaker at the Old Mill for Prime Rib After dinner we plan to do laundry and hit the sack early.We are looking forward to a couple of "town days" this weekend. Tomorrow we have an appointment to get our boots custom-fit by a vendor at Trail Days, and we hope to pick up our (repaired) lighter-weight tent. Of course there's always the prospect of meeting up with some of our new trail friends and the excitement of any food that isn't cooked in a camp pot!
Date: 2003-05-16
From: Damscus, VA

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

""A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."--Lao TzuA relaxing "zero" mile day in Damascus. We got up early to make our appointment to have our boots custom fit. Both of us have had some foot pain (heel blisters for Jitterbug and ankle pain for Hoover), so we were excited about having professionals advise us about our boots. I came away with a new type of socks and boots stretched to fit my "monster bursa" on my heels. Hoover had a "five iron" (???) inserted at the side of his boots to stretch the seam that had been irritating his ankle. We each also had custom footbeds made for our boots (orthotics). Hopefully these changes will make a difference to our feet on the trail.We ran into "Bluebearee" this morning at Trail Days. Her journal on this site from last year inspired me to believe that I could make this hike. It was great to meet her in person--she's been so helpful to me via e-mail in preparing for the hike.We recovered our repaired tent from the vendor and made a few other purchases. There was lots I'd have loved to have, but remembering that I'll have to carry whatever I buy is a strong help to my willpower. Tonight I met with the Women Hikers from the Yahoo group I belong to. It was great to meet those I didn't already know and seeing those I did again. We went to dinner at the Old Mill again and ate yummy BBQ. We visited with Rumbler, Monster Button, Skidmark, and some of the women from the WH group, listened to a karaoke contest, and quaffed a few brews. Tomorrow is another day of rest, then we're heading back to Neels Gap on Sunday. I won't be able to post again for five or six days, so stay tuned.
Date: 2003-05-17
From: Abingdon, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

"Try to relax and enjoy the crisis."--Ashleigh BrilliantNothing ever goes according to plan¢¦On the trail into Damascus on Thursday, Duane¢s right ankle started giving him some trouble. By this afternoon, both ankles had swollen, so we made a quick trip into the ER in Abingdon, VA. Once again, our friends Papermaker and Bumpkin helped us out. They handed over the keys to their truck, told us they'd find a way back to their hotel, and sent us on our way to the ER. Trail magic yet again!The ER doctor told Duane he¢d had a reaction to the Vioxx he¢d taken for the ankle pain, and prescribed a couple of days off his feet. Since we¢d planned to return to Neels Gap in Georgia to resume hiking tomorrow, we quickly decided to revamp our plans. Our car is in Johnson City, TN, about an hour from Abingdon, VA. Rather than returning to Neels Gap, we decided to pick up the car, take a couple of days off the trail, and then do some day hiking on the AT in Tennessee to see how Duane¢s ankle does. This will give him the chance to hike with a lighter load, try out some footwear alternatives, and have a vehicle we can use to see medical treatment if the need arises. If all goes well with our day hikes, we¢ll return the car to our friend in Johnson City and resume our hike, heading southbound to Neels Gap.This plan also gives us the opportunity to do some trail magic for Bumpkin and Papermaker. They planned to hike another three or four days north, and then Papermaker needs to return home to Florida. After we pick up our Jeep, we'll shuttle their truck north to Troutdale, VA where Papermaker can pick it up in a few days. Things just seem to work themselves out, out here on the trail!