morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-17
From: Elmer's 

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 29: April 17,2005This morning we woke up after an okay nights sleep in our creeky bed at Elmer's. I hopped into the shower & then Dave bathed with the few drops of water that barely flowed from the retro shower head. I guess I had used up all of the hot water. After Dave's "shower" we started packing up as we waited for Emler's famous breakfast. When the bell rang we were right there pulling out our chairs & sitting down for what looked like a delicious meal. All of the meals @ Elmer's are vegetarian or vegan. We were hoping to see Elmer walk around the corner w/an enormous sizzling skillet of bacon, however that did not happen. We had scrumptious granola w/almonds,walnuts,seeds & cranraisins. I had 2 bowls w/soy milk & the biscuits & gravy were great. The tofu eggs & corn grits however were still on our plates when they were cleared away. I am still not a grits fan! With full bellies we headed out. I called home one more time while Dave went to get some new shorts at the Outfitters and a new camera case as well. We used the computer one last time & headed out of Hot Springs about 10:30. With our Hot Springs' hangovers in full effect the climb out of town was a bit rough. With breakfast sitting in our stomachs like rocks we had to keep moving or else we felt nauseous. It was nice to be back on the trail but it always takes a while to get your trail legs back. About 5 miles in there was a pond which led to a grassy field where a lot of people were tenting. We stopped to rest our feet & have a snack. The rest was nice & it gave us the energy to push the last 6 miles. We were starving when we got to camp so we indulged in summer sausage, tortilla's w/deli mustard & mayo. After we checked out the camp spots & decided to tent. Dave made a fire pit & we all gathered wood. We were camping w/Nate & Eagle Eye. Dave made dinner while I set up the tent. His new dinner idea worked out great. Ramen w/stuffing & chicken. It was a nice spin on an old simple dinner. We got a rager of a fire going & sat & chatted. It was so nice tenting again. Having our private,clean space was very nice to settle into once the fire began to die down. It was a beautiful evening,clear sky full of stars with a bright moon that lit up everything. We layed down in our comfortable set up & took out our new books. We peacefully read & fell asleep. It is very nice to be back in the woods.
Date: 2005-04-19
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 31: April 19,2005Opening our eyes this morning our bodies were immediately aching. We stayed in bed until 8 o'clock & slowly moved around camp packing up & having breakfast & coffee. While packing up I discovered some random pieces of trail mix in the bottom of my pack & Snowman informed me that a mouse had gotten in his trail mix. So the mouse had tansported the trail mix to my bag to eat it. Gross! Well at least I didn't see them & I slept okay. Our crew is pretty banged up so we got a late start @ 9:20. The hiking was very difficult today. We were moving slow, taking a lot of breaks. We stopped @ the first shelter 5.9 miles in and had lunch. I actually made it, tortillas w/peanut butter. I felt like I had a lot of energy after lunch & we were pushing it & trying to make it to the campground to see how we felt. My feet are hurting pretty bad the past few days. This has been the hardest part of the trail for me so far. The heat was pretty extreme today. This is the first time on the trail that I haven't really been enjoying the hiking. It has been tough & my feet are really feeling it. I was barely walking when Dave came running back to tell me "visual". I really could have cried when he told me that. I did not think I could go on anymore. We pushed it really hard today. Just as we came upon the shelter it began raining, we got in just in time. We experienced some nice trail magic @ the shelter..2 hikers came walking up to camp for the night & told us they had strawberry shortcake for us. Fresh Strawberries....so tasty! Also 2 section hikers let me use their cell phone so that I could call my mom & ask her to send me my hiking boots. I want to have them in Erwin so that my blisters can heal. Even after trail magic our moral is pretty low. Dave built a wonderful fire that is keeping me really warm. Hoping for a good nights sleep & a slow going 10 miles tomorrow. Gotta take care of my blisters. Injury is too close to me, it is scary to see how something can take you out of your hike. Call me "Slow Going" until Erwin!!!
Date: 2005-04-20
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Bald Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Day 32: April 20,2005Today was a wonderful mellow day. The mileage was great for my blisters, they are feeling much better today. We had a nice leisurely morning once again & headed out for a 2.4 mile walk to Sam's Gap where Jus'Feeblin'Along, and his son, Marshall said that they would shuttle us to the Little Creek Cafe for breakfast. How could we ever turn that down? We arrived @ the Gap about 10:15 & Jus'Feeblin'Along pulled up...perfect timing. The four of us configured our packs & piled in the car. The ride down was quick, we pulled our packs out & lined them up along the front of the restaurant & headed in for a nice meal. Of course my eyes are always bigger than my stomach so when the waitress informed me that the pancakes were huge I still ordered 2 chocolate chip pancakes w/a side of bacon & hash browns. Dave ordered potato pancakes, bacon & eggs. The meal was delicious! one of the best that we have had on the trail. We left w/full bellies, ready to hike. We couldn't thank Jus'Feeblin'Along & Marshall enough, they were so kind & we hope to see them @ Trail Days! We knew that we had a pretty serious climb in front of us & I thought that the food would help me, I was wrong. About a mile up I started feeling nauseous & I had to make a pit stop. Let's just say it was a rough climb. However it was worth the pain, when we arrive on Big Bald the sky was clear & the view was amazing. My new favorite spot so far. We chilled out there for a bit, I was feeling much better but Dave's stomach was becoming a bit upset, so we decided to push the last 1.1 miles to the shelter. We walked in & for the first time in the past 5 days my feet weren't aching. Yay! Bald Mtn. is a nice shelter, hopefully not as many mice as last night. They chewed our sleeping bag stuff sacks,"little bas...". Last night I also got my trail name Ms.Mileage... I guess I look @ the guide book a lot! It's almost 6 & I am just getting hungry so I am thinking about dinner. What a wonderful day...morale is back up & looking forward to another mellow day tomorrow & a nice walk into Erwin on Friday.
Date: 2005-04-22
To: Piker and Ms. Mileage
Miles today: 0.0

I know its been a while since my last entry so I'll give it a whirl. We are at Miss Janets right now and I am sitting in her kitchen. The place is jammed because everybody wants to stay here. I have been hired by Janet to assist in the making of breakfast, so that should be pretty interesting. To sum things up this has been the most amazing experience of my life and I wish it would never end. Mileage and I have completely adapted to trail life and are as comfortable in the woods as we are in this home. We have taken on a smell that might disturb some people, eat out of the same pot, and learned to take nice showers in gas station bathrooms. I have decided to start journaling again now that we are a few hundred miles into the trail, I guess I got lazy and decided to let Ms. Mileage handle all that up to this point. Thanks to our families for all the great support and mail drops. Talk to you all soon.      PIKER
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Ms.Janet's

To: Ms.Janet's
Miles today: 0.0

Day 34: April 22,2005Zero Day @ Ms.Janet;s. We woke up pretty early & went into the kitchen to see if we could help Ms.Janet w/breakfast. She had it under control so we grabbed some coffee & waited for the feast. The table was set in the backyard & the food was brought out OJ,coffee,eggs,sausage&biscuits w/an awesome tomatoe gravy. The breakfast was absolutely delicious, we had full bellies & the company was really great! Ms.Janet asks a question and then everyone goes around, introduces themselves & answers the question. Today's guestion: Your most memorable birthday. Mine was,I think, my 4th when my parents had someone in a bear suit walk down our driveway & bring me balloons.I was so freaked out that I cowarded in the corner for the entire party. I said maybe that was why now I want to see a bear, I am tougher now! Ha!Ha! After breakfast Ms.Janet took us & the Bruces to Food Lion for our resupply. We spent a wonderful hour perusing the ailes & picking out the best(cheapest) food. Ms.Janet picked us up & we asked her about work for stay so that we could save some money. She made a deal with us that if we worked for an hour cleaning the house we could get 1/2 off our stay. It sounded great to us so when we arrived back @ the house we swept,dusted & cleaned bathrooms. After we organized our food & waited for our lunch date @ Sonic with Tiny Dancer. At 3 o'clock sharp we headed out w/the Bruces & Bassline. We ordered a lot of food & waited outside @ a wet table. Coney chilly dog & onion rings w/a chocolate cream pie shake. After we went & bought beer & then headed back to Ms.Janet's. The rest of our afternoon was spent having a few beers & playing horseshoes,my new favorite game. Tiny Dance,Moose,Spruce,Burn,Piker &I had a serious tournament. By 8 o'clock we were starving so Piker, Moose, Spruce & I headed down to Elm's Restaurant for some burgers.They have the biggest cheeseburgers that I have ever seen. Even Moose could not finish it. Actually I just got confirmation that he did finish the double burger but it was a struggle. After dessert again a double chocolate brownie sundae. I was happy & we went on our way. The Bruces got Burn a burger to go & when we got back to the house he was sleeping. They woke him up & he ate the burger in record time. We were pretty tired from a long day of horseshoes. I was so happy b/c Thunder who we started with had rolled into Ms.Janet's. It was so good to see him. We were a bit nervous about our good nights sleep because Thunder got his name b/c he is quite a snorer. Well we'll see,I'm just happy to see him.
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Ms.Janet's

To: Ms.Janet's
Miles today: 0.0

Day 35: April 23,2005Zero Day @ Ms.Janet's. This morning we woke up & had a pow wow with the Bruces about whether we should take another zero b/c of the weather. As we were talking the sky got dark & it started to downpour. The decision was made. We went & talked to Ms.Janet about the possibility of work for stay again. She was off to Hot Springs for Trail Fest so she said if we took care of the house & breakfast in the morning we could have 1/2 off our stay again, it sounded great to us. For breakfast this morning Bruce Moose mad French toast,that was really great, and Ms.Janet made eggs w/cheese & sausage. Breakfast was inside b/c of the rain & Ms.Janet was preparing chili for the Chili Cookoff in Hot Springs. Piker helped w/some of the prep work. After the breakfast clean up we decide to watch Trek. I was excited to see it again since we were 300+ miles into the trail. We recongnized a lot of the places & paid more attention to what we had coming up. After that Eagle Eye, BigRig & Hooky all came by and watched Joe Dirt,which had us all laughing. We wanted to not spend money today on food so we played more horseshoes & waited for the BBQ @ the church across the street. I went to check it out & it was $6.00 for a BBQ sandwich,beans,coleslaw, sweet tea & your choice of a piece of homemade dessert(there were lots of options). Sounded like a great deal ot us. After my game ending ringer taking "The Championship" from Piker & Spruce I decided to take Fabien for a walk b/c I had promise Ms.Janet that I would. He started out taking me for a walk but by the end he was sticking right by my side. it made me miss my girl Casey. We hit up the BBQ @ 4:15 right after I finished the walk. All of the townspeople were very friendly & welcomed us right into the church. The Bruces,Squid Jerky,Big Rig & Bear Bait all had dinner w/us. The food was good but unfortunately it was not enough to satisfy our new found hiker hunger. For dessert Piker had chocolate chocolate cake & I had chocolate carmel cake. I have to say dessert was my favorite part! We made plans w/the Bruces to hip up Elm's for more burgers but when we went back to Ms.Janet's we walked in the kitchen & Burn was making enchilladas. We had a wonderful second meal!! I was finally stuffed. But then Thunder walked in & he had bought the rest of the desserts from the BBQ. Cake, cookies, muffins Galore!I was in dessert heaven. Piker was packing up for our departure, which was going to happen no matter what the weather b/c we really need to watch our spending. Thunder put in "The Incredibles" so I sat down to watch. The movie was funny & entertaining & it was a nice relaxing,cookie eating night before departing Erwin.
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Ms.Janet's

To: Curly Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 36: April 24,2005This morning we awoke to a light snow dusting & chilly temperatures. I have to admit that hiking was not the first thing on my "want to do" list but we were ready to get out or Erwin. Burn had already made breakfast;eggs, biscuits & left over enchilladas. It was great! After, I washed the dishes & Piker did a final pack-up. I was lucky to get one more shower & we rushed out of Ms.Janet's. We were bundled up & ready to go. Our hiking buddies who decided to stay in town were worried about us going out but we were just hoping to get a spot @ the first shelter & hunker down for the night & wait out the storm. We were shuttled by Phoenix to the Nolichucky River & took off down the trail with the Bruces & Squid Jerky. The walking was very easy going as we shook off our stay in Erwin and regained our trail legs. When we arrived @ the shelter it was empty & we decided to stay. We got all set up as more & more people arrived. We fit 10 people in the 6 person shelter. It was very close quarters. We had been in our sleeping bags from 11:30 on & it was lightly snowing & cold. I thought that there was no chance for a fire so I grabbed the bag of marshmellows I had carried up & we passed them around the shelter. Others passed around peanuts,carrots,snap peas & m&m's. Coming out of town we eat so well. Burn had said that he was going to come out & hike with us but when I saw him coming up over the hill to the shelter I was still surprised. Everyone was happy to see him and even happier when he pulled out hot dogs & beer that he had brought for all of us. Major trail magic. He and Piker got a great fire going as the sky cleared & it seemed to warm up. We had another great feast thanks to Burn! Piker & I read as the fire burned out. Today was a long day at the shelter so we are excited to get out there & hike tomorrow.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Curly Maple Gap Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 37: April 25,2005This morning we had a leisurely morning around camp, coffee & oatmeal bars. We started out & just as we were getting warmed up we arrived @ Indian Grave Gap and were lucky to receive trail magic. A nice coulpe & a "Tennessee Hill Billy"(his words) were looking to meet up w/Cyclehiker & gave us each 2 granola bars & a glass of OJ. A great way to start our day. The sky was clear & sunny but the air was crisp. As we climbed in elevation the trail became more & more covered w/snow.Right before we climbed Unaka Mtn. we stopped in a beautiful open field for lunch tortillas w/tuna,a high energy lunch. The wooded summit of Unaka was beautiful & there were probably 3 inches of snow @ the summit. The hike down to the shelter quickly became a slushy, muddy slip & slide. Some how Piker can cruise downhill but I had to go a bit slower. We felt like we were getting our trail legs back. Again the first @ the shelter and we decided to stay. Piker built me an awesome fire. The shelter filled up w/Captain Chaos,Bassline,Bruces & Squid Jerky. It was a fun night around the fire & we read before we fell asleep. We were disturbed when a mouse knocked over Squid Jerky's filter. My sleeping bag was pulled way over my head as I tried to fall asleep.
Date: 2005-04-26
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 38: April 26,2005Today was one of our more challenging days out here. We felt as though we were on a mission all day & the weather just added to it. Today we climbed Roan High Bluff & stayed @ the highest shelter on the AT,and getting there was wild. The weather was constantly changing all day. One minute it would be sunny & the next the wind would pick up & it looked as though rain could occur at any moment. We cruised the first 8.8 miles & stopped for a lunch break @Clyde Smith Shelter. We knew that the second half of our day was going to be much tougher so we each had 3 tortillas for lunch. Fueled & hydrated we took off on what I think was the toughest climb so far. The elevation gain was so great that we were walking up a gradual & sometimes steep grade for 3.4 miles. The 3.4 miles took us just over 2 hours. Way slower than our normal pace. Those were some tough miles. As we gained elevation the wind picked up & a mist began to brush us. We could barely see the summit that we were approaching b/c it was covered by a very dark threatening cloud. We knew it must not be good up there. We arrived @ Ash Gap & saw that Thirsty Boots was camped there. We chatted w/him for a minute & he said he thought it was definitely raining up there, we believed him but decided to push on anyway. We really wanted to sleep @ the highest shelter. The last 1.5 miles was roughest, the trail became very snowy & icy. The hiking was slow going. We had stopped to put on rain gear & backpack covers & it was a good thing because right before we got to the shelter it began to rain. We were cold & were hoping for shelter space b/c the wind was fierce & tenting right now would not be too much fun. There was no view from the top b/c of the mist & dark clouds. The Bluff looked like it would be a great view on a sunny day. We didn't even pause @ the viewpoint. We wanted the shelter. We got there right as the rain picked up & were happy to see that the shelter had four walls. It would be much warmer than the typical shelter, or so we thought. We busted in & there were Captain Chaos & Fireball cooking dinner. They told us that there was plenty of room & we headed upstairs to the loft to sep up our things. Nine of us would crash up there & 2 downstairs. The storm had picked up & it was cold outside. We all cooked dinner b/c all you want to do is be warm & eating does that for you. Ramen w/stuffing & ramps(wild onions that we had picked on our hike). The ramps made the dinner delicious! Piker made me hot chocolate for dessert. We were in our sleeping bags by 6:30 trying to stay warm. We all chatted and I am sure that I was asleep by 8 o'clock. What a tough day of hiking. These kind of days make you feel that you can do anything if you are determined, put in the effort, and don't give up. Our team (Piker & I) hike so well together & we are having so much fun!
Date: 2005-04-27
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Bucks Place
Miles today: 15.2

Day 39: April 27,2005We woke up after a chilly & pretty miserable night @ the highest shelter on the AT. We were ready to loose the elevation & warm up. We sat & chatted with Thirsty Boots @ Carver's Gap and changed clothes for our Hump Mountain climbs. The hiking was tough because the weather was forever changing. Sunshine, then blustering winds that seemed to be trying to topple us over as we crossed the vast balds. It got even more difficult when hale began to fall & sting our exposed legs. But we just kept truckin' to avoid getting to cold. Dave and I talked throughout the day about heading into the hostel so that we could get some alone time. When we arrived at the shelter Spruce handed us a flyer for Buck's Place which was a menu for their restaurant with the info FREE camping, showers and beer available. This was all just a one mile walk, downhill, from the road. I doubt that any thru-hiker would ignore that, we were there. We left a note for Moose & walked in. We arrived, ordered Mountain Burgers and then inquired about the free camping. It turned out that they had an apartment for hikers that they were thinking about turning into a hostel. Spruce got the scoop & even hooked us up with our own bedroom. We showered and then the beer drinking began. We were the first group of hikers to stay there and I think we did a great job breaking that place in!! A free nights stay could not have been sweeter.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Bucks Place

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 40 : April 28,2005We woke up in our bedroom that felt like a sauna but it was much better than being out in the frigid temperatures of the night before. We ate muffins & donuts for breakfast while we packed up. Dave, Spruce & I started walking out. We tried to hitch but it just wasn't happening, so we walked the mile & hit the trail. The started out really nice with blue skys & sunshine. The hike was nice with a lot of waterfalls & lush green valleys. We stopped for a hot lunch at 2:00, ramen casserole with chicken. When we left the lunch spot the sky got dark & it looked like it may rain at anytime. We pushed on & about 2 miles out from the shelter it started to rain. We quickly donned our gear & pushed on. The shelter was full so we set up our tent in the rain, for only the 3rd time on our hike. We got lucky & had a spot under some pine trees, so it could have been much worse. We chilled in the tent & enjoyed the beers that Dave had packed in from the night before. We were tired & wet. It was an early night-asleep by 8 o'clock.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Fork Campground & Hostel
Miles today: 6.1

Day 41: April 29,2005It will never be easy to wake up in our tent when it is raining and get motivated to start the day. It rained all night & when we woke up it was still coming down pretty hard. We wanted to get to Kinkora early so @ 6:30 we started packing up our wet mess. Out of camp at 7:11, we put it in high gear, on no breakfast, and got to the road at 9:15. Dave had moved ahead of me, had dropped his pack down the road at Kinkora and had come back to get me. How sweet is that? Kinkora was packed so we went & got a cabin at Laurel Fork. After dropping off our things we went to breakfast with Burn, Squid Jerky and Captain Chaos. After the chilly spping wet hike it was awesome to have coffee & the "Hungry Man's" breakfast which warmed me right up. We went up to Kinkora and met up with the Bruces & they decided to come down to the cabin with us. The rest of the day was spent drying out our gear, doing laundry, showering, and resupplying. We were also able to get on-line & check out our journal, which is always nice. We also hit up McD's for the first time on the trail. The chocolate milkshake never tasted so good. We had a fire down by the stream & went to bed as soon as it died down.