morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-27
From: Bly Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: few clouds

Last night I slept poorly, and knew the instant I got up that this was going to be a bad day for me!I hadn't recovered from the day before, I felt exhausted even breaking camp, it was cold and misty, and the day started with two VERY steep climbs, together about 1600 feet, that just killed me. By God I was grumpy, and I basically coughed, whined and cursed my way through the entire day. Verity, on the other hand, was clearly much better and forced us along at a decent pace. Near the end of the day's endeavours we saw a remarkable thing at Deep Gap. Two daffodils in full flower. I should say that the predominant colour of our landscape is brown due to the thick carpet of autumn leaves that is everywhere. Seeing those splashes of yellow hit me with the same impact as a scene I remember in "Schindler's List". In a sea of human misery being herded on to railway wagons, all filmed in monochrome, a little girl in a red coat stands out. Anyway, those two blooms lifted my spirits for the final climb of the day up to Standing Indian Shelter, 7.7 miles today and 88.3 miles from Springer Mountain. We completed all our chores in daylight. There was a campfire blazing away. Verity joined the other hikers there. I went straight to bed. It was 6.45pm!
Date: 2013-09-16
From: Campsite after Imp Shelter

To: White Mtn Hostel
Miles today: 8.6

Day 120 - White Mountain HostelI booked it today over one last mountain before precariously descending to Route 2 and the White Mountain Hostel. I got there around 11am and the place was booked, but luckily the voice had reserved me a bunk. The hostel is right next to the trail, so it is super convenient. It is also very nice, as it's basically a big old house which has been very nicely renovated and turned into a lodge/hostel. There were a bunch of hikers there who I had heard of but never met, so it was cool to get to know some new peeps.I got a ride into town from the girl who works at the hostel, and proceeded to dominate a 20 piece McNugget and large fry, just as promised. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I then headed to a coffee shop where I ran into Coon and his buddy again (I can't remember his name at the moment, but he's a cool dude).   I also took the time to get caught up on my blog, which was badly in need of an update.   It was nice to lounge around for the afternoon - the Whites proved to be real hard, and I hadn't been in a trail town since Hanover, which was like 140 miles ago. I need a little dose of town now and again! After the coffee shop I walked down main street until I reached a community soccer field and park. What appeared to be the local high school girls' team was practicing, and as I walked along the sideline through the park i couldn't help but think about how awesome it would be if I had a ball to knock around. I was extremely envious of the team, but as a continued walking, what did I find???   A random, crappy soccer ball! It was even pumped up!   I spent the next hour juggling, shooting on a practice goal and running around. It felt SO good, and it made me realize how much I miss the game while being out on the trail. The endorphins were definitely flowing en masse, and I was super happy and thankful to have stumbled on that field and that crappy ball! It really made my day!The hostel folks made a Walmart run in the evening, so I had them pick me up on the way. When we got back to the hostel, a bunch of us sat around watching movies and having a couple beers. It sounds like it will be me, Bud, the Voice and Rabbit hiking together into Maine. We should be there within the next 2 days!
Date: 2013-09-17
From: White Mtn Hostel

To: Camp Spot on Mt Success
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 121 - Campsite on top of Mt. SuccessToday it was Bud, The Voice and me that headed out together on the trail. My pack seemed awfully heavy as I headed out, but I chalked it up to the resupply and having all of my winter gear. After about three miles of struggling, and some not so discrete hints given by Bud and Voice, I came to find that there had been a 5lb iron bar put into the bottom of my bag. Veeeeerry funny Rabbit and the Voice!   No wonder i was struggling so bad! I decided that the prank was going to stop right then and there, and left the weight in the middle of the trail for some other jokester to possibly pick up. The day was nice - probably in the 60s and sunny - and the mileage was easy. We had fun goofing off most of the day, and ended it by catching the sunset and camping on top of Mt. Success. Tomorrow we cross into MAINE!
Date: 2003-03-30
From: Rainbow Springs CG

To: Franklin, N.C.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

About midnight, I woke up. Rain was absolutely pounding down on the roof. I slipped a little deeper into my sleeping bag. I thanked God we weren't sleeping under canvas tonight, and went back to sleep. Some time later, maybe hours, I heard "Smoky Mountain Steve" shoving more logs into the stove. Mentally, I applauded him, because it was very cold, and drifted off to sleep again. We all slept late. I woke shortly after 7.00 and casually looked out the window behind me to see the most amazing scene. One of the most beautiful snowy landscapes I have ever seen. Quite deep, five or six inches, all dumped between 4.00 and 6.00 in the morning. When I went outside, it was more beautiful still. Rainbow Springs Campground is very pretty even in normal conditions, landscaped attractively with several different varieties of pine, including white and ponderosa pine. Their branches hung down over the pathways, heavy and laden with snow. And all this sloping down to the Nantahala River along the edge of the grounds. It was gorgeous.But plans had to be changed. No way were we going to tackle our next stage in these conditions. "Smoky Mountain Steve" felt the same way and decided to stay here for another day. We decided to find a ride to Franklin, N.C., and sit things out until the snow cleared. But Andrea and Katie decided to push on, confident that "being from Wisconsin" (Andrea) and "having walked in the Adirondacks" (Katie) would see them through. I chatted quite a bit to Steve through the morning. He's probably a bit of an acquired taste but he definitely grew on me the more we talked. He's strongly anti-war and from Atlanta. Our ride appeared at lunchtime so we headed off to Franklin, the nearest town, to wait out the cold spell and enjoy an AYCE at Shoney's while we did so.
Date: 2013-09-19
From: Camp Spot near Old Speck Mtn

To: Random Stealth Camp Spot
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 123 - Random Camp SpotI'm glad we did Old Speck Mountain last night, because today we were only left with the Baldplate Mountains as our tough climbs. Today's hike was full of bare, rocky ridges and summits from which you could see both where you had come from and where you were headed. From the east peak of Baldplate, I could see across the valley to the open rocky top of the west peak. Once we finally got to the west peak, we took a break because the view was spectacular. The skies were clear and blue, and mountains were the backdrop for the forests and lakes below. It's definitely more sparsely populated in this area, and the beauty of the seemingly untouched forests is really awesome. We made good time and decided to end after 17 miles while we still had some daylight in which to hang out and cook dinner. Shortly after dark as we laid in our respective tents, the light from a headlamp made its way up the trail toward us. Shortly thereafter, we heard an inquisitive "hey... Indy?".   It was Rabbit, who had finally caught up to us after a few days. He was pushing on to the next shelter, but we are planning to meet up with him the in the morning.
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Andover ME

To: Sabbath Day Lean-to
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 125 - Sabbath Day Pond Lean-toWe got a shuttle back to the trail at 7am, and did some good miles. Within the first 3 we summited Old Blue Mountain, and the view was great. The whole sky to the east and north was full of dense white, fluffy clouds, which appeared to be only a few hundred feet below. To the south was a distinct line where the clouds suddenly stopped and a clear valley could be seen. It was one of the more unique views I've had, and I took some time to drink it in. The rest of the day was pretty easy going. It's crazy, but the leaves are changing right before my eyes. A few days ago they were mostly still green, but in each of the few days since I've seen big changes. From dull to bright, they're coming quick and it's beautiful!   There was a great view where we crossed route 17 - a massive lake sprawled out beneath me in the distance, and the whole panorama was full of orange, yellow and red leaved trees.   Rabbit was ahead of Voice and me, and had reached the shelter by the time we hit the beach right before the shelter. We got there around 5, so we had some time to sit next to the pristine lake and take in the view. It was really the first time I FELT like I was in Maine. This is what's in my mind when I envision the beauty of Maine, and I enjoyed it immensely. Clouds began to roll in around 5:45 so we went the rest of the way to the shelter before the rain started. Also there were two other NOBOS named Limey and Tennessee. We stayed in the shelter as the rain beat down on the metal roof all night long.
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam, N.C.
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Weatherwise, yesterday was almost a mirror-image of the day before. The morning weather was bright, the clouds began to gather around noon, and early afternoon saw our main thunderstorm of the day. But it passed, and in muggy conditions we worked our way down to Fontana Dam. What a sight! Stretched out 2,000 feet below was the long, twisting lake created by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River. The dam looked enormous. And it really is! 480 feet high (I learned later), it was the greatest of the hydro-electricity projects approved by FDR in the Thirties and completed by the Tennessee Valley Authority. We got into Fontana Dam Village about 5.00, and checked into the Inn, and are taking an off-trail day to catch up with laundry, re-supply and consume lots of calories. The village itself has survived many transformations. Lumber was the original industry here and the countryside was virtually stripped at one time. There are no virgin forests here! Then copper was discovered, and for a decade the village became a mining town, before FDR and the TVA stopped that and turned it into the home of thousands of construction workers. Today, it's a very attractive recreational, vacation resort, which lays claim to being the "square dancing capital of the world". There's a thing. The village stretches steeply up the hill from NC28. Apart from the Inn at the top, and the boardwalked line of launderette, general store and Post Office at the bottom, the rest consists of maybe 50 cabins and homes along six or seven streets. There is no real pattern to the layout which adds to the attractive appearance of the place. That, and the profusion of dogwood trees breaking into blossom right now. Some creamy-white, others a kind of salmon-red. Pretty, and at night they give off a sweet, heady scent. Many familiar faces are here. The hikers tend naturally to gather along the boardwalk where there are plenty of seats and rockers to settle in and "chew the fat", in between dealing with laundry, picking up or sending off maildrops at the Post Office, or re-supplying at the store. "Dimple Rock" and "Wrong Way Brown", who arrived today, picked up some huge boxes from their parents that they will need a mule train to transport. And there's a payphone here too. I had a long chat with Heather and Ashley (home for Easter) which was brilliant. Tomorrow we leave Nantahala, "Land of the Falling Waters", and head into the Smokies. We go right over the top of the dam. I'm looking forward to that. As a boy, I was raised on stories of the great achievements of the TVA, at a time when hacking something out of the natural wilderness to make industrial progress still seemed a noble thing to do. I talked to some of the young hikers about how the TVA tamed the Tennessee River - until they actually arrived here, they had never even heard of it! I've spoken to Verity a lot about how beautiful the Smokies are. We aim to hike through to Davenport Gap at the northern end in seven days, possibly with a stop in Gatlinburg half-way through depending on the weather.
Date: 2013-09-22
From: Sabbath Day Lean-to

To: Rangeley 
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 126 - RangeleyDid I mention that we have Senioritus?   The trail was completely water logged today, and we spent the first couple hours hiking in the rain and sloshing through muddy puddles. To top it off, my pack cover (rain cover) ripped, so I had to Macguyver a temporary fix with floss. It held up pretty well I might say. By the time we got 5 miles in we were already scheming on how to go into Rangelely and still keep our scheduled end date. We decided that it would work out and that we didn't much care for the current trail conditions, so we hitched a ride into town with a nice fella named John. He dropped us off a a lovely lakefront motel which was to be our home for the night. We spent the afternoon getting lunch, doing laundry, hitting the outfitter for a new pack cover and merino wool long johns. We hung out for a while at the town park which is right on a beautiful, massive lake. Later, we had a couple beers and dinner at a local sports bar before sleeping in dry, cozy beds. Senioritus strikes again!
Date: 2013-09-25
From: Stratton

To: East Flagstaff Lake Tentsite
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 129 - East Flagstaff Lake TentsiteWe woke up around 6:30 in hopes of getting an early start, but we weren't able to get a shuttle until 9 or so. Today was our third an final day of traversing mountain ranges.   This time it was the Bigelows, and from here on out there are no more mountain ranges left - ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! It's an unbelievable thing to be able to say we have traversed ALL the mountain ranges on the entire AT! Granted, we have some individual mountains yet to climb, but no more day-long climbing. And to top it off, today we are officially 2000 milers!!!!!! It's really unbelievable to think of how far I've come, and how quickly this will come to an end. Hiking has become so engrained in my life that the idea of being finished doesn't really even register, except for that the end date is approaching. Then it's on to lifetime of zeroes. Weird. It was another tough day for sure.
Date: 2003-04-15
From: Gatlinburg, Tenn.

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Miscellaneous Reflections:-1. First off, Verity seems finally to have decided to stick with her real name on the trail, so "Verity" it is.2.We seem to have resolved some of the noises we've been hearing. The distant drumbeat like a petrol engine? - grouse. You would expect a Scotsman to know that, wouldn't you? The terrifying screaming in the trees at Betty Creek? - Local people say they were screech owls, but I'm still holding out for chimpanzees. 3. At dinner last night, we learned that when "Dimple Rock" yelled our names from the trolley bus yesterday, others on the bus had asked "Are they famous?", to which "Two Speeds" or "Dimple Rock" had said "Well, they are to us." Isn't that nice?4.Many past AT hikers have said that walking the trail was a passage to self-discovery. That has never been my motive, but I have slowly come to the realisation that I am a raging hypochondriac! Nothing seems as interesting as my ailments. Southbound hikers who give a routine "How are you doin'?" as we meet have little idea what they are letting themselves in for. Now that I'm aware of this tendency, I will try harder to control it in this diary. Apart from a persistent wet cough, I'm keeping better today, thank you.
Date: 2013-09-26
From: East Flagstaff Lake Tentsite

To: Caratunk
Miles today: 19.1

Day 130 - CaratunkWe had to make the Kennebec river ferry before 4, so we had some work to do to get 18.8 miles in by then. Like always, we perform when necessary, and we were there by about 3.   Of course the easy terrain had nothing to do with it at all. The "ferry" is a guy from a local outfitter with a canoe who gets paid to take people across so the idiots don't drown trying to ford the river. There's a number of dams that simultaneously release water into the Kennebec, so the water levels can rise in seconds. What looks fordable can turn into disaster pretty quickly, so it's wise to take the canoe. It was fun to take the ferry, and once on the other side we walked another few minutes to reach the main road. There's pretty much nothing in the town of Caratunk aside from a post office, but two miles down the road is a place called Norther Outdoors. It's an outdoor center similar to the NOC back in North Carolina - they offer hotel rooms and have a restaurant and microbrewery onsite. We were pretty much in heaven. For pretty much the whole night we hung out in the main lobby/bar area, ate, drank some brews and watched football. Couldn't ask for anything more!
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Gatlinburg

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today, we got back on the AT. Breakfast was a massive calorie infusion at the "Pancake Cabin" - pancakes, eggs, bacon with a side of biscuits and gravy. The last is a Southern speciality for which I really seem to be developing a taste. Our cab ride back to the summit of Clingman's Dome took us as far as Newfound Gap where it was cut short by the Park Ranger. The road up to Clingman's was closed. The plane that had crashed there recently was being recovered, presumably in pieces, by helicopter today of all days. The ranger told us the road would be closed until 2.00pm. She was very friendly and said that, if we would put our packs in her vehicle, she would be glad to drive us up when the road re-opened. We did this and wandered back down to the Newfound Gap parking area to see what we could see. Who should we meet there but "Wrong Way Brown", "Dimple Rock", "Two Speeds" and Justin. They all left yesterday, also re-starting from Clingman's, sheltered overnight at Mt. Collins, and had this morning walked the 7 miles down to the Gap in time for lunch. So, although they are effectively a day ahead, we joined them for an enjoyable chin-wag in the sunshine. We were introduced to a very pleasant couple, "Moo" and "42" (Mike and Liz), also thru' hiking, originally from New Jersey, but recently living in Alabama. As they readied themselves for their afternoon hike, we went back up to the park ranger's vehicle to find that our timing was perfect. Although only 1.00pm, she had received notification to re-open the road. The park ranger is Kathleen K. Stuart (she is known as KK), and she told us about her job as we drove slowly up the mountain. Employed by the National Park Service, she considers this her best posting. She has a daughter in first grade and a toddler son, and she and her husband love North Carolina. She's originally from Boston. She explained how the park rangers have the authority of law enforcement officers in the park, and finds it weird that, as someone who joined the NPS with a desire to help the environment, she carries a side-arm as part of her job. We spent most of the afternoon working our way back down to Newfound Gap, and, in beautiful evening sunshine, managed to reach the next shelter at Icewater Spring just before dark. On our first arrival at Newfound Gap, I realised I had left my hiking pole in my room in Gatlinburg. Using an old branch all afternoon, on our second arrival at Newfound, I was given a rustic wooden pole by a young girl about to go into town. It's excellent. Unlike my previous pole, it suggests a "Wilderness Man", making use of what the natural habitat provides. It's very me!Hey, we've passed the 200 mile mark!!
Date: 2013-09-27
From: Caratunk

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 131 - Moxie Bald Lean-toWe were up pretty late last night (maybe 11, which is ridiculously late for people who are used to being asleep by 8), and by the time we had breakfast and got a ride to the trail it was 10:45. Have no fear, however, because the terrain was again pretty easy and the weather was beautiful. We cruised through 5 gentle, uphill miles before hitting a pretty steep climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain. That slowed us down and bit, but the view up top was pretty good. I think we even saw Mt. Katahdin way off in the distance, but I don't know for sure. We carried on for another few hours through continuously changing landscapes. It was interesting, because the trail was only going up and down maybe 50-100 feet at a time, and in that small of a change there were different ecosystems. One minute I'd be walking through leafy green/yellow forest, and then I would climb a few feet and it would completely change to a spruce forest. At one point I stopped and marveled at how that at a specific elevation one ecosystem ended and another began. Our last climb of the day was Moxie Bald, and we summited just in time for a gorgeous sunset. We night hiked the last couple miles to the shelter to find a bunch of people there. More thru hikers, no doubt, that we are catching up to on our last push to the finish line.
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started out well. Although the morning was quite cloudy, we had some great views, especially before and after Charlie's Bunion. In a number of places we were walking along quite narrow ridges, consisting of the trail about 2 feet wide, a shoulder on each side of another foot or so, and a sharp (if not quite vertical) drop to either side. These sections usually gave the best views. The day deteriorated. About lunchtime it started to rain (rain trousers went on in double-quick time this time) and, around mid-afternoon, in rolled the mist. Back to our usual Smokies weather. We did almost 13 miles to reach Tri-Corner Knob Shelter, which our guide describes as inclined to be "soggy" in wet weather.It seemed fine when we got there, but very crowded. We found that "Dimple Rock", "Two Speeds", and the others we had met at lunchtime yesterday, were already here. Only one space was available, and we decided that Verity should take it. With all my coughing problems, sharing a tent with me didn't seem like the best idea. There isn't much tent space around here, but I've found a ledge a little way uphill which seems fine. I try not to be bitter about the shelter people.
Date: 2013-09-28
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: Monson
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 132 - MonsonToday we were fast - although the terrain wasn't as easy or flat as the map made it seem - and got into Monson by about 5.   We stayed at the Lakeshore House which is a hiker hostel and a restaurant/bar. It overlooks a lake and they even have kayaks and canoes that guests can take out whenever they want. We ate some dinner, went to the gas station to do our big resupply for the 100 Mile Wilderness (or Hundo Wildy, as we're calling it). Afterwards, we drank a few beers at the hostel while playing guitar and making up stupid songs about our adventures on the trail. Around 11 or so, a group of us took some kayaks out on the lake to enjoy the quiet and look up at all the bright stars.