morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Another short day, but I am still feeling a bit run down and of course looking forward to town!My back has been really sore lately... where is a chiropractor when you need one? Oh yeah, back in AZ working!!!! It seems every other day my body yells at me for what I am doing... and although I know it will be painful, I'm really looking forward to a good massage and an adjustment or two!While I was resting on a rock (and hanging upside down from it trying to crack my back for relief - I really wish I at least could find a foam roller out here!) up walked Pace and Hungus again. since they are much faster hikers than me they can lounge in camp in the morning and if I start much earlier than them, they will still catch me. And catch me they did. I ended up hiking out the last 2 miles with them, and together we got a ride into town with a woman who dropped us at the Avalanche Motel. Years ago I left SC because I felt I was beginning to judge people by the color of their skin... that isn't how I was raised and more importantly that is not who I want to be. But I am beginning to judge people by their accents when I call for a hotel. And it's beginning to bother me. When we went in to get out rooms the owner (not of US birth) charged us almost $40 over the published rate claiming it was the weekend... it was Wednesday... and then when we questioned it we were told because it was summer in the Birkshires. Yes it is summer in the Birkshires... but the Birkshires are not in Manchester Center VT. But what can we do... we are carless and our options are slim. so we paid the rate and headed into town for dinner and resupply.
Date: 2012-08-02
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

While resupplying yesterday I ran into a hiker, Lt Dan, that I had met the night before and since the hotel was charging so much I did what most hikers would do...I invited him to split the room with me. But although there was a contiential breakfast I didnt think it would be good to show up with an extra guest... so he and I decided to go to Friendly's for a good breakfast before heading up the trail. Got a ride with two locals back to the trailhead. Thankfully there was trail magic just in the woods as somehow I have forgotten to get any candy bars in town and sure enough there was one! Crazy how trail magic works! Ended up sheltering with Lt Dan and another strange group of section hiker one of which broke her nose on a bad fall on her way to the shelter.
Date: 2012-08-19
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Quick update... and I promise I will fill in the middle! About 6 days ago I fell pretty bad. Just a basic slip down a slanted wet rock, but unfortunately I took almost a direct hit to my tailbone. I was able to hike another 4 or 5 miles that afternoon to the shelter, but due to the pain I wasn't even able to sit on my air mattress or sleep on my back. The next morning I decided to hike out to the next road crossing and see about getting some help from the local hostel in Glencliff, NH. I was completely lucky or maybe more so blessed to run into a trail angel that afternoon while slowing and painfully hiking up the mountain who decided not only to hike with me to make sure I was ok, but to also give me a ride to the hostel. I can't even thank "Longshot" enough for all he did for me. Not only does he bring water up to a shelter with a dry water source, but normally he hands out the most amazing cookies to each thru hiker he meets! What a blessing it was to see him that day. But when I got to the hostel I was blessed to see another angel... my good friend "Dah Wah He" was there... looking for me... hoping to do some trail magic for me!He has been here with me helping slackpack me for the first few days after the fall and shuttling me around to all the trail heads and for resupply in town. I really can't even express how blessed I have been in the last week! Even with a bad fall, things couldn't be better! Of course I would rather not have had the fall, but you know what I mean!mileage updates... I have crossed the 1800 miles hiked mark now, with over 500 miles completed this summer, and officially as of tonight I have "only" 373.1 miles to go!I am loving being back in the White Mountains for the first time in years... the place I first backpacked in the mid 80's. Also I uploaded a few photos... I was trying for more, but the system seemed to be running really slow, so for now that's all I have time for. sorry.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Gooch Gap

To: Day 2
Miles today: 18.1

I got up earlier today and knocked out a little 12-mile dash to the top of Blood Mountain. There were a few little hills and some sweaty climbs in-between Ramrock Mt. and Blood Mt. but nothing worth mentioning. Blood Mt. was actually pretty impressive though. And the 1,200 feet of elevation gain that separates Jarrard Gap from the top of Blood Mt. was the first real challenge I've encountered out here. It stands 4,461' feet in the air and had enough prominence above the surrounding terrain to make it look like a for-real mountain. A force to be reckoned with. Apparently it got its name from a brutal battle between two Indian tribes that happened on the Mt. There is a giant bald patch of solid rock near the summit that can be seen from the base of the mountain. And, during the battle, the entire rock face was covered in blood. Hence the name. These days, Blood Mt. is patrolled by a resident black bear that has been getting a little too fresh with hikers recently. So much so that you can't even sleep in the shelter overnight without a bear canister. (You're not supposed to at least.)   From the summit of Blood Mt, it was a quick little 1'000' descent to get to Neel Gap and the first legitimate hostel and re-supply point on the whole trail. Neel Gap also boasts the only place on the entire AT where the trail passes through a building: the stone breezeway that separates the hostel from the outfitter. I pondered staying in the hostel for a moment, but it was already overrun with agitated middle-aged hikers who were complaining about how it smells like feet and cat piss. So I decided to just eat a snack and move on. I was able to grab some food and a copy of AWOL's AT guide there though, which was desperately needed. I also weighed my pack and fully-loaded with fuel, 2L of water, and 7 days worth of food I'm topping out as just over 30 lbs. That even impressed the guys working at the outfitter, whose entire job is to help hikers shed weight.   I gossiped about gear with some other thru-hikers for a bit, although it's hard to call people who have only hiked 30 miles thru-hikers right now. Then I left the boys to sit there and complain in their hostel and bounced up and over Levelland Mt. Then I found a picturesque little campsite right around the summit of Wolf Laurel Top. I'm looking forward to sprinting thru this section and getting Georgia out' tha damn way!
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Wolf Laurel Top

To: Day 3
Miles today: 18.9

Nice long day today. I got up even earlier and got warmed up by climbing up and over Cowrock Mt. After 3 miles I was at the Whitley Gap Shelter so I stopped to eat brunch and top off my water. There I met another older NoBo named Fresh Ground. Poor guy is already all wrapped up with knee and ankle braces. He does live up to his name and serve up some strong ass coffee though. A lil extra pep in my step is surely welcomed on a long day like this one.    When I gt moving again I made short work of Poor Mt. and Sheep Rock top. Then I descended into this flat area where I was able to essentially sprint for about 9 miles. I realized that the whole state of Georgia is comprised of these little gaps: Cold Springs Gap, Chattahoochie Gap, Red Clay Gap, Unicoi Gap, and Indian Grave Gap just today alone. It's like they've tried to name every single little notch in the foothills in order to try to add legitimacy to the mountains in the area. These mountains may be among the oldest on Earth, but they've been weathered down to practically nothing at this point.    When I got to the Blue Mountain Shelter there were just a couple of people there, the most room I've seen in a shelter so far. The weather was drizzly but manageable and warm enough. I wanted to stop there and call it a day but I knew that I had some more miles left in me today. Unsure of what to do I decided to just flip a coin and leave it up to Physics (fuck chance.) The coin told me to keep hiking so I ate a quick 1st lunch and took off. I was immediately faced with my first real obstacle of the day: 1,000' descent down Blue Mt, road crossing over Unicoi Gap, and an immediate 1,000' climb up Rocky Mt. By the time I got to the Rocky Mountain summit it was just getting dark outside and I officially had no more miles left in me today.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Day 5
Miles today: 19.8

No problems today. The terrain eased up. The rain eased up. 4.5 miles in to my day I finally put the state of Georgia in my rear-view mirror. I'm moving right along, despite some poorly-located blisters that are starting to form from hiking 20 miles in wet socks yesterday. Gosh it feels good to have the Georgia foothills behind me. Well sort-of. Literally as soon as I crossed the border I was greeted with a grueling up-and-down climb over Couthouse Bald, another Sassafras Gap, some technical rollercoastering, and an arduous 1,000' up and 1,200' down Standing Indian Mt. Wow North Carolina; you just made me instantly regret bitching about how small the mountains were in Georgia. I was pooped by the time I got here to the Carter Gap Shelters.    When I got to the shelter I was greeted by Daniel and Wilderness, who left camp over an hour before I did this morning. Shortly thereafter a thru-hiker named Blackfoot and his wife Sunshine showed up. They were followed by a hot marathon runner named Samantha, a stoner named Stoner Dave, and finally some barefoot guy with tattoos came limping into camp just after dark. I didn't bother to learn the barefoot dude's name because I'm predicting that he won't be out here for very much longer. We made camp, built a huge thru-hiker-fire, and immediately busted out the booze and marijuana. We ended up sitting by the fire and enjoying pleasant conversation until hiker midnight. It is soo funny to be with all of these people who are so fresh to the woods. Everyone is battered and blistered already. They're all carrying at least 10 pounds of extraneous luxury weight still. Half of them haven't yet figured out how to properly set up and break down their gear. Poor Samantha thinks that she's going to be able to keep herself warm with an ENO hammock, a 50-degree bag, and an inflatable pool floatie... I sure hope these people are able to keep up with me because all of this comic relief is far too satisfying right now.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Day 6
Miles today: 20.1

What a day. I woke up early because of all of the morning commotion and got packed up earlier than usual. Started the day off with a long slow climb up Albert Mountain. The fire tower up there was pretty neat; supposedly you can see 5 states from the tower on a clear day. I'm not sure if I believe that though. I took a nice long lunch and hung out with Samnatha, Sunshine, Blackfoot, and a local day-hiker. Then, feeling energized, I set off to slay a 20+ mile day.   The day quickly deteriorated however. Now that I'm out of the Georgia foothills these mountains are getting pretty big, bigger than anything I hit until I got to Vermont last year. I'm staying more-or-less up on the ridge line so my climbs are rarely more than 1,000' at a time, but my overall elevation is getting up there. Albert Mountain topped out at over 5,200' in fact. This makes for two very important things: the wind is windier up here as it gets funneled up and over the ridge, and the cold is colder because there's no moisture or pressure to insulate you. So, on days like today, when a late-afternoon storm cell blows over it actually gets pretty cold, wet, and miserable up here even though it's warm and sunny down in the valley.    With nothing to do but hike and climb mountains, I powered through some tough miles this afternoon without taking a break. It was wet and uncomfortable hiking, but it would get even more wet and uncomfortable if I stopped for even a minute. It was a keep-your-head-down-and-march kind of day. By the time I got to Siler Bald Shelter I was approaching the limits of my stamina. Daniel and Samantha were the only other hikers from Carter gap last night who actually made it here today. A group of middle-aged section-hikers showed up shortly after the other two and immediately called me out for my Florida Gators bandanna that I had hung up to dry in a prominent place on the shelter. They're a bunch of old college buddies from FSU who have grown up and gone their separate ways; but they rendezvous once a year to do another section of the AT together. Pretty cool. Only one of them has a trail-name and it is Ickabod, because he looks like a crane. Then a dude named Luke showed up carrying an impossibly heavy pack. He claims to be a thru-hiker, but with a pack like that I'm surprised he even made it this far. In his defense he did just spend the day hitching into Franklin, NC to eat and re-supply and then did the long 5-mile climb up here to the shelter. But, even with a town-pack, there is no reason why you should ever have to strap your shelter to your pack with bungee chords because it won't fit inside... Anyway, despite being a pretty friendly group if folks, we're all kind of wet, cold, and silent at the moment. Herd to keep the spirits up on such a miserable day. I'd better sleep this off because tomorrow looks like another long one.
Date: 2012-05-26
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Day 11
Miles today: 16.6

Rough morning. Rough day. The party is definitely over. I woke up with an appropriately intense hang-over for how much I drank last night. I didn't even make it back to my sleeping bag at the end of the night and instead just curled up like a cat on top of my pack. So now I'm sore and hung-over as shit, today is not going to be a good day. At least I got my mail drop yesterday and am able to leave today. This old section-hiker didn't make it into town before the post office closed yesterday. And Monday is Memorial Day so the poor guy is stuck here at the Hilton till Tuesday morning. Now that's rough. So Jude, Evan, and I, being the handsome young stoners of the group, decided to band-together and set off for the Smokies. We were pretty slow to get going though because we had to smoke so much weed to mitigate our respective hang-overs. The other guys were actually back on-trail before I was because I just had to stop on the dam for a while to soak things in. I don't think that I can properly describe this place or the emotions that it elicits but it's nothing short of mystical. This giant man-made dam installed right into the foothills of the Smokies, holding back the wilderness and storing potable water for the civilization below. Or maybe it's the other way around: the mountains rising up into the sky serving as a barrier against man and the encroachment of his infrastructure.   So Fontana Dam is basically the water-level here at 1,700' above actual sea-level. From here it's essentially a 30-mile climb until the trail tops out at Clingmans Dome at 6,643', the tallest point on the entire trail. Again, I can't stress enough how big these mountains actually are. They're not jagged and intimidating like the Whites were though. The mountaintops are actually earthen and tree-covered and comparatively blunt, which is odd considering that I would be well above tree-line if I were at this elevation in the Northeast. This makes for some pretty forgiving trail conditions going through the Smokies. Well, sort of. Horses are allowed on a great number of trails in the Smokies, including some trails which coincide with the AT. So one has to be diligent about not stepping on all of the horse shit on-trail. It was a long hot climb today too, complete with a bit of boulder scrambling, another Sassafras Gap, and a safety meeting in the Shuckstack fire tower. After the super steep and depressing climb out of Ekaneetlee Gap, passed Mollies Ridge, and over Devil's Tater Patch, I finally caught up with the other guys at Russell Field Shelter. They were just as beat as I was so we decided to call it a day. This will be my first night back in my Ethel since I was on the AT last year! I love my pink Snuggie for how light it is but, when it dips down to the low 40's up at elevation, there is just nothing like a 0-degree down bag.
Date: 2012-05-29
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Day 14
Miles today: 12.6

Slow start to a slow day today. Max, MoMo, and Shenny were gone before Jude, Luke, Even or myself were out of our sleeping bags. Even the weekend warriors were practically packed up before we started moving. How embarrassing...We started the day off by taking a little detour of a loop-trail that goes passed Charlie's Bunion. It turned out to be the highlight of the day because the weather cleared for a minute, allowing the sun to come out and lift our spirits in a way that only mother nature can. We took a little time there to soak up some sunshine and some THC and then charged back into the dark wet green tunnel we call home. Then it was 11.6 jagged miles to get to the Tri-Corner Knob Shelter and our stopping point for the day. The latter part of the day was denoted by extremely fast hiking, a quick lap around Mt. Sequoyah, and many little 30-second breaks to stop and schwill some moonshine. We got to Tri-Corner Knob early enough to collect firewood in the fading daylight. For a while, we thought that we might have the shelter to ourselves for the night seeing as how the early birds were all well on their way to Cosby Knob by now. Even Luke decided that 12.6 miles wasn't enough for him and pushed on further. But eventually another thru-hiker named Pokey showed up followed by an older guy, his son, and assorted friends out for a long weekend. Me, Even, and, Jude decided that our moonshine is too awful to carry around any longer so me made a pack to just drink as much as we can tonight and dump the rest before we break camp tomorrow. These are the tough decisions you have to make out here on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2012-06-01
From: Hakuna Matata's

To: Day 17
Miles today: 0.0

Asheville day 2. We woke up fairly early and eradicated the haze leftover from last night with strong coffee. Hakuna Matata had to work again today so Jude and I made our way back downtown to kill some time. All we did was get wasted yesterday so we spent quite a bit of time just strolling through downtown taking in all the sights. Jude, who has never been here before, understood what this town is all about as soon when we passed a small woodworking shop which is advertising "100% organic furniture." We hit up a few outdoors/camping stores, ate brunch at the Tupelo Honey Cafe (THC,) and then went to the downtown park to mingle with the other homeless people of Ashevlle.    Hakuna Matata was off work by the early afternoon today so he came and picked us up and drove us right to his dealer's house. A sweet and reserved hippie chick answered the door and invited us in. She felt bad because she had heard that I was coming through town and wasn't able to lock down any hash for me. It feels good to know that I have complete strangers looking out for me. I told her that I'll take whatever I can get and proceeded to buy 1/4 of her sweetest sensimilla. Portable G is dry no more! Those up-tight losers back in the Smokies can suck it.    After leaving my savior and guardian angel's house, we headed up to the grocery to stock up on supplies for tonight: beers and brats. Afterwards we smoked the rest of the afternoon away in Hakuna Matata's living room and chatted with his extremely cool roommates. Then it was time to head to a show at a brand new venue called The Bywater. This place is amazing. It has a friendly laid-back atmosphere, an impressive tap selection, huge outdoor grilling/dancing area, and is nestled right on the banks of the beautiful French Broad River. In fact, you can pull your canoe right up onto their boat ramp and stop in for a beer. They are dog friendly and have multiple above-ground fire pit/barbecues out back that anyone is free to grill on. We sat there all night grilling brats, listening to live music, and smoking out the employees down by the river. It was the best of times. I would do just fine in Asheville I'm sure. If my heart wasn't so set on going out to Colorado and experiencing the Rockies I would most likely me moving straight back here after my hike just like Hakuna Matata did...
Date: 2012-06-02
From: Hakuna Matata's

To: Day 18
Miles today: 13.3

Hakuna Matata could not have taken better care of us during our double-0. Thank you man. I feel rested and refreshed and ready to crush some miles. I got more weed, got my social fix, saw some live music, pretty much fell in love with Asheville all over again. Portable G is back on top! I don't even remember what national park I just came from and don't care what happened there. Jude and I were prepared to hitch back to the trail this morning but Hakuna Matata took the morning off and insisted that he give us a ride. He hadn't been back to Standing Bear since he stayed there last year, so he wanted to spend a little time with the AT. Completely understandable. So he gave us a ride all the way back to the hostel. Curtis wasn't there when we arrived but we found Rocket the caretaker wandering around trying to look busy. So we sat Rocket down and got him nice and high and polished off a few leftover Sierra Nevadas. We sat there and shot the shit for a while and played with Rocket's new slightly deformed little kitten named Broke. Eventually Hakuna Matata took off to make back in time for work. Me and Jude used the microwave in the store to heat up a BBQ pork burger. We ate one last bit of town-food, smoked one last bowl with Rocket, and headed back to the trail.    After two days off, we were greeted with a brutal 4.5-mile 2,300' ascent up Snowbird Mt. as soon as we hit the trail. Neither of us re-supplied in Asheville so our packs were light for coming out of town, but our stamina was at a resounding low after partying for two days. Snowbird Mountain definitely got the best of us today. Then we dropped down the other side and paused at Deep Gap for water. Then we rollercoastered for another 7ish miles until we were standing on the summit of Max Patch just before sunset. Max Patch is a little bald mountain whose summit sits at right about 4,600'. And, while is isn't as tall as some of the other mountains in this range, it has an abnormally great view because the entire cap of the mountain is grassy and treeless. We're talking about a 360° panoramic view here. Me and Jude went and chilled with a fairly large group of locals who are here for the night getting rowdy. Then we went and found a nice little fox hole that should keep us halfway protected from the relentless wind and plopped our bags down. Mashed potatoes and a fantastic sunset to watch this evening. Cowboy camping under the stars tonight. And big plans tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-06
From: Flint Mountain Shelter 

To: Day 22
Miles today: 18.9

Pretty Slow start but I still caught up to Cousin Dave at Hogback Ridge Shelter. At Sam's gap Jude skipped ahead to the hostel so me, Wilderness, and Cousin Dave climbed the 7.5 miles to Big Bald Mt. We hung out there for a while then went to Bald Mountain Shelter. Me and Cousin dave made a HUGE fire that survived a rainstorm. and Wilderness made cheesecake!!
Date: 2012-06-07
From: Bald Mountain Shelter 

To: Day 23
Miles today: 16.4

Smooth Sailing listening to the Disco Biscuits all the way to Uncle Johnny's. Evan had beat us there. I met Wren & Stimpy and Deltaforce there finally. Ate shitty mexican food, got much-needed re-supply, drank a 12-pack of PBR and smokes with J Cruz, Jude, Luke, and Evan all night.