morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-21
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald Shelter 
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

11 miles from Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Bald ShelterWe had a great 24 hours in Franklin, but it was time to hit the trail before we got too soft. So catching a 930am shuttle to the trail, we were hiking just after 10am. My ¢hope¢ was to do about 16 miles to Cold Stream Shelter...alas, my hopes were dashed on the rocks of Reality.It was a beautiful day with lots of sun and no clouds...I thought we hit the jackpot. We made it to Siler Bald by 1245pm and stopped for a lunch at the top. We had made almost 5 miles in that first stretch so I was feeling pretty good about our miles. The afternoon phase was to hike to Wayah Fire Tower about 5-6 miles away. It was like everything changed after lunch. The terrain became more difficult; we were climbing higher elevations; and I don¢t know if I can blame the lunch, but our feet were dragging all afternoon. It took us less than 3 hours to hike the first five miles, and almost 4 to hike same distance in the afternoon. There was no way we had any juice left to hike 5 more miles. By the time we reached the shelter, Curly and I were toast.We set up camp, cooked a dinner of chicken and rice, hung our food and will probably be asleep before any of you read this post! Tomorrow we will press on towards the Smokies. Rain is due in for the next 4 days (ugh), but you know what they say...¢no RAIN, no pain, no Maine!!
Date: 2018-04-22
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Rufus P Morgan Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Curly and I have been on the trail now for 12 days. In that time we received bottled water from a church group outside Woody Gap; a banana someone left at Unicoi Gap; a lady packed out our trash for us at a shelter; and today we received breakfast burritos and coffee at Burningtown Gap from ¢Cap¢ who thru hiked in 2015; and fruit and water from First United Methodist in Franklin. While the hiker community debates the merits of trail magic, and for lots of reasons why...all I can say as a hiker is that every single act of charity and kindness is gratefully appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of Curly Turtle and Force Flex¢s hearts. We hiked over 15.5 miles today in cold, soggy conditions. Those kind acts of generosity gave us encouragement and nourishment to keep trekking - thanks again!
Date: 2018-04-23
From: Rufus Morgan Shelter 

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

We managed to catch a short break at top of swim bald in a bunch of rhododendron trees and grabbing a snack and adding another layer for her top, we forged ahead the last mile and a half to the shelter. We quickly changed into dry clothes and had some hot food. It is 440pm, and Curly is asleep next to me exhausted and probably dreaming of a vacation in the tropics!! Tomorrow we head out towards Fontana Dam which will take us 2 days and both forecasted for rain!!
Date: 2018-04-24
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter 

To: Cable Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 15.2

We woke up to...wait for it...wait for it...rain! Third day in a row, beginning to look like a trend. Nonetheless, we were not deterred and planned on a big miles day because Fontana Village was awaiting us the next day, and the more miles we hiked today would be less miles tomorrow. We did spend our second night in a shelter, this one being a double decker, pretty high society.  Early in the day it rained pretty much the whole morning, and just something we dislike but the truth about this is that on the AT, if you hike only when the sun is shining, you might not get more than a few miles up the trail. We made pretty decent time in the morning in spite of the weather, playing leapfrog with ¢Two Hats¢, a nice gentlemen from Boston. About 1230pm, we dropped down into Stecoah Gap and one of the most beautiful sights to a hiker appeared...a trash can! Seriously, you don¢t know how much thru hikers appreciate a place to offload their trash. We don¢t bury it, or burn it, and the good ones don¢t pitch it-we pack it out. So even after a couple days in the woods, you can imagine how much trash accumulates. And Curly and I pick up others trash as well, so our bag gets pretty big pretty quick. Anyways we headed north out of Stecoah Gap and immediately were introduced to ¢Jacobs Ladder¢, this insidiously mean spirited attempt by the trail gods to break our hearts and make us cry for mommy! This upward climb was absolutely straight up and it was like looking at a skyscraper. There were feeble attempts to create steps in order to give the appearance of a normal climb, but noooo, nothing normal about this. You would gasp up one portion only to turn a corner and see another ascent. The grade was so severe that you were leaning forward almost parallel to the ground like those ski jumpers in the olympics parallel to their skis. I silently, then out loud cursed that hill and renamed it ¢spawn of Satan¢. Toughest climb yet.We finally reached the top and moved on, but not without one more dirty look on my part. Fortunately the rest of the afternoon was rather uneventful and the rain had actually ceased for the time being. With the day fast ending we reached 6pm and one mile remaining to our destination when, of course, it started raining cats and dogs. One mile to ending the day dry! Oh so close, but not today. We slogged into the shelter and fortunately got two spots in a dry space. Curly had Spam and Mashed Potatoes and I had Ramen and Spam for dinner. Seriously, I understand why Hawaii has named Spam the State national treasure! So good.We ended the day hiking 15.2 miles which leaves us 6.6 from Fontana Village and a big juicy burger. Life is great on the trail!
Date: 2018-04-25
From: Cable Gap Shelter 

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: light rain

I¢m sure if you read this journal for any length of time, you will get a little tired of me writing about how grateful we are to be having this opportunity. But that¢s ok. Because we really are! I love waking up and hiking. I love the whole experience that it entails, even the weather (to a much lesser degree). This is a remarkable adventure, almost a pioneer like thing, and I hope I never take it for granted. Having said all that...there ain¢t nothing like the ¢pull¢ of going into town! The incentive of getting clean, getting your clothes clean, sleeping in a comfy bed...and the food. Oh the food. I think the hiker hunger has definitely hit Curly big time, all she talked about this morning was getting a big burger. She didn¢t want to do anything else til we ate. First and foremost.And so we packed up at camp and said ¢see ya up the trail¢ to our shelter mates and hit it hard. With 6.5 miles to go and according to a former thru hiker we met the previous nite , only ¢one¢ big up along the way, we were figuring on an easy and quick morning. Yeah, right.The big up began going out of camp and seemed to continue for a good chunk of the day. I know intellectually that¢s not the case, but emotionally, when you want to get somewhere real bad, the destination never arrives quick enough. Kind of like Christmas morning as a kid. Of course this was also day 4 of rain, and with the torrential, all night downpour, the trail was slicker than snot on a door knob. We couldn¢t get a grip on the trail up or down. Thank goodness for hiking poles. My new favorite accessory. Those puppies saved us a lot of pain and misery.About half way into the morning, Fontana Dam appeared thru the trees, and as we dropped into lower elevations, the green of the forest really is starting to pop. We finally came out of the woods around noon at the Fontana Hilton, a shelter with a solar charging station, real bathroom and the last shelter before entering the Smokies. Got a shuttle into Fontana Village and went straight to the grill.All I can tell you is not to get your hands between Curly and her food. She devoured a huge burger and fries and I had to talk her out of the wings, but promised them for dinner! Yep hiker hunger is upon us. We headed to the Fontana Lodge, which is a neat, old throwback to mountain retreats back in the 50s. Lots of pics on the walls of hoe downs with women in puffy dresses and big hair. Men all slicked up in cowboy shirts and brill cream ( anyone ever hear of that?). Got cleaned up, dried out everything in the pack, laundry completed, even squeezed in a short nap, and got our permits for the Smokies. Oh yeah, ate a huge dinner and gonna say good night as we head off into the mountains in the morning. Weather forecast? You got it...rain!
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Fontana Shelter 

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

However today we had a secret weapon to take on the rain and actually devised a way to make it work - umbrellas! This amazing Mary Poppinish invention was attached to our shoulder straps and we were mostly dry for the rest of the day. And that my friends is about the only highlight of our day. Curly and I both struggled with the muddy trail, slipping and sliding and trying to keep our shoes on. The trail seemed to go perpetually up and rarely down, and it was fairly cold. The result is that we didn¢t take a single ¢pack off¢ break all day and basically hiked for 7 plus hours. Curly was not happy with me at all and I felt bad. So I cooked her a gourmet meal...Mexican chicken and rice! It was devoured so fast it would make your head swim!  It¢s now 8pm and we are nestled in our little sacks at the shelter. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to come out and no rain scheduled!!! We shall see.
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.0

I am thrilled to say that today there was no RAIN! I know hard to believe but true. And it¢s incredible how sunshine puts absolutely everybody in a good mood. Hikers in both directions were smiling and couldn¢t stop talking about the last several days. Curly and I had a pretty easy morning, making some good time and just loving the springtime growth taking place in the forest. Entire ridge lines are bathed in green with tiny white flowers covering space almost like snow. The sunshine easily works it¢s way thru the trees as they have not yet engulfed the forest in their foliage.After a nice hot lunch on a grassy hillside, we made our way to climb the infamous Rocky Top (let¢s hear it Vols)...and the fun suddenly ended. The ascents for the remainder of the day were steep and much of the trail still very muddy. The views however made up for the pain. Incredible views that were 360 degrees and visibility for miles! Definitely most beautiful day of the hike.It took us a while to get into camp, longer than we would have preferred, but the shelter had room for us and we are now seeing the same people over an extended period of time. Some of the folks we are bunking with are Sparky, Bushwhacker,Fungi and Becca. Fungi and Becca have a dog Black Jack who is also hiking the trail but dogs are not allowed in the Smokies so he is being boarded until the get through.Tomorrow we reach the 200 mile mark and hike up Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the entire AT. It¢s s big day ahead with big climbs to look forward to. We are tucked in our beds and one of the hikers has started a fire in the shelter fireplace...great ambience!!
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Derrick Knob Shelter 

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

We did just that and headed to our destination for the night. Arriving, we were met by a shelter full of college kids, so we¢ve pitched our tent and broken out the earplugs. I expect it to be a long night. That¢s ok, we get-up early and will be happy to return the favor!Tomorrow we are planning a 14.5 mile day, a bit high on the mileage but sets us up for a Friday arrival into Hot Springs. Just a side note: I will get pictures up when I have a chance; they don¢t load out here very well so I¢ve just been sending in the journal. Also thanks for all the encouraging words in the guest book. I do read them , and try to respond if an email is left. Thanks!!
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Mt. Collins Shelter 

To: Pecks Corner Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

We woke up this morning knowing a big mile day was facing us. With our desire to get into Hot Springs by Friday, the numbers required us to get a move on. And so we did, getting on the trail early and making the most of another beautiful day. We arrived at Newfound Gap about 11am and plopped down on the grass to have a snack and call the kiddos. The tourists were out in droves and one in particular saw us and offered us some jive and bananas- much appreciated!We enjoyed Newfound Gap for 2 reasons. First, trail angels gave us fresh fruit. Fruit and veggies don¢t get eaten on the trail so this is a special thing. Second, they had bathrooms! Real bathrooms with toilets that ¢swoosh¢ rather than privies that ¢kerplunk¢.  Bathrooms with running water are like Christmas morning for thru hikers.After a lengthy break, we got back on our feet and hiked on. The views again, were spectacular - the perfect sunny day allowed for visibility unlike anything I¢ve ever seen before. As awesome as the views were, the reality is that you have to earn those views. This trail gives nothing away, and getting to viewpoints such as these means hiking along ridge lines and mountaintops that are both unnerving and spectacular. I honestly don¢t know how hikers do not die in some of these places. One step to the left or the right can mean a fall of hundreds of feet, with nothing to catch you except trees! Not Curly¢s favorite type of hike!It made for a long day but we finally made the shelter about 645pm. Ate, crawled into bed and passed out. Looking forward to another beautiful day tomorrow.
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Pecks Corner Shelter 

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

What I¢d like to address today has to do with our eating habits. The previous night at dinner, We each ate a two serving dehydrated meal. I asked Curly if she could eat a meal by herself and she said yes. We both ate good that night, but it served to remind me that ¢Hiker Hunger¢ has hit us both. For the uninitiated, let me explain.We burn about 6000 calories a day. We eat maybe 3000 if we are lucky. The deficit not only means weight loss (not necessarily a bad thing), but also means hunger (a bad thing). Ravenous hunger. Hunger you think about constantly and find yourself eating everything in sight. I would consider Curly and I to have great table manners. Not anymore. Ever drop something on the ground and call the ¢3 second rule?¢ Doesn¢t apply...if food hits the ground, it¢s gonna get eaten no matter what it is or how long it¢s been there. We¢ve regressed to acting like infants, who put everything in their mouths. Curly dropped some gummy bears on the ground and as I was picking them up carefully in order to eat them, to my horror she scooped them up dirt and all to throw away. Mortified I grabbed them and did my best to remove the dirt...crunchy gummy bears.  It¢s really crazy what we eat and how picky we aren¢t. Any type of food will go with any other type of food. Nothing is sacred and all food has suddenly become delicious.  Pray for us!
Date: 2018-05-01
From: Cosby Knob Shelter 

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

We woke up to a glorious sunrise this morning. The shelter, our last one of the Smokies, faced due east, so we actually watched the sun light up the mountain range. As glorious as it was, we were more than ready to get out of them...only 6 plus miles to unrestricted freedom. You are required to stay at shelters in the Smokies and that severely impacts your hiking mileage each day. Now we are free to hike and camp pretty much anywhere there is a durable surface. It feels great!We bailed out of camp at 730am and the first mile plus was a huge ¢up¢, the Smokies farewell to us. We made great time heading north and our final stop was early lunch at Davenport Gap Shelter. We finally found the southern entrance to the Smokies and as soon as we exited, the WHOA ladies (hiker mommas) had a huge tent and spread laid out for thru hikers! We were in shock. And soon to be in sugar/carb shock. These amazing ladies had all kinds of food, most of which I¢ve been craving (DONUTS) for the past couple weeks. We loaded up our plates and gorged on fresh fruit, donuts, fried chicken and ice cold coke. Washed it down with fun size snickers and threw chocolate mini donuts in my pack for breakfast tomorrow. It was amazing and we both are grateful for the generosity.We skipped down the trail and an hour later found ourselves at Standing Bear Farm Hostel, one of the most iconic places on the AT. Totally hiker trash cool and for twenty bucks each you get a bunk, shower, and can hand wash your laundry with a scrub board! Seriously (and no I didn¢t)! I would rather have stinky clothes.We resupplied for the next 3 days until we hit Hot Springs on Friday. Ate cheesy scrambled eggs with a bagel for dinner and now sitting around a fire with Sparky, Squatch, Squeak, Bushwacker, Troopleader, Crazy Moon and Curly Turtle. Interesting crew. Tomorrow a big 15 ish mile day and excited to hit Max Patch!Thanks again for reading and commenting; we love you!!
Date: 2018-05-02
From: StandingBear Hostel

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

From the very start of the day I think we were both wondering how it would go. It was great staying at the hostel, how can you go wrong with a shower and a mattress? Well, you could be on a top bunk where the guy in the bottom snores like a lumber mill running full bore for one. I¢ve never heard so much snoring in one place at one time and led by primarily one guy. Anyways, we got thru that and had a nice breakfast and checked out at 8am. We¢re back on the trail by 845.I¢ve mentioned before that I¢m not a fan of days where you go into town or get into a hostel early because as much as the rest is valued, I¢m convinced that the body becomes soft and rebels against hard work the next day like trying to hike 15 miles, which was our plan. We always struggle after these visits, and today was no exception.It was a very difficult day for both of us.  Out of the gate we had a four mile ¢up¢ to Snowbird Mountain and Curly¢s legs were like jello, she couldn¢t get them going. Add to that the warmest day out here and trying to stay hydrated and we both were just doing our best to keep moving. I was mad because we just got out of the Smokies yesterday and I couldn¢t believe any Mountain was as difficult as those...and these were. It¢s incredibly humbling when mountains make mincemeat of men (and women), but they did today. I don¢t think we¢ve taken as many breaks as we did today, and we decided at the 10 mile mark to forget about hiking 15, and let¢s just get to Max Patch which would be 13.6 miles.It was the wise choice to make because we can make up the other miles and the amazing weather will result in an incredible sunset on my side of the tent, and an incredible sunrise on Curly¢s side of the tent. The vestibules face west and east, and the flaps will be up until it¢s too cold.Today was a huge test of our desire to be out here and the willingness to face whatever adversity that may present itself. We both agree that there is nowhere else we would rather be, and no one else we would rather be doing this with.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Max Patch

To: Garenflo Gap
Miles today: 13.2

The plan for today was to make up the miles lost yesterday. The desire being to have only 3.5 miles into Hot Springs tomorrow morning and walk right into a huge breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner. What we didn¢t know was that our plans would soon be interrupted. Turns out that somebody did not put out a fire at the last shelter we were going to stay at tonight, and that oversight resulted in a forest fire! The trail from Garenflo Gap to Hot Springs was closed and had been since Sunday. For us, what that means is that we had to get off trail at the Gap and get a ride into town. This means that six miles of the AT are off limits to us, but it does not mean our thru hike is not realized. Fires that cause hikers to be diverted do not count against the hike. So...we, along with five others caught a shuttle into town and we have just finished pigging out on pizza and kick in¢ chicken. And chips and salsa...and a slice of cheesecake. We have pitched our tent alongside the French Broad River, and will be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the river. Doesn¢t get any better than that!The result of this that we will not hike Friday or Saturday...hope we don¢t get too soft!! Kids come tomorrow so should be a delightful weekend. I won¢t post anything the next 2 days. Be looking for Sunday¢s entry!
Date: 2018-05-05
To: Off trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So I said in an earlier post that I would not journal during these zero days...but in the interest of keeping things consistent, I figured a quick review wouldn¢t hurt anything.We got into town late Thursday afternoon and immediately got some food.  There was a bluegrass festival this weekend so lodging was slim, we ended pitching our tent just outside town on the French Broad River and let the waters lull us to sleep. Friday was wait for the kids day, so we ate some more food, lounged around town and then in the afternoon enjoyed the mineral baths the town is famous for, decontaminating ourselves and getting just a tad bit presentable for the kids. It was fun throughout the day running into and reconnecting with folks on the trail we haven¢t seen in days. Kids came and we were whisked away to an awesome AirBnB house just outside of town. Sat on a hundred acres of woods with streams and it¢s own serious waterfall! Danny and Ginny are incredible hosts and we will definitely be back. Saturday we explored the property with the grandkids, continued to eat well and did our town chores at REI and Ingles in Asheville and being visited by special guest Evan ¢that guy¢ Tice, 2017 AT thru hiker.  Cooked up some steaks for dinner, repacked our gear and our now getting mentally prepped for the next leg of our journey to Erwin, about 70 miles. Our plan then is to push for Roan Mtn, then to Damascus, where we might take a zero if we get there by Trail Days...we will just have to see how our legs are and whether this double zero weekend was good medicine for us or bad.
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Hot Springs 

To: Little Paint Creek Trail
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: broken clouds

We got our umbrellas in place and trudged on. It rained all morning but we still made decent time and about mid afternoon, the skies cleared and the sun popped out! We spent the remainder of the day hiking north with a lot of folks who had spent their weekend in Hot Springs as well. We came to a shelter just before 430pm and decided it was too early to quit, do pushed on another mile and a half where we are now. All by ourselves just off the trail. Final mileage today was 12.6...not too shabby for a first day back.We are making our push to Erwin and hope to be there by Thursday. Lots of work to be done and miles to be made.