morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Hawk Mt Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

Apr 2ndE: 16.4 Gooch Gap (tenting)S: 7.6 Hawk Mt ShelterMiles: 8.8Weather: No entryI didn¢t sleep too well last night ¢ I guess I¢ve gotten a little soft during my winter. Hawk Mt. is right next to a Ranger training facility ¢ Camp Merrill and I was awoken once last night by the sound of gunshots and/or explosions.I was up at 6:30 and on the trail by 7:30. I took my time and relaxed before several of the climbs today. I made it to Gooch Shelter by noon where I found Kokiak & Sassy dozing off in the sun. It is a beautiful spring day with no clouds and temps in the high 60¢s. After eating and resting for over an hour I headed out again reaching Gooch Gap just after 2:00. I found some Forest service workers cleaning up the area and snagged my first trail magic ¢ an ice code bottle of water.After debating back and forth, I settled on staying here and hiking longer tomorrow into Neels Gap. I¢m feeling a little out of sorts and didn¢t want to push it. I don¢t think I¢m drinking enough water and I¢m probably a little dehydrated.There are several other hikers here tonight: Spit Fire, Guiser, Whittlen, and Stitch.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Gooch Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Apr 3rdE: 30.7 Neels Gap (hostel)S: 16.4 Gooch GapMiles: 14.3Weather: No entryI was up ant out of camp early today at 7:00. It felt like it was going to be another warm day and I wanted to make it to the Neels Gap before the hostel filled up.I played leapfrog with Very Small Animal, Sonic, Grizzly Alan, and Vagabond all day. I made steady progress stopping at Woody Gap for a bathroom break and Big Ceder Mt. for the viewand Jarred Gap for lunch.Without leaves on the trees, the trail really heats up in the sun. Even the small up hills were work today. I was surprised at how many spots on the trail that I recognized from last year.I crusied up Blood Mt., only taking a short break before heading down the other side towards Neels Gap. At the gap, I checked in and got a bunk for the night.I was surprised to see Andy later in the day. He had started at the Amicalola Visitor Center, the same day I started at Springer. For just starting out, he put in quite a few hard days.The gorging has begun. After having microwavable hamburgers and pizza and Doritos for dinner someone managed to figure out how to order-out-pizza so of course I joined in for a few slices. I did turn down some Ben & Jerry¢s though.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Apr 4th E: 41.3 Low Gap Shelter (tenting)S: 30.7 Neels GapMiles: 10.6Weather: No entryThe plan is to take three days ¢ Fri, Sat, Sun to hike to Dicks Creek Gap and then go into town Monday morning for a day of rest. The weather report is for chance of showers & thunderstorms for the next three days.The rain stayed away except for a few sprinkles here and there on the way to the shelter. The sun even peeked out a bit in mid-afternoonCarl (and his dog Barley), Kodiak & Sassy and his Mon, and myself were the early risers today and hung out at the shelter for almost two hours before the second wave of hikers started rolling in.There is a bit of a scramble for shelter space, as lots of hikers don¢t like the idea of tenting in the rain. I¢ve got a thirteen-mile hike tomorrow to get to Tray Gap where a Boy Scout Troop is cooking food for hikers all weekend.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 14.1

Apr 5th E: 56.2 Tray Mt. Shelter (tenting)S: 41.3 Low Gap ShelterMiles: 14.1Did I mention the forecast was for rain? After teasing us with light showers around bedtime, it started raining harder and continued throughout the night. I stayed dry all night and when the rain stopped around 6:30, I packed everything up except the tent and fetched my food bag off the bear cables.It started raining again so I headed back to the tent to finish breakfast while waiting for the rain to let up. It didn¢t let up but instead started raining harder, then the howling wind, then the torrential rain.It certainly sounds like the start of an awful day, but actually today was a blast. When the rain did let up, I hopped out stuffed my soaked tent into my bag, strapped it to my pack and hiked through the pouring rain for two hours.From my waist to my toes, I was soaked to the bone, but I was plenty warm, feeling full of energy, and having a ball. I passed 6-8 tents along the way to the next shelter ¢ most folks were waiting ou the rain ¢ the problem with that strategy is, without the weather channel, you just don¢t know when the rain will end.If you are following along at home with your own maps, you¢ll have realized that I started this morning just 9.4 miles from GA Route 75, which leads directly to Helen, GA where you¢ll find many warm, dry motels. So of course you are all asking yourself "Is Radar happy and unconcerned despite the rain, thunder, lightening, and mud because he knows that there is a motel room just around the corner?"Ye of little faith. I did not go into town. Mother Nature herself saved me from that fate. After two hours of rain, the clouds lifted and the sun came out. I spent an long lunch hour at Blue Mt. Shelter drying out my tent shorts & shoes and then pushed on to a feast of trail magic put on my the Boy Scouts at Tray Gap. I met a bunch of hikers there and ran into the last South bounders there. These two had started their hike just after I finished mine last year. You can read about there winter hike at www.northamericanchallenge.com . Finally after burgers, chicken, pasta salad and cookies I headed up and over Tray Mt. to the shelter where I proceeded to have 2nd dinner. I¢m planning on getting up in the morning to see the sunrise. Goodnight.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Tray Mt. Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Apr 6th E: 66.8 Dicks Creek Gap (hotel)S: 56.2 Tray Mt. ShelterMiles: 10.6I caught a nice sunrise from just outside my tent this morning near Tray Mt.I was out of camp by 8:15, which sounds late, but the clocks jumped ahead last night, so relative to sunrise, I was on the trail at about usual.I got some sunburn today on my right (East) side from the morning sun. I¢ve been wearing my hat and using sun block since without leaves the trail is very exposed. I don¢t like hiking with the hat so I was lazy today and paid the price.One big up today: Kelly Knob 1000 foot change, and one big down today to Dick¢s Creek Gap (1500 foot change). At the road I found Tater (AT 2000) giving out hot dogs & sodas and Short Trip, a section hiker, giving rides into town. I met Tank at the Gap and we are sharing a room in town which is full of hikers.Rain is expected tonight & tomorrow morning so it is good to be in town. I¢m taking it easy tomorrow and hiking out late to the first shelter.Kodiak and Sassy showed up late at the hotel as well as Pushing Up Daisys, who I met on the trail. Everyone, including Tank, is keeping a journal at www.trailjournals.com.K & S started within minutes of me at Springer and we have been leapfrogging all week.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Apr 7th E: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter (Tenting)S: Dicks Creek GapMiles: 71.1 ¢ 66.8 = 4.3I had an easy, relaxing day today. Continental breakfast at the hotel, grocery shopping, post offices visit, and to the library for Internet access and then lunch. Tank and I stuck together for the day during our errands and finally hitched out to the trail around 2:00.The first pickup truck that stopped was a bit of a puzzle. The cab was too small for us and the bed of the truck was completely full of tools and PVC piping. They weren¢t even going as far as the trail. I thanked them for stopping but passed on the ride. The next car to stop was a local college student who took us right out to the trailhead, which was fogged in.A quick two-hour hike got us to the shelter. There are about 13 hikers here tonight including: Tank, HepCat, Sven Saw, Shankadelic; Pushing Up Daiseys, Blue Bird, Fox, and Matt. Everyone seems pretty happy but there were several stories shared of people dropping off the trail.Thunderstorms are expected tomorrow. [GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Apr 8th E: 83.3 Standing Indian ShelterS: 71.1 Plum Orchard ShelterMiles: 12.2Cool, foggy, muddy, wet, rainy, misty, breezy describes the trail today. It didn¢t really rain last night, but since I was basically camped in the middle of a cloud, water dripped down from the trees all night long.I packed up the wet tent and a couple hours later passed into North Carolina at Bly Gap.Last year I had forgotten to take pictures of the gnarled tree at the gap so I made sure to dig out the camera on this wet day this time around.I hiked it in shorts and a tee shirt today which was OK as long as I kept moving when I stopped, I quickly added layers to avoid getting cold.I had lunch at Muskrat Creek Shelter and then pushed on to Standing Indian, my luck ran out along the way as it rained hard for about 90 minutes.The shelter quickly filled up and tents began sprouting up also as over 20 people ended up stopping here. Folks here tonight include: Aaron, Matt, Tank, Heather, Jersey, Footslogger, Jenn, Jeff, Blistering, Yem, Bluebird, Hep Cat, Sven Saw, Loony, Shank, Eli, Short Legs, Psycho-Hiko, and three vacation hikers.I¢m thinking about a 20-mile day tomorrow to avoid camping in the rain for three days in a row. Everything is getting damp. It really depends on the weather tomorrow, the trail itself shouldn¢t be too bad ¢ except for Albert Mt.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-09
From: Standing Indian

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: light rain

Apr 9th E: 103 Rock Gap (shelter)S: 83.3 Standing IndianMiles: 19.7It rained all night and in the morning, while warm and dry in my sleeping I had a wet tent, damp sleeping bag, soggy shoes, and so on. The trail is pretty high in this section between 4000 feet and 5000 feet in elevation and as such, is basically in the clouds.I packed up my gear when the rain eased up around 7:00. I had to return the tent stakes I borrowed from Foot Slogger I managed to leave mine behind at Plum Orchard Gap. In order to dry out and to avoid more rain, and maybe snow, my plan was to hike 20 miles today to Rainbow Springs Campground. The trail was muddy and wet all day, but fortunately expect for a few brief showers it didn¢t rain much during the day. I hiked in shorts & tee shirt but had to cover up whenever I stopped since the air temp was in the 40¢s.I played leapfrog all day with Heather, a 19 year old hiker walking from Key West to Cape Gaspe Canada. Her hike is documented at heathershikinghiatus.com. Her mom is following along in a van and meeting here ever few days. I was able to get a ride to the campground at the end of the day since Heather¢s mom was meeting her at Rock Gap.The bunkhouse and cabins were full, but Noodle Hat and I were able to get a dry, unheated cabin for the night. After a quick tumble in the dryer, my sleeping bag was in prime shape. I managed to get laundry done and get some food before retiring.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-10
From: Franklin, NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Apr 10th E: Franklin, NCMiles: 0When I arrived at the campground last night, I was able to catch some news on the TV in the camp store. The celebrations in Baghdad were good news but the local weather report was full of bad news.It rained all night, but changed over to wet snow around sunrise. Some locals in the camp store said that there was 4-5 inches of snow above 4000 feet elevation and more was expected today. The cold rain and wet snow wasn¢t going to end until sometime tomorrow.Due to the weather situation, everyone decided to stay off the trail today. I decided to head into town and get a hotel room. Aaron, who hiked in this morning from the shelter, decided to join me. Heather and her Mom showed up again and we got a ride into town with them. Along the way we picked up Home Bound at the AT trail crossing so we have three of us in the room for the night.There are lots of people in town today. Town chores and news watching occupied most of the day. I picked up some new tent stakes at the outfitter and picked up more food for the next few days.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Near Licklock Gap
Miles today: 11.2

Apr 11th E: Near Licklock GapS: Winding Stair GapMiles: 118.0 ¢ 106.8 = 11.2I didn¢t start today where I left off when I got the ride to Rainbow Springs. I skipped about 4 miles of the trail and started at Winding Stair Gap where the main road out of Franklin crosses the trail. Hep Cat, Stir Crazy (Aaron), Howe Bound, Dirt nap and I got a shuttle out to the trail from a local motel owner ¢ he does it just for gas money. Aaron & Hep Cat started back at Wallace Gap to make sure they didn¢t miss any of the trail. The rest of us either didn¢t care about missing the section, or had already hiked to Winding Stair Gap.The weather looked good in town and on the weather channel, but as is to be expected, the actual weather in the mountains was much different. It was still cloudy & overcast at the Gap and quite cool around 40 degrees. I started out with log underwear, hat, gloves, and my light fleece jacket but quickly switched to shorts and lost the hat and gloves at the trail ascended 1500 feet to Siler BaldAround the 4200-foot mark, snow started to show up and at the Bald there was 3-4 inches. The trail itself was a combination of show, slush, and mud ¢ quite slippery in place. The trail dropped back down below the snow line where a couple of hikers camped, before climbing back up to around 5300 feet at Wayah Bald.In some places there was 6-7 inches of snow.It stayed cloudy with no hope for views from the bald, so I headed back down the trail in hopes of finding a campsite below the snow line.I found a nice spot soon after the snow disappeared and thought I would be camping alone as 4 or 5 other hikers passed by and decided to move on down the trail. After an early dinner, Stir Crazy and a French Canadian Couple, Fifty and Bic, showed up and decided to stay.I¢m not sure what came over me, but I got the urge to start a campfire while they were cooking dinner. With constant tending, we were able to keep a small fire going for an hour or so, but the wood was just too wet for us to get anything longer going.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-12
From: Near Licklock Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Apr 12th E: Nantahala Outdoor CenterS: Near LickLock GapMiles: 16What a difference in the morning. The clouds had lifted and the sun was out. The views weren¢t as nice as last year ¢ too much haze this time around, but the warm sun was welcome.I pushed on to NOC today to try to catch Sassy & Kodiak before they headed out on Sunday morning. The trail drops 3000 feet to cross the Nantahala river at NOC and it was warm and in the 70¢s at the river.NOC is a great place to hang out, eat, and spend money. I got a bunk for the night and took a shower before cooking dinner in the common building.NOC is a big center for Kayaking and rafting. Two of my bunkmates were paddlers and we shared info about our sports over dinner.I¢m starting to get to know quite a few folks on the trail. It is getting difficult to figure out when to hike on and when to hang around. I may be hanging out here for another day waiting for folks.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Nathahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Apr 13th E: NOC ¢ Nantahala Outdoor Center (Hostel)S: NOC ¢ Nantahala Outdoor CenterMiles: 0I wasn¢t sure in the morning if I was going to hike out or relax and take another zero day. I figured I¢d wait for Tank, Stir Crazy & Hep Cat and see what they wanted to do. By hiking ahead and getting to NOC, I got to catch up with Red Beard from 2002 and Kodiak & Sassy.After the gang showed up in late morning, we hung around all day eating of course and other town chores. My shoes were starting to fall apart so I went shoe shopping at the outfitter. I got a nice pair of Vasque trail runners. A year ago I thought hiking in "sneakers" was crazy. Now I think hiking in boots is crazy. There are a huge number of hikers with multiple blisters and they invariably are wearing boots. Around 3:00 I decided to stay instead of hiking on. I got to do laundry and have a decent dinner. (Instead of Lipton¢s)[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Nathahala Outdoor Center

To: Cheoh Bald
Miles today: 8.1

Apr 14th E: Cheoh Bald (tenting)S: NOC ¢ Nantahala Outdoor Center Miles: 142.2 ¢ 134.1 = 8.1With a 3000-foot climb ahead of me, I was on the trail before 8:00 so I could hike in the cool morning air. I made it up to the first shelter by 11:30 and only saw one other hiker. For the next two hours I relaxed at the shelter with no visitors. The novel The Perfect Storm was at the shelter so with nothing else to do, I started reading it. I had plans to camp on the top of Cheoah Bald, just 1.5 miles farther up the trial so I was not in any rush.When a few more hikers showed up, I relocated to the Bald, set up camp and read all afternoon. The bald is a 5062-foot high with clear views to the west and south.By sunset, over 15 hikers had gathered to enjoy the view.I ended up finishing the book in my tent before going to bed. This particular book had a notice in it explaining that it is a traveling book. I haven¢t had a chance to add my info yet, but the travels of the book can be tracked at www.bookcrossing.com book number 376-623353. [GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-15
From: Cheoh Bald

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Apr 15th E: Cable Gap Shelter (tenting)S: Cheoh BaldMiles: 156.2 ¢ 142.2 = 14.0I overslept and missed the actual sunrise by a few minutes but still enjoyed the early morning view. It was much warmer this morning, even at this elevation, so I knew it was going to be hot on the trail today.Halfway through the day was the tough climb out of Stacoah Gap. It is only about 600 feet high but this happen in about 1/4 mile of trail.I kept thinking of a story Hep Cat told me at NOC while climbing the hill. He is a high school biology teacher and shared with us his technique for teaching kids that the mitochondria in cells are the power plants that produce energy. In class he jumps up on a table and yells ¢Mitochondria Man¢ while flexing and generally looking goofy at least this is what his kids tell him. Apparently his reputation has spread and every year the kids look forward to the routine.I ended the day at Cable Gap Shelter ¢ same place I stayed at last year. Once again we are trying to decide if we want to push on tomorrow or have a short 7-mile day and then stay the night.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Apr 16th E: Fontana Dam (hotel)S: Cable Gap ShelterMiles: 7.3The big decision today was whether to stop at Fontana Dam for the night or to move on into Smokey Mt. National Park. Hep Cat and I had just enough food to pass through Fontana and make it to Gatlinburg. Of course we talked ourselves into staying at Fontana Village and heading out again in the morning. The hotel room was just $13/person with Blaze, Hep Cat, and I sharing a room.The excitement for the evening came while Blaze was opening his bounce box with his pocketknife. While trying to cut through some plastic ties, he managed to slice his left index finger. He cut pretty deep ¢ the resident EMT suggested that he go to the emergency room for stitches. We were able to track down a hiker with a car since the Bryson City emergency room was about 35 miles away. Blaze ended up getting seven stitches.One extra advantage of the E.R. trio was they were able to bring some beer back with them. The forecast is for rain and Blaze needs to keep his finger dry for a couple days, so he may be staying longer in town.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Apr 17th E: Russell Field Shelter (Shelter)S: Fontana DamMiles: 13.1Hep Cat and I moved on this morning leaving Blaze at Fontana Village. He needed to wait for mail delivery at 11:00 and then decide if he was going to hike in the rain with his bandaged finger. Hopefully he can catch up with us in Gatlinburg or Hot Springs. We got a ride to the dam with Mike ¢ the same hiker who gave Blaze a ride to the E.R. We made a quick stop at the general store for a 1000-calorie breakfast: honey bun, carrot cake, and a bottle of juice ¢ just what every hiker needs before heading out for the day.It was cloudy and overcast with periods of rain all morning. We did make a side trip up the rickety Shuckstack Fire Tower.Around 1:00 it started raining harder and we arrived cold & wet at the crowded Mollies Ridge Shelter around 3:30.After some snacks and when the rain died down a bit, we (Hep Cat, Find Me and Me) moved on 2.5 miles to the next shelter. This shelter was a lot less crowded ¢ just 10 people. One of the groups was ambitious and built a nice fire in the store fireplace within the shelter. To top it off, Heather (Find Me) baked blueberry cake for desert.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-04-18
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Silvers Bald
Miles today: 14.7

Apr 18th E: Silvers Bald (Tenting)S: Russell FieldMiles: 27.8 ¢ 13.1 = 14.7It rained hard all night but finally stopped near dawn. Find Me, Hep Cat, and I headed out together towards Spence Field Shelter and then the climb up to Rocky Top. We looked out with great views from Spencer Field at Rocky Top.We caught up to Fire Feet, a woman thru hiker who had stayed at the next shelter last night. While talking with her, a male grouse started beating his winds against a log just 20-30 feed away. We¢ve been listening to this sound for weeks but this time we were lucky enough to actually see the bird in action.We stopped for a late lunch at Derricks Knot Shelter. In reading the register, we realized how smart it was to push on to Russell Field yesterday. Derricks Knob had 18 people in it last night during the rain. Mollies Ridge (behind us) had around 16, and we learned later in the afternoon, that Silers Bald had 23 hikers. All these shelters are designed to sleep 12. We only had 10 people in our shelter.We slogged through lots of mud today and a lot of elevation change ¢ we were all pretty tired when we made it to the shelter late in the afternoon.A ridge runner was at the shelter when we showed. The ATC pays these folks to help educate hikers, maintain the shelters, and perform minor trail maintenance. They are usually positioned on the trail sections as the bulk of the thru-hikers pass through.Find Me has done a lot of trail work and soon was talking shop with Jeremy, the ridge runners. She ended up carrying a heavy trail tool ¢ a Pulaski ¢ to clean out water vars on the trail.A couple of families showed up late, filling up the shelter. Instead of sleeping in the crowded shelter, I set up my tent. Thru-hikers aren¢t allowed to tent unless the shelters are full.Since I sleep much better in my tent than in shelters, I didn¢t mind the extra work. Another advantage of weekend hikers is that they tend to carry things that thru-hikers wouldn¢t consider ¢ in this case, cold beer and home made beef jerky. Weekend hikers tend to be more motivated to have campfires also. We enjoyed our 2nd campfire in as many nights.[GW/dvs]