morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-26
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Forrest arrived at Neels Gap about 1:30 today after another good day of hiking. He camped alone last night but met up with "Biscuit" early in the day today and they hiked together for awhile during the day. When he checked in at the Walasi-Yi Center at Neel's Gap,he was told some good news. Tonight they were having a Barbeque at the owners house! They were going to load everyone into a vehicle, take them to his house, and treat them to a BBQ!   Meanwhile, Forrest was doing some laundry ("Already?" I asked. Forrest replied, "Yes I figured I might as well while I had the chance!") And he got to have a shower! A little about his food.... last night he decided to splurge and eat the "Beef stew" dinner that our friends Kevin and Laurie gave him. He was thinking he would save it for awhile but then decided to go ahead and have a treat! He said it tasted great! Then, come breakfast time the next morning he started to get out the instant oatmeal and decided he was "already" sick of oatmeal.... hmmmm, not good when that's a hikers staple breakfast item! Anyway, instead he ate a pop-tart and some chocolate chip cookies! (They were packed for the train ride but he's been eating them on the trail and sharing, too!) Today he hiked over Blood Mountain. He said at the higher elevations the plants are not started leafing out yet. Only one wildflower sighting today - a violet. It was a nice bright sunny day, and he sounded more upbeat. He's starting to get used to the idea of being away from home a little, I guess. Only complaints physically so far are that the bottoms of his feet get a little sore as the day goes on (no blisters so far though) and a little soreness in the back of one lower leg. So that's pretty good! (I would be sore all over!)Everyone have a Happy Easter tomorrow!
Date: 2005-03-27
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

Snow, sleet and high wind gusts today, and the trail running along a ridge. Not a great combination. One of those wind gusts caught Forrest just as he took a slippery step and he fell. He said it basically felt like he hyper-extended his leg - pulling all the muscles and tendons in the back of his leg a lot farther than they are meant to go. He made it to Low Gap Shelter, which already was full... 18 people at the shelter. So he set up his tent. He said one of the other hikers had a weather radio which was saying there were tornado warnings in certain counties in Georgia. The only thing was no one knew what county they were in! The wind blew quite strongly overnight but Forrest said his tent held up well (some of the others did not do so well!) His sleeping bag got a little bit wet but otherwise he is happy with his equipment and clothing. His pack feels good and his shoes are okay - no blisters so far. The big problem now is if his leg will heal enough to keep hiking. In all the years that we've been hiking, he's never had an accident, it is discouraging to have this happen now. So pray that his leg will get better. Thanks everyone!
Date: 2005-03-28
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Helen, Georgia
Miles today: 9.4

Today Forrest hiked the 9 miles from where he camped last night to the next road crossing. His leg hurts quite a bit from his fall yesterday. He says it hurts more on the downhills than the up. At Route 75, he hitched a ride into town (Helen, Georgia) without too much trouble - thank you to the nice lady who picked him up! Since it's 10 miles into town from the trail crossing,he needed that ride. He has a room at the Super 8, and there are other hikers there, too (Tank and Willow... and I'm not sure who else). Five people got off the road at the same place Forrest did. Lots of hikers in the area have wet sleeping bags and other equipment from the storm yesterday and last night. Forrest's leg hurts pretty badly so he is resting it and putting some heat on it. He'll stay at the motel tonight and probably again tomorrow night so he can rest it tomorrow as well. We're hoping and praying that with some time off the leg, he'll be able to get back on the trail and hike some more.
Date: 2005-03-29
From: Helen, Georgia

To: Helen, Georgia
Miles today: 10.0

Today was a zero day to rest the hurt leg muscles. Forrest had a good night's sleep at the Super 8 last night and said his leg seemed a little better in the morning. He is going to try getting back on the trail tomorrow! Yay! He walked around town some today and it seemed ok, hopefully it will be okay for the more difficult walking on the trail and with the extra weight of his pack.Thank you to everyone who prayed for him that his leg would be okay!Meanwhile, today he did some "chores" during the day - like washing his tent with a hose at the motel, and getting it dry in the warm breeze. He said several other hikers were doing the same thing. The heavy rain on Sunday night made their tents very muddy. He purchased some more food (mice had managed to chew holes "into" and "out of" his food bag even though he had it hanging from a bear pole). Couldn't they just have gone back out the way they came in? He usually hangs it from a tree but didn't this time because he was tired, wet, and his leg was hurting! So the clever mice nibbled sample of this and that in the food bag. Forrest didn't care too much about the oatmeal, but he wasn't too happy about the other stuff! So, he resupplied at the grocery store in Helen, and this time got some "cereal bars" to try for breakfast, and some stove-top stuffing, and flavored instant potatoes, along with his usual food items. He bought some replacement ziplock bags for the ones the mice chewed, and since he didn't want to carry them all, he shared them with some of the other hikers who are staying at the Super 8 (there are 5 of them there). He got in on the other end of sharing too, someone had bought fudge and shared that with him. He ate dinner with Tank and Willow. Their waiter was interested in talking with them about hiking. Then he gave them free t-shirts before they left. They were cotton, so,... no one wants to wear them on the trail and no one wants to carry them!.... so Forrest wound up giving his and Willow's away to some guys they saw along the street. One other item he decided to get while in town was a pair of light-weight sandals (for in camp). He looked and looked in the shops for flip-flops and finally thought to try the dollar store. They had some - he had a choice, in his size between bright pink, flourescent green, or black with pink polka dots!!! He decided on the black ones. I can imagine that someone could come up with a great trail name for him if they saw him wearing them like that, BUT, he took some of his stove fuel and wiped the pink polka dots off!!Tomorrow morning Forrest plans to ride the shuttle from the motel (at about 8:30) to the trail crossing at Unicoi Gap on Route 75. He hopes to hike to Sassafras Gap for his next camp, where there is a spring for water.
Date: 2005-03-30
From: Helen, Georgia

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

This first information is from Forrest's actual journal, which he read to me (Nancy) on the cell phone on Thursday afternoon... Wednesday March 31st at 3:30 pm. Weather 68 degrees and sunny.Caught the shuttle from the Super 8, Helen Georgia, about 8:30 and we were dropped off at the trail at Unicoi Gap about 9. Had a steep climb up Rocky Mountain. Heard an unusal noise and stopped to see what it was. A large owl, sitting in a tree looking right at me. It was probably about 50 feet away. Guessing it was a barred owl. Had good views today. My leg is not 100% better, but it is okay.There was more to his journal than that but with me just jotting notes as he talked I couldn't take it all down word for word. (I should have learned short-hand !)Some other things of interest we talked about that I'll add here even though some of it didn't happen on the 30th:They keep track of the thru-hikers as they come thru Neels Gap each year and Forrest was number 423. Actually he couldn't remember for sure, it was either 423 or 425, but he likes 423 better because 4-23 is our wedding anniversary! The person at Neels Gap said the number is down about 300 from this time last year. And in Forrest's words "a pile have quit already". He says, people think of the Appalachian Trail as "a sweet little girl in pigtails" but she's really "a nasty old hag!" All the pretty pictures you see of the trail are taken on those beautiful weather days, but it isn't like that all the time. I guess the trail varies between the two, it's just that Forrest has been in some real nasty weather so far. "Trail magic" -let me expain this first for some people who don't know what it means. Basically it means people greeting hikers at a road crossing with food, drinks, or other helpful things. It could be local people who know when the 'waves' of thru-hikers are going thru their area, or it could be people who have previously hiked the trail who enjoy coming back for fun and visiting with the hikers, or the families of hikers who are meeting up with their family members. Of course the hikers love "trail magic"! Well, Forrest JUST missed some.... Tank and Willow were a few minutes behind him at a road crossing. When they all talked again later, they said to Forrest, wasn't that trail magic great? Forrest said, "what trail magic?" It seems a car must have stopped shortly after Forrest went across the road.... and the folks had bags of McDonald's hamburgers for the hikers!! Oh, well, I guess he didn't need that greasy food anyway!
Date: 2005-03-31
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap, then Hiawassee. GA
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Back off the trail again, but this time it's not because of an injury, it's because of the severe weather. Forrest said to tell everyone thank you for your prayers for his leg, it is much better, and thank you God for answering our prayers!Last night the wind and rain were very bad (again!). Forrest said the wind during the night sounded like a jet engine. But he did sleep pretty well anyway. He woke up at 3 am, went out and checked his tent. Some of the tent stakes had been pulled partially out of the ground by the fierce wind pulling at the tent fly, but he stayed dry inside.They had such bad weather that Forrest, Tank and Willow, and another couple, Joe and Kimberly, and one other hiker, decided to hike to Dick's Creek Gap and take the shuttle into Hiawassee. (Forrest got some trail magic - the shuttle bus driver "Pittsburg"s wife made chocolate chip cookies for the hikers!) He hiked the 6 1/2 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes - making sure he was at the road crossing for the 10:00 shuttle into Hiawassee. He is feeling a bit 'guilty' over being in town again so soon but it seemed like the best idea. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for even worse weather than today, so they will probably head out to hike again on Saturday morning. Forrest tells people who ask him how far he is going on the trail "as far as I can". He's out there to enjoy the trail and the experience, not just to make miles hiking or just to march from Springer to Katahdin. He was doing his laundry at the Holiday Inn Express where he is staying. He said the people there are really nice, thanks Angel and Bob. The manager gave the hikers a ride to a restaurant for lunch. After getting his laundry done, he was going to move the coffee table in his room so he could set up his tent and get it dry! (Maybe he should sleep in it tonight so he feels like he's still on the trail??)
Date: 2005-04-02
From: Dick's Creek Gap, then Hiawassee. GA

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: light rain

After spending the day yesterday in Hiawassee (trying to avoid the severe weather which had been forecasted!), Forrest took the hikers' shuttle from the motel up to the trail at Dick's Creek Gap. He and 5 other hikers started hiking about 8:15, in a light drizzle. Soon, the drizzle had changed to a light snow. When Forrest got to the sign for the side trail to Plumorchard Shelter, Tank and Willow came along and they decided to check out the shelter. The snow was getting heavier and heavier. They were at the shelter about 10:30. The snow and wind got wilder and wilder - the snow was blowing horizontally. They made the decision that even though it was early in the day and they had only hiked 4.5 miles, they would stay put. By noon the shelter had 10 hikers in it! It was so cold they got in their sleeping bags in the afternoon. That night Forrest put on every piece of clothing he had, including raingear, and got in his sleeping bag! He was still cold! The wind was roaring all night. One of the other hikers said to go ahead and use your food bag for a pillow, even the mice will not bother it tonight! It was too cold and snowy to go out and hang it from a tree anyway, so everyone did that. Forrest said he didn't have any mice bother him, but one guy who just left his food bag laying next to his sleeping bag had a mouse "visit" his and partake of his hospitality! Tank, who completed a thru hike in 2003, said it's just incredible how bad the weather has been this time. Willow asked him, "why are we doing this again?" The answer is "because we wanted to". All the hikers out in this blizzard had to remind themselves of this! Forrest says he won't "whine" about the weather because "it is what it is".
Date: 2005-04-03
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Deep Gap, then Franklin NC
Miles today: 11.3

This was a difficult day. They got "hammered" with snow and Forrest said trees and limbs are down all over the place. He figured they had about 6" of snow most places on the ground, but drifts of 1 to 2 feet. Hiking, needless to say was difficult! Forrest broke trail for awhile and then someone else would. He crossed the Georgia/ North Caroline border but his leg is bothering him quite a bit hiking in the snow and cold. He called me from Bly Gap because he had a signal on the cell phone there, but I was in church and had the phone turned off, so he just left me a message. He said because of the snow and cold and his leg, he had made the decision to get off the trail and go into town. Later, about noon, he passed by Muskrat Creek Shelter where a troop of Boy Scouts and their leader had also spent a miserable night in the storm. Forrest hiked til he got to Deep Gap where there is a forest service road heading for a paved road (rt 64). It was a difficult choice to get off there to go Franklin, when he had planned to hike to Winding Stair Gap and then go to Franklin for his mail drop. Instead he got off sooner and had a little farther to hitch hike into town. He was not alone in doing this though! Several other people did the same. They got a ride with a very nice lady into town. After she dropped them off, a white van stopped. It turned out it was the owner of the Haven Inn, where they were heading. He said the Haven was full but the Sapphire Inn, (which I think Forrest said he owns also) still had some rooms. Lots of hikers are off the trail and staying in town because of the weather in the mountains. Tank and Willow stayed on the trail so Forrest was quite sorry to split up with them, since he has really enjoyed their company. As far as his leg goes, he said it is now black and blue, and still sore. The muscles get tighter and it is harder to walk on as the day progresses. Otherwise, he still has no blisters and is feeling okay.
Date: 2005-04-04
From: Deep Gap, then Franklin NC

To: off the trail for a little while
Miles today: 0.0

Here's the plan.... Forrest is not sure he should keep hiking on his injured leg, especially with the trail snowy and slippery. So he has made the decision that he should take a little time off to try to let it get better. He's not coming home, however. He is going to go to Bancroft Bible Camp in Kingsport TN for a week and see how it goes. He hopes to get back on the trail again after that. The AT goes fairly close to Kingsport so he might just get back on near there, he really wants to get back on and hike again. Forrest has gone with a group from our church to help at Bancroft every spring for a number of years so he will enjoy seeing friends there and helping them out a little, too. Thank you very much to Martha and Jeff and the others who I know from past experience will be very gracious to him while he is there! He is going to ride a taxi from Franklin to Waynesville NC this afternoon. Then he'll ride the Greyhound tomorrow from Waynesville to Kingsport. He looked into renting a car, but Enterprise, which has a place in Franklin, won't let you rent a car for an out-of-state one way trip. This is not what he had HOPED to be doing right now, but he thinks it is what he should do. God is good all the time and there is a reason for everything! Please pray that Forrest's leg will be okay and that he can hike some more. He may be able to go get it checked while he is in Kingsport. Thanks again to everyone who is praying for him and to our church family for their support.
Date: 2005-04-06
From: off the trail for a little while

To: recuperating at Bancroft
Miles today: 0.0

Forrest spent the day yesterday traveling to Kingsport via taxi and greyhound bus. Would you believe even off the trail he got "trail magic"? In 'Harold's Kosher Deli' in Knoxville,while waiting for a bus transfer, Forrest was buying lunch when Harold, the owner, started asking him about his back pack and what he was doing. Forrest told him about hiking the AT. Then Harold told the person making Forrest's sandwich to "make it extra big" and gave him a bag of Rugelach "Royalty of Jewish Pastry"!Today Forrest went to see a doctor in Kingsport. The doc told him his leg is swelling because the pulled muscles and tendons in the back of his leg are so tight they are cutting off the blood flow thru the arteries. He warned him very definitely that he needs to stay off of it as much as possible for the absolute minimum of a week. The doctor gave him a prescription and told him to make sure he takes it. So now we just have to wait and see how it progresses. He probably should have stayed off his leg when he first injured it but of course he wanted to keep hiking.... and still wants to now, but doesn't want to have this turn into a more serious problem.   Meanwhile Forrest is enjoying seeing old friends at Bancroft Bible Camp and helping out a little This afternoon he was mowing lawn (with the riding mower and keeping his leg "up" of course)
Date: 2005-04-11
From: recuperating at Bancroft

To: Still Healing
Miles today: 0.0

Hello everyone,I wanted to do a quick update about how I'm doing. I know everyone wants to read about backpacking but this time off the trail is turning into part of my hike so bear with me. I have been truely blessed with all the great people here that have been helping me and people back home being concerned and praying!I have learned that hiking on a injured leg is a bad thing, but my healing is going well. The swelling is most under control and the muscle / tendon pain is getting less. I have been getting some very good medical advice and I know that I have to be careful not to rush my healing. I plan on being off the trail for 1 or 2 more weeks. My tenative schedule is to return to the AT by 4/23 and continue north which is a month after I started. Who would of ever thought that a month into my thru hike (as of 4/23) I would of only completed 82 miles? I know it wasn't me! I'm not ready to give up yet so as I need to keep doing the right things and hopefully hit the trail in great shape.Ever since I got off the trail at Low Gap until today many people have been so great to me! I have many people to thank! From the nice lady that picked up a dirty smelly hiker and took me to Franklin, NC to my family / friends at home in Pennsylvania, my church family at South New Milford Baptist Church and my new friends at Grace Evangelical Free Church here in Kingsport, TN have been Awesome. And of course all my longtime friends here at Bancroft Bible Camp, what can I say - WOW!I will keep everyone up to date as best I can and hopefully this old worn out backpacker can get moving north real soon.Thanks to everyone who has been following my journal as well.Tank and Willow keep ripping up the trail and maybe we can hook up again. I really enjoyed hiking with you guys!
Date: 2005-04-21
From: Returning to the Trail

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello Y'all (I think I'm starting to pick up my southern accent),I have set up a ride back to the trail tomorrow, Friday 4/22, so I'm starting back a day earlier than I originally thought. My leg has not completely healed but I can't wait forever here in Tennessee. I have decided to hike a section that is near here, Shady Valley, TN. to Damascus, VA and see how my leg reacts. The doctor I have consulted with and a PT I spoke to are not so sure that I should return to hiking, but I'm not ready to quit yet! They understand my desire but have cautioned me that if the injury flares up I could do permanent damage and should stop until the muscles and tendons completely heal. I hope it goes OK, but if not I'll go home and be happy I had the chance to at least try a thru hike.Today is my last day here at Bancroft Bible camp recovering and working. I sure do appreciated everyone here. They treat me so good here that I don't want to leave. Our work team from South New Milford Baptist Church has been here all week and we have accomplished a lot. They are heading home tomorrow morning and I return to being a NOBO AT hiker. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me and concerned about my recovery. I'll keep this journal updated as soon as I can about my progress.Thanks to all,
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Shady Valley, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hi everyone,I was dropped off at Low Gap by my friends at 10:30a and after saying good bye started hiking torwards Damascus. It is a 15 mile section so I think I may split it up and take a easy walk into town. I want to test my leg out and see if it's ready to go hiking. This section is a very easy walk with gentle ups and downs and a rock free trail. It is warm out and a great day to be hiking. I meet up with Nimblefoot right after McQueens knob and have a snack, then head on to Abingdon gap shelter. I meet Unknown there and two other section hikers. The sky is getting dark and the thunder is sounding off in the distance. It looks like we are going to get a shower. I head to the spring to get water and on the way back the rain starts. Unknown was kind enough to move my pack into the shelter and we sit there and watch it downpour. We get a break in the rain and I decide to put on my rain suit and move on. I want to do another 5 miles before I camp. Mother Nature decides I need a good washing and I walk in a heavy thundershower for at least an hour. About 4:00 it lets up and I'm looking for a place to camp. By 4:30 it is pouring again so I decide to do the last 4 miles into Damascus. It isn't a hard walk mostly down hill and smooth trail. The bad part of the 15 mile day is that it really tested my leg and I believe that it probably isn't ready for hiking. I head to "The Place" hostel run by the Methodist church and find a bunk and lots of other hikers. After a shower I go out for Mexican food with Mouth of the South and Pirate. I need to sleep on it but I think I may have to give my leg more time to heal.