morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-11
From: High Top

To: Hike Inn
Miles today: 4.4

Motel Hike Inn. Temps 35 at 7am, 60 at 2pmFor breakfast today we had candy bars and a drink of Crystal Lite Orange. We left High Top at 7:45am dressed in fleece pants over our shorts, Puffball jackets over our Midweight shirts. and gloves. Many of the small trees had begun pushing leaves when this big frost hit with temps below freezing for 3-4 days. We noticed that the leaf sprouts are dead and drooping. We believe the trees will push new leaves as soon as it gets warm again. Its hard to believe that we began this hike on March 26 with temps in the 80's. We arrived at Fontana Dam at 10:30. We were immediately offered a ride in a van with Fontana Village written on the side. There were two other hikers already in the van and after we got in the lady said it would cost $2 each to go just two miles to Fontana Village and the post office to check for maildrops. We met Bird Legs, the girl who was bitten by the labradoodle named Mayhem. Just a note to our family and friends at home concerning Maildrops: our website shows the addresses of towns where we will drop in to the Post Office. All mail should be addressed to Joe or Nancy Robinson c/o General Delivery, town name, city and zip code. Check out the links on the left side of the webpage to send things to us. We did a short day today because we wanted to See Jeff and Nancy Hoch again at the Hike Inn. We also needed a bath and to do laundry and restocking before we hit the Smokies tomorrow. Our Tyvek ground cloth we use under the tent finally wore out so we called Mountain Crossings and they only had Tyvek in 3' width. As luck would have it Jeff and Nancy Hoch called a contractor friend who donated to us 5'x9' piece of Tyvek. Bogey gave him some cash and everyone went away happy. After a shower and hairwashing, and Nancy Hoch doing our laundry she took us and Jet James and Not Guilty, two other hikers, to a BBQ restaurant in Robbinsville where we had a warm meal. Then she dropped us off at an Ingles Grocery store where we restocked with candy bars, cereal, raisins, tuna and English Muffins. We have constant inconsistency with Cingular cell phone service so please forgive us if we are not in touch with you as often as we'd like. We are through the Nantahalas now and the hiking will get somewhat easier. Looking forward to the Smokies. We submitted our permit to hike the Smokies. Big day tomorrow. We're sleepy now. Goodnight.
Date: 2007-04-12
From: Hike Inn

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Temp 45 @ 9am, 60 @ 2pmIt stormed last night as we slept in the Motel room glad that we were not on the Trail tonight. At 9:15 we were dropped of in shorts and capilene shirts but we soon had to add a puffball vest and hat because of the constant 25mph wind gusting to 40. We began at the Fontana Dam, Highest dam east of the Mississippi. We crossed the crest of the dam on a hard road and entered the Great Smoky Mountains on a steep ascent. Slim felt her legs were shot and it was difficult to ascend until the afternoon when her legs finally got stronger. Bogey has a sore tendon on his right knee and he expects to walk it out. Because of the 4 miles ascent to Shuckstack mountain, we were making just 1.5mph but after that we got into our normal groove of 2.5mph. We stopped along the way to enjoy the scenery. Much of the ground cover plants, such as Bluets and some white trillium, especially spring beauties are blooming. Other plants such as trout lilies and ramps are sprouting. The trees at lower elevations under 4000 ft are beginnig to leaf out. We cooked a Tombstone pizza at the motel and took it on the hike for dinner. We passed Griz, who was heading back to Fontana with cramped leg. White Blaze passed us early in the day. He told us that he saw a momma bear with two cubs who ran down the mountain. At 4pm we arrived at Mollies Ridge shelter, spoke with Graybeard, the ridgerunner, and ate our pizza and drank some crystal lite then headed out for Russell Field Shelter and we arrived there at 6pm got water and setup our place in the shelter. Some of the Maine Train is here, a section hiker and us and it getting cold. We took a photo of Bogey in a tree teepee. We may do a short day tomorrow because of the spacing of the shelters. We thank all of you who have signed our guest book and who are reading our journal.
Date: 2007-04-13
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We started ot 8am from Russell Field Shelter. It was a steep hike both up and down with a little flatland to rest the knees and calves. We reached Rocky Top at 10am and took a few photos and then a dark storm front moved in and it began to sprinkle. We put on our raincoats, rain pants and gloves and continued to hike. Our original goal was Siler's Bald shelter, another 6 miles. Bogey was beat when we got to Derrick Knob so we hauled in for the night. We are here with three men from Alabama, JD and Beast. The forecast for tomorrow Through Sunday is rain, heavy at times, and colder temperatures. We think its cold enough. UNCLE! In came Wood Rat, a 95 thru-hiker, whom we picked up in 95 and took to the store in Roan, TN. when we were section-hiking and now we're thru-hiking. We are stll having trouble getting Cingular cell phone reception. Everyone here is getting in their sleeeping bags to get warm at 6pm. Brrr.
Date: 2007-04-14
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Started real well, both of us feelng good and strong. Had our raingear on as rain was predicted for today. About 15 min later Bogey had to make a mineral deposit in the woods and soon after we had to remove our raingear. Then soon it began to sprinkle but we endured it along with 35-50mph winds. It took us only 2.5 hr to make 5.5 miles. JD came in right behind us at Siler's Bald Shelter. We moved along to Double Spring Shelter. Slim took a wrong turn near Clingman's Dome and discovered it at .5 mi and had to go back to the AT. We lost precious time because a storm was coming and we hadn't yet made it to Mt Collins Shelter. We got caught in a thunderstorm at 4pm and had just 15 minutes to the shelter. Needless to say we got wet but were warm. The weatherforecast for tomorow is colder with snow showers above 1500 ft. Of course we are at 6000+ ft in the area of Clingman's Dome. There are 8 people in the shelter and its 7pm. The wind is blowing ferociously and rain is splashing all around. I hope the roof stays on this shelter. We are all drying out after walking in the rain for hours. Slim and Bogey signing off from their sleeping bags at Mt Collins Shelter. Goodnight.
Date: 2007-04-16
From: Gatlinburg

To: Cherokee
Miles today: 0.0

We are castaways in Cherokee and cannot get Trail information except that the Smokies are still shut down. We called Jeff Hoch at the Hike Inn figuring he'd know more and he says there is deep snow up there and even today more trees are falling than the workers can remove. We are glad to be in town but are concerned about those who stayed on the mountains. Maybe tomorrow....At least Bogey is able to rest his tendenitis. We hope the east coast is faring well with the nor-easter. We'll be keeping up the posts. Many people think that hiking the Appalachian Trail is a challenge to the physical body and to the will of the mind. But this hike is nothing compared to others who are fighting everyday to retain their health by going through serious medical challenges to their body and their will. One dear lady in our home town has gone through this recently and has the most optimistic outlook of anyone we know. She is amazing and we feel her hiking with us in spirit. She is such an uplifting person whose encouragement means everything to us and the sucess of our hike. We are grateful that at 90 plus years of blessing lives, she has touched ours. May God bless Ginny and her family. Keep on getting well. We're praying for you. Thanks for tuning in. The words for today are CABIN FEVER.
Date: 2007-04-17
From: Newfound Gap

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Left Cherokee at 8am. The roads are finally open again. For $14 for the shuttle we got a ride to Newfound Gap, 21miles, where we got off on Sunday. There was 8" of snow and 18" drifts. By midday the snw was melting and becoming slippery. It was clear at Charlie's Bunion but the winds were strong so we went out only part way. It was slow going to Pecks Corner Shelter - about 1.7 mph instead of 2 plus miles. Slim turned a corner and took a slide in the slush. We are here with Kim and Trevor, Cheeks and Step Small, Bad Influence. Later In came Wolf, Low Branch, and Snowplow and Critter and Critter's Dad. Its cold and getting colder. We had noodles and tuna for dinner and some Nutella & Peanut butter on an English Mufffin, Crystal Light and a Snickers Bar. Now we can sleep. We had the most spectacular views today since we started this adventure. Still had very strong winds today depending on what side of the mountain you were on. Looking forward to what adventure tomorrow may bring. Word of the day: Slip'nSlide. Goodnight.
Date: 2007-04-18
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Trip:226.9 Temp: 37-8am, 50-2pmWe're anxious to get out of the Smokies and tent again. Shelters are okay and this one was made by an expert stone mason. We wore shorts, fleece pants, Puffball vest and MW shirt until it began to sprinkle at 11am then we donned the raincoats but it lasted only a half-hour. The sun came out and we finally had some snow and ice free walking with flowers blooming and birds singing again. Bogey is still having tendenitis so we took it easy today taking a nice afternoon break having Nutella, Peanut Butter English Muffins. We stopped at Tricorner knob shelter and signed the register. We almost went another 7 miles to Davenport Gap shelter but decided to stop at 12.9 and give Bogey's leg a rest. We are hoping to increase our mileage to 13 mi average. We also passed Moutain man and Rockdawg who are also on Trailjournals.com. Tonight Lipton LoMein and anything else edible. Candy bars? Cajun mix? Oatmeal? Cocoa? English muffins? Dirt? Tree bark? Yes we're Gettin' there. Lots of sleep will be nice too.Word for the day: Beauterrific!
Date: 2007-04-19
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

Temp: 43-8am, 65-2pmWe woke up before daylight and got our stuff together without waking the whole shelter. The sunrise gleamed reddish with stratus clouds. It was going to be a beautiful day. The "gray dawn" is a lovely time of day. The whole world is dressed in shades of gray and as we hiked we watched the greens and browns begin to overtake the grays until the sun was fully blazing and all the spectrum was brilliantly displayed. We left the shelter at 6:30 am dressed in shorts, MW tops, and Puffball vests. The raincoats are lashed on top of the packs for easy access since the forecast was 30% chance of showers. We exited the Smokies at Davenport Gap at 10:30am. We wanted to make some big miles to Hot Springs because we have a package waiting there for us and it seems we will arrive there either late Saturday or Sunday at this pace and the Post Office will be closed and we'd have to wait in town until Monday. Instead we called Bluff Mountain Outfitters in Hot Springs and they said they would pickup and hold our packages until we arrive. When we arrived from the Smokies we crossed the Pigeon River then went under I-40 and up a stone stairway to many stream crossings. We arrived at Standing Bear farm at 12:00 noon. The AT in the Smokies was void of any streams and we missed that. We noticed here that the trees are finally shooting out leaves in the many shades of soft greens that are common to new leaves. Some of the trees are severely damaged by the extreme cold spell. The foliage on the small red maples are dry and crumpled. We certainly hope they will sprout anew. At Davenport Gap we met Plodder who was slackpacking a few miles. Slackpacking is a term for hiking without a pack or with minimal gear or just a daypack. We did that once on Bear Mountain in NY when the temps dropped from the 90's to the 40's in just a few minutes when a thunderstorm moved in and we were over three miles from shelter. Had we not had our mylar emergency blankets as makeshift raincoats we probably would have been hypothermic. Today was sunny and calm, then drizzly and calm, now sunny and dry and calm again. We will soon make bigger miles when we pick up the knee brace for Bogey when we reach Hot Springs. It is a good day when you are aware and part of the world around you. Standing Bear is a great place to stay just as Woodensticks said. Word of the day: Changeable
Date: 2007-04-20
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Site of Old Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Temps: 45 at 8am; 60 at 2pm, cloudy until 2pm then sunny.Shorts, MW shirts, Puffball vests.Even though it is in the forties in the morning after we hike awhile we are warm and comfortable. Once in a while a cold wind blows and sends a chill through us but soon we are warm again. We left Standing Bear Farm at 6:30am and hiked 10.1 miles by noontime. It was 70% ascents, 30% descents. Where are those flat places? When We reached Snowbird Mountain early in the day we heard a barred owl call. We spotted him in a tree and then he flew closer. When Bogey reached for the camera he flew again. Beautiful bird but no photo. We have been having problems with the camera for over two weeks now. It is burning out new batteries every other day. We even remove them from the camera and still they are buning out prematurely. We'll probably have to buy a new camera if we can get a ride to a big deptartment store. We crossed Snowbird, a bald, and later in the day crossed Max Patch, a large bald with 360 degree views and a slope with snow still holding to the trail. The winds were gentle today and that makes the balds so much more enjoyable. There were many locals walking along Max Patch. If it had been later in the day we might have camped there but instead we are close to the old Roaring Fork Shelter site on a hill in the little green tent. Earlier we stopped at one of the many streams and made dinner. Bogey can barely swallow the Lipton sides. He has to wash it down with crystal light and raisins. Slim can eat anything and is not fussy. We're trying to figure out what to buy that Bogey will be able to eat other than hot dogs. He says beefsticks, cheese, Little Debbie snack cakes, pizza, subs. What he'd really like is McDonalds at every shelter. We heard that Certain and Persistent were at Groundhog Shelter last night. Bogey was reading their journals before we began our hike. Bogey's tendinitis is getting better now. Soon we will get to Hot Springs and pick up the knee brace and a new filter cartridge for the Katadyn Hiker filter. Bogey chose a great campsite for tonight near the old Roaring Fork shelter which is now torn down, but the same shelter we stayed in 12 years ago when we caught a glimpse of a juvenile mountain lion. Good place to camp. Word of the day: Meow!
Date: 2007-04-21
From: Old site of Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter Campsite
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Overnight we both heard a large cat crying and it was close to the tent. It was definitely not a house cat. We woke to bright sunshine and birds singing at 7am. What a great start for the day. Packed up and hit the trail at 8:30 and went uphill most of the day. Bogey was worn out from yesterday's big miles and was dragging by the time we reached our destination at 2:15pm. The temps were 57 at 8am and 80 at 2pm. Bogey really loves the warm weather, Slim likes the cooler temps, i.e. 60's-70's. We happened to walk through a large stand of white pines and hemlock trees and the scent of pine was everywhere. How nice it was and it reminded us of the smell of balsam we enjoyed most of the way through the Smokies. There was one little critter that didn't like our presence. We heard a loud squeal and there in a tree was a black squirrel staring us down. "Get out of my woods you smelly, fur-less creatures!", he chatted. "We'll soon be gone, don't worry Mr. squirrel," we said and he ran up the tree and watched us go. We passed a burned out area near Walnut Mt shelter. We chose a nice tent site near Deer Park Mt shelter across from the shelter sign and laid all our stuff out in the sun to dry and fluff up. We bathed using the folding doggie bowl Bogey brought. It was good to feel clean again. Tomorrow we visit Hot Springs and we saw that last year on the 3rd weekend there was an event there called trail fest. We just might take part in the celebration tomorrow. Maybe free food, Coca-cola? Sounds like fun no matter what. Word of the day: Anticipation
Date: 2007-04-22
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter Campsite

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: clear sky

It was only 3.2 mi to Hot Springs and here we are ordering eggs, toast, sausage, home fries. Bogey snapped a picture of Slim's big smile.Hot Springs was named for natural hot springs. Duh? I heard that they held German prisoners here during World War II. It was only 3.2 mi to Hot Springs, NC and here we are ordering eggs, toast, sausage, home fries at the Smokey Mt Restaurant. We are concerned about Bogey. His urine is dark reddish-brown. We'll call Slim's sister who is a nurse and ask what is going on. We believe he's not drinking enough water but we want to be sure. Slim called her sister but she wasn't home. So we went with our assumption and had Bogey drink mass fluids all day long, and no hiking until his urine became normal. After 5 liters of water and soda and after three passings he finally had light yellow color to his urine. We were quite alarmed earlier in the day but now we know he has to drink a lot more fluids than he has been. Tomorrow we leave town and hit the trail again. It was nice to receive the package Slim's mother sent with cookies and chips and pecan twists and the knee brace at last. We love you mom! How sweet it was to have UTZ potato chips. You are the greatest! Then Sweet Violet returned our CF card wrapped in a tiny piece of fabric and with it a picture colored by our little Grace whose third birthday was on Friday. Would you believe the tiny fabric piece was used to mend a tear on Slim's shirt? How did Sweet Violet know that Slim needed a small swatch of fabric or that it would match the color of her shirt? We find little things like that to be amazing. We stopped at Bluff Mountain Outfitters where we dropped $45 for 5 days food and lithium batteries for the camera and we hope that settles the battery problem we've been having. Then we went to the Dollar General and bought lots of candy bars and jelly beans. Then off to get hamburgers and fries at the camp store where we are tenting for the night in the middle of a field. There is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Oh how Slim's brother, Jon, would have enjoyed that. We miss him..too young to die. It cost $10 per person to camp here but hot showers are included. We sat and talked a long while with Coyote from Syracuse, NY who is half native American half English who is also an excellent artist and an all-around nice guy. We are so happy now that Bogey is doing better. He is peeing normal color constantly now. Three times in the last hour. Sorry to talk about such things but this may help someone else to understand the symptoms of dehydration*. Extreme fatigue on Saturday was the first symptom but we did not recognize it as dehydration. We will be more aware of it in the future. Time to sleep. p.s. *Later we found that his reddish urine was caused by the buckle from his fanny pack putting pressure on his kidney.Word of the Day: Rehydrate
Date: 2007-04-23
From: Hot Springs

To: Near Allen Gap
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Monday, Weather: partly cloudy. Temps 60 at 8am; 83 at 2pm. Hiked with shorts tee shirts and vests, but the vests came off quickly as we ascended the cliffs overlooking the French Broad River. This is our third night in the tent and we're so glad to be back to tenting again. It is so much more pleasant than in a shelter, no noise, no snoring, no mixing up of gear. After 2 1/2 hrs. we came to a dam with a beautiful pond behind it fed by spring water. We sat there for an hour listening to the frogs and toads singing their mating songs. There were sunfish and bass swimming near the shore. To date that pond was our favorite spot on the trail. We hiked mostly uphill all day, leap-frogging with Coyote to get to Spring Mountain shelter where we, being the first ones there, began to spread out our food on the picnic table and Bogey went down for water. The new water filter cartridge made it so much easier to pump 2 gallons of water in no time. We had cheese and salami on Triscuits and they were terrific, then a cookie, a candy bar and a quart of crystal light. Coyote came in just after Critter and her dad. Then Bear Killer and Scout, a father and son team of section-hikers from Indianapolis. Bear Killer was wearing a kilt and Slim told him he looked good in it. That made him happy. After an hour and a half of chatting Slim had to drag Bogey away since we still had four miles to go before dark and it was already 5:45pm. The shelter looked pretty rough, like it needed a little TLC. We believe the section-hikers decided to stay there tonight. Bogey has been having no more problems. Dwarf Iris are beginning to bloom. The striped maples are getting their leaves but the larger trees, oaks, hickories, and others are still not showing any greening. We look forward to the comfort of their shade. At 6:30 we found a nice little camp spot just before Allen Gap and we setup the tent, hung the clothes to dry, ate dinner of bacon, Triscuits, Nutella and candy, then hung the food bags, washed up and went to bed. We can hear the sounds of the forest and the sounds of traffic on the nearby road. The contrast is stark. A little bird is now singing his goodnight song to the sun and tomorrow, I'm sure he will sing it again when it rises in the east. We love all this. The world, all its splendor and simplicity. Ah-h-h. Word of the Day: Splendored.
Date: 2007-04-24
From: Near Allen Gap

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

Tuesday. 63 degrees at 8am; 78 at 2pm.Dressed in lightweight shirt and shorts. We had a wonderful start with our little feathered alarm clocks singing their best. We mistakenly missed the trail magic breakfast and plodded up the hill and reached Little Laurel Shelter at 9:50 am and met Trodalong who was just leaving from his tentsite. We arrived at the split in the trail, one to the to the AT and the exposed ridge trail, the other to the blue-blazed bad weather trail. We stayed on the AT and the views might have been nice but Bogey had a problem. There is blood in his urine again. We are beginning to believe that the blood is from the crushing of his fanny pack buckle combined with the hipbelt putting pressure on his kidneys, because when he took off his pack at the shelter his urine was clear. He's been drinking enough water so this time its not dehydration. We're at the shelter with Third Time's a Charm, Sandlewood and his beautiful wife, Gemstone, and Steps Small and Cheeks. In came Kim and Trevor with their dog Isabelle.They continued a little farther to camp in the woods. Word of the Day:rockdancing