morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-04-09
From: Mullins Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

Day 16Last night the shelter squeezed in 17 people. It was very warm and I had a very comfortable sleep. The heavy rain at night pounding on the shelter¢s roof sounded like drumming before a battle. It didn¢t stop until almost 8:00 am in the morning. This made today¢s trail a water trail. And the trail changed from gentle Georgia status to challenging North Carolina status, plus the water. There was no avoidance of water and mud on trails. So my boots kept wet and dirty.On a hill before Thunderhead Mountain, there are a few big boulders. On the biggest one, someone carved their names. One was Tom, 1817, there is one in 1920s , and one in 1938! I was wondering who was Tom, and where he ended up with. The Thunderhead Mountain was not impressive. There is only a very small rock in the middle of the muddy trail, bear a US Geological Survey maker.Today the weather was nice. after the rain stopped in the morning, there was no more rain. Sunshine and cloudy alternate throughout the day. White small wildflowers were abundant every where. When the sunlight warmed them, they smelled wonderful. I will have a sweat dream tonight just thinking about them.
Date: 2019-04-10
From: Derrick Knob Shelter 

To: My. Collins Shelter 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 17Anticipation! On this beautiful sunny day, the A.T. led me to its highest point ~ Clingmans Dome at 6643ft. Overall the trail was not too hard. Yes, it was a climb of more than 3500ft and it is over 13.5 miles. But with trails were drier, and inclines were gentler. I didn¢t feel exhausted at the end of the day. When it was above 5500ft, I entered a spruce forest. These evergreen forest was wet and shady. The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees when you stepped inside it. Everything was covered by fresh looking mosses. The only browns were the path of A.T. I felt like a flying little fairy like the one in Peter Pen movie was in front of me, waving a magic wand to guide me through this forest on a path made of dark chocolate. I could just follow her forever. It was a forest that you want to be in there for a long time.The last 0.3 mile to Clingmans Dome was surprisingly flat. There were many tourists up there. It has great views in all directions. I took a picture of the south - the mountains that I had been walking through, and a picture of the north - the mountains that I still need to go. As I am lying in the woods in my tent, and the night fell, a few birds made the last song of the day. A lullaby to a sweet dreams. My tent is setting on a layer of thick cushion of dried spruce.
Date: 2019-04-11
From: My. Collins Shelter 

To: Galingburg, TN
Miles today: 5.0

Day 18A super easy day today! Because finally I am taken a break day at Galingburg, TN today and tomorrow. It was funny that just thinking about get a day off in a town can occupy my mind for day and night. I even dreamed of great tasting roasted beef this morning. Actually I am not craving for any meat. I am craving for fish :-)After 5 miles of hiking I reached Newfound Gap, a huge parking lot with super clean restroom and a TN/NC state line marker. A van of trail angels was also there. They provided us with so much delicious food and drinks. I ate an orange and an apple and a cookie! So full that I had to skip my lunch later. They will be there every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for April. A shuttle from the same church will run multiple times every day in April as well. Thanks so much for their support!At this parking lot, I also saw my hiking friends again. They were behind me for a day earlier because they have taken a zero day a few days ago at NOC hostel. Now they caught up with me. And they will be ahead of me from now on since they don¢t need to stop at Galingburg. I am wondering if I will ever see them again. They are stronger hikers than me. They can push 20 miles yesterday! With my knees problem, I will slow down a bit, and only plan to do less than 12 miles per day going forward till my knees improve.I still consider myself lucky that I have been gone this far without having any big issue. I saw one of my friends duck taped her three fingers. Another friend has both big toes blackened and duck taped. Another hiked today with one sole of his boot falling apart and tied with shoe laces, while another sole half falling as well. I met a couple who had to turn back on their first day in GSMNP because the wife had a twisted ankle. Still all of them have good humor and spirit. That¢s the things make our thru-hikers so lovable!Galingburg is a party town. There are so many ice cream shops, candy stores, wine tasting rooms and breweries! I had to use lots of discipline to limit my consumption of chocolate!
Date: 2019-04-12
From: Galingburg, TN

To: Galingburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 19Galingburg TN is a typical tourist trap town. It knows how to party. Just about a mile long, there are about 10 candy/fudge stores, almost 10 wine/Moonshine tasting stores, and lots of game shops! A 2 miles long flat trail following the Little Pigeon River goes to GSMNP Sugarland visitor center. The walk was pretty in the rain and in the shine. Very relaxed trip.This is truly a rest day for me. I accidentally checked into a hotel room with jacuzzi, had a massage session and ate as much fudge as my stomach can handle! Had ice cream and Moonshine tasting as my dinner. Ready to get back on trail tomorrow.
Date: 2019-04-13
From: Galingburg, TN

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: moderate rain

Day 20Late last night I had a terrifying moment. I accidentally sat on my eyeglasses and one of the leg popped out of the frame! I was desperately trying to fix it since I would be half blind without my eyeglasses. With my survival little knife, persistently trying, and lots of luck, I was able to push the leg back into the small bracket on the frame. A struggle of 30 minutes! I have to be more careful going forward.I left Galingburg in the rain early morning. Then started hiking just before 9:00 am from Newfound Gap. The church shuttle driver told us that there was a huge fire about 3 years ago started by two teens playing with matches on Chimney Trail. 9 terrible days later, the fire had destroyed many structures in Galingburg, and 9 lives lost. I can still see the aftermath of that fire near the Town - burned trees littering the hills like pickup sticks.Today¢s rain was soft and gentle. It was on and off for all the morning up to mid afternoon. But it was the caring, nurturing type of rain. The rain of creation without destruction. The rain that brought lives without hurt. The rain that you can claim ¢I hiked in the rain¢ with a smile, not the one that you claim with a scream. The soft spring rain has made the mountains covered with new fresh green colors over the old passing greens of the last year¢s. The trails today also brought the most spectacular views in the Smokies. In addition to the very popular Charlies Bunion, where lots of day hikers also went, there was long sections of walk along the ridges. At some places the width of the ridge were only 2-3 feet wide. If there were no trees on both sides of the ridge, it would be quite exposed. From time to time when the trees thin out, the views of layers of mountains would appear. It was like a wave of blue, with different shades, from darker blue nearby to light gray white blue far far away. As far as your eyes can see, the waves just go on and on in all directions. Somewhere between layers of blue waves, the white steam/clouds raise up, dancing with breezes. And me, a tiny speck on the ridge trail, was walking slowly under a forest green poncho. The wind filled my poncho with air. I felt like a big green balloon floating along the trail.At one place on trail, I saw pillows of mosses, different types growing interwoven with one another. There is one type of very fresh looking moss on big rocks. They grow like pincushions. I cannot hold myself but to touch them with my fingers. They are dry despite the fresh wet appearance, felty but soft. They felt like a black boy¢s curly hair.By late afternoon, the Peck¢s Corner shelter was filled. Because it was off the main A.T. for 0.4 mile, it was relatively not crowded. All hikers were able to find a spot in the shelter. This was very good because a strong storm will come by midnight tonight. Hope everyone keeps dry and has a peaceful sleep.
Date: 2019-04-14
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: TriCorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 21The most challenging day so far! The overnight storm came in full force. The speed of wind reached as high as over 50 miles per hour. With the wind it also came the slating rain. I hiked 3 hours for 5.5 miles. Soaked from waist down plus all sleeves. My fingers were cold to numb. Time to stop at the TriCorner Knob shelter. Many thru-hikers had the same idea. I saw lots of people from the same shelter that I stayed last night. My waterproof boots became a pair of buckets. At the shelter, I dumped almost a cup of water from them.AIt took me almost two hours to get the feeling in my fingers back after changed to dry clothes, pulled up my sleeping bag and ate a big lunch. The wind blew cross the front cooking section of the shelter, making it unusable. Thanks to a big tarp that covers the entrance of the sleeping quarter, we had at least a dry area that we can hung our wet stuff. But the tarp was flapping constantly in the wind. So it was still cold in the shelter. Tutu, a hiker with long white beard, worked tirelessly for almost two hours to get a fire going. It was a tough job since all the woods were soaking wet. He pulled his alcohol fuel to make the fire going. Sleep&Slide, who stayed here last night also helped him with Vaseline soaked cotton balls. As I am sitting here in my sleeping bag, the rain and wind had not decreased their strength for more than 5 hours. I will just stay put and wait for tomorrow to hike again when this frenzy storm passes.
Date: 2019-04-15
From: TriCorner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel 
Miles today: 18.5

Day 22By 7:00 am I already started hiking. It was no point to make a breakfast. The bear bag that I hang on the bear cables had been frozen solid. I could not get any food out of it. It was extremely cold and windy. I had my warm hat, two layers of pants and three layers of tops all day long. I had my poncho on for added warmth and wind protection for most of the morning too. The rain was very light, but most of the rain drops turned into ice particles when they hit the ground. For the most part of morning, I was above 5200ft. On the ridges, I looked at left, it was a winter wonderland with ice forming crystals (rimes) on every branches. On my right, the valley of green displayed the springs scene. Wildflowers added to the list of lovely colors. Couple of days ago when I went to the Sugarland visitor center, I learned many wildflower names. As I saw them again, they became more enjoyable.By the afternoon, the trail started steadily going downhill. When there were about two miles from Davenport Gap, I can¢t help but made up a song again - Goodbye the Smokies:When I was entering the Smokies, it was a bad weather day.Now I am leaving the Smokies, it is a fair weather day.Bye bye the Smokies n¢ bye bye the Smokies.I wish I someday I could return to you ~ to see the FALL-COLORS day.Bye bye the Smokies n¢ bye bye the Smokies.I will return to see the Rho-do-den-dron in full blossom day.I pushed more than 18 miles today, and got to the fun Standings Bear Farm hostel for a bunkbed.
Date: 2019-04-16
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel 

To: Roaring folk Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5

Day 23Changes of plan due to the storm 2 days ago was costly today. In stead of planed 3000ft elevation gain in one day, it was actually almost 5000ft in the course of 15.5 miles. I went through two peaks - Snowbird Mountain and Max Patch Summit. On the Snowbird, there is a cool looking FAA station, all white, very streamlined, like a spaceship from outer space. I took a long time to reach Max Patch since it was at mile 13.6. 0.8 miles before the Summit, SR1182 dirt road intersects with A.T.. Just when I was hungry and out of energy to push the last mile to the Summit, there was a trail angle! It was a very beautiful young lady doing the trail magic. She drove almost 11 hours from Philadelphia to here. And it was the best trail magic I have seen: grilled burgers and hot dogs, lots of fresh fruits and veggies in addition to the usual cold drinks and sugary snacks! I ate an orange, an apple, two carrot sticks and many pieces of watermelon! The last mile to the Summit became so easy after this. Thanks a lot to the beautiful trail angel!Max Patch is a very popular destination for locals and thru-hikers. Many hikers I met on trail decided to camp at the Summit area. It has plenty of space since it is a huge grassy bald, that is big enough to land small airplanes. It has great views all around. Since it has no water and it is pretty windy at the top, I pushed on to reach the shelter 2 more miles down the trail. One thing I think is pretty cool near the Max Patch are many very old wood posts with A.T. white blaze on them. They were so old that there are lots of lichen growing on them to make them grayish green looking. And many posts had rotted into funny shapes.There are also a lot more wildflowers along the trail. Some has very interesting shapes at different stage of their lives. I found lots of mints, too.
Date: 2019-04-17
From: Roaring folk Shelter 

To: Deer park mountain shelter 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 24A good weather makes an enjoyable hike day. Especially in the morning when everything was fresh. Today¢s star was Trilliums - the wildflower with three big leaves and three petals. They covered slopes after slopes with their big showy flowers. Some have petals as pure white as fresh snow, some have petals as rich red as Cabernet Sauvignon all with yellow centers. There were also some greenish yellow trilliums, but they were not abundant here as they were before and in the Smokies. When I hiked with my self made A.T. song, they all nodded in agreement in the light breeze and patched morning sunshine.The A.T. song:I¢m marching on the A.T.,I¢m marching on the A.T.,I¢m marching on the A.T.,From Georgia to Maine!I marched in the snow,I marched in the rain,I marched under the Sunshine,From Georgia to Maine!I slept in a tent,I slept in a shelter,I slept under the stars,From Georgia to Maine!I saw wildflowers,I saw wild animals,I saw Spring, Summer and Fall,From Georgia to Maine!You can add more to this song with anything you want - the foods you ate, the drinks you drank, or the new friends you made every day on the trail!I also saw many butterflies, big and small, white, black and blue. They all looked pretty. There were also lots of busy bees working on the flowers. Oh, and I saw a big black shiny snake. This is the second snake I¢ve seen on A.T. The days are getting warmer, animals are more active now. I need to watch more carefully on the trail.When I near the shelter in the evening, I heard sharp calls ¢Ah, Ah, Ah¢ from a bird of prey! I wish I could understand the meaning of its call.
Date: 2019-04-18
From: Deer park mountain shelter 

To: Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 3.2

The easy morning stroll for a little more than 3 miles brought me to the Hot Springs, NC. This is a small village type of town, A.T. centric at this time of the year. I bet half of the population now are A.T. thru-hikers! From the trail looking down to the town surrounded by trees with spring fresh leaves, it does look as a lovely little village out of a storybook. I have remembered what the shuttle driver in Top of the Georgia told us: if you can reach Hot Springs, your chances to finish A.T. Thru-hike will increase significantly! Now I am in Hot Springs, at mile 275. Still has 87.45% (1917 miles) to go. But I am glad that I have made so far.There is a natural hot spring that was believed to have curable power since 1778. The hot spring still operates today even though the old building is only a ruin now. For $25 I got to use the hot tub next to the French Broad River for one hour. I checked into Elmer¢s Sunnybank Inn - the oldest house built in the town. It was a nice Victoria house with shared bathrooms. There is no laundry in the Inn, so I hand washed a few small items and put them in the windy and sunny backyard to dry. It was a hot day in here, nearly 80 degrees in the afternoon. The owner of the Inn sometimes provides legendary vegetarian meals for dinner if there are more than 6 people signed up by 3:00 pm. I put my name on the signing board, but unfortunately around 4:00 pm I saw a notice that Elmer will not cook dinner tonight! The Inn has a black and white big dog - named Jimmy Carter!
Date: 2019-04-19
From: Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs, NC

To: Sunnybank Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 26Rain stuck in Hot Springs, NC. Stayed all day in Elmer¢s Sunnybank Inn, reading, eating and sleeping. There is a skylight in the washroom outside of my bedroom. The sound of rain drops splashing on it made so perfect sense to stay out of the wet. It¢s a soothing sound only one can appreciate after the experience of cold helpless wet rain when everything against your skin was against your wellbeing, and one has no place to hide from it.Elmer and Scott prepared a big tasty breakfast for us: coffee, tea, granolas, fresh cantaloupes, oranges and grapes, warm hearty biscuits and grits with gravy, all sorts of jams and honey, almond milk and regular milk. And for dinner, we were served with brussel sprouts and mushroom soup, salad with over ten variety of vegetables and cheese, a Thai flavored vegetable stew over rice, and a dense flavor packed lemon tart for desert. We were pampered. Elmer has owned this place for decades since 1970s. He really made it a home for all the guests. This historical place is captured in the year 2000 movie ¢Songcatcher¢In the afternoon I took a short walk in town to take some pictures in the rain. The river, which was calm and clear yesterday, has become a muddy mad current today carrying lots of logs down its course. Many hiking friends who left town yesterday came back to get a break from the rain. It was nice to chat with them, but at the same time, it showed how challenging the weather can be.Thinking about the hike and camping in the wilderness (at least when it is dry), the following that I just read described it perfectly. ¢It is a kind of life that has a potent charm for all men, whether city or country-bred. We are descended from desert-lounging Arabs, and countless ages of growth toward perfect civilization have failed to root out of us the nomadic instinct. We all confess to a gratified thrill at the thought of "camping out.¢¢ - Excerpt From [Roughing It] by Mark Twain.
Date: 2019-04-20
From: Sunnybank Inn

To: Spring Mountain shelter 
Miles today: 11.0

Day 27I left Sunnybank Inn at 7:10am. After crossing the bridge over French Broad River and turned right on A.T. I was stunned by what I saw. The trail was a part of the River with the water level looked as deep as over waist. It was definitely impassible! A black pickup was washed down and stuck in the river by a tree! Scouting around, I found a use trail past a barn. It was steep. A wet rope dangling down from it. Didn¢t know that I have other options, I tried on that route. Oh, boy, it was so steep. And with a big backpack on, it was not easier. I had to use all fours pulling on tree roots and rocks most of the time. I followed the big rock - called Lovers Leap all the way up. Based on my topo map, the top of Lovers Leap should join back to A.T.. with 40 minutes of hard climb, I was on top of this big rock. At that time. There was even a little sunshine broke the heavy layer of clouds. The views of Hot Springs, the flooded brown river and the green hills around it looked amazing! Another 10 more minutes scrambling brought me to the junction of the A.T. where two other thru-hikers just came into view. They told me the alternative route that going up on a paved road, then another trail. Gee, if I was knowing that! I promised myself that I will not climb on that type of trail ever! The climb was only about 0.3 mile, but it took me almost 50 minutes.Today the distance to the shelter is about 11 miles. By 11:30am, as forecasted, a light rain came back, at first as small hails, then light shower on and off for the rest of the day. I saw may edible plans along the trail, ramp, garlic chive, scallion, violet, mustard, plantain, etc. I even saw a rotten wood full of Woodward. It¢s the first time that I ever saw fresh Woodward. In a nice day, I might pickup a few plants and put them in my dinner. But today, all I wanted was to get to the shelter so that I can keep myself dry.The temperature today was low. I can see my breath. When new hikers came to the shelter after climbing up a ridge, they were all steaming on their whole body!
Date: 2019-04-21
From: Spring Mountain shelter 

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light snow

Day 28The weather man promised our hikers of cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. I only see about 3 minutes sunlight after 5:00pm. The whole day was very foggy or very dark clouds, threatening rain at any moment. It had a few drops, but never wet enough for me to put on rain gear. But the aftermath of the rain in the last two days was well noticed. Not only the trail was very muddy and watery, for miles there was snow covered areas. Adding the heavy fog, it was kind of creepy walking by myself in the dark and cold forest for a long time. It was also kind of cool. When the snow melts in the quiet forest, it makes lots of funny sounds. So you can imagine many different things. I did hear a big tree fell down with a loud noise.In the afternoon, the trail goes through an exposed ridge line. The section was built with lots of big rocks. It¢s so difficult to build, they put a plaque on the top of the ridge to honor Howard, the trail master. When the clouds lifted a bit while I was on the ridge line, I can see a green plain laying below the ridge on the west side, wide and flat, very very green!I also passed 300miles benchmark!A few people asked my hike yesterday by the Lovers Leap cliff as a detour to avoid the flooded trail. No one believed I could do that. I was actually very careful and kept a cool head yesterday. I tested every head hold and foot hold of the roots, rocks and ropes before putting my weight on them. I felt it was difficult, but not beyond my ability to do it. Also it was at the beginning of the day when my body was very fresh from the resting of the past two days. One young guy also took that route, and kept saying it was crazy. I totally agree.
Date: 2019-04-22
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hog back ridge shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 29This is one of the nice days I had on A.T.. The morning was cool and the afternoon was warm. Blue sky, green mountains, fresh springs and air.In morning I met ¢Aquest¢. I have seen him at least 3 days so far, hiking with a day pack in the opposite direction. It turned out that he has two cars, so he is slackpacking and alternate with his cars. He plans to do this way all the way to Maine! Wow, this is first time I met someone really doing this way!At lunch time, I also met a guy who¢s section hike A.T.. He also hiked over 1000 miles on PCT and plan to start CDT this year, too. He¢s the first person I met who is really doing the triple crown! He can go more than 30 miles per day. In the afternoon cross a road, Rob was doing trail magic. It was the 4th I have enjoyed on A.T.. Rob owns a hostel that housed many thru-hikers for many years. He loves the A.T. Thru-hiking community and comes out to do trail magic often with a white van printed ¢The AT friendly Van¢ on its side. One guy I met on trail also gave me an apple. Thanks for all trail angels!Tonight dinner I cooked my multi-grain lentil soup with some ramp I found on trail. At the shelter, there are ramp patched near it, as well as wild basils. Yummy!