morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-17
From: Tricorner Knob Shelter

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 14.8

Day 28The day was foggy and it was mostly downhill all day so I was happy. I passed a plane wreckage but it was just a bunch of scrap metal. Everyone was excited because this was our last night in the Smokies and that meant last night having to stay in or tent next to the shelters. I passed this lady Lucky Lucy who said she lived in Ct. and would be doing trail magic later this summer. She rattled off a few intersections but I did not remember any. I made some miles going down and had 1st with Shady and White Russian. I hiked over the nest mountain and it started looking like rain. The fog rolled in quickly and I was hoping it wouldn't let loose on me. I made it to Crosby Knob Shelter for lunch and just as I pulled out my food bag the skies let loose. It was pouring hard. In stumbled Big Tom and his wife who are section hiking to Harpers Ferry. Then comes a ridge runner and after him Berkeley and Hawaii, I question the ranger about his job working for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. It seems like a pretty neat job getting to hike and tell people about leave no trace. I wait 1.5 hours for the rain to clear and it does stop long enough for me to decide to continue. I pull on my rain jacket and rain pants, just in case it decides to downpour again. After about 30 min of downhill I come across a gap. I spot a deer bounding away so I freeze. I look up search the mountainside for her and see 2 deer. I watch them graze for a bit then head on up where I run into Berkeley. I showed up just as he gets his camera out. Whoops. I flew down the next several miles till finally I saw the shelter sign You know that reeling you get when you've been on vacation for a week or away at collage or even just a really bad day at work and you turn onto your street and or see your house and you become absolutely elated? Well I get that feeling every day when I see a shelter sign and then the shelter. I'm home for the night. Home changes every night and it's so exciting to reach there every day. I get to Davenport Gap Shelter and it's the first time I am the only girl at a shelter area. Berkeley makes bacon adds wild ramps and puts it on a cracker with cheese. I tried one and it was delicious. Shady, Misery, White Russian and Green Blaze are planning on going 23 miles the next day so they're in bed early. Berkeley made a fire in the fireplace in the shelter which was really nice. The shelter still had the cage across the front to protect us from the bears. The cages were taken down because hikers were feeding the bears through the cages and the bears would then stick around. Sill hikers. I slept fine and woke up early and the surprise was shining directly into the shelter . I sat for awhile in my bag watching the sunrise and got up to take a few pictures of it.
Date: 2013-04-20
From: Roaring Fork

To: Laughing Heart Hostel
Miles today: 18.0

Day 31It wasn't too muddy hiking in crocs. It actually felt really comfortable. I only had to slow down to cross rivers and streams so I wouldn't soak my socks. I made it to lemon gap where there was trail magic. I group of people were hiking 31 miles that day for some club to raise money. They'd started at 5am and this was one of their check points. They let me have some Gatorade and Doritos and a few full size milky ways. I hiked on to lunch at walnut gap shelter. My socks and boots were still really cold and soaked so I continued on in my crocs. I made it over another mountain before I put my wet socks and boots on. It wasn't to bad now that it'd warmed up. I charged down the nest mountain doing 4.1 in just over an hour. I was super surprised at my time. I came upon the clubs finish line for their hikers. They had all sorts of snacks pizza and sandwiches. I sat several feet away from their party for a couple minutes before someone told me I could grab anything I want. I toll a guy the pizza looked good and he said it was awful cus it'd been sitting out for several hours. Dude, I'm a thur hiker.... cold pizza sounds great!. I grabbed a slice and a small chicken sandwich , both were delicious! I continued onto the next shelter to visit the privy. The privy was super tiny with no room around the actual toilet. Someone had taped a nestle hot cocoa packet to the back of the lid, "making warm chocolatey memories" That made me laugh out loud. The last few miles to Hot Springs were tough mentally because I could see the town a whole hour away. I finally stumbled into a parking lot and met a guy who asked if I needed a place to stay. I'd run into Chuck Norris, the owner of the Laughing Heart Hostel. There was one more bed left so I got it for $15. As soon as I set my pack down I heard a shout for free food I ran out to the lawn and got in line for some food. I saw a lot of my buddies there which was mice. I met up with Berkeley, Laces and Broo and Trout to go down the hill to dinner. We found Lola and Chuckwagon there and saw some more familiar faces. I had a yummy club wrap. There were some people playing banjos out on the porch. I went back to the hostel to set up my bed and then headed out to the bonfire. Most other hikers had gone to bed as it was past 10, but there were still a few at the fire. Some were playing drums at a few danced around the fire, hula gypsy style. I t was real interesting to be a part of. I felt like we were all one big group family of sorts. I went to bed at 11pm which was way past my bed time but I had fun. I woke up early for the $4 pancake breakfast in town but it was lame. They just got a new stove that morning and it wasn't working right. Only about 20 pancakes were coming at a time and they weren't even that good. They were only 4 inches in diameter and as soon as I finished 2 I'd get back in line for more. The sausages were good though after about 10 the line got super long so I walked across the street to do my laundry.
Date: 2013-04-21
From: Laughies Hostel

To: Laughing Heart Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I had to change a $5 dollar bill into quarters for laundry which wasn't fun, with all that change. While I waited for my laundry, I wandered over to the outfitters. I was just looking at all their overpriced stuff, not really shopping. I saw mini playing cards and Uno cards, but no mini Uno cards which would be really awesome. It'd been 30mins since I'd eaten puny pancakes so I headed across the railroad tracks. I'd heard that the convenience store across the tracks served up some good breakfast and lunch. I ordered a nice plate of eggs, bacon, and a biscuit. It was delicious. My laundry was done so I headed back up the hill to line dry my stuff. I went back down the hill to get my resupply and just hangout. I got some stuff from the dollar store and powerbars from the outfitters. I hung out at the Hikers Ridge Ministry Center, checking email, facebook and trying to upload photos and entries. It was there I decided I'd send home my journal entries and sd card for my parents to upload. Also hanging out at the Center were some of my friends and new faces too, St. Nick, Hipsy Gypsy, and her husband Oak. There were many hikers that were being sucked into the awesomeness that is Hot Springs, they'd been there for days. After hanging out awhile, I went back up the hill to sort out my food. This sure wasn't a zero miles day, I was walking up and down the hill 10mins each way from the hostel to town. I just left my food on my bed and grabbed a towel to go lay out and read. I'd just picked up a book at the Ministry Center called Be Still, about finding the quiet and security of God's presence. I read for a bit but soon got tired and just took a nap. There were other hikers milling about, chatting and then someone brought up some trail magic of oreos, brownies, bananas, and beer. Eventually I asked around to see if anyone wanted to go to the actual hot spring with me before 6 to get the cheaper rate. It turned out to be $15 but an hour in the hot tub of natural mineral water was glorious! I was a little chilly walking back up that hill but I was hoping my clothes would dry. I was wanting ice cream but the Artisan shop had already closed so I just got a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from the Dollar Store..it was soo yummy. I hung out at the hostel, nibbling what food people didn't want, and watching Pirates of the Caribbean. I left at 10 to go organize my food and get ready for bed. After I went to sleep, 2 guys stumbled in kinda drunk. One kept hiccuping, which was super annoying. In the morning, I learned that they were Blue and Carbon. Someone had made cinnamon rolls so I had 2. I got my stuff all together and headed down the hill for the last time to go to the post office to mail home my journal entries and sd card. I stopped by the Ministry Center again to say bye to people that were there. I went to the convenience store across the tracks for breakfast again. I ordered 2 scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, 2 pancakes and biscuits and gravy. It was a glorious spread and I ate every bit of it except for about 6bites of biscuits and gravy.
Date: 2013-04-22
From: Laughing Heart Hostel

To: Rich Mtn Lookout Tower
Miles today: 8.6

After I ate all that food, I was definitely too full to hike. Blue and Carbon had joined me for breakfast and Carbon ordered the same thing I did. We all were super full. I wanted to take a nap somewhere so I went back to the Ministry Center. Berkeley, St. Nick and the owner, Mr. Nichols, were there. Berkeley left and I stayed, half curled up on a couch, chatting with St. Nick or playing on an iPad. I finally left at noon, walking across the bridge and along the river. The path to Lovers Leap was quite steep but had lots of views of the river so I took my time. I climbed up each rock area I could and took pics. It would've been real nice to have a hiking buddy then. I'd seen Cinderella and Nightingale in Hot Springs as I was leaving but they'd just gotten in. It was real tough hiking after a nice zero day and many people passed me. I figured I could make ti to the campsite by the tower by 7. I took the side trail to the tower and halfway up, saw a whole bunch of people setting up camp. I met Bootless, Firehazard, GoodFella, Rise, and Shine. They were considered the Fun Patrol. Firehazard had my tent, a Nemo, but a one person that used a trekking pole. It was neon green too. We all cooked dinner and went up the tower to watch the sunset. Berkeley was camped out directly under the tower. The sunset was gorgeous over the mountains. Kowabunga was there with his border collie, Jake. It made me really miss my dog. Some of us made plans to get up and watch the sunrise. I got back to camp and went to get water. The moonlight was so bright I didn't really use my headlamp. My alarm went off and I dozed for a bit longer. I awoke with a start as I thought I'd missed the sunrise. I told myself I could crawl out of my warm bag early for one tower sunrise. It was already kinda light out but still I hiked .1 to the tower. I climbed the steps just as the sun was rising over the mountains. It was so incredible!It was super chilly but good weather so the amount of clouds was perfect. I've seen a sunrise over the ocean and over the mountains and both are equally indescribable. Noone else had gotten up to watch it but there were 3 people sleeping on top the tower...how cold. I went back down to camp and made breakfast. Firehazard made eggs from egg crystals called Ova-Easy. I tasted them and they were pretty tasty. I'd like to find some. I was among the last to get going even though I was the first up.
Date: 2013-04-23
From: Rich Mtn Lookout Tower

To: Jones Meadow
Miles today: 13.6

The morning hike wasn't too bad. I kept flip flopping with the Fun Patrol up til the road. I stopped at Deep Gap to say hi to Chuckwagon and Whiskey & Women. I figured I could fill up with water at the next spring. I soon got to the road which was past the spring but luckily there was water .2 down the road. A few people thought this road led to a cafe with hot food but that was the next gravel road. I prepared for an all day hike up the next several miles but to my surprise, I made it to the shelter at 2 miles an hour. I was quite pleased with myself for keeping that pace uphill. Badass, Pippin, Grin, and their group was there. Someone had brought up Cokes and one was sitting right in front of me. I don't really like Coke much at all but it sure looked awesome in that bright red can. I said it looked very tempting being directly in front of me and a guy said I could have it. I didn't need to ask to make sure before I downed half of it in seconds. My snack of a hot fudge sundae Poptart and Coke gave me the motivation and energy to get going up the next mountain. That next mountain was super steep. Argh, why does it always have to be tough right before dinner/camp? I eventually made it to the top and took the .1 side trail to the tower. I passed construction vehicles and a building. The tower was old and you could only climb up several steps but it was still nice. I got creeped out by the old dilapidated building so I hurried down after taking a few pictures. I got my pack back on and raced the next .7 or so to where all my friends were. Everyone was cooking around the fire. There weren't a lot of flat spots left so my tent was tilted toward the bottom. I cooked up dinner and played with Jake, throwing a stick for him to bring back. There were 2 water sources on either side of all the tents and about 15 tents and 2 hammocks. It was rather difficult to find a place to go to the bathroom. I got in bed and wasn't too cold but when I woke up, I was curled up at the bottom of my tent, at least 2feet from the top. Maybe someday I'll get to camp earlier that everyone else and find a flat spot. I was hoping to do 20miles today as the terrain looked fairly easier but I got a late start at 9:30.
Date: 2013-04-24
From: Jones Meadow

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

It was forecast to rain sometime that day but it was just cloudy. I came to a sign that said bad weather bypass and exposed ridge line trail. It wasn't bad weather so of course I took the ridge trail. Several people passed me as I was going slow, looking all around. My back hurt from all the uphill yesterday and my left knee wasn't wanting to support me for some reason. As I was climbing over large rocks, it buckled and I tumbled down. My pack took most of the fall but I bumped my head. I just sat there for almost an hour, making sure I was okay. I got cold from the wind so I had to move on. The terrain wasn't too bad after that so I should've been able to make some tracks but I didn't. I stumbled past a graveside that someone had put flowers by. The storm clouds grew closer so I quickened my pace. Just as I reached Flint Gap about .5 before the shelter, it started to pour. I quickly dropped my pack so I could put the cover on it. The rain drops were super chilling as I fumbled for my rain gear. As soon as I put my pack back on and headed up the steep mountain, I got a nosebleed. I raced up to the shelter because I didn't want to deal with this in the buckets of rain. By the time I got to the shelter, the blood had splattered across my boots, pants, and hiking stick. I'm sure my face didn't look too great either. There were 3 guys in the shelter and one of them handed me some toilet paper for my nose. After I'd cleaned up and got my nose to stop bleeding, I figured I was done for the day, as it was just a little too overwhelming at that point to go on. It was only 3 but I was just done. Only 10miles instead of 20 like I planned. Oh well, it aint about the miles, it's all about the smiles! I sure needed to find my smile. I met Atlas, a guy with a super tired dog, and another guy. I set up my bed rather slowly and Snail then St. Nick rolled in. St. Nick told this long joke about Nate the snake. Some people made a fire and kept it going between rain showers. It felt like forever waiting for my white cheddar macaroni shells to cook. Maybe I just wanted to eat them NOW. I crawled into bed after dinner, hoping that tomorrow would be better. I woke up to a semi foggy day but mostly clear and got started around 9:30.
Date: 2013-04-25
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

After a little while, I started down toward a road. I saw cars in the parking lot and immediately thought, "Maybe trail magic?" I was wrong, it was just empty vehicles. Some people were getting out of a shuttle so I headed on up the next mountain after them. What I thought was going to be a hard climb wasn't too bad so I felt pretty good. I listened to the birds singing and realized it's a glorious day to be hiking on a mountain. I stopped for lunch at a grassy spot overlooking a valley and just sat for a spell. Soon St. Nick and the guy with the dog joined me. The dog was still super tired. We all had lunch together and St. Nick shared a chocolate chip cookie with me. I lovee chocolate chip cookies! I took off and soon St. Nick caught up with me. We hiked together, encouraging each other, he with his hurting foot and me having a tough time going uphill. We stopped at a shelter to get water and were told someone was sick there last night with the the Norovirus. Better Purell up! We left and just as I passed him the next downhill, he told me I was leaking. My Platypus lid had come a little unscrewed and was leaking. That's why I put my Platypus bladder on the bottom. I dumped everything out immediately and wiped up the puddles with my microfiber square. I'm so thankful he caught that otherwise my stuff could've gotten seriously wet. We hiked on and on over a mountain where we could hear 4 wheelers roaring. I know 4wheeling is fun but the noise was disrupting my hike. I felt rather annoyed, especially because it was the end of the day. It got pretty chilly as we neared Low Gap, our destination for the night. We finally got there and there were about 8 tents already there, including Chuckwagon and Whiskey & Women. It was difficult finding a flat spot but I managed. It got super cold as I was cooking dinner. People were getting in bed early because of the cold. I asked Snail to build a fire but he couldn't. I slept fairly well despite there being several noisy sleepers on their crunchy sleeping pads. It was an equally cold morning but it warmed up quickly. Whiskey & Women let us know that Chuckwagon had the sickness all night but was feeling a little better that morning.
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Low Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I started out alone but St. Nick soon caught up. We passed 2 ladies, one with an external frame which brought the external frame pack count up to 6 so far. We climbed up boulders and roots and then circled the bald til we finally reached the top. It was a nice 360 degree view but there were tons of houses on the next mountain over so it didn't seem like we were in the woods completely. But we could see where we had walked yesterday which was pretty cool. Some of us felt like taking a nap but we'd only done not even 3miles yet so we hiked on to the next bald but didn't stop there. We didn't stop at the shelter either because we were on a roll. St. Nick picked out an okay nap time spot on little bald. I wasn't too impressed with the spot but he already had his pack off so I just went with it. We chilled for about 30minutes then hiked on. I left him in the dust going downhill. I took the side trail to High Rocks and I'm glad I did. I love climbing and it was a bunch of big boulders with a view. St. Nick soon joined me and we snacked and just chilled up on the rocks for over an hour. I really enjoyed having a hiking buddy and someone to enjoy the views with. All my life, I've hiked with my parents and sister so I've always had company. It was tough getting used to hiking alone, stopping for lunch alone, not sharing the top of a mountain with someone. I haven't found anyone who hikes my pace, super slow uphill and fast downhill. St. Nick had a hurt foot otherwise I'm sure he'd out hike me. Either way, I was super grateful for the company. We eventually left after a lot of people passed down below. Surfer Dude passed us as we were getting water before the shelter. He'd gotten sick and got off the trail for a couple days to get better. It was downhill to the shelter with a tiny bit of up but it felt like forever. I really dislike hiking past 7pm. My body just wants dinner and my mind is over walking for the day as that's 10hours of hiking. I finally arrived at the shelter and set up my tent between Snail and another couple. St. Nick arrived soon after and we all cooked dinner as it was getting dark. There were several people in the shelter, huddled around the fire. I love fires so I ate my dinner over there. There was a guy in a kilt and 2 guys with external frames. We were all excited to get to Erwin the next day ahead of the rain. My plan was to get up at 6:30 and get out early. I awoke at 6:30 and heard St. Nick leaving but I didn't get up til just before 7, leaving at 9. I started developing a cough and it got worse as it got dark. Hopefully, it wouldn't get too bad.