morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-03-26
From: Lemon Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 14.4

FG's breakfast skillet is excellent, and so were the 6 chocolate chip walnut pancakes I had after. And the coffee!That helped power me into Hot Springs, and I got there just after 5, which meant that everything was closed. Yay small towns! Was able to do some laundry, and went to the tavern for dinner. I had heard that was where all the hikers in town were congregating for dinner. Indeed, there was a huge table of hikers, and as they filtered out more came in. I saw several people I had met in Hot Springs, and many more hikers that I recognized from shelter logs. I've run into a new bubble, the ones that started around the beginning of March. We left behind the people that started our weekend pretty quickly, had been traveling with a few other folks, but I left them behind in the last week. The tavern had an 18oz AT burger. Was a big meal, but the patties were cooked too much and a bit dry for that much meat. Stayed for a while hanging out with fellow hikers. Its pretty cool meeting people I only know through register entries.
Date: 2015-03-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

First zero in Hot Springs. Did laundry again, trying to get the smell out of my socks and dirt stains out of my shorts. No success.Bought food for 4 days to last until Erwin. I thought I would do all my shopping at the Dollar General, but the large amount of hikers had cleared out the shelves. Luckily the outfitter in town was able to supplement what little I could find in the store.Also swung by the hiker ministry in town. This is a small log cabin by the river that offers computer access, coffee, cookies, etc to hikers. Today the folks from the hiker yearbook were there serving up hot lunch - shepherds pie, green beans, and mac n cheese. Awesome place.The weather was crummy this morning- cold and rainy - but it cleared up and warmed up by the afternoon. Keegan finally arrived around 5. We had dinner at the iron horse station (where we are also staying) and it was delicious!
Date: 2015-03-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Keegan and I bummed around Hot Springs. Visited the hot springs and spent an hour soaking in them. They pipe the hot water into private hot tubs, so that was very relaxing.Also visited some antique shops, got ice cream, the usual. Goose arrived in the afternoon and they have a room in the same inn. Ate dinner downstairs in the restaurant with them and it was delicious, just like last night.
Date: 2015-03-29
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast at the diner. Their biscuit and gravy was not up to par with my standards, got the breakfast platter had a goodly amount of food on it.Pretty easy hiking out of Hot Springs, just uphill to the first shelter. Supposed to rain tonight, but shelter is full so we're hammocking nearby. Quite a few people here, a few others hammocking, a tarp behind the shelter and a few other folks tenting just beyond the shelter.Goose's knees were doing better today, but he's not feeling well. Could be because of the medication the doctor gave him, or maybe he just has a cold. He's having trouble eating or drinking, so we'll see how that works out.
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Slept a bit cold last night, but at least I was dry. Part of the reason was the short day - I didn't know what to do, so I just crawled into the hammock on top of the bag in my clothes and listened to FM radio until I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was raining and cold. I tried to get in my bag and all, but it wasn't completely successful. Missing the underquilt, but I shouldn't have too many more cold days. I'll certainly have to take the quilt back later in NH and Maine though. Not long after leaving the shelter we came upon a road with a sign pointing up the road to "Mom's Store". We didn't bother going as it was about 200 yards up the road, which was too far to walk. Later we learned it was a pretty sad store, so I guess that's 400 yards well saved.Lunched at Laurel something shelter. There was doggie magic on the bearbag line, but nothing for us. I wasn't hungry enough to eat dog biscuits, free or not. Goose hasn't been hungry at all, and our pace hasn't been great as he doesn't have any energy. Hopefully he gets better soon, you can't hike w/o eating.Went over Albert Mtn, which was the one highlight today (besides crossing 300 miles). Its an exposed ridge/rock climb, and you have mountains spread out on one side and a populated TN valley on the other. Really cool, and we had perfectly clear weather to enjoy the views.Everyone from the last shelter made it to this one as well, so we're hammocking again. Not calling for rain tonight, so hopefully the tarps will dry out overnight.
Date: 2015-03-31
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 23.0

Long day today - made it into Low Gap. I'm running low on food, so I need to get to Erwin tomorrow. Goose isn't happy that I'm pushing him this hard, especially with the way he's feeling. I don't think he'll make it to Maine. It seems he mainly wanted to do the AT to get away from Army discipline and to have some freedom, and the goal of thru-hiking isn't that important to him. Add to that some time and financial constraints, and he's thinking about getting off at Harper's Ferry or somewhere around there. We'll see.Walked through Sam's Gap. Had been promised trash cans in the AT Guide, but I guess those are removed in the off-season. Trash doesn't weigh much, but its nice to get rid of every extra ounce. We also missed the fellow who apparently was giving out eggs and hash browns to hikers here, he left about a half hour before we passed through. Oh well.Met a hiker who thru'd in 1984. Bet it was much harder then, now we have more and better shelters, and much better resources, especially in towns. I also bet he hardly ever saw anybody - we have not had anything close to an empty shelter so far. In fact, I heard that something like 300 people started the weekend of March 15th, and shelters down there have as many as 80 people staying at them. We've got to keep ahead of that bubble as that sounds awful.Several other folks staying at Low Gap - MacGyver and noname (or John? I'm not sure), and Mau & Co. We set up our hammocks, ate dinner with the dying evening light, and retired for the night.
Date: 2015-04-01
From: Low Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 21.0

Left Low Gap reasonably early. Goose is really not doing well, so he left about 10 miles in at Spivey Gap and I had enough reception for him to schedule a shuttle to pick him up and get him to Erwin.Made the last 11 miles into Erwin in good time and got to the road outside of town. It wasn't a straight shot into town so hitching didn't seem likely, and Goose texted me that the folks that gave him a ride were cool so I called them. While waiting for them to pick me up, a fellow at the church across the street gave me McNuggets. Said he had too many. Sounds good to me.Goose had gone to the Urgent Care. The doctor didn't think it was the drugs, just figured he had some sort of cold or something and prescribed some nausea drugs and a shot of some kind. I dropped off my stuff at the hotel and went over to a local restaurant recommended by the shuttle driver, pausing along the way to answer some questions about hiking posed by a construction worker sitting on his truck drinking beer in the hotel parking lot. That happens a lot.The Hawg-n-Dawg in Erwin is a must see if you are in the area, though I'm not sure why anyone would ever be. Amazing BBQ and great service, great sweet tea. Homemade sauces and salad dressings. A real treat, and they love thru-hikers. The owner, Lou, is a great guy. In fact, we went to Food Lion after to resupply and saw Lou there, and he gave us a ride back to the hotel.This resupply made sure to get more food. Was completely out of food coming into Erwin (which is why we needed longer days), so making sure to get enough this time.
Date: 2015-04-02
From: Erwin

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 8.3

Continental Breakfast at the Super 8. From now on we're making sure places have this, it saves us a bunch of money because we can eat an enormous amount of food, even if its mostly starches and stuff. We ate all the waffles they had.Took it easy and slow this morning, for two reasons. Hawg-n-Dawg's special for the day was a loaded baked potato, and we wanted to catch that. A 1lb baked potato, filled with pulled pork, sour cream, chives, and cheese. Delicious. The second reason was that Fresh Ground was at Indian Grave Gap, just 8.3 miles out of town. After two 20+ mile days, we felt we deserved an easier day. Arrived to find a ton of people we had met before. Good times were had, and many hot dogs. FG had two people helping him who had brought easter candy and stuff. Met Sonic, who started a week after us - March 15th. He does crazy miles, and his pack is super light. Sometimes he hikes without food, and just eats a lot in towns and then hikes to the next resupply. Impressive.
Date: 2015-04-03
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

As seems to be the usual case, had a stomach ache after Fresh Ground. The pancakes and skillet are so good its tough not to eat until you are sick. Met Trail Magic a mile or two after FG and had some fruit.Several showers today, but the real rain is supposed to hold off until tonight.Went over Unaka Mtn - a great spruce forest up on top. Besides that, pretty boring hiking today.Met John, Smokes, Rising Sun and his dog Roxie at the shelter, and two more section hikers came in after. John was involved in a big car accident that shattered most of the side of his body a while back, and is set for life financially. He hikes the trail quite often, but since he can't do steep ups or downs due to pain he travels around and takes his time. Smokes started Feb 1st and has encountered all kinds of issues on the trail, mostly due to the cold and snow on the trail that month.Hammock did fine in the thunderstorm tonight. The folks in the shelter thought I was crazy, but I wanted to try it out in a tough storm so that I can be prepared for summer thunderstorms. It works!
Date: 2015-04-04
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

Cold wet morning. I really need better gloves - these are just liners. Nice if its not cold and not rainy, but either of those just result in frozen hands. In addition I accidentally melted the gloves last night, so now there's holes in them too. I think I'll look for better gloves in Damascus.Early morning was a climb up Roan Mtn. This is the last time we'll be above 6k feet until upper New England, I think the whites in NH. It got extremely cold and we were wearing every piece of clothing we had to keep warm. Crossed the frost line and it got icy, had to be careful with my sandals to not slip on logs or rocks. It was bitterly cold on top and incredibly windy. Restrooms up top but I guess its not in-season yet as they were closed. Apparently there used to be a motel on the top of the mtn, and the NC-TN line runs right over the mtn and through the middle of the hotel. At that time it was legal to serve (maybe consume?) alcohol in NC but not in TN, so the state line was clearly demarcated so that guests knew which side they could drink on. Supposedly TN sheriffs would hang out in the hotel, ready to arrest anyone who would cross the line with alcohol.Walked down the other side. We wanted to stop at Roan Shelter, the highest shelter on the AT and a 4-sided structure with a door, but somehow completely missed the shelter trail. We arrived in carver Gap, pissed and hungry, and huddled on one side of a minivan to try to get out of the wind.Hurried out of there (cold and sooo windy!!) and went over a few balds with great views. Lots of day-hikers out here, but I can't imagine why. Wouldn't you pick a better day to hike if you had a choice?Arrived at Overmountain shelter. This is a converted tobacco barn on the side of a mtn overlooking a valley. Its two floors, holds 20+ people. The privy is open to the valley (and the lower floor of the barn is as well) giving you a beautiful view. I didn't like the top floor, too enclosed and crowded so I hammocked out back but still had a good view.Casper, Indy, and Freeball were already there (we met them at FG's). Werewolf also showed up. Werewolf is a former tatoo artist with strong scottish ancestry. He married, moved to alabama (or somehwere down there), that didn't work out, he moved back to TN and decided to do the trail. He's extremely talkative and really cool to hang out with.Many section hikers here as well taking advantage of a long easter weekend to get some hiking in. One group has some sort of dog - looks like part husky, part pony. Huge freaking dog.
Date: 2015-04-05
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 9.2

Bitterly cold this morning - exactly 32 degrees according to Goose's thermometer. Water isn't frozen, but I am. And these gloves! Aaugh. I hate these stupid things, my hands are practically frostbitten trying to take my hammock down. I cannot wait for spring. And better gloves.Short day. We're only going 9 miles to the hostel, which we've been hearing amazing things about for the last few days.Went over 2 bluffs with great views, and the day slowly warmed up. Just before the hostel we crossed over to TN and left NC for good. Two states down!Got to the road and walked the 1/3 mile to the Hostel (and B&B). The hostel is a barn where the loft has been converted to an amazing hostel. Big common room, with some kitchen stuff, old tv and lots of 90s movies, and tons of comfy places to sit. Nice porch, two bathrooms, and several bedrooms. We chose a 2 bed room thats separate behind a door in the front of the barn. Low roof but I like privacy (and nobody snoring). On the first floor of the barn is a well-stocked (for hikers) general store and laundry. Showered, did laundry, and bought some food for lunch. Part of the barn is still used for the 2 horses, 2 goats, and donkey, and the porch overlooks their pasture which has a good sized creek flowing through it and right past the barn. Since the barn is old nothing is quite square inside, and walls, floors, and ceilings can sometimes come together at odd angles and may not be quite flat, and rooms can be crazily sized. Its really cool.We've heard great things about breakfast, but since today is easter they are doing a free easter dinner too! Woot!Mao, F-Bomb, Recon, and Dirttime showed up right before dinner as well as Neon Mtns. We had not met Neon before, and he's rushing though. He did the PCT last year, and is trying to catch up with another PCT alumni ahead of us. His pack is really small, he doesn't use poles, and many times he'll be jogging along the trail and does crazy mileage.Easter dinner was amazing. Sobme big rack of lamb, stuffing, mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad, green beans, selection of olives, bread, deviled eggs, ham, and so much more, and tons of desserts. It was an incredible meal, and then afterwards all of us polished off a pint of Ben & Jerry's each. Slept well, and excited about breakfast tomorrow.
Date: 2015-04-06
From: Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Breakfast was indeed even better than dinner. Essentially think of every breakfast item you can, then make it awesome. That was the menu. Biscuits and gravy were amazing, and the honey for the french toast had walnut bits in it which is a fantastic idea. 3 different egg dishes, various baked treats, sausage, the list goes on. We didn't want to leave but the trail called.As we got back on the trail we noticed signs warning of vandalism to vehicles left overnight in the gap. We later learned that the land for this section of the trail was taken from the predominantly Irish immigrant landowners by emminent domain 70 years ago, and they haven't let go of the grudge. We did not encounter any issues, but apparently they often paint over the white blazes, foul up water sources, and even hang fish hooks along the trail at eye level.Met another thru-hiker, Voltron, several miles into the day and he suggested we take a blue blaze down the trail to Jone's Falls. We hadn't planned to, but decided to take his advice and were rewarded by some amazing waterfalls only 0.1 or 0.2 from the AT. Rested there, and continued on through fields, meadows, and at one point following a smaller river as it flowed through the lowlands.The evening threatened rain but it held off until we were at the shelter and set up. In my notes, I have that there were several wknd backpackers at the shelter and we talked for a while after they built a fire, but I don't remember that night at all. Guess thats what happens when your notes are brief and you don't update your online journal for over 2 weeks.
Date: 2015-04-07
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Hampton, TN
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Rained all day to varying degrees, slowly getting worse as the day went on till it stopped in the evening. Wasn't bad until it got cooler in the afternoon as t-storms rolled in when we were climbing over Pond Flats.Much of the middle of the day followed Laurel Forks or some similarly named river. With the rain it was quite the torrent. Saw some nice falls after climbing down a slippery rocky section, and then had to carefully walk around the bottom of the cliff, mere feet from the water. I wish I had taken a picture of this part. I actually stopped behind Goose as I thought we had taken a wrong turn because the trail just led right up to the cliff, but then he started inching around the rocks.Pond Flats was the only real elevation change. We actually could have stopped prior to them as we crossed a road to some hostels just 7 miles into the day, but I wanted to do the extra 8 miles to the other side of Hampton so we could do decent mileage that day and have plenty of time to get to Damascus for the weekend. Of course it started lightning and thundering as we climbed up to the top, and it felt like the storms was right on top of us. Got down the other side alive and made it to the shores of Watuaga Lake, where there was a road leading into Hampton. Managed to flag down a pickup, who let us throw the packs in back and drove us into town. Nice guy, but I couldn't understand a word he said. Very strong backwoods southern accent.We were going to stay at one of two hostels in town, but one had closed and the other didn't seem that great. For just a few bucks more we could stay at a cabin in Black Bear Resort, which was just off the road we had crossed before we went over the mtn. We called them and they sent a shuttle, though we had to wait a bit as the shuttle driver (also part owner) had to pick up her kids from school. Went to McDonalds, and McNuggets and cheeseburgers never tasted so good.Got to the resort, and its very small. Resort is not quite the right word, but its a nice place, with a little store w/ hiker food, several small cabins (one room, bunk bed, table, hooks and rods to hang stuff off of), bunkhouse, and a little common room. Many people we know are here, such as werewolf, Mao, F-Bomb, Recon, Dirttime, MacGyver, Noname, Clockwise and Shadowfax who I'd met briefly in Hot Springs, and Sticks who started the day before us so I guess we've just been yo-yoing without seeing each other. Everyone put in a group order for subway for dinner, and I had two footlongs. Can't remember which ones, but I added every vegetable they had. Sat around eating our subs while watching Joe Dirt.
Date: 2015-04-08
From: Hampton, TN

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Took the shuttle back up to the lake and 321 and started from there. Luckily the water was not quite high enough to cover the trail - apparently this can happen, and then you need to road walk a bit.Watauga Lake Shelter was closed due to bear activity. Story I heard from a fellow hiker was that they took a problem bear from the smokies and placed him here, around a recreational lake. Not sure that makes sense or is true, but overnight camping is prohibited at the shelter and surrounding area. We didn't see the bear.Got really warm today, especially as we were climbing the ridge out of the valley. This should be the last tough climb, as we've been told this section of the trail all the way to damascus is extremely flat and is named the "Tennessee Turnpike". Overall, it stayed true to its name.Met Pidgeon and Tobasco at the first shelter (that was open). Both are section hikers doing a large portion of the southern part of the trail. They may have thru-hiked before, I don't remember. Pidgeon is an older fellow who makes really good time, and Tobasco is a larger fellow who carries a ton of stuff. He's got a pack, a duffel bag, and then another bag for his nalgenes. Apparently he's lost a lot of weight since he started at Springer.Arrived at Iron Mountain Shelter at around 4:30, and decided to push on. We should be able to easily make Damascus tomorrow, and this makes tomorrow that much easier. We'll be a day early for the girls, but that allows us to handle resupply and all before they arrive.Encountered trail magic today - a bright orange steel box off the trail. Apparently placed by some kind of Baptist elementary school, it contained sodas and little debbie snacks. This helped us power over the remaining few miles to Double Springs Shelter.Nobody here. Apparently all the folks ahead of us did a 33 mile Damascathon through this section. Still hammocked, and some coyotes visited us at night. I swear it sounded like they were standing in the shelter, yipping at us out in our hammocks. Creepy buggers.
Date: 2015-04-09
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 18.5

Too many bugs today. Fled camp quickly and didn't make many stops. The turnpike is infested with flying pests. I'm pretty sure my DEET spray actually attracts them.Got into town at 2:30, and Goose promptly jumped into the river there - quite hot today. He promptly jumped right back out, and I only put my feet in. Maybe its hot out, but the water is still frigid.Met Roadside on the way in, and he said The Place is the place. The Place is a simple hostel run by a methodist church, with wood bunks and a suggested donation. The caretaker is a former thru-hiker, bayou, who is a bit of a stickler for the rules. Thats putting it mildly. Several days after leaving Damascus we were still hearing complaints about him.Ate lunch at a local diner that was underwhelming. Its not quite true trail season in town, and I believe the trail is the only thing keeping this place alive. For all the talk and expectation of Damascus (Trail-town USA), its, um, well it kind of sucks. Granted, 3 restaurants were due to open next week, but there really isn't much in town.Met Seeker and several other hikers at the library, and apparently there are plans to visit the brewery on the outskirts of town. Sounded like a plan to us, and after some internetting we walked over. Brewery is small but a great place, and the bartender was a character. Gandalf was there with zebra-striped pants he had found somewhere, Houdini and Banana Boat showed up, and finally met Croc Rocket (he hikes in Crocs part of the time) and Nazi Surfer Snow Zombie. Snow Zombie started in a snow storm in February (thats mostly where he got his name), and can do large miles (he hiked 42 into Damascus) but is moving up the trail slowly because he loves doing side trips. He's in Damascus for a little bit because he wants to take a day to bike the Virginia Creeper Trail.After several pizzas (they delivered to the brewery!) and beers we headed back to the place, and found that many other hikers had shown up while we were gone. Tired, we went to sleep. I only have a half-pad (its maybe 3 or 4 feet long), which works great in the hammock but no so much on wood bunks. Luckily there was a couch next to my bunk, and I stole a cushion from there to use as a mattress. Made sure to put it back early in the morning to avoid a scolding from Bayou.