morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-29
From: Cold Springs Shelter 

To: NOC
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

started at cold spring shelter, end at NOC, 134.0 miles. 11.4 today.TINA this is just info for the top margin in the trailjournal (TJ). the starting location and destination and total miles and daily miles.im at NOC, in the eaton cabin. fan on and blowing in my face, just like at home. icouldnt have it any better right now, as far as sleep conditions go. its 1149pm, and we'll have the lights out soon. we sent emails, did laundry, ate, checked out the store, washed dishes, showered, and took care of our feet. these are what your chores are out here. tomorrow its buy food, send bounce boxes and other stuff home, eat, take pictures, some video, and then hike. then go until you hit the next town. simple. nice way to live. alot less hassle. eat, sleep, clean yourself up, and thats about all anyone really needs. today wewere up on wesser bald in the firetower upthere. awesome as usual here. mountains eerywhere. then you hike another hour, look over and see the mtn top you were just on. i do that alot. this will be short now since bedtime is usually at around 8pm. its me,spunky and atwanabe all together. we're becoming known as 'the family'already. we're not saying, "goodnite johnboy, goodnite mary ellen" quite yet though. ill say it now though, goodnite from NOC (nantahala outdoor center).
Date: 2003-03-31
From: NOC

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

left NOC today and am at sassafrass gap shelter. 7.0 miles today. left prEtty late...1:12pm. got here, sure to not have a spot in the shelter, seeing tents set all around it. but im squeezing in! ATwanabe needed an extra day at NOC. she is just not having any luck kicking the illness she has. i hope she gets better soon. me and spunky made it here. its pretty cold out. got here at 552pm, with just enough light to cook dinner, eat, clean up and get in the sleeping bag.so fontana dam is about 22 miles away. then the smokies. should be there monday some time. got somestuff to send home too. likea full camera memory card so my sister can get some pics up on this site. hearing rumors it may snow soon down here. and i guess its not uncommon.i found some really good sapling sticks today as i was leaving NOC, so they are now myhiking sticks. i am NOT paying $100 or more for sticks! il just soup these ones up. cant believe its almost april. today marks my first 2 weeks on the trail. ireally like it so far. bedtime awaits. signing off 758pm.
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: scattered clouds

9.1 miles today. im at a total of 150.1 miles. left sassafrass gap shelter today and am now at brown fork gap shelter.im laying on the floor of the shelter in my sleeping bag wearing almost every item of clothes i have. why you ask? well, because as i lay here looking out of the shelter, what do isee but SNOW! yes SNOW! i dont like SNOW. pwhen i woke up today there was 5 inches of it. then we hiked in it. toby, for the first time since this trip started, was not happy. its been between 25 and 30 degrees all day. im trying to conjure up some good thoughts about hiking and being out here in the snow. i did not order this snow. ok, im done complaining about the snow now. (:yesterday, me and spunky left NOC just after 1pm. we found a salamander on the trail and took pics of it. the orange kind. *-note...snow is blowing onto this device as i type. and my hands are cold. i just decided for my health, i better close this entry for now and get warmed up and in bed for the night. bye all!
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Fontana Village

To: Smokies
Miles today: 13.1

today i will enter the great smokie mtn national park. plan is to make it to the mollies ridge shelter at 174.1 miles. so, 11 miles. its 923 m now. so i dont even know if thats do-ale yet. the climb out of here is almst a 3000 ft climb. we'll see.oh, gotta get going for now. gotta send some more stuff home and get some food at the general store, all within the next 20 minutes. so BYE.
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Birch Spring Tentsite

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

wed 2 apr-807pm-start loc...birch spring tentsite--destination...spence field shelter. total miles-179.5. todays miles-10.8day 19-today began from my tent in the birch spring tentsite. got up, ate oatmeal, a poptart and a swiss miss cocoa. started out late after packing up...946am. did a pretty quick 2.2 miles in one hour.not bad. im getting better at this. my legs arent even sore anymore. the first week they were. no blisters either. so id say im in pretty good shape as far as lack of injuries goes.had a nice, sunny 2 hour lunch break where we just layed out in the sun and soaked it up. beautiful, clear day. there have been some snow patches on the side of the trail and every now and then youll see one that someone ahead of you has made a little smiley face or "hi" in. or a pick up hand print where they picked up some snow to either wipe onn their head and neck or to eat for water. not many left though.i dont know if i mentioned the way we eat oatmeal out here. we just heat up some water and pour a bit right in the pouch and eat it that way. then we dont have to wash dishes. pretty clever huh? ive been doing it this way now for 2 1/2 weeks now. the shelter im in tonite is built out of stones and the front has chain link fence so bears cant get in. but ive heard they are still hibernating in the lower elevations. but everyone still hangs their food bags up in the trees. just good practice.friday my hiking partner, spunky needs to get to gatlinburg to pick up a maildrop. so we're doing 13.5 miles tomorrow and then 10 on friday. that will put us at the road to gatlinburg around 1pm. then we'll get back to the same spot after being in town and go 3 more miles to a shelter for the nite. this is the plan so far.i was thinking of putting my daily miles in a list form here soon. youll see what i mean when you see it.well im going to bed again. its 830 and of course theres already someone in here who's snoring. theres ALWAYSat least one. the one sucky thing about sleeping in a shelter. at least i have ear plugs. boy do i get alot of use from them. imgonna turn the headlite off soon and listen to the mice do their nitetime manuvers. see ya later!
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

3 apr--13.5 miles today--SL..spence field shelter--destination..double spring gap shelter--total miles..193.0long, tough day of hiking today but beautiful weather and views all day. very hard to keep from just laying down and enjoying a nap. i listened to my radio and heard for the first time ou here the rush limbaugh show. thats what i usually listened to back home when i was at work. good to hear it again. this shelter is up in the pines and right now as i write, i can see the stars and hear the breeze through the pine boughs. not many more soothing sounds than that. tomorrow spunky wants to get up and hike to the top of clingmans dome to watch the sunrise, so i'll go too. its like 2.9 miles away. so we're getting up at 4am. its at 6643 feet. im at 5507 right now. will be the first nite hike ive been on. someone left me a mello yellow as a trail magic and i dont know who. carrot slayer gave it to me today at a shelter and it was fairly cold. it has a piece of duct tape on it that said 'for leapyear' and a smiley face. hmm. it was very nice. thank you to whoever did that. downed it in one gulp.going into gatlinburg tomorrow, get soem food and such. maybe get to send out these entries. and maybe find a couple fast food joints with burgers, pizza and ice cream. mmmm.bedtime now. 825pm. meeting alot of nice people to hang out with out here. you make make fast friends here. its really great living like this. i feel like i fit in just fine. i think everyone likes my impersonations. goodnite!
Date: 2003-04-09
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: light rain

w 9 apr- at groundhog creek shelter for the nite, mile 244.7start loc.-standing bear hostel 237.5todays miles-7.2well, i guess the big news for today is that i finally fell down for the first time since i began. and my partner,spunky, laughed her butt off for about 5 minutes. then she asked if i was alright...i am fine. it was a muddy downhill with lots of leaves. i started to slip then caught myself, and the weight of my pack shifted to one side, then i spun once and slid again and ended up on my back. i laid there for a minute, looking up trying to envision how i must have looked as i fell, then i smiled and laughed too. time of fall-4:47pm (for all those keeping score). thats the first thing i did after the laugh...look at my watch for the official time! i really enjoy documenting things, even this kind of thing.getting through the smokies was another landmark met and passed. it was very enjoyable there. beautiful views. it took from 1-8 april. next on the goal list is getting to hot springs, nc, on friday. why friday? well, the all you can eat spagetti dinner for $3 of course! this weekend there is something they have called trailfest. the trail goes right through the town and i guess they do this every year for the thru hikers. theres even a parade we can be in. and of course the hot springs you can soak in. next to the spagetti on friday, thats what i am looking forward to.last nite we stayed at the standing bear farm hostel. curtis and his wife maria run it. besides it being a hostel, you wouldnt believe the character it has. looks and feels almost like an old western hometead, with little shacks scattered about. it doesntjust look rustic, it is rustic. theres even a teepee you can sleep in. very creative.tomorrow, we will get up at 540am, so we can get on the trail early. we have 26 miles to go til hot springs. i noticed my shoulder strap on the pack is about ready to break off, so i need to take care of that when we get there. out here, a problem like this you will think of all day til you come up with a solution. from the info i have, the group i started with-journey, goldberry and twofiddy-are all still on the trail and spirits are high. goldberry is 2 days ahead of me, twofiddy is a day ahead, and journey is about 3 days behind me. its funny, but we all thought we'd be together til at least fontana dam, but, oh well, things happen i guess. i havent seen goldberry since day 2 or journey since day 4. twofiddy has been ahead and behind me and we've even stayed atthe shelters a few of the same nights. thats just how it goes out here i guess. its all good though.i'm meeting alot of cool people. i havent felt this much a part of a so called community since being in the army and civil war reenacting. out here, we all like to hike. its very fulfilling to be with like-minded people like the ones im meeting out here.well, its time for bed 850pm. i could eat a giant, apple pie with vanilla ice cream right now. and some KFC. extra crispy. maybe in hot springs. goodnite!
Date: 2003-04-12
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs, North Carolina
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

starting location--roaring fork shelterdestination--hot springs, nctodays miles--14.9total miles--270.9sat 12 apr 0203--got to hot springs today around 4pm. what an ordeal to get here. the snow began on thurs at 0947 and didnt stop all day. it was nuts trying to walk in it. 20-30 mph winds, horizontal snow, and us hikers just trying to find the white blazes (white paint on trees, in a snowstorm) so we dont get lost and have to go back the other way. and the rhododendrum tunnels from hell...so weighted down with snow that it became a wrestling match to bull your way through them. wow, what a mess! but tonite, i am clean, warm and well fed, lying up in the loft of the cabin we're in. so nice! what a difference. hot springs actually has hot springs. so me, spunky, two step and dred went to the spa hot tub that uses the hot water from the springs and soaked in them for an hour. ahhhhhhhhhh. so relaxing. before this little treat, we got to the all you can eat spagetti dinner for $3 at the place that looks like a fire hall. this we knew about all week. this was our goal. its what kept us going through the snow. "spagetti or frostbite" was our battle cry. oh how sweet it was as we relished in the former. mmmmmm. tomorrow, im taking a zero day-no trail miles-to recover from the hike into this town, which the trail actually goes right through. wanna get some chores done, like buy food, fix my pack shoulder strap (which is about to break), send emails and other such things. just a day to relax, really, and get ready for the next section of trail. heres some trailnames of thru-hikers ive met so far-spunky, two step, dred, noid, kneepad, pig pen (who when he signs the shelter registers, puts a little dirt smudge next to his name), yo yo, zero, nimble, carrotslayer, just dan, bhudda, digger, fubar, ostrich, hamlet, deja vu man, songbird. these are just some of them. right now, at 230am, theres some drunk outside making loud, drunk noises. hope he passes out soon. that, or some cops show up. so i will now enjoy a bit of town luxury as i myself pass out and sleep the sleep of kings. goodnite.
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Bald Between Jerrys Cabin Shelter/Big Butt Mtn. :)

To: Big Bald
Miles today: 22.6

total miles-320.816april--Happy birthday to my sister,Tammy (14apr) and to my brother,Tom (16apr)! I am on the top of a mountain called a bald. Big bald, at mile 320.8. Yesterday was my biggest mileage hike day. The group im with -spunky, 2 step, kneepd, librarian and radio shack-and I hiked all day and did 13.6 miles, took about a 3 hour break at Hogback Ridge Shelter to eat dinner and rest, and then at 8:11pm left to do a night hike in the moonlight of 9 miles. Got up here at 12:30am. Pretty good time. 9 miles in really just 3 1/2 hours in the dark (moonlit of course).SOMEHOW THIS THING IS STUCK ON CAPITAL LETTERS, OH WELL. ERWIN, TN IS THE NEXT TOWN TO GET FOOD AT, PLUS HIT SOME RESTAURANTS. FOOD, FOOD, FOOD. THAT AND WHAT GEAR TO SEND HOME ARE TOP PRIORITY IN THE MIND WHILE HIKING. FUNNY ISNT IT? RIGHT NOW IM BASKING IN THE SUN ON THIS BALD, THINKING OF WHAT I'LL EAT FOR BREAKFAST. ITS 10:57AM. MIGHT TRY TO DO 12 TODAY. THEN IT WILL BE 6 TO ERWIN ON THURS.12:43pm-still on the bald, just ate lunch, thinking of getting packed up and going to the next shelter. I got a blister in the same place I always seem to get a blister; the bottom of my left pinky toe. But it always heals pretty fast. Im lying here on my foam pad, t-shirt and shorts, typing this, looking at the 360 degree view of surrounding mountains, puffy clouds, getting warmed by the sun and keeping cool from the breeze. Listening to Rush Limbaugh. A day like this is what i have dreamed of many times before starting this trip. Now Im doing it. Pretty simple pleasures. Well, time to close for now. Gotta go enjoy this dream. Ihope you're all thinking of what your dreams are, and then think of how you can live them. Its worth it.
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: moderate rain

mon21apr03,6:01pm-in front of me lies the most beautiful view from any shelter ive been at so far. called the overmountain shelter. its actually a barn. im looking downhill at a grassy slope which ends after about 150 yards then mountains rise up on the left and right. im watching the weather as it plays around, low foggyclouds on the left of me, puffy clouds in front and blue sky onthe right. the budding leaves on the trees are fairly visible the lower you look.yesterday, the plan was to do 21.2 miles from cherry gap shelter to this one. from hughes gap it was all uphill. kicked my ass. i was running out of energy, but i didnt stop because i dont like taking a break with more uphill to go. so mentally, i would play this game-when i thought i couldnt possibly go any further, i would say to myself,"ok, 20 more feet and you can just flop down." i just never flopped down til i reached the top. at the top i ate a fast snack of junk food (which is all anyone really eats out here) and minutes later i was up and walking again. it was getting dark when there was only .7 miles to the shelter. and we missed the sign because me and radio shack were chatting as it got even darker. we walked about 20 minutes past it before we realized we shoudnt be going downhill. so we turned around and eventually ran into spunky who had already been to the shelter and thought we had gone on ahead to the next one. so we all grouped up and went back to the shelter and got there at 9:00pm. it was alot darker because we were in the dense pines.we slept in and becase we didnt want to hike in the rain, we left at 145pm. theres just something about being cold and wet that pretty much makes your mind up for you, regardless of what youve planned. so we made it to here, and with 3 hours of daylite left. how luxurious. we're always getting to shelters at dark, so this is a nice change.damascus is getting closer. thats about the 1/5th done part of the trail. and also by then youve gone through georgia, tennessee and north carolina. kind of a landmark.well im gonna go make dinner-the usual lipton noodle dinner with smashed up ramen in it. its filling. then a candy bar or 2 and some peanut butter and maybe a cup of kool-aid. yum. maybe i'll add to this later.
Date: 2003-04-24
From: kincora hostel

To: kincora hostel near hampton tenn
Miles today: 0.0

hi! im at an internet cafe in hampton, tennessee. im at 408 miles so far and am taking a zero day here. will get back on trail tomorrow. im with spunky and yo-yo here at the cafe. they just got expressos. i dont even think ive ever even had one, let alone wanna try one. get this...at kincora hostel there is a digital scale, so i wanted to know what i weigh. according to the scale, ive lost over 30 POUNDS!!! by eating junk like snickers bars, poptarts and ramen noodles. unbelieveable! this was just an update as its like $5 an hour to be online. my sister is still working on getting new pics online. shes having some cyber issues with her computer, but they arent all lost. i have another memory card almost filled up, so that will be sent out in a week or so.attention to the pannings...spunky and i love brownies! i will get an address to you all ASAP on my pocketmail. thank you again. we are still hiking together. im pretty surprised i havent seen any bears or serious wildlife yet. maybe as the season progresses.atwanabe, we miss you. we are so relieved that you are doing better. we are praying for you too. gotta get going. keep reading! thatnk you for following me!
Date: 2003-04-29
From: damascus, va

To: damascus, va
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

well, here i am in damascus, va. the first "real" milestone place to me. 458.9 miles up the AT and i am here with a bunch of other hikers in what they call the 'friendliest town on the trail'. spunky, shack and i got here at dusk on sunday the 27th and decided to zero day here. then we decided to zero again today. you come to town with a list of chores to do either in your head or written down, but i see that the first full day of not hiking you just want to relax and get a feel for the town youre in and get familiar with where everything is. like this morning, for example, i went for a little stroll by myself before the town woke up and ended up at the edge of a river next to an old mill, which is now a restaurant, and i waded up to my shins in the cool mill pond water, and that was very refreshing for my sore feet. they needed it after sunday's 26 mile hike to get here.today, i really started knocking off items on my list. i sent 2 boxes of stuff home, which is the most exciting thing, because together they weighed 8 lbs-7.6 oz!!! in one was my 5 lb tent, and some clothes in the other. i bought a tarp which is 13 oz, but i have to figure out what to do about bug season because theres no bug screen. BUT, it isnt 5 lbs! thats the important thing.also i got some food. enough for about 5 days. im at the damascus library using the internet, so this is free. you really have to be mindful of all the money-sucking entities out here. just a friendly warning to all those who want to do this hike someday. its easy to be a victim, especially when youre willing. i mean, ICE CREAM could be $10 a cone and you wouldnt even think twice when youve been craving it for 4 days. see what im getting at?to my sister, tina, thank you for the package. and everything else. you are doing a great job and i really appreciate it. this place is about to close, so i am ending this for now. i have to go meet spunky and shack at the laundromat now. then we might go swimming at a swimming hole in the river. might be chilly. hell, WNY is chilly! what am i talking about? i love this weather down here. til next time!
Date: 2003-05-09
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

staring loc-jenkins shelterdestination-helveys mill shelterdaily miles-13.8total miles-580.9i see its been awhile since ive updated you all on the hike so far. my apologies. here we go...tonite, i am here, lying on top of my walmart blue foam mattress which is on top of my big piece of tyvek house wrap, underneath an 8 x 10 ft tarp. today i made it to bland, va, and i am now at the helveys mill shelter, which is at 580.9 miles. well, im not in it, and i havent seen it, but in the dark, me and spunky arrived in the area of it, as we found librarian and kneepad already camped out.i was able to get to the post office in time to send home another package of stuf im tired of carrying, along with another full camera memory card. so im very hopeful that you will be seeing pictures soon. good luck this time, sis.oh, on the way to bland, on the trail, about 45 minutes into it, my survival instincts took over and sprung me into the air to avoid probably the biggest snake ive ever seen in the wild. it was right on the trail, and i was in front of spunky, and we were talking about whatever, when it appeared to her that i looked like i was about to fall down as i side-step/leaped out of the way of the snake. it was just a black snake about 4 foot long. i took a pic of it too. also i saw a tom turkey as it flew out of its roost and crashed its way through the upper brush to get away.
Date: 2003-05-10
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Docs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

10 May 03-700pm-spunky and i are at jenny knob shelter for the night. the other guys here are named nimble, just dan, lemming, spiderman II, booble, sticks and spielberg. tomorrows plan is to get on the trail early and try to do 22.6 miles to docs knob shelter. then we will have hiked 613.3 miles. we're looking forward to a dip in dismal falls before lunch. i hope its as warm as it was today. had to be over 85 and humid. LOVE IT!!!can you believe it...i cant. i've been out here 8 weeks today. wow. im still not believeing it.i have met alot of people out here. its quite a social experience. you meet people on the trail, people who pick you up, people in towns. very interesting. so if you like to hike and camp, and be around people that like it too, this is something you might want to pursue. thank you sharon for having us stay with you. it was wonderful. ive already talked with other hikers who know the story already of how we met at walmart. it is a legend in its own time. we hope to see you at trail days. we're starting to hitch this thursday back to damascus.spunky's mom, it was nice to talk with you on the phone last nite. we finally got a ride out to the trail and got to the shelter at 10pm. im glad you like reading this journal. thank you for saying so.ok, this might be it til i get back to damascus. so stay tuned. the camera card is in the mail. new pics to come!