morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-04-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was zero day in Helen, GA. After getting breakfast around 7, I spent most of the morning in my room just relaxing. Most of the town doesn't start opening up until 10.It did rain a little bit, but it wasn't too bad. It also didn't take me as long to explore the main part of the town as I thought it would. I'd say the main drag is maybe about a mile long, so it only took about 30-45 minutes to walk from one end to the other. It's pretty touristy. There are a lot of restaurants and little gitchy shops up and down the road. Google did show a few interesting locations a little outside of town, for instance there's some kind of burial mound and a castle. But, they were a little further away than I wanted to walk, so after getting some lunch, I just made my way back to my room and relaxed some more before dinner.I did make a purchase at the grocery store that I may end up regretting. At the Blue Mountain Shelter, the topic of fruit came up and I mentioned how nice it would be if someone had pulled out a whole pineapple. People seemed to relish the idea, so while I didn't get a pineapple (I was afraid no one would have anything to cut it with), I did pick up a small bag of oranges. Unfortunately that small bag weighs about 3 lbs, which is just more weight I have to carry. Still, tomorrow is a short distance to the shelter and hopefully there are enough people there who like oranges that I can get rid of them all before the next days hike.But, it's close to turning in time. Tomorrow is back to the trail and a few more miles closer to Maine.Breakfast: A banana, some Quaker Brown Sugar and Maple Oatmeal, a cup of OJ, and a carton of chocolate milk at the hotel.Lunch: Gulasch at The Heidelburg. A spicy Hungarian-style stew of beef and pork, sp¤tzle, onions, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. I thought this was really good. I also got a side of red cabbage. I knew it was a gamble, because I've had it before and didn't care for it, but wanted to see if my tastes had changed. They have not. I can't find the receipt, but I think it was around $20.00 with tip.Dinner: Schweinbraten. Slow-roasted pork served with a Rahm gravy, roasted potatoes, and carrots. This is a meal that if I went to someone's house and they were serving it, I would eat it and enjoy it, but I wouldn't order it at a restaurant again. At least not this one. The main problem I had with it is that I thought there was way too much salt in everything. $21.40 with tip.Dessert: A piece of rum trufle torte from Hofer's Bakery and Cafe. It was good, but I was surprised by the texture. It was a lot more airy than I was expecting and it was a little dry. I'd get it again though and would love to try their other tortes. $8.30
Date: 2023-04-04
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I got started a little later than I would have liked because I had to wait for a shuttle to pick me up from the hotel. It was about 9 when I started. Fortunately it was a short hike, a little more than five miles. But it was a difficult five miles. It started with a significant climb uphill for about a mile, then a steep downhill climb for a mile, it flattened out for a little while, then it was another steep uphill climb for over two miles. I had a pretty difficult time on the second uphill and had to stop several times.I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little discouraged. I was hoping that the two days rest would give me a little boost, but it really didn't seem to make much difference. Tomorrow is going to be longer, but the ups and downs won't be as severe so hopefully it goes a little better.I will say that I got to the shelter around 2. After about an hour of resting, I did start feeling better and I probably could have gone a few more miles. But, I'm okay with still taking it slow. Breakfast: Quaker Apple Cinammon oatmeal, 2 bananas, a glass of OJ, and a carton of chocolate milk at the hotel.Lunch: A tortilla with peanut butterRecovery Drink: 6 scoops of Carnation Instant breakfast. Snack: A few handfuls of fruit mixDinner: Knorr Chicken Flavored fried rice. It was good, but I was an idiot and bought it with the intention of putting some canned chicken in it also. I don't have a can opener and I'm not carrying one, so I left them at the hotel.Dessert: A Snickers bar
Date: 2023-04-05
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap/Around the Bend Hostel 
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Today started out pretty good. The first several miles were relatively easy. There were some ups and downs, but nothing too difficult. Then Kelly Knob happened and it completely wiped me out. It was another one of those climbs that just seemed to go on forever. I'd think I was almost done, but I'd round a bend and up it went some more. I definitely had to stop several times and it made the last 4 miles of my hike almost unbearable. There were a couple of times in that last stretch that I just had to sit down for a while. I'm wondering if maybe I'm not getting enough calories, because I don't feel sore, I just feel exhausted. I'm going to try and pay more attention to the number of calories I'm eating to see if it makes a difference. Despite the day kicking my butt, I actually feel pretty good. Getting exhausted on an 11.6 mile hike just feels better than getting exhausted on a 5.6. I am going to try increasing my milage a little bit. I've been aiming for the 8-10 mile range since I started and I'm going to see about pushing it to 10-12.Tonight I'm staying at the Around the Bend Hostel which is just off the trail from Dick's Creek Gap about 0.6 miles. I missed the shuttle, so I did have to walk the extra distance along the road. It was mostly flat though, so it wasn't too terrible. The hostel itself is pretty nice. There's a common area, some rooms with beds, a shed that acts as a resupply point, and a separate building that has more beds. The resupply shed is surprisingly well stocked for being so small. The room I rented sleeps three I think, but I have it to myself which is nice. It was the only one available when I booked, but I'd rather pay a little extra to have a room to myself. Breakfast: Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Bacon. Still not great.Snack: A couple handfuls of Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack Mix Lunch: A tortilla with peanut butter and several handfuls of mini fruit Mix.Dinner: Tina's Big Beef and Bean Burrito and a can of Mug root beer.Dessert: A little bit of Blueberry Cheesecake muffin and a Heath Klondike bar.
Date: 2023-04-06
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light snow

*I tried to update this the day of, but even though I had reception at camp, it wasn't good enough to let me log in. Then my phone got wet (details in that days entry) and wouldn't turn on. Fortunately after it dried out it started working again, but these next few entries are made with a fuzzy memory. Today was probably the most mentally taxing day that I've had yet. I don't know if terrain wise it was the most difficult, but after a while I just stopped caring and every step seemed to take an extra amount of effort. I'm not sure what it was, but almost the entire day I was walking with this constant morose feeling hanging over me. It was the first time I seriously questioned whether or not I wanted to be doing this.Making it to the GA/NC border did perk me up a little bit, but that didn't last long. My reward for getting to North Carolina was another slog up a steep mountain that I had to stop several times to reach the top followed by what seemed like an even steeper climb (This is where my memory is a little fuzzy. I know the climbs were steep and they sucked, but I don't remember the details. I tried using the AT Guide and the FarOut app to get an idea of the incline, but they don't seem to make it out to be as bad as I remember.)I finally made it to the shelter at around 6:30 or so. By that time all the spaces in the shelter had been taken, so I had to setup my tent. Unfortunately all the good tent spaces had also been taken. I did manage to find a relatively flat area, but it's at a bit of an incline, so sleeping tonight isn't going to be the most comfortable. I think the novelty of this whole experience has worn off. Time also feels so much different than when I'm back home. It's only been about two weeks since I started, but it feels like I've been out here for two months. That makes it really hard to manage expectations. Because it seems like I've been out here so long, I have this idea of how far along I should be. But when I stop to actually look, I'm nowhere near where my brain is telling me I should be. I'm also not getting my trail legs as fast as I want, which leads to further frustration when I have to stop all the time to rest. I'm going to stop in Franklin, NC in a few days to rest and resupply. I'm also going to take the time to reevaluate whether or not I really want to do this.Breakfast: 3 small oranges, two pieces of bread with grape jelly, and (I can't remember).Snack: Three handfuls of Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack Mix Lunch: Two tortillas with peanut butter.Mini Recovery Drink: 3 scoops of Carnation Instant Breakfast Snack 2: Two handfuls of mini fruit MixDinner: Peak Refuel Chicken Coconut Curry.
Date: 2023-04-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The last two days have been pretty much all rest and relaxation. The hotel I'm staying at isn't really near anything worth seeing.April 9Breakfast: 2 sausage links, 2 scrambled egg patties, an English muffin with grape jelly and 3 cups of orange juice from the hotel breakfast. Lunch: Bagged kale salad with poppyseed dressing, Campbell's Pub Style chicken pot pieDinner: 2 pieces of baked chicken, green beans, corn, a roll, and chocolate pudding from the Ingles deli.April 10Breakfast: 2 sausage links, 1 scrambled egg patty, 4 small waffles, and 2 cups of orange juice.Snack: An appleLunch: A partial bag of honey dijon kale salad, Campbell's Sirloin Burger soup. Unfortunately the room fridge was set way too high and I didn't notice. It froze everything and made the salad unedible.Dinner: Domino's medium pepperoni and sausage pizza, bacon & bbq chicken bites, and two chocolate lava cakes.Throughout both days I also drank 1.75 pts of Promised Land chocolate and 1.75 pts of strawberry milk.
Date: 2023-04-11
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was a great day. The shuttle picked me up from the hotel and I was on the trail at about 7:30am. It was a little chilly, but it didn't take long to warm up. The whole day was beautiful hiking weather. The sun was out the entire time, there were very few clouds, and it never got really hot. Since it was a really nice day, I was also able to get some pretty good pictures. I'll upload those when I have a better connection. There were some tough sections. Particularly the stretch between the Wayah Gap Picnic area at mile 115.2 and the Wayah Bald Observation Tower at 119. It was almost all uphill. Most of it was relatively gradual, but there were sections that were more like stairs.The other tough one was right at the end of the day from Burningtown Gap at mile 124 to Cold Spring Shelter where I'm staying for the night at mile 125.2. It was short, only about 1.2 miles, but it was a constant uphill climb and it ended up being about 700 feet ascent. Still, I had no major issues with either one, even the last one after about 14 miles of hiking, so the promising trend continues. Breakfast: 2 sausage links and two cups of orange juice from the hotel breakfast. I was actually still feeling the pizza from the night before, so I wasn't too hungry.Snack 1: Kars classic trail mix snack pack.Lunch: Guerrero Keto friendly tortilla with peanut butter and banana slices.Snack 2: A few handfuls of Second Nature Keto Crunch Snack Mix Trail Magic: Two small oranges from Sunshine and Star Lord.Dinner: Peak Refuel Sweet Pork & Rice. Another winner from Peak. The beans were a little hard, but that might have been because I didn't add enough water, let it sit long enough, or a combination of both.
Date: 2023-04-12
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center 
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

Today was another beautiful day, though it did get a little hotter or it seemed to. That might have been because even though I did less miles than yesterday, it was quite a bit harder. Out of the 11+ miles that I did today, I'd say maybe 3 or 4 were on relatively level terrain. The rest was either up or down, with quite a bit down.I've definitely gotten better on the uphill, but the downhills are still brutal on my knees. At this point, they are probably my weakest area and what's preventing me from going as fast as I would like to go. They don't really hurt, but they just get really stiff and it makes it difficult to walk with a full stride. Though I will say that sometimes when I'm going downhill, my right knee will get a little painful at times. So far, a decent night's sleep and I'm feeling fine for the next day, but hopefully they start getting stronger soon.There were some spectacular views though. I was able to get some pretty good pictures. There was an old fire tower at Wesser Bald (mile 130.2) that I climbed to the top of and was able to see for miles. It's one of the best views I've encountered so far.Tonight I'm staying at the Dogwood Lodge. I was originally going to stay in one of the bunkhouses, but it was basically just a small wooden room (not much bigger than a walk in closet) that had a built in bunkbed with a crappy mattress (if that's what you even want to call it, it was basically a thin blue plastic like material) with no linens and a small bench. I decided to pay the extra to get an actual room that had a real bed and more importantly access to a shower and laundry facilities. No need to "rough it", if I don't have to.Also, I have decided on my trail name. I think Argonaut is a good choice. It goes with my first name, my time in the Navy, and the myth is somewhat analogous (with a bit of stretched imagination) to the journey I'm on now. I've been using it for a week or so now and it works for me.Breakfast: Kodiak Blueberries and Cream Oatmeal Cup. It was decent, but it doesn't pack very well, so I probably won't get it again.Snack: Gatorade Chocolate Chip Protein Bar Lunch: A peanut butter and banana taco (same thing as yesterday).Dinner: Grilled Pork Chop with a cherry glaze, mashed potatoes, and some green beans and corn at Rivers End Restaurant. It was good, but the pork chop wasn't as firm as I normally like it. But it's miles better than trail food.
Date: 2023-04-13
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center 

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

I started a lot later than normal since I knew it would be a short mile day. I think it was about 9:45am when I finally got on the trail. I just didn't want to leave the nice warm bed until I had to. But even though I only went 7 miles, it was the hardest 7 miles I've done yet and it's a top contender for the hardest day overall. Coming out of the NOC, it was an ascent of about 3300 feet in about 6 miles. So it was almost all uphill with a lot of the sections really uphill. There were several spots where I'd go about 100 feet and have to stop and take a break. I guess it's a good introduction to what the Smokies are going to be like, which I'll be starting in just a few more days.I recovered pretty quickly once I got to the shelter though, so I think I'll be good to go tomorrow. I'm going to try for a big mile day because I'm taking a zero before starting the Smokies and I'd like to get to where I'm staying as early as possible.Breakfast: There wasn't a place that served breakfast, so that was a little disappointing. I just got a package of Smores pop tarts from the general store.Lunch: 2 Keto tortillas with peanut butter. I did miss the bananas.Recovery Drink: 8 scoops of Carnation Instant Breakfast Dinner: Peak Refuel Beef Chili Mac. This one wasn't as good as previous ones, but it wasn't terrible. Some of the noodles were still a little crunchy even after soaking for about 15 minutes.
Date: 2023-04-15
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Road/Wing and Hoof Mountain Escape
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: broken clouds

It was a pretty easy 5 mile hike today. It didn't rain, it wasn't hot, and I got to my destination about 30 minutes earlier than I had anticipated. I'm staying at the Wing and Hoof Mountain Escape Bed & Breakfast today and tomorrow. Then it's into the Smokies.Breakfast: Backpackers Pantry Creme Brulee. That's right, dessert for breakfast. I didn't put the sugar topping on it because I didn't want the extra sugar, but it was still good. If I get it again though, I'll add extra water. Even after stirring it pretty well, there were parts of it that were still just dry powder.I got to the Fontana Dam before lunch. There was a small marina there with a store, so I just bought two small things of chocolate milk. I think it was Fairlife brand.Dinner: Combo meal at The Rice Wagon in Bryson, NC. I got the Kalua pork and Chicken Katsu. It came with rice and some kind of macaroni salad. All of it was very good. The pork was a little over salted for my taste, but it came with this sweet & sour type sauce and made it so much better.The Wing and Hoof offers complimentary drinks and snacks. So, throughout the day I also had about 4 small cans of orange pineapple juice, banana muffins, and cookies.
Date: 2023-04-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a zero day, so mostly just rest and relaxation. Breakfast: When they said they offered a gourmet breakfast, they weren't kidding. I had a mexican quiche (I think it had sausage, cheese, and Ro-tel), biscuits and gravy, smoked gouda grits, bacon, fresh baked blueberry muffins, and fresh fruit. All of it was excellent, except the grits. They weren't terrible, but I'm just not a grits person apparently. Lunch: A bag of sweet kale salad and a Hillshire snack pack. I forget which one, but I think it had salami, cheddar cheese slices, and crackers.Dinner: Manacotti and Tiramisu at Pasqualino's in Bryson City. The manacotti was excellent. The tiramisu was pretty average.I also once again got my fair share of complimentary drinks and snacks throughoutthe day. I think I had another 3 or 4 cans of the orange pineapple juice. I also had two bottles of regular orange juice, a small can of mountain dew, a small carton of milk, and two chocolate chip cookies.** This is something that I just remembered and I've verified that it works. When making a comment, if you put <"br"> without the quotes, it will create a line break so you can make paragraphs.. It will make the comments cleaner looking and easier to read.
Date: 2023-04-17
From: Fontana Dam Road

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I have officially entered the Smokey Mountains and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for hiking. The sun was shining the entire time, but whether because of the altitude or just the temperature it never got hot. I'd say the high was around 55 degrees. It was also pretty breezy so that helped keep me cool as well.It was also not near as bad as I expected it to be. According to FarOut, the total ascent from the Marina parking lot to Mollies Ridge Shelter was 4547 feet, which is about 1200 feet more than the ascent coming out of the NOC. Yet this was 13.4 miles compared to 7 something at the NOC. I'll also add that it didn't really start going uphill until I was about 10 miles from the shelter. But that extra 3+ miles really made a difference. It was mostly uphill, but it was much more gradual and so much more manageable. There were only a few sections that started to get steep, but not compared to NOC or even Albert mountain coming into NC for the first time.The shelter here is also pretty decent. It's fairly large, sleeping a total of 14 I think, but most people are in tents so i think there are only about 5 of us. Apparently before Covid, all thru-hikers were required to sleep in the shelters, but because of social distancing they have relaxed that rule. Its also a rule that if the shelter is full and a section hiker shows up, they get priority no matter what time. I'm not a fan of this rule, but hopefully it wont be an issue. Parts of it are a little drafty, which may get uncomfortable tonight once the sun goes down (I think it's supposed to be in the mid 30s to low 40s with fairly heavy wind). But fortunately I think I'm in a part that isn't drafty at all. The other rule that only applies in the Smokies (as far as I'm aware) is that you have to hang anything that has food or any other kind of odor on bear cables that are provided at each shelter. This includes bear canisters. Unfortunately bear canisters don't have anchor points or hooks or anything else that I could attach a cable to. So, I've been forced to put it in my backpack and hang that.Breakfast: Ham, onion, and cheese quiche with tater tots and an orange juice at Wing and Hoof. It was good, but those quiches are large and sit pretty heavy in the stomach.Lunch: 2 Keto peanut butter and banana tacos.Snack: Some slices of dried mangoes. Dinner: Mountain House Chicken and Dumplings. It was just okay. Not terrible, but not the best I've had either. I may get it again just for the variety.
Date: 2023-04-18
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was another beautiful day. The first half of the hike was really nice. It was mostly flat with only a few mild ups and downs. That changed after the Spence Field Shelter (mile 183.7) with about six miles left to go. It started with a fairly steep climb up to Rocky Top. The final elevation was 5,422 feet above sea level. It was above the tree line so the view was awesome.The rest of the hike was very reminiscent of the Sassafras Gap climb after the NOC. There were several pretty steep climbs up, then steep decents on the other side. The very last one was right before the shelter and it was close struggle.Breakfast: Backpackers Pantry Peanut Buter and Banana oatmeal. It was good, but when this is all over I may never eat oatmeal again.Snack 1: A couple handfuls of Second Nature Omega Smart Mix. Lunch: A peanut butter and banana taco with a tortilla made from peas I think.Snack 2: Several dried mango slicesDinner: Knorr Teriyaki Rice with two packets of Starkist Teriyaki chicken. It tasted good at first, but didn't finish well. I think I was just hungry so anything tasted good.Dessert: About 15-20 sour patch kids