morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.8

We broke camp early in the morning and started for MountAlbert. Albert has a severe climb just before it so it was a long day at 11.8miles according to climb to the tower. Pace was fairly slow but we made steady progress winding up today at Longbranchshelter. The views from Albert were fantastic. We were surprised when weclimbed the fire tower only to find that it was locked but neverthelesswe got some good photo opportunities. Today was the first day where we hadreally nice weather. I was able to hike in a T-shirt and shorts. After 10 days ofsleeping in freezing cold and rain it was well deserved. Tonight we expect it to rain andhave a short hike of about 7 miles into town. Thanks to my lovely wife formaking all the arrangements for us and advance.
Date: 2018-03-19
To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to a gentle rain as expected and broke camparound 8 am. At least it was a warmer night in the 30¢s. It never ceases toamaze me how long it takes to get ready. Essentially you have to dry,clean all your belongings, retrieve yourbear bag from the tree and carefully pack everything into your compact pack.The rain makes it especially challenging. We left without eating breakfast inorder to warm up. That meant no coffee and I was especially tired since I waswoken by a coyote several times which was very close to my tent. I was campedat the bottom of a big hill by myself (since the limited number of campingspots were mostly taken by a college group) which made it quite eerie. When I came up the hill the other campers were asking me how close it was to my tent. I don¢t really know but... let¢s justsay close enough. We had a small group including Tabasco, Pass Me, Bubs andStub. We decided to take a Nero (low mile day and get to town to beat theimpending weather). We visited the local outfitters, Outdoor 76. Tabasco and Iwere fitted with new shoes. The owner was very technical and changed our shoesetup to increase our foot wellness which is very important at this point onthe trail. It was an interesting experience.
Date: 2018-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.1

Today we found ourselves holding up in town to avoid therain and snow that is moving into the area. We decided to make the best ofthings by catching a shuttle to Wayah Gap and slack packing back to Rock Gapwhere we got off the trail the day before. Slack packing is a process where youuse day packs (provided by the local outfitters who dropped them at our hotel)to make the hiking easier. The lighter load really made the big climbs feelmuch easier. We covered about 10.1 Miles in about 5.5 hrs. That is a terrific pace on this terrain.Toward the end we kicked on the afterburners in order to catch the 12:45 pm shuttle instead of waiting in the cold for the next shuttle at 3:30 pm. It was funto see the group members push themselves. One of the highlights of the day wasthat we hiked SOBO (southbound) so we got to see several hikers that we havepassed off and on over the past 10 days including Tortoise and Hare, RamblinMan, Ringo, and several others. The afternoon was spent doing laundry andenjoying a BBQ dinner. I got to talk to my wife and one of my daughters whichmade my day.
Date: 2018-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today we took a zero day (no miles) to avoid a fresh snowfall of 4-6 inches in the surrounding mountains. The weather advisory warnedhikers to come off the AT. We did see a few hikers go back out on the trail butfar more were coming into town. Tabasco saw a hiker that he knew coming intotown. He reported the conditions on Wayah Bald as treacherous. We spent the daydoing town chores including shopping, shipping unneeded items home. We had anenjoyable dinner at a local BBQ spot. We plan to go back out tomorrow butdelayed our shuttle until 9am to give it time to warm up. The most notable item ofthe day was when a member of our trail family for the last few days had afriend pick her up at the hotel. Her AT journey is over. We wish her fair windsas she returns home to St. Louis.
Date: 2018-03-22
To: Tellico Gap
Miles today: 59.8

After our zero day in Franklin we were eager to hit thetrail again. Although I must admit, we were a bit apprehensive because of thesnowfall on the mountain. So we pushed back our start time to 9 am to give ittime to warm up. It never did. We hiked to the summit and took pictures fromWayah Fire Tower. The tower roof burned in the forest fire two years ago. Ishould have mentioned we have been walking the burned areas from time to timefor the past three days. We continued to hiked thru 3-4 inches of snow withoccasional drifts of 2-3 feet. We arrived at our original destination of ColdSpring shelter around 3 pm and had lunch. After a split vote we decided to push on for another 3 miles to Tellico Gap in order to stay warm longer. Wepitched our tents in a small parking area to keep sheltered from the wind. It¢s7:30 and we¢re all bundled up in our tents waiting for dark to arrive andhoping to stay warm. Mileage was off so I made a one time adjustment here to correct.
Date: 2018-03-23
To: NOC
Miles today: 13.9

It was freezing cold throughout the night and we were allsuffering from the conditions. We broke camp earlier than expected. We camped at Tellico Gap in the turnaround area in the parking lot for wind block. Wehad what we thought that was a short easy downhill hike into the Nanthalhla Outdoor Center aka NOC. It turned out tobe a very challenging hike that was mostly downhill for approximately 7 miles. Gap is thesouthern term for valley. So anytime you start in a gap you know that you will have a climb at the beginning of your day. The outdoor center is a major kayak and canoe destination.  We saw several hikers we knew there, including Flobo Soho. I met him on a shuttle into Franklin. We discovered that we went to the samehigh school in Indiana. It never ceases to amaze me what a small world we live in when it is so large. So many times in my life I have run into people I know in unusual places. We also saw Ringo and a nice couple from Australia and last but not least Beans. Beans is a interesting 18-year-old young manwho is hiking by himself. We call him Beans because he carries a can of Bushes Baked Beans in his pack. It is a tradition he started with his friendswhen they camped together. We went to thediner and had lunch and then proceeded to our lodging. Everyone we talked towas surprised by how a challenging the hike was and many were commenting abouthaving sore knees. One section was practically treacherous. It was a steep rockclimb covered by snow and ice from the previous snowfall. We had to useteamwork and help each other through the obstacles. Another great day on the trail.
Date: 2018-03-24
From: NOC

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today began on a sad note. One of the leaders of our groupwhose trail name was Go Ahead Pass Me left the trail to return to Boston toattend to some family matters. So ourtrail family ¢tramily¢ has dwindled to four members. The rest of us gathered for breakfast at thediner at NOC for one last town meal before heading to the trail again. Before weleft town we went to the local outfitters to print our permits for the smokymountains. More on that later. We only planned to hike 7 miles today because weknew it was a really long uphill climb starting at approximately 1500 ft andgoing up to over 5500 ft. I seem to prefer the up hills while other members ofthe group especially Tabasco do better on the down hills. We arrived at camparound 3:30 pm and debated pushing further but elected to go ahead and makecamp for the day. We expected a crowd when we arrived. But to our surprise there were only about adozen campers there. Many more arrived after we got set up. The camp is nowvery full. As we ate dinner a thunderstorm broke out and we were pelted withthunder and lightning for a period of time. It is 7:00 pm and I am in my tent doing my best to keep my gear dry. Fortunately most of the snow has melted nowmaking today¢s hike a bit easier. I have now been on the trail for 16 days. But every one of them rainy or had very low temperatures in the single digits withwindchill at night. Ready for some warmer weather.
Date: 2018-03-25
To: Hogpin Gap
Miles today: 11.1

We had another hail storm last night. We had to pack up in a light drizzle. Wewalked through the clouds and fog for several hours before it started to clearup. We planned on hiking half way to Fontana Dam so wewill be set up to go through the Smokies on Tuesday. It turned out to beanother challenging day with two of steepest climbs yet. We pressed on to anunofficial site at Hogpin Gap for a total of 11.1 miles. Space was very limitedat camp. We are literally set up across the trail. Hopefully, none will comethrough at night. We should be up before anyone passes by in the morning. A fewdays ago I met a hiker named Flobo who went to the same high school as me albeit severalyears later. He started calling me Kingsman after our high school ... the name is a bit better than the one mytrail family bestowed on me so I guess it will stick. Tonight it is a bitmilder... a welcome change.
Date: 2018-03-26
To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 9.1

The high winds made the night colder than expected. We hadcamped in a small space which was just large enough for our tents. So there wasbarely enough room for hikers to pass. We got up early to move out of theway and so we could start hiking to get warmed up. One hiker did pass throughat about 5:30 am with his headlamp on. It took me quite a while to warm up. Myfingers felt like frozen sausages. I kept them in my pockets to try to warmthem. Tabasco and I took off trying to make good time to Fontana Dam while PapaDale and Bubs walked at a more relaxed pace. PD was nursing a blister. Onceagain NC proved to be challenging with some steep ups and downs. These arecalled PUDS. Pointless Ups and Downsbecause you can see your destination but the terrain requires you to wind yourway up and down and around the mountain. We went through some really cool rockscrambles and had several spots where we got good views of Fontana Lake andDam. Tabasco and I arrived at the Fontana Marina and waited for about an hourfor the others to arrive before calling the shuttle to pick us up and deliverus to the Fontana Lodge. The is the nicest place we have stayed so far. Uponour arrival we did laundry showered and had dinner. Mileage for the day was 9.1Miles. Tomorrow we will resupply, dry out our gear, and rest.
Date: 2018-03-28
To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up and caught the first shuttle back to Fontana Damwhere we exited the trail. We walked 2 miles to the Fontana Hilton the aliasfor the nicest shelter on the trail. It comes complete with indoor plumbing anda shower. We took a few photos of Fontana dam. The tallest dam at over 480 ft.Today the weather is supposed to be nice. It is only thesecond time the sun has poked through the clouds since we started on March 8th.It was a pleasant surprise as we officially entered the Smokies. We climbednearly 4000 feet in our 13 mile journey to Mollies Ridge Shelter. While notexceptionally steep it was challenging as evidenced by the large number of peoplecamped here. I counted nearly 20 tents in addition to the shelter which isfull. The rules in the Smokies require thru hikers to use the shelters. Sotents are only allowed for the overflow. A large bear has been spotted at thisshelter the past two days so we are being vigilant in hanging our food on thebear cables. Hopefully we won¢t have any unwanted visitors tonight. Shootingfor another 12 mile day tomorrow. We should pass the 200 mile marker in twodays.
Date: 2018-03-29
To: Mt. Collins
Miles today: 13.1

Well luckily the night was uneventful with no unwanted 400lbs visitors. It was by far the nicest weather to tent in so far. In the Smokiesthere is no camping allowed other than at the designated shelters and a fewisolated tenting sites so your hiking mileage is dictated by their location.Today we had two shelters that were only an hour or two away and anothershelter at 13 miles so we elected to go 13 miles on back to back days. Lots ofpeople are doing those distances routinely but most of them are complaining ofinjuries and walking around camp with the hiker hobble. So we have elected tobe conservative when possible. ClingmansDome is the highest elevation on the AT at about 6600 ft and it is 10 milesaway so tomorrow promises to be an adventure. We are expecting heavy raintonight so we are hoping that the views will still be good. If not, we may electto have a short day tomorrow and summit on Saturday if we have enoughfood. We summited a few hills today withgood but hazy views. Well worth the work to get there. With wind gusts of 35-40 mph it was a challenging but rewarding day.
Date: 2018-03-30
To: Icewater Shelter
Miles today: 12.6

Once again a large storm hit around bedtime. 8pm is hiking midnight. I only saw lightning once but it seemed close. We woke at daybreak anddecided to meet at a shelter 7.4 miles down the trail to set our final goal forthe day. Clingmans Dome was just ahead and we knew it would be a challengebecause it is the highest point on the AT. We stopped at the shelter and set upcamp because Tabasco¢s sleeping bag was soaking wet from the night before.After a while we realized it wasn¢t going to dry because we were in a fog bankand it was very damp. That¢s whereeverything went bad. We decided hike to Clingmans and get a ride to Gatlinburg.As soon as we left it started to sleet. We got to Clingmans and found the road wasclosed so the only way out was to hike 7 miles down the road to the highway tobe picked up. It was a long cold walk which brought our mileage for the day to17 miles. We arrived in Gatlinburg to find it was Spring Break and no roomswere available. The Marriott called numerous hotels before finding us a room inPigeon Forge. The cab took us to thewrong location. Had to get a second cab. The hotel wasn¢t what I had hoped for.I¢ll spare you the details. A late pizza and shower and finally made it to bedaround midnight. A full day indeed. It was a bit harrowing at times but I amsure we will look back on it and laugh after some time passes. Missing my wife.
Date: 2018-03-31
To: Stealth site
Miles today: 16.6

Passed the 200 mile mark!After the hard day on Friday, we had booked a second night ina hotel planning to zero. At breakfast Papa Dale said it was the first nice dayand we should be on the trail. So we went back to the room and packed up to hitthe trail. Since we had hiked some of the way the day before, our hike wasmodest today. The weather was beautiful and the sights were spectacular. A welcome change. We tried to have the drivertake us back to Clingmans so we could take some pictures but traffic was backedup for over a mile. We dropped back in at Newfound Gap where we left off. Lotsof tourists there who were fascinated by the thru hikers. The trail was full ofday hikers which frustrated some of the thru hikers because they don¢t followtrail etiquette. The uphill hike should have the right of way. In the Smokiessection thru hikers have priority in the shelters. All the thru hikers are packedin a tent city. Another sore spot. Everyone is eager to get out of the Smokiesnow.
Date: 2018-04-01
To: Tri Corner knob
Miles today: 8.7

It was a cold night. We awoke to a beautiful sunrise, our first in nearly three weeks on the trail. One member of our group has been slowing down a bit the past day or so. He was really moving well until now. He arrived at camp late yesterday and it was dark before he was able to set up and eat dinner. We offered to wait for him but he said he was going to take his time. I imagine he will stop at the first shelter at 7.4 miles while we decided to press on To Tri-Corner Knob Shelter so we can get out of the Smokies sooner. Today offered the best scenery yet!  Lots of nice vistas with clear views. The terrain was more moderate but we still had several long gradual climbs through out the day. I particularly enjoyed walking through the pine forest which were abundant in this area. The fragrance was fantastic. We didn¢t see many hikers today but we did come across one interesting gentleman named Slow Motion. He was near completion of his second section hike. His goal was to finish by his 75th birthday on May 2nd. Best wishes to Slow Motion.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Stealth camp

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: few clouds

I awoke to the sound of the two streams rumbling by. Today we got up and packed at a casual pace. After enjoying a cup of coffee, a rare experience for me on the trail, we walked a short distance down the trail to find a beautiful cascading waterfall. We proceeded down the trail to Standing Bear Farm Hostel and thought about staying for a while but decided to resupply and look down the trail. I was supposed to pick up a new jacket here from outdoor research to replace the one that failed. This is the second time that they failed to mail it to me as agreed. Quite disappointing. In addition to the poor customer service I have found the rain jacket to be poor in rain resistance compared to the other jackets I¢ve seen on the trail. It is as lightweight as ever, but all in all it is been my biggest gear disappointment so far. After leaving Standing Bear Farm we hiked approximately three hours up a long uphill trail with over 2000 foot of elevation gain. At the top there was a bald from which you could see long distances. A FAA Center was located on top of the Bald. The day ended with a nice 2.5 mile jaunt into camp. Groundhog Creek Shelter is not very impressive compared to the others we have seen.
Date: 2018-04-04
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Max Patch Road
Miles today: 5.8

As predicted, it stormed heavily from 2:30 AM until 6 AM. There was still light rain as we packed up and headed out of camp. We progressed up the steep incline as the sleet and fog continued to roll in. My rain jacket soaked through quickly and I started to become colder and colder. I worked my way to the front of the pack quickly in order to stay warm. Around 10:30 we ran into a southbound section hiker who just had a ride from a well-known shuttle driver named Wild Bill. We decided to call Wild Bill and get a ride down the mountain out of the precipitation. After about 45 minutes he picked us up and gave us a ride into Hot Springs. Our plans of the 13 mile hike had quickly morphed into a Nero. This actually made sense because we did not have enough food when we left Standing Bear Farm. We found accommodations, went to lunch, did laundry and showered before going out to dinner. We met an interesting guy named Tom and two of his four sons who were thru hiking. The older two left the trail to go home but the younger two are still on the trail as part of their homeschool program.The days never really work out as we plan but things always seem to turn out OK. Tomorrow we will take a shuttle back up the mountain to cover the ground that we bypassed. Then, we will start making our way to Erwin TN. My wonderful wife will be coming to visit; really excited about that.
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Max Patch Road

To: Garenflo Gap
Miles today: 14.0

Over dinner we planned an aggressive day of hiking. We were going to shuttle back to Max Patch Road and hike 21 miles back into Hot Springs. We would have the advantage of carrying lighter packs since we could leave no essential gear behind for the day. As usual things didn't go according to plan. Our shuttle driver overslept and it was nearly 11 am before we were transported back to Max Patch by a different shuttle driver. Ya Ya was the new driver. Quite the character, he hiked here from Springer Mountain several years ago and realized he wasn't prepared to complete a thru hike. So he stopped here and made Hot Springs his home. Our arrival on Max Patch was a major contrast to the day before when we faced frigid temperatures, sleet and heavy fog that limited any hope for a view. Today was bright, clear and relatively warm a we could see for miles. Max Patch is a bald (mountain top above the tree line) that offers a 360 degree view. I saw a hiker who somehow found wood to build a small fire to enjoy lunch around. She looked very tranquil. We hiked at a fast pace to try to make up the distance. It was mostly downhill but still featured two long climbs. By the time we arrived at Garenflo Gap it was apparent we would need to night hike and possibly miss dinner in town if we didn't find a ride. We decided to eat the rest of our lunch and work out a plan when Mike a day/section hiker came out of the woods. He had just enough space in his truck to accommodate us. We were 6 miles short of our goal but back in town for dinner and a cold beer.
Date: 2018-04-06
From: Garenflo Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 6.6

A short day on the trail. We awoke went to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast and hiked the remaining 6.6 miles from Garenflo Gap to Hot Springs. We spent the rest day hanging out around the outfitters, having lunch and going to the Post Office. (Still trying to connect with my new rain jacket) We were waiting for my wife to arrive for the weekend. The plan was to head to Asheville for the weekend to relax and resupply for the next leg to Erwin, TN. It was fantastic to see her after a month away. We arrived in Asheville in time for a late dinner. Another long day even though we didn't cover many miles.Picture shows the controlled burn in the forest. Controlled burn seems like an oxymoron.
Date: 2018-04-07
To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0

A great day of R&R. We collected Tabasco and Papa Dale at their hotel went to Walmart for a resupply. Then we went to White Duck a local taco restaurant in the River Arts District. It was a fun afternoon, particularly since I was able to watch some of the Masters Tournament at the hotel and spend time with my wife. Perfect day. We all went out for dinner and made plans to start hiking again early Monday morning. Picture is view coming off the mountain into Hot Springs.
Date: 2018-04-09
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I felt a bit apprehensive when I woke up this morning. My wife was going home and I knew it would be hard to watch her drive away. We had a nice breakfast and then we picked up Tabasco and Papa Dale for the hour drive from Asheville back to Hot Springs. We planned to arrive at 9 am so I could see if the post office had received my rain jacket that was supposed to have been at the last three stops. The tracking number said it would be delivered by noon but we couldn¢t wait around any longer. It wasn¢t there so I forwarded it home. If you don¢t open a package the PO will forward it to another destination for free. Lots of hikers bounce items down the trail that way. But I was just tired of messing with it and my wife brought me a better jacket from home.I do want to give a shout out to my local outfitter of choice. RRT in Milford, OH. Its owned by former thru hikers who know the ins and outs of the trail. They have followed up on the jacket warranty numerous times. The big box guys have a great selection but can¢t match these guys for knowledge and service.Back to the hike. Town and Gap mean the same thing. They both mean you are at the bottom of the mountain and you will be making a long climb out. Town has an additional meaning though...it means your pack will be full of supplies too. Today was proof. My pack was the heaviest it¢s been. We climbed from 9:45 until around 2 when we summited and stopped for lunch. We had some spectacular views especially looking back on Hot Springs and the French Broad River. We finally rolled into the camp around 3:30. It was foggy in camp and became cold quickly. So we had dinner and settled into our tents to stay warm. A good day on the trail and my new jacket was much warmer and dryer. A welcome change.