morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-07
From: Campsite #72

To: Double Island
Miles today: 10.0

We fell asleep watching the sun go down over Fontana Lake on the most beautiful island. We heard the call of a Wipporwill as we were falling asleep and thought it was just the coolest thing. Eight hours later of listening to the loud, obnoxious, ear splitting singing of the whipporwill we were fed up. We hardly slept a wink all night and I know that DO IT was awake because he kept yelling at the whippowill, "Get outta here!". It sounded like the little guy was on top of my tent, just singing his heart out. Every time he stopped singing this mechanical sound would follow. It was like nothing I have ever heard before. They must have been mating. So we slept in pretty late which was not planned since the wind picks up on the lake around 2:00 every day. Our overslepping meant we would have to fight the wind and we would be exposed to the most sun rays. So I now look like a lobster since I have no sunscreen. I have the classic canoe tan lines, where half my legs are burned. My skin is burned so badly that I can barely strech my legs out past the sitting position. We found a little community of houseboats on the lake, it was really neat. There were about 20 houseboats, they were connected to land with a string and had small docks. There was a cemetary there on the top of a small island, where I also found a goose sitting on a nest of eggs. We canoed about 10 miles and then decided to stop so I could get out of the sun. I was also sneezing nonstop since the pollen is so bad. I took Benadryl and fell right asleep. I woke up a few hours later and we made more ramen for dinner. I found another goose egg near where we were camping.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Lazy River

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

I got so anxious this morning to get back on the trail! But that's becoming the norm I guess. I woke up early, around 5:30. DO IT and I had breakfast at the hotel and took a shuttle to the dam. We signed in to the Smokies and got our permits. The trail went uphil for miles and miles. I was rocking out to some music all day and having a great time. It got really cold and windy. It started to raina little and I panicked! I put my rain coat and pack cover on. I was worried that my camera was going to get wet so I dumped a bag of peanuts out into my pocket and put my camera in their ziplock bag. DUMB! Now I had to eat all my peanuts so I wouldn't be bear food! Got to ther shleter and this thing. Is great! It sleeps like 20 and has a fire place inside. The open side has a tarp over it so we should stay warm. Its the best shelter I've ever seen and it doesn't have a privy! It has a bathroom area that is littered with ptoilet paper. We had a little shleter problem because apparently we took someones spot. But they hadn't put anything down to claim it. A perfect stranger got up and gave him his place! Such generosity!!!
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Shelter drama continued last night! DO IT got into it with someone who wanted to cook inside the shelter and then I got into it with someone who didn't want to have a fire inside the shelter. He won and I shivered all night.Long day on the trail! Lots of ups and downs! There were beautiful views after long climbs and painful treks down. I had lunch on a beautiful bald and almost fell asleep in the sun. The smokies are so cold! I saw my first bear today!! I was walking with a girl named Bushwacker (she goes off trail a lot) and we were talking and then I yelled, "Oh Em Geeee! A bear!" And she turned as the bear walked away. We saw its little bear butt waddle away. I got a bed on the top bunk of the shlter thinking the heat would rise. But the cieling wasn't sealed and wind rushed through it all night! Even the clothes in the bottom of my bag were cold. It must have been about 20 degrees.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Clingmans Dome
Miles today: 10.0

Yes that's right. I'm at a hotel. Again. Let me start at the top. Last night was miserable! No one slept! It was really cold and people in the shelter were snoring and gassy. Then the hike was mostly uphill and I had no energy from the night before. I took like 4 breaks where I normally take one. Saw the first privy of the Smokies and had a major celebration inside it. The climb up to Clingmans was nuts. DO IT actually passed me which is rare as of late. Once we got to the Dome we were like celebrities. There were tourists everywhere and then a small occupy-like encampment of dirty thru hikers. People kept coming up and asking us weird questions. But what do you eat! Where do you sleep? Since the last 2 nights were rough and I was hungry and out of water (3miles until a water souce) I convinced DO IT that we should go to town. We hitched in and are just here for the night. Gatlinburg is huge. Biggest trail town I've seen. Had steak for dinner and I offered the host $20 bucks to drive us up the mtn tomorrow. He said he drived a vespa but he could ask his Mom. The weirdness never ends. Gonna take a shuttle in the morning instead.
Date: 2012-04-13
From: Clingmans Dome

To: Dollywood
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up this morning with every intention of getting right back on the trail. There was a shuttle at 9:00 and 11:00. We needed to get cooking alcohol before leaving town. We realized that the outfitter opened at 10 so we'd have to take the second shuttle. So we came back to the room for some teevee time. At 10:45 we started hoofing it to the shuttle butttt we missed it. We met up with all the other thru hikers who were staying at the same hotel. They all teased us for stopping in town when we swore we weren't. From there we arranged a ride out at 2:30. We were into town at got some food. We ate like crazy and then got ice cream too! Just after eating the ice cream I started choking on some water. Next thing I knew, I hit my knees and started vomitting on the street in front of crowds of tourists. After that fiasco, we decided to just go back out tomorrow. So Gatlinburg is... Wow. We took a trolley around town to see everything. There are just weird attractions everywhere. All DO IT did today was shake his head and say, "that aint right". We sat on a trolley for 30 minutes to get to Dollywood because one of the townies said I MUST see it. We got all the way out there and it was $60!! I got right back on that trolley! We walked around and I ate a ridiculous amount of fried oreos. DO IT bought chapstick, which he has never worn in his life and calls his make up. We split up for dinner and I went to the brewery for some local beers and live music. I found some of the other thru hikers there and had a great time.
Date: 2012-04-14
From: Dollywood

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow! What's a day! Woke up early as the hotel manager had promised us he'd get one of his employees to take us up the mountain. I guess they weren't interested bc he drove us up himself. He was short on time which made for one scary drive! At some point in the morning DO IT purchased his pillow from the hotel for $10 which makes it really easy to make fun of him. One of the housekeeping staff gave him a flowered pillow case! We left our packs at Newfound Gap and hitched the rst of the way up Clingmans. It wsa so hard to geta ride! A couple finally pulled over to ask if we were okay (DO IT was on the ground). When they drove away we started to go crazy and DO IT laid in the middle of the road. They turned around and came back! The slack packing was a delight, as always. We did a quick 8 miles and came back to the gap which was now full of tourists. It looked like a Walmart parking lot! Strangers kept coming up to talk to me. They shook my hand and took pictures of me with their kids. I felt like a celbrity and loved it! Especially when they gave me food. Someone gave me a mountain dew and I took off up the mountain. I met a park ranger who asked to see my back country permit and really enjoyed talking to her. She said a thru hiker got arrested at Fontana Dam bc his camelback was full of wine and he was acting a fool! Craziness! We hiked and hiked and hiked all day. The sun started to set and we started to panic. I went ahead alone and had the most spectacular views of the sunset over ridge lines. I couldn't find my headlamp and really freaked out. I had no idea how much farther I had to go to get to the shelter so I dumped my whole pack out lloking for it. Still didn't find it and looked up to see the trail to the shelter! Got to the shelter and was literall greeted by Y's Guy who let me use his headlmap (found mine within 2 minutes), he offered me water and a seat by the fire. There was plenty of room in the shlter so I didn't have to tent. DO IT made it about 15 minutes later. He fell asleep with the map next to him whispering about how we can do a 20 miler tomorrow.
Date: 2012-04-15
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Nob Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

Could not get DO IT out of ned this morning! I finally smacked him with my trekking pole and said, "if you wanna do a 20 you need to get your butt in gear". The hike was tough today I guess I was beat from yesterday. I hiked with Y's Guy for a while. We found wreckage from a plane that went fown in the 70s. Pieces of the plane were practically on the trail. We didn't make the 20 (obviously). My body is sore!
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Cosby Nob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up early to the sound of an ALARM CLOCK! Who does that?? Then they banged pots and pans around and shined their headlamps in my eyes! It was before sunrise! No one wakes up that early in a shelter! Needless to say, I was grumpy! DO IT brought me coffee in bed, since I refused to move. Then a weekender gave me a Snickers Bar! And Halfway gave me water that he had already filtered! My luck was really changing! We hiked an easy section for a while and then started our descent from the Smokies. I took a long time at an overlook to say goodbye to the mountains. This last week has been my favorite part of the hike. The smokies have been very cold but have had the best views and some of the most enjoyable hikes. As we lost elevation, the whole forest changed. We started to see deciduous trees again. The air was stale and the plants were all so green. There was actual flowing water. We had heard that there was a hostel about 10 miles away so we planned to go there and resupply. We knew it was after we crossed Route 40 but didn't know how far after. We went under 40 and then just shut down. We didn't feel like hiking another step, even though it was only 2:00. DO IT sat on the ground, slouched over with his feet out straight, smacking the ground with his hiking pole, yelling, "I'm 47!!!! I have a job and a credit card!!I want a HOTEL!!! Holiday Inn! Ramada! Hampton Inn!". At that point I turned on my cell phone, googled the hostel and called for directions. They said, "You see where the trail goes straight up stairs? Well start walking". Whaaaaaaaaaat?! So we got up and slowly made our way down the trail. When the trail came out to a dirt road, we walked about 1/4 mile and saw this cute little wooden shack with a sign, Standing Bear Hostel. The manager greeted us with beer in his hand and showed us around. The laundry room (meaning the place where the wash board was), the cabin (for older people, obviously where we slept), the bunk room (for the rowdies), the store (shelves with random hiker foods and price tags where you keep a tab and pay later) and the stream that holds beer if you're thirsty. I hit the shower first. It was extremely cold and I told myself that I would just need to deal with it. Hot showers are for punks. So I took a freezing cold shower and then when I went to turn the water off, steam rose up as I turned the nob. Fan-freaking-tastic. I just didn't know how to use it. Hah! So I started over and took a hot shower. They had a scale and every hiker that stepped on it said they lost 15 pounds, myself included! We figured it was a scam to get you to buy more food! So we did! We had chips and dip, quesadillas and a giant pizza. We drank about 15 sodas. That night, I was laying in my bed and someone in the cabin announced that there was mouse poop on her sheets. I jumped up out of my bed to put fresh sheets on it. Slept like a baby though. The beds were comfy!
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Max Patch Road
Miles today: 10.0

In the morning I went into the hostel kitchen and saw hikers eating the usual trail food, grits and oatmeal with protein shakes. I went straight to the store and bought potatoes, eggs, butter and bacon. I cooked up a breakfast feast!! All the hikers stared at me, but I didn't care. It was delicious! And I haven't been able to cook in one month!! I can't believe we've been out here that long! We planned to take 2 days to do the 32 miles into Hot Springs so we set out to hit the trail hard on day one. I had washed my socks the night before and they still weren't dry so I knew it wouldn't be easy. I had to wear these awful toe socks that hurt my feet. Eventually I switched over to just hiking in my crocs with wool socks on. Of course once I took off my water proof shoes, Mother Nature's water broke and I was completely soaked. I got my rain coat and my pack cover on but couldn't do the shoe switch without risking getting everything wet, so I trudged on. I was cold and wet and miserable when I saw it... a tarp! The guy under it looked like a thru hiker so I asked if I could sit under it, just for a minute, while I put on better shoes. He made room for me and said the magic words... he was waiting for a ride! A ride the hell out of there!! Hail started to fall from the sky and I started dreaming. When DO IT went by I told him that my new friend was waiting for a car. He assured us that his Mom would either have room for us, or would be able to help us find a way out of there. It was a good thing too as lightening pelted through the sky. He told us someone was struck by lightening on Max Patch, the mountain we were about to climb, just last year. We sat under his tarp for a while waiting for his Mom. She was getting him because he hurt his ankle and couldn't keep walking. She picked us up and just like that, we were in a car with heated seats!!! Glory Be! She drove us to Hot Springs where we got a hotel room. She gave me a razor and a fresh shirt to wear to dinner! She is truly a trail angel! We had a great time at dinner with them and shared a lot of jokes. She loved hearing about the trail and we all loved talking about it! Zero tomorrow? We technically have 20 trail miles left to Hot Springs so we are thinking of a 20 mile slack pack. Time will tell.
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Max Patch Road

To: Warm Bed
Miles today: 0.0

With getting into town so late last night, we knew we were destined for a zero today. Hot Springs is a very cool little town in between two mountains. The AT goes straight down main street so it is very hiker friendly. We had breakfast at a diner that has the AT symbol on it's sign outside and pictures of thru hikers on Katahdin hanging up inside. We went to the post office and got our mail drops from Nick and Mary. Loving the cookies Mary!! Even though DO IT tried to eat all of them without telling me! We mostly spent the entire day eating unhealthy food and watching teevee. It was lovely. DO IT cooked dinner, steak and sweet potatoes. We arranged for a ride up Max Patch road tomorrow morning to slack pack the 21 mi back into town. Yippeeee!
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Warm Bed

To: Hot Springs (the right way)
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 5:30 for our 6:00 ride. I had gotten some whole milk and captain crunch for breakfast. I can't stop eating sweet cereals! It's like all those years of Dad forcing us to eat a giant square of grain soaked in milk have unleashed this crazy sugar craving beast inside of me. Our ride got there at 5:45 and didn't wanna go! We took our coffee to go and hit the road. Up and up and up, through the fog we went. We couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of the car. The driver was confident though, in his 87 Jeep Cherokee. Loved his car. He dropped us off at the road and I took off, up to Max Patch. The summit was scary. It was thick with fog and you were basically walking through a huge field. Every now and then you would see a tent. There were times that I would look ahead and behind me and not see a single white blaze, unsure if I was still on the AT. DO IT said he followed my foot prints (the trail was thick with mud). We came down off Max Patch and soon saw a shelter where I stopped in to eat. The thing about slack packing is, you want to eat everything right away so you don't have to carry it. So there I was, among hikers just waking up to coffee and oatmeal, eating my prosciutto and mozzarella ball. We walked on and in no time at all, hikers that we woke up at the shelter, who had packs on, started to pass us! How disheartening! DO IT saw a hiker stumble out of the woods onto the trail and frantically ask, "Which way is North?!". He got lost up on Max Patch!! I got wayyyy bored of hiking about mid day and started to take a lot of breaks. 21 miles is a really long day. I even walked with DO IT for a while, so you know I was bored. We finally started to hear cars and could see town around 4:00. But of course, it took about an hour to get down to it. We came out of the woods and walked right down main street, back towards our hotel. We stopped in to get dinner and a local restaurant and Fire Starter and Bushwacker joined us. We got ice cream and ate it in bed, while watching teevee. DO IT and I have decided that the only teevee shows we both enjoy are 'I almost got away with it' and 'Lockup' so I fell asleep terrified another night. Zero tomorrow, for sure. We're entertaining a few strange ideas if this bug storm rolls through. We want to get out of this town! So far our most plausible ideas are renting a car and jumping the train that barrels through town next to our hotel 16 times a night. If no rain though, we must hike on.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Teevee

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

I just could not get out of bed this morning! I kept watching creepy dstalker shows and was terrified. I finally got up around 9, an hour after DO IT hit the trail. The terrain was rough right away. And I found my key to the cabin a mile down the trail. I sent it south with another hiker. Hope it makes it back. I climbed up lovers leap and loved the views of town. I met a girl named Flash (bc she's fast) and hiked with her for a while. We got to talking and stopped paying attention to the trail. An hour later, we realized we were off the AT. This was the most depressing event of my life. And then when we got back on the AT she. Went on ahead and I was alone. And then it rained all over me. Bad day. It took me a long time to get to the shelter. DO IT was 2 hrs ahead of me and had made me mac and cheese but it was cold. I saw Bam at the shelter, who I crossed the GA state line with. He gave me some chocolate to help my mood. DO IT gave me some rum that he packed out. They also saved me a spot at the shelter, a major blessing since everything is wet. I hope tomorrows better. Send encouragement please.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Hemlock Hollows Hostel
Miles today: 6.0

Woke up cranky this morning. DO IT made me coffee and oatmeal in bed. It was a cold and rainy morning, so there wasn't much movement in the shelter, except of course for DO IT, wrapping up his sheets of plastic (which now serve as his tent) and hitting the trail. I shouldn't have told everyone that I got lost the day before, especially since I said I was hiking with another female. The jokes rolled in. Ed and DO IT were pretending to be us walking down the side trail, "Oh my god! Did you see the boots she's wearing?! Oh they do not match her pack cover!". Ha. Ha. Ha. Eventually I emerged from my sleeping bag and hit the trail. Everyone had beentalking about this great hostel with cabins that were pretty cheap and I knew if I wanted to go there, I would have to start convincing DO IT as soon as possible. I hiked hard and fast, through the rain all morning, trying to catch up with him. I saw his sloppy prints all over the muddy trail but never saw nor heard. I finally came to the gap where the road to the hostel is and no one was there. It was pouring rain and I was really feeling sorry for myself. I gave myself a little pep talk, "You're going to have to get over it Blisters, you're a hiker, you can handle the rain and the cold". And thennnnn I saw it! A note on the sign for the hostel that said ANG with an arrow, smeared in mud. YESSSSSSSSS! I excitedly turned to walk down the street as the rain really started coming down. I found DO IT, inside in a rocking chair chatting it up. The owners were a couple from Jersey which we could tell immediately. They said hoagie and were missing that southern charm. The woman was running around doing a million things at once. She served hot roast beef sandwhiches with mashed potatoes and salad for lunch. We got a cabin with 3 beds in it and settled in. She said that they were closing for the night since it was a Sunday so we got a ton of cookies and holed up in the cabin with our books. A few hours later we were BORED! The cabin was about 10x10 and one of the beds was so soft that you fell right into it. We kept seeing hikers walk past that we had never seen before and finally went to check it out. I opened the door to the restaurant portion and wow! It was full of hikers we had never seen before. They all pushed from Hot Springs to get out of the rain, which was supposed to freeze over night. They had reopened the kitchen and were serving fried fish hoagies and veggie burgers for dinner. We of course, ate again and chatted it up with the hikers. We worked out a way to slack pack tomorrow and corrupted two purist hikers to join us. We saw Squatch, who we've known for a while and offered him our soft bed since the hostel was booked. They were selling floor space for the night! Squatch showed us a video of some of the hikers we met before, Cackles, Shades and the Twisted Sisters, doing a song and dance about thru hiking. I'm hoping we'll see those guys again soon.