morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Powell Mountain

To: Dick's Creek Gap, Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: light rain

I woke up and watched that sunrise at the overlook. The clouds were rolling over and either making it so I couldn't see the sun at all or so that it created spectacular rays of light coming through the fog. There were so many colors and levels of lighting that I wanted to capture it and recreate it all.So fantastic.I hiked to Dick's Creek Gap to meet my mother at 10 a. While I was waiting for her to arrive, some of my favorite folks rolled into the parking lot from The Blueberry Patch Hostel. Aesop, Sweet Lou, Fiddle, Savage and Maui Bob all refused my mom's sodas or snacky treats because they were so full from the breakfast at the hostel. My mom showed up, without getting lost (so she says). And we ventured onward to Hiawassee. We chose the Hiawassee Inn and it took us several tried and turning around a few times to find the the driveway for the inn goes through the gas station. The Inn is very charming and hiker friendly. There are several other hikers around, but I can't remember their names. We ate some awesome mexican food, and I only finished maybe 3/4 of my fajitas so I guess the hiker hunger hasn't quite kicked in yet.We went grocery shopping at Ingles and I shopped for food from here to Franklin and for a mail drop to Fontana Dam to feed me during the Smokeys. So much yummy tasty food. I am really excited about the hummus I got. But lots more exciting things than I had to choose from at Mountain Crossings.We went back to the hotel so that mom could nap and I worked on repackaging everything for my mail drop. A stop by the post office, and then on to the library. My mom brought her laptop so I can upload pictures and update trailjournal. Sadly, the library blocks facebook and gchat, so I was unable to catch up with anyone or upload pictures to facebook. Oh well. I'm going to try to upload some to here.We are going to go back to Ingles tonight and I am going to make the most delicious salad for dinner. I am seriously craving some veggies.It is back to the trail tomorrow morning, and I hope to run into some old faces and meet some new ones when I get back.Also, my mom bought me some bright blue duck tape. I am so excited to cover my blisters with it!--Carolina
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Dick's Creek Gap, Hiawassee Inn

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

It really was nice getting to see my mom yesterday and today. Thanks again, mom, for coming to see me. The Hiawassee Inn was very hiker friendly and just a bit of that small town quirk that I like. We ate the continental breakfast this morning, and there some tasty stuff to choose from. I really enjoyed the juice and coffee too.The morning hiking went great. I had energy, food in my belly, and my feet were feeling pretty good. I stopped after about 4.5 miles at Plumorcard Gap Shelter to eat lunch and stretch out a bit. I brought an apple and carrots from town, and they were seriously delicious.The afternoon hiking didn't go so great. Around 2, I started getting this really weird cramp on the top, arch, and little toes of my right foot. I tried lots of things to make it feel better but it was unhappy all afternoon. I said goodbye to Georgia and welcomed myself home with a celebratory snacky treat on the state line. Reaching NC was my goal for the day, but there was still daylight to burn so I kept hiking. So far NC hasn't been too kind. There are no bear cables at this shelter and the temperature has dropped considerably. I didn't put on enough warm clothes to fix dinner and I was shivering while I ate. Dinner was pretty on point though: hummus, avocado, black beans and cheese on flatbread. Way yummy.I struggled this evening with finding things and putting them in proper places. It was frustrating, and I yelled at my gear a lot.After a long, frustrating day, I think I'm going to go to bed before the sun does.Hope I stay warm enough tonight.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

This morning there was a total lack of motivation. I just could not get movng. I didn't do much of anything. I talked to Will and got a very nice email from Molly. That finally got me moving. I didn't leave Muskrat Creek Shelter until noon. So I made very very good time to get here at 6:30.I enjoyed hiking much more this afternoon. No weird foot cramps, only minor annoyance from blisters. Overall a good hiking day.I'm contemplating pushing to Franklin tomorrow but I honestly have enough food I could just go through to NOC. I'll have to evaluate time and food. I'm meeting Will in Fontana Dam so that offers me some new motivation.Crowdsourcing: What makes trees die and be blue inside?Having a sitdown and journaling by the fire.There is a decent sized group and all of them were at the Muskrat Creek Shelter.I'm a day behind Savage and Fiddle. They've started setting mousetraps and killed 9 mice last night.Going to be a cold one tonight. I'll stay warmer tonight than the folks in the shelter.I hope everything will all work out.
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: US 64
Miles today: 15.9

Zeroing at Haven's Budget Inn has been pretty much amazing. Ron really takes care of all the hikers that come through the area and is definitely a good friend to the trail.The highlight of yesterday's hike was climbing Albert Mountain. It was a fierce climb with some rock scrambling and lots of log stairs. There is a tower on the top that you can climb the stairs up and it offers a gorgeous view of the mountains, forest service roads and the various trail in the area. The day hikers offered me some of their lunch and I happily accepted. Yay for random bits of trail magic. The shelters on this stretch of trail were in very poor condition. They had a lot of trash and flies. They used to have bear cables but they are no longer in working condition. I'm glad that I didn't stay at either of them.When I showed up at the Haven Budget Inn, I ran into Danger and Scottish Lizzie. I figured I'd lost them since I was a day behind, but because I pushed into town yesterday I caught up to them. I shared a room with Maine Man Mitch last night and tonight and we ordered a lot of pizza from Dominos last night. We ate most of it last night and the rest this morning for breakfast while watching tv and not moving.When I finally stood up, my legs were so sore it was tough to move!Mitch and I walked to Ingles today so that I could top off the food I have to last til Fontana Dam with a little bit of resupply at NOC and so that he could get food to mail to Fontana Dam for the Smokies.I've made a general plan for my next few days of hiking until Fontana, and it should generally be pretty relaxed. Most of my days are around 12 miles with short days into NOC and Fontana Dam. My feet are still covered in blisters so it just isn't worth it to push it too much.I went to the 3 Eagles Outfitter today and got new insoles for my boots and some sock liners.I will have to break in the insoles which will kind of suck, but I hope they will work for me in the long run. THe insoles that came with my shoes were really thin at some parts. I also am going to try hiking with sock liners to see if that helps with the whole blister situation. I'm willing to try anything now.The annoying dog I talked about at Hawk Mountain Shelter, Rooster, is at the hotel. Apparently, Rooster keeps running away from his owner and hiking with Kevin and Matt from Maine. they said they tried to return him multiple times and Rooster just keeps following them. He is a very needy attention loving dog. But also very adorable.Well, cheers to a wonderful zero day and getting to hike bright and early tomorrow morning.
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Old US 64

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was a good day of hiking. I got a new pair of insoles in Franklin and liner socks so I was ready to try to deal with all the feet issues. I didn't like the liner socks because I didn't buy my shoes with that thick of socks. I have to break in the insoles. They have much better arch support and I think it will work out for me in the long run.I sat and ate an apple at the 64 road crossing and started hearing loud girl voices. Raspberry and Raindancer came round the bend! They caught up during my zero day. Rooster Kevin's waist belt clip broke about 2 miles in from Franklin. There was some very creative cursing coming from him.It was very hot today--around 85 with high humidity. I hiked in shorts and a tank top.I hiked the last 3 miles of the day with R&R. We had some nice girl time talking about how much boys suck. I'm glad we are hiking in the same circle because they are so interesting.I'm staying in the shelter tonight because I didn't feel like hanging my hammock. There is good company here tonight: Maine Man Mitch, Rooster, Scottish Liz, R&R and me.I enjoy their company. It is a shame that Mitch will be hiking faster than me to try to reach trail days on foot. Oh well, that's how friendship on the trail goes.Also, I just found out there were snow flurries when I camped at muskrat creek shelter.When R&R and I reached Wayah Bald, we really enjoyed the observation tower. You could see Clingman's Dome over 25 miles away!Overall, good day.I'm ahead of schedule for reaching Fontana Dam, and will be reaching NOC Monday morning. I will still be reaching Fontana on Thursday.
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Wayah Shelter

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

I finally caught some scheduled trail magic this morning. I'd heard while at Franklin that a maintainer named Apple sets up a tent at Burningtown Gap for 2 weeks every year. I figured with my luck, he wouldn't be set up yet or decided to take a day off or had given a hiker a ride or something. (I've missed at least 3 known magic occasions due to these circumstances). I actually slept well in the shelter last night. I think the key is hiking lots and lots of miles to get there.(I'm writing this the next morning and Maine Man Mitch says: Twice a day. You are pretty hardcore with that blogging thing. Nope, peek just shutdown last night and I didn't feel like redoing it then.)It was another scorcher with loads of black flies. I have really weird tan lines now from the straps of my hiking poles. I'm glad I got more sunscreen though. The guys at Neels Gap told Raspberry and Raindancer they didn't need sunscreen in the green tunnel. Those fellows are wrong right now. The sun is blazing and there aren't any leaves on most of the trees. Wear sunscreen!I told myself that if I got to Cold Spring Shelter by 3:30 I would hike on to the next one 5 miles later. I rolled in there to find Scottish Liz, Rooster Kevin, and Maine Man Mitch. I was surprised to see Rooster and MMM since they hike much faster than me.The shelter was very little and cozy. The night was pretty warm. I slept on top of my sleeping bag under my silk liner.The last 5 miles were definitely a killer. It was mostly ridgewalk that quickly dropped in elevation toward the river. There were a lot of sections of trail that had eroded into nonexistence. Definite butt kicker for the end of the day.
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Fontana Dam Visitor Center

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: moderate rain

I was greeted by the Smokies with lots of pouring rain. Overall it was very nice hiking today. There was a significant elevation gain but was graded very nicely with switchbacks. It was not as painful as the sections coming out of the NOC.I listened to music about half the day, and it really breaks the monotony of the day. I feel bad for anyone who happens to hear me singing as I climb those hills.I am somehow only a day behind Danger and 2 days behind Raspberry and Raindancer. I hope to be able to start putting in more miles tomorrow.I have been having problems with this bad hangnail on my right big toe. It is so bad that I didn't really have feeling in it. At the motel, Will did some serious work on it. We soaked my foot in warm water and epsom salt for about 45 minutes. Then he went to town trying to get out the hangnail as I cried into a pillow. It was some serious pain. Will was unable to get it out because it was so deep. But he relieved a lot of the pressure. I stubbed my toe a couple of times today and instead of cursing every God I could think of it only hurt enough to curse by the hammer of Thor. Thank you, Dr Will.I'm glad I took 2 zero days. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Will before he starts his new job and it felt good to let the body recover. Will also helped me out by telling me some stretches i should start doing to help with the problem areas I've been having behind the knees.Today I met the thruhikers Pittsburgh and Kelly. We are staying at this shelter with a father and son. So there is a ton of room to spread out. I'm taking up about half the loft to try to dry my clothes. All of the people have candles and it is creating a very nice ambiance in the shelter. Kelly had lots of extras so she gave me a tealight. It makes me pretty happy.It is looking like the weather will be stormy again tomorrow. At least it isn't snow.I'm behind on a few days of journaling so hopefully I'll be able to find time to write the entries soon.
Date: 2009-05-03
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Double Sprung Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Day 2 of miserable rain in the Smokies. I woke up at 4am to what sounded like a family of bears tap dancing on the roof. It rained like that pretty much all day. There were short breaks in the day where it wasn't raining, but pretty much it was a cold, rainy day where the temperature stayed around 50. It is that dangerous hypothermia weather.When I arrived at Derrick Knob Shelter this afternoon, there were lots of folks holed in for the day. I saw Rooster and Kermit. I wish that I had picked up the tobacco I saw in the hiker box for Rooster. It would have made his week. I thought about it then figured I wouldn't possibly catch him. Oh well.I decided to move on to the next shelter 5.5 miles away. If I made it there by 6, I would hike on. I was a few minutes after 6 but decided I felt good enough to go for another 2 miles. I walk into Double Spring Gap Shelter to a chorus of Carolina! Scottish Lizzie and Danger are here!I'm very excited that even with 2 zero days, I still managed to catch folks. I think the key is that I am willing to slog through the rain. Today was actually my highest mileage day yet. I think there are 2 main reasons: the rain made me not stop for as many breaks and when I did stop I didn't take my pack off as much and now I have music to push me. Will-- I am so grateful to have tunes to listen to now.The Smokies have also shown me this weekend that it can be very dangerous for the casual backpacker. When I walked into the shelter I noticed 2 pairs of blue jeans, a lot of cotton and a young couple I hadn't seen before. I made the connection with a couple of guys I saw carrying sleeping bags and a wet tent they said they found ditched on the trail. Liz said the young couple came in like death. They have on lots of various hikers' warm dry clothes and have Danger's sleeping bag. The conditions out here aren't great and these kids obviously didn't know what they were getting themselves in to. I'm glad that they made it to this shelter where good people were willing to help take care of them. They definitely could have had a much worse ending to their day.I hope the clouds break enough to get a view at Clingman's Dome tomorrow. But if not, I'll probably get more miles in the day. =)
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Double Sprung Gap Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The 2 kids that Danger saved from hypothermic death yesterday were in very good spirits this morning. They thanked all the folks that helped them and gave Danger a ride into Cherokee. I think that if no one had been in that shelter, they most likely would have died.It rained and was icky again this morning. I didn't bother climbing the tower at Clingman's Dome because you couldn't see 5 yards. The day got a little bit clearer but no views.When I went through Newfound Gap, there were lots of tourists asking me what I was doing. It was fun seeing the reaction to my answer of "walking to Maine."I ran into Free and Mosely again at this shelter and finally me river rat. They apparently had a bit too much fun in Gatlenburg. There isn't a tarp on this shelter, so it is much colder than previous shelters.I'm a day behind Raspberry and Raindancer still and now 2 and a half days behind Mitch. I know I'll catch R&R eventually, but it makes me sad to keep falling further behind Mitch. It makes me doubt I'll ever catch or keep up with those darn 19 year old male legs.I think I'm starting to catch my stride out here even if I can't catch up.I'm over halfway done with the Smokies! Yay!
Date: 2009-05-07
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: few clouds

Today was the most beautiful day of hiking I've had on the AT yet. I think it may even be the most beautiful day of hiking I've ever had. The climb out of the hostel was steady but not terrible. The first 9 miles of the day, 7 were uphill. Snowbird mountain was the first views I'd really seen in over week. You could clearly see the Smokies covered in clouds. It was so beautiful.I ran out of water after going through Brown Gap. My map said that I would cross a water source and I never saw it. I hiked and hiked and didn't reach water for a few hours. I was so thirsty but just kept hiking to reach a source. I finally reached one that wasn't on the map, and when I reached it I drank almost 2 liters before filling up my water bladder.When I got to the bottom of Max Patch, I got very excited with anticipation of what views I would see. Max Patch was a huge grassy bald. It was a decent climb up a lot of log steps to get to the summit. Very very beautiful. I considered camping near Max Patch but didn't have enough water to cook dinner and whatnot. When I arrived at the shelter, I was surprised to see Old Skool. He had such a good game plan to get to Damascus by Trail Days. Apparently the hills at the start of the day were just too much to make it to Hot Springs today. I gave him hell that I did a 30 mile day and he couldn't finish his first day of his plan. Kelly and Koop are also here. Kelly has her dog back with her. Gracie is a very cute dog but kind of aggressive. There is also a guy doing a small section from Greensboro and 2 college students going to Hot Springs from East Tennessee State.It has been an enjoyable evening, but this is a very mousey shelter. Savage and Fiddle were here but they obviously didn't kill enough of the mice. The mice are running around and squeaking.My feet are still aching and I had to tape my feet again. They are also still swollen. I don't think they will ever look the same again.It's been a great day and I hope the weather is similar tomorrow. I just want my feet to stay dry a few more days.
Date: 2009-05-11
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Firescald Mountain
Miles today: 14.6

It took me forever to get going this morning. It was pretty drizzly until around 8 and not even Koop, who usually gets going by 7:30, was gone til 9:30. I redid how I pack my bag and divided my food bag into 2 bags to help me redistribute the weight. Everything carried a lot better today. It is still frustrating not yet having a place for everything but it will all work out. I hiked to Little Laurel Shelter and cooked a real lunch around 3. I was really hungry so it felt good to eat substantial food until I started hiking and it sloshed around in my stomach.I was really excited because I knew we would be hiking Firescald Mountain where I did some rehabbing of the trail with Konnarock Crew. It was the first part of the trail I'd reached where I'd done some trail work and it was exciting because I remembered which junk cribbing was mine and all that sort of thing.I decided to hike with Raindncer and Raspberry for the afternoon because I've been mostly hiking by myself and sometimes it is nice to have conversation outside of your own head.I got a wonderful retelling of Disney's Aladdin from Raspberry including songs. R&R like to tell each other movies while hiking and it is practically like watching the movie. A fun way to pass the time. We hiked until we all got tired and wanted to camp rather than pushing on to the shelter. The water source here is blazed very strangely with dark blue spray paint with practically every tree and twig you pass painted. It was really far and we were starting to think someone was playing a joke or it was a path to lure us to monsters. We also waited too long to throw our bear bags. At first we tried to hang our bags together but all our food was so heavy the rope gouged into the tree and wouldn't budge. I had to cut a bit off my rope. Then we decided to hang separately and I broke 2 tree branches. R&R successfully hung theirs and all 3 of us worked on mine. Finally, more than an hour after we started, all our food and smellies were hung and it was waay past hiker midnight.I wanted to go into a lengthy rant after meeting 2 guys out for a couple of nights complained about the condition of the trail based on comments on white blaze. So all I will say is my final message of the rant: The Appalachian Trail is built and maintained by volunteers. Don't complain, but join a maintaining club or volunteer for one of the ATC's trail crews. Pick up trash and move small blow downs when you can and are out here. The clubs' crews and ATC can't do it all, and every single one of us out here should take care of the trail to make it a better place.
Date: 2009-05-12
From: Firescald Mountain

To: Big Flat
Miles today: 13.0

Yet again I could not get going this morning. I didn't step off until almost 10:30. My hammock was just so comfortable and it was so cold out. The bear bags stayed up, which was good since we'd had such bad luck last night. I hiked about half the morning with Raspberry and Raindancer and we passed the 300 mile mark of our hike. 300 miles seems like a lot. I've been hiking more than a month now.I hiked about 7 miles to Flint Mountain Shelter and had lunch there. I'd intended to have a small lunch and move on. However Koop showed up then R&R so I got distracted just as I was leaving. As we were hanging out and chatting Kyle-Strider showed up. I was happy to see him since it has been a long while. I hiked on with R&R and decided to hike with them. I decided to tell them the movie "The Princess Diaries". It was my first telling of a movie and it is surprisingly hard. It really helped to pass the time.The last 3ish miles we hiked were a long steady climb and we camped below the summit. Camping away from shelters is nice, but we are camping not at a water source. My feet are feeling pretty tired, so I'm glad I'm not having to stay up late to throw a stupid bear bag line.R&R are doing their nightly reading, and I am tucked in quite comfortably in my hammock. I have a new book to start, Three Cups of Tea.I still haven't decided whether to go to Trail Days. I want to go, but don't want to stop hiking to get there. I figure if I run into a group and a ride going in Erwin, I may go but otherwise, hike on.I'm glad to be out here. I can't believe I've made it so far. I've finished 15 percent of the trail. =)I'm proud of myself.