morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

My poor feet. It's strange, I was so worried about my instep and that kind of pain that I was totally unprepared for the blisters. The rain has destroyed my feet...I even have blisters in between my toes. The hike down to Fontana was pretty uneventful. I wasn't able to get many good views because of the trees. I've heard there are good views when the leaves aren't back on the trees. There are some pretty creeks and cascades on the descent. I even saw this cool AT blaze on the tree. Well, it's good to know I'm still on the right trail.I hike to NC 28 and cross down to near the marina. The lake is so close! The heat at this elevation is oppresive. The elevation profile doesn't make much of the trail between here and the shelter. I think it's all about expectations. I expected it to be down hill....it had several climbs over small knolls, through a hot pine forest, I wasn't very happy. I finally arrived near the shelter, but I wanted to go to the visitors center first.I walked into the visitors center a sorry sight. My clothes were so dirty, and the level of my stinkieness (if that's such a word) was so high, a skunk wouldn't have been seen with me. I walk into the cool, airconditioned visitors center. All the tourists give me a strange look. I buy my ice cold coke and the coveted klondike ice cream bar. These tourists crowd behind me in line. Why won't they give me space? Don't they know I don't want to hurt them with my smell? The cashier lady is really nice, and lets me know where the phone is. While I'm calling Mary and letting her know I'm at the pick up point, a huge number of harley riders come walking by me. They are burley and in their leathers. The men look tough, the women look tougher. One guy looks me square in the eye and says to his partner..."I hate walking!" His ride is 100 feet away. He just grins at me. I take the point...it's pretty obvious what I have spent the last week doing and he is making a joke. Pretty cool sense of humor. I buy a stuffed squirel for Mary (to commemorate my cheese stealing friend from a few nights before), some more drinks and ice cream and hike back to The Fontana Hilton. This is a shelter that is the envy of all southern shelters. Acutally...it was pretty cool, and the view is awesome. I rest and read while I wait for Mary to get off of work, and make the drive to pick me up. Except for hurting feet, a great day!
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Home

To: Birch Springs Gap campsite
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: light rain

Today is a day of firsts. First day of hiking with my friend CJ from school (he's the counselor of my elementary school) and my first bear in the wild. CJ and I were walking across the dam when we ran into this small family. The woman was 20 or so yards in front of the small group. She looked at us, and then proceeded to tell us how she would never do this (hiking in the Smokys) again. "it rained all the time" is the clean version of her statement. She was pretty miserable. CJ and I just looked at each other, this wasn't too good of an omen.We began the hike up to Shuckstack and the firetower. Their is a good elevation gain, but it is well graded. It misted and drizzled on and off during the ascent, but nothing major. I was in the lead when we approached the summit...I hear sounds. I look ahead and I see this bear cub run up a tree and momma looking straight at me. She stands on her back legs, straight up, and sniffs in my direction. I am frozen, it's a mixture of...how cool is this...and oh sh..! Anyway, mom decideds she doesn't want to be around us, she goes away, the bear cub runs down the tree and follows mom. I stand there in awe, then continue the ascent. The firetower allows for good views of Fontana lake and dam on clear days. We could see the lake and dam, even though the fog driffted in and out. There are the remains of the old firewarden's cabin at the base of the firetower. You can still see the chimmney and bits of wall.We continued our hike to Birches Spring Gap. This is an old shelter site, in very rough condition. We hike around the site (which is rather large) and find a spot to set up CJ's tent, and for me to hang my hammock. After a quick dinner, it's lights out for us. (of course we hung our bear bags, especially after our earlier meeting with the bears).
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Birch Springs Gap campsite

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

I woke up to rain...again. We hung out (me literally) for around an hour and a half, hoping the rain would let up. It finally did. The world was in a mist, and all the surrounding greenery was wet as we brushed by it. Both CJ and I have blisters, CJ's brand new, mine are reopened wounds from the previous hikes. It seems that nothing I do will help these blisters, and the rain just agrivates it. We hike over several summits, all fogged in, rain and mist is everywhere.   We go by Mollies Ridge shelter, and then Russell Field shelter. On the trail before Russell, I met 2 wild turkeys. We took good breaks at each shelter, taking our boots off and trying to doctor the blisters as best we could. CJ taped his heel and even though it was still painful, he was able to manage. I have walked with blisters for a while...I'm starting to adjust to them. We finally arrive at Spence Field Shelter. Jason, the guy I hiked on and off with through Northern GA was at the shelter. He was planning to hike the same shelter schedule as us, so I had another hiking partner for the week. A boy scout troop is here. They were scheduled to sleep somewhere else, but due to bad conditions and injuries (nothing serious) they stopped here for the night. It made for a really crowded shelter. It's still hard for me to adjust to so much humanity on the trail. I am told thru-hiking in the beginning is like this, and one day I hope to thru-hike NOBO, but I'm not wild about sleeping shoulder to shoulder with a crowded group of people. The boy scouts are nice and the leaders are interesting, it's just very loud. Food was spilled by hikers during dinner outside the shelter, and this shelter is known for bears. Jason is hoping we'll see a bear (he still hasn't seen one). When I told him about Shuckstack and mom and the cub...he was so jealous. I had to laugh. It's strange to arrive so early...it's only 6:20 and so much has already happened at the shelter. The rain has let up some, so we are trying to dry out boots and socks. Every one is staking out their shelter spot, the three of us had beat everyone else here, so we were already set up. The scouts try to build a fire in the fireplace, but everything is too wet, it just doesn't take. It's finally time for bed. A word of advice...if you are forced to sleep in shelters (and in the smokys you are supposed to) bring EAR PLUGS!! I didn't know it was possible for anyone to snore that loudly, and it seemed that almost everyone did. The scouts were encouraged by their leaders to hang all their food in the bear bags on the bear cables. Unfortunately, on young scout wanted to keep some crackers in his pack for a snack. No bear! Thank goodness, but a mouse ate through his pack into the pocket where the crackers were and munched on them all night. Jason and I kept shinning our headlamps, trying to discourage the mouse, but to know avail. The poor kid had a hole in his pack and no crackers in the morning.
Date: 2004-06-15
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

We are hiking some lower miles on this trip. One reason is because CJ (who is always in better shape than me) hasn't been hiking long distances before, and I've had several weeks to get my hiking legs. Another reason is because I hoped it would give my feet time to heal. This would've worked, had it not been for the rain. It rained every day on this trip. Today was no different. We woke up with rain, it rained in the middle of the hike...it's now 8:20 PM...guess what, it's raining again. They say, "no rain, no pain, no Maine"....how true, but I was so looking forward to the views in the smokys. As we ascended Rocky top today, jason was waiting at the summit for us. He has a very small, ultralite pack and he is fast. He would be faster than me regardless and that's ok. HYOH. The summit was completely fogged in. CJ was dissapointed, he wanted to hike this section because of the peaks, and we didn't get to have one good view in the first half of the smokys. We continued over Thunderhead, past Derrick knob shelter and Silers bald shelter. We took some good breaks, with rain and a good storm threatening us on silers bald. I'm loosing the toenail on my little toe now. Enough whinning! Anway, we saw two wild turkeys today, a snake and got to watch this deer eat leaves all around the shelter. I was wanting to arrive at this shelter early so we wouldn't have to sleep in the loft. This is the shelter where two "unfortunate hikers" lost their lives in the shelter from lightening. Of course it was pretty full upon arrival, and it stormed. My major fear is lightening storms, and this really got my attention. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, and everything worked out. It was another night of little sleep, I think I enjoy my hammock too much. The people here were pretty cool. They were mostly sobo's hiking just the park, but very interesting. We all talked for quite a while, and it was fun listening to people interact. This young (18 or so) person walked up with this huge shotgun. He had the NPS uniform on. He was looking for rogue bears and wild boars. We hadn't seen anything (except for the mom and cub on shuckstack). He walked off, and we all relaxed. I don't mind hunters, and he did work for the park service, but that was a big gun, and it was totally unexpected. Tomorrow we hike over clingmans dome, and to Newfound Gap. CJ goes home there, and I continue on.
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Icewater spring shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

Today we woke up to drizzle and mist again. I guess this is why they call the place the "smokys". We got a good start and headed toward Clingmans dome. The hike wasn't too bad and soon we arrived at the summit. It was windy, chilly and foggy, but we ascended the tower anyway. There were tourists everywhere, but no view. We stayed at the top a short while, then continued on the trail. CJ was ready to get to real food, and I couldn't blame him. Our trip had been one big fog, and I was dissapointed for him. I knew that odds were I would have some more views between here, and the end of the summer, but this was his only chance, and we didn't have any, except for the foggy semi view of fontana dam from shuckstack. We hiked over Mt. Love and Mt. Collins, you can hear the road beside you all the way down toward 441 and Newfound gap. We crossed over hog barriers, and eventually reached Newfound Gap. I left my hammock, long underwear, wet socks, and a few other things in a bag with CJ for Mary to get at home. I lightened my load for the rest of the hike out of the Smokys. People were everywhere. It's strange coming out of the woods and seeing hundreds of people in shorts and clean clothes, all asking "how far are you hiking?". CJ heads on home, and I doctor myself up for the rest of the hike. The sun is out now, and I ascend to Icewater spring shelter. The hike is well graded, and the shelter is very nice. I am tired, weary and wet, but I'm here and the company tonight is excellent.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Icewater spring shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

I really hate that CJ couldn't hike one more day. Today was the only clear day I had on the AT through the Smokys. The sunrise was awesome from Icewater Spring shelter. I woke up and rolled over in the shelter. I gazed out at the valley, and the sky was a multitude of colors. I took a picture, but unfortunately it was too blurry, and the picture will have to stay only in my mind. It's pretty cool when you can see a blazing sunrise, and not have to move out of your sleeping bag. The temps have dropped overnight, and the wind is picking up, still, clear is better.The hike to Charlie's Bunion was pretty awesome, you can see the old dead pines spread out over the valley (which was pretty sad), but from CB you can see such great views. I got a picture of Jason on Charlie's Bunion, and once again, he's gone and way out in front. After Charlie...the weather clouded up some, not bad, but misty and some fog as a small summer storm blew through. It hit me while I was climbing Mt. Chapman, a sturdy climb, especially when you're trying to make it to the shelter without getting rained on. After a little rain, I end up at Tri-Corner knob shelter. This is the last night it can be used. Tomorrow it has a crew coming out to repair the roof, and redo the shelter. Gizmo (ridgerunner) told us all about it, and talked some about his experiences as a ridgerunner at Springer. Gizmo was pretty quiet, but a nice guy. I think he has seen a ton of good and bad hikers. He had advice, but wasn't in your face. I really liked him. As we sit there, a major t-storm blows through. The rain is beating hard on the plastic roof, but it doesn't leak. I see a mouse playing in the rafters, and we listen to Gizmo's walkie (radio). You'd be surprised at the things that go on in a park. Tomorrow I hike out of the smokys and connect Springer to VA42. Tomorrow I'll see Mary.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Tri-Corner Knob shelter

To: Davenport Gap then home
Miles today: 15.7

I got up excited and early, it's time to hike out. I say goodbye to Jason. Once he gets started, I won't see him again, he's that fast. After the smokys he continues nobo, and I flip to VA42, where I finished my last hike. I hope he gets as far as he wants to go. He's a good guy.The weather is foggy and misty, it rains on and off during the day, but I'm determined. I get to Cosby Knob shelter, filter water, then get to Low Gap. I've hiked a trail from Cosby campground to Mt. Cammerer and back, so this trail is now familiar, at least until the firetower. I begin my ascent to the ridgecrest of Mt. Cammerer. Since the weather is horrible, and there are no views, I don't hike the .6 mile trail to the firetower. I will say this though, if the views are great, or you've never seen the firetower, you should go. The trail isn't bad, and the firetower is very unique. It is inclosed in glass on the top, you can spend quite a bit of time there. It also has a deck that goes around the top. It reminds me of a light house. See the picture above. It is from the day hike, earlier this year.After I reached the side trail, I took a break, then headed down the mountain. I flew (for me). I hadn't hiked this section yet, so it was new. I finally got to Davenport Shelter. I took a short break, then headed to Davenport Gap. This was a pretty awesome moment for me. Here I am, at the place I began my AT hike last year. I've changed so much since that first hike. My average pack weight is 32 to 30 pounds fully stocked. My pack weight then was 52 pounds. A huge difference. I can't describe the feeling, but it was pretty cool. I hiked down to Mountain Mamma's. There were several people who passed me in cars. I tried to hitch, but no dice. I actually had one group stop, ask me questions about the trail, then proceed to drive on. It would've taken them all of 5 minutes to drive me back (they had just left MM's)but I guess they didn't think about it. I was pretty mad at first, but life is short, and hiking is good. I got to Mountain Mamma's and ate ice cream, drank sodas, ate cheeseburgers and fries. Good stuff. I got there a lot earlier than I had expected, so I had a few hours to wait on Mary. She finally arrived, and I took a shower, changed into town clothes. We then began our drive home. Next, I will be going back to Virginia, and will be a lot further from home.
Date: 2004-06-20
From: home

To: Lick creek bridge
Miles today: 5.2

My feet have healed some after my rainy adventure through the smokys. I've talked with pharmacists and all sorts of people about how to deal with this. Mary and I came up with wearing.....knee high hose (pushed down at ankle level under my socks) and a lighter pair of smart wool socks. I've heard good things about this, and although it feels weird, I'm going to give it a try. The sun is in the process of setting, and I'm hiking hard to get to my campsite for the night. I stop at Knot Maul shelter, and an older couple mentioned that she had been having serious problems with blisters on her feet. Someone had mentioned "bag balm" for lubrication. It is said to toughen the feet some. Bag balm is used on the udders of cows when it is cold. Believe it or not, I tried it on my next hike, and between the bag balm and the hose as a sock liner, I had no more blisters. Amazing, huh?I arrive at lick creek and there is this beautiful bridge across the creek. I set up my hammock right beside the bank, hang my bear bag, have dinner and relax as the day turns to night. The creek is rather wide, and it is loud, much better than snoring. Good night.
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Lick creek bridge

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has been an incredibly hard day. It started beautiful and I was so optomistic. It changed into a major summer rainstorm (no thunder). My shoes, raingear are all soaked, mud is everywhere. My heels and feet hurt so much. I hiked up to Chestnut knob shelter, which is a cool shelter on top of a big mountain. The views would've been great, but the clouds kept peaking in and out, and very few views were to be had. The hike over Burke's Garden provide a few views, I've heard so many beautiful things about this area, but I guess I'm just meant to come back some day. I had hoped for some good time across Garden mountain, the ridgeline looked as flat as you can get on the elevation profile, but in actuality it's a series of ups and downs underneath the ridgeline. This could've been my favorite area, but without views, it turned into a day of endurance. I arrived at the shelter, wet, tired and discouraged. There were several hikers there, one called "slimer" who I would meet up with a little further down the trail. They were pretty easy going, and by then end of talking with these men, I felt better about what I was doing, and that maybe I wasn't crazy for being out here. The rain is beginning to have ill effects on my attitude.
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: 1.8 miles from VA 611
Miles today: 18.7

Today was a roller coaster. I crossed over another Brushy mountain and hiked beside s.wolf creek, haveing to cross over it several times. This is a pretty creek, and I was making pretty good time. The "fording" if you want to call it that, more like rock hopping, was pretty interesting. The creek from all the rains this summer was high. The guy from the shelter last night decided to take the blue blaze, high water trail, but I wanted to hike the white blazes if possible. I finally got to my final crossing of s. wolf when I looked and saw this beautiful photograph. I took my camera out from it's ziplock bag (because of all of the rain) and took the shot. I then put the camera back into it's protective covering, and looked ahead. There was one more rock to step on, and I would be across. I step on the rock, it looks solid, but isn't. It twists and down I go. I'm sitting in water that comes to my waist (sitting) and the bottom of my pack is completely submerged. I hope up, mad as can be, frustrated! Pull out all of my gear, and see that my plan of protecting important gear with trash bags worked. Very little was wet, except for my poor feet and the bottom half of my body. Actually, a little bit later I had to laugh at myself. I had fallen, bottom first into a creek. There was no lasting damage done, except for a foot that was in possible trouble was completely soaked again. I guess you have to roll with the punches.The sun came out, and I took time to dry out what did get wet, including myself as I reached the top of a knoll above the interstate near bland. The views were pretty cool, considering all the highways around, but you're pretty high up here and I was just grateful for the sun. I hike on to Helvy's mill shelter (which is a ways off the AT) and think, here's a good place to camp. I hike straight down via switchbacks to the water source. It's a good source, but it is way far away. The shelter journal has all sorts of pictures by hikers describing the journey for water. There was a church group at the shelter, and they were pretty nice. We talked for a while and I rested and had dinner. I had traveled 13.8 miles, I had wanted to go further, but was concerned about the lack of water. I decided to go for it. I packed up my gear and continued North. I was able to get almost five more miles in, and I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I would be.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: 1.8 miles from VA 611

To: Wapiti shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: light rain

Today was another long day. I took a breakfast break at Jenny Knob shelter, where it began to rain. I've never seen it rain so hard with me being outside. It was sprinkling at the shelter, but poured as I hiked. I got rained on three seperate times today. My boots are flooded and the trail was unbelieveably muddy and wet. This made slogging that much harder on my feet. I am slipping and sliding all over the place. My boots are pretty slick, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to break in new ones on the trail. I had hoped not to do that. I was planning on hiking past pearisburg on Friday, but I think I'll stop at Pearisburg tomorrow and not hike Friday. I've put this heavy schedule into play to reach to the half way point in Pennsylvania. This was before I lost half my spring break due to snow. I can do big miles, but the rain, and the necessity of big miles, not the desire of big miles, is hampering my enjoyment of the trail. If I try to hike the extra 20 miles on Friday that I have scheduled for myself due to where I can be picked up, I'm afrad I'll do damage to my feet. I take a break at kimberling creek, where I see these two women across the bridge. After my break, I find out that they are waiting for their ride to take them into town. They are hiking through parts of Virginia for the month. They seem like pretty cool people. I cross over the road and head through the dismal creek area. The rain just starts pouring, and the trail way is one big mud slide with water running through it. I slog through, not even stopping at dismal falls (I really regret not going to the falls!) The creek is beautiful, and the sounds are wonderful, but I have to make wapiti shelter to be able to make Pearisburg tomorrow. I really regret hiking such a long day through such a pretty area. Another place I want to visit. I arrive at the shelter after forcing myself to continue. Another endurance day for me. Slimer is here and we talk for awhile. I tell him about a hostel just north of the shelter..he was so dissapointed. He misunderstood some other hikers that said it was way off the trail, but it wasn't. He had more than enough time to get to the hostel, but didn't because of that misunderstanding.   I decide that Pearisburg is where I'm going to stop for this trip. The pride part of me wants to tough it out, but I know that getting a few extra days to let my foot heal and getting new boots is the smart thing to do.