morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-26
From: Gatlinburg

To: Mt collins
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Short day today. We shuttled back to Clingmans and hiked to next shelter. Some folks have a hard time walking from the parking lot to the Dome. I remember feeling like that around 2004 before hurricane Ivan. I'm not a victim but a result of my choices, and I don't ever want to be that immobile again. Anyway, uneventful day with an afternoon nap at the shelter. Perhaps too much fun in Gatlinburg. But I'd do it again. Met an ATC ridge runner today. She was cool. She thru hiked in 2014 and now goes out 5 days a week for a 35 week season. Hope to sleep tonight but I didn't hike enough to get tired .
Date: 2016-05-27
From: Mt collins

To: Pecks Corner
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Good day hiking today, which means I'll sleep well. The fog socked in a great overlook (Charles Bunyan) but at least my mileage is back up. Lots of holiday hikers caught in the afternoon storm without a bit of gear.Felt bad for them but I need all my stuff. Weather cleared up and I got into the shelter after only 15 minutes of rain. A crazy lady freaked out over my cigarette smoke but we made amends before I turned in. I was worried she mess with my gear. And there are plenty of others who'll back me up on the crazy call. Been getting funny updates on her.
Date: 2016-05-28
From: Pecks Corner

To: Cosby Knob
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today would have been 20 miles but my knee disagreed. I also think I might need wider shoes. I will get a paper on which to trace my feet to end the guesswork. I wonder why they didn't suggest it. Perhaps REI doesn't mind returns. They customer service people are nice and swap stories but they may want to up their game. Anyway, I wanted to skip past the shelter where the giant bear has been hanging out. I heard voices here and decided to stop anyway. We wound up with 22 people in camp which is good. Safety in numbers. I did also get a chance to start out at 7 AM today. I was on top when the mist began to clear from around the peaks. It was epic. Couldn't really capture that in a photo, so you'll need to get down here yourself to experience it.
Date: 2016-05-29
From: Cosby Knob

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Last day in the Smokies. Started with a 2 Mile climb followed by 5 miles downhill. I get sick of going downhill that long so I knocked it out and waited for Ben at the Edge of the park. Turns out Ben realized his wallet and passport were missing when he looked for his exit permit. We reported it to the rangers and moved on toward the hostel (ie cold beer). The awesome news was that Duracell found the passport and alerted the hostel. Now it's just a matter of waiting for him to get here around noon tomorrow. Had a nice meal and small fire with the others before turning in. Mattresses and showers are great. Look forward to brewed coffee in the AM.
Date: 2016-05-30
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Groundhog Creek
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got on the trail about 1:30 PM after Duracell delivered Kiwi Ben's passport and wallet. The Austrians are jumping ahead to Hot Springs as they are not interested in thru hiking or self abuse. We needed to climb the opposite side of the valley above I-40 after leaving the Smokies. Climbs up are good. Another 3000 feet elevator over 4 miles? Sure. Downhill still sucks. Basically climbed up and over a mountain to wind up in a mosquito infested holler. I have an awesome little tent, so I am tapping this out in a bug free setting. I was going to hike up the next ridge and tent in a better breeze but after I ate I was done. Goal is to sleep early, rise early, and knock some miles out tomorrow so I can get into Hot Springs early Wednesday. Legs are strong. Knee not too bad. Feet sore from expanding (need wider shoe?). I posted on FB yesterday that I lost 22 pounds in 24 days of hiking. It's actually 32 pounds. Yeah, I had packed on some weight over the past few years. It's certainly coming off now. I drink a lot of water with propel and vitamin C packs. Eat decently and am rarely hungry. That could not happen in an office setting. I can only eat what I carry, I try not to carry too much, and am often distracted by hiking up and down friggin mountains. Highly effective weight loss plan.
Date: 2016-05-31
From: Groundhog Creek

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today went well. It's easy to say after I've gotten cleaned up and eaten following a 23 mile day. I'm about to turn in at 10:30. That's late on the trail but I needed the time to hike from 7:30 AM until about 9 PM. As usual I hiked up and down. About 18 miles in I slid down a turn and broke a hiking pole. Could have been much worse, since my butt got full of mud on the slide down. Yay. We'll see about that warranty too. A little rain, but it ended early and I am camped across the trail from the shelter area in a nice pine grove adjacent a stream. No snoring hikers tonight. I was too tired to stop and see who was camped at the shelter. Maybe in the AM once I've had coffee. I'm only 3.2 miles from Hot Springs so I'll easily link up with Connie and Tom. As long as I can walk. Kinda stiff but got through some stretching. I'll be dreaming of eggs with hash browns and tons of ketchup.
Date: 2016-06-01
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Laughing Heart Hostel
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

Rolled into Hot Springs, NC and met my aunt and uncle at the local diner today. We had an excellent opportunity to catch up and they totally hooked me up with dehydrated meals and a camera, so will be able to upload more photos from the trail. Using the phone as my camera was just not working out. I also received my first mail drop from Superhiker and Artsyfartsy. My menu for the next 10 days will be completely different (and awesome!) which is a good change. I can only take tuna and noodles so much. At the end of the day I don't think anyone is too picky but variety is greatly appreciated. Spent the afternoon doing laundry and showering. I didn't shave my head yet because I am curious to see what grows and where. I might look even more like my dad when he was my age. I'll post a photo. You should be able to tell which one is him. Later in the evening Kiwi Ben and Mississippi Tom joined us for dinner. Haven't had a burger in a couple months and it was excellent. They even had Heinz ketchup, which is not the norm down here. I used a lot of it. Later at the hostel Cowboy turned out to be a tenor singer and we spent an evening giving him requests and chilling by the fire. All and all an excellent day! Just haven't been in the actual hot springs yet.
Date: 2016-06-02
From: Laughing Heart Hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was really easy to stay another day in Hot Springs. I got some research material downloaded for perspective employment when I return. Thoughts of that have crept in even though there are months of hiking ahead. Oh well. In other news I bought a knee brace at the same store Handlebar bought one back in 2006. I got so much food from friends and family my shopping list was tiny (thanks again!). Kiwi Ben shaved my head and I got to eat chicken wings with an awesome salad. Salads are a big deal off trail. Other random things were brushing Logan (dog) who now lays on my foot. That's how he rolls. Logan is an Australian Sheppard with two different eye colors. Very cool. BTW crazy lady just walked in while I am typing this. She goes around yelling at smokers.I'm getting the cosmic hint that I should get back on the trail.....
Date: 2016-06-03
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Gap shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

OK. Climbed out of Hot Springs today. Lesson learned was don't start hiking after noon. Had a great morning on the hostel porch and even got a replacement trekking pole part ordered. Problem started with a long climb up a rocky trail followed by a few miles of trail through a blight area with no.shade. Won't leave that late again. It was not a long day but it still took a while to get to the shelter. Then the shelter area turned out to be the buggiest one yet. It was too late to hike out of the area so I ate and retired to my tent to escape the blood suckers. Early start tomorrow and perhaps I can knock out some miles.
Date: 2016-06-04
From: Spring Gap shelter

To: Jerrys Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Not a bad day. Of course it would be impossible to conceive hiking the AT without getting wet. We got to the first shelter after about 9 miles by 2 PM. Way too early to stop for the day. Mississippi Tom and I started on toward the next shelter. Within a mile the thunder and lightning came in and it stormed pretty good for a half hour. Sheets of rain make it hard to see but being atop the mountain means the storm will move off to another valley soon. We still had 3 miles left when the second storm hit and were extremely pleased to arrive at a great shelter with fireplace. A couple seasoned hikers were there and had gathered wood before most of the rain started. We had a chance to dry off, have a good meal and share experiences before turning in for the evening. Even with the massive snoring it was by far my favorite shelter experience. Rip van Winkle recommend a good chafing cream and let me have his. That's important stuff in rainy weather. I shared Superhiker's Mexican corn pie with him in trade and promised to get the recipe.
Date: 2016-06-05
From: Jerrys Cabin Shelter

To: Hikers Paradise
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

A guy named Manimal was at the shelter last night and recommend a new hostel for a visit. The plan was to stop in for a pizza and continue on. Over the last 24 hours I have had some chaffing issues along with weird back pain and the usual leg stuff. Did I mention I have some kind of nerve problem in my right upper quad and hip? Yeah, I'm a rockin' picture of health. I figure my pack can't rest on my hips with my rainjacket on and my lower back pain is from the shift. After the 9 miles to the hostel I was plenty ready for ibuprofen and resting on a bunk. The house cat Shady and I are chilling and watching Total Recall with the other rained out hikers. Shady seems to have fallen in love with my down bag and is wrapped up in my silk liner. Gotta love good gear.
Date: 2016-06-06
From: Hiker Paradise

To: Bald Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

 The rain cleared and we're back on the trail. Nothing too exciting until we reached the end of the day. Wound up atop Bald Mountain which wasn't called out as scenic in my guide but is epic. Ate some dinner while watching the sun go down with a great 360° view. It's cold up here which keeps the bugs down. Met Panda and Princess Peach on top and we sauntered down to the shelter where about 10 others ended the day. A good water source and nice soft grassy area for renting. There is a lot of talk about the hostel coming up in Erwin, TN so I'm looking forward to checking that out and seeing how many hikers are clustered there.A funny thing happened today when I took my pack off for a break and some water. I was ready to start moving again but when I looked at my pack a sudden revulsion came over me and I mentally thought "Fuck you pack!" Then walked away from it. That didn't hold since I need that pack more than it needs me. So I'm still carrying that thing. I heard somewhere that those thoughts can happen to all of us.
Date: 2016-06-07
From: Bald Mtn Shelter

To: Uncle Johnnys Hostel
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a decent day of hiking up and over the ridge to the town of Erwin, TN. Turns out there is a famous hostel right next to the trail that we're aimed for. As usual, the Rocky downhill sections were a pain to my feet but I doubt that can be avoided based on the shoes I am wearing. I might need something with a thicker sole by the time I hit PA, which is known for being a pile of rocks along the AT. The day ended with a spectacular finish. I roll up to the hostel and am greeted by the owner then told there is a dinner shuttle in 20 minutes. It's also 99¢ Taco Tuesday. Good news. Then I walk out back to the inner sanctum and there are 20 people I've met along the trail and with whom I'm catching up to in mileage. They were all happy to see me and offered me a beer. After a pile of tacos and some beers we invaded Wal-Mart for supplies then returned to the hostel. I've dissed Wal-Mart plenty of times, but now I look like one of the weirdos inside so what the Heck. The only problem today was knocking my toe on a landscaping timber in the dark in my shower shoes. Apart from that, an excellent day.
Date: 2016-06-08
To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin
Miles today: 0.0

It is real easy staying here. It's referred to as Uncle Johnny's Vortex. I'm hanging with Panda and Irish Frank catching up on Walking Dead, swimming in the river and of course, drinking beer. I might gain some weight back. Toe doesn't hurt as much Yep, my toe is broken. Ugly bruising. I already needed to heal up some chafing so an extra day or two is now in order. I've been hanging with Panda and I could easily make excuses to spend time wherever she is. Sarge has a lot of downloaded movies and I spent a nice afternoon watching some under the deck canopy. It's a nice outdoor movie setup. Of course, 6 packs are involved. Good times.
Date: 2016-06-09
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Guess what? I'm still here. Walked a couple miles on the toe in sandals. Shoes would be too tight. It feels OK. Not sure if it's a valid excuse to stay here, but I'm sticking to it. Went on a date with Panda to Wal-Mart and we were a bit tipsy. Panda is awesome and it was the best time in a Wal-Mart ive ever had. We bought a ton of vegetables to host a salad extravaganza at the hostel. Dream Chaser is getting off the trail so he got a ton of fruit and wine to make sangria. Heather and Ghost joined us for an epic salad feast back at Johnny's. There was music and more music through the evening before we retired for the night.
Date: 2016-06-10
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Still here. I'm guilty of manipulating Panda too. She likes her IPA. I like her. So I buy her IPA and enjoy the best of both. (Panda is badass and finished a 19 mile day with a sprained ankle. She had to go that far to reach the next hostel last week) She is also trying to heal up here, not just bumming around with me. We've been down on the river cooling off and that has been real chill. I hiked in shoes today and there is no problem with the toe at all. I'm just caught in the vortex with this beautiful young woman and could really care less. There was a time this evening when I became quite sad and I believe that was my gut telling me to remember why I'm even out here. It's to hike the AT. Sunrise is here and she noticed the look on my face. I'm not good at masking my emotions and told her I need to figure out what the heck I'm doing. There are some incredibly decent folk out here with a genuine concern for the well-being of other hikers.
Date: 2016-06-11
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I know. This is borderline ridiculous but it happened again. There are aspects of my experience here that I will never regret yet hiking must occur at some point. That, and there is a crazy lady here who spends all day packing and repacking her stuff at a picnic table. She has conversations with herself too. The owners called in some type of social worker to speak to the woman and assess her needs. I thought that was very nice of them. I should head out before the same happens to me.
Date: 2016-06-12
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin

To: Beauty Spot
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: mist

Holy cow I'm backpacking! I have tons of energy and no pain. There was a bit of climbing to do and I reached a bald with 360° views by 3PM. I just plopped down and promptly fell asleep in the grass. The wind was blowing my kilt up and some day hikers woke me up. You can imagine what that was like. I figured I'd wait to see how Panda was doing with her sprain and hung out some more. We were on a bald near sunset last week and it was epic so a group of us gathered here to cook and camp. An early end to hiking but still not bad after sitting around for 5 days. There were a lot of clouds but we still had some good color at sunset. Will sleep out under the stars tonight to see any when it clears up.
Date: 2016-06-13
From: Beauty Spot

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Had a bit of a road walk today. I confused two gaps and thought I was supposed to head west for resupply. Was planning on getting ahead of the crew and having some goodies to share with them when others rolled in at the end of the day. I couldn't hitch so I was walking down the road when a van stopped and asked if I needed a ride. We were driving and he asked where I was headed, turned out I was still 30 miles south of where I needed to be. Oops. He was nice enough to return me to the trail and I only did 14 trail miles due to sore feet. Hate pavement. I was so pissed at myself for misreading the guide but got over it by the time I hit camp. I'm in a n awesome pine grove behind the shelter. Ate a lot of food and drank plenty of water. Prepping for a big day tomorrow. Went to bed early so not much social time for me. A southbounder said views tomorrow will be great and there are some really good campsites and a converted barn shelter coming up.
Date: 2016-06-14
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: few clouds

Big miles today. It just worked out that way. I wanted to up my average so I can still bank up some zero days if I get sick or am injured again. I hiked through an area of rhoddies in full bloom at Carved Gap. The day was mostly above 5600 feet and the highlands are in bloom. There were hundreds of day hikers out for the scenery and many were weighted down with camera gear and everything else REI sells. Been there done that. I stopped to check out Overmountain Shelter and saw Sunrise and Chuckles. The spot is incredible with a valley view from the lower barn deck. I felt like camping atop the next ridge so I kept going. When I climbed Hump Mountain I got views of three states with the benefit of cool breezes and solitude. It was the most impactful experience to date. I could never capture that in photos. You'd just have to be there. After that I decided to keep going. I wound up coming all the way down the mountain, skirting a bull, and getting picked up by a cool transplant from California. He got me to the market and dropped me at a hostel. There were other hikers there and they fed me spaghetti with garlic bread. After a long day there is nothing better than having someone else cook for you. We sat around and swapped stories before heading to bed. Easy day planned for tomorrow.
Date: 2016-06-15
From: Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 9.0

Today was a Nero for me. I took my time and followed the side trails to see Jones Falls and spent a couple hours at Elk River. The Elk River site was especially neat due to an FGM project that had been done there. FGM is fluvial geomorphology. It happens that I learned about it at PennDOT. We did a good bit of stream relocation and other work and FGM was the latest and greatest thing. Probably still is. It's basically using man made obstacles and other treatments to help both the stream banks and the watercourse itself. I doubt many people could appreciate the work that was done there. I had a nice flat rock to just sit on and be quiet. Had a good soak and swim to recover from yesterday. Later I went up to the next shelter and met 4 others. There was also a set of waterfalls made by a trail crew to provide a natural shower. That was hella nice. Good night to be in a shelter since it rained and rained and then rained harder. Sounded like it would have crushed my tent. There were huge spiders in the shelter but I wasn't missing any fingers or toes the next morning.
Date: 2016-06-16
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 16.0

A nice gradual day. We wanted to get to the next hostel early in order to shuttle into town. I needed to pick up the replacement part for my broken pole and had it sent to the local post office before realizing I could have sent it to the hostel. Kincora is a self serve low key place run by Bob Peoples. Turns out Bob is an ultra volunteer retiree who probably still works harder than most if us. We hitched into town for Subway and some McDonalds (to remind myself why I don't eat it). We reached Bob later and he came into town to pick us up. Bob's place has been operating for 20 years and he has had over 20000 guests. There is no WiFi so we all were forced to talk to each other. Times like that make it apparent how much we can isolate socially even sitting at the same table. It was a great evening with 4 backpackers, another guest, Bob, and his 17 cats. Yep. Oh, and black diamond sent the wrong pole part. I should have made sure they knew it was an older model. Will try again.
Date: 2016-06-17
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Boots Off Hostel
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy day up and over one mountain. I have a mega mail drop in Damascus from Handlebar and Inga, so I'm trolling along to avoid arriving there on Sunday. Bob mentioned a new hostel on this side of the mount so I rolled up to check it out. Outlaw, Rainbow, Library and the Captain were already here so I decided to stay. They do community dinners and allowed me to choose meatballs for everyone. We all cooked and drank some wine for a fine evening. It's impossible to stay up late even with great company though. Had the best night sleep ever in the new bunk house and always appreciate clean sheets. Jim and Jordan are the proprietors and turns out Jordan had lived in Dormont. Small world. Actually me another guy from Dormont southbound yesterday. We agreed that we should get Stanley Cup hiking shirts to remind everyone. This is a new place with work to be done so I'll see if I can help out tomorrow and perhaps impress them with some cooking again. There are 40 miles between here and Damascus. Many try to do it in a day since there are no more huge mountains for a while. I'm drinking tons of water and curious to see if I can do it. I'll decide later. While I'm here I'll also try to straighten out my broken pole situation. I've also had a lot of trouble sleeping with whatever is going on in my right hip. Will look into a hammock setup and perhaps switch to that in Damascus. Terry and Deb had offered to get me a hammock at Christmas and I now regret not taking them up on the offer. Perhaps I'll give him a call...
Date: 2016-06-18
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: Boots Off Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up today and felt better than I had in a long time. The bunk house and mattresses are new, which probably had something to do with it. Nice cool temps and quiet. I like that. Three others headed out to do a slack pack hike ending back at the hostel. I was chillin with coffee, fruit and danish. Didn't take long to decide to nap and take a full zero. I volunteered to cook so I could make Pittsburgh salads for everyone. Jim had a small fryer and three other hikers came in to help prep all the vegetables. Started with some fries and garlic wings as an appetizer. By the time the other s had returned we were ready to build massive salads with fries and cheese on top. An easy way to get your starches fat and protein. I loved making a half gallon of buttermilk ranch to go along with it. After dinner the wine came out and we enjoyed some music and ice cream (thanks Rainbow Momma). Stayed up a bit with Library discussing the Sitchin Earth Chronicles compared to his education. I hope he reads some of those books. It shifted a lot of things for me.