morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Another cold night, but not nearly as bad as last night. Lots of good company though. Sunshine Man, Mouth, and Pipesmoke all left early. I left while the Garland 5 were packing up. The first mile or so was great, but after that it started snowing, the wind picked up, and the temp dropped. Today was my last day in Georgia, on to a new state, North Carolina. And that first climb in the snow was pretty brutal. At lunch i caught up with the early starters along with mike and steve(soon to be scarecrow, he was trying it on for size at this point.) Another 5 miles to standing indian shelter, i bumped into the grandmas again for the 3rd time. Passed a group of boy Scouts on the last mile into the shelter, some of them looked pretty miserable with the cold weather. At the shelter i met Eric, soon to become Hotrock since he is using a hotrock to keep his sleeping bag warm for the night. It worked brilliantly he says by the way.
Date: 2004-04-02
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light rain

First day with my new name Litefoot, for the whole story check out the about my trailname section, Pipesmoke suggested it and Scarecrow agreed so i am ok with it. Today started off looking good, cold but clear sky. It stayed that way while i hiked over standing indian mountain, but after that it turned nasty. I have been wearing all my clothes all day long for the first time. It has kept me warm while i am moving, but i get cold when i stop. It was 29 when i woke up and never got above 35 degrees all day long according to Mouth who has to record all the temps on his trip. Going up Mount Albert was the first stretch of trail that reminded me of the whites, but it was pretty short. Somehow i tweeked my knee coming down the few miles from the summit to Big Spring shelter hopefully it will feel better tomorrow and i wont freeze tonight since it is still really cold out.
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Rainbow springs campround
Miles today: 9.1

Short day into rainbow springs today. I was actually warm last night and it looks like the cold snap has finally passed. Only did about 7 miles today including the mile round trip to see the Wasilik Poplar, the 2nd largest poplar tree in the US. Once in rainbow springs i took a shower and did laundry for the first time. I feel like i am starting over fresh except for my right knee which gave me hell all day long. Hopefully it wont be so bad tomorrow so i can actually cover some miles with this good weather.
Date: 2004-04-04
From: Rainbow springs campround

To: Rainbow springs campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

FIRST ZERO DAYI'm quite bummed about having to do it so early, but my right knee was killing me, it hurt to even walk to the bathroom a hundred yards away. Well i have to take it easy and let it heal or else my trip will be cut very short. So today Mike, or Big Tree now after the Wasilik Poplar, went into Franklin for the day. Tigger a past trhu-hiker who actually bought me dinner last night and her husband drove us into town. We at lunch at the Huddle house then went to the 3 eagle outfitters and hung out for a few hours. It is strange when the social gatherings happen at a random outfitters in a town you have never been to with people you just met a few days before and are now your best friends, But it is a really great feeling. After that we went and got a 12 pack of bud and hitched a ride with a trucker back to the campground. Zero days are expensive and i cant wait to get back on the trail.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: Rainbow springs campground

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Back on the trail and it felt great. Got all packed up and shipped some stuff ahead to Gatlinburg TN, the halfway point of the smokies. We all got a ride to the trailhead in the back of Barry's pickup, Barry owns the campground. Started off slow with scarecrow to test out the knee. After a little while i was alright with that though. I was getting all antsy with the cold weather and wanted to speed up, but this was a good reality check. Life is just as good fast or slow, it is all about the journey. When i got to Siler's Bald I met Roadster and Carrie, I found out later that her name was Grannypants but she didnt tell me that. I took Roadsters camera with me to the top of the Bald and got some great pictures. The views were spectacular. I continued limping my way along and had lunch next to a little stream. After lunch i found Roadster's sweater lying on the side of the trail, I strapped it on my pack and caught up with them to give it back. I decided to go over Wayah Bald when i got to the base since i was feeling good. Wayah is named after the Cherokee word for Wolf, Wa'ya. On top of Wayah Bald was an old Fire tower with plaques that point out the different mountains in the distance. Shortly after descending I turned off into the woods to find a place to camp. I found a beautiful little secluded valley with a stream running through it and set up camp for the night.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Wayah Bald

To: Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Second day out from Rainbow springs. The knee felt great in the morning once i warmed it up, but i should have quite earlier since the last five miles of the day were all down hill and that is when my knee hurts. Well at least i wont have to do it tomorrow morning. The walking stick i picked up coming out of Rainbow Springs has been a lifesaver, i couldnt have made it as far as i did or as fast without it. At times on the downhills i was using it like a crutch, but it allowed me to keep moving. I woke up kinda late today again, seems to be a trend. Wiped the dew off my tent packed up and headed back to the trail. I bumped into Roadster and Carrie right when i got back to the trail. I walked with them while i warmed my knee up. For the rest of the morning i zoned out, i was either daydreaming or thinking about my knee so the miles just flew by. A little after lunch i bumped into Treefrog, and leapfrogged with him for the rest of the day. When i got to Wesser shelter i should have stopped with Homer and Hotrock, but it didnt register that the next five miles were all down hill so i continued on. So i took my time and used the walking stick a lot and eventually got here, hopefully without damaging my knee any more. Strung up a Bear bag and crashed for the night.
Date: 2004-04-07
From: Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: overcast clouds

In the the NOC, Nantahala Outdoor Center, today. The first mile of the day was all downhill, not to friendly on my knee. NOC was very cool though. A tourist Mecca, but still cool. It is mainly set up to deal with whitewater rafting and kayaking, but they are quite friendly to thru-hikers since the trail crosses the river on their bridge. I got a chance to take a shower, do my laundry, cut my nails, and do some pack and tent maintenance, along with resupply on the food and fuel. Which was great all in one place, and it gave me some time to heal since it was a low mileage day. Leaving NOC and going up to Sassafrass gap shelter was just that UP. It was a good work out, but not to bad, just continuous. I think i am starting to get in shape, if only my knee would catch up, it helps finally having my trekking poles though. I learned about Indian trail trees from Welsh Nomad today. The native americans in the area would bend a tree and tie it off so that it would point toward water sources and other usefull things. It seems really cool. I caught up with Craig today, it seems he is doing well hiking with Meanderthal.
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Walker Gap
Miles today: 18.0

Saw an Awesome moon last night, I woke up and looked out the window and saw a very bright almost full moon with a few wisps of clouds to give it that eerie look. I would have taken a picture, but my camera was at the bottom of my pack. I woke up to ten people packing at the same time, Man was it loud. I took my time getting ready and i left at around 9. Did a good 7 mile stretch to stecoah gap where i at 2 lunches, the appetite is building. As i was packing up and getting ready to go Wayne caught up with me, we spent the rest of the day hiking together, the day and miles go by quickly when you have someone to talk to. We decided that we probably weren't going to make it to fontana dam before everything closed so we stopped at Walker gap and camped for the night. Wayne is carrying a magnetic Battleship game, so we played that before retiring for the night.
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Walker Gap

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

Great day today, Woke up and took my time with breakfast and packing. Wayne left early to meet his friend Josh. Grasshopper came by while i was making breakfast. I took it real slow going down the 3 miles to fontana Marina. The knee is healing, but it is really stiff in the morning and the whole 3 miles was downhill. Met up with Craig at the Marina and took a shuttle into town for a buck. At the parking lot where i got dropped off was grasshopper again, Lonesome dove(I was carrying her glove for her and she was very happy to get it back, it is nice to be part of a little trail magic), saltlick, digit(a forest ranger who is being paid to hike the trail), Catdog, and another guy i cant remember his name. I sat down to hang out for a little while and Grasshopper started offering me all sorts of food. So i ended up with an overfull bag of food from him(parts of it lasted me until Erwin TN). I ran into Meanderthal who was looking for craig so i directed him to the hike in where they were sharing a room. Also saw sunshine man and mouth, with his parents. After wasting some time i walked up to the outfitters with saltlick to get some fuel. I took the shuttle back to the marina where i ran into hotrock and grasshopper again. We started walking the two miles to Fontana Dam. Grasshopper and i started talking and it turns out he has already hiked both the AT and the PCT. This is his second time hiking the AT and when he gets into new england he is thinking of jumping over to either the PCT again of the CDT then coming back and flipflopping the rest of the AT. At the fontana Hilton(a shelter at the dam) we saw a big black snake, im not sure what type it was. They had run out of Smokey mountain hiker registration forms, but luckily Digit had an extra one he gave to me. On to the visitor center, which unfortunately was closed. but the shower room was still open and free, so i cleaned up and called home then pushed on into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. It was a pretty good 10 mile climb up to the shelter and my knee started to complain a few miles away. I still made the 10 miles in just under five hours which ain't too bad. And i got to watch a beautiful sunset as i was coming up the ridge. Wayne and his friend Josh were already here and set up. I set up my tent since the shelter was almost full and cooked dinner as it was getting dark. Wayne and i shared stories of our day and a little scotch that josh had brought, then is was time to retire. Fell asleep to the sound of coyotes in the distance and horses next to the shelter(they are allowed in the smokies.)
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Siler's Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Feeling great today, the middle couple miles dragged, but the rest of the day flew by. Started late again today, only Wayne and Josh were after me. Passed a few people who looked pretty worn out, while i actually felt like bouncing since my knee was healing nicely. Passed a couple of horses on the trail, but other than that a pretty uneventful day. I decided to stop at Siler's Bald shelter instead of going another two miles to the next shelter at the base of Clingman's Dome to give myself a little warm up before tackling the highest peak on the whole Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Siler's Bald Shelter

To: Icewater Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: moderate rain

EASTERGot up early today, for once i wasnt the last one out of the shelter. Cruised to the next shelter where some weekend hikers were handing out candy for easter. I stopped and had a little snack with them then headed on toward Clingman's. I was expecting a pretty strenuous hike since it is the highest mountain on the whole AT. It turned out to be fairly gradual and quite and easy climb. At the top there was a spiral ramp that lead up to an observation tower, but when i got to the top all i could see was white since it was completely socked in. Sunshine(a different one), 2 cents, and cocoon were up there with me. Since i was going into Gatlinburg that afternoon i left early. the walk down Clingmans was very muddy and snowy. Then once i got to the base there is another 5 miles of walking through a muddy pine forest till you get to newfound gap. Even though it was muddy it was quite beautiful and i had a great time walking through that section. At newfound gap i got quite a lot of strange looks from the driving visitors who arent used to seeing a wet dirty person carrying a backpack and planning on walking to maine. a little bit of culture shock for them. This one girl ran into a group of hikers on clingmans and thought they were making the whole thing up when they said they started in Georgia and were heading to maine. Anyway i got a hitch into town in the back of a pickup being driven by three Cherokee's. It was a beautiful ride down the valley, but a little cold since it was drizzling out. Once in G'burg i went to the local outfitter the Happy Hiker to pick up my town box and bounce it forward. There i met up with flippy and vocal who i havent seen since my first night on the trail, along with Opelika, speedstick, norway, and big county. Or the Offensive six as they like to call themselves. I raided the hiker box and got all my food for the next section so i didnt have to go to the market then went to the brewery to join up with the Offensive 6. Had a Beer and a Pizza with them then headed back to the trailhead. It took me a while to get a hitch since it was getting late. Eventually i got back up to Newfound gap and hiked the three miles into Icewater shelter. I was about a half mile out when it started to get dark, and i heard some coyotes howling in the distance. Since it was a little early for coyotes i knew it was the offensive six making a scene as they pulled into the shelter. I pulled into the shelter and heard about their drunken escapades getting back to the shelter. Speedstick was the drunkest of the group and kept trying to fall asleep on the trail, and big county had to carry his pack for him to the shelter.
Date: 2004-04-12
From: Icewater shelter

To: Tricorner shelter
Miles today: 12.6

Soggy day today, up to charlie's bunion and beyond. the whole day was completely socked in. Im sure this stretch would have been beautiful if you could actually see. You spend the whole day walking along a ridgeline that drops off to both sides. Tricorner shelter tonight and out of the smokies tomorrow. Kinda Surreal Experience today only being able to see 20 ft in any direction.
Date: 2004-04-13
From: Tricorner shelter

To: Mountain Momma's
Miles today: 15.7

Very wet night last night, there was thunder and lightning and a whole lot of rain. We woke up in the middle of the night to find a river running through our shelter. It seeped in under one of the walls and pooled in the middle of the shelter then ran out the fence in the front. Luckily i hung up all my stuff the night before so i stayed relatively dry compared to most people. Started off the day in heavy rain, the trails were completely flooded, it was like hiking in a stream. I thought it was hilarious actually seeing how much water there was. At 1 i pulled into the cosby knob shelter and met up with flippy, monkey man, switchback, zippy, and injen. Everyone was talking about pushing on to Mountain Momma's and her huge cheeseburgers, but i was the only one who decided to make the 9 mile push in 3 hrs. I got in just in time to get a huge cheeseburger, man was it good. Then i took a shower and did some laundry and resupplied for the 35 miles to hotsprings. I bunked with sojourner, a nice guy who has been to the himalayas. Rob was the 3rd hiker to stay the night. He had left his tent poles at Icewater shelter two days ago and almost hiked back to get them in the rain. he made it about 2 miles before deciding that was a bad idea.
Date: 2004-04-14
From: Mountain Momma's

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 16.0

Started the day off great today. Had A great breakfast cooked for me, then packed up and took the shuttle back to the trailhead. As we were getting in the car it started to rain. Turns out the rain was only in the lower elevations, by the time we got to the trailhead it was snow. The first stretch was gorgeous, a little stream was cascading next to the trail. A little later we crossed the first interstate on the AT, then it was a 7 mile uphill climb into a winter wonderland. It was very eerie to hike in though cause the fog was so thick you could only see a few feet, the trail would disappear in front of you and behind. Along the way i passed a southbounder who said it was really nasty up on Max patch, so i decided to camp at the base and let the storm blow over.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: Max Patch

To: Deer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Damn was it cold last night. I wore everything i had and burrowed into my sleeping bag and i was just barely warm. not comfortable, but warm. I am very glad i stopped before max patch yesterday because there was a beautiful 360 degree view to start my day. As the day wore on and i descended in elevation it kept getting warmer and nicer. Not a cloud in the sky all day long. I hiked about 17 miles today feeling better and better all day long. At one point i stopped on a grassy road to air out my socks and shoes, it was so nice i took off my shirt and lay in the sun for a little while. I'm at Deer mountain shelter for the night, only 3 miles from Hot Springs and Trailfest tomorrow. Right before dark arms came rolling into camp and reminded me of a section of trail i passed today. It was crazy because you could smell it before you got to it. There was a section of trail that was burned in a forest fire, it was strange cause at certain points the fire appeared to jump for no apparent reason. It was probably the wind, but some of the jumps didnt make sense even for the wind.
Date: 2004-04-16
From: Deer Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy start today, we woke up late when breathless and speed left the shelter. Arms and i were the last to leave and we got into town a little after 10. We rolled over to the outfitters to see whats going on, and check out the situation for Trailfest. They told us about some free camping at the silvermine campsite about a half mile out of town. Before claiming a site we decided to eat breakfast at the smokey mountain diner. Eric and Jess were going into the restaurant when we arrived so we joined them for breakfast. We saw a newspaper on the table and got some of the first news of the outside world for the whole trip. It is a different world in the woods, you kinda forget about everything else that is going on in the world. After breakfast Arms and i went to check out the library and see if we could get online, but it was closed so we decided to grab a pitcher at the pub five minutes after it opened. Angela the bartender was very nice and we hung out with her for a little while then went to the free camping to claim a space for the night. We were some of the first people to arrive at the campground, only digit, boo-boo, and yurtle were there before us. we set up our tents, hung out for a little while and headed back into town for another pitcher before the AYCE spaghetti dinner. the spaghetti dinner was great, all you can eat and original music to eat to. Tacoma ted was playing on the bench next to our table and he was playing all songs he wrote about the trail. After the meal arms and i took a walk to try and digest before heading back to the bar. After a couple hours people started leaving and we heard about a bonfire in the campsite, so we left the bar and headed over. Obviously bonfires are real easy to find, you just head to the largest light source. There were at least 20 thru-hikers around the bonfire all just hanging out and having a grand old time. Someone had brought a guitar and it was passed around for people to play songs and sing along. At about 3 am it started to die down, so it was back to the campsite and the real festival tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Hot Springs

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

Very slow start today, a little to much to drink last night. Digit, Boo-Boo, and the hobbits were all completely packed up when i was just starting. once i was packed i went into town for the AYCE Breakfast. It was a great meal, i had to force myself to stop so i could hike afterwards. After breakfast i hit up the outfitters for some ziplock bags to put my food in, then back to the trail. I was getting really antsy spending so much time in one place. The first couple of miles sucked. I was hung over, overly full, and it was all uphill. I just took it easy and stopped when necessary. After about 4 miles i caught up with opelika and the hobbits sitting at a pond with a dam. there were a whole bunch of frogs mating in the pond and fish swimming around. While sitting there opie and i were talking about how arms had left the night before at 4 am while he was completely hammered. We both thought he would be long gone by that point. As we were saying this i turned around and saw arms sitting at the other end of the pond feeding the fish, and he had been sitting there for 2-3 hrs already. Continueing on past the pond to the first shelter 10 miles in, it was only 4 when i arrived so i pushed on another 4-5 miles to allen gap. Monkey man was aready there so i joined him in the campsite and a few minutes later Opelika and NRChi showed up as well. On the way down to the campsite i ran into two past thru-hikers who are SOBO a section this year, Jan Lightyear or Lightshoe, and Stumpknocker.
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Allen Gap

To: Random Barn
Miles today: 21.2

First 20 mile day, 21.2 actually. I was the last one to wake up and the last one to leave camp. It was a pretty good climb up the four miles to the first shelter. When i was getting water at the first shelter i noticed a spiders web a few feet away from the source. I went over to check it out and as soon as i squatted down to get a closer look the spider jumped and started to cocoon a bug that had just hit the web. It only took about a minute for him to completely wrap up the bug and inject him with the liquifying poison they use to eat them. I have never seen that live in my life and it was so cool to be able to witness it. After the shelter it was another 2 miles up to the ridge line, and what a spectacular ridge line it was. I first went to a view off Whiterock cliffs, then Blackstack cliffs. Both were very good views, but then the trail got awesome. There was a stretch of rock hopping very reminiscent of the whites, I actually had to use my hands during a few stretches. I caught up with NRChi and Opelika at Jerry's cabin and Monkey man showed up shortly after. the next stretch was really easy, mostly flat with a little downhill. When i got to flint mtn. shelter sunshine was already there. After a quick rinse off in the stream to get rid of some salt i headed out for another four miles to an old abandoned(at least i think it was abandoned) barn right next to a great stream. I found a tarp that had blown off the door threw it down on the hay and crashed for the night. First 20 mile day, I'm spending the night in an unusual place, and to top it all off i feel great.