morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-03-15
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 10.8

The rain that started last Monday finally quit last night. The roofs of many of the GSM shelters are metal with a translucent section, and the rain drops are very, very noisy. The rain stopped sometime after midnight, but not the wind - it was still howling. We were the first up again and I was more efficient today, so we actually left just about the time there was enough light to see the path (barely). We expected it to be a little warmer than yesterday, but the wind made it seem colder. As I mentioned yesterday, Clingman's Dome is our big target today, so we have a lot of climbing, but the distance is not as long as yesterday. The front end of the hike was all climb, first up Mt. Clemmons and then up Clingman's Dome. The climbs were long and steep with a lot of log steps. When we got close to the top of Clingman, Ranger waited for us at the trail sign we misread last year and we took pictures. Last year we screwed up and took a side trail that ended up at the parking lot, and then had to climb back up to the trail at the top of the mountain. This year we did better. We did climb the observation tower and it was really windy. So we only stayed long enough for record photos. Starting down the mountain was a whole new adventure. The trail was full of ice (northern face of the mountain), much more than we expected and far more than last year. Princess and I wore microspikes, but I still slipped and fell shortly after we encountered it. Princess and Ranger learned how to navigate through it. It took us a long time to get down. Last year we called this section the "Enchanted Forest," this year "IceCapades" is more appropriate. The trail coming down from Clingman's winds through a beautiful pine forest. We really enjoyed it last year, but the combination of ice and snow made it much more difficult this time. We passed the 200 mile mark near Mt. Love, about a half-mile down from the top of Clingman. We couldn't find an official sign, so Ranger made one of sticks. As we came down we met a half dozen or so day hikers headed up to Clingman. It was a great day for a hike with very mild weather. Eventually we popped out on US 441 at Newfound Gap. Godspeed, a previous AT hiker greeted us on the trail just before the gap and offered trail magic. Ranger's wife, Gay was waiting on us at the parking lot and told him we were getting close so he walked down the trail to meet us. We planned to eat in Gatlinburg, but couldn't resist his cookies & soda. Unfortunately, as I explained yesterday, a faucet at Ranger's home failed and did considerable water damage. So Ranger had to head home with Gay to deal with the issue and couldn't finish the Smokeys with us as planned. But they gave us a ride into Gatlinburg and we had a good lunch with them at the Smoky Mountain Brewery brewpub before they left. Then we settled into the Grand Prix Motel and cleaned up our gear. We have our first zero day scheduled tomorrow. I am so ready, and I need to catch up on my TJ entries.
Date: 2015-03-16
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, our first zero. In Gatlinburg. We hoped that Ranger would be with us, but a home emergency prevented that. We have an inexpensive room at the Grand Prix Motel. It's very close to the main drag in town, and it has a laundry, which is a big plus. The motel is hiker friendly with a special hiker rate and there is a shuttle service to Newfound Gap. It's not top-of-the-line accommodations, but it's good for hikers and we've seen several staying here. Acceptably clean, fridge, micro, TV, AC. The more manager pointed us toward Bennett's as a good breakfast spot. He was right. The buffet price was right and the food was good, fresh fruit, lots of bacon, gravy & biscuits, etc. Gatlinburg has a Starbucks (big time), and an abundance of BBQ restaurants. I thought I was doing well after the hike yesterday, but after a shower, I found a big nasty blood blister on my big toe. Probably a result of the downhill pounding on the descent from Clingman's Dome. Princess ministered to the blister and eventually we decided to open it. We're not sure it was the right decision, but once you start down that path - there's no retreat. We have peroxide, antibiotic cream, band aids and coverings, so we did it. We found a bar with a patio along a small stream and Princess and I spent the afternoon there with my foot propped up in the sunlight. Gatlinburg also has an outfitter, an offshoot of the N(anatahala) O(utdoor) C(enter) or NOC. It's very well equipped and very hiker friendly. We had a mail drop sent here and it was waiting on us. Of course we found a few more things to buy.We had talked about the possibility of zeroing 2 days in Gatlinburg when ranger learned of his water problem at home. We thought that 2 days might give him more time to resolve the issues and perhaps return to finish the Smokeys with us. Also, we knew my blister would need more time to reach hiking condition. So we extended our stay to 2 zero days. We returned to the Smoky Mountain Brewery and I enjoyed a couple more pale ales. We saw Maverick there and talked with him for a while.It turned out that Ranger couldn't make it back to hike with us, so that strategy didn't work. But I don't think I could have hiked on my toe regardless. So here we are. We enjoyed a gorgeous day with balmy temps in the 70's and clear skies, wishing we were on the trail. Especially when the weather forecast indicates rain on Wednesday. It will probably change.
Date: 2015-03-17
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. There was a lot of green in the streets here in Gatlinburg as we relaxed on our second straight zero day. We had breakfast at Bennett's again and enjoyed it just as much as yesterday. Essentially the day was mostly the same as yesterday. Trips to Walgreens, Starbucks, NOC, deli, bank, and doing laundry. We had another round of beers a the Smoky Mountain Brewery and finished the afternoon at Calhoun's with a rack of BBQ ribs. Princess spent a lot of time planning food for the next 2 days (we have to camp tomorrow night) and making arrangements for the next 2 weeks or so at hostels, etc. It takes a lot of time and phone calls, but I think she has it worked out. We sent our only stove home with Ranger, so we won't have any "hot" water for coffee or dehydrated meals. But we don't expect to be camping for more than one night at a time and we can endure sandwiches and snack bars rather than carry a stove and fuel on our backs. Princess also sent a few items back home via NOC that she doesn't expect to need, so her pack will be lighter still. At this point, we don't see any seriously cold weather in the horizon, so we may be fortunate. Otherwise, we'll have to hunker down in a town or hostel. But we are looking at rain for the rest of the week, after 2 beautiful zero days.
Date: 2015-03-21
From: Lemon Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 14.8

Weather forecasts be damned. Last night the prediction indicated a very low probability of rain this morning. When we got up at 5:30, it was still foggy and drizzling. So, we made some gear adjustments and finished packing. Today we're leaving Standing Bear Hostel and Lumpy is shuttling us to Lemon Gap. We're headed NoBo today and we'll be carrying our full packs. When we cleared out of our room, we still had time for coffee and a sausage sandwich in the do-it-yourself hostel kitchen. Then we piled in the Subaru and Lumpy drove us out to the Lemon Gap trailhead. The drive was challenging for Lumpy, after ten minutes on the expressway, the rest of the drive was a winding, gravel road up the mountain. It drizzled all the way and halfway up the hill we were enveloped in fog. Not a good start. But that was the worst of it. We started out with our ponchos, but stowed them during the first climb. We had 2 climbs early in the hike, first Walnut Mountain and then Bluff Mountain. The weather progressively improved, but the fog still shrouded the mountaintops. So no long-range views from the mountain creats. After the initial climbs it turned into a near perfect hiking day. Warm and eventually sunny. We made pretty good time and reached Hot Springs by about 1:15. As we passed the Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge we were greeted by Trouble, a hiker we met on the trail last year. We talked for a few minutes and learned that Chuck & Tigger are no longer at the hostel. We also met them on the trail last year. We really liked them and were sad we couldn't say hello. The AT passes directly through the heart of Hot Springs (not a large town) and we picked up some supplies at the Dollar General and a beverage store. We had reservations at the Creekside Courts and we lost no time unpacking, cleaning up, doing the laundry, and having lunch at the Spring Creek Tavern (we were pleased to see that they posted our Katahdin postcard on the wall). We also made a stop at the Bluff Mountain Outfitters and made arrangements for a shuttle ride on Monday morning. Tomorrow is a zero day for us and we plan to relax and perhaps take advantage of the hot springs spa just down the street. But the first order of business will be breakfast at the Great Smokey Mountain Diner.
Date: 2015-03-22
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Oops, I didn't get to the Smokey Mountain Diner this morning as I suggested yesterday. When I finally woke up this AM, it was too late for breakfast and Princess had already visited Dollar General, Bluff Mountain Outfitters, and the coffee shop. We had a good zero here in Hot Springs. It really is a trail town, especially in March & April when the northbound hikers are going through. Every time we crossed the main street, we saw hikers we knew. The Spring Creek Tavern has a great covered patio and we had lunch and dinner there. We spent some time with Snow Zombie. He has some interesting stories to tell and he hopes to hike later on the trail with his father and possibly his brother. He started the trail in February and he was prepared for really cold weathers (zero degree bag, etc.). He's spent time in Minnesota and N Dakota. But when he encountered freezing rain he didn't have a good plan for getting his bear bag down.We also took in the hot springs here in Hot Springs. It's a short walk from our motel. We tried it last year and thought it would be a good idea for sore muscles. It's much like a hot tub, except filled with mineral water. We signed up for an hour and it felt so good that we reserved another time slot tomorrow. We noticed that the parking lot was full, and there were virtually no openings available. Apparently the springs are popular. Tomorrow we're headed out early. We have arrangements with Bluff Mtn Outfitters for a shuttle to Allen Gap and we plan to SoBo back here to Hot Springs. So we have one more night here.
Date: 2015-03-24
From: Allen Gap

To: Devils Fork Gap
Miles today: 20.8

We had a challenging hike ahead of us, so we were up early packing our slack-packs. This was also our last day in Hot Springs, so we had to stash the balance of our stuff in our back packs. Ranger and Gay generously offered to carry our packs to our next stop in Erwin, TN, an offer we couldn't refuse. Daniel picked us up at the outfitters and we headed out promptly to the Allen Gap AT trailhead. It was the same place he took us yesterday except now we were headed NoBo. We climbed out of his van and headed north, up the hill. The day was off to a great start, temps were mild and the forecast was good. Last year at this point we were not so lucky. The weather was very cold and windy, and the trail was snowy and icy in spots. As we crossed Big Firescald Knob we had the option of following the AT along the exposed rocky ridge,or taking the bad weather trail that reconnected with the AT further on. Last year we took the bad weather trail (and I ended up covered with snow from the rhodos). But since the weather today was so beautiful, we decided to take the ridge line. It was a great hike over rocky outcroppings and afforded great views. We passed Ironman Jack and his son Just Pete on the ridge enjoying the views. Not long after we passed Firescald, we passed another milestone, the 300 mile point on the AT. We couldn't find a trail sign, so we made one of our own. A bit later we came across a small group of trail volunteers from the Carolina Mountain Club who were in the process of opening a new section of trail. It replaces a section of very rocky ridge line with very steep downhills. We were the 4th and 5th hikers to take the new trail. It ran for about 3 miles and was a pleasant downhill. Our only issue was that the blazes are too sparse, the maintainer said every 1/4 mile. But this seemed too far apart for a new trail. They had some pink markers at turns that helped, but they needed more. Mike from the Cantarroso Farm at Erwin picked us up at Devils Fork Gap. We plan to stay at Cantarroso for 4 days. It's a fabulous place with a range of accommodations and amenities, in the 2nd year of operation. And our backpacks were already here, courtesy of Ranger & Gay. Mike & Peg, the owners, joined us at dinner at Primos, a really good Italian place. While we were at dinner, Mike picked up Maverick from the hospital and he joined us for dinner. Maverick injured his foot, not broken, but swollen and sore and in a cast. So now he joins Wye Knot, also here, who has a broken wrist. On the way back to the farm, we picked up supplies at the Walmart. Today was our longest day so far, but we have an even longer hike planned tomorrow. So we prepped our packs and went to bed early.
Date: 2015-03-26
From: Spivey Gap

To: River Road
Miles today: 11.1

After a series of long hikes, today was like a Nero to us. WyeKnot joined us again as well as Maverick. Maverick took a zero yesterday to let his ankle rest and felt that today's hike would be a good opportunity to give it a road test. The weather report for today has improved all week (the really bad weather has shifted to Friday). And the weather today was great, warm and dry. The trail is in perfect shape, no mud, no slick spots. Mike took the four of us out to Spivey Gap, where we stopped yesterday. The light was better today and we set out just about 7:00. Princess took off and I didn't see her again until the top of the hill. WyeKnot stayed with me for a bit, then got restless and moved ahead faster. Maverick took his time and was careful with his ankle. So we spread out pretty fast.I remembered the first part of the hike from last year. The first part of the climb was along a mountain stream, and we crossed the stream several times on bridges. We climbed for a little over a mile, then most of the rest of the day was downhill with only a couple of smaller climbs. As we started down from the first hill I saw Maverick coming down a long switchback across a draw. He said he was doing OK and I moved on. I caught up with Princess and WyeKnot at a shelter about 5 miles into the hike and we grabbed a bite and some water before moving on. The rest of the hike was very pleasant, but uneventful. Near the end, we had a long descent into Erwin, TN. Several lookout points offered fabulous views of the town and the Nolichucky River, and I grabbed several pics. The trees around here are really beginning to blossom and add a bit of color to the landscape. We crossed the river into Erwin slightly ahead of schedule at 11:30. We started to walk to the Cantarroso (less than a mile), but Mike intercepted us and drove us back. After cleaning up, washing clothes, doing some housekeeping chores and napping a bit, Mike and Peggy drove us all back to Primos for another great dinner. Then Mike ran past Hal's for an absolutely superior milk shake. Tomorrow will be different. It has already started to rain and that will continue while the temp drops. The rain may taper off around midday, but the temp will be mostly around 40 and then drop to freezing Fri night. Things will improve next week, we just have to tough it out for 3 days or so.
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: River Road
Miles today: 20.2

After several beautiful hiking days, we were due for a tough one (or two). A cold front is sweeping in today, bringing rain and plunging temps. Mike drove Princess, Maverick and I to Iron Mountain Gap in a drizzle. The temp was hovering around 40 when we set out, but began dropping as we climbed.For me, today was an opportunity to check out some new gear. Several days ago I ordered a custom-sized poncho from Zpack. I've been using the Zpack poncho I got last year, but it's too short, it barely reaches my mid-thigh, and my pants end up wet from the pockets down. So we ordered a new large poncho an extra 12 inches long. Today was a good test and it worked fine. We started off in rain, then sleet and light snow. The poncho kept me dry and was good wind protection as well. Hats off to Zpack, now we have their tent and gloves as well. The weather was the big issue today. As we started at the gap, it was still raining. But as we climbed, the temp dropped and the rain turned to snow. The coldest point was at the top of Unaka Mtn. The top of the mountain was a pine forest that helped block the wind, so it could have been worse. Most of the morning was cold with strong winds, especially on the balds. In several areas, fog closed in and formed ice sculptures on the trees as it froze on the branches. Eventually, we descended to lower elevations and the temps warmed above freezing. But it was a long hike and the last several miles seemed endless. The trail was busy today. We were slack-packing SoBo, so we expected to see a number of hikers and we did. Some that we knew included Boondoggle & That Guy (now known as the Diabolical Duo), Cookie Monster and Happy Feet, Pa Bert, Jesse, Hawkeye, Imp, Stretch, Fern, Chou, Moglie, and a new hiker named Dow. It was great fun seeing all of them, and in several cases we may not see them again. So tonight we're packing to leave Cantarroso Farm. Leaving is always tough, but this time it's really tough because Mike and Peggy have been so hospitable and inclusive. They really have opened their house and their friends to us and we are greatful for the opportunity to stay here. Tomorrow we have a shorter hike, but tougher weather. So we plan to wear everything we have that is warm. We'll be carrying our full packs (which are pretty light at this point), so we'll have all our gear. Maverick plans to take the shuttle with us tomorrow, but he expects to stay in the Roan Mountain Shelter rather than Mountain Harbor, where we're headed.
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Yup, we chickened out. We planned a 15.9 mile hike across Roan Mountain, peaking at 6,212 ft., finishing at Carvers Gap. But this morning the weather was bitterly cold with 15 mph winds gusting to 25 at the shelter, yielding a wind chill of 1 to 11 deg - frostbite territory. So we opted to zero and called everyone to bump us a day to the right. Maverick agreed. Then we all went back to sleep. When we woke at 10, the sun was shining and it looked beautiful outside - until we opened the door and the wind hit us. We made the right decision. Shortly afterward 2 other hikers showed up, who came to the same conclusion. Considering the weather today and tonight they didn't want to hike or stay in a shelter. So besides Maverick, we now have Scratchy Wolf and Happy Baby.Peggy drove Princess and the other hikers into town for supplies and now we're just lounging around their house. Earlier, 3 kayakers were enjoying the rapids in front of the house (it's warmer here in Erwin than up in the hills). So we plan to hike out tomorrow. The temps are predicted to be warmer and Monday it's expected to be warm enough to rain. If all goes well, we'll hike into Damascus, VA next Saturday. Just in time to enjoy the Damascus Brewery.
Date: 2015-03-31
From: Carvers Gap

To: 19E
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Mary's breakfast was even better this morning than yesterday. It was a real gourmet spread. If you're interested, I put the details in "Mary and her Mountain Harbour "Gourmet" Hikers Breakfast" photo description. After we gorged ourselves, Mary drove us to Carvers Gap. Our plan was to slack-pack NoBo back to 19E where we could walk down the road to Mountain Harbour. And the plan worked perfectly. A little background: Sunday, when we finished our hike across Roan Mountain,we got a shuttle from Carvers Gap into Mountain Harbour. Then we consulted the weather and decided NOT to do the next 2 day hikes in sequence. Monday was rainy, so we took a shuttle north to a forest road and hiked the relatively flat section south back to the B&B. So today when the weather forecast was warmer and clear, we took the shuttle south, back to up where we left off at Carvers Gap and hiked north into Mountain Harbour. Today's hike took us over several balds and mountains to elevations over 6,000 ft. We knew that the peaks are colder and much windier, but mostly we wanted clear weather so we could enjoy the views. The weather forecast was right and conditions today were much better than yesterday. The climbs today were long and tough, but the views were rewarding. The mountaintop environments are really different, and it seems like you can see mountain range after range into the distance. It's pretty awesome. We saw surrounding valleys and towns, a forest fire (probably a controlled burn), ski slopes, monument markers, the tops of mountains we just climbed and the tops of mountains that we had to climb next. Mostly the tops of today's mountains were large grassy, windswept balds with occasional rock outcroppings, and a few wooden fence lines (no trees whatsoever). As we came down from the balds and entered the treelike, it was clear that life on the bald is harsh. The trees were short and knarly. We were happy that we had waited a day to finish this section. Hikers who did it yesterday said it was much colder and windier and very few views. They also reported a lot of ice on the rocks on the north side of the mountain. I think the extra day made a big difference. We wore our micro-spikes, but we didn't see much ice and what we did see was softer. Today's conquests included Round Bald, Jane Bald, Grassy Ridge Bald, Little Hump Mountain, and Hump Mountain. Another highlight is that we crossed the NC-TN border a final time, so we can tick off a second state. Tomorrow we shuttle north to the forest service road and push north with our full packs. We're hoping for a little more nice weather before the rain returns.