morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-04-14
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

So far, today has been my worst day. I decided to skip resupplying in Fontana and hold off until Gatlinburg, which was a big mistake. I overestimated my remaining food inventory and ended up skimping on vital calories. It is not a mistake I will make again soon.The day started out with BAM, Maximus, Kiddo, and I filling out our permits for the Smoky Mountains State Park and then there was a swift 2,000 feet climb out of Fontana Dam. These climbs are getting worse, especially without any nutrition. After about 5 miles, I got fairly lightheaded and sat next to a spring for about an hour. I ate some of the little trailmix I had. This helped give me a bit of energy to get to one shelter shy of where BAM, Maximus, and Kiddo were staying. I met some generous day-hikers who gave me 3 tortillas (which have more calories than tree bark) and some hot cocoa packets. I also met Carl, the ridgerunner who had been clearing trees all day because of the high winds we have been experiencing.
Date: 2011-04-15
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Springs Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was far better than yesterday. The terrain was much easier and I had a bit more nourishment to help sustain me. I wanted to push for a 20-miler to get closer to Gatlinburg, TN but ran out of daylight. I stopped for lunch at a shelter and saw Carl again. I also met up with Jon, James, and Alien again. We all continued on to the next shelter together. On the way to the next shelter I noticed a small animal on the forest floor just left of the trail. I thought it was a raccoon or an oppossum at first because of the small size. As I approached it, it skirted the tree trunk and fearlessly skurried across the trail, nearly running into me. It was then that I realized that this unsupervised bear cub would have a much larger, meaner chaparone in the vicinity. I quickly backpeddaled down the trail from which I had just come about 100 yards. I waited for 10 minutes and then cautiously approached the area again in hopes the cub had been summoned by its mother. Alas, the little guy was still trying to climb the same tree about 2 feet off the ground! He could not have cared less that I was walking right beside him. Like I said, fearless! I retreated back down the trail again and ran into James, waited for a few seconds, and Jon rounded the corner. We all three decided to walk briskly together to pass the area. This passing proved successful...there was no cub or mama bear in sight! This little guy was probably only about 5 lbs, about the size of a chihuahua. I have never seen a bear this small!When walking on the exposed peaks, the winds were so fierce that they could almost knock you down. Getting hit in the face by a cloud doesn't hurt as much as you would think. They were just flying past!Once I got to the shelter, the heavens opened again and horrendous rain started pouring.
Date: 2011-04-16
From: Double Springs Gap Shelter

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

I left early this morning although there was still rain and high winds. I got to Clingman's Dome, the highest peak on the trail (6600 feet) with zero visibility so that was a bit disappointing. All the rain had caused the trail to flood and most of the day it was as if I was walking up and down creeks. Serena was nice enough to drive up and meet me at Indian Gap and we walked the last 2 miles to Newfound Gap together. It was great to see her, especially since I was coasting in on fumes thanks to my miscalculated food inventory. This was another welcome opportunity to wash clothes and take a shower.Serena graciously gave rides to Kiddo, BAM, Maximus, Jon, James, and myself to the supermarket to resupply our food. We then met up with at the local Brewhouse later that evening for well deserved dinner, drinks, and other off-trail tomfoolery. Alien, Oompa, Gator, and Boyscout joined us. Good times were had by all, especially when the kitchen caught on fire and the restaurant was evacuated! Alien busted out some pretty sweet professional dance moves and was throwing Serena and Kiddo around effortlessly. We retired well past hiker's midnight.
Date: 2011-04-17
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

This is my first zero day, which is a full 24 hours of no hiking (zero miles). Serena and I asked the well-fed local at the front desk of the motel where we could find the best of the 400 pancake places in Gatlinburg. She directed us to the Pancake Pantry, which surprisingly does not accept plastic, but was an excellent breakfast choice. Dad came in today from Asheville around noon, thanks to Blob's friend giving him a lift so that he could do a few days of hiking. The three of us took a trip up to Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point on the trail at 6600 feet elevation. It was actually great weather, especially compared to yesterday when I passed by and had zero visibility. We ran into Sketch, Chaco, and Sherpa Mom who were hiking through and stopped at the area to take pictures. Later, Serena and I spent a while catching up on journals and adding pics while Dad took a cheeky nap. We all had dinner at Bubba Gump's, which was rather nice, then ended the evening with a wee pint at the local brewery, which did NOT catch on fire tonight!
Date: 2011-04-18
From: Gatlinburg

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

We got up early this morning and had the hotel breakfast before Serena drove us up to Newfound Gap to start the hike with Dad. We legged it up the first hill rather quickly and got some excellent views of Charlie's Bunion, which is a rocky outcrop with a tremendous view. It felt amazing to be fully rested and hydrated for a change. I'll have to recharge my batteries more often in the future. The weather was surprisingly nice and the views of the mountain ranges were spectacular. We bumped into a few section hikers who offered us some oreos, which we gladly accepted. Dad impressed me by keeping up with my pace and making it to the next shelter, where we met up with Gator, Chicago, Triple A, Hooker, and a few others.
Date: 2011-04-19
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Dad and I hit the trail at a good time this morning and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. The terrain was considerably easier than yesterday, probably 75% downhill. It was also the most crowded I have seen the trail so far, which is to be expected in the Smokies in the spring. We decided that we would push on to the hostel since we heard they had pizza and burgers. Upon getting to the hostel, we were offered a ride by the proprietor into town to purchase a few adult beverages, which we were very excited about. We were able to cool them in the creek running through the frounds of the farm. We heard through other hikers that they were planning to slackpack back to the hostel the next day. Standing bear farm was to host a soiree the following evening which many of us wanted to attend. This is when the slackpacking idea came about. Slackpacking is where you hike a section of the trail with just day packs, not the full backpacker's pack. So the plans that were made were for Curtis (the proprietor) to take us 20 miles north and we hike back south to his hostel where we left our packs. The next day, he would then shuttle us back up the trail and drop us with our packs so we could continue north.
Date: 2011-04-20
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Standing Bear Farm (Lemon Gap)
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

This was the first day that I slackpacked. This will soon become a favored past-time of mine on the trail. Hiking without the extra 30-35lb on my back makes a HUGE difference! It was very strange to be walking up a mountain without my hefty appendage that I am so accustomed to, but also refreshing. To start the day off, we had all had to pile into the van to be driven to the destination gap (Lemon Gap); however it started to rain and the van's windshield wipers ceased to function... Enter Nigel Snow. Nobody seemed to have an understanding of what the problem was so Dad McGyvered the windshield wiper widget with a paper clip and a sardine. Now onward to the gap...        We came across my favorite view from the trail thusfar, Max's Patch. This was apparently the place where the well-known Microsoft background of the rolling green meadows photograph was taken. The first two hours of the day were spent in a torrential downpour. I am rather pleased with the performance of my Marmot rainshell and my Osprey backpack cover, as I have been able to stay fairly dry through all of the rains over the past few weeks. Cool. We passed (the opposite way) Freight-train/Pocahontas, Doc-Boom, Comfortably Numb, and Rob.I also managed to rescue a turtle from the high traffic center lane of the Appalachian Trail since he was in the middle of a slug feast. He was veryapprecative. We seemed to have missed the trail magic of beer and pizza by only a few minutes. This would have been worse news if we had our oversized, gargantuan packs on. We got back long before dark and returned to our gear, which we had left in the bunkhouse.The farm had employed a couple local banjo pickers for the evening's gala. They roasted a pic at the farm and made heaps of side dishes, which were offered complimentary to the hikers. Score! This was the the evening I formally met Tooth-pac (not to be confused with Tupac). Toothpac only has one visible tooth due to hockey and rafting injuries. Toothpac is a seasonal employee of the farm to tend to the hikers. He is probably in his mid 20's...LOL! He and I were taking shots of Curtis's tequila in the house randomly for a bit. It was good fun in a very unique place.
Date: 2011-04-21
From: Standing Bear Farm (Lemon Gap)

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I had not realized that the Standing Bear Farm had a resident domesticated squirrel until this morning! Squirrely the squirrel was living in a tree that they chopped down and was accidentally injured in the process. They gave him food and lodging for a nominal fee and nursed him back to health. He now enjoys entertaining the hikers, bouncing and and climbing around them. Dad was to be picked up this morning by Blob's friend, so the plan was for me to leave him at the hostel. Today I set my own personal speed record by hiking an average of 3.5 mph with my full pack across mixed terrain. The views coming into Hot Springs were pretty neat and the AT actually runs down Main Street, where there are AT markers on the sidewalk for the hikers. I checked into a small hiker-friendly hostel ran by an old man named Elmer. It is operated out of his mansion with upwards of 20 rooms and it is 170 years old. I was lucky and got the last room available, which was in the basement, but was rather nice all the same. I met up with a handful of my AT crowd at the local pub on the river, drank too much, stayed up too late...such is the life of an AT hiker!
Date: 2011-04-22
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC (Log Cabin Road)
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

Slackpack #2! We made arrangements that morning at the local diner and paid another hostel owner to drive us north to Log Cabin Road so we could slackpack that portion back into Hot Springs. The four of us that hiked were myself, Alien, Lotat, and Chicago. It didn't rain but it seemed like it was going to all day. The mist was abundant all morning, making for a spooktastic hike. There were great views coming back into Hot Springs because we could see the entire town and river from high up on the mountain as we descended in. Upon return to Elmer's, I discovered that dinner had been cancelled. This is something that I was guilted into participating in. Elmer's prepares organic, vegetarian breakfast and dinner everyday for the hikers at an additional cost. So far I had missed every deadline to sign up for the meals and someone had reminded me to sign up for dinner tonight. Alas, it was now cancelled for whatever reason. Oh well, I may just have to have more drinks with my fellow hikers at the pub instead.
Date: 2011-04-23
From: Hot Springs, NC (Log Cabin Road)

To: Hemlock Hollow Farm (Log Cabin Road)
Miles today: 0.0

The man from the hostel returned to pick us up and offered to serve us breakfast at his hostel, which we gladly accepted. This was when I realized that I was not merely hungover from the antics of the night before, but truly ill. I am still blaming it on something I ate in Hot Springs. I was unable to have any of the breakfast for fear of regurgitating on or around the people I was with. My stomach was in agony and there would be no way I could hike today. I checked in to the hostel's bunkhouse and went straight to bed. The next 20 hours were spent in and out of consciousness, with periods of chills and then sweating, and still unable to eat because of the pain in my stomach and persistent nausea. This was an unfortunate turn of events because I was now behind my commrades with no signs of returning any time soon.
Date: 2011-04-24
From: Hemlock Hollow Farm (Log Cabin Road)

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

I woke up having dreams of food and decided that I would attempt breakfast. The pain had diminished but was still lingering. The weather seemed nice, which egged on my desire to get back on the trail. After consuming all of my bacon and eggs, I decided to take the plunge and see what happened. The day started off with a glorious 2500 feet ascent up another damn mountain. I was swiftly passed by freight-train and Doc-Boom. It turned into a rather tough and challenging expedition. My stomach was still in some pain so I loosened my waist strap on my pack, which put undue strain on my shoulders and lower back. I called this a short day because of the extra energy and effort I had to put forth, which I was rapidly running out of. I was fairly dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink yesterday and it was really catching up with me today. I was pretty excited to see some familiar faces arrive after I had committed to this shelter, such as James, Oompa, Charlie, and the Caped Crusader. I also met Red Beard, Fishnets, Roo, Taz, and Meltdown. After recuperating in the afternoon, I started feeling a bit better and stomached an adequately sized dinner.
Date: 2011-04-25
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

I chugged 2L of water before setting foot on the trail this morning. I know how dehydrated I was yesterday and did not want a repeat performance. Another nice series of uphills ensued and the weather proved to be in our favor. I caught a 4 foot black ratsnake on the trail, the largest I have seen so far! We had another tremendous downpour in the afternoon which lasted a whopping 10 minutes. It was nice to be cooled down by the rain. There was almost entirely the same crowd at the shelter tonight as last night. My illness has almost completely subsided, finally!
Date: 2011-04-26
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Erwin, TN (Spivey Gap)
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

We had talked about the possibility of hitching a ride to breakfast at a road gap 3 miles in, however upon arrival it was obvious there was no traffic on this road and hitch hiking would not be an option. I was not about to walk 6 miles on the pavement, off the trail, to have a hot meal. I continued down the trail and left the others walking into town. I discovered that upon reaching the summit of Big Bald that I would have carried away by the wind if I hadn't had my pack on! The wind was so strong atop the bald that it would actuallyknock me a few steps off balance with each large gust. It was some of the most fierce wind I have ever experienced. Over lunch, I checked my messages on my phone and realized that Kiddo and BAM were taking a zero day in Erwin in anticipation of my arrival. My zero sick day had put me further behind than anticipated. It was then that I decided that I would push all the way on to Erwin for a big 27 miler so I could join them for the evening. THe only problem with my plan was that I would not arrive early enough to participate in dinner or drinks. I opted to hitch a ride from Spivey Gap into Erwin, cutting 11 miles off my hike for the day. Luckily, the first car (passing in the opposite direction) stopped to see where I was headed. Although he was going in the opposite direction, he whipped around and offered to drive me into town as well as pick me up in the morning to return to do the 11 miles I cut off         today. It has been very warming to see how kind strangers can be when you need a helping hand. When I got into Erwin, EJ drove me to the local hiker hostel. When I got out of the car I heard a chorus of "No effing way, Shenanigans!!!" and pounding sounds. I looked up to see at least a dozen familiar faces all grinning through the glass of the hostel shuttle, yelling and pounding on the windows to get my attention. It was a good welcome to town! I quickly chucked my pack on the patio of the hostel and when the bus door opened I threw myself in, although there really wasn't much         room left inside. We all piled out and had Mexican food, beers, and then caught the shuttle back to the hostel. Due to my late arrival, there were no bunks or cabins available so I tented in the lawn of the hostel. We stayed up late again, sipping on a few Heinekens.
Date: 2011-04-27
From: Erwin, TN (Spivey Gap)

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

I slept surprisingly well last night and EJ picked me up at a decent time to drive me back down to Spivey Gap. I was by myself most of the hike today and banged out the 10 miles slackpacking in less than 4 hours. The views coming into Erwin were very similar to Hot Springs, only greener. The day's hike ended with a descent into Erwin, so I got a great view of the entire cityand river around it. I was able to get a shower and wash clothes when I arrived back at the hostel. I purposely made sure I had a short day today because Serena would be meeting me later for a couple days. It was really great to see Serena; it has felt much longer than it has actually been. We offered a couple fellow hikers rides into town and met up with some others foran all-you-can-eat (AYCE) venture for dinner. AYCE is a hiker's best friend. These businesses typically lose money when hikers visit because trail food only goes so far, has fewer calories than we need, and has much less flavor. I struck a deal with the owner of the hostel for their "Grandmother's Cabin", so Serena and I had a non-hikeresque lodging for the night.         Serena had mentioned severe weather was approaching Nashville as she was driving to Erwin and we could see on a couple phones that it was getting closer to where we were. Apparently our cabin was the only one in the hostel area with a television capable of picking up local channels and we ended up anxiously watching the storms and tornadoes touching down nearby until 2am. There were several hikers tenting on the lawn and if there was a tornado approaching, we would be the first to know and would need to warn everyone to get out of their tents. There were several tornadoes nearby, with the most severe weather only about 20 to 30 miles north, just skirting by us. Looking at the radar, the line of severe storms appeared to be stretching almost the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. I am hoping all of my fellow hikers who stayed in shelters or simply in their tents along the trail fared well last night.
Date: 2011-04-28
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a zero mileage day that I took to do a few chores and spend some time with Serena. We slept in late and made ourselves a nice breakfast so it was almost like being at home for a short while. The weather was nice and we decided to make a trip up to Johnson City to entertain ourselves. We found a mall where I was able to get my first haircut since being on the trail, so I looked like less of a hooligan.After the haircut we went back to Uncle Johnny¢s to update the trail journal and get some of my hiking gear together. It was surprising to see that there was not very much damage around us from the storms last night. We were able to see on the news that there was much more damage and fatalities just north of us. After we were finished with all of the housekeeping stuff, we searched for a good place around town to have dinner. Trip advisor had several good reviews for an Indian place called Sahib back in Johnson City so of course we had to check it out. It was the BEST Indian food I have ever had. We sampled the korma, madras, and vindaloo, all of which were out of this world. It was so good and we were stuffed when we left so we took the evening to watch another movie, Love and Other Drugs¢¦..not a fan. Overall, a good day off and I am looking forward to getting back to the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2011-04-29
From: Erwin, TN

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

Between Serena having the car and Uncle Johnny offering to give shuttles further up the trail, there was the perfect opportunity to slackpack today. I set up my tent at Uncle Johnny¢s so I could leave all of my gear there through the day while I hiked. Serena drove up and dropped me at Iron Mountain Gap so I could hike back down to Uncle Johnny¢s without my pack and completing that portion of the trail. Katie P. (Weezy) was also slackpacking so we hiked together for a bit. The weather was great again today with very nice (mostly downhill) terrain. There were nice views on a bald called the Beauty Spot, where there was the random hiker fast asleep in his sleeping bag, sans tent which was amusing.        Unfortunately, I did not make it back to Uncle Johnny¢s in time to catch the dinner shuttle into town so I ordered a pizza which worked just as well. We had a nice camp fire at the hostel and we all stayed up far too late. It was colder than the other night when I tented, but at least there were no tornadoes or high winds.
Date: 2011-04-30
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

After slackpacking yesterday, my pack surprisingly did not feel too bad when I put it on this morning. I got back on the trail with Meltdown at a good time and was able to keep a solid pace throughout the day. Through the first half of the day, I passed quite a few hikers that were walking for cystic fibrosis. There were probably over 100 hikers that were doing a 30 mile hike (or run in some cases) for the disease, traveling southbound.         About halfway through the hikers, I stumbled upon some trail magic that consisted of hot dogs and starburst candy which were much appreciated. The ascent up Roan Mountain came up right after that and it was an absolutely fierce climb. I stopped for lunch at a shelter which is the highest in elevation on the AT. On the trail by the shelter, I found Fishnet¢s pants, jacket, phone, camera, and wallet which had fallen off the cinched portion of his bag. I carried it all for him and he was super pumped when I met up with him on the trail later.         I passed some balds on the trail today, which made for some nice views. I pushed on to Overmountain Shelter, which is an old barn that has been converted to a shelter. The views from that point were awesome. Some day hikers packed in some awesome deer and other goodness that they cooked up for dinner and graciously gave to us thru-hikers. Good food and good views¢¦a fantastic way to end the day.