morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-23
From: New Found Gap, GSMNP

To: Peck's Corner Shelter, GSMNP
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

This seemed like a very long 10.4 miles. I had thought about doing 16 the first day to get to Tricorner Knob Shelter, the first AT shelter that Joel and I stated in tears ago, but I thought 16 miles the first day might be pushing it. And I was right¢¦10.4 was pushing it. The problem was that I ran out if water at 4:00. My salvation was that someone dropped a full water bottle. (The strap had broken.) I added iodine drops and waited 30 minutes to be safe then I chugged it. When I got to the shelter I asked if anyone lost a green water bottle. It belonged to a young man with a small group of scouts. He said thanks for finding it: I said thanks for losing it. The high point of the day (besides finding the water bottle) was Charlie's Bunion. Usually a very crowded place, there was a family from San Francisco when I arrived. When they left I had it to myself for about 20 minutes. Then a junco came to share it with me.
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter, GSMNP
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 2The snoring in the shelter last night lasted until 1:00 a.m. It must not have been me snoring because I could not get to sleep. When the snoring would momentarily stop I would hear the mice. I decided the mice were preferable. If the theme for day 1 was rhododendrons, the theme for day 2 was ferns, fir trees, and moss. Moss covered the trunks if live trees, the remains of dead trees, and the forest floor. It really looked like an ancient forest. When I hit the first view on the trail I heard an electronic sound from my pack. It meant I was receiving a text and that I had left my cell phone on all night. The text from my wife said, "Good night, Dale, wherever you are.¢ I pretended like I was receiving it 12 hours earlier and it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. But I was down to 40% power and days from recharging so I could not take too many pictures with my phone. As I hiked along watching the trail rather than the view (90% of the time) I find myself thinking how I wish I was walking along here with my wife and also what do I have on this pack that I could send home. It is too heavy!I had lunch today at Tricorner Knob Shelter, the first shelter that Joel and I ever stayed in about 18 years ago. The weasel that shared the accommodations with Joel and me did not join me for lunch. Several other hikers did. When I got up to go they asked if those were my close spread out on the bunk to dry. I said "Oops, thanks!" It was my second time forgetting something. At the start of the day I had to retrace the first half mile because I left my hiking poles at the shelter.The first night I reached the shelter at 7:00 and wondered why people were going to bed. By 7:00 the second night I was ready to go to bed myself. I shared the shelter with Dusty Feet, a high school theology teacher, a couple from Boston, Walkabout and Long Haul. When you hike the AT it is the cool thing to have a trail name, I am not that cool so I just go by Dale. It was a great evening. And everyone's plan for the next day was Standing Bear Hostel just past the park.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Cosby Knob Shelter, GSMNP

To: Standing Bear Hostel, TN
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 3Made 10.4 miles plus an extra 1.2 miles to the Mt Cammerer lookout tower. At 11:00 in the morning the extra miles seemed worth it. The 360 degree views at the tower were amazing! By nightfall maybe it didn't seem quite so worth the extra mile. Lots and lots of mountain laurel. One of the cool things about mountain laurel is that you don't have to be looking up to see it. It drops little white flowers shaped like miniature umbrellas all over the trail. You see them and look up and the trail is covered overhead with flowering mountain laurel. Sometimes the AT is called the "Long Green Tunnel" but the mountain laurel adds a bit of color to the tunnel. Two things I brought that I don't need, sun glasses and sun block. They don't seem that heavy on a daily basis but when you carry everything on your back, every ounce counts.Also saw lots of galax today, my favorite Appalachian plant - and it was in bloom. I can't figure out why nurseries don't sell it as a ground-cover, shiny evergreen leaves and white flower spikes. I would be tempted to take some home but (1) it is illegal to take plants, (2) it would die in transit, and (3) there is that whole pack weight thing.I passed a side trail to the Cosby Campground, the first campground in the Smokies where we camped as a family many years ago. It was 7.5 miles away - so near and yet so far - that would be a two day trip for me from here.Had a long descent out of the park along a roaring creek. Then I began to hear another noise. Interstate 40 and the creek were competing for my attention. Eventually I-40 won. I left the park. For the first time I did not know which way to go. I was supposed to be within a mile of Standing Bear hostel and I was way too tired to head the wrong direction and have to back-track. The book said cross over the pigeon river and under I-40. I heard I-40 but saw no overpass. I finally picked a direction. There was the river, the bridge, the interstate and the overpass. I had picked the right way! Then the book said ¢go down the gravel road for 200 feet and follow the stone steps.¢ Please, I thought, let the stone steps be going down. They did not. I stood at the bottom and counted - 42 steps. I didn't think I had the strength to do 42 steps, so I did 21 and then rested and did 21 more. Up and over the hill down the other side, along a gravel road and there was Standing Bear Hostel. My bunk mates from the night before we're all there and showered and talking food. The shower was magnificent, warm water in the middle of the woods with 5 ft walls and a 360 degree view of the woods. I think I would not have liked it in March, but in June it was magnificent! I split a pizza with Buddy. We (I) burned it but we did not care - at least I was too hungry to care and he was too polite.
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Standing Bear Hostel, TN

To: Brown Gap 
Miles today: 12.4

Day 4I left in the morning with two dry shorts, two dry shirts, and two dry pairs of underwear. When I left the hostel Buddy was still there and a couple with a dog named Yadi. Buddy soon passed me up. He said don't worry you¢ll get your trail legs about day 5. As I climbed that mountain I was tempted to sit out day 4 and wait for my trail legs to arrive on day 5, but I don't think it works that way. At least the couple with the dog did not pass me up. This was the day I decided like most things, hiking the AT is easier to read about than to actually do, especially with 30 extra pounds on your back.It started raining early in the day. Not the kind of rain that forces you to stop and put on rain gear, but the kind that makes you wonder if you will get wetter from the rain or the sweat under the rain gear. It is often a tossup. Although I have learned to just keep the raincover on my pack. I put my own rain gear on and off about three or four times that morning.One of the highlights of day 4 was running into two trail maintenance volunteers on my way up to Snowbird Mountain. First of all Snowbird Mountain is a great name. That is what my grandmother always called juncos because they always visit Indiana in the winter. Well in the mountains they hang around all the time. The Appalachian Trail, all 2180 miles of it, is maintained by volunteers and local hiking clubs. On the way to the top of Snowbird Mountain I met 78 year old Elrose and her twin sister. They are in charge of maintaining 5 miles of the trail around the mountain. Elrose said they keep thinking about packing up because of the rain and then it stops. I said, "I know, every time I take off my rain gear it starts up again." She said I should just leave the rain gear on do it won't rain. I agreed to do that and decided to avoid the whole discussion about correlation not implying causation. Regardless, their dedication and volunteer effort were an inspiration that I hope I remember until I am 78 years old.I was supposed to meet my friends from the Smokies at a campsite in Brown Gap. They were not there. I decided they must have gotten their early and kept moving. I was again out of water. The map said there was water .6 miles up the mountain passed the gap. Knowing I could not do that with my pack I set up camp, hung my food bag from a tree and hiked up with only my water filter and water pack. In AT lingo that is referred to as "slack packing" and it feels like you are floating. But...there was no water up the hill. At what point do you give up and turn around... that was a tough decision, but I decided sleep was more important. I went back to my tent, went 258 steps back down to the gap (I was so tired I counted to convince myself I could walk back up to the tent) and there was water! So I pumped, ate, drank, and spent my first night in my tent. I hung my wet clothes in the tress to drop a bit. Not a wise move ... it rained hard all night. But I stayed dry and warm and it was great!
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Brown Gap 

To: walnut mountain shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

Day 5The damp and smelly clothes I had the great sense to hang in the trees to air out were drenched by morning. I had stayed dry in the tent, but the tent was soaked. I think the only dry things in my pack were my sleeping bag and the running shorts I sleep in. I wasn't sure how either would stay dry in the pack with all if the wet things, but I needed to hit the trail. My pack easily weighed 10 pounds more than when I set out at New Found Gap. I ascended 1200 feet to Max Patch, an expansive bald with a magnificent view - at least on a clear day - not today. It was still dramatic. If I had been to Scotland I would say it reminded me of the Highlands, but I have not, so I will not. I would not have been surprised to see a bagpiper wailing away on the pipes. I was surprised to see a family in shorts and tee shirts with three small children heading my way. Apparently it is a popular day hike area, as other groups followed them. Before running into the day hikers and a group of five female back packers, I lay down in the grass, watched the misty fog roll over me and enjoyed the power and magnificence of the setting. It felt like I was at the top of the world, although at 4629 ft I knew that was not the case. And it was no simple task getting here while carrying ten extra pounds of soggy gear. When the fog and clouds would thin out I could just begin to get a glimpse of the vastness of the forest. There were tree-covered mountains standing one behind another as far as I could see in all directions. I think it was better than a scene from The Lord of the Rings movies - except without the musical score - so I hummed the hobbits theme until I saw a family of day hikers approaching.That night I shared the Walnut Mountain Shelter with a young man named Kirt from Forsyth GA. Three other people camped near the shelter. The water source for the shelter was down, down, down a hill to a small creek. I did not include that "blue blaze" hike to water on my daily miles but I seriously thought about it. Kirt, like many of the people I ran into on the trail, had started a Springer Mountain, GA. I felt like I should apologize for not starting at the beginning, but everybody looked at hiking the AT as a personal experience and you pretty much set your own rules - except the rule about not eating food by the bunks in the shelters - mice and bears!
Date: 2013-06-28
From: walnut mountain shelter

To: deer park shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Day 6My goal for this day was to get to Hot Springs NC. Several things were set in place to make that a tremendous challenge. (1) I was totally exhausted. I should have been doing my practice hikes with more weight on my back. (2) It was 13 miles to Hot Springs from Walnut Mountain. And (3) it was Friday night and there was a weekend Harley rally in Hot Springs. Word on the trail was the campground was full and you would not find a room. Oh yeah, reason (4) rain! It started to drizzle, I was about four hours from Hot Springs. I really wanted a meal of real food, but I smelled way too bad to go to a restaurant without first having a shower. Not even an outdoor restaurant. And I did not know is if I'd find a room or a shower, so I stopped at Deer Park Mountain Shelter at about 4:00. It was a good decision; it soon started to pour. I was soon joined by Kirt. He cooked some Ramon noodles. I said I would trade him a couple protein bars for some Ramon Noodles. He just gave me two packs of Ramon Noodles, I ate both, had a hot, "delicious" supper and I did not have to shower! I had not made my goal, but I was full, and warm, and dry - and still quite smelly.
Date: 2013-06-29
From: deer park shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 4.0

Day 7I got up and left camp before Kirt and as I said "so long" I said he would probably pass me up before we got to Hot Springs. He did not. On the second day of my hike, I was hiking with Art "Dusty Feet" and I asked him if he had any trail wisdom to share. He said, "Don't be the first out of camp in the morning. You will clear the trail of spider webs for everyone else." The reality of that wisdom hit today. But, spider webs or not, I was going to get to Hot Springs and a Laundromat and a shower and a restaurant and maybe a bed! I hit the highway by 9:30 and headed down the highway towards town. In Hot Springs the AT goes along the Main Street. After about a quarter mile I saw a lady on her porch and asked if I was heading the right way to town. She pointed her finger in the direction I had just come from. I turned around and headed back the other way. I stopped at the post office, picked up my package and headed to the Laundromat. Pretty much everything in Hot Springs is on the same street. I got into the Laundromat and worked on logistics. I wanted to wash every article of clothing I had, but you see the problem with that. And after washing them I couldn't put them back on or they would immediately stink. It was a grand dilemma. I went onto the bathroom, stripped, put on my sleeping shorts and started the laundry after convincing the change machine to take a very soggy $5 bill. Then I went back into the restroom to take a bath in the sink. At one point I heard two guys from the Harley rally discussing whether or not they should break the bathroom door down or wait. I decided to cut the bath short. I sat on a bench in front of the laundromat on Main Street in my sleeping shorts while my laundry washed and dried. Then I went back into the bathroom, put on clean clothes, stuffed everything in my pack and went on search of a room. I found one at Elmer's Sunnydale Hostel and Retreat Center. It has to be one if the highlights of the entire AT experience. I took a real shower with hot water. I went across the street to Dollar General and bought a disposable razor to get rid of 7 days of stubble. I was going to grow a beard the whole time, but I couldn't stand it. That night Elmer and his assistants cooked an unbelievable vegetarian gourmet dinner and I ate a grand meal for only $10. By the way, the biker rally was still going on, but Elmer does not rent to them, so I got the last room for the night.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 8I don't know if I had officially earned a zero day but I was ready for one. I had breakfast at the hostel, which by the way was a Victorian Mansion originally built in 1840. I had lunch at a restaurant down the street where I ate a veggie burger and fries and a full dinner salad while listening to a local guy play guitar and sing CCR ¢Did You Ever See the Rain Coming Down On a Sunny Day¢ while seated on a deck hanging over a mountain stream. If that sounds surreal, it was. And I ate and kept thinking that yes I had seen the rain coming down on a sunny day every day in recent memory. As if that wasn't enough, for supper I had steak, baked potato and broccoli on the deck of another restaurant while the storm clouds rolled down from the mountains and a gusher almost drowned out the country bluegrass singer. I ate and read my book until the rain stopped and then walked back to the hostel to sleep in a bed. I felt a bit guilty knowing that Kirt and another hiker had headed out that day and were hiking the trail in the rain while I was eating supper on a covered deck. At the end of day 6, I was ready to quit and come home, apologize to my wife for spending too much money on this "project" and get to work landscaping my back yard. I contacted her on day 7 and she basically said wait and see. (She really said she would not come to pick me up yet.) After spending a day resting and eating I was ready to try it again. I knew I could not walk to Damascus by our scheduled meeting time so I arranged a shuttle to drop me further up the trail at Devil's Fork Gap the next morning. Also I think I gained back any weight I had lost in the first week.
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Hot Springs

To: hogback ridge shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Day 9One of the helpers at Elmer's Hostel gave me a lift to the trail on his way to Virginia for the 4th of July. When he dropped me where the AT crossed a country road I asked him which way I should go. He said, "I think it is that way." I said, "You think?" He said, "We'll last week I dropped someone here and they walked back to Hot Springs and I think they went the other way." So I checked the guide as I headed out. Start out ascending, check; in one mile cross a gravel road, check. My confidence began to grow. After about three miles I met a group of boy scouts. I have lost count of how many Boy Scout groups I have met on the trail, but they are out in full force. Of course I wanted to ask them if they were hiking north or south, but that would make it pretty clear that I was not sure which direction I was hulking. So I asked where they were headed. "To Hot Springs" they said. I was relieved that I hadn't spent an hour and a half walking the wrong way and I would not have to do an about face and join the Boy Scouts. About 2:30 I started to hear thunder and at 3:00 I came to a shelter. That is all it took for me to stop for the day. Already at the shelter were two fellow hikers from before Hot Springs. Art had is tent set up in the shelter, partly for protection from gnats and partly for protection from the nurovirus. The talk of the trail has been the intestinal virus that hikers have been picking up between Hot Springs and Erwin TN. Everyone said to avoid the shelters, but with the ongoing down pours we hated to stay in our tents. Kirt and I spread out our tent ground cloth to pretend like we had protection against the virus. That night I confronted a new enemy - cold. As it rained and rained the temperature dropped and for the first time on the trail my summer sleeping bag was not warm enough. I felt like I never slept, but I must have slept part of the night because at one point I dreamed that I asked someone to run home and get my heavier sleeping bag and they said they would get it to me by tomorrow night. Just the thought of being warmer the next night helped me to feel better - sometimes delusions can be very comforting - at least temporarily.
Date: 2013-07-02
From: hogback ridge shelter

To: Bald Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 4.0

Day 10Started off with the intention of heading to Bald Mountain Shelter, 8 miles, mostly up hill. At 10:00 we hit Sam's Gap and a cold rain began to fall and the wind began to gust. We saw business cards in a Baggie nailed to a post. "Shuttle to Erwin, $20." Art and I discussed it as the rain started to fall faster and we decided Mother Nature was telling us to take a day off. We called the shuttle, got a ride to Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky River Hostel and the skies cleared and the sun came out. Oh well, we decided there would be no regrets. After we dried ourselves off as best we could we were shuttled into town to Pizza Plus. We were joined by Trish, a retired drug counselor from Cocoa Beach, FL. She was actually born in Chile, lived for many years in Italy, and worked in New Jersey and she had a wealth of entertaining stories to share. She was doing sections of the AT by shuttling herself by car from one connection point to the next and then hiking each area after parking her car. That evening it began to rain and it rained all night. The walkways connecting cabins, bunkhouse, and bathrooms became a stream. I decided a hostel was a good idea.
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin TN
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 11I got up and checked the weather: chance of rain 0% through 2:00 and 95% at 3:00. I decided to do a day of slack packing - that is hiker talk for hiking without your pack. I took lunch, one water bottle, my water filter and my rain jacket just in case - but not my rain pants since I planned to be back by 2:15. It was a great hike with four creek crossings on lovely wooden bridges thanks to Eagle Scout projects dating back to the 70's. I thought about how old that Eagle Scout would be as I trekked across his bridge over the babbling mountain stream, and I wondered if he ever comes and hikes over his bridge. At one point it started to sprinkle but I was right at Curly Maple Shelter so I stopped had lunch and took a short nap. The rain stopped and I hiked on until I knew I needed to turn around to get back by 2:15. It was a great plan except at 2:00 there was a downpour. I put on my rain jacket but had no rain pants. The rain ran down my jacket, down my legs and into my boots. My Gortex boots are made to keep water out, but not when it's coming down my legs and into the boots. In that case they actually keep water in. They filled with water up to my ankles; I stopped twice and actually dumped out the water. The result was very wet feet and bad blisters on both heels. I was completely drenched. What bothered me the most was the bad math. If weather.com had said 1% chance of rain and it rained I would have thought, Wow, that was really unlikely, but it happened. But 0% doesn't seem to leave much room for error. Zero percent means it is not going to happen, but it did! Is there some action I can take against weather.com ... like send them the Walgreen's bill for blister treatment pads?