morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-16
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Newport, TN
Miles today: 0.0

April 16, Waiting Out the WeatherI slept really well last night and stayed pretty warm. It was about 40 degrees in the cabin all night. It was nice to have a soft place to lay my head. Today, the weather is pretty sunny but the wind is still strong. As I write this, I am on the porch of the cabin at Standing Bear in my down jacket. Certain and I were both a little frustrated last night (well, I think she was beyond frustrated) because we just wanted to be warm but today I woke up feeling a tiny bit better about the situation. This place actually is pretty cool - as long as it's not freezing out. The resupply is here along with laundry, internet, and a phone. You can come and go as you please and relax as much as you want. It actually would be a really fun and relaxing place - if the air was warm enough to dry out your water logged pack and shoes. So, we are gonna shuttle to Newport, TN which is about 20 minutes away. We are going to wait out some of this weather and rest up a bit. We are going to have and indoor shower and a real toilet. We are going to have heat. ...Not much to report today after we got to Newport. We celebrated exiting the Smokies with a huge lunch at Sagebrush. I had BBQ ribs and bread pudding. Yum. Then we hiked to the store (I thought this was a zero?) for some things and now I'm just working on resting my feet.Got to catch up on my phone calls so that was very nice - always good to talk to folks back home. - Sound of the TeeVee, Certain typing on her PocketMail, the lights in our hotel room buzzing.Post Trail Thoughts:I think I was scarred for life after the day before. It was great to have a break.Before we packed up our things at the hostel that day, Certain brought out the treat she had been carrying for us to celebrate with upon completion of the Smokies - Ferraro Rocher chocolates! Mmm..roasted hazelnut and chocolate. It was a grand celebration and we didn't even have trumpets. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be outta there!
Date: 2007-04-17
From: Newport, TN

To: Newport, TN
Miles today: 0.0

April 17, Newport NewsWhat a glorious day! It was 73 degrees in our hotel room when I woke up. That's about 40 degrees more than it has been the past few mornings.I have done just about nothing today and I have loved it. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and I laid in bed until 10:30 a.m. I only got up because I was starving. I took a shower and we headed to Shoney's for an early lunch. I ate a fish sandwich, onion rings, a gigantic salad and a chocolate milkshake. Yum.When we got back, I turned on the Food Network and feel asleep dreaming about eggplant. I want healthy food so bad. Something fresh. Something that grew out of the ground. Something that you have to wash before you eat. Instead, I woke up three hours later, caught up on some phone calls and my old roommate, Paula, helped me settle on Taco Bell for dinner. It was only a quarter of a mile away so it worked out well, I just walked up there and came back and ate in bed. I polished off a Mexican pizza and a couple of taco supremes. There was even some tomatoes and lettuce. Yippee!I've slowly been trying to clean up and organize my gear back into my pack. Everything looked wretched - dirt-caked and wet.We are staying here until Thursday when the weather looks a little warmer and more clear. That will make three zero days in a row but I definitely think this was the safe way to go. As it turns out, the weather we've been having is part of a nor'easter (spelling?)! So, we're staying put.I feel pretty good right now. My two big toes are numb and have been for about four weeks. My left shoulder has been sore off and on for the past couple of days - I think it was my arthritis warning me that it was going to rain. What a geezer. My knees are feeling better and only have been getting really mad at me if I go downhill for too long. My gear is holding up okay. I've patched a hole in my tent's mesh (no big deal really), I spent about an hour today sewing the wristband back onto my lobster claw mitt and a couple more minutes sewing the ring finger of my left glove back together. My fleece jacket still has that hole in it from trying to start a fire. The cord in my sleeping bag is really frayed and I'm still trying to decide how I want to fix it. My pack cover has a small tear in it - it's now covered in duct tape. I think that's it though. Nothing major, just a few little things.It has been really nice having more than one day here to get things cleaned up, talk to some folks from home, and sleep a lot. We're waiting to hear from Scribe and Gadget, hoping they are okay. Sailor is waiting out the weather in Gatlinburg. Hope we all catch up soon.- Sound of TBS on the TeeVee, Certain drinking pop.
Date: 2007-04-18
From: Newport, TN

To: Newport, TN
Miles today: 0.0

April 18, Last Zero in NewportI slept in until 9 a.m. today. I woke up not feeling super - a bit of a head cold type thing going on. I hope that's gone tomorrow. Certain and I headed to Shoney's for the breakfast buffet. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, french toast sticks and maple syrup, cantalope, honeydew, orange slices, and hot tea. So yummy. We sat there and just hung out for over an hour and a half just sipping our coffee and tea...then I looked at my watch and it was 11:58 a.m. and our hotel checkout was noon! We had to run back to the motel and book the room for another night. No problem, our friends at Motel 6 hooked us (hi, Jeff).When we got back, I put together the rest of my gear and got things cleaned up. Soon after, I got a text message from Gadget and Scribe! They were safe and were looking for a place to stay. I suggested they come to Newport with Certain and I and they did it!We just went to Cracker Barrel with them and had a nice hearty meal before we hit the trail again tomorrow. We're on our way to Hot Springs this weekend! Before we get there, we're planning on spending a night on Max Patch if the weather is nice. It's a nice big bald mountain with 360 views and I'm hoping it's nice enough to see a sunset or a sunrise on top.Other than that, the day was pretty low key. I'm doing a load of laundry right now and am looking forward to clean clothes again. The saddest part about clean clothes is all of the static electricity. See, you're not supposed to use fabric softener on any of the clothes I have. So, everything shoots sparks! The other night, I was in my tent and I had to take off my fleece in the middle of the night and it made sparks that I could see! I had hand warmers in my sleeping bag and I got scared that I would start a fire - scary! That's definitely something I never read about in all of my research about the trail.Well, let's hope we stay dry tomorrow. It's supposed to rain a bit. Grr.- Sound of Certain on the phone, a commercial on TeeVee, doors banging out in the hallway.
Date: 2007-04-23
From: Hot Springs 

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

April 23, Power of NyquilAh, I slept well last night. I only woke up long enough to put my fleece jacket on and then I was passed out again. I didn't wake up until Certain knocked on my door for breakfast.We went to the Smoky Mountain Diner. Delicious. If you are ever in Hot Springs, go there. Order pancakes. Drool. We ran into Not Guilty there and he joined us - it was nice to see him again, we hadn't seen him since our days in Franklin. After breakfast, we made plans to have dinner at six!From there, we headed to Bluff Mtn. Outfitters for resupply. What a fun and happy place. I ended up buying new insoles with more cushion since my feet are still quite tired at the end of the day. I'm interested to see if they help. I also did most of my resupply there, they have great options.Then, Rachel drove us to Food City for the rest of our goods. It could have all been done at the outfitter but since a car was available, use it - right?After that, it was time for dinner. We had dinner with Not Guilty and as we were walking out, we saw Sailor having dinner! It was sure good to see him again. In the parking lot, we ran into Scribe and Gadget! What a happy fun town reunion. It really was great to have everyone together again. We are all planning to head out together on Wednesday.That was really it for the day. Lots of business and town chores and eating. But, it was fun to meet up with everyone again.- Sound of water running in the pipes.Post Trail Thoughts:I cannot tell you about my love for the Smoky Mountain Diner. Oye. It was great to see Not Guilty in town and even more wonderful to share a meal with him. I so appreciated his style of inclusion. I liked our new schedule of meals with firends.
Date: 2007-04-25
From: Hot Springs

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

April 25, Damn RoostersSo, when I said I could hear roosters last night...let's call it foreshadowing. This is the loudest small southern town in the country, I think. I woke up three times last night to the train going by. Sounded like it was in our cottage! Rumor has it that the conductor sounds the whistles every time he passes through to get back at an ex-wife that lives here. Four in the morning? Insanely loud whistles. Six in the morning? Insanely loud whistles. Six thirty? You get it. The sound of the train was bookended by the nonstop rooster crows. I thought they only made that sound in the morning - once. It went on all night. One rooster is louder than the others and I might cook him for dinner. It's 11 a.m. and they're still yipping! I'm almost convinced it's a machine making the noises. I hate to do it, but we are sleeping with the windows closed tonight. As you can tell, I've decided to stay another day. I think leaving today would have been pushing it and since we have six days until Erwin, I didn't want to take chances.I went and ordered my usual at the diner for breakfast - the waitress even remembered. I think all trail breakfasts will be compared to that one.I came back to the cottage after breakfast and just laid around relaxing for a good portion of the day. Later on, Certain and I headed to the local cafe, Sweet Imaginations, to have some ice cream. I had chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone - does it get better? I caught up on emails there and I really enjoyed it.After that, we picked up Scribe and Gadget at the outfitter so we could go grocery shopping at Hillbilly Market for dinner. The plan was to make dinner in our kitchenette - a real live healthy dinner that would not be fried. The market was slim pickins but we scrounged up some goodies. We came back to the cottage and Scribe made parmesean chicken and garlic bread, I made broccoli and corn, Gadget made a salad, and Certain got us some dessert. This was all accomplished with two knives, four plates, no bowls, no napkins, and very little space. We ate this wonderful dinner on the deck overlooking the creek. We washed it down with some shiraz. Now that's what I've been waiting for. Definitely enjoyed that.Now it's time to catch some Zs. Gotta get up and hike tomorrow!- Sound of crickets outside, a car driving down the road, the fan on the ceiling.
Date: 2007-04-26
From: Hot Springs

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

April 26, I Tried to LeaveBeing in town with a cold is a lot different than trying to hike with a cold. I tried to leave Hot Springs today thinking I just had a cough but that didn't go over so well. About a mile into the hike, I felt like I was going to pass out. I had to stop in the middle of the trail and throw my pack off. I sprawled out right there for a few minutes and drank some water. I got back up and kept going and caught up with Certain to let her know how I felt. I kept trying to push on but I felt like I was getting nowhere fast. I had to stop like every 100 feet to pull myself together. Finally, about two miles in, we came to a campsite and stopped for a minute. I felt pretty bad and Certain and I both thought it would be best to head back to town. Even some guy we had just met, Jake, agreed. So, we turned around and headed back. I am so thankful Certain was willing to come back to town with me - it just made everything so much easier. It's very nice to have a friend like that out here.We made it back in a jiffy because going downhill felt a million times better than going up and I stopped at the outfitter to load up on meds and herbal tea. The outfitter is basically the only place in town with medicine.We checked into the Alpine Court motel, making this an official tour of Hot Springs lodging. Then we ran into Scribe and Gadget. They had stayed behind this morning so Scribe could get her ankle checked out by a doctor. Turns out she has a sprained ankle and Achilles tendonitis on the same ankle. They told her she should rest for two weeks but that if she wanted to hike, no permanent damage would be done and they gave her prescription pain relievers. I hope it all works out for her - I'm sure it will. I had some lunch at the diner, came back, made some herbal tea and passed out for a couple of hours. I woke up and went right back to the diner before they closed for dinner. Had another pizza with lots of vegetables on it.Now I'm back at the motel on my second round of herbal tea. I don't usually like herbal tea but this stuff feels helpful so far - Gypsy Cold Care. We just played a game of Fluxx with Scribe and Gadget. Good times. Now it's time for bed again. Good night.- Sound of Friends on TV, Certain laughing.Post Trail Thoughts:It was very frustrating coming back to town that day. The multiple zeros make me uncomfortable to think about now but I know at the time it was the right thing to do. I felt like I could pass out at any moment along the trail. I was very lucky that Certain was willing to come back with me because I don't think I could have mentally dealt with being sick and splitting at that point.
Date: 2007-04-27
From: Hot Springs 

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

April 27, Day of RestHaven't done much of anything today. Woke up to Certain, Scribe, and Gadget getting ready for their day - they all went to this really cool trip down the French Broad River, it was an organized river cleanup. Wish I could have gone but I think resting was a better idea. I got up, went to the diner for breakfast (have I mentioned they have heavenly pancakes and tomato biscuits?), then came back to sleep.I took a two hour nap and now I'm hungry again. I feel like a little baby. All I'm doing is sleeping and eating. .. As it turns out, I have to wait to eat. There has been some sort of surprise arranged for five o'clock with a car and a woman. No one will tell me what it is though. But, boy, am I hungry... I ended up waiting four more hours to eat. A woman that they had met on the river cleanup had offered to pick us up and take us to a town called Waynesville for dinner. She dropped by at about 6 p.m. and we all piled in the car, I still didn't know where we were going. Once we got on the freeway I saw signs for Asheville, 60 miles. I immediately stopped hoping we were going there - I was too hungry and that was too far. We ended up in Waynesville at a Chinese buffet. What's so special about a Chinese buffet? They served sushi! I would finally get the sushi I'd been craving for over a month! I was ready to eat the whole place. I had lots of food. It was nothing like Sansu in East Lansing but being that I'm in North Carolina hiking the Appalachian Trail, it was amazing! I told our trail angel, Arlayne, that she just blew trail magic out of the ballpark.The craziest part about all of this was that Arlayne was on the sixth day of a ten day fast. She drove us over an hour to watch us eat. She sipped her hot tea and just chatted with us the whole time as we put gluttony to shame. I almost felt bad.She drove us back to our motel and I have a feeling that we will see her again tomorrow - she was talking about bringing me some herbal remedy for my cold.Anyway, time for bed. I am exhausted. - Sound of the fan in our motel room. Post Trail Thoughts:I was blown away that day by Arlayne's kindness. I couldn't believe a total stranger would take their whole evening to drive four smelly people to a restaurant - especially when she was on a fast! It was so very kind of her! She had a lot of life changes going on and I sort of think it made her feel even better than it made us feel that she could help us so much. Very nice.
Date: 2007-05-04
From: Sam's Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

May 4, Erwin Erwin ErwinNot a very eventful day today. Another zero to rest and ice our feet. Pretty much just sat around the Super 8. We did leave around 1 p.m. to grab some lunch and visit Miss Janet. We ran into Hangman this morning - hadn't seen him since Franklin - he's running shuttles for Miss Janet so we thought we might catch him there too. We struck out but there was another awesome find - I was surprised to see a package in her living room with my name on it! I had no idea why a package would be there or who would have sent it. Turns out the package was sent via UPS so it doesn't go to the post office. They probably figured Miss Janet would be the right person to get it to me. Anyway, the package was from some friends, Katie and Mike, and was full of goodies like trail mix, Skittles, band-aids, granola bars, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer. What a surprise! Thank you, Mike and Katie!Hung out for the rest of the day at Super 8. Miss Janet was surprised to see us cooking dinner on our stoves in front of the hotel. She gave us a meal of dehydrated Carribean rice that was going in her hiker box. I was so glad not to eat Ramen.We feasted and relaxed as we watched Gray's Anatomy and got ready for our slackpack tomorrow. Lots of icing of the feet and ibuprofen. That's all.- Sound of the fan and the TV.
Date: 2007-05-05
From: Sam's Gap

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: light rain

May 5, Cinco de MayoA year ago today, I was hiking a local trail in preparation for what I am now doing. I was sleeping in a rented tent and was exhausted after about ten miles of flat terrain. I had to get up the next day and hike seven more.Today, I hiked over 13 miles in the mountains of TN and NC and I think I feel better than I did that day. I have to get up tomorrow and hike 11.We hit the trail today at 11:23 a.m. with just our lunch, water and other bare necessities on our backs. We would slackpack and end up back in Erwin tonight. It felt great.The miles went fast, especially since it was raining. In the beginning, the trail looked much like things we've seen before except for the cooler in the middle of the woods with hard boiled eggs and oatmeal cookies - thank you, trail angels, they were delicious. Before I knew it, we were walking on Big Bald. I didn't stop because I was wet and cold and there was no view anyway - the visibility was zero. After that, the miles melted away even more. We were moving right along. We didn't even stop for lunch. The last mile of the section was really pretty - but I was hauling it. The rain had started again and I was trying to make sure we didn't miss our ride. The woods smelled fabulous - almost like perfume - I'm not sure what that was exaclty. But amazing.We got to Spivy Gap at 6 p.m. and got picked up by Tim from Miss Janet's at 6:30 p.m. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up in about five minutes and then we got the best news anyone could have told me - there was a Red Lobster in Johnson City, a mere 18 miles away! Tim said he would take us there! About an hour later, I was feasting on a pound and a half of snow crab legs, a baked potato, and cheddar bisucits. Tim watched me eat them as if he'd never seen it done before - he probabaly just never saw anyone eat that much. It was an amazing experience. I really felt like I was roughing it.It took everything I had to stay awake on the ride back to Erwin. I spread out my wet gear to dry when I got back and put my feet on ice for a bit. And then I crashed. - Sound of Certain on the phone.
Date: 2007-05-06
From: Spivey Gap

To: Nolichucky River - Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

May 6, Blissful SlackpackThe day started leisurely around 8 a.m. We knew we were slackpacking but weren't sure yet when. My first task was to order some new shoes - I'd have to walk to Miss Janet's as the Super 8 internet was down. I ate some breakfast, got ready, and Certain and I started walking over there. We got stuck in the middle of town with a train that kept stopping, kicking it in reverse, and moving again. Fifteen minutes later, we were across the tracks. Certain headed to Walgreens and I headed straight to Miss Janet's. I walked in and was greeted by Hangman who was in the Kitchen hanging out with none other but Baltimore Jack. We were introduced and he immediately handed me a glass of orange juice and started making me breakfast. A hearty breakfast burrito topped with cheese and chives, and biscuits and gravy. I hopped on the internet to order my shoes as he made it - and he hunted me down and sternly told me to eat it before it got cold. I grabbed it and ate as I shopped the Moosejaw we! bsite. It was great to meet Baltimore Jack - I felt starstruck. And he made a great meal! After listening to him and Miss Janet on TrailCast for so long, it was such a treat to meet them both here in town.My shoes were ordered and my second breakfast was eaten. Miss Janet's dog even licked my plate clean (Aunt Manon, I can almost hear you groaning). Our shuttle was nowhere to be found so we just hung out for a bit.Tim came by at 11:45 a.m. to pick us up and drove us to Spivy Gap. It was a beautiful day - no rain and sunshine all around. Much better than yesterday. We hit the trail at 12:45 p.m. and started walking uphill. We passed several rhododendrons and streams right away - beautiful. It was so warm I got to take my pant bottoms off almost immediately! Loved it. The trail flattened out for several miles and that was also amazing. It was such a nice break to walk on something relatively flat. I took a short break near a stream and again later at No Business Knob Shelter. The trail was beautiful today, lots of pine needles, lots of rhododendron, lots of streams, and even some blooming mountain laurel toward the end of the day. Perfect. I was so excited to see and smell the laurel - made me think of the Clarence Bucaro song that plays in my head on repeat out here - Sweet, Sweet Laurel.I met a Finnish couple who started hiking on April 17 - crazy. And I met a German woman, Alpine Strider, the other day at Hogback Ridge Shelter. I can't imagine coming from another country specifically to hike the trail. What kind of crazy mental hurdles would plague me then?Anyway, today was beautiful. Only if all days could be like this until Maine. I like slackpacking. It almost creates time. We finished hiking at 6 p.m. and were back at the hotel at 7. We had the whole night ahead of us!I just washed all of my clothes in the shower and the sink so I'm ready for a new day. We are going to try and hit the outfitter tomorrow for new shoes for Certain and I - Moosejaw won't be able to get them to me in time.- Sound of the fan and TV in the hotel room.