morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-01
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Alas, an enforced zero day. I started up the big hill with Alleycat and Osprey this morning in a downpour, but my heel was excruciating and I had to turn back after only 1 and 1/2 miles. (On the other hand, going up to a bald in thunder and lightning was probably not a very good idea anyway). The restaurant exerts an irresistable attraction...my wallet is getting skinnier muchmore quickly than I am. They provide no TV, books, board games, or anything at the hostel here, so I've got nothing to do but design a NEW and IMPROVED mouse classification system:battering ram mouse: characterized by an extremely hard head and an ability to accelerate to great speeds over short distances. Likes to smash repeatedly into tent walls in the middle of the night.exotic fibers mouse: this species has a highly evolved digestive system capable of processing even the most high-tech fabrics. Is especially fond of Gore-Tex, Synchilla, UrSack materials, and other proprietary fibers.feed-me-seymour mouse: always hungry, this type emits demanding squeaks from unexpected places, such as shelter logs, socks, and your sleeping bag. Too fat to do its own hunting, it relies on others to scavenge for it. flying trapeze mouse: fearless and always ready to try a new stunt, this mouse can get into your food bag even if it's twenty-five feet in the air on bear cables. Together with others of its kind, the flying trapeze mouse creates a hanging rodent chain capable of circumventing the cans on strings that dangle in the shelter-fronts. Puts on performances for feed-me-seymour mice and other, more timid varmints.And more to come...
Date: 2007-03-02
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 0.0

Really glad to be on the move again--enforced zero days don't sit well with me. But the weather today has been MUCH better than it was yesterday, so I suppose sitting around NOC wasn't such a bad thing after all. I hiked all the way up Cheaoh in my Waldies (to spare my messed-up heel), which really worked my leg muscles more than shoes do. Fortunately, the trail running I did to get in shape for the hike left me strong enough to handle it. Backyard Boogie, Salamander, and I have set up camp on the top of the bald (Boogie has some favorite hammock trees here, and Sal and I are enjoying the thick grass under our tents). The sunset is impressive, even if not a match for the one we watched on Siler. I suspect it will be a long time before I see that sunset's equal. But I've been running back and forth over the little wooded area here to take pics on either side of the mountain, and I think I've got a couple of nice ones.The hike up here wasn't too bad until the last fifteen feet or so. For some reason, my legs decided they didn't want to take another step at that point. But the sight of the sunlight and grass up top was motivation enough to get me moving again. A more-or-less full moon tonight is giving everything an eerie look, especially the bare tree branches. Almost forbidding. But it's great to be back in the woods!
Date: 2007-03-03
From: Cheoah Bald

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

My first encounter with Trail Magic! An acquaintance of Boogie's, Hiker Nut, left the three of us cans of Coke near the end of our hike for the day. What a difference it made! Apparently El-Train had told her that we were on our way.Cable Gap is a small but nice shelter. The water source is close by, and we chilled our Cokes there for a little while before dinner. I'm feeling a little tired, but otherwise fine. We hiked the HILL FROM HELL today (Boogie had been going on about it for several days beforehand), a mountain that isn't even named in the Handbook. It involves an insanely steep climb that took all the energy out of my legs. I found my brain playing weird word games with itself--lack of oxygen? Just a need for distraction? The most interesting of these involved prefixes and the word "pack"; I made up new combinations and definitions. A few examples:expacktorant: whatever's in the air that makes you cough up all that money at the outfitter.impackt crater: the dent in the earth created when you sling off your gear at the end of the day.compackt disc: hiker injury resulting from carrying the extra weight of electronic items--cell phones, iPods, Pocketmail machines, etc.And so on.
Date: 2007-03-04
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: NC28
Miles today: 5.5

A short day to NC 28, where we were fortunate enough to run into Hiker Nut and her husband, who (in a second round of trail magic) picked us up and took us out to eat at the Fontana Lodge. Great people. Right now, Boogie, Salamander and I are at The Hike Inn, a short distance down the road. The Native American artifacts collection here is really extensive; we spent a while looking at all the arrowheads and other tools, and met Catzilla, a friendly lap predator who has followed me and Salamander back to our room. He seems to know that Salamander doesn't like cats as much as I do, and thus spends his time as close to Salamander as possible. I think Catzilla is looking for handouts, but should have learned by now that we thru-hikers don't give up food easily! Then again, felines are expert Yogi-ers, so I should probably study Catzilla's behavior and work on my own technique.We visited the outfitter at Fontana to pick up fuel and other supplies for the Smokies. The people there weren't as knowledgable as the ones at Walasi-Yi or NOC, but they had everything we were looking for. The fuel canister I got is a different brand from what I normally use, so hopefully no explosions will result...
Date: 2007-03-05
From: NC28

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

And into the Smokies we go! We originally were aiming for Russell Field, but we got a sort of late start (Boogie had to wait for the PO to open) and ended up at Mollies Ridge instead. Not that I'm terribly upset about that--this is the nicest shelter I've stayed in so far, and Salamander has got a good fire going. There's a tarp over the entire front of the shelter that is keeping the heat in and the wind out, so it's almost toasty instead. What I don't understand is the lack of a privy--it seems totally unrealistic of the park service to expect hundreds and hundreds of people to pass through here and not leave any trace. The result, predictably, is scraps of TP all over the hillside. The Fellowship of the Egg (so we've been dubbed by Boogie after eating a six-egg omelet each at the hostel) has acquired an honorary member, Mr. Happy, who started his hike in January but got hypothermia and left the trail for a few weeks. We met him and his father at the hostel and then again at Shuckstack tower, where his father left to head home. For some reason, I actually went up in the extremely rickety old tower and had a terrible time getting back down. My legs went so weak I had Salamander take pictures for me at the top. He thought it was pretty funny. I guess it sort of was The dam was deserted but impressive, a huge structure that looks even huger because of the low level at which the lake is kept. The dam is apparently not strong enough these days to hold back the lake at full capacity--Hiker Nut and Boogie both say that Fontana has been kept low for years now. The AT was rerouted for a while after 9/11 because of security concerns, but we didn't see any TVA employees or rangers when we crossed. Quote of the day...Backyard Boogie, leaning against a tree next to a precipice: "I hope this isn't an ent!"Thanks to Hiker Nut and her husband for your help, in case you ever read this! It was very much appreciated. Also, a big thanks for everyone who has signed my guestbook...your notes have been a great encouragement.
Date: 2007-03-06
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derricks Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

This shelter isn't as nice as Mollies Ridge, but it has an indoor fireplace too; Salamander and I gathered wood for it--Boogie is really tired, and Mr. Happy is sick and tore up his heel--and Salamander got it lit. I'm lousy at getting fires started, but got water for everyone down at the spring. This is one of the great things about hiking with other people--I help others when I can, knowing that they'll help me when I need it. This group of hikers, at least. Good people. Impressive views from Rockytop, although Thunderhead was a bit of a disappointment (you have to stand on this little stack of rocks to see over the rhododendron there). Mr. Happy is hiking in Crocs because of his foot, and moving pretty slowly. Makes me very glad my heels are almost better. I came across El-Train napping on Rockytop in the sun; he had been heading SOBO after badly injuring his knee the day before. He's hoping to hitch to D.C. and stay with relatives there for a while, until his knee is well enough to hike on. The Smokies seem to be particularly hard on hikers' bodies, or maybe the days and days of walking are just beginning to catch up with people. A beautiful area, though, with high elevations and stunning views. We've been lucky to have perfect weather. It's not even hazy. And we haven't run into any bears or hogs. There were wild hog heads mounted on the walls at the Fontana Lodge, and those are some seriously wicked-looking creatures. I have seen some places where they've torn up the soil, and found myself wondering how well I could climb a tree with my pack on. Ack.
Date: 2007-03-07
From: Derricks Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

This shelter is down in a thick grove of evergreens, and the spring is not nearly as close as the sign indicates. Lots of people here tonight: Salamander, Boogie, myself, a alumnus thru-hiker named Tank, a SOBO named Combat, and two groups of spring-breakers from up north (I yogi-ed some TP from one of them, who was carrying a whole roll). Combat hikes with mouse traps that he sets up in the shelters at night, so hopefully he cleaned out Pecks Corner for us last night. I don't like the idea of killing animals, even shelter mice, but with hikers in and out all the time, it's pretty difficult for natural predators to keep the rodent population down. We crossed the highest point on the whole trail today, Clingman's Dome, in slightly hazy but otherwise perfect weather. We lay around on the stones at the foot of the tower for a while, letting the stone bench block the wind, and a couple of rangers came by and laughed at the sight of us sprawled out on the ground like that. Unlike Shuckstack, the tower at Clingman's didn't bother me at all, probably because it's not a all rickety and is accessed by a long concrete ramp rather than wooden steps missing nails. The climb up to the Dome wasn't bad at all, but we found on the way down that the trail was still a river of ice from cold weather earlier. This meant some very slow going, as we had to make major detours through steep, thick forest. Probably the most dangerous hiking so far on the trip. Even the Canadian weekenders we met were impressed by the ice, and we all took lots of pictures of it. You'd never know it was the trail if it weren't for the blazes; it looks like a frozen cascade. My feet are feeling good, and Salamander and I will probably increase our mileage after the Smokies, when we don't have to worry about always staying in shelters.Mr. Happy, sick and injured, had to leave the trail today. He took the Greenbrier Ridge trail down to Elkmont or some campground or other. We were sad to lose him! Hopefully he'll be back on the AT soon. El-Train too.
Date: 2007-03-08
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Another full shelter. For some reason I felt extraordinary tired today, and was extremely grouchy when I realized the shelter was almost half a mile off the AT. But then Bipolar Stroller and Crumbsnatcher gave me a doughnut, and all was well again. Dinner was an interesting affair, culminating in a stove explosion that threw one guy a good six feet back from the bench where he was sitting and tipped another one over backward. Fortunately, no one was burned: the canister bottom had blown out of their PocketRocket, popping their pot with dinner inside into the air with extreme force. My PocketRocket, thankfully, behaved itself. It was a shame that the only man out of the three using the exploding stove who didn't end up on the ground was the jerk who smoked in the shelter even after I politely asked him to step outside. Most hiker-smokers are very reasonable about that--I never even had to ask Hawk or Otto not to smoke inside, both of them being considerate people--but this guy was just, as Boogie put it, a total prick. Oh well. Since I'm allergic to the smoke, I now have cold symtoms and feel generally lousy. Newfound Gap was poor yogi-ing (I guess I didn't pick up any tips from Catzilla) and I'm hungry despite the wonderful doughnut. Didn't pack enough food for the Smokies.
Date: 2007-03-09
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Salamander and I have the shelter to ourselves tonight; Boogie stopped at Cosby, and will get into Standing Bear later in the day tomorrow. Since I'm low on food, I wanted to get into the hostel early. It wasn't a bad hike, especially with the long downhill coming into the shelter. Didn't feel as hard as the 14-miler into Pecks, and there's no obnoxious smoker here to make me sick. We made good time most of the way, about three mph. Guyot was a bit of a climb, though. Standing Bear tomorrow!
Date: 2007-03-10
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Green Corner Road
Miles today: 3.3

A near-0 day into the hostel at Standing Bear. What an interesting place! Salamander and I are staying in the cabin, which has big, comfy beds and a stream running right under the building. It's a good deal too, with internet and laundry included in the price, along with a ride to the Mexican restaurant where Curtis' wife works. I really like it here, and might stay another day if it weren't for the gourmet veggie cuisine awaiting me at the Sunnybank Inn at Hot Springs. Boogie is going to zero here instead of Hot Springs, but we should see him before we head out from there. I found out today that I've been offered a spot at one of the grad schools I applied to in the fall, and will probably be offered a place at one of the others. Both are making very good offers! I'm still waiting to here from two schools, and got turned down by one.It's quite late now--we had to stay at the restaurant until Maria got off (around 11), but there was live bluegrass music that kept us entertained the whole time. A weird thing: because the restaurant is within 2000 yards of a church, they can't serve alcohol. So it was bring-your-own-beer, and watching all the locals come in with coolers, jugs, etc., was really entertaining. The place was packed and the music was good. The food was even better!
Date: 2007-03-11
From: Green Corner Road

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Due to the time change, Salamander and I sort of miscalculated and hit Max Patch while the sun was still fairly high (I was hoping to see the sunset). It was slow going from the hostel to the top of Snowbird, a long, fairly steep climb; I was still tired from the late night at the restaurant, and my legs didn't want to work. Also queasy from eating probably twenty or so cookies out of Boogie's maildrop. Despite dire warnings from dayhikers, the climb up to Max Patch wasn't too bad. Snowbird was harder.Roaring Fork is a fairly new shelter, and all the signs had the mileage to it wrong (the old shelter that was removed had the same name). The shelter is close to houses, and there is a dog nearby that won't stop barking. It's driving me crazy. The gaps between the wall logs aren't chinked, and the wind blows right through here. Fortunately, it's not too cold, since my sleeping bag isn't entirely dry from its washing at the hostel. Two section hikers are sharing the place with us--nice guys who hope to hike the whole trail in 2009.
Date: 2007-03-12
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

Salamander and I reached the Sunnybank Inn too late in the day to be included for dinner, but we had a sizeable meal at the diner across the street. The Inn is an old Victorian house full of interesting books and decorations, as well as of hikers. Salamander got a little room in the attic and I got one in the basement, both of which were somewhat chilly but gave us some privacy (really nice after spending so much time in shelters). Woodstock, Boone, Sticker, the Walrus, and Hawk are all here, and Osprey passed through earlier (he slackpacked from Standing Bear to Hot Springs in one day!). Alleycat is apparently staying with a relative in Asheville for a few days. Hawk is still sick, and Elmer and Sunny have kind of mandated that he go to the health clinic--they think he may be developing pneumonia.There is a music room here, and I took a recorder and a hymnal down to the basement to play a little. My memory of recorder fingerings is lousy, but I had fun anyway. Salamander and I are playing a game of chess off-and-on in the next room; he's winning, but I like to think that's because I started out playing the game against myself (he took over the winning side!). The shower was lovely, if not as hot as the one at Standing Bear.
Date: 2007-03-13
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My first real zero day (since I ended up hiking three in and out of NOC). I'm at the library now, updating away, and may go to the hot springs with Salamander later. We did laundry this morning, after a delicious breakfast with everyone at the Inn. The muffins were especially good, but the cereal and melon were also delicious. Comparing maildrops with Salamander, since we plan on hiking together for a while longer. Mostly they seem to line up. Getting hungry again, despite eating a pack of girl scout cookies at the laundry. We'll probably go back to the diner for lunch. Mmm.
Date: 2007-03-14
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mt Shelter
Miles today: 11.0

We got a late start from Hot Springs, mostly due to a banking fiasco which is making it very difficult to get cash for food etc. My parents are working on it back at home, and hopefully will straighten out the problem soon. Salamander bought a crazy new hat from the outfitter, and I start laughing every time I look at him wearing it.I really enjoyed the little section of trail along the river, but the climb up from there wasn't so nice. We were going to go on to the next shelter, but it was raining and getting dark by the time we got to this one. There's a privy here (hopefully the "cathole areas" of the Smokies are a thing of the past, since cathole area=TP all over the place) and a piped spring. The two section hikers we shared a shelter with earlier, and who stayed at Sunnybank the same night we did, are here with us again tonight. Alleycat and Boogie are probably a day behind, and Fruit Fly as well, although he'll catch up with us in no time.Hung my bear bag on the first try
Date: 2007-03-15
From: Spring Mt Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

It started to rain about 6:00 this evening and is still going strong. Glad we were almost to the shelter when it started. Now it's foggy, too. Once again, we're sharing the shelter with the two section hikers; fortunately they're good company, a surgeon and a med student who share a dry sense of humor. The reason we got into camp so late today was trail magic at Allen Gap, where a sign directed us to a nearby home. There, two alumni thru-hikers made us Belgian waffles with pecans, huge bowls of vegetarian chili, and ice cream cake. Salamander had sweet potato pie as well. Then we hung around for about an hour, just digesting. Our hosts were very religious, but never got pushy enough to make me really uncomfortable. I ended up borrowing a book from them, and plan to mail it back from Damascus.The ridgewalk today was unimpressive; I'd like to go back someday in clear weather and hike it again. Ashley--great to hear from you! I enjoy all my guestbook entries, but getting one from somebody I know is particularly nice.
Date: 2007-03-16
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: moderate rain

After raining hard all night, it went ahead and rained all day too. The temperature dropped rapidly in the afternoon, and the wind picked up quite a bit. Cool and refreshing turned to icy and hypothermia-inducing. I had thought of going on ahead and tenting at Low Gap, but the sleet changed my mind. Salamander didn't get out of his bag at a reasonable hour, so I hiked alone and made great time, half-jogging the downhills. This is a nice shelter except for the vast distance to the privy--easily over a quarter of a mile, which in sleet is a very long way to walk in Crocs. I'm sharing the shelter now with the same two section hikers, Salamander, Fruit Fly, and another section hiker named Mark, who seems to be the most chilled of all of us right now. It isn't going to be a pleasant night. Fortunately I still have some dry clothes, and a dry sleeping bag.
Date: 2007-03-17
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Sams Gap
Miles today: 0.0

So, here I am at Miss Janet's, enjoying the warmth and internet access, as well as drying out all my wet stuff. How I ended up here? No, I didn't put in a 26 mile day. I got a ride with the two section hikers from Sams Gap rather than waiting until the Nolichucky River to come into Erwin. Why? My Camelbak more or less exploded in my nice, warm sleeping bag last night, soaking the bag, the liner, the thermarest, and all the layers of clothing on my right leg. Rather than risk hypothermia--it was snowing fairly hard this morning, and the wind is still ice-cold--I decided to do the sensible thing and come into Erwin for tonight. I'll get a ride out to Sams Gap first thing tomorrow, and be on my way again. With all the supplies I need to reach Damascus, including a lovely bottle of Nutella, which (believe it or not) I found at Walgreen's. To future hikers--the map of Erwin in the Thru-Hiker's Handbook doesn't quite line up with reality. But everyone we (Mark, Santa's Helper, and I--Sal's still out on the trail somewhere) asked for directions provided good ones, and we got where we needed to go.
Date: 2007-03-18
From: Sams Gap

To: vic of Spivy Gap
Miles today: 13.2

After a fairly late start, I hiked alone up from Sams Gap, stepping carefully--there was snow and ice on the ground--and enjoying the sunshine. Big Bald was incredible, glittering and ringed by ice-coated trees that were bowed down or stiffened into strange poses. I took a ridiculous number of pictures up there, but none of them came close to capturing the scene. It was probably the most breathtaking sight on the trip so far, except for that sunset on Siler. The rest of the day's hike was unremarkable in comparison. Not terribly difficult going, and I saw no one until after I had pitched my tent beside a noisy mountain stream, a short distance south of Spivy Gap (some dayhikers came by). I finally wrote a little poetry! Stopped at Bald Mt Shelter to jot down some lines in my notebook and the register. Here's a bit of it, for what it's worth:Mid-morning over wind-dwarfed trees--an ice-white reef the sunlight candles.What do they know, the summer walkers,behind the twin green shields of their sunglasses, within the long noteinsect hunger strums on air?