morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

Wow, what did I get myself into. Well first of all I am keeping a journal to do three things: 1) Note my experiences so I can later remember them because I don¢t have the best memory. 2) So that other people can read about my trip. 3) and lastly to keep myself busy when I am not doing anything so I don¢t go insane! I am not very good at writing so please deal with me please. My trip started the day before when Dad, Ruth and I drove down from Indiana ¢ my home ¢ to Greenville, GA so we could stay the night at our Uncle Pat¢s house. We arrived there around 11:30pm and got to talking. It wasn¢t until 2 hours later that we got to bed. So I woke up this morning around seven thirty and got going. Uncle Pat went to work so we got ready and left for Springer Mountain around 9:30am. We finally got there after much turning around and cursing of ¢Mapquest¢ at around 1:45 ¢ 2pm. We didn¢t go to Springer Mtn. First we went to Amicalolo Falls where we got me checked in and went to see the falls and take pictures. After that we then headed to Springer Mtn. where we said our good-byes to each other and made sure everything was together and then parted. As I took off I was a bit sad knowing I would not see my family and friends for four months. So I went on hiking until I came across tons of rhododendrom. They made a pathway with an arch. My was it beautiful! As I went on my pack kept getting heavier. I was getting pretty exhausted. I kept going on trudging my way up many steep inclines ¢ not like the ones I am used to at home. At one point I did get lost for 10 min., but it ended up I just needed to keep going forward to find the trail again. So after 3 hours of hiking like nothing I have done before I made it to the shelter doing 7.6 miles in 3 hours, which some man ( I forgot the name already) told me it was pretty good. He is also a thru-hiker from New York, he seems pretty nice. Well I set up camp and ate as quick as possible (hungry!!) and started writing this journal. I looked out of my tent ¢ wow! ¢ lot¢s of stars! Well I¢m pretty tired and this is only the first day so I best be off to bed. Night. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

This morning I awoke to the sounds of the birds and sunlight pouring into my tent, all around 6:30am. After I woke up from a broken sleep I ate breakfast and planned my trek for the day. I got going and left the shelter around 8:10am My legs were a bit wobbly from yesterday but I took off. Man is Georgia beautiful, but geeze is it steep and lots of mountains. So I trudged thru until around 11:00am. I then kept going until I met the guy from New York again after after passing an older couple and we stopped at a creek 1.3 miles from the shelter. The creek was beautiful and had lots of yellow and small purple butterflies. I made it to the shelter around 1:30 and was exhausted from the days march. So I plan to stay the night here and rest up and get ready to make a 13 mile tomorrow to Blood Mountain. The shelter is very nice it has a loft and a covered picnic table right in front of the shelter. I¢m going to sleep on the loft tonight so I can get an earlier start tomorrow. A little after I got to the shelter the guy from New York started smoking weed. It smelled awful. I don¢t know how people can smoke that! Yuck! As my trip goes on I have more confidence that I will make it. I know God, my luck and my stubbornness will lead me to the end no matter what it takes. May God be with you all. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-03-31
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night I did not get much sleep because Jake snored sooo loud! And the other guys made lots of noise. I tried taking my earmuffs and putting bandanas on my ears but it wasn¢t enough. It was warm last night but not warm enough to just be in my mummy liner so that kind of sucked. We all woke up around the same time and started to get rady Steve ( New York guy) took off first, then Delightfullynumb took off. Later Jake and I took off but he fell back pretty quickly. When I got to Gooch Gap I waited for Jake and we went and visited those who decided to stay there than the shelter. Jake and I took off again a bit after Rebel and the guy from Kentucky got there. As I made the 5 mile trek to Woody Gap, where I would have lunch ¢ even though I had no idea what time it was because my darned battery died in my watch, I passed by a bit of people including Lady Green and her husband and Bear with his wife. I finally got to Woody Gap and rested and waited till more of the crew got there. First Lady Green and her husband got there and we went to go get a picnic table and eat. I went to go fill up on water and when I got back most of the crew was there. So we all ate lunch and filled up on water and talked a lot. One by one we took off and I started the PUD¢s toward Wood Hole Shelter. That first climb sucked ass but at the top a large rock to stand on and see a great view of the mountains. After that I took off again but stuck behind some section hikers. So I stuck with them for a few miles and they stopped aside to wait up for the guys who fell back from their group. After they stopped I followed behind Jason and the girls behind me. We went uphill and we came to a creek where Lady Green and husband were taking a rest. We rested with them and Bear and wife showed up. After our break we took off again this time with Lady Green and husband up and down many a mountain side. We did this for almost 4 miles. This wore the ( insert your own word here cause I can¢t read what he wrote) out of me and made me move to the back eventually, all because I packed too much food and made my pack weigh a ton. We all finally made it to the trail and water J which was half a mile away from the AT. I filled up with water and went to the shelter and almost passed out from the lack of food eaten. I fixed dinner at 2 meals and drank half a Gatorade stix and felt much better. I then socialized a lot and went to bed in my tent. I now have no doubts about if I will make it. The other hikers here helped build up my self confidence. I thank them a lot, they are all nice people. Well, good night. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-01
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night kinda sucked. A thunderstorm struck the mountains and rained¢¦.and rained¢¦.and rained. I stayed dry buy my gear did not have such luck. The rain ran down under my tent and soaked up to anything on the floor. So this morning I woke up and was a little hot and woke up to everything wet. I did not get very discouraged but packed up my things wet knowing that I would make it to Neals Gap where I would stay at the Hostel and dry everything out. Once everything was packed I ate my poptarts and took off towards the very high Blood Mountain. On my way I noticed the rain brought in a thick fog which you could not see past 20 feet in front of you. I got to the bottom of the mountain and began the ascent. The climb there was not really that hard, all I had to do was keep moving forward up the mountain. I made it pretty easily to the top of the mountain where I rested at the Blood Mountain Shelter. I scouted around while taking my break and climbed some tall rocks from the rocks would have been a great view except for all the fog. After my break I started descending with Jason and the girls down the steep mountain. I hurt my knee coming down because I landed on the rocks to hard. Going down the mountain was harder then going up. We finally made it to Neals Gap where we rejoiced. At Neals Gap I got my pack stuffed looked at and sent much stuff home. But it was a good thing because now my pack weights 25 pounds with food and water. I also got a new battery for my watch and a sternum strap for my pack. I also sent extra food ahead to Waiahassi for my next stop. Then I got a bunk and shower for the night. We all spent the day resting and enjoying everyone of the crew coming in and joined us. The hostel provided a cookout for us which was real nice and I ate a lot. After dinner I called Dad and Mom to check in. They were real ecited to hear from me. Then I took a shower, used the flushing toilet and washed my clothes. It was a real nice day and enjoyed each others company. Rebel has lent me his handbook until I finish it. He has taught me a lot and so have others. They are all great people. Well good night. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-02
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I woke up and realized that time had jumped as hour forward. What a weird thing. I never had to do that before being from Bloomington, IN. Anyway I got up used the restroom and put on my zip off pants, though my underwear was still wet from washing them last night, so I went commando. After I got all changed had some breakfast and got all my gear packed up and ready to go. My knee was still bothering me and giving a sharp pain when I used it much, all from the decent from Blood Mountain. I lost my leatherman micro so I went to see if they had it in lost and found but they didn¢t. Right before I took off I took a quick picture of the place and left. As I started off the trail my right knee hurt so badly. The start of the trail was up hill and after a bit it didn¢t seem to hurt so I made it up the mountain pretty quickly and passed Jake and the girls. At the top of the mountain I readjusted my pack and started down. My goodness did that hurt my right knee! So I had to take my time going down and it took up a lot of time. But I didn¢t want to hurt myself because I know if I hurt myself more I would have to say goodbye to my hike. So the girls, Jake and Rael all passed me going down. But going up I passed Jake and Rael. And that kept going on. We all stopped at a place near a spring 200 yards away from the trail down hill. And that spring sucked, but it was the only water for 7 miles. Once all filled up we took off and I ended up hiking with the girls. We took a wrong turn at one point but found the trail again. The trail went pretty steeply down hill and I was in a lot of pain. So Aaron, she put an ace bandage on my knee. That helped a ton. So we went down the mountain and as we started up a real steep climb right after we crossed a parking lot it started to downpour and get slippery. But I kept hiking and got separated from the girls due to my knee. Eventually it stopped raining and cleared up and the sun came up. So a little later near 3pm I stopped for lunch. After lunch I started back up. I had to keep readjusting my pack due to the missing items that were now being shipped home. But I finally made it to the shelter around 4:45 pm. We sat and talked for a bit and Jason, Rael, and the girls took off. Again because there are a ton of people here, almost 50 have come through here. Well I made dinner and ate with Jake, talked to others and just went to bed. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-03
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

Man was today a long day! During the night the biggest, loudest, brightest, and wettest thunder storm came rolling through last night. I (cant read the word) down around 6am but picked up around 6:30 again and lasted until 8. I got up and packed things up and went and retrieved my food sack. Then I endeavored on trying to put up my very wet tent. Jake and I took our time together putting things up. At 9:45 (man I was a bit angry taking off so late) Jake and I took off. We stopped and took pictures. It wasn¢t long before I left Jake behind. After that I just kept walking. My knee felt much better today although I was careful still going down. I made it to Bive Mtn. Shelter around 1:10 pm. And ate lunch and met up with Lady Green, David, Casey (?) and Jason. Lady Green gave me some water she was going to throw out, because I was almost out. But Lady Green, David and Jason took off. After I was done eating I took off afain and wasn¢t to long before I ran into them. David¢s knee was really hurting him as he was doing down. So Jason and I went down to Unicoi Gap where we were given trail magic. Lady Green and David made it to the gap and we took pictures. But they went to Hiawassee for a couple of days so David¢s knee could heal. After a rest Jason and I took off up Rocky Mountain and we walked and walked until we got to the Cheese Factory site where I took a rest and ate the trail magic. After a little rest and knowing I had still a good amount of energy I took off for Tray Mountain Shelter on top of Tray Mountain. It was a beautiful view up there and well worth the trek up the mountain. After that climb I started to do down to the shelter, I got to the shelter around 6:15 pm and crashed in there. A little later Jason, Aaron, Lindsay and Steve and Rael strolled in but there was not enough room in the shelter. Today was a long day but I am proud of myself for making it this far on my bad right knee. I am also sure that if I keep improving I will make it to Maine on my deadline. All I can do is hope for the best, I do also miss my family and friends but not as much as I thought I would, probably because I know I will see them all this fall. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-04
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Tray Mountain Shelter is a very windy place especially when you are sleeping in only a mummy bag. The temperature got down to about 30 degrees inside the shelter ¢ out of the wind, which was blowing at the very least 20 mph. Well we woke up and didn¢t want to get out of our shells of warmth. It wa the coldest yet on my trip. I did get moving and packed up pretty quickly due to the cold. Before I left I froze my hands filling up on water. So I took off down the mountain around 8:30am. I was the last one to leave the shelter (although everyone who was in a tent was still sleeping except Rael) but soon I caught up to the three older guys who left earlier. Other than that the day was not very exciting. I saw lots of little birds hopping through the dead brush. So I just kept walking and did not see anyone. For lunch around 11:45, I stopped at Deep Gap Shelter. It was absolutely empty except for me. It was very windy there too and kept blowing my stuff. Once I ate I took off again and passed Sherpa as he was headed to the shelter. So I kept going up and up and up and a little down then up. For three miles again I did not see anyone. I finally came across two older guys who were section hiking and informed me I was close to Dicks Creek Gap. But ¢close¢ is an opinion because it was more than they said it was. When I got there and crossed the road¢¦.Lucky me! There was trail magic sitting there. There was a lot of trail magic and the people were very nice. So I ate and drank some and lounged in the sun although I covered my arms because they were burnt. There was a lady named Wonderfoot who talked me into going to Cloud 9 for the night. Cloud 9 is a place where thru hikers can stay for $20 in a pretty much resort house and use all the facilities. It¢s located on a trout farm and is a beautiful place. So she ran me there and showed me the place. Later the manager took me to the place I was picked up to see if there were any more hikers wanting to stay. There we picked up Rael and went into town so we could get supplies. When I got back I cooked up a big meal and spiced cider and feasted. Then I called Dad and talked to him for about 45 minutes. The rest of the evening I just relaxed and cleaned up things including myself. In a little bit I think I will take a dip in the Jacuzzi to help out my knee. Well good night to all and to all a good night. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I slept so well I didn¢t want to get moving in the morning. But I got up and going around 7am. Once I got all my things packed up I went downstairs to pack up my food. I made myself some oatmeal and got all my things packed up and brushed my teeth. Then Wonderfoot took me to the trail head after I said goodbye to Rael. From Dick¢s Creek Gap I started at 8:20. So I took off toward Plum Orchard Shelter. The hiking there wa very esy. So I kept going until I got to the Georgia/North Carolina border. I took a picture and kept going until I got to Bly Gap and took more pictures of the gnarled tree. After that I took off and man what a climb, actually not one but many steep steep climbs. It slowed me down quite a bit but once I got through them I took off again. I finally got to Muskrat Creek Shelter and ate lunch around 2pm. I stayed there for half an hour to rest my legs. Once I got my legs rested up I took off for Standing Indian Shelter to stay the night. It was a very very long 5 mile trek to the shelter. Once I got there there was only 1 person there. As I¢m finding out he is quite crazy (same age as me but dropped out of school). Then Delightfullynumb came in. Then another guy came and he is as crazy as the kid. They keep talking about all this weird stuff and drugs. I wish there was some more of the crew I was with but I blew past all of them I do hope they catch up to me so there are some other sane people. I hope I lose these two guys fast! Oh well. Peace out. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-06
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today I awoke to a nice clear day around 7:15. Delightfully-numb was kind enough to pull down my food bag and his so we could have breakfast in bed. So after breakfast we packed up and he took off while I went to the privy. When I got back I put on my pack, grabbed my poles, and took a picture and was off. North Carolina is much better/easier than Georgia. There are no 3,000 foot climbs. It is all pretty steady for the most part. That is probably why I made it to the shelter (Carter Cup Shelter ¢ 7.6 miles) in about 3 hours. The downside to moving that fast is that I hurt my left knee just as my right one was getting better. That slowed my time down so much on my way to Big Spring Shelter. North Carolina trails are nice and everything, but there are a ton of rocks on the trail. That I¢m thinking could be another reason why/how I hurt my knee. There were also a lot of creeks and streams that crossed the trail. So when I came upon Carter Gap I see a shelter on the left right away. So I pull off and sit there to have a snack and rest my knee. The shelter looked like a crap hole. There were a lot of flying/annoying bugs. So I finished eating quickly, took some ibuprofen and took off. Less then 45 seconds go by and there is another on the right. I went to check it out and realized that this one was the newer/real shelter. So I stayed there for a few minutes and took off. It was very slow moving because of my hurt knee. Well I kept going until I got to Betty Creek Gap, where I came across some other hikers and ate lunch with them. Then it started to rain on us so I finished eating and took off down the trail. The rain really wasn¢t that bad, it was just a nascence. I kept going and then came to the climb of Albert Mountain which was almost like rock climbing for about one third of the climb. When I did get to the top there was a fire tower. The view was gorgeous from up there. You could see so far and so much. It makes you think about all that God has created. At the highest part of the tower you could go it is 1 mile above sea level so I went up. After taking in the view I made off for the shelter. It wasn¢t very far and I came across it. When I got down to the shelter Delightfully-numb was there getting water and planning on staying the night. Soon after I got there two girls from earlier on the trail showed up (they were with the peace corps). We all got cozy in the shelter and I made dinner for myself. Not much else to do. Night. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

This morning woke up a little before 7 am. I got up and going pretty quickly because I knew it would take me a while longer to get where I wanted because of my knee. After I got packed up, ate breakfast, and got on the trail it was quarter till 8. The trail was pretty even except for the rocks and tree roots on/in the ground, which I kept catching my feet on. My left knee was really hurting me as I walked, especially when I was going down. But I found that if I ( can¢t read word) my knee when I walked I would lessen the pain dramatically. So I kept going until I got to Winding Stair Gap. As I got to Winding Stair Gap I prayed that there would be someone waiting to take me into town. When I reached the parking lot there was a guy named Crutch waiting right there to take hikers into town. I was very thankful that he was there. So he took me to the post office so I could pick up my food. Then he took me into the Budget Inn where I got a room for the night. I got there pretty early because I hoofed it to the Gap for I thought I would move on out of town to the next shelter but because of the giant storm there would be no room. So I went on the computers and e-mailed people I could not talk to on the phone. I also talked with Tripod and Ron (man who runs the inn) for a long time. For dinner Ron took us to a Mexican restaurant where we had tacos. I also picked up a knee brace to help me out on the trail. In my room at night I called my parents and made a second dinner for myself. I also cleansed myself pretty well. I kept watching the weather channel for the forecast of the week. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain all day but besides that the week is supposed to look clear. There really is not much to do by yourself at night. Although I did thoroughly clean a lot of my gear, so at least it looks nicer. Well I should go to bed to get up early and get on the trail. P.L.A.
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up this morning at around 6:30 and ate breakfast and got ready. At what I thought was 7:30 I went out to check out but it seems that their time is different. So I bought a pastry and went back to my room. Then at the right time I went out to meet Crutch and checkout. He took me back to the trailhead and I was on my way. It was pretty foul out and very very foggy so I kept going and going not stopping for some reason I felt like I just needed to keep going. I finally got to the (can¢t read word) lookout tower on top of Washy Bald but could not see a thing because of the clouds, so I just kept going. A couple hours later the sky began to break up and the sun came out. A while later I got to the shelter where there were already many people there. But I got a spot on the end under the overhang. This guy named Journey played his guitar and sang all evening, it was very nice to listen to. Later in the evening it started to do a little rain on and off and that made it foggy again. I awoke late at night and looked out of the shelter to see the stars. That threw me a bit but then realized all the rain was pretty much gone. Well signing out. P.L.A. I also met Jaybird last night too. He hiked AT last year, was 5th to finish, then yo yoed back to Springer.