morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-09
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center, Wesser, NC

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center, Wesser, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept great last night in my bunk bed with a real mattress. I got a chance to sleep in. Songbird and I were the last ones to get up. After my shower I had to dry off with my pack towel, not fun (haha). Then we went to breakfast and I had some great French Toast and Eggs. Then we decided on when we wanted to go Rafting. We found out that there was a rafting race and it was the 40th anniversary of Noc. We changed and watched a rafting safety video and got loaded onto a bus with our PFD's, paddles and jackets. Once we got up the river a ways we got out and carried our raft into the water. We had 7 of us in an 8 person raft. I was the one who did the steering because I had the most experience. We had a BLAST rafting! I fell in trying to get another raft unstuck and once getting our raft unstuck. The water felt great. After our leasurely trip down the 11 mile river I got some lunch and got ready for the rafting race. I had Amelia hold my stuff. So Tom (aka Doppler), Charlie (aka Pourch Monkey, Charlies friend James and I took a bus ride up the river. There were 20 teams. We did groups of three with a new group leaving every minute. Our raft was near the end. We paddled our arms off but did not move very fast. Towards the end we had to slide in behind rocks and we missed two of the five stops. So we got hit with a two minute penality. We came in 10th out of 20 teams though. Two teams had Olympic Rafting members on it. We bit off a little more than we could chew. After the race we had a couple of beers and hung out with my new trail family. Its funny how last week I didn't know any of these people and now I feel like we are family. (Me, Amelia, Tom-Amelia's dad, Donna-Amelia's mom, Andrew, Charlie and Joe) I ate a 16 inch pizza all by myself and a brownie ice cream sundae. It was delicious! After dinner I took a shower, did some laundry, brushed my teeth, took a nice poop on a real toilet! Then we hung out in the room, talked and I caught up on some journals. I was beat from Rafting so I was ready for bed. We joked awhile and then I layed down to go to sleep. It was the perfect zero day. We planned out the next couple days, so we should be good to go. We did look at the weather for the next couple days so most likely we will be hiking in the rain... Good night everyone.
Date: 2012-06-10
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center, Wesser, NC

To: Cody Gap Campsite
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up at 6:30am and it was pouring down rain. I took a nice hot shower, it was amazing. After my shower, I changed and packed up all of my stuff in my room. Once we were all set we walked down and Amelia's parents treated us to breakfast. I had French Toast and Eggs. We filled up all of our water bottles and I got more fuel for my stove. We said our good-byes to Amelias's parents and started off in the rain. It kind of sucked, it was up hill the entire 19.5 miles today. Ideally we wanted 16.5 miles but when we got to the shelter it was packed with Boy Scouts, so we had to press on. My knees started bothering me pretty bad so I took some medicine and it really helped. We made it to the Cody Gap Campsite and set up our tents. In a short time it stopped raining. I cooked up some Ramen and Hot Chocolate. Amelia's stove fell over and lit on fire. It was really funny, but only after I realized that she was OK, because when the alcohol lit on fire it scared the shit out of me because I thought she got burned. We hung our food and as soon as I got in my tent, it started pouring again. Can you say perfect timing. (haha) Andrew and I slept in my tent and Amelia and Joe slept in her tent. We put all of the packs in Joe's tent. We had to set up on a hill so we had to continously push ourselves back up, but it was OK. This is my last piece paper, so good thing I'll be in Fantana Dam, NC tomorrow. It is suppose to RAIN ALL DAY TOMORROW! NOT GOOD, but good night... Thanks for your prayers and I miss all of you guys but I am having fun.
Date: 2012-06-11
From: Cody Gap Campsite

To: Fantana Village Resort
Miles today: 10.2

It was pouring when we woke up, but I got us all up. I broke down camp and let Spook pack his stuff up and get changed in my tent. Kit Kat and Songbird shared her tent. We wanted to put a big person and a smaller person in the same tent. We all got soaked and cold. We hiked 10 miles to Fantana Dam. We got a shuttle and stayed at Fantana Village Resort. We bought food at the market and did our laundry. My knee was really hurting so I called my special trainer Sara for some advice. We all showered then got a milk shake. I got a mint chocolate chip. I snacked on pop tarts, crackers, Butterfinger, Kit Kat and a Milkyway. Then we got dinner, a burger and a personal pizza. After dinner we used a hose to wash our tents and ground tarps. Then we sat back and had a couple of beers and waited for our stuff to dry. It was a really cool experience that night. Songbird and I shared a bed and Kit Kat and Spook shared a bed. I slept great that night in a REAL bed.
Date: 2012-06-12
From: Fantana Village Resort

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

In the morning I got up, showered, got dressed. We all packed up our packs and walked down to the post office. That is where we met up with Porch Monkey. I got my first package from home. It was glorious! I got more Ramen, Oatmeal, Starbursts, Almonds, batteries and my new Debit Card. I got my first letter from Tessa. It was really cool. I mailed some stuff home that I did not need or want. I am left with stuff I actually need and want. Then we got a ride from Charlie's friend back to the trail. When we got to the trail I took one last trip to the bathroom, in a real bathroom before we headed out. We hiked to Mollies Ridge Shelter. Songbird and I were the first to get there and it was full of boy scouts. They made room so we could all fit. We all decided to start doing pushups to work out our upper bodies since we work out our lower bodies every day by going up and down mountains. I slept pretty well that night. We all were supposed to hang our packs on the bear hanger. That was a funny experience hanging 4 packs on two hooks. It was heavy. We had smores that night.
Date: 2012-06-13
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter.
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up at 7am, cooked up some breakfast, which for me was 2 oatmeals. Then we all packed up and rolled out. PS, we met a guy last night. He snored at every octave. It was so loud that we gave him the trail name PJ's, because he wears pajamas. He is a grad student at New Orleans. Oh, and another thing, this dude next to me in the shelter woke up at 1am. He kicked the shit out of me, then shined his light in my eye, yelling I lost my glasses. (haha) After tearing up the shelter I convinced him to go back to sleep and that we would find them in the morning. Apparently he found them in the morning because when I woke up he just smiled at me weirdly and said I got them. (haha) But anyway, we hike 12 miles to Derrick Knob Shelter. Once again I got there first and it was up hill all day. My knee was still bothering me but I took some Ibuprofen and have been sucking it up. When I got there the shelter was full of two boy scout troops. I set up my tent in a prime tall grassy spot. Talk about comfy. I shared my tent with Song Bird. Porch Monkey slept in his tent and Spook slept in his hammock. Kit Kat slept in his bevy sack under the shelter porch. I had 2 Ramen and a Hot Chocolate. I took a bath under a water pipe to get clean. I slept great that night. We met a German guy named Andy. He is 44 and really cool. I enjoy my trail family's company. It's been an amazing trip so far. Even though it has rained like 15 out of the 20 days I have been out here. I'm now up to 30 pushups in the morning and at night.
Date: 2012-06-14
From: Derrick Knob Shelter.

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

We slept in a little bit this morning until about 8:30am and were on the trail by 9:30am. The boy scouts left before us though. We have hiked 190 miles but I have hiked 200 miles because I include the Approach Trail. This day we hiked about 8 miles when we caught the one group of boy scouts. They gave us all kinds of food to cut down on their weight. I felt like the lost and found because when they forget something, I carried it out to them. On our approach to Clingmans Dome, we hiked through an intense thunder storm with loud thunder and lightning. I prayed that it would clear up when we got to Clingmans and it did. When we got there it was bright and sunny and we got some good pictures. Then we went onward to Mt. Collins Shelter. The Smokey Mountains have been up and down and that is no joke. It rained when we got to Mt. Collins Shelter so I cooked dinner, got my stuff set up and we played Rummy. (I won) We met some people who snored the night away. I love sleeping when it is raining as long as I stay dry.
Date: 2012-06-15
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We started in the mist of rain, but what else is new. I hiked by myself in the morning and hiked 5.2 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes to Newfound Gap. Once I got there I was on the North Carolina / Tennessee boarder. It was a huge tourist attraction. I took pictures and saw my first sign for Katahdin, it said 1972 miles. I turned my phone on and actually had some service so I called my mom, left a message, then called my dad and talked to him for 20 minutes about mail drops and updating him on my trip. I sent out a couple of texts, then lost service so we started hiking again. I hiked liked a "FLASH" to Charlies Bunion. The view was amazing. I felt like I was on top of the world. After 20 minutes of us waiting there for Songbird, 2 guys showed up that were way behind us so I asked them if they had seen her. They said no. So I "RAN" 1.5 miles back down the trail to see if maybe she got hurt. No sign of her. So I ran back to Charlies Bunion. Everybody started hiking forward. So I half ran, half walked fast to catch everyone else because we thought maybe she just passed the sign. I passed Andy, Porch Monkey, Kit Kat and none of them had seen her so I admit we were a little bit nervous. I passed a guy headed South, he said that he did not pass her. So I waited for everyone to catch up. We decided on a plan of action. When I got to the top of the mountain, I turned my phone on and by a miracle, I had some service. I got a text from Songbird saying that she took a detour by accident saying "I went 5 miles on a side trail, don't worry I am fine." "I'll just be getting to Peck's Corner Shelter really late." I volunteered to speed up to the shelter, drop my pack, fill up on some water and hike back to keep Song Bird company so she wouldn't have to hike in the dark by herself. I hiked about 5 miles until I found her outside Charlies Bunion. We hiked back to the shelter and got there at 8:30pm. I found a guy's hat on the way back too. So, it was a 15 mile regular hike + 3 mile running to Ice Water Spring Shelter and back to Charlies Bunion and 10 miles to escort Songbird back to Pecks Corner Shelter. So, a 28 mile day today. I ate a Mountain House for dinner and went to bed. I was so tired, I slept like a freaking dead man! (haha) When I woke up in the morning we intended to hike 20 miles to Davenport Gap Shelter and exit the Smokey's. I found that a mouse gave birth to babies in my pack and they chewed the shit out of my Under Armour boxers. I got some pictures. I was so pissed but at the same time it was funny.
Date: 2012-06-16
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower
Miles today: 15.7

After the mouse incident, we ate breakfast, made fun of Songbird for taking a side trail and started hiking. It was actually really nice out. We hiked a lot of up and down as we crossed several mountains. Once we got about 15 miles in, Songbird and I decided to check out Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower while Kit Kat waited with our packs. Mt. Cammerer was .6 miles off of the trail. Once we saw the tower it was clear we had to stay and watch the sun set. So we ghetto rigged up a water collection process since there was hardly any water. Porch Monkey, Songbird and I got the water. We cooked dinner. I had 2 Ramen and some snack foods. Then we hung out, listened to some music and watched the sun set. It was amazing! It was like the perfect day. We were hoping to watch the sunrise too, so we all got up at 5:30am. It rained until about 9am, so we pretty much missed out on that opportunity. I have taken so many pictures so far. The views have been awesome and the company has been perfect. It is funny, you get either mentally, physically or spiritually humbled every day. I can feel my legs getting stronger. The veins pop out of my calves now. I have hiked about 241 miles and I am still having the time of my life. Here is a shout out to my Lancashirre family.
Date: 2012-06-17
From: Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

After we missed the sunrise because of the rain we hiked out of the Smokey Mountain National Park. It was super hot in North Carolina but luckily it was mostly downhill. We hit/crossed several roads until we hit I-40. We walked along the highway for a little bit until we found the trail again. Our goal for the day was to get to Standing Bear Hostel. After about an 8 mile hike we came out to a gravel road. We almost missed the Hostel all together. It was a good thing we called and asked where they were located. We walked about .5 miles down the gravel road till we got to Standing Bear. Once we got there we picked out our bunks and all took showers in the outdoor shower. Talk about awesome. The shower was nice and hot. I took like a 15/20 minute shower. I even shampooed my hair and beard. After we all bought some snacks from the snack room (I'll have to show you that picture) I had some peanuts and a Mountain Dew. Then we all did our laundry. I was truly humbled here because we had to use a tub of water and a wash board. This is something I have never done. It kind of worked out but I'll be honest, not the best wash job. We all walked around with our shirts off to get some sun. For dinner I had a Digiorno Pizza, it was really good. We met a guy named Mitch, he is 22 from Louisiana. He is going to start hiking with our group. PS, I weight myself after my shower and I almost had a heart attack. It told me I lost 30 pounds but luckily the scale was off and I only lost about 18 pounds. We played Rummy and Songbird won. Then it started pouring. It was nice to be stopped and dry. We were entertained by a squirrel and a cat playing together. I slept OK that night but my feet definitely hung off the end of the bed.
Date: 2012-06-18
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We all were excited to get moving again. We hiked up a lot today day but the terrain wasn't that bad. We were all moving pretty fast. When we hit Max Patch Summit, we spend about 1/2 hour checking out the amazing view. We were on a huge grassy mountain top. We all ate some lunch and took tons of pictures.   It is kind of funny, we could see it raining out in the distance. Once we started getting close to Roaring Fork Shelter, it started pouring. It was a thunderstorm. We really did not get that wet though, thanks to the tree cover. When we finally got to the shelter, it was kind of a tight fit. I got changed, cooked up some dinner and enjoyed 2 sodas that a guy was giving away. It was definitely some trail magic. I had 2 cokes at the road crossing and a coke and sprite with dinner. I even had some hot chocolate for dessert. A group of boy scouts rolled in while it was raining. I felt bad, some of them it was their first camping trip and they were real wet. Some of them looked miserable. They all camped in tents. The shelter was so packed that Kit Kat left to sleep on the picnic table. We also met an older guy named Zigfoot and a guy from Florida nicknamed Chainsaw who was 23. He got his nickname because he snores really loud. We also met 2 people who were on the support team for the women who hold the record for the fasted though hike, 43 days. It rained most of the night but cleared up in the morning. I slept like a rock that night.
Date: 2012-06-19
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Elmers Hostel (Hot Springs)
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

When I woke up in the morning, it was nice out but wet from the night's rain. I had a snickers bar for breakfast. I packed up all of my stuff and we were out. The hike was pretty easy in the morning, mostly downhill for a change. (haha) Once we hit the first road, Lemon Gap, we all took a break and had a snack. We waited for Porch Monkey, but he was taking forever. Everyone left but I waited. Turns out he hiked 45 minutes, found out he left his hiking stick and went back to get it. Once he caught up we tried to catch up to the group. Climbing Bluff Mountain was tough and tiring. The hike down to Hot Springs was fast.   We were practically running down the mountain. Once we walked into town we stopped at Elmer's Hostel. It was an old Victorian house with lots of rooms. We all took nice hot showers and got changed into our clean clothes. I was in room #7. I was sharing with an older man who was hiking South. We went to dinner at a restaurant across the street. I had a fried chicken meal with a leg, a wing and a breast. It was very good. I ate some of the other guy's leftovers too. After dinner, Mitch (aka Skippy) and I went on a walk into town. We walked the entire town, about .5 miles and found out what times the post office, library, laundry and outfitter opened. That night we all watched a movie and played Rummy (which I won) and snacked on things we bought from the Dollar General. I had Oreos and chocolate milk (Yum) and 2 Gatorades. We went to bed at 12:30am, way past the hikers midnight of 9pm. (haha) I had a twin bed that my feet hung over the end a lot but the bed was pretty comfortable.
Date: 2012-06-20
From: Elmers Hostel (Hot Springs)

To: Elmers Hostel (Hot Springs)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I had a chance to sleep in since we were taking a Zero day. I woke up at 8:15am in time for breakfast. Elmer made us pancakes with nuts in them, they were OK. We also had a lot of fruit and some granola. After breakfast we all showered, got changed and put all our stuff out to dry. (tent, sleeping bag, pack, pretty much everything) We went to the Outfitter where I got some sock liners. I was going to get a shirt because I am getting tired of my button up shirts but it is a good thing that I didn't because my parents mailed me a dry fit shirt. I went to the post office and got my package. It is like getting a present on Christmas. We put all of our laundry in the washer and went to make a reservation for the Natural Hot Springs, which is a hot tub at the Hot Springs Spa. Then we went to lunch to kill some time until our reservation. Kit Kat, Nurtilla and Chainsaw went to a bar to get burgers and beer but Songbird, Porch Monkey, Skippy, Spook and I went to an ice cream shop. I got a chicken sandwich and a mint chocolate chip milkshake. (my favorite) I also tried a banana shake that Songbird got, it was pretty good. Then I went to the public library to check my email and I read some of the comments on Trail Journals. Thanks everyone for the encouragement, I really appreciate it. I am doing great and am having the time of my life. I also got 2 more letters today. They were amazing. I love getting letters. We went to our reservations at the Spa. We put 8 people in a hot tub and had a couple of beers. It was so relaxing and felt good to soak my feet. On the walk back to the hostel I treated Skippy and Songbird to another milkshake. So good... I weighed myself at Elmers and was down to 215 pounds. That means that I have lost a total of 20 pounds. Elmer was a famous vegetarian chef and he made us a 4 course meal for dinner. (soup, salad, rice/curry and a coffee cake with ice cream for dessert) I think I gained back my 20 pounds on this dinner. It was my first vegetarian meal, it was OK, but I like my meat. I ate my snack foods too in case I didn't like dinner, so I was beyond full. I had to go for a walk. I borrowed Songbirds phone to call my parents and give them an update. That night we went to a sports bar with live music but I just drank like 20 glasses of water. After that we went swimming in a creek in the dark. It was a lot of fun. I took a nice trip to the bathroom, then took a shower, then went to bed.
Date: 2012-06-21
From: Elmers Hostel (Hot Springs)

To: Shelter (unknown) Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: broken clouds

We got up in the morning, packed up everything best we could. There are two things that work against you every time you leave a town. #1, your pack always weighs a ridiculous weight because of all of the food you buy, #2, you always start out going uphill. On this day though, there was a 3rd factor working against us. On this day, June 21 is the first day of summer and is Naked Hiking day. So Charlie took full advantage of this holiday by wearing a sock over his privates and that was it. He waited until we were out of town of course. The rest of us did not partake in this holiday.   But to back track a little bit, we went to breakfast at the restaurant across the street from Elmers. I had French Toast and Scrambled Eggs, it was delicious. We stopped at the Outfitter before we left where I filled up on white gas. So we walked up hill a ways leaving town and when we got to the top, I had to poop so badly. I ran into the woods, dropped my pack and I fell/rolled down a small hill. It was worth it when I was done. I hiked by myself most of the day thinking about life and the people in my life. I get reminded how lucky I am every day to have my family and friends. When I got to my shelter I chose my tent spot first because the shelter sucked and plus I did not fit length wise. Most of us slept in our tents. Once we got set up it started raining really hard. We moved the picnic table under the shelter, my idea (haha) and cooked dinner, hung out, then cleaned and played Rummy. Luckily the rain stopped when we were getting ready for bed. It ended up raining all night. I stayed dry though.
Date: 2012-06-22
From: Shelter (unknown)

To: Shelter (Unknown) Flint Mt. Shelter 
Miles today: 12.7

I woke up extra early to get water for everyone. Then we cooked, cleaned, packed up and headed out. We hiked more up and down today. The days are all seeming to blend together. If it wasn't for my watch I would have lost track of the days of the week. Every day we get up, hike about 17 to 20 miles and the routine continues.   I listened to my I-Pod today a lot and it helped bring balance to my mind. I once again hiked ahead of everyone. We hiked uphill for a long time today. Everything seemed to go up. I got some pictures today. I saw a nice waterfall, thought about taking a shower, but kept pushing forward. Turns out everyone else stopped and showered. Anyway, I got to the shelter 45 minutes before everyone else. I collected fire wood, got 6 liters of water and set up my tent. Once everyone got there we all cooked and cleaned up. Charlie (Porch Monkey) wasn't feeling well, so we went to bed early. Charlie sounded pretty sick all night. Apparently, there were bears around our campsite, but I slept right through it. The water was .3 miles away so getting water kind of sucked but Songbird and I got water at night so we could just leave in the morning. I slept great that night but heard Porch Monkey moaning and just being sick. I felt bad for him.