morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-06
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day one turned out a lot different then I expected. I caught my ride to Springer Mountain and climbed to the top to make my official start, a .9 mile climb. My picture was taken signing the register by a family that was seeing their son off on his thru-hike. He said his trail name is Fraggle. With the picture taken and the register signed, I started my adventure by hiking the .9 miles back down to the trail. The preparation I did at home walking with the pack did not prepare me for the climbs of the trail and it seemed it took forever to get to the top of the mountains. Yes, there are mountains and lot of them.I tented the first night at Hawk Mountain shelter. The climbs were exhausting. I did not feel like eating so I went inside my tent around 6:30pm and fell asleep. There were about 16 people either camping or tenting at the shelter. The total miles covered on the first day were 7.6 hard miles. I will have a lot to learn over the next couple of weeks, but I passed the novice test. Good night all.
Date: 2005-03-10
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Day five turned out great! It was below freezing and snow had fallen over night at Neel¢s Gap. It was extremely cold when I started back on the trail. Around noon it cleared up and I was soon hiking without a jacket on. I'm starting to get some hiking legs and felt like eating. I have a lot to learn about what food to prepare to and how to prepare it. My outdoor culinary skills aren¢t honed yet. I'll think I will make tuna tomorrow however I need to take another day off to get different foods to eat. One thing about not eating the weight is coming off. I find it surprising that I'm not able to eat more than I do. I took lot of pictures today. Every mountain had a vista with one or more views as you would go around the top before starting down. I'm staying at the Low Gap shelter and decided not to tent since I passed the tent area and did not want to hike back up to it. I did 10.5 miles today.
Date: 2005-03-11
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Cheese Factory
Miles today: 13.0

I have been thinking a lot about my trail name and have not really decided on one yet. I determined today would be the day I would recieve my trail name. I was first thinking about using the name Short Cut due to getting my hair cut short and everyone commenting on how short it was. That could have been one name.At Neel¢s Gap, I could have gotten another name. We went to Cookie's, an AYCE (that is an acronym for All You Can Ear), for dinner. There were six of us and we all ordered the buffet. The bill came and we noticed that five of us were charged $7.49 and one was only charged $6.99. We all assumed the one for $6.99 was for the one young lady who did not have a drink with her meal. I was first in line to pay and they rang up the $7.49 check and I tried to pay but she said that was not mine. I told them that I had a drink with my meal and I should pay for it. The cashier said mine was $6.99 because I got the senior citizens discount. So Senior Discount could have been my name.My next choice could have been white gloves. I have a pair of white wool gloves that I used for running that I brought for around camp. My heavy hiking gloves I can not really handle anything they are two big and bulky. So White Gloves could have been another option.All day on the trail you are either hiking, eating, thinking, or taking in a view. Well, I was still thinking of the trail name. One thing the Smith's have been known for is our Smith grin. We all seem to have the little grin including uncles and cousins. When dad died we were lucky to be able to take care of him at home. I have three of my brothers that still live in town so we all took turns taking care of both of our parents at that stage of their life. When dad died we all were at the house that morning and Hospice came and got dad ready. When we saw him he had that little grin and we all knew he died a happy man with his family at home with him.My parents and my family are the reason I have gotten to this point. So to honor my father I decided my trail name will be Dad's Grin.I am spending the night in the tent at the Cheese Factory Site. It started snowing around noon and there were still light snow flurries when I was setting up the tent. The wind was howling. My guess was 30 mph. I was in my bag and asleep by 6:30pm.Total miles today = 13
Date: 2005-03-12
From: Cheese Factory

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

I'm starting to get better at the packing, unpacking, and the nightly set up. I noticed that things now have a certain place and order that they need to go inside my pack. Having said that, it seem that no matter what order I put my stuff sacks in, something is out of place or I can not find something when I need it. The big thing I will be able to practice this week is how to pitch my tent in the rain. The weather forecast has said it is going to be rainy this week. It appears if I leave the rainfly and the tent attached at the clips, I will be able to get the rainfly up first keeping the rain out and the tent can go up under the fly. For those that don't camp the rainfly is what keeps you dry in a double walled tent such as the one that I am using. It goes over the tent which has the netting for keeping the bugs out the sleeping area and also keeps the tent vented and fresh air flowing through it. I learned my lesson today not to push too hard on the hiking distance. When I try to go further than I should, I get too tired and then do not want to eat. That is what I did today. I tried to get to Dick¢s Creek Gap so I could hitchhike into town and get something to eat. It was a 12.5 mile day and by the time I got to town I was more tired than hungry. We went to an AYCE however I didn¢t eat as much as I should have because I was so tired. I am spending the night in a hostel in Hiawassee, GA. I plan on a zero day tomorrow to rest, wash clothes and re-supply. Total distance hiked after seven days = 66.6 miles.
Date: 2005-03-13
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The new term for today is "zero day", which means a day with no hiking. On these days you are usually in a town doing laundry, getting supplies, trying to catch up on email, going to the post office for a mail drop, and getting ready for the next push on the trail. My timing wasn't the best for email since the library, which has internet access, was closed. The hostel I was staying at did not have email access.
Date: 2005-03-14
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I¢m back on the trail, but I have a little problem for Mrs. Pishkur¢s class.One thermometer inside a trail shelter said it was 24 degrees and another thermometer inside my tent said it was 26 degrees. What was the average temperature?If the rule of thumb for hiking says its 10 degrees warmer in the tent or shelter, how cold was it outside?With the outside temperature and a 30 mile an hour wind, what did the wind chill factor make it feel like?A hint: You can find wind chill factor charts that will tell you what the temperature feels like if you know the temp and how fast the wind is blowing. That is how cold it was one morning out here in the mountains of the Appalachian Trail. Good luck and have fun.
Date: 2005-03-15
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

As I started out from Muskrat shelter it started snowing again and all the cold weather gear come out of the backpack. One of the problems I am having with the cold weather is that it is too cold to take pictures. I would have more pictures by now however it has been just too cold. In addition, my battery charger is not working. Hopefully I can get a new one when I get into Franklin on Thursday morning. I've now slept in my tent in the snow, and as I write this tonight at Carter Gap Shelter it is raining.I'm feeling much better today and my eating habits have improved. It is starting to rain harder and I'm getting cold, so good night for now.Total distance hiked today 12.5
Date: 2005-03-16
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.5

I'm going to stop trying to keep track of the day count. I am finding it too hard if I don't update the journal daily. The time just runs together so it will be better to keep it by each day¢s starting point and destination.We started out this morning from Carter Gap shelter. With my slow pace, I'm usually one of the last ones arriving at a shelter. By the time I get to a shelter they are usually full so I am required to sleep in the tent. This shelter was actually made up of two separate shelters. One was a newer shelter and then there was an older shelter still standing. No one in the group I was with wanted to stay in the old shelter because we all thought the mice would carry you away. One couple that had been hiking with us showed up just right before dark. And because the rain had started again, they opted for the shelter. The next morning they mentioned they did not have any problems. It has been raining off and on all night so my tent got packed up wet again.Because of the weather I am soaked and I haven¢t been able to see any good views.Hiked today 12.5 miles
Date: 2005-03-16
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

We started from CGS wanting to get to Rock Gap shelter, making a 12.1 mile hike. The weather is cloudy and the visibility is only about 50 yards. At least this way you don¢t see the climbs that are approaching. I just kept pushing ahead watching the trail beneath my feet. It didn't rain today, but with the dew and rain from the day before, I had to wear my rain gear all day. It almost felt like rain with everything dripping off of the trees. The spring break kids seem to be going home today and when we arrived at the Rock Gap Shelter it was vacant. I did my first meal using both the stove and cozy I made. It worked well, so I had yellow rice with tuna.I was able to see a site popular at this shelter. About a half mile from the shelter is a yellow poplar tree. It¢s named the Wasalik Poplar and is said to be the second largest yellow poplar tree in the world. I believe it is something like 375 years old. The forest was made up of trees like this one before the earliest logging was done. They say one like it was cut down back in the initial days of logging, but it almost killed the oxen getting it out. So they did not go back and cut this one down.I've seen trees that big but they were Redwoods out West. I have never seen anything like this in the East. Four of us held hands and only made it around half the circumference of the tree. For it to have survived man, lightning, disease, and fire over that many years is unbelievable. It was well worth the days hiking to see a site like that.
Date: 2005-03-17
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Near Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 3.8

A quick note about last night: We put seven people in a six person shelter. After looking around we felt there was room for three more if needed. That would be about the max you could do. Those staying in the shelter all agreed.It was dark and we all started talking and telling stores. It seemed like a full half hour of nothing but laughter. Tony, one of the guys I have met on the trail, said he couldn't remember laughing so much or for so long in his life. It was really a great time.The top story was by another thru-hiker named Darrel. One girl did some running and was asking about ¢hitting the wall¢. So Darrel explained he knew all about it and what it felt like. He was in a 24 hour bike race one time and late at night at one of the pit stops he went in the bathroom at a high school. It was dark and on the way out he walked into a wall and knocked himself out cold. His wife, who is also hiking with him, pointed out it was the only time in the whole 24 hours he did have his helmet on.I know this won't match the way it sounded when you are stuffed into a shelter shoulder to shoulder. But with a little imagination you get the point.I caught a ride into Franklin and I am resupplying, doing laundry, and catching up on the journal. I would like to make it to Cold Spring Shelter tomorrow, but that would be pushing it with 15.8 mile day. I am not ready for that yet. There are several camp sites before that so I should be able to do about 12 miles and then camp for the night.
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Winding Spring Gap

To: Spring camp site
Miles today: 10.5

After the zero day spent in Franklin, I caught the 9:00 AM shuttle back to the trail. I spent the night at the Haven Motel. The shuttle took me to the same spot where I got off the trail yesterday. The day turned out to be what I was expecting. Cold. The day before it had been snowing when I caught the shuttle into town and when I left the bank the temperature on the sign read 26 degrees. And it felt like it. I started today hiking in my running tights and only a long sleeve shirt. I hiked without my gloves on and although it was cold, I felt ok. It was a perfect day and I got some nice pictures. I hope to get to a place next week where I will be able to mail the memory card home.We had a nice group at the camp site. The Fab 4 (4 Brits), Figaro, Tofu (from the original group I have been hiking on and off with) were at the site. No Legs and Terrapin, who I meet in Franklin, were also there. Two other unknowns showed up as well.Time for bed.
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Spring camp site

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center Hostel
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

It was another perfect day! Last night was very cold and I slept with my water filter in the sleeping bag, so the cartridge would not freeze and break. There were some really great views today and I took some more pictures. One was from Wesser Bald fire tower. It was a full 360 degree view from the tower and it was just great. I stayed about 15 minutes taking it all in and thinking about my hike. What a great experience it has been so far. Tofu and Figaro where there with me, we took turns taking each other¢s picture on the tower.I only planned on going to the Wesser Bald Shelter today. However, when Figero, Tofu, and I got there together we discovered two of the Brit's had gone onto the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We knew this because they left a note for the other two people in their group. It was 3:00 PM and 5.7 miles to the NOC. It was pretty much all down hill so we decided to push for NOC and the chance for a hot meal. It was very hard going from 10 miles day to 16.8 miles, and I really felt it the last mile.We all made it thinking the other two Brit's in the group would have to camp at the shelter because it was late in the day. Low and behold a good half hour after I got to the NOC, they walked in and made it just in time for a hot meal.I stayed the night at the NOC Hostel and I am only planning on hiking 6 miles tomorrow. It is all up hill from here to the next shelter.Again the whole group is together. Some are spending a zero day rafting the Nantahala River and some are going back on the trail. Some of us will be together tonight, since most are planning on staying at the first shelter.Time to go.
Date: 2005-03-20
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center Hostel

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: broken clouds

It was pretty much like the trail guide said it would be-- all up hill. The trail and my feet kept climbing all day. Not every step was up hill, but taken as a whole the hike was all up hill. I kept reaching spots where I thought the climb was over, but it was just false hope. My knee started hurting on the push into NOC so I hiked the final mile very slow. About three hours into today¢s climb it started hurting again. This was my first scare that I could become seriously injured real easily. So far ibuprofen has been able to keep the pain at bay.I had some unusual ¢trail magic¢ today. Trail magic is when people go beyond the call of duty to help out a thru-hiker. In NOC I shared a 4 bunk room with one person. As we talked he explained that he was here doing research for school on the Cherokee Indians and had been documenting a photo journal. I asked what camera he had and it turned out that it was the same one I have been using. He let me use his charger so I now have a fully charged battery for the Smoky¢s.Time for bed.Dad's Grin
Date: 2005-03-21
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a very hard day. I only planned on going to Brown Fork Gap, some 9.1 miles. However, I walked right pass the turn for the shelter. Once I realized my error, I checked the guide book for another area to camp. The next place listed was Hogback Gap. I got there about 3:30 and checked the guide again. There was another camp area .8 mile away so I headed out knowing I still plenty of time. When I got there the 2 Brit's were there with Blackbird. We checked the map and decided to hike the remaining 3.1 miles to the Cable Gap Shelter thinking we would be getting rain that night. Sleeping in the shelter is a little easier than a tent in the rain. After a 10 hour day I finally got to the shelter and set up inside.Blackbird and I had been talking about my concerns on getting the right foods to eat. He said he had some of the same problems the first couple of days and had already been discarding some of the foods he had sent in drop boxes. He said since he was getting re-supplied at Fontana that he would give me some of his extra Tortellini to try. BB said it was becoming one of his main foods. Well it will be one of mine now--It tasted great!I¢m going to have to watch these long days because my knee started hurting again. I may take a zero day to ice it and take some ibuprofen before starting into the Smokey¢s.I received some of my first trail magic today. Coming down to Stecoach Gap, I saw BB there resting. There were two fellows there working on a car. They both had been thru- hikers and offered us drinks and crackers. For some reason I've really been wanting a banana and just before I set out one fellow asked me if I wanted one. I said ¢YES¢!
Date: 2005-03-22
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a short day for hiking. I decided to stay at the "The Hike Inn" and take a zero day tomorrow. I made it to Fontana Marina parking lot. As I crossed the road blackbird came riding by in the shuttle for the Inn. They asked if I wanted a ride but I said I would go to the dam and then call for a pick up, and off they went. It was only 1.3 miles by trail to the dam or about .5 miles by road.As soon as I started the climb out my knee started hurting again, that made the decision to take the zero day tomorrow final.I didn't even have to call for the pick up. I was about 100 yards from the dam parking lot and Jeff from the THI showed up to pick me up. He said he knew how long it would take and showed up to get me.Cracker and BB are also staying here tonight. Cracker has to take a couple of days off after pushing too hard to nurse his swollen ankle. At one point he was two days ahead so all of his pushing did not pay off. All the more reason to take the day off. I¢m going to be walking/hiking a lot more days to come and need to be in good shape for the Smoky's
Date: 2005-03-24
From: Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field 
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I started into GSMNP today and was planning on taking seven days to get through the park. If the hiking is not too hard, maybe six. The first thing I noticed was the trail was much easier than what we had been going through in Georgia. The trail here was much more like what I was use to running on. There were a long series of climbs before we got to the shelter. On the way there, I ran into a caretaker and he recommended that we pass the first shelter because of the spring break campers staying there. As a result, it was a long day and I didn¢t get to the final shelter until 5:15pm. Cracker and I, along with two spring breakers, were the only ones there. I¢m glad the hiking wasn't like the previous days or I would not have made it. I didn't take but a couple of pictures today.I have been eating much better and eating different things including cheeses, smoked meats, crackers and snacks. What I have realized is that you will never be able to eat enough to make up for the calories burned, so we'll just see what happens. I may have to actual take a couple of days off just to eat enough and gain some weight.Time for bed.
Date: 2005-03-25
From: Russell Field 

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: clear sky

It was a short but very difficult day. After the easy day yesterday, I was expecting the same. Surprise. Today turned out to be a hard day with a lot of short but strenuous climbs.It was a seven hour hiking day and I¢m glad it¢s over. The worst part of the hike happened during the last 200 feet to the shelter. I stepped down and jammed my knee. After all day with no problem, now it hurts again. I just hope it's better tomorrow after I take some IB and sleep.Time for dinner. The spring breakers had some extra Mac&Cheese they offered me so I¢m eating extra today.At about 7:30pm, Figaro & Tofu made it to the shelter. None of us expected to see them so late. It was also Tofu¢s 29th birthday so we all sang her happy birthday. Her boyfriend brought a chocolate cheese cake and put in a candle for the celebration.
Date: 2005-03-26
From: Derrick Knob

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today I reached the highest point on the trail -- 6643 feet at Clingmans Dome. Cracker, Tofu, Figaro, and I all climbed the tower, snapped a quick picture, and took in the view. It was quite a view.We had heard from other hikers that the section from Clingmans Domes was not really hikeable. They had all taken the road and gotten back on the trail at different places. The reason you could not hike this section was that the trail was covered by ice and snow. As the snow melts, and then freezes, this continuous cycle creates an ice layer on the trail. We took the road from Clingmans Dome and picked up the trail about two miles north which left two more miles to the shelter. We made a mistake as this section was pretty much ice and snow from where we got on the trail. The slow pace also made for a long day. I got in about 6:00pm, ate and went to bed.The shelter was the worst so far. It was wet everywhere. However, I¢m just glad I didn't have to tent.
Date: 2005-03-27
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Another hiker had come up from Newfound Gap and told us the trial was about eighty percent snow and ice. With that in mind we asked about any side trails to the road and he said there was one .7 of a mile from the shelter. So for safety¢s sake we took the road down to Newfound Gap. From there it was back on the trail.It was not a pleasant hike due to the abundant ice. I took my first big spill and feel very lucky that I didn't get hurt. My knee just missed hitting a rock and I have a black and blue mark were my shin hit the rock.I think you have to be very lucky not to get hurt or sick somewhere along the hike.Because of the conditions we called for a short day. As a result, I have caught up my journals. I hope we can made it out of the Smokys in three more days. But with the poor trail conditions and bad weather it may take four. Let¢s hope for the better, cause I only have three days of food left! Stay tuned!