morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-12-15
To: Torreya State Park Hike
Miles today: 0.0

Only 83 more days to go! Well Bushy and I finally got out to Torreya State Park to hike! Although it was only 6.5 miles, it was more like the AT than ever!!   Below are some photos that we took. Sparks heading out to find the trailhead for the Torreya Challenge trail: Sparks heading out on the Torreya State Park Trail Stone bridge leading to the Torreya Challenge trail: Stone Bridge leading to Torreya Challenge Trail The sign for the trailhead, however, Sparks misread the map so we ended up going on the Torreya Trail vice the Torreya Challenge: Trailhead to Torreya Challenge Trail It was still a good, and challenging hike though; here it looked like a mini-rock climbing wall: Looked like mini-rock climbing wall As seen here, the trail goes on forever!: The Torreya State Park Trail When we got down by the Apalachicola River, we found this alligator warning: Serious Alligator Warning here! Here is a shot of the river; needless to say, based on the alligator warning, we definitely watched our steps! Apalachicola River This was an interesting looking nest in a tree down by the river: Some sort of critter nest by the river Selfie opportunity; these iPhone 7 cameras are NOT what they are cracked up to be :-( Sparks & Bushy selfie by the river Wow, the tree is growing over the trail sign! Trail signs being overtaken by the tree We are going back tomorrow to find, and hike, the Torreya Challenge trail! :-) Next week (mid-week) we are going to go back and camp.Well, class of 2017, see you on the trail soon!!!
Date: 2016-12-25
To: Short Hike on Christmas Day
Miles today: 0.0

Only 73 more days to go! Bushy and I did a short walk today and when we got to the lake we decided to take a break and enjoy the view. Below are some photos that we took. Sparks enjoying the Christmas day overlooking the lake: Sparks enjoying his Christmas day Here we decided to pull out our helinox chairs and sit comfortably: Bushy sitting in her chair enjoying her Christmas day We still haven¢t gotten back to Torreya State park to camp and hike the rest of the trail, but hopefully, we will be able to do it next week.Well, class of 2017, see you on the trail soon!!!
Date: 2016-12-29
To: Pre-Hike Workout Update 29 Dec 2016
Miles today: 0.0

Only 73 more days to go! Bushy and I went out and hiked the Torreya Challenge, in Torreya State Park today. From the truck, in the parking area, around the supposed 6 mile Challenge, and then back to the truck, was a total of 11.17 miles! Plus, we did it with FULL packs of 26 lbs. each!! Awesome feeling!! Sparkling water, lol: Sparkling water Sparks practicing for McAfee¢s Knob!: Sparks practicing for his photo op on McAfee¢s Know! Granted, McAfee¢s Knob is much higher! Lol: Granted, McAfee¢s Knob is much higher than this Beautiful shot of the trail, and blaze: Beautiful shot of the trail up ahead with the blaze A make-shift bridge that we had to cross (it was already there, we didn¢t make it): Make-shift bridge that we had to cross Bushy successfully taking on the challenge: Bushy successfully taking on the challenge This was quite a maze to continue on the trail through: Quite a maze to get through to continue on the trail While we were out there it started to pour, so we donned our new Walmart ponchos, to test them out; here is Bushy showing off her new fashion accessory: Bushy showing off her new fashion accessory And here is Sparks: Sparks and his new attire This hike was quite the challenge, very technical, and made us feel like we were actually on the AT! Even the rain provided us an opportunity to test our new ponchos, to see if they would cover both our bodies and our packs¢¦they did! However, we should have also put on our rain pants. LolNeedless to say, this hike wore our old butts out!! But, now, we feel more confident than ever that we can do this!Well, class of 2017, see you on the trail soon!!!
Date: 2017-01-05
To: 10.5 mile hike in Torreya State Park
Miles today: 0.0

Today Bushy and I did a 10.5 miler at Torreya state park, it was beautiful out! This time it wasn't pouring down rain so the walk was a little bit more comfortable but we still need to get used to doing 10 mile hikes. Also today we got our Zpacks Cuban fiber tent, it is so light! Plus, we got the poles for standalone or the flex option of the duplex, and the poles are lighter than the tent!Old tent:2 lbs. 10 oz. (tent):1 lb. 3 oz. (poles):3 lbs. 13 oz.:New tent::1 lbs 5 oz (tent):10 oz. (poles):1 lb. 15 oz.:Only 62 days to go!!!
Date: 2017-01-09
To: Our new Zpacks Duplex Flex tent
Miles today: 0.0

Hopefully, this works, I am trying to embed a photo of our tent into my post...from my phone! :-) Zpacks Duplex Flex Tent Once we figured out how to attach the rings for the flex poles, it was a breeze to set up! It is super light, but a little transparent, so if you want privacy you might get the camouflage version...but it costs and weighs more. We love the bottom of it; like being in a bathtub, but in this case, no water gets in! Hope to see you on the trail!Sparks & Bushy
Date: 2017-01-12
To: Another 10 Mile Hike in Torreya State Park
Miles today: 0.0

Bushy and I did another 10 mile hike today, in Torreya State Park and while on the trail this little fella zipped out to say hi. :-) Gecko Hiking Buddy We also found Winnie the Poo's honey pot...thank goodness we didn't see Winnie the Poo!! :-o. Winnie the Poo's Honey Pot
Date: 2017-02-09
To: Pre-Hike Workout Update 09 Feb 2017
Miles today: 0.0

Pre-Hike Update 09 Feb 2017Today, during Bushy's and my 5-miler at Bear Creek Park, I practiced my face-plant technique! I went down like a sack of potatoes, to the point where my forehead actually hit the ground! Fortunately, I only ended up with a sore arm (which didn't last long); so, my test was a total success!! We also got a few cool pics. Check out this tree; the bottom part is almost completely gone, with a huge hole in the center, but the limb on top is still growing strong!: Miracle of Nature Some turtles basking in the rays: Turtles soaking up the rays! Some beautiful azaleas on the trail: Beautiful azaleas Only 27 more days to go!! So, class of 2017, see you on the trail soon!!!
Date: 2017-02-21
To: Pre-Hike Update 20 Feb 2017
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday, Bushy and I did an 11-miler at Torreya State park, we checked out the Torreya Challenge primitive camp site for Dennis Johnson, a fellow 2017 AT classmate, who is planning on coming up from Pensacola to hike the Torreya trails for training, like us. Plus, we broke in our new Zpacks Arc Haul Zip backpacks, pictured below resting on the bench: Nesbitt and Kermit We broke for lunch and while sitting in my 1 lb. chair enjoying the surroundings, I looked up and saw what appeared to be a single white tree right in the middle of all of the other green trees and the blue of the sky; it looked so cool! White tree amongst the green and blue Below is my better half and her trusted sidekick Nesbitt (the new pack¢s trail name): Bushy and Nesbitt (Nesbitt is on the left) Only TWO MORE WEEKS to go!! So, class of 2017, see you on the trail REAL SOON!!!
Date: 2017-03-03
To: Very nice send off from Bear Creek Park
Miles today: 0.0

The second park that we have been pre-hiking in is Bear Creek, outside of Quincy, FL, and the park ranger there is Tom. His son, "Mr. Stumbles" hiked the AT (can't remember the year). He came out to wish us well on our hike; how nice was that!! Thank you Tom, for the work that you do!!
Date: 2017-03-05
To: Pre-Hike Update 05 March 2017
Miles today: 0.0

Pre-Hike Update 05 March 2017Today, Bushy and I did a 5-miler at Bear Creek Park and got some beautiful photos; there is always something to see on a hike, in this case it was what look like mini-water lily pads and then Lilies: Bushy¢¦paparazzi Mini-water lily pads Mini-water lily pads close-up Lilies Lilies Close-up Lilies Close-up 2 Not sure what this one is Only 88 MORE HOURS to go!! So, class of 2017, see you on the trail REAL SOON!!!
Date: 2017-03-09
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Day One:From Springer to Hawk Mtn Shelter: 9.1 miles (including the mike down from Springer) Today we started at 10:30 from Springer Mountain trailhead parking lot and hiked 8.1 miles (9.1 miles if you include the mile back down from Springer) to Hawk Mountain shelter; we got to hawk Mountain campsite but it was too early, 2 o'clock, so we decided to do the extra mile to Hawk Mountain shelter. We cameled up just before the Shelter; good water source. The weather was fantastic really cool (in the 40's) in the morning and got up to 70° in the afternoon and it was a great day for a hike; beautiful skies and we saw lots of hikers. We stopped at three Forks footbridge for lunch, pulled out our chairs and made ourselves really comfy and I turtled without a shell; turtle in a half shell...Bushy is still laughing about it and got photos. Tonight, the temps are going down and it might rain, but we have the tent set up and good to go!
Date: 2017-03-10
From: Hawk Mountain Sheltet

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day two:Today we hiked from Hawk Mtn Shelter (mile 8.1) to Gooch Mtn Shelter (mile 15.8), for a total of 7.7 miles. We hiked over Justice Mountain and Sassafras mountain; it was as painful this time as it was in 2015 but we did it much faster! :-) It was unbelievably windy, and most of the time it was really cold! Although it was only about 2:30, we were beat! Not many places to break, so it was brutal! It is still windy, so it made setting up the tent pretty challenging! Note to those that have not left yet, Gooch Mountain shelter has pretty crappy tent sites; there are a few good ones but most are slanted and make for an uncomfortable nights sleep. We should have stayed at Justice Creek camp site. :-(Above is a photo of Bushy crossing the rocks. :-)
Date: 2017-03-11
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 4.8

Day Three:Last night we were miserable; the tent site that we got, at Gooch Mountain Shelter, was slanted, so we were constantly sliding to the bottom of the tent, then pulling ourselves back up each time we woke up. Plus, our feet were freezing in our EE Revelation down quilts, even with two to three pairs of socks. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep last night. :-(. In any case, today we walked from Gooch Mountain Shelter (15.8) to Woody Gap (20.6) only 4.8 miles. We came across some terrific trail magic and then got a shuttle to the Motel/Inn that used to be the Super 8, in Dahlonega, for a Nero day, because they are forecasting snow for Saturday, and maybe even Sunday. The Hotel is nice and clean, is right behind a 7/24 Macdonalds, and only cost $70 for the night (hiker discount). The General Mgr, Al Patel, is very hiker friendly. We arrived at noon but he let us in, even though it was before check-in time. How cool is that!BTW: If anyone knows who the lady is in the purple jacket, standing on the left, please let us know, or at least tell her that we are so sorry that we didn't get a chance to talk to her more, because Bushy was real tired from lack of sleep, but that we really appreciate that she is following with us on our adventure! Thanks.
Date: 2017-03-12
From: Woody Gap

To: Dahlonega
Miles today: 0.0

Day Four:Today we are taking a Zero day, staying in the hotel. We ordered another REI Igneo sleeping bag and asking our home base trail angel (Bushy's sister Laura) to mail us the other Igneo that we left at home; all are being express shipped to Mountain Crossing at Neel Gap. I'm also getting my RavPower power pack sent to me since my iPhone 7 is eating up the battery life for some reason, even though I am keeping it warm in the down quilt. :-(. We have arranged a shuttle with Alpine Shuttle service to pick us up tomorrow at 11:00, to take us back to Woody Gap trail head, and then we will hike to Lance Creek campsite. We can't pull into Neel Gap too early because we have to wait for our Igneo sleeping bags to get to Mountain Crossing.
Date: 2017-03-15
From: Woody Gap

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 10.8

Day Six:Woody Gap (20.6) to Neel Gap (31.4)10.8 milesToday we got a shuttle with Alpine back to Woody Gap to get back on the trail. It was FREEZING cold out there, and there were dark looming clouds, with 40 mph gusts...the trees were swaying mightily; Bushy was terrified, that to save $45 by canceling the shuttle, we could have put ourselves in grave danger. In any case, we went into the bathroom there and put on our puffy coat under our rain jacket; Bushy put mittens with rain covers on, and I put another pair of gloves on under the pair I was wearing, and off we went! We hiked straight through the bear canister required section, over Blood Mountain (4442 ft), all the way to Neel Gap. The trail was covered in snow at times, and mud in some places, along with icy patches in other spots. Blood Mountain was treacherous in some spots, with ice, especially on the north side. While hiking, we met Papa John and Trail Princess. We arrived at Neel Gap at 2:00PM, which means that we hiked about 7 hours without breaks...it was too cold to stop! One gentleman at Mountain Crossings showed Bushy his thumb and it looked like frost bite. We did really well with the cold, with base layer bottoms, fleece top, puffy coat, and rain jacket. We picked up our mail drop along with the Igneo mummy bags, that we had sent from home and REI. Now, we should be warm! Regardless of the added weight, we will keep both the Igneos and EE Quilts, so that we will be warm through the Smokies! We got a room at the Seasons Inn, Blairsville, GA, and then had to find a shuttle to get to it. No shuttles were available, so someone suggested that we could hitch there pretty easily, so Bushy pulled out our "Hiker to Town" banner and we stood out by the entrance to Mountain Crossings and in a matter of minutes, this nice gentleman (former AT hiker; trail name Hunan) stopped. He had a car full of other hikers in the car but they all made room for us! How cool was that!!! The Seasons Inn is really nice, and they had free hot chocolate in the Lobby...mmmm good! Now, we are going to sleep warm again tonight! :-)
Date: 2017-03-16
From: Neel Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Day seven:Had a great stay at the Seasons Inn, we coordinated a ride back to Neel Gap with Miss Janet!! It was soooo cool to meet her in person!! We got a late start but after she dropped us off, we hiked from Neel Gap (31.4) to Low Gap shelter (42.9) for a total of 11.5 long miles :-o). When we got to Tesnatee Gap we got to sit down for awhile and enjoy a nice cup of hot cocoa with King Tut and Jay, a couple of long time Trail Angels!! At this point we were only at 5.5 miles, and we had another 5.5 miles to go! That was one of the longest days we've had! Between ice, slush, and mud, the trail was pretty slippery! :-(. The below photo will give you some idea as to jus how cold it is out here! How Cold is it?? We finally got to Low Gap shelter and wow was it crowded. We got our tent set up and hung our food bag up on the cables with so many others; those things get pretty heavy when you have about five or more people's food bags on them!! :-o. We got to meet Moose, the gentleman from Australia here! We also met Right Foot, Papa John and Trail Princess, and Ken (with the red beard) here...talk about a bubble! Ha ha
Date: 2017-03-17
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

Day Eight:Low Gap Shelter (42.9) to Unicoi Gap (52.6) for a total of 9.7 miles. Wow! Last night was cold and noisy! The tents were practically stacked on top of each other! When we got there, we set up next to Right Leg, and then someone setup a hammock right next to us! Between the snoring, passing gas, and mid-night pee breaks, it was pretty noisy! :-o ah, but we were sooooo much warmer with our mummy bags and quilts!! Low Gap shelter was really bad; although they had two places to hang bear bags, there was only one for all the tenters (and there were a boat load of them!) It was a long and miserable walk to the privy (up a hill) and to the water source! The privy was almost full! Ewww. Anyway, we woke up and packed everything, but first I had to walk down and get more water, and the food bags, quite a hike in itself. Got all packed up and off we went. Beautiful sunrise: Beautiful sunrise Although the trail didn't have any ice on it, it was muddy (sloppy muddy) and lots of rocks/boulders. And, although AWOL shows the elevation as minor ups and downs, they were miserable ups and downs! :-o. And Blue Mountain was the grand finale!! We were soooo glad to finally get to the road at Unicoi Gap!!! Forrest We waited for Forest and then we started to hitch to Hiawassee (Bushy got out our handy dandy Hiker to Town banner). After a few minutes, a young gentleman (Cory (brother of Ken with the brown beard), who had a beautiful Weimaraner; her name was Willow) walked over from his truck in the parking lot and offered us a ride! Cory and Willow We put all the packs in the back and Forrest and myself climbed in with them, and Willow, Bushy rode in the front where she really enjoy her conversation with this wonderful young man. He drove us to the Holiday Inn in Hiawassee! He was such a nice young man!! So, we are going to Nero here tonight and zero here tomorrow (our bodies need a rest and we want to celebrate our getting to the place where we quit in 2015, but are NOT quitting this time)!! Tonight, we went to Daniel's Steak House (all you can eat), and Bushy could ONLY eat one piece of chicken!! We will have to try again tomorrow! :-) We are sooooo fortunate!! We also wanted to mention our first time witnessing true trail magic (Bushy totally flipped out, sorta like seeing a leprechaun) while taking a much needed break, up walks Forrest and then Indiana Jay, he asked if any of us were from NY, Forrest was, whereby Indiana pulls out a knit cap he found about two miles back, it belonged to Forrest! How cool is that!!! Indiana Jay - True Trail Angel We met:Ken with are Beard and Bus Stop Ken with Red Beard & Bus Stop Iowa Iowa Maple Leaf and her dog Yankee Maple Leaf and Yankee Bagera Bagera
Date: 2017-03-18
To: Embed Photos Into TJ Entries
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

To embed photos into your Trailjournals entry you need to insert the below HTML text, for every photo that you want to add, into the text of you journal entry:Code for TJ to add a photo: Sparkling water In order to get the file name "//20901/TJ20901_010717_113741_1081935.jpg" you click on the photo that you have uploaded to TJ, then right click on the photo, click Properties, the file name will be shown in the Properties Or, click on Edit Photo while logged into TJ, and the photo file name is at the bottom of the page.Then you replace the "Sparkling water" with whatever caption you want to put under your photo.Hope that this works for you!Regards,Sparks
Date: 2017-03-18
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Day Nine:Zero'ing in Hiawassee today, resting our bodies, and waiting for the rain to pass...oh joy, more sloppy mud!! :-). Tonight we give Daniel's all you can eat another go! Yummmm! And, it is Tray Mountain tomorrow! We went to Daniel's for dinner and we ran into Ken (from Michigan), Steve (from Vermont), and Solomon (from Florida), who we hiked and camped with before at Gooch Shelter. They got off at Dick's Creek (way ahead of us), but it was so nice to see them again. From left to right: Steve, Solomon, & Ken
Date: 2017-03-19
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Day Ten:Today we hiked from Unicoi Gap (52.6) to Deep Gap Shelter (65.7) for a total of 13.1 miles, which included Tray Mountain and Kelly Knob, and passing Swag of the Blue Ridge (see photo). Taking that photo was a real challenge, without a selfie stick! Lol. We put two walking sticks together and hung the phone in the two straps; then, I had to figure out how to do the timer! Lol. We were planning on hiking to Top of Georgia Hostel, but they didn't have any rooms. So, we settled on Deep Gap Shelter. This was a very long day for us, and it seemed like the climbs went on forever!! Then we got to where the shelter was and it seemed like another mile to it!! :-o. We got water, set up the tent, and ate Jack Link with cheese and a Larabar (because I was too drained to even boil water), and then called it a night. We were hoping that there wasn't anyone at the shelter, but that is not the case, but even with the noise, Bushy is already sound asleep! Lol.
Date: 2017-03-20
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Plumborchard Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

Day Eleven:We hiked from Deep Gap Shelter (65.7) to Plumorchard Shelter (73.8) for a total of 8.1 miles...tough miles. Along the way we met a whole new set of hikers, including Vietnam Vet, Old White Beard (attempting to be the oldest person to hike the AT), Ghost, One Mile Back, and Little Lineman (from Germany). Also, another lady (whose name we didn't catch), offered up trail names for Bushy, each time we saw her on the trail; the last one sounds promising..."Clockwork Orange", because of Bushy's bright orange shirt and backpack! :-) One Mile Back had a sunburnt nose, so We gave him one of the sunblock sticks that we were carrying. Vietnam Vet We got to the shelter early and it was nice to get everything done and then just sit and eat our dinner and talk to Little Lineman. Very pleasant evening.
Date: 2017-03-21
From: Plumborchard Shelter

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Twelve:21 March Today we hiked from Plumorchard Shelter (73.8) to Muskrat Creek Shelter (81.8) for a total of eight miles, and we crossed into North Carolina!! I will upload more photos when I get a better signal. We met about three more hikers from Florida; the Tampa area. We thought that we were going to do a 12 miler today, but after As Knob and Couthouse Bald, we were wore out!! We are running out of food, but we just can't hike any longer miles. :-(. We will be able to pull into Franklin in about two or three days.
Date: 2017-03-22
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

Day Thirteen (22 March)Today we hiked from Muskrat Creek Shelter (81.8) to Carter Gap Shelter (93.6) for a total of 11.8 miles. Apparently NC doesn't have bear bag cables or bear boxes, so for the last two days I have been hanging our food bags. :-). Oh, and we learned today that the SeaLine Storm Sacks are NOT waterproof! :-(. The inside was all wet; fortunately everything was packaged.
Date: 2017-03-23
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Wallace Gap
Miles today: 12.8

Day Fourteen (23 March)We hiked from Carter Gap Shelter (93.6) to Wallace Gap (106.4) for a total of 12.8 miles, including Albert Mountain! Wow; that was quite a climb, but we finally made it to the fire tower, and the 100 mile mark! I even climbed to the top of the fire tower; what a magnificent view!! I took a panoramic shot but not sure how to get it to Trailjournals. :-(Anyway, we walked all the way to Rock Gap Shelter, but there was no room. We were a little disappointed that some took entire tent sites, vice letting us share one, but we hiked on. When we got to Wallace Gap we found Steve, who was waiting for a shuttle to Franklin, so we decided to ride the shuttle with Steve. The shuttle was Jimmy: 828-342-1573; a very nice gentleman who only asks for donations! :-). Although we already had reservations at the Budget Inn for tomorrow, they didn't have a room for tonight, so, we got a room at the Sapphire Inn and then ordered pizza and wine! What a beautiful end to our very long day!!