morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-07
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: broken clouds

We got up and out early this morning, on the trail by 8:00 am, our earlieststart yet. We stopped at a beautiful overlook called Charlie's Bunion andtook pictures, and we enjoyed the most gorgeous views we've had since westarted the trail in Georgia. Who knew the Smokies were so beautiful? Wecertainly couldn't tell after our first few days in the fog.Eric slipped down a rock today and gashed his middle finger near his nail.Now he has a sore middle finger and knuckle; he seems to have jammed itpretty well. He was not the first one to fall, though--I have fallen twicealready. The first time I was stepping on a rock and my foot slipped rightout from under me. I landed on the ground, leaning back against my pack. Thesecond time was two days ago, and as I stepped on a wet log, my foot slidbackwards and I fell forward and landed on my hands and knees. Both times Iwas unhurt, but it's scary to think that one wrong step out here could endour hike for good. It forces you to make every step very deliberately.We're at the shelter now with Hot Wheels & Shutterbug, Mango & Canuck,Bearfoot & Gucci, Rambo, and many others. We are currently cramming 20people in this 14-person shelter, because there are no flat spots around totent. Our new friends Bearfoot and Gucci, whose real names are Jordan and Carlie,are using their hike to promote the Keep America Beautiful organization. Youcan log on to www.trekagainsttrash.org to learn more about them and theircause. We're excited to be spending the next few nights at the same sheltersthat they are, as they are also planning on arriving in Hot Springs onFriday and taking a zero day Saturday. Other than the chance of rain in thenext few days, it should be a good week!
Date: 2008-04-08
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Tentsite just out of Smokies
Miles today: 16.9

Today was our last day in the Smokies and it was another beautiful day! Theviews and weather were great, which was a big relief, since we'd heard itmight rain. We hiked about 7.5 miles to a shelter in a beautiful grassy area, where westopped for lunch, and then we hiked another 7 miles to the next shelter,which was our original destination. We were there by 3:30, however, andsince the weather was great and we were still feeling good, we decided tohike another 2 miles to a tentsite, just outside the park boundaries,meaning we are now out of the Smokies! Gucci & Bearfoot are here with us at a gorgeous tentsite, right where twolittle streams come together. We're on this little wedge of land rightbetween the two streams. We had to walk over a big log to get here, and itis by far the coolest place we've camped so far. We made a campfire and sataround it, eating our dinners and having a great time.Tomorrow should be another great day. We're excited to be out of the Smokiesand heading into Hot Springs on Friday.
Date: 2008-04-09
From: Tentsite just out of Smokies

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we had a lot of tough climbs uphill. Nona, a woman who has been in thesame shelters that we have recently, added up our elevation gain for the dayand said it was something like 5,000 feet. No wonder it felt like one of ourhardest days yet! The weather has been getting really warm lately, and combined with therecent rains, has made for the perfect conditions for little flowers tostart blooming all over the sides of the mountains. Our first glimpse ofspring! The scenery was really gorgeous; today alone we went through oak andpine forests, rolling green hills, and tunnels of rhododendron. Near the end of our day, with only 2 miles to go until the shelter, weclimbed to the top of Max Patch, a beautiful bald covered in grass. At thevery top of it, two thru-hikers from last year, Spider and Fuzzy Beer Foot,were set up with a grill doing trail magic! They were cooking burgers andhotdogs, and had chips, beer, and sweet tea. I had 2 hotdogs, and Eric had 3cheeseburgers and a hotdog. It was wonderful!Now we're tenting by a shelter. Also here are Bearfoot & Gucci, Nona, BahamaDave, and Mary Poppins & August, who we just met today. If we do another15ish mile day tomorrow, then we'll get to Hot Springs by Friday morning.I've been daydreaming of cookies & cream ice cream cake. Maybe the grocerystore will sell them and we'll get one to celebrate.
Date: 2008-04-10
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Beautiful weather led to another great day of hiking, today. The terrain wasfairly flat--nothing like yesterday--so the miles came easily. At one point the trail crossed a mountain access road, and sitting on theside of the trail just up ahead was a giant tub of trail magic! There weregallon sized ziplock bags filled with a bottle of Gatorade, crackers, M&Ms,a bite sized snickers bar, and a little moist towlette to clean our hands.The tub said that each hiker could take one bag, and inside the bag was alittle note from our anonymous trail angel. This made our 2nd trail magic intwo days! So wonderful!We've been hiking more miles per day lately than we had originally planned,and as a result we're almost a day ahead of schedule. We had planned onarriving in Hot Springs tomorrow afternoon after a full day of hiking, butinstead we are now only 3 miles away tonight. Bearfoot and Gucci went oninto town, and we're hoping to meet them for breakfast in the morning. Itwas very tempting to go in tonight, but lodging gets so expensive, andtenting out here is free. We're already planning on staying tomorrow nightin town after a "nearo" day (an almost zero day), and Saturday night in townafter a full zero day. At our shelter tonight are Bahama Dave, Nona, Papa Doc, Ranger & Tiger Lilly,and a very nice section hiker whose name I can't remember who shared hischicken noodle soup with us.
Date: 2008-04-11
From: Deer Park Mtn Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: broken clouds

This morning we woke up at 6:45 and hit the trail by 7:30--our earlieststart ever. It's easy to get motivated when there's a hot breakfast waitingfor you in town! We were at the diner in Hot Springs by around 8:45 andeating a delicious meal shortly after that. I had 2 pancakes, 2 scrambledeggs, 2 pieces of bacon, and a side of grits--way more food than I couldnormally eat, but with my new hiker appetite, it was perfect! Eric had 3pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, and an order of hash brownsthat were smothered in cheese, onions, and mushrooms. Delicious!Papa Doc, a section hiker who stayed at the shelters with us the last 2nights, was getting off the trail in Hot Springs today and had already paidfor a room for the night. Since we only had 3 miles into town this morning,he didn't need the room after all, except to take a shower before he drovehome to Alabama. So he generously offered us his room for the night as a bitof trail magic for my birthday. Thank you so much, Papa Doc! The cottage waswonderful! We hope to see you back out on the trail sometime!Throughout the day we did all of our usual town errands, including laundryand buying more food. Unfortunately there is no real grocery store here(only a Dollar General, and a natural foods section at the outfitter), so Icouldn't buy the ice cream cake I had been so desiring. But both of ourparents sent us packages with goodies, and Eric's parents even included 2chocolate cupcakes and a candle! An employee at the outfitter gave me a freechocolate bar for my birthday, and we ate ice cream after dinner, so therewas no shortage of celebrating.To finish the night off, we went to the one and only pub in town to hang outwith other hikers who wanted an excuse to celebrate/drink. Our server gaveme a free glass of wine for my birthday, and Eric got a glass of Newcastle.We hung around there for about an hour or two, until around 11:30 or 12:00,which is way past our normal hiker bedtime. Good thing we are taking a zeroday tomorrow so we'll be able to catch up on sleep!I had a great birthday! I'm so glad we got to spend it in a town and takethe day off. Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes and goodies!
Date: 2008-04-12
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a very relaxing, low-key day. We checked out of our cottage andmoved our stuff to Elmer's Sunnybank Hiker Hostel, which was right down theroad. Hot Springs is so small that there's only one main street and you canwalk down the whole thing in ten minutes or less. The weather was beautifuland sunny (although they say a front is moving our way with rain andpossibly snow), and we walked around town a lot, to the outfitter, the dollarstore, the hostel, and back.We had lunch at the one diner in town, and our hostel served a delicious4-course vegetarian dinner, made from mostly fresh, organic ingredients. Thehostel is in a big, old, Victorian-style house and is furnished with mostlyantiques. One of the rooms is a music room, filled with all kinds of musicalinstruments that hikers can play, including a piano, guitars, a banjo, aflute, a violin, and several others. Eric and our friend Bus Driver bothplayed some guitar and sang, and Eric played a little violin as well.After dinner a bunch of us played the game Apples to Apples for about anhour, but now Eric and I are off to bed. We're getting back on the trailtomorrow and need to get some sleep. We're about 6 days out from our nexttown stop in Erwin, Tennessee. I really hope the weather holds!
Date: 2008-04-13
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

We got off to a leisurely start this morning, sleeping in until 10 and then eating breakfast at the diner, before hitting the trail around 12:45. It was a dark and cold day and it started snowing our last couple of miles. Because we started so late this morning, we got to camp after 7 tonight and had to finish eating and hanging our bear bag in the dark. It's been lightly snowing off and on since we got here and it should continue throughout the night. It's amazing to think that a few days ago it was in the 70s outside and looking like spring. Now we're bundled up in our tent, trying our best to stay warm. Also at the shelter with us are: Hpt Wheels & Shutterbug and their dog, Corley, Canuck & Mango, Bananas, V8 & Auntie Mame, and Home Town and Superchunk.
Date: 2008-04-14
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

Our tent was so cozy that we had trouble getting up this morning. There was a light dusting of snow on our tent and the ground, and the snow was blowing all around as we packed up. We didn't hit the trail until 10:30.After 3 1/2 miles we came to a road crossing at Allen Gap with a sign directing us to a house down the street for some trail magic! We followed the directions and arrived at the house of Jodie and John Nelson, aka Fal and Hercules, who had thru-hiked the AT in 1999. They offered us all you can eat trail magic in a 3-course meal, starting with Belgian waffles, followed by a hearty pork stew, and ending with your choice of dessert. Eric had a brownie sundae and I had a banana split. The food was delicious and Fal and Hercules were so nice to talk to. During thru-hiker season they open their home to hungry hikers 6 days a week, and today they were surpassing 1,600 hikers served in the 4 years they have been doing it. Thanks again, Fal and Hercules for the wonderful hospitality!We left their home after an hour and a half, at 2:00pm, and had 11 miles to go until the shelter we were aiming for. About half an hour later, though, it started snowing very hard and the snow began accumulating on the trail, making it hard to walk the slippery uphills. So we ended up stopping at an earlier shelter than we had planned, which was only 5 miles away, making for a very short 8 1/2 mile day. We've been here for a couple of hours, now, and it's been snowing pretty much the whole time, with several inches on the ground. I'm all bundled up in my sleeping bag, but Eric's standing by the campfire talking to people.Also here are: Canuck & Mango, Bananas, V8 & Auntie Mame, Brush Strokes, Atreyu, and Last Minute.
Date: 2008-04-15
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh no! I woke up this morning with a cold! My throat started hurting during the night last night and by the time I woke up this morning, my nose was all stuffy and runny. We're not going to be in a town until Friday afternoon, so I'm going to have to do without cold medicine until then. Yikes!It snowed several inches last night, and the mountains were gorgeous this morning. Eric and I were the first ones on the trail this morning, so we had deep snow to walk through, and it was an interesting time trying to tell where the trail was. By lunchtime it was beginning to warm up and everything started melting. It rained melting snow on us for a couple of hours and the trail turned to slush, but now the snow's pretty much all gone. Eric and I are now happily in our tent, just behind Flint Mountain Shelter. Also here are Canuck & Mango, Brush Strokes, and Last Minute. Oh yeah... we hit our 300 mile mark today! Woohoo!
Date: 2008-04-16
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Campsite After Sam's Gap
Miles today: 13.0

Eric and I slept in until 9 this morning and didn't start hiking until 10:15. There were several very long climbs that were hard because my chest hurt and because it was very hot (60s?) and sunny with no cloud cover. Around 5:30 tonight we came to a road crossing at Sam's Gap and met 2 women there named Tish and Evening. They had their cars and were meeting a group of 4 hikers who were supposed to be coming up behind us. Although they were not there to do trail magic, they gave us each a Gatorade and shared 2 cans of Pringles with us. They also gave me several packets of Emergen-C and enough Sudafed to last me until town! They really were trail angels! We also met a guy and his two dogs, Springer & Katahdin, who was out for a run. I didn't catch his name, but I know that this is the 20th anniversary of his thru-hike. He shared some fun-sized snickers bars with us.Now we're at a tent site a couple of miles past the road crossing. Also here are Canuck & Mango, and Kennecuk. I'm so happy I have some medicine to take tonight. Thank you so much, trail angels!
Date: 2008-04-17
From: Campsite After Sam's Gap

To: Tentsite Before Spivey Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Happy Birthday, Allison! Today was a nice hiking day with great weather and lots of sun. We're definitely appreciating the warmth after that snow we had! We stopped at the top of Big Bald for lunch, which was so beautiful that we stayed for almost 2 hours, hanging out with passing hikers and two women we met who lived nearby. (Thanks for the snacks!) Mango's mom is coming into town tomorrow and staying for the weekend. And because I'm sick, Mango's knees are bothering her, and Canuck needs to have his boot bottoms glued back together, we all decided we're going to take a zero day in town tomorrow. The only thing is, we're not actually at the town yet. Her mom is going to pick us up at a road crossing 11 miles south of the town. Then we're probably going to leave our packs in town and slack-pack the rest of the way into town on Saturday. We're very excited to meet Mango's mom and aunt, who are driving here all the way from Indiana. We heard they might be bringing Mango's kitten, too! While her mom is in town, they're planning on setting up some trail magic at a road crossing just north of Erwin. We're probably going to help out. It would be cool to be the bearer of trail magic, and also to hang out with our hiker friends who would be hiking out of Erwin a day or two ahead of us.
Date: 2008-04-18
From: Erwin, Tennessee

To: Erwin, Tennessee
Miles today: 0.0

Mango's mom and aunt picked us up at about 8:30 this morning from the AT road crossing at Spivey Gap. We went straight to McDonalds, where we had lots of breakfast sandwiches, and then we drove to the Super 8 Motel they had stayed in the night before. We all (Mango, Canuck, Eric, and I) took 5-minute showers in their room, and then we headed out to run errands, including the shoe repair shop and Wal-Mart. From there we drove up to a place on the trail called The Beauty Spot, where we set up some trail magic! Mango's mom and aunt had baked two different kinds of cookies, brownies, peanut butter bars, and lemon bars, and we set up a grill and cooked hot dogs and veggie burgers. There were chips, carrot and celery sticks, soda, and beer, and they brought five or six folding chairs for hikers to sit on. It was so much fun! It turns out we had picked a really good place to set up trail magic, as it was at the top of an 8-mile uphill climb out of town. The hikers were so happy to see us! I'm really happy that we got to give back a little bit of the magic we've been experiencing so much of lately.After the trail magic we drove a hiker named Sparkey back into town and we decided to check in at the Holiday Inn Express for the night. I guess they hadn't been very happy at the Super 8. Mango, Canuck, and her mom and aunt got a room together, and Eric and I are sharing a room with our friend Shiloh. We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and saw lots of other hikers there (like 20). It's cool being in such a small town and knowing so many people. Tomorrow morning we're going we're going to get up early so we can slack-pack back into town. It's great having parents/a car around!
Date: 2008-04-19
From: Spivey Gap

To: Nolichucky River/Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

This morning we got up at 7:30 and ate at the hotel's breakfast buffet--delish! We packed up our day packs and hit the trail back at the same place we left off yesterday. We hiked an easy 11 miles back into Erwin and were done before 3 o'clock. We came back to our motel, showered, did laundry, went on the internet, and took a nap. Then we drove to nearby Johnson City, where we went to Best Buy so Eric could buy a new memory card for his camera, and then we ate a Smokey Bones restaurant, and stopped at the grocery store on the way home, to resupply. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11 pm, and now it's a little bit after midnight. We're planning on leaving around 8:30 in the morning to hit the trail again. Goodbye, Erwin, it was nice visiting, but now we're on to Damascus, Virginia, where we should be in about 10 days!
Date: 2008-04-20
From: Nolichucky River/Erwin, TN

To: Low Gap Tentsite
Miles today: 15.4

We thoroughly enjoyed the Holiday Inn Express' breakfast buffet for the second morning in a row, and we checked out of our room around 9am. We wanted to slackpack again today, but the fact that Mango's mom was leaving town made it more complicated. We decided to leave our packs tucked away in the woods off the side of the trail near a road crossing about 8 trail miles north of town. We dropped off our full packs there, and took our day packs with us back to where we left off on the trail. Then we slackpacked 8 miles north, picked up our packs, and went another 7 miles to a stealth campsite at a gap just after Unaka Mountain. We gained over 3,500 feet in elevation today, which made the miles slow-going. It was especially nice that we didn't have to carry full packs for all of it. We had hoped to make it to a shelter that's a mile further up the trail, but there was still a big hill left to climb, we were feeling tired, and it was getting dark because we got such a late start hiking this morning (10:40). So we found a nice site to camp at and set up. Canuck and Eric made a fire, and Mango shared some marshmallows for roasting. It was a good day of hiking, and a great few days of hanging out with Canuck, Mango, and her family.
Date: 2008-04-21
From: Low Gap Tentsite

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in until almost 9 this morning and didn't start hiking until 10:15. It was a pretty uneventful day of hiking; we took several breaks and slowly made our way toward the shelter. We were thinking about going 3 miles further, to the base of Roan Mountain, a really big climb we have tomorrow. But by the time we got to the shelter it was already 6 o'clock, and we had gotten into camp so late last night that we wanted to get to bed earlier tonight. Unfortunately, Mango and Canuck, who we'd been hiking with throughout the day, must have decided to hike the extra 3 miles. We got to the shelter first and thought they would show up soon after, but they never did. We'll catch up with them tomorrow, though. On a positive note, we met up with our friends Gucci and Bearfoot again today, for the first time since Hot Springs (don't forget to visit their website www.trekagainsttrash.org). They are tenting at the shelter with us now. Also here are Shiloh and 3 section hikers from New York.
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

Today we hiked over 6,285-ft tall Roan Mountain. It was a long, steep 3 1/2 mile climb to the top. We stopped and took a break at the shelter on top of the mountain, which is the highest shelter on the whole AT. After Roan we came down to a gap with a parking lot, bathrooms, and garbage cans. Mango got a ride with someone from there to a nearby hostel, because she has to go home to Maryland for the weekend for a sailing regatta. We were sad to see her go, but she should be meeting back up with us early next week in Damascus, VA.We hiked on a little bit further up the trail to a shelter that was converted from an old barn. It has a neat loft inside and sleeps over 20 people. We are tenting outside, though. We generally prefer to tent because we don't have to worry about mice, bugs, snoring, or early risers waking us up. Also here are Canuck, V8 & Auntie Mame, Shiloh, Me, Garlic, Pickle, and RC-4.
Date: 2008-04-24
From: Elk River Tentsite

To: Dennis Cove Road/Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 18.0

We hiked 18 miles today, and my body is definitely feeling it. We only decided to do so many miles because the terrain was about the flattest it's been since we started. There were lots of little ups and downs, but never more than 500 feet gained or lost at once. Whatever the terrain, though, 18 miles is a long way, and I am exhausted.Eric, Shiloh, Me, and I hit the trail around 7:30am. Canuck was a little ways behind us, so when we got to the first shelter 2 miles away, we took the side trail to it so we could wait for him to catch up. He didn't realize we had done this, however, and zoomed past the shelter and up ahead, trying to catch up with us. He got so far ahead that we never saw him again for the rest of the day. So just the 4 of us hiked together.We stopped and had lunch at a stream/falls called the Hard Core Cascades, at which a group of volunteer trail maintainers-- Hard Core-- had built a foot bridge out of rocks for hikers to cross on. It was a beautiful place to take a break. The rest of the day was uneventful but long. The four of us arrived at the road crossing where Kincora Hostel is located around 5:30 and walked the 0.3 miles to the hostel. We missed the nightly shuttle into town by about 5 minutes, so we started our laundry, showered, and ordered pizza from a local delivery place. When the shuttle from town came back, there was Canuck, who had arrived an hour before we did, and had brought back 2 pizzas for us, not knowing we had already ordered our own pizza. There ended up being a whole lot of pizza for all to share and by the end everyone was stuffed. We're going to get a ride into town tomorrow morning to re-supply and then play it by ear from there. I'm so tired we may do a nearo day to rest up some. Canuck is definitely hiking out tomorrow, so he may be about a day ahead of us for a while. Also at the hostel are: Canuck, Shiloh, Me, Gucci & Bearfoot, Bananas, Yazzie, Spartacus & Turtle, Pearl & Trainwreck, and Bilge Rat.