morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-27
From: Nantahala River (Nantahala Outdoor Center - NOC)

To: Sweetwater Gap
Miles today: 14.6

Dave left early today while I stayed behind to settle up the rooms and wash and dry clothes. He has to make it to Fontana by 4:30pm Thu to pick up a food drop. I mailed my bounce box ahead to Hot Springs, NC, washed and dried clothes, ate an excellent breakfast, and hiked out of the NOC just before 11am, with a take-out order of 2 sausage biscuits. Thanks to the lady at the staff diner for taking care of us, and to Robin for printing off the weather forecast.Not far up the trail I caught up with Speedy Gonzalez, moving north under a full pack. That's the trail name I gave the northbound tortise on the trail. When he stops for the night, he just pulls in head and feet and camp is made.The climb out of the gorge was very long and hard. I finally had to call on JoJo Rambo for help. We all paid the price after that. "Breaks on the hour, not before! Let's go, pick'em up and put'em down! Sing along!"I don't know but I've been told,JoJo Hiker is getting old!Never gonna get up out of this hole,If you keep leaning on that pole!The things I have to put up with! The experts say the entrance to the Smokies from Fontana Dam is even harder. I'm not looking forward to it. Chad and I flipped back and forth most of the day. A big cool wind blew through the trees all day. I stopped at Sassafras shelter for a lunch of my sausage biscuits. Cold but good. Chad was there, as well as two others, one of whom was already in his sleeping bag at 3pm. The other was a talker. After making a couple of comments that were ignored, I noticed that his hearing aid was taken out. It's hard to get a word in on someone who can't hear you. He mentioned that he was moving on to camp somewhere down the trail. I moved out first.Another hiker came in before I left. He had taken off for 4 days at the NOC to nurse a sore knee. He was hiking hard (Springer to the NOC in 10 days) when he came upon a hiker in trouble a few miles outside the NOC. Seems the guy had a stomach bug and was so dehydrated that he couldn't walk any farther. This kid helped him to a shelter, then ran the rest of the way to the NOC for help, in the process banging his knee even more. The EMT folks had to bring the sick hiker out on a stretcher.I stopped for a nap on grassy Cheoah Bald in the warm sun, then pushed on to Locust Grove Gap where 3 hikers had set up for the night. I mentioned that the weather forecast for Bryson City called for a low of 30 degrees tonight. Hillbilly said "We were in Bryson City last night. It's a mean little hick town. Won't nobody give you a ride nor pay you no mind."On across the road crossing at Stecoah Gap and to Sweetwater Gap where I ran out of daylight and made camp about 9pm. A long day and a cold night ahead. Dave is probably at the next shelter 1.5mi ahead. This is big, rugged country between the Nantahala River and Fontana Lake.
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Sweetwater Gap

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Up early and saw the sunrise over the eastern mountains. I took time to eat breakfast and catch up on journal entries, and was away about 9am. It was a cold night but the bright sun promised a fine day. The light breeze kept an edge even after the sun was up, though. I started hiking in my fleece, but it came off on the first up.Stopped for water at the Brown Fork shelter. Another hiker came in and mentioned that he had a mail drop at Fontana. When I told him the post office closes at 4:30pm, he was off in a flash. Must be almost out of groceries.On to the Cable Gap shelter for more water. An entry in the register from a couple of days ago notes that someone found three newborn mice in their backpack one morning. That's why I'm not a shelter person!The climb up from Cable Gap was a hot one. Had to turn on the backwoods air conditioning - wet bandana under my cap. I'm under my Nike lid again. I put it on to keep the rain out of my face two days ago and rolled the straw boater under my rain jacket. It was a misshapen thing when I pulled it out at the shelter during lunch. When I repacked I forgot it. Guess it will serve some mouse well as a nest.At last I was back up on the ridgeline and could see Fontana Lake. That gave my legs new life. Of course the trail then switched from the long sidehill switchbacks of the morning to go directly up over every knob top along the ridge. Masochists must have designed this trail, turning what would be a scenic hike into an endurance contest.JOJO RAMBO HERE! STOP YOUR WHINING! You WILL take that ridge and EVERY OTHER ONE from here to Maine! And if you refuse, you'll have my bootprint on your backside!Hmmmm, guess he forgot we aren't wearing boots.Down to civilization at 6:30pm. Now to get eats, supplies, a shower, wash clothes, find my hiking buddy and a campsite and I'll be ready to tackle Shuckstack Mt. tomorrow!The next update will be when we exit the Smokies in about a week, unless we get drawn into Gatlinburg for some reason.
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The Fontana Dam Shelter must be one of the best on the AT. Spacious, upper level windows for light, a water faucet right outside, and best of all (about a half mile away at the visitor center) free hot showers! I think TVA built the shelter since it's on their land. A first class job!Dave had sent a huge box of food ahead to Fontana Dam, enough that when we split it we both had enough to last through the Smokies. I hiked out with Goggles and Carrington. Carrington thru-hiked in 1999 under the name Carry Ten, but promised himself to redo the first quarter of the trail in good weather. He's going as far as Damascus. He's a musician, and after his thruhike his band was invited to play at Trail Days in Damascus. There the bandleader met his future wife. Carrington says that he got the gig, but the bandleader got the girl. I stopped to retie my shoe and that was the last I saw of those two.Shortly after entering the Smokies and starting the up to Shuckstack Mt I came upon two deer, which seemed very tame until I took out the camera, then they bolted. Camera-shy I guess. This was a fine sunny day, with wildflowers blooming everwhere. The trail in the Smokies must be graded for horses (which are allowed on some parts of it), and that makes the climbs much easier. I took the side trail up and climbed the Shuckstack fire tower for great views of the mountains in every direction.I was passed on the climb up Shuckstack by Crash, who hiked to Mt Washington in NH last year before being stopped by bad weather. So he's doing it all again because he wants a complete thruhike in one season. Says that after he reaches Mt Katahdin in Maine, he may hike back to Mt Washington so he can say he's done the whole trail twice. Crash is traveling with Rainman, Joker and My Little Pony.I had lunch at Mollie's Ridge shelter with the Crash crew, then went on to Russell Field shelter for the night. The Park Service requires that you sleep in or beside a shelter while in the Smokies - part of their effort to control human-bear encounters. Of course this makes it easy for the bears to know where the food can be found. So the Park Service put wire fencing across the shelter fronts to keep them out. Now I know how it feels to be a zoo inhabitant. The Service has now installed bear cables for hanging food out of reach and is removing the fencing as shelters are renovated. The emphasis is now on keeping a clean campsite and hanging food out of reach so the bears won't expect an easy meal. A train-the-humans approach.At any rate, the Russell Field shelter was a dark cave with a dirt floor and two levels of sleeping benches. The sky had become overcast during the afternoon and by the time darkness came the wind was roaring and the fog had rolled in. I settled for the night between two others. A good first day in the Smokies but the weather for tomorrow does not look promising.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

I lived in Cloudland today. Visibility was not more than 100 yards all day and the wind was cold and damp on the ridgetops. I hiked alone most of the day, catching up to Dave, Topknot, Crash, Joker, My Little Pony and Rainman at Derrick Knob shelter for lunch. Chad (now with trail name Superstition) came in as I was leaving, moving slowly and thinking of calling it a day.Hiking through the fog was eerie. I kept seeing odd things like a giant rabbit, a witch, a tiny deer, a huge spiderweb, etc. They all resolved into tree stumps, limbs or rocks as I got closer. Reminded me of Tolkien's Mirkwood Forest. No views of the mountains today.As I came up on a high ridgeline late in the afternoon I saw my first Fraser fir. Park literature notes that during the last ice age northern species of plants moved southward with the advancing glaciers and cold. When the glaciers retreated the species were left stranded on the higher and cooler elevations. Hence Fraser fir this far south. I noticed that the squirrels among the fir are reddish instead of the typical grey, and seem more at home on the ground. Also ice age relics?Crash and crew stopped for the night at the Siler's Bald shelter but Dave and I pushed on to Double Spring Gap. A night behind the wire in a dark hole with the sounds of condensation from the trees dripping on the roof, snoring, shifting and turning of people, the clank of the gate as someone makes a late night privy call, and the wind in the trees. Add the smell of damp clothes, hiker funk and dirty wet socks and you begin to understand why a hotel room looks so good. The days are great. The nights are to be endured because they hold the days together.
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Double Spring Shelter

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: light rain

I was back on the trail at 7:30am. Another day of fog, mist and wet. I was past Clingman's Dome by 9am, and didn't bother to take the side trail to the summit. The woods here look like a rain forest, not only from today's wet but also from the moss and fungi that grow everywhere. I took a picture of a fungus as big as a dinner plate.I met a trail crew out doing trail maintenance. When I told the lady that I was from Huntsville, AL, she immediately recruited me to come back and help them with the trail after my thruhike. We'll see. The Newfound Gap (only road crossing on the AT in the Smokies) parking lot was full of cars with lots of people walking around in t-shirt and shorts shivering in the cool mist. Clearly there's a world out there where the sun is shining and the air is warm and dry.Some of the thruhikers scored big time with the tourists who loaded them up with food and took pictures. Not me. I was a little too far from their image of a thruhiker I guess. With my track shoes, pants muddy tothe knee and garbage bag rain cover on the pack, I looked more homeless than adventuresome. I loaded up on water (no treatment required!) and was gone in 5 minutes. I thought of using the rest room sink to wash up some clothes but decided that I might get turned in for vagrancy.On the trail up from Newfound Gap I met Jim McMann, a physician from NC (the city made famous by NASCAR, whose name I can't remember) out for a day hike after a conference presentation in Gatlinburg. I turned him on to the TrailJournals site - now he'll get the bug for a thruhike! I try to infect everyone that I can that way.Dave stopped at the Icewater Spring shelter in spite of my attempt to convince him to go on. I pushed on to Peck's Corner along a great ridgeline trail. On top of the ridgeline you occasionally are walking on the edges of the uptilted rocks, with the ground falling sharply away on each side of the narrow trail, giving the impression of walking on the spine of the earth. There was a feeling of awesome views just beyond the fog. About 3pm the clouds lifted and the sun almost came out. Sure enough the view off the west side of the trail was of a spectacular valley with steep rocky slopes. As good as many views that I've seen in the Rockies. Then the mist covered it all again. I'd like to return and hike the section of the Smokies between Newfound Gap and Davenport Gap again in clear fall weather, just to see what I missed.Got to the Peck's Shelter about 7:30pm to close out my first 20+ mile day. I met the Hobbit from Wisconsin, out for a month or so of hiking. Also Darren-on-the-Trail and several others whose names I didn't get. About 10 in the shelter tonight, which is a fine open one without a fence.A split opened in the callus on the ball of my right foot today, I suppose from walking so far in the wet. There's no way to keep your feet dry in this weather.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

JoJo NoGo was in charge this morning. Shortly before daybreak came the first rain shower, and it was raining continuously by 8am. I watched everyone else pack up and slog off into the wet, rolled over and went back to sleep. I finally got up about 10:30 and cooked up a hot meal with full intention of making this a zero mile day. Then about 1pm JoJo Rambo took over and I was packed and gone by 1:30pm. The rain soon slacked but it was very foggy with no views.I stopped at the TriCorner Knob shelter for a break around 4pm and found My Little Pony buried in her sleeping bag and Gator contemplating his thoroughly soaked bag. The TriCorner Knob shelter has a tarp roof and is pretty much a mudhole in wet weather. My Little Pony had left early and was waiting for Crash, Joker and Rainman to catch up. She is from CA, but now lives in VA, riding horses in the triathalon of horseback competitions that includes dressage, obstacles and other elements. There is a lull in the sport just now and she's taking advantage of it to hike. Joker and Rainman are friends from Detroit, and the four (including Crash) have been hiking together since Springer. They're great trash talkers among themselves, and on the first day we met they offered to give away the Pony. Since I've gotten ahead of them I've started a journal taunt for them to free the Pony from their slow-footed pace and let her run free. They've responded though faster hikers that I'm in for a Detroit-style whuppin' when they catch me, for encouraging the Pony to think for herself. Good fun.When I started to leave Gator decided to go with me. He was getting cold and had no bag to crawl into. Better to walk than to shiver, and he was afraid of hypothermia if he sat around. He's from FL with a couple of years of college (music) under his belt, and this is his first backpacking trip. I first met him briefly at the Sassafras shelter on day 14 (he had hurt his knee getting help for a dehydrated hiker). He thought his pack was waterproof and sent his pack cover home, only to discover the universal truth that no pack is waterproof.JoJo Rambo pushed us straight through to the Cosby Knob shelter through a cold rain and a stiffening wind. Nasty weather, perfect conditions for hypothermia, so we didn't take any chances on getting cold. My FrogTogg rain jacket worked fine, keeping out both the water and the wind. The trail was a virtual creek all the way.We made it to Cosby Knob just before dark and the crowd there shifted over to make room. Several people contributed dry gear for Gator to wrap in and he faced a chilly but safe night. Doc also had a wet bag and had lined it with a space blanket to make it through the night. I've done that before and can attest to how miserable such a night can be. I'll keep triple-protecting my bag to keep it dry. Off to sleep in another damp and crowded shelter, glad to be out of the cold and rain. I'm getting out of the Smokies tomorrow! What happened to summer?
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Waterville School Road (Standing Bear Hostel)
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

The food bags had ice on them when they came down off the bear cables this morning. I pulled on my wet clothes with jaws clenched and was out by 8:30am, headed for Standing Bear Farm and warmth. Out of the Smokies at Davenport Gap. The sun was in and out of the clouds, and the weather looked to be improving. I crossed under I-40 and followed the steps up to a plaque describing the AT. There I met Betty and Patsy who told me that I was living their dream. They're planning a thru-hike in the future, and on their way to MN had stopped to see where the trail crossed I-40. We talked for a few minutes. I ran out of gas and stopped to eat my last can of chicken, then pressed on to the hostel where I took a hot shower, shaved, washed my filthy clothes, ate a whole can of Pringles chased by a Pepsi, called home, and began to feel human again. The bunkhouse was heated by a wood stove that was the main attraction except for the food locker. Will and I polished off a pizza and had a couple of Buds to boot. There was quite an eclectic conversation around the stove, including trading of gourmet recipes between Spiceman and Dave, and a discussion of genetic engineering. Not exactly the prototypical collection of camping buddies standing around the stove, hitching up their pants and telling a bigger lie than the last one.Two major objectives accomplished: getting to the Smokies and getting through them. The next one is to make it to Damascus, VA.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Waterville School Road (Standing Bear Hostel)

To: Bluff Mt.
Miles today: 22.7

I was up early, but took time to eat breakfast and call home. Also had to maneuver past a bum that I named Lurch. I've run across three or four people so far that are out on the trail because they don't have any other place to be. They've all been great people, just down on their luck. Lurch was proud to have been 'on the road' for seven years, was knowledgeable about all aspects of long distance hiking although he had never done any, meddled with your gear, advised on why hiking poles weren't any good, proclaimed that lighters were better than matches, argued that there was no difference between smoking inside and drinking beer inside, and was a general nuisance in several other ways. About time I was ready to leave he hoisted his 50# duffel bag up on his back andstarted making noises about trying out the trail. I had to wait until he started talking to the owner, then with the pick set I disappeared down the road at a good clip.The climb up Snowbird Mt was long, but the day was sunny with temps in the 60s; perfect weather for hiking. I passed Dave, then waited for him up on Max Patch, a grass-covered mountain with magnificent views all around. I cooked a hot meal in the lee of a great boulder and took a good power nap in the sun. After that it was back into the woods - now hardwoods as opposed to the evergreens of the Smokies. As I hiked along I heard a sound like falling raindrops in the leaves. It was a hatching of small grasshoppers hopping away as I got close. Which reminds me that this is a peak year in the cicada cycle for the east. I'm sure I'll be whining about their incessant noise later in the year.Dave and Will stopped at the Roaring Fork shelter. Will is a biologist on leave of absence from Genentech(?) in San Francisco. He's always up early and the first to hike out. I continued on to the Walnut Mt shelter where I met Twinkletoes and The French Connection, an Israeli who brought with him a collection of lotions and potions from France that will cure any hiker ailment (just joking, FC!). He's done a lot of long distance hiking in Europe and thought he would try the AT.Since there was an hour of daylight left I hiked about half way up Bluff Mt and detoured off the trail onto a high grassy knoll with a good view of the mountains and set up my tarp just at sunset. Over 22 miles and positioned to motor into Hot Springs early tomorrow. Just after sunset a full moon rose in the clear sky. Unfortunately, the wind also rose and blew strongly all night, beating against the tarp. Maybe I should have stayed down in the shelter of the woods.
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Bluff Mt.

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I was awake at 5am and hiking by 6am with the help of my headlight. That's the drawing power of a trail town - more powerful than a PopTart to a thruhiker. The headlight was off by 6:15am, and I was trucking along powered by my last NutriGrain bar. Before long the bar ran out and I pulled out one of my emergency rations of ramen noodles and munched them down right out of the bag as I walked. Then ate the last pack just before the final up before town. I walked into town with a totally empty food bag. Sure glad I did that 20+ mile day yesterday. Shortly after 12 noon I had a room at the Duckett House Bed & Breakfast and was in a hot shower shortly afterward.After cleaning up I walked down to the first restaurant that I saw, the local diner, and ordered a ribeye sandwich with fries and a Pepsi with no ice so I wouldn't have to ask for refills so often. It was good to sit down to a hot meal, read the paper and listen to the locals at the liars' table talk about turkey hunting.The Duckett House is a big old white house with deep porches and lots of shade trees, sited by a mountain stream. It is run by Frank and Brian (Magpie - thruhiked in the late 80s) who give a steep disount to hikers. A very nice place to stay.I came back and did laundry, then walked downtown to pick up my bounce box from the local outfitter store and had a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and a good local brew.Will came in a couple of hours after me. By late afternoon we still had not seen Dave, who had sold us on the Duckett House as the place to stay. We called around to the handful of other places to stay, but of the ones we reached none had him registered. We finally walked downtown and ran into The French Connection, who had walked into town with Dave. He said Dave was having trouble with one of his feet. Still don't know where he landed. But since I was downtown I ate a big salad topped with walnuts, apples and goat cheese. Then back to a soft bed for a good night's sleep without the wind hammering a tarp above me. I love the woods, but I also love civilization.I'm planning a zero milage day tomorrow to rest up a bit, then back on the trail on Fri headed for Erwin, TN about 80 miles away.