morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-19
From: Stratton, ME

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

This last week or so has been great, maybe even the best yet. Some many connections made to good people. Saddleback mountain care taker Grace treated us to a banjo session at the Hiker Hut. Which is one of the warmest and welcoming places on I've come across. I have passed the 250 mile mark and the trail only looks to get steeper for the next two weeks. Maine and this journey keep amazing me. Thanks for the guest book notes everyone, I am thinking about you too. Looking forward to New Hampshire.
Date: 2014-07-20
From: Andover, ME

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Crossed the border into New Hampshire with a full SOBO crew, This Is It from Oz, A-bomb from NY, Gravity and Up in the Air from Midwest. We are def a good hiking crew. The Sweet Pea girls hooked us up with a lil trail magic in the form of fresh garden peas to celebrate our first state completed. I will miss Maine, great scenery, people and places. We have been staying at the White Mountain Hostel in Gorham, NH, which is more like a BnB before heading up and up to the massive peaks surrounding us. Its raining with storms predicted through tonight and tomorrow, so we are only going and easy two miles today to the base of mount Moriah and hope for a break in the weather in the morning to summit over 4000' and make the next shelter. I am really excited for all the big climbs coming up for the next 100 miles. Thanks for all the guest book mmessages, it nice to hear from everyone.
Date: 2014-01-27
To: Prep
Miles today: 0.0

Good MorningFirst something about me and my husband: We are married since 4.5 years and we live in switzerland. We are both swiss, so english isn't our native language. I hope you excuse the mistakes we make in spelling and grammar. I plan to write my first entry since i decided to thru-hike the AT. So lets begin from the start.One afternoon in november 2012, i had a night shift the night before, so i was tired and hanging on my sofa, i zapped through the tv channels and stopped at a documentation about the appalachian trail. I had never before heard of it and it just cought me. I knew instantly that i want to thru hike this trail, the only question was when. So i wrote my husband that i got travel plans and he searched the internet, since he had never heard about it either. and the answer was: i'll hike the AT with you, when do we start?Since that day we are planning and preparing. We got lucky and were both able to make deals with our work. We are both able to return to our jobs after the hike, which is a great relief for both of us. We are also allowed to rent our flat (including the furniture) to a friend, so we don't need to move or to store our things, and we can come back to our home! Then we searched the web and found a couple of pages which really helped us deciding on what gear to take, and we went to stores with outdoor gear to gather as much information as possible before we bought our gear.Last summer we went hiking for 8 days in the Urner Alps and realized that the missing hygene will be something we need to get used to. But that the real problem will be the rain. We have great gear, but when it rains a couple of days in a row it will become difficult to keep the things dry. Another decission i made during this trip was: I'm willing to spend money on a dry bed (hostel or so) and on good food. We'll see how much we will need in the end, but i think it will really depend on the weather we'll have on the trail.Now we have 8 weeks to go - it seems time runs by so fast... We need to get the flat ready, to hand over all the job information, to buy the last couple of things, to deal with all the bureaucratic stuff (we got our visa!!!), to meet friends and family to say good-bye, book the flights, hostel, and so on, start our trailjournal and gather as much information about the trail as possible! Yes, we will definitely be busy the next couple of weeks...
Date: 2014-03-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Yesterday morning we had to get up at 4am. Mathias, our brother in law brought us to the airport. The flight to frankfurt was smooth and waiting for our connecting flight we met the first AT hikers, a couple from dresden. The landing in atlanta was horrible due to strong winds. When we finally landed it took us about an hour to get to the passport control. There they took us out, took our passports and tickets and brought us to a waiting room which was locked from the outside (which we realized when another person wanted to leave)! This experience was really scary especially since we had no idea what was wrong! Finally they called us to the interview. They didn't believe us to be hikers and questioned all kind of things... finally i offered to show them our suitcases with our packs inside, this changed their minds and after another hour we got our permit to stay in the usa. But they told us that all visitors to the USA are only allowed to stay for 6 month, which means we will have to leave the US before the 23.09.2014! Right now we think about how we can spend the remaining 3 weeks after leaving the USA. Most probably we will go to Canada. But we will have to talk to our travel agent about the possibilities we have. So we think we have to cancel Hawaii :-(Last night we slept at a nice hotel in atlanta with a huge comfy bed. Today we ran all over atlanta to get the rest of the gear, grocerys and a cell phone for emergency calls. After this we got picked up by "creep" of the hiker hostel where we stay tonight. We can definitely recommend this hostel, its great!Thats all for now, good night!Information: wir sind 5 stunden "hinter" der schweizer zeit! Wir wissen aber noch nicht ob dies mit der sommerzeitumstellung ¤ndert...
Date: 2014-03-26
From: springer mountain

To: hawk mountain shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we got a great breakfast at the hiker hostel. After we were brought by car as far as one mile to springer mountain. That was closer then we had planned and it mixed up our hiking plans. So we hiked up to springer and we were able to officially start the appalachian trail! It was a beautiful day with lots of sun but quite cold in the morning. Marco was able to twist his ankle after the first few miles and we just made it to the next shelter. There he got a good rest and his ankle got better fast. We have met a few nice people at the shelter, others were rather strange. We slept in the shelter this night, but it was a really cool night, I was freezing and the pack of coyotes we heard close by didn't improve my night.
Date: 2014-03-27
From: hawk mountain shelter

To: preacher rock
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I was really glad when the sun was rising and I was allowed to get up. I was scared at night to go to the privy (plumpsklo) and so happy when it was morning... marco was sleeping so deep, I had to wake him up because I wanted to get going. We packed up fast and decided to leave without eating breakfast. Temperatur was still below freezing and we felt to cold to sit down and cook. I regreted this as soon as we got to the first hill. I didn't feel strong enough to make it to the top and I had to take a few breaks on my way up and eat trail mix (studentenfutter). Again we were joined by other hikers which made the hike easier. We reached gooch mountain shelter at two o clock and ate our lunch which were asian noodles whith pepperoni sausage. We felt good enough to push further. There should have been two campgrounds within the next 4 miles. The first was unfriendly and right at a forest road used by the military, this didn't fit me, so we went on. My feet felt heavy and hurt and my back told me to call it a day, so we hoped the next camping would be better. Unfortunately we never found it... so we just went on. By the time we got to woody gap every part of my body hurt! Otheds told us that the campground was about 1km ahead just of the trail. I thought it was supposed to be right at the gap, but I trusted them. Big mistake! It wasn't there and we went on until we were on top of a mountain. There we found a good place for our tent behind a big rock. We were to tired to cook and we just ate a tortilla with some tuna. Marco hang up all our good smelling things. A must in bear country! I was so thankful since I couldn't have done it myself. The night was warmer than the one before. I couldn't hear any bears or any other wildlife. The storm made me worry about our food hanging high in the trees. But I slept really well.
Date: 2014-03-28
From: preacher rock

To: neels gap
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

This morning the rain woke us up. Yesterday night we couldn't tighten the ropes properly and now I was afraid the rain could come in through the outer layer. We tried to dry all the equipment before packing it up. Once again we didn't feel like cooking breakfast and we headed out hungry. We ate granola bars and trail mix along the way. These things kept us going till neels gap. Yesterday and today we walked further than we had planned, but there wasn't really any other option since this area is bear country and we weren't allowed to camp in between. So tonight we treat us to a night at a cabin! We ate spaghetti, showered and cleaned and dried all our gear.Believe me a shower and a comfortable bed haven't felt so good for a long time!It's still raining, so we will see what tomorrow brings.
Date: 2014-03-29
From: neels gap

To: hogpen gap
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Thank you so much for all the nice and supporting comments in the guest book! You guys made our day a lot better. Today wasn't our day... In the morning all our gear was dry so we started with a good feeling. It was still raining, foggy and windy. After about 4 miles the pain in my shoulders came back, it became so bad that I just wanted to sit down and cry! But I knew it wouldn't help and that I needed to get going at least to the next road crossing. That came after a total of 5.5 miles. Marcos knees hurt from walking down the mountain, we were both cold and didn't like the idea of sleeping in the tent tonight. We decided to call a shuttle to pick us up. The guy told me that it would cost us 50 $. A lot of money but we didn't mind, we just wanted to get to helen. After an hour standing in the rain and the cold wind we started to put our thumb out in the hope somebody would give us a ride. But we didn't get lucky. So we walked along the street to the next parking lot. Altogether we waited for three hours until two women picked us up. Emily and eliza were having a girls weekend in the mountains. They were just driving around and had felt sorry for us. So they drove us to helen even so they didn't need to go there! They told us thattthey have a friend who has walked the appalachian trail a few years ago and that she had told them about the great experience and all the nice people along the way! This friend was the reason they had picked us up. We agreed that our mothers wouldn't like us to hitchhike or to take hitchhikers with us... so thank you again very much!In helen we found a coffeeshop with an extremly nice and helpul guy and after a great coffee at the "higher ground" we were ready to find a hotel. We will spend the night at the quality inn and eat dinner at the bodensee restaurant. A restaurant with german food.If you don't know helen, georgia Google it! Its a supposed to be german/bavarian/swiss village ( or what the Americans think it looks like... really cute!!!
Date: 2014-03-30
From: hogpen gap

To: unicoi gap
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light snow

We had decided to slack pack today. This means we just hiked with a day pack and we left the rest of our gear at the hotel. The driver of the alpine taxi picked us up at 8:30am and brought us up to hogpengap. In helen it had been warm and sunny. Up in the mountains it was still freezing cold and the wind heavy. There was ice on the branches of the trees and bushes and the ground was frozen too. But thanks to hiking we got warmer fast and finally the sun came through and it became a nice sun shining day!The hike was easy to handle without our big packs and we hiked really fast. Unfortunately Marcos pain in his knees got worse and after half of our planned hike he started limping. So I took the pack even so my shoulders still hurt. Then the pain in Marcos left knee started to spread over his whole leg but he tried to ignore it. There was no possibility to shorten the hike so he just kept going. He even took the pack again so my shoulders would get a rest.Finally we made it to unicoi gap where the taxi driver picked us up again. Back in helen we did some laundry at a laundromat, we went shopping for the next couple of days and we went to have dinner. Unfortunately the restaurant was a bad choice...On the way back to our hotel, marco was in big pain. So we don't know yet if we can go on tomorrow or if we have to stay another night. I hope we can head out. We have the possibility of 3 campgrounds in the first 4 miles of tomorrow's scheduled hike. So we could stop as soon as he wants to rest.If we head out tomorrow and everything would go according to my plans, we wouldn't be in town/ close to wifi for the next 7 days! Just so you don't wonder why we aren't writing! We wish you a great week, take care!
Date: 2014-03-31
From: unicoi gap

To: tray mountain shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today was the weather just awesome! A beautiful day...We decided to try and hike as far as Marcos legs and my shoulders would go without hurting too much. We got further than we thought we would. Yes we only made 5.7 miles but we had two bad mountains to hike and we were still both in pain. So as soon as we reached the shelter which has a spring and space for our tent and most important for me, a privy, we decided to stay there for the night. Its a beautiful space on a mountain top and we had great views to the south. So we are glad we didn't stay in helen for a day of rest but went on a little bit and were able to enjoy the beautiful day and the incredible appalachian mountains! Today I'd like to say "thank you" to the staff of rockstore and transa Lucerne! Your knowledge, recommendations and help in general were awesome and I think we got the best gear we could get. If we aren't making it to mount kathadin it wasn't because of the gear!
Date: 2014-04-01
From: tray mountain shelter

To: dicks Creek gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning we were woken by the sun. It was a beautiful morning until marco and me had an argument. We finished packing and headed off still not talking to each other. We each hiked by ourselves for about two miles. Then I needed a break and marco caught up with me. He said sorry and we made up. I just can't be mad with him for long. We didn't want to go far today but when we reached what should have been our last mountain top, after a really tiring hike up, a trail angel with cold drinks was waiting for us. We had never met this man before, but he knew all about us, since he was following us on our trail journal. He thought we would pass this mountain today and he had been waiting for us all morning. Ken invited us to stay at his cabin tonight. We didn't need to think long but accepted right away. I know, mom, I shouldn't take anything from strangers and definitely not go with them and I agree! But here its different. We have to trust our guts... ken seemed to be a really nice guy. He hiked the AT in 2000 and is taking care of one mile himself (we hiked it with him). So we went with him even so it ment 4 miles more than planned. At the parking lot his nice wife diane and his granddaughter waited for us. We went to their cabin which is a beautiful wooden house in the woods. After we had taken a shower and put our dirty clothes in the laundry we headed of to a restaurant for dinner. There was an all you can eat buffet! Perfect for hungry hikers like us. Back at the cabin we watched the weather forecast and went to bed early.
Date: 2014-04-02
From: dicks Creek gap

To: muskrat Creek shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

Ken woke us with the call for breakfast, how awesome to start a day! Breakfast was ready when we got to the dining table, it was all we were dreaming of while hiking! Maybe you know this thoughts, when you live on few things and you know you can't get to anything special. You start daydreaming of certain food and drinks, like a breakfast with bacon and eggs...After breakfast Ken brought us back to the trail and we had to say goodbye to the best trail angel ever! Thank you so much for everything Ken, mail us when you come to Europe!Today we planned to get to our first Stateline! After a few miles the german couple, Ines and Volker, which we had met at Frankfurt airport caught up with us. They had skipped a few miles due to her having foot problems. Her foot is still not painless so she hikes about as slow as I do. Together we passed our first Stateline, georgia/north Carolina! One down, fifteen to go! When we were at the campground we decided to go on to the next shelter. Like this we would be one day earlier in Franklin than we had planned! It just ment 3 miles more, not so much. But the two mountains we had to cross were really bad! We hadn't had such a steep climb before and when we were finally at the shelter my shoulders hurt really bad! The next decision we made wasn't any better: tomorrow we will hike 13 miles to the next shelter! But at least, we slept really well in the tent this night!
Date: 2014-04-04
From: carter gap shelter

To: rock gap shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It started to rain in the morning but at least there wasn't a thunderstorm like they had said in the weather forecast! But the trail got very slippery and we had to hike really careful. There were passages where the trail was extremely narrow and just mud and slippery stones. We also had to climb a steep trail up the Albert mountain and I don't know how we would have done it without our new shoes which have an awesome grip. On top of the mountain was an old fire tower which also marks the first 100 miles of the trail! Since the ground is wet and there are still showers of rain from time to time we decided to sleep in the shelter tonight. Big news: I got my trail name from ken, I'm now hiking under the name: Swiss Miss!Marco named himself: Nobody (maybe because I like the movie with Terrence hill so much? )We also named volker: wild boar And ines named herself: trail snail
Date: 2014-04-05
From: rock gap shelter

To: winding stair gap
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Since yesterday we went further than planned, today we just had a short hike to winding stair gap. There we were welcomed by a trail angel who was offering breakfast from the back of his truck! Since we had left the shelter without breakfast this morning, this was very welcome! We were able to hitchhike into Franklin and decided to share a room with the Germans. We first went to an outfitter who knows lot about feet and shoes. Marco and ines got new insoles for their shoes and we also got new socks made of merino wool and new rain covers for our packs. After we went to have a great lunch with sandwiches of pulled pork. And then we went to wallmart to resupply. We did all our laundry and went for dinner in the evening. After walking for about 20 minutes we found out that the restaurant was closed, so we went back and had Mexican food. Marco had a huge beer, since he still doesn't know the measures of fluid ounces... so he was really happy when we went to bed
Date: 2014-04-06
From: winding stair gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we made our first zero day. Marcos knees still hurt and my back is still stiff, so we decided to rest. We also met a hiker called "bear bag", he hiked the AT before and started his own business designing and producing ultra light weight gear. After talking to him we repacked all our gear and now have more than one kilogram less gear (we will send this forward just in case we miss something...) he has a website, you can just Google: bear bag gearHappy birthday anita!
Date: 2014-04-07
From: winding stair gap

To: siler bald shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: moderate rain

When we got up this morning it was already pouring. We had to go to the post office to send our package of stuff we had decided on not to carry any longer. After this we packed our backpack and waited for the shuttle to head back on the AT. It wasn't easy to go back, since it was still raining and the room all of a sudden seemed really comfortable! We hiked to the first shelter and decided to stay. My shoulders hurt so bad I couldn't think of going on, plus was the weather still awful. I took painkillers and we made our beds. Since then I'm lying in my sleeping bag, on top I have Marcos sleeping bag to keep me warm. Marco is doing all the work, like getting water, making tea and so on. Isn't he great? Ines and me are planning the next couple of days, we just hope the weather gets better fast. The shelter is already crowded and there are more hikers coming, hoping for a dry place to spend the night. We will have to leave early tomorrow morning, so we will be ahead of the others and get a space in the shelter! Selfish? Well yes, probably...
Date: 2014-04-08
From: siler bald shelter

To: wayah shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: few clouds

As planned we got up early. It was really cold and we just packed up and went without breakfast. My toes and fingers felt frozen for quite a while. The weather wasn't too bad but the wind made the temperature below freezing. There was ice on the trees again! It really is April, one day we get sunburn the next it's icy cold.We wanted to stop for breakfast and lunch but we couldn't find a dry and windstill spot. We just kept hiking until we got to the shelter where we had planned to stay the night. We claimed our spot for the night and started to make a fire. The rest of the day we spent with cooking, drinking tea and keep the fire going. We had to find out that we needed more fuel when it's cold and we just hope we have enough until we can refill. So we cooked once more on the fire trying to save fuel. Tomorrow we plan to hike 11 miles to the next shelter, we'll see how my shoulders and marcos knees keep up... painkillers didn't work for me today, marco hiked today without painkillers but with a knee brace.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: wayah shelter

To: a. Rufus Morgan shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we had icy rain. We had breakfast and started hiking. We went really slow, since our feet were very cold. We planned to hike to the next shelter which was about 10 miles away. My shoulders hurt even with painkillers and it just got worse during the day. The weather got better and the sun came out. There was still a chilly wind blowing which felt very good while hiking. We passed two parking and we had hoped for trail angels, but unfortunately there were none. But we met two teams of volunteer trail maintenance workers, and I want to thank them and all the other volunteers for their work on the trail, your work is appreciated! One of the workers gave us cookies with chocolate, those brought us to the next gap where we had lunch, tortillas with ham, sauce and cheese sticks. Yummy! After lunch we went up the next mountain, on top was an observation tower and we had a great view. We decided that we wanted to go further than the shelter. Marco gave me his backpack and he took mine. I know now why his hips hurt and he knows why my shoulders hurt... but like that we were able to go a couple more miles to the next shelter. It was a long bad trail downhill and we were really glad when we got there. It was the longest we have hiked so far! I decided to buy me a new backpack when I find one that fits me!