morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-04-29
From: Bly Gap, NC!

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 12Ok. Didn't go tooo far. Wasn't quite up and at 'em, although I was the first on out. Left at about 9 and got into the shelter about 5. The hike was very pleasant. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, nice breezes.The first mountain in NC was what seemed to be an EPIC climb, (I decided to dedicate the climb to Amy R. as she gave me that idea to do a little for people who can't.) but the views were rewarding. The rest of the day was more like a walk in the woods. Stopped at Muskrat Shelter for lunch and Opie caught up with me as did Wrongway (renamed "Moses") and SmokeBreak (renamed "SpiceBoy"). Opie left then I left the boys after giving Moses some wipes for the privy.When I got to Standing Indian, they were all there as were a group of guys that were weekend hiking. At first the guys seemed to not acknowledge me. It was like the boys were the "thru hikers" and I was just some chick. HoneyBadger and Lazerus ended up showing up and we had a fun night. I had wanted to stay in the shelter, but it was full. I haven't been sleeping too well and had picked up some sleep aids but have been afraid to try them. I figured since it was early, I would give it a try and was woozy lights out by 8!
Date: 2011-04-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 13I slept until after 7 this morning and felt totally out if it! I don't think I will use those sleep aids again. Finally broke camp a 10 and decided I would go to the top of Standing Indian Mountain without stopping. At home today is Jog for Judy. The benefit run done every year in memory of Jon Rivers' sister. I decided I would dedicate this climb to Judy. The least I could do. I powered up and passed Honey Bear. Got to the top 1.5 miles 500ft climb in 45 minutes. It really helps so much when I say I am doing it for someone else.Lazerus showed up at the summit but Judy never showed. I ended up finding her later and she and I hiked the rest of the way to the shelter.My sunburn on my shoulder is possibly infected. When I hoisted my pack at the Blueberry, I hoisted it onto my shoulder and then twisted it and took all the skin off. I keep putting bacitracin on it, otherwise I just keep blistering, like little micro-blisters all up and down my arms.Starbuck is here!!! I met her at the hiker hostel. Apparently she caught up to me (and then passed) in Hiawassee. The guys from last night Lazerus along with a few others (the guy I met at the top of a mountain who had the necklace of my tattoos, and the guy from the Budget Inn that I thought might be a creep) are here too. I am in the shelter tonight with Starbuck, Lazerus, and Matt (no trail name yet). Plan is to get up and at 'em with Starbuck and do 12 tomorrow so we can get to Franklin early Monday.
Date: 2011-05-02
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 15I was up and at 'em fairly early today so I could get into town to get my mail drop, but I still didn't really want to rush. I took my time and ended up running into Four Bears on the trail. He said he had his vehicle at Winding Stair Gap if I wanted a ride into town.I went into town with him and he took me to the P.O. where I got my mail drop and my new poles!! Yay! Then we went to McD's. OMG! BEST MEAL EVER! We hit the 3 Eagles Outfitters next and I got more fuel. They told me I shouldn't keep the fuel in the metal fuel container and should keep it in plastic. They gave me a fee water type bottle. Four Bears had stayed at the Microtel and said it was nice, a little more money, but worth it. After my skeevy Budget Inn experience, I will pay the extra $15.Miss Janet had left a note on Four Bear' windshield with her number to meet for dinner. We went and did laundry and stopped into the Salvation Army store. I tried to find some town clothes that wouldn't weigh much and wouldn't wrinkle, but didnt' have any luck. We went to dinner at Fats Cafe and we got fried green tomatoes as an app. (Four Bears had picked up the VCR movie at the SA.) I got steak for dinner that was so dry I couldn't eat it, so they gave me another to go. I saved it for dinner tomorrow!Oh, When I first got to my room I took and EPIC bath! It was awesome! I had to rinse the tub out after LOL!The weather is supposed to be iffy tomorrow, so I will probably only go to the first shelter and plant myself. Four Bears gave me maps to look at, all up hill tomorrow...
Date: 2011-05-03
From: Franklin, NC

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 16The rain was supposed to get to the area around 3, so 4 bears took me to the trail head right after checkout. We hit the Outfitters before and I got the little fold up maps through Tennessee. I got some wraps too and procured a decent supply of peanut butter from the hotel. I also got some coffee bags and a belt from the hiker box.It was all uphill to the shelter, well, till I got to the blue blazed shelter trail, then it was down.When I got here, Opie and Tripod (three young guys from CT that I had dubbed the Tasmanian Devil) were here. The shelter has a tin roof. That will be interesting for a storm My shoulder hurts a bit today. I'm going to blame it on sleeping in a bed This shelter has a "yard." A fairly large area of grass to the side of it. We could probably play baseball in it.I'm rehydrating stew veggies and will cut up my steak and make a beef stew for dinner. Great on a cold rainy night! I also picked some sassafras on the way in to make tea It's just about 4pm and we have only gotten a couple light showers so far, but the temp has dropped a lot. I hope the wind stays coming from behind the shelter, otherwise even though this shelter is Natahala style with what could pass as a 3 season porch, the rain might come in and we might get wet!
Date: 2011-05-04
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 17Short day today. Last night this guy Mac showed up and we all had bad vibes from him. We all stayed up pretty late and got up pretty early. My knee started talking to me a little today and it is chilly! I think someone said it's 50, but the wind just keeps going and going.Ran into Megaman (haven't seen him since Springer) at the top of Wayah Bald. The view was NUTS! There was a tower there with maps so you could identify the range. I could see the Siler Bald Meadow I left this morning and Albert Mountain too.Stirfry and the Asian Australians are here too. Megaman lost his alcohol so he started a fire. He didn't have a lighter and was trying to start with a flint and steel and moss. I gave him some lint and birch and cedar and told him how to use the magnesium. He almost got it going but it was rough so we went with the lighter. Now there is a nice fire going and its in a fire ring with a grate so I won't have to use my stove for dinner
Date: 2011-05-05
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 18It was COLD last night! Got down to about 25 degrees. We all got into our sleeping bags before it was even nearly dark.Megaman, Stirfry, and I shared the shelter. Bigfoot and Jim (the Asian Australians) and Xthree (the family from Ohio) tented.This morning Stirfry headed out first, then me, then Megaman. Megaman caught up with me after a couple hours. The first part of the hike was really easy and nice.We had lunch at the Cold Spring Shelter, a tiny little log shelter built in 1933.I went sloow and Steady after that. Lots of ups. I stopped at a side trail for Rocky Bald. OMG the view was tremendous. I was smart and dropped my pack at the beginning of the trail. It was pretty much like the top of Monadnock so I'm glad I did.At the top of Wesser Bald there is a fire tower. Again OMG the views. I saw a hawk land in a tree on the side of the mountain and was able to get a picture before it jumped off the branch and plummeted down to something.I also saw a pheasant today. It was walking along the trail and looked back and saw me so it walked faster, then turned into the underbrush.Opie, Stirfry, Megaman, and Xthree are here tonight along with a couple section hikers, Stump and Kilimanjaro. They reserved a 3 bedroom cabin at NOC and are only going to use 2 rooms so Opie, Megaman, and I are going to split the third room Woot! Score!We are all craving pizza...Xtra Pepperoni, Xtra Cheese. If there is no pizza place at NOC there is a kitchen in the cabin!
Date: 2011-05-06
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Wesser (NOC)
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 19I hiked most of the day with Firebug (aka Dillon, the 12 year old from Xthree). It was a lot of fun. I taught him about sassafras and hemlock buds. It made me think perhaps I could become a tutor, maybe like a live in Nanny tutor type job. Or a trail tutor. I just love teaching kids who want to learn. At one point Firebug said "See now if my teachers in school taught like this it sure would be more fun!" When I mentioned to his Mom at Dinner time that I was thinking about tutoring, both the parents said with enthusiasm, "You would be great! Just seeing what you did with Dillon today shows that."Most of today's hike was DOWN. And there were a couple places where I had to stow my poles and go down using my hands. We went along the ridge where there was only about 2 feet on either side of the trail and then it dropped probably a couple hundred feet.There was one section where the east side of the trail had been a fire and the west had not even been singed. It was very interesting.Opie had gone on ahead and Megaman had waited at the last shelter site for me. Xthree and I caught up to him together and we all got into the Nahntahala Outdoor Center together. Opie was in the restaurant and Megaman and I joined him and split a large pizza. We watched kayakers attempt to go upstream We we got to the cabin Stump and Kilimanjaro said they decided we would be their guests. Trail Magic is just awesome!Stirfry, Xthree, and the 5 of us all had dinner together. It was nice. I picked up some S'mores Ben & Jerry's ice cream...it had to be done
Date: 2011-05-07
From: Wesser (NOC)

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 20Today was 6.9 miles of up. Just up.We had a good breakfast and Stump and Kilimanjaro snuck and paid for our tab! They are just awesome.I totally took my time today. The first half wasn't tooo bad. I kept hearing Xthree ahead of me but couldn't seem to catch them. Then I heard them above me. Up a very steep, very high incline. I whistled to them and could actually see them a bit. They asked if it was me and if I was at the water. It's weird when you are out here. I was not yet at the water, but without hearing or seeing it, I knew I was close. The spring was so pretty and I didn't bother to filter the water. I did my 100 Bottles of Beer thing and figured out I was about 1/2 mile behind Xthree. Gotta love the mountains. After the spring the trail really got tricky. There were some parts that had big microwave size rocks and NONE of them were stabile, the rest of the way was just plain old UP. Actually there were a few teaser spots that made you think you were at the top, but then there was just more up!Caveman and Caboose caught up to me at the summit as I was talking to some section hikers that were camping. I love when I tell people my name and they go "Oh! You're S'mores!" I feel all famous LOL!We had a good fire at the shelter and I tried out Stirfry's hammock. I could do a hammock. Speaking of sleeping arrangements, I always have said I could never see myself sleeping in a shelter. I haven't seen my tent in a week LOL.It's just so very easy to be in the shelter and not have to worry about setting up and taking down a tent. I love when we have fires at the shelter so I don't have to use my fuel!
Date: 2011-05-08
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

Day 21Ok. Whatever that was that I had to deal with for the last 2 hours of the day...yeah. Guess it is called Jacob's Ladder, and it made the "Welcome to NC, here's a suck mountain" and Kelly Knob, and every other hell including the 6 mile up seem like a stroll. I got into camp at about 7:30. I had been comtemplating stopping and tenting somewhere when it got to be close to 7, but then I smelled campfire and I knew (or sure hoped) I was close!There were some *amazing* sights along the way. About a mile past the last shelter there was this meadow. Chris had told me about it and suggested I camp there, but I had gotten to the shelter first. He was right. I should have. It was amazing. Great place to sit for a Mother's Day treat.I collected some of the wildflowers along the way and sat at the meadow and made a little wreath out of them to make a "card' for Mom. It turned out nice.The privy here actually has a door! The shelter on the other hand is odd. It's a long shelter with an overhang, and ... well it seems to be a moat. LOL. It's like they cut the floor boards too short and they don't quite reach the front of the shelter. It's about a 2 foot space between the "floor" and the front beam.I didn't think I would be able to get into the shelter cause everyone was headed here and I was passed by 5 people today. The shelter only sleeps 6 (last night slept 14 in a double decker) but I had a space waiting for me and BobbyFlay saved me some summer sausage that Firebug cooked over the fire for me Oh yeah...I peed on my hat today...
Date: 2011-05-09
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 11.6

Day 22Today started off being sooooooooooo easy! It was so nice after the climbs of the last couple days.There are these little grasshoppers on the trail. As we walk along they "pop" all over the place. The first time I encountered this I thought it was raining. It is kind of like you are walking through a field of popcorn as you go.The butterflies are also insane! I took a video of them yesterday at the top of some mountain or another. There must have been 50 of them all chasing each other in little packs. I came across the same phenomenon today.I was walking along and thought to myself, "I'm going to stop at the next decent place to sit and have a snack." I turned on a switch back and at the bottom were two log benches. Not logs, but actual BENCHES. Just in the middle of the woods.I stopped for lunch at this little log shelter. Xthree was there when I got there and Opie caught up to us. A BIG black snake came out from under the shelter and meandered across the fire pit area while were were there.As we were about to leave I asked Opie what the rest of the day looked like. He said, "We have to climb out of here, then it's all down hill." Yeah...that "climb out" lasted about 2 miles!!My phone battery had died after lunch and so I wasn't able to take pics of the little gray snake I saw. It had a yellow band around it's neck. I think it was an Eastern Ringneck. I also saw a couple of Red-faced Salamanders.I ran into a couple ladies when I got to the end of a couple miles of epic down who were on their way in. They had no idea what they were doing. On lady had jeans and was carrying a gallon of water. They were both barefoot at the time...I got to Fontana crossing and had another mile to get to the shelter. This was where we got our backwoods permits for the Smokies. I went to get me one and saw a note from Opie that he and Xthree went into the village, sooo....I did too I called for a shuttle and Opie and I split a room. We had dinner with Xthree. I had wings as an app and ended up DRINKING the rest of the ranch dressing LOL! I also had a veggie burger with fries and a piece of Firebug's pizza. Sure beat my lunch of peanut butter on raw ramen BTW...Sheets are totally under-rated.
Date: 2011-05-10
From: Fontana Village

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: few clouds

Day 23Today we took a nero day. A nero day is when you "nearly" take a zero. We just went from Fontana Village to the Fontana Hilton Shelter.We did laundry this morning after breakfast and we went to the "outfitters" and the Post Office. I mailed home some stuff and picked up my mail drop. I had asked Dave to get me another Cooldana and it was perfect timing because I had lost mine and now it is HOT!   I had 2 boxes from home and in there was my Mother's Day cards. I started bawling my eyes out right there outside the laundromat. My food bag is now FULL with 10 days of food and my pack is *heavy*. The 1.1 miles to the shelter sure seemed long! I met Doomsday on the trail. He and Birch had slack packed from Stecoah Gap and were staying tat the Hilton. Bad Agnes was there too. We had met her at the village along with Roger.I talked to a ridge runner who said it's pretty easy to go from Mollie's Ridge Shelter to the next two. We had a fun lazy day at the Hilton. I actually went and took a nap on one of the benches. Someone had left some Miller Light and it was, well, it was cooler than I was.An ultra light Brit called "BigBen" showed up. Everyone was grilling him about his hear. Another guy...Eric? showed up too. THey had both done over 20 miles today. BigBen left Springer ONE WEEK ago!
Date: 2011-05-11
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 24Four guys showed up last night just after we all fell asleep and they had NO shelter etiquette AT ALL! Thank god for ear plugs! But, then they got everyone up this morning too. Fontana Hilton Shelter is referred to as "The Hilton" because there is an actual bathroom and showers there. Not right AT the shelter, but close. They are like any touristy state parkish bathroom is. Full of spiders and moths and...things.I had planned on taking as shower at the visitors center on the way out, but changed my mind, which then of course meant I also forgot to fill my water...uggh!The first 8 miles of the trail was up, and I ran out of water before the spring but not tooo far. I'm glad I picked up Miller's AT Guide, because that book told where the spring was and the companion didn'tI did end up running out again before I got to the shelter, (which wasn't until just about 6! And I had left Fontana at 8) I love to take my time, but today was more just tough than leisurely.This shelter is made of stone nd it has a fire place. There are two levels, the bathroom level has made 3 feet of clearance. The gnats are HORRIFIC, so I got "Old School" (a different one) to start a fire in the fire place. It was SOOO hot today. The weather channel app said "feels like 91" when I checked it when I got here, but we needed a fre to get rid of the FREAKING GNATS!!I might be in Tennessee right now. We started straddling the boarder at about mile 171.Tonight we have Opie, Roger, Old School, Max, Mike, and a father and son who I did not get their names.Tomorrow's hike should be easier.
Date: 2011-05-12
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 25Today started out pretty cool as there was a deer that came into camp.Old Skol (pronounced "school") decided to hike most of the day with me. Pink Blazing I guess, cause he was telling me about all his big mile days but now he is hiking at my speed?Anyway the first half of today was actually pretty boring. Just a walk in the woods.Chris had said for him the hike really started in the Smokies and I thought he was crazy cuz so far the Smokies were kinda boring and full of horse poop and gnats.Well... then we got to Spence Field. That was pretty cool. I guess a guy named Spence cleared 100 acres in 1830 for cattle. After the field came the climbs. O...M....G. And then of course what goes up...The altitude profile of this section looks like some one is defribrillating.My feet started hurting first. No wait. The gnats. I decided that instead of water boarding to get people to talk, they should just make them deal with the gnats. If they didn't BITE it would only be horrible, to deal with them, but they bite. I think I have a worse reaction to gnats than to mosquitos (of which I have only seen one that I can recall). Ok, back to my feet. Not blister kind of hurt, actual FOOT kind of hurt like they were cramping up.Then came the knees. My knees go so bad that I actually had to stop, put my sleeping pad out, and lay down with my feet up on my pack. All the wile the gnats attacking me.Nothing seems to be marked here in the Smokies either, so when I got to a gap, I didn't know if I was another 2 miles from camp or just a mile. Well, when I started going down again I knew I had another mile to go.That's when the gnat flew directly into my eye. (Yes I had my 100% DEET on.)I finally dealt with the gnat in the eye and that's when I decided I just needed to cry. I was contemplating what the hell I was doing! Why would I go through this? I have an extremely high pain tolerance and I was in PAIN!I picked out a tree to get to and decided when I got there, I would just have myself a good cry!Well, I got to the tree, had a few good sobs and realized crying wasn't going to get me to the shelter, and you can't pitch a tent in the Smokies, and I was almost out of water. So, I went hobbling on.When I got to camp at 6:40 (left Mollie's at about 8am) it was the consensus that this was the hardest day ever. That made me feel much better. Oh yeah, it was also about 90 degrees today. WTF? I thought the smokies were supposed to be cold!The shelter was full so I am tenting, which is FINE with me, no gnats! It also sure felt nice to just strip down out of the clothes I've hiked and slept in the past few days.I decided to take a sleep aid and recover as much as possible tonight!I had been planning on going over Clingman's Dome tomorrow, not sure if I will do it. Depends on the terrain.
Date: 2011-05-13
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: light rain

Day 26I unzipped my tent at 8am just as Opie was hiking past. I'm the last one here. It's nice (except for the gnats!).If the water weren't down so far I would do laundry. I had just enough to fill my camel bak and my innergize bottle so, cold breakfast for me. I invented something new today. A peanut butter, oatmeal burrito. I went to sprinkle some oatmeal onto the peanut butter (spread onto a wrap) when I realized the bag had torn. So the entire serving of oatmeal went on. I added some innergize to make it less dry. Not bad.I'm waiting for the sun to dry my fly from the dew a bit before I head out. There is a huge turkey wandering around and I have on my long pants and my hoodie with the hood up and my thumbs through the thumb things, to keep the gnats at bay!My left knee is very stiff it's almost 9. To make it over Clingman's Dome I will have to go 13.5 to the shelter. Otherwise its only 7.2 to the one before. I hate that you can't tent along the trail here.I got rained on a bit on the way to the shelter. Got to the shelter and took some pics, then went to get water and on the way back to the shelter a cloud came in that was so thick I could hardly see the shelter. I quickly went and found some wood to get a fire going and just when I got back to the shelter the skies opened up! I got the fire going and then 3 guys section hiking came in. They were great and went out and got lots of wood. I hung lines for all the wet gear, there was wet stuff EVERYWHERE!Herb, the oldest of the group decided to go back in the AM as he doesn't think he can keep up with the others. I will go to Clingman's with him in the AM.