morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-29
From: Gooch Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: light rain

Gooch Gap to Woody Gap:After a very rainy hike from Hawk Shelter to Gooch Shelter, wediscovered that Gooch Gap was only 1.2 miles farther and we could geta shuttle to our truck which was parked at Hiker Hostel. It was 3:40pmand our ride would get us at 5:00. We were at Justice Creek which wasa 2.5 mile hike to the gap, so we had to hightail it to make the ride.It was lots of uphill which are very hard with full packs. We all werealready exhausted from the hike and the rain, our clothes, boots,muddy and wet. We made it to Gooch Shelter when Wild Poodle and Cahodadecided they were tired and ready for the hike to be over for the day.They decided to stay at the shelter. It was good they did because thehike was rough for tired legs. The shelter had 2 open spots which theyquickly took and had a nice evening with other hikers. One hikeroffered Wild Poodle Stuffing and Chicken for dinner, she quicklyaccepted.We told them we would meet them in the morning at 11 to slack pack to Woody Gap.Half Left, Scout (aka Paula) and I continued the brisk hike to the gapfor the ride. We arrived at our truck and continued to the Super 8hotel, where we showered, and cleaned our muddy gear. We also met 2other hikers and gave them a ride, Ken and Terry. We all went todinner at Back Porch Oyster Bar, Yum. Wonderful to be dry.We slack packed today to Woody gap and are now safely and warmly atthe Hiker Hostel again. Off to dinner at Piatza Italian Restaurant.Boy this hiking is fun, but of course qrueling.Thanks for following us.See you on the trail...
Date: 2010-03-30
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: few clouds

Today we hiked from Woody Gap to Neels¢ Gap, 11.3 miles. We slack packed, had to move the truck. We¢re then headed to Unicoi then into Franklin for a special AT hikers¢ April Fools Bash! We were picked up after a long day by Cahoda's brother Dale. He shuttled me (All Right) and Half Left back to the Hiker Hostel to pick up our truck. They were so nice to come and shuttle us. Thanks Dale and Marie!!!We went to Neels gap shelter for a wonderful dinner hosted by Baltimore Jack. There were lots of hikers there feasting like they haven't eatten in days. Baltimore Jack is hiking the trail this year so it was a kind of send off dinner. All of us stayed the night at Blood Mountain Cabins. All Right and Half Left were in the "Rabbit" cabin and Cahoda, Wild Poodle and Scout stayed in the "Squirrel" cabin, how appropriate, hahaha.Our trail angel, Tony, picked me up at Unicoi gap so we could move the truck forward making it easy when we finished the next jaunt. Tony lives in Dahlonega with his wife Judy. He met us for dinner a few nights earlier at Piatza Italian Restaurant. What a nice man. Thanks so much!!!
Date: 2010-03-31
From: Neels Gap

To: Camping at Poor Mountain
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

We set off bright and early after a nice breakfast hosted by Miss Janet at Neels Gap Hostel. Eager to finish more miles, it was cool and breezy, but we started warming up and stripping clothes climbing out of Neels Gap. It is a huge climb that seems to go on forever. Water is listed as scarce in the guide yet water trickled from many streams coming off the mountain like a shower. Scout (Paula) appropriately named, scooted up the mountain like a gazelle. I am much slower and of course Half Left stays back with me. Wild Poodle and Cahoda are able to keep a good pace, almost able to stay with Scout. We all hike at our own pace and meet up the trail for snacks and lunch to discuss our final destination for the evening. We were all tired and thirsty, out of water by about 2:00. Coming to a parking area before ascending Tesnatee Mountain, no water, hot and tired we had to climb and climb and climb. It was a rediculously hard ascent. Thirsty, hot and sunburned, we summitted and went down the other side to find a water source. I call it a ditch but the water was clean and much needed. We all got water because there was no other source were we had planned to camp. About a mile and a half later, we found a nice area to camp. Tents were put up, dinner made and Half Left built us a wonderful fire. We all were tired but enjoyed nice conversations. Thanks to everyone signing our guest book and especially thanks to Girl Hobo who has been updating our journal for us. We are in Franklin now so we can update it, giving her a little break. Off to breakfast, more to come later today.
Date: 2010-04-01
From: Camping at Poor Mountain

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

After the nice night camping, we arose early with the sun. When you are out camping in the woods, your clock is set by the sun. When the sun sets, you go to bed, when it rises, you awake. We all made breakfast and packed our stuff for a long hike. We planned to go as far as our legs would let us maybe 7-8 miles. The hike was hot and dry. The beginning was lots of small ups and downs. We stopped at Low Gap shelter for lunch about 3 miles into the hike. At the shelter we met Grasshopper and Brakeman who thru hiked in 2008. They are hiking in preparation for their PCT hike. They were actually on trail trash detail. Many people that have been on the trail before come back and help with trail maintenance because once you hike it is in your blood, you can't let it go. Baltimore Jack came in for lunch also. He was the one who made the wonderful dinner at Neels gap hostel. Very nice man. We left after about a 30 minute break continuing up the trail looking for our stopping point. We knew water was not going to be available where we had planned to stop so we filled up our Platypuses to the brim and carried the extra weight. We arrived at Chatahoochee Gap where we planned to possibly camp but Scout was nowwhere to be found. Half Left saw a "S" in the dirt which we figured was her letting us know she went on. After a snack we all decided to continue on, it was still early. The next location for camping was Rocky Knob, still no Scout. Okay, we all decided she had gone on to Blue Mountain Shelter, darn more ups and ups on our aching feet, hot and sweaty we continued on, just 9/10's of a mile but seemed much longer. Rocks and more rocks, our feet hurt. Finally making it to the shelter we were glad but soooooooooo tired! Wild Poodle, Cahoda and Scout got room in the shelter, Half Left and I tented. It was very nice seeing the sunset off one side of the mountain and sunrise off the other side. Thanks Scout even though we wanted to kill her as our feet were hurting on the last leg.
Date: 2010-04-02
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: clear sky

Upon arrising with the sun, we all cooked our breakfast, so excited about going to the hiker bash in Franklin. It was just a short 2.2 miles to our truck parked at Unicoi (thanks to Tony) for helping me move it forward. Boy are we gonna miss our mobile storage. Also everyone was thinking about the coke and beer we had iced down in the truck. All downhill, more hurting for the feet, we scurried down the mountain making it I am sure in record time. Into Hiawassee we went with smiles on our faces. Hiker friend, Terry came along, he now has a trail name, Homebrew. He is a molecular biologist, smart as a whip and also brews his own beer back home in Frederick, MD. We stopped at McDonalds for a burger and continued to our hotel in Franklin, about 40 miles away. The April Fools Hiker bash thrown by Ron Haven was wonderful, lots of good barbeque, fun people, singing and talking trail talk.
Date: 2010-04-03
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Franklin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Nero day 4/2 (short day hiking) and Zero day today (no miles). We ate breakfast at Miss Lois' Restaurant. Everyone pigged out on eggs, pancakes, grits, coffee, sausage. Wild Poodle just gleemed as she ate her delicious meal, Cahoda and Scout raved about their blueberry pancakes, Half Left had pork tenderloin and an icy coke, I was a slight bit hung over from too many white russians but enjoyed my eggs and sausage and an unlimited supply of hot coffee.We went to the trail day event at the Bear park, where suppliers of gear and trail maintainers were set up. Vendors selling fudge, food, natural foods were all ready for us to spend money. Well we didn't but did enjoy looking at stuff. Cahoda did get some Enertia food and liked the tent manufacturer that had a tent set up. Wild Poodle decided to stay at the hotel and vegetate. We continued our parade going to the Rathskeller for food and beers for lunch. I couldn't stomach alcohol so I had a delicious coke. Across the parking lot was an antique dealer I couldn't pass up. Didn't buy anything but I love browsing.Now we are about to go to the Hiker Bash to eat dinner and talk more trail trash. Tomorrow we will head back to Unicoi to make the 16 mile jaunt over to Dick's Creek Gap where we will have to say goodbye to Paula (Miss PMS)formally Scout. She will head back to Jacksonville with our truck and extra stuff we wont be carrying. It has been so nice having here around we will miss her. Thanks to her husband Brent for letting her travel with us!!!Come join us on the trail...
Date: 2010-04-04
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Easter to everyone from: All Right, Half Left, Wild Poodle, Cahoda and Miss PMS. We are hiking out of Unicoi continuing our journey today. 16 miles is alot to do in 2 days so we will see how it goes. Next time to update may be Tuesday in Hiawassee, GA. J. Klauder Poodle wanted to respond to your message but the email didn't go through. Please resign guestbook and check email address.Have a safe holiday everyone. We are all happy and well leaving for our 8th day hiking. Thanks for signing the guestbook, it really helps us keep in touch and know how everyone else is doing.See you on the trail...Our first day out of Unicoi was steep and hard on the knees. We hiked up and up and up and up it seemed forever. I was breathing like some kind of out of breath monster. Then reaching the top was spectacular. No clouds, just beautiful mountains rising off the horizon. For miles and miles all you could see was the beautiful cascading mountains. They say you can see Atlanta on a clear day, we didn't but it was just incredible. We traveled down the mountain and then just as I caught my breath, up we went again. Up and up and up, to Tray Mountain. We were so tired after the 5.4 miles, we decided to stay there. It is a nice shelter on a ridge line, and who was there? Yes Ms. PMS she was slackpacking from the other way. We dropped her off at Dick's Creek gap on the way to Unicoi. She was to take the keys and recover the truck while slackpacking 16 miles, too much for these mountains. So she decided to stay with us, each of us giving her a piece of bedding so she could sleep. When you slackpack, you carry only some limited food and water. No bedding, jackets, extra food, etc. She passed out early, of course. Just as we were winding down, trail magic showed up, a little 6 year old girl with her family bringing us Easter cheer, candy, chips, bananas what a treat. I asked her was she a hiker and she exclaimed "I am going to hike the whole Appalachian Trail when I get big". So cute! Thanks so much!The next day we set out early because we had 11 miles to do to get to Dick's Creek Gap. Ms. PMS took the keys and headed out the other way. Our journey was more ups and ups and ups. It seemed to never end. We ran out of water about 9 miles in but were too tired to get more so we kept trucking. As we exited the forest, there was Ms. PMS Heineken in hand waiting for us, she also brought me and Half Left a Mojito and Yuengling. We spent the night in Hiawassee at the Holiday Inn Express, getting in the hot tub enjoying the evening.Wild Poodle and Cahoda are such troopers going up and down the mountains like gazelle, they are amazing! They spend the evening making calls, emails and going through their food for the next days.Off to Franklin, see you on the trail...
Date: 2010-04-15
From: Wayah Gap

To: Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

p>4/14Hiked from Wayah Gap to Cold Springs Shelter. 9.9 miles past Wayah Lookout Tower. There were Trail Angels at the tower. This is our first real cookout given by trail angels. Trail angels y plan to be at different sites where hikers pass roads or parking areas grilling hotdogs, always including sodas and sometimes beer.These trail angels (Vice Ga - Me 1999) was there with his wife, Chaser had hotdogs, little Debbie's, bananas, apples and all the fixens.They also brought their Sheltie Max who was a big hit, he would chase shadows and was so friendly. We had just hiked 5 miles all uphill when we came across them. They are from Tampa, go figure!Thanks so much! It made our day.4/15slept last night in our tent, Wild Poodle and Cahoda stayed in the shelter. Half Left built us a nice fire. Low Key and Alex joined us for some hiker talk at the fire. Low Key from West Mass, actually started with us on th 27th. We see him here and there and enjoy the company. This is an update from my Blackberry so excuse my spelling or verbage. Sign our guest book and thanks to everyone for following us.See you on the trail...
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Nantahala

To: Nantahala
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The next morning, Mike and Haley (wonderful kayakers) gave us a ride to the restaurant were we got to eat an awesome breakfast at River's End, overlooking the river. People all over have volunteered and helped us in so many ways, a clerk at the office for the whitewater people volunteered use of his pickup so we could drive to get Half left some cough medicine and drop me uphill at the laundry. Laundry is always on the list of town duties along with resuppling food and fixed/buying gear. We weren't sure what happened to Wild Poodle and Cahoda because they were going to stay at the last shelter before Nantahala, later we found out they jumped in a bunk house with a group of girls. We had a great day watching kayakers during a competetion going on at the river. Low Key and Alex joined us for some beers and trail talk. Wild Poodle and Cahoda decided to join us at our hotel room to split the cost, it's always nice to share expenses!
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Cold Springs Shelter

To: Nantahala
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

We woke up to clear skies, &nice temps, I fixed breakfast while half Left picked up and packed the tent up. We could here the girls in the shelter but couldn't see them. We got started about 9:30 in thje morning, up at first then more ups, we had to hike up to Wesser Bald fire tower. What a beautiful view! From the tower to Nantahala it's 7.6 miles mostly downhill. It is as bad on your body as the ups but the pain concentrates on the feet and knees. And oh la la la does it hurt! Made it to Nantahala about 5:30, we are getting a room and Cahoda and Wild Poodle stayed at the shelter (Rufus Morgan) about a half a mile before Nantahala. We are talking a zero tomorrow because we need to get mail and wash our clothes and give our feet and knees a break before we hike up and out of here. It is 5 miles uphill which is tough on the mind because you think the top is over the ridge only to find the mountain rising even higher seemingly never cresting until your body feels like Jello, then finally the top. At our pace, it will take us close to 5 hours to get to the top. So a zero day helps us get the energy to make it.
Date: 2010-04-17
From: Nantahala

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 8.1

Heading out of NOC, we ate breakfast and then the task at hand, 8.1 to Cheoah Bald. UP & UP & UP & away long steep climb for 6 miles. We met a couple from Racine, WI day hiking named Dave and Jill. Very nice and now they are pumped to look at hiking some of the AT. We saw a few animals which is kinda rare on the trail, first a "bol" a small baby mouse laying in the middle of the trail, we moved it hoping it would be scooped up by a bird or snake. Also we saw a Jack Rabbit, so cute, it just sat their and looked at us moving along the trail as we moved toward him. We arrived at Cheoah about 6:30 plenty of time to set up the tent and do the evening chores ready for the event of the night, seeing the stars! We have been wanting to camp at the bald for a few years now. The bugs are usually bad, but the cool temps and slight wind kept them away. Half Left went to get water down the huge hill about 1/4 mile away. He was taking a long time and I got worried, then I heard him holler from below, Help ME! I couldn't see him but kept hearing him, I ran down the mountain and carried the water for him. We made dinner, a fire and enjoyed the solitude of our campsite. Wild Poodle and Cahoda camped on the west ridge about 150 feet away from us. The show of a lifetime displayed itself with the beautiful clear night sky, millions and millions of stars! Everywhere, incredible! We went to bed past "hiker midnight" of sundown, tossing and turning because of all the excitement of the day.
Date: 2010-04-18
From: Cheoah Bald

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise, our tent with frost on it had to be placed out on bushes to dry while I was making breakfast. The sleeping bag was also frozen. The sun quickly melted the frost and dried it by the time breakfast was over. We packed up and headed toward the destination for the day. We met a previous thru hiker named "Greyhound" who was southbound (heading in the other direction). He lives in Oviedo Fl and works at the outfitter there. I saw more of the little bols scurring through the bushes as we talked trail talk. It is so helpful to meet other hikers because they always share tips. We hiked to Stecoah Gap and met up with Wild Poodle and Cahoda who were making lunch. We joined in and also cooked up some Cheesy Noodles. Yum, it is very rare to cook during lunch because you have to pull out all your kitchen gear and food from your pack. After lunch we continued up the other side of the gap, up and over Sweetwater. A HUGE uphill, it killed my get up and go. Half Left and I decided to stop and camp at the shelter while Wild Poodle and Cahoda carried on to Cody Gap and tented. We enjoyed the company of another thru hiker "Haze". Half Left made us a fire, I cooked and we were glad to have a home for the night.
Date: 2010-04-19
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Half Left and I started out slow, but quickly improved our trekking. The trail was mostly downhill heading into Fontana. Some ups but harding noticable. A nice change from the days we have had with all the high crested mountains. We enjoyed lunch at Cable Gap Shelter where we had camped last year. I again cooked another hot lunch. It has really helped us get the carbs to hike the miles needed for the day. We arrived at record time for us 9:00 left arrived at 4:00. 11.6 in 7 hours a miracle! A shuttle picked us up and took us to the village where we promptly washed our clothes and picked up our maildrop. My mom sent us some treats of brownies and popcorn. yum, thanks MOM!!!We ate a delicious steak dinner and had some beers before heading to our comfortable room for the evening, hiker's midnight.
Date: 2010-04-22
From: Fontana Dam

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

We are leaving the resort of Fontana Village this morning for an all uphill hike to Mollie's Shelter. Our colds have improved, Cahoda's leg is getting better and we all are ready to hike. Half left, Low key and I neroed yesterday and hiked from the marina to the dam. It was a nice hike overlooking the Fontana lake most of the hike. We have enjoyed the couple of days at Fontana but you get used to being lazy and need to go on. Breathless and Convinced showed up last night while we were eating pizza. They are 2 hikers we met near Franklin, they remind me of my friend Lore. They look like sisters but are just friends, very very sweet women.Thanks to everyone for signing our book. It makes reading the journal fun and exciting for us. I actually followed Tagless and Tagalong a little last year while preparing for our hike, thanks for signing. Mom and Dad we are doing great, glad to hear all is well, give each other a hug for us. Thanks mom for the great mail drop with homemade brownies and popcorn. Thanks Samantha for uploading the photos and helping with the maildrops.Next stop for town is Gatlinburg (4 days away), hopefully we wont get sucked up in the joy of restaurants and shopping for more than one day this time. Phone service up hear hasn't been all that great, that's why we haven't called anyone. Hannah we miss you and hope your doing great in school. Josh and Samantha your doing great with the business, Jesse congrats on the Publix job don't forget to register for school! Jeffrey, hope the art and music are doing great, Josie hope you got the phone and we can't talk soon. Love all of you!!! and miss everyone!!! Come see us at Trail Days in Damascus May 14-16 you can shoot us with water guns in the parade. Brent and Paula are comingSee you on the trail...
Date: 2010-04-23
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday on the way to Mollie's Ridge, our friend and fellow hiker Cahoda had to leave the trail due to the injury to her shin. She is back in Jacksonville having it looked at by a doctor. She is hoping to rejoin us as soon as possible, everyone pray for her speedy recovery!For lunch, we stopped at Shuckstack Firetower. Half Left and I climbed to the top. He was shaking like a $3.00 ladder, hahahahaha. It was so beautiful, you could see for many miles. We took a video and lots of photos which will be uploaded as soon as we can get them to Samantha. Our visit to Mollie's Ridge Shelter was crowded with plenty of weary hikers. One that stands out to me woke us up about 5:30 AM rustling through his pack for 30 minutes beside our head. We ask him where he was going next so we wouldn't end up at the same shelter. He was very rude, making way too much noise and I said it would be nice it you would consider other people when you get up early and go outside to the table to rustle through your stuff. He didn't even leave the shelter until after 10:00 AM. What a loser!We stopped at the shelter after a short day. We were all saddened by the departure of Cahoda and exhausted from the long hike up to Mollie's Ridge, so we opted for a short five and a half mile hike today. Spence Field Shelter is a beautifully placed shelter off the trail 2/10 of a mile. Set in a field of long golden grass and service berry trees, this shelter is made of stone and is complete with a stone fireplace. In the shelter was the trailrunner for the Appalachian Trail Conservatory, Greybeard (Carl). He is a very nice man who hiked the AT in 1999 and the PCT in 2008. He helped us out by letting us listen to the weather report on his radio. We had a wonderful fire built by Half Left. It was getting a little cooler so the fire was a real treat. Chipmonks, squirrels and birds were all over the place, running around and even coming up to the shelter. It was a nice stop.We set out early because of impending rain in the forecast. Our hike was to go up and over Rocky Top and Thunderhead Mountain. Continued...