morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Another day of slackpacking. Mrs. Gorp, Superman, Julieann and her dog Thoreau, Wayfarer, Scout and Silver Streak all wanted to do the 11 miles over Unaka Mountain. Today I carried a pair of snoeshoes just to try them out. I knew there would be enough Snow on the ground to make use of them. It was a strange but funny experience. They were very easy to use but hiking in them slows you down. And especially while hiking on a slope in wet snow they are slipping away to the downhill side. But in deep snow without tracks they are really a great tool. Superman also tried them and virtually ran down the slope in deep snow. Only one root and his hike would have been over because if you get caught by a root the binding of the shoes won't open and your ankle would brake almost for sure. Unaka Mountain was beautifull and very well graded on the uphill but the downhill parts were not easy to hike because the snow has started to melt away. Slippery and slushy, that means not good for my knees. On Beauty Spot I caught up with Mrs. Gorp and she told me that the others were worried about me. I had taken the brown blazed side trail to Cathole Gap and meanwhile everybody had passed me without seeing me (at least I hope so. Nobody wants to get caught with his pants off).We saw some country cross skiing tracks and the snow was almost completely gone in some parts. The view was georgeous and I could see Big Bald in the distance, still covered with snow. The last two miles ruined an otherwise great day bacause of all the slush and mud on the trail. My knees didn't feel very good as I arrived at the car and so I decided to take a zero day tomorrow (that means a day without using my feet for other things than going to the kitchen or the bathroom).Bruno
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Carvers Gap

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today I tried to do a little more miles and it was a perfect day for going over Roan Mountain. We were almost the same crew than the last time exept Superman who has left the day before. Jolly Green Giant was also with us. He went north to continue his hike and this time nothing will hold him back. Again it was a bright and sunny day and this time I wore a new knee brace MJ had given me to test it. I don't know how this thing is called but it's just like a padded strap with a velcro to fix it under the kneecap. Hiking south is easy in this section because it's either downhill or gentle uphills. But sometimes it's a bit strange if you are used to hike northbound. I hiked with Wayfarer and we arrived at the site of the former Cloudland Hotel. A guy was sitting there and was waiting for his girlfriend to catch up with him. As she arrived we talked a bit and went on in the same direction she was coming from. I asked Wayfarer "why the hell is she hiking southbound?" and he answered "we are the ones who are hiking southbound." On the downhill we talked a bit, amongs other things about The Poolers. We knew that they had been in town again and wondered why we haven't seen them. Suddenly a voice said: "We don't want no darn Germans on the trail". Guess who was this. Exactly. Bruce and Cheryl Pooler. What a funny coincidence.The trail was muddy in some parts but nothing that was bad enough to complain about. At our second brake a bag with Trail Magic waited for us. MJ had left it there for us. A few yards away a dead boar... (Miss Janet says it was a Pot Bellied Pig)... was laying on a sheet of plastic. It was either a road kill or somebody must have shot it although no wounds were to be found or it simply died of natural cause (age, lung cancer, high collesterol yadda, yadda). As it didn't yet smell it must be nearly fresh. The two dogs, Fabian and Thoreau got a bit nervous and started fighting. Maybe each of them claimed the boar as his property.I decided to push it a little bit just to test if my knees would hold up and the little thing Janet gave me worked like a charm. My right knee with the normal knee brace hurt me more than the left one although this is the worse of them. Let's see how the stress works out for the knees. Usually they swell in the evening after hiking. The next thing to test out would be hiking with a full pack. I will take my time because I will still need them after my hike is over. Bruno
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Erwin

To: Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Another day of rest for my knees. They don't hurt as much as I had expected but maybe because I took some Vitamin I yesterday to prevent the inflammation from getting worse. We will see what happens. I won't push it. Today was a sad day because everybody who stayed with me the last couple of days has left. Normally I'm not an emotional person but as Mrs. Gorp hugged me to say godbye I had to swallow hard to hold back my tears. Mrs. Gorp, in real life Cindy Miller, is one of the coeditors of the Thru-Hikers Companion 2006 and has hiked the trail many times before, the first time back in the 70's. Cindy loves the trail and loves hiking and was always a valuable source of information for many little details you usually don't find in the guidebooks. As we first met I thought she was very reserved but after a while I found her one of the most likeable people I've met on the trail as yet. She's what this trail is all about: People who care for each other, who care about the trail and who are not only enjoying the trail but are dedicated to bring themselves in by giving something back. Taking the risk to sound overblown I'd like to say it was a honor and a pleasure to meet her and I greatly enjoyed her company.Yesterday in the evening a big bunch of hikers came in and it seems to pick up now. The only reason why there are not more hikers in Erwin at this time might be the snow in the Smokeys. On of the kids yesterday said they did big mileage days to be ahead of the crowd. I was almost tempted to answer: "No man, you are not ahead of the crowd, you ARE the crowd". It's funny though to meet the people who started their hike later than me. Normally I would never have met them but my two zeros in Fontana and the ten days I'm in Erwin now have given them a lot of time to catch up with me. If I'm able to continue my hike I think I will make more use of my tent and avoid the shelters because it's one thing to stay in a hostel with 20 people than staying together in the same shelter. Solitude is a precious thing and I enjoy it whenever I can have it. By the way, don't think 10 days is a long period to stay here. Mrs. Gorp has stayed 12 days, Jolly Green almost 10 days, and Red B with his dog L.P. about the same days. And the longest stay was arround 45 days, so there is no record to break. Bruno
Date: 2006-03-31
From: Carvers Gap

To: 19 E
Miles today: 14.0

Today I did a test hike with a full pack to see if the weight of the pack would do anything bad to my knees. B dropped me off at Carvers Gap, where still snow was laying on the northern slope. After the first ten minutes the trail went trough a little forrest and there was a bunch of black ice on the trail. I thought "sh*t, if this is going on that way it will be a interesting hike". But it only lasted a couple of yards. It was so beautifull to hike in other terrain as only forrest. The trail could bee seen all the way up the little and big Humps. A thunderstorm was building up over Roan Mountain but thet was too far away to bother me.Although it is 0.2 miles downhill from the trail I took a quick break at the Overmountain Shelter. A nice old red barn with an upper floor and a privy with the nicest view I ever have seen. I saw only one other hiker on the trail today. Waydie (not sure if I spell the correctly) is from Alaska and has hiked the trail last year. This year he is hiking from Springer to Damascus to do a little training for his upcoming PCT hike. I met him again at the end of the day in Mountain Harbor Hostel (a really nice hostel only 0.3 miles away from the trail. Definately a MUST stay on the trail, at least for one night)together with Matthewski and had a nice conversation. Waydie owns a cabin 35 miles away from the next road. All of his stuff has to be flown in and temperatures in winter can drop down to -40 degree. Must be an adventerous live up there.I made it down to the road at 5.15 pm, not bad considering that I started at 11.00 am and took three 20 minutes breaks. The knees did well until the last 4 miles. It's always the same. Maybe I shouldn't do more than 10 miles a day. The pack didn't make a difference. I don't find it easier to hike with a daypack than with my full pack. Once again the ChoPat knee strap worked much better than the knee brace. Today I will look for a strap for my right knee. The knee brace not only doesn't work well, it also is annoying as it causes itching and sweating and has to be adjusted at every break. Ten minutes after I arrived at the Hostel it started to rain. At first just a bit but the it was raining cats and dogs and as Janet picked me up to drive me back to Erwin she sometimes almost couldn't see the road. We stopped at a diner in the middle of nowhere and I had once again a delicious Ribeye Steak. The guys in the diner were really nice. We arrived at 7.50 pm and even as they usually close at 08.00 they didn't say anything. So we sat and talked until 09.00. Tomorrow I will see what my knees have to say and then decide what to do next. My plan is to leave at Monday. That would be a 14 day break. And I even made miles in the last couple of days. So it's still possible to make it to Harpers Ferry. And if not: The trail won't go away. Another good reason for coming back one day. Like Arnold always says in his Terminator movies: I will be back.Bruno
Date: 2006-04-01
From: Erwin

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

No, I didn't turn arround and hiked southbound. MJ kidnapped me to go with her to join the hiker party in Franklin. As most desicions I make with my guts this one turned out to be a good one. A whole bunch of hikers were gathering at Ron Haven's Saphire Inn, talking, eating, of course drinking and having a lot of fun. As we first had to go to Asheville to drop Henry David (Julieann's new trailname; it fits perfectly with her dogs name Thoreau)off at a hostel we came in to late to get real food, but it was stil beer left. And so I got my first real beer in the United States that almost tasted like home : Samuel Adams Lager. Delicious!Do you remember the two guys I started with from Springer Mountain on 02/15? Pilgrim and Crutch. And guess who I met at the parking lot of the Inn? Crutch. At the first sight he almost didn't recognize me. As I told him that we started together he said :" Nuts? Oh, man, you dropped a lot of weight". He hasn't seen me since over one month so I must really have lost weight. If you look in the mirror it's harder to notice than for other people. Crutch had really bad luck as he had to stop the second time in two years because of injury. But he has a lot of fun doing trail magic and shutteling hikers in Franklin. I met Baltimore Jack, Solace, Almost There and Frosty who has the biggest feet I've ever seen in my whole life. Shoesize 17 !! His boots looked almost like kanoes. We had a nice conversation and it was interesting to meet people who started behind me. Otherwise I never would have met them. Ron Haven gave us a ride through town in a big white stretch limo. I felt almost like a movie star. Ron is a real multitalent. After the ride he started to play banjo and played one of my favourites "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for me. Too bad that I forgot to take my camera with me but MJ was pushing me and so I was in a hurry (it's always good to have one to assign the blame). Bruno
Date: 2006-04-04
From: 19 E

To: Campsite 4 miles after Walnut Mtn Road
Miles today: 14.5

Believe it or not, but after 14 days I finally was able to escape from Erwin. This town has sucked me in, chewed me and spit me out like an old chewing gum as my flavour was gone. I probably have met 150 people at MJ's house (and 20 dogs) have seen every frigging road and gap at day and night, know every employee at Food Lion and spent 200 dollar or more for steaks and cicken. But nevertheless I had a real blast. Erwin would be a great place to move to when I one day win a visa in the green card lottery. And a cheap place to. House prices are unbelievable low and living costs also (at least compared to Germany).MJ dropped me off at 19E at noon and handed me a bag of pink and yellow edible easter bunnies to leave them as trail magic. So I spent the first 5 miles with looking for cool spots to make a little nest for them. Wait for the pictures. This section is one of the nicest I ever hiked and the weather was beautiful as always when I'm on the trail. I had a lot of time as Kincora is 24 miles away and it takes 2 days anyways. So I planned with a 14 miles day. This would mean arriving at Kincora in the early afternoon. I spent almost 90 minutes sitting at the georgeous waterfall at Laurel Falls and even made me a tasty cup of coffee. As it finally got dark I decided it was time for my first night hike. I didn't use my headlamp as the moon was half full. Hiking in the dark is a great expieriece. All you have to do is hike slower and use your poles more often. At 9.00 pm I found a nice campsite only to find out that my watch wasn't set to daylight saving time. So it was already 10.00.! After a quick dinner I smoked my last cigarette looking up to the stars through my window in my tent. My knees did well, at least compared to some days one week ago. The knee straps are really a great help. I hope it won't get worse. One of the things I got as MJ's was a cold. But you can't escape this nasty little Bacterias and Viruses. The more people you met the more you are vulnerable to pick something up. So the best thing would be to stay on the trail. But that's easier said as done especially if you get drawn into the gravity center called Erwin.Bruno
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Campsite 4 miles after Walnut Mtn Road

To: Kincora Hostel 
Miles today: 9.5

Got up at 7.30 and after a quick breakfast I left at 8.30. Not bad for me. The weather was going to be beautiful and so I took my time. I had a couple of long breaks and arrived at Kincora at 01.00 pm. Once again a nice hostel where you can easily spend 3 to 5 days. It should be forbidden to have hostels on the trail because they distract you from hiking. And to be honest: Who really needs a hot shower, laundry, kitchen woodstove and a warm bed when he can be out in the cold in wet stinking clothes and sleep on a hard surface in the middle of nowhere? Not me! (ups...I feel my nose is getting longer). Bob Peoples is a real character. He drove us to town for resupply (I didn't buy anything because my foodbag is so heavy and my food will probably last to the Shenandoas) and dinner at Arby's (I love this huge roastbeef sandwiches). On the way he entertained us with a lot of funny stories from his long expierience with hikers and the trail. As I arrived he was busy with building a treehouse behind the cabin just for fun. The hiking club in wich he is a member is responsible for maintaining 125 miles from Spivey Gap north. And it only has 12 members. Everybody who has hiked this section can tell you that they are really doing a great job.Damascus is only 50 miles away so I should be able to get to Virginia in 3 days. Where ever this hike will lead me to: It doesn't matter. People are way to fixated on making miles. In some cases it's because of their tight schedule in other cases just a competition with other hikers. I don't want to get drawn into this game and give a shit about people who only accept you when you hike 20 miles every day and suffer in rain and snow. Remeber the saying "no pain, no Maine"? Fine. I don't make it to Maine so why should I go trough pain. I let the others run their frigging race and enjoy every day I don't have to work. It really doesn't matter if I'm hiking or doing something else. You now the term "smelling the roses"? Ok, there are not many roses out at this time a year, so the better term would be "smelling the rocks" as somebody at MJ's House put it. There are plenty of rocks out to smell on and it really doesn't matter for me if they are on the trail or anywhere else.Let me make an analogy with cooking. You can either religiousely follow the recipe or you can add your own spices and some additional ingredients who are not in the book. And you won't win a price for the best flavour because you are the one who followed the recipie book the most exactly. All what you get is a whole bunch of food that all tastes the same. That sounds almost like McDonalds. Bruno
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Watauga Lake

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

My biggest mileage day so far. I had an early start and must have been the first on the trail because all the spiderwebs were still spanned across the trail. I could feel them in my face and on my arms. The day was going to be beautifull and I stopped often to take pictures. The first wildflowers are out and the trees are getting amazing blossoms. What a difference to a few weeks ago. The ascent to the ridgeline was steep but not too bad. At Vandeventer Shelter I took a long break and had lunch while sitting on the rocks behind the shelter. The view on Watauga lake is absolutely breathtaking. At 4.00 I reached Iron Mountain Shelter where I decided to stay a while until the heat had cooled of a bit. I placed my sleeping pad in the shadow outside the shelter and took a nap. At 5.30 I woke up because it got a little breezy. The sky was covered with clouds and it looked like the weatherforcast wich had predictet rain for the afternoon seemed to be correct. Hiking was more fun now because temperatures had dropped a few degree and the trail was like a avenue. I felt good and so I hiked as fast as I could with the crazy thought in mind to do a little night hike probably the whole way to Damascus. Treegirl has written in the shelter register that she would try to do it and I felt so strong that I forgot my usual lazyness. I reached the next road crossing at 19.30 and saw the first lightning in the distance. At 20.30 I arrived at the shelter. In the last 20 minutes the lightning got more and more intense and it was exactly the direction I was headed. So I decided to stay at the shelter and to pitch my tent as I have learned how quickly thunderstorms can move in Tennessee. As I approached the shelter dogs were barking and headlamps pointed in my direction. As I hiked in the dark the guys at the shelter thought I might be a bear. Probably I sound like a bear while hiking because my nose is clogged and breathe like a steam machine. I pitched my tent, cooked dinner and went to bed just in time as the thunderstorm arrived. It was spectacular. A whole series of lightnings made the sky almost look like on fire and thunder was rolling in from every direction. I could see the lightnings through the window in my tent and it was so bright it almost hurt my eyes. 20 minutes later the thunderstorm was exactly above us. Thunder and lightning followed each other in seconds. Once time the thunder was so loud that I thought a lightning must have hit something near by. But in the middle of a thunderstorm ever place is as safe as the other. Trail, tent or shelter, there is no real difference. Minutes later the downpour started and the noise on my rainfly was almost deafening. Now I felt good with my decision not to hike on. Nighthiking can be really funny but not in the middle of a thunderstorm (although you would not need a headlamp because of the lightning).   Bruno
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

I woke up at 7.00 and it still rained. My tent had held up very well in the hard rain, only at the entrance was a little puddle because I hadn't found a flat spot to pitch my tent. The sleeping bag was a bit wet but only at the outside. As I haven't had much sleep last night I decided to stay in my warm bag and again felt asleep. At 9.00 I woke up again and the rain has stopped. So I moved my whole stuff into the shelter just in case the rain would start again. At 10.30 I was ready to go. 30 minutes later it started raining again and didn't stop until I reached Low Gap arround noon. Even in my rainjacket I got soaked and my feet felt like fins. But as I knew that I would get a hot shower in the afternoon it wasn't that bad. The trail was really easy to hike and I made a good pace. I haden't put my knee straps on but my knees did well. Almost no pain. At Abington Gap Shelter I had a 30 minutes break to drink a coffee and eat a bowl of soup. This warmed me up (this and the ste! ep downhill and uphill to the watersource of this shelter). At 4.30 I reached the state line. 6 hours for 15 miles including a break, that isn't bad, at least not for me. The remaining 3.8 miles to Damascus took me only 60 minutes. Man, I was virtually flying down the trail.I'm staying at the Place, because it was too late to look for another hostel. As I came in a group of hikers were on their way to the Baja Cafe to eat a burrito and I joined them. The salsa was great but a bit hot so I got heartburn but probably that's why my stomach was full of candy (that's the stuff that keeps me going on the trail). Afterwards I went to the laundry which isn't far away to wash and dry all my soaked clothes. So I can enjoy a zero day without chores to do tomorrow.Treegirl did the 40 miles to Damascus in one day. She hiked at night in the thunderstorm. What a though girl! We should rename her into Supergirl or something like that. Bruno
Date: 2006-04-09
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Took a zero day in Damascus. This is really a nice little town. The only thing that made me wonder was the number of churches in town. I counted 10 but there may be a couple more that I haven't seen. I don't know how many people live in Damascus but probably not more than 700-800. I took a lot of pictures and hope I'm able to upload the soon. Too bad that I can't go to Traildays. The number of hikers who will be in town will probably bigger than all people who live in Damascus. But maybe another year. Bruno
Date: 2006-04-10
From: Damascus

To: Elk Park
Miles today: 23.8

Today I had my first perfect Sunset. I made it just in time to Buzzards Rock to take a couple of pictures and an awesome video. Afterwards I enjoyed hiking while it got dark. It's so beautiful when everything gets a totally different color and whe the sky in the east is dark and the stars are out while the sky in the west is still blue. The only strange thing is when you wake up a big bird and hear it fly of with his huge wings. One time I heard that only ten feet away and almost got a heart attack.I felt really strong today and my knees held up even without my straps. Hopefully this goes on. Tomorrow I will enter Grayson Highlands and if I'm lucky I'll see a few wild ponys. This section is one of the most beautiful until now and hiking is so much fun when the views are changing.My tent is close to the road and as it is almost full moon I can see Mt. Rogers on the other side. This is my first climb for tomorrow and when I'm up the next 30 miles are almost flat. I have to make some miles but also want to enjoy myself. And both things go together well. Today I had two 60 minutes brakes at the shelters with coffee and snacks/dinner and took enough time for taking pictures. If it goes on like this I will become a real hiking machine ;-) Bruno