morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Roaring Fork
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was an interesting day. I got a fairly late start out of the Standing Bear Farm hostel along with Muddy Shoes and Rainbow Brite. (Oh ya, she found a really big spider in the bunk house the night before; I'll try to upload the picture I got of it before I flung it out the door). Rainbow Brite and Muddy Shoes ended up staying at the Ground Hog Shelter for the night. She really wanted to stay at Max Patch Bald but we got the latest weather report from a hiker called Tortoise(ironically averaging 18 miles a day) who said thunderstorms were rolling in early in the evening and rain the next day. I decided to continue on to the next shelter in hopes of meeting the parents in Erwin sometime between the 15-17th. Of course the thunder storm had other plans that made life a bit more interesting. I hot footed it from the shelter to about .25 miles from the trailhead that goes up to Max Patch Bald Summit when the storm hit. There was lightning, thunder, and rain so I decided to pitch camp along the trail(up on a small gap in the ridge line) and put the metal pack and poles away from me. About 30 minutes late the bulk of the storm passed and I decide to make a run for it while the weather was good(light, cold rain, haha). As I crossed over Max Patch I felt like a big bullseye was painted on my backpack though, even if it was just raining at the time.I got into the shelter a bit later and ended up having to tent anyhow because it was crammed to the brim with hikers already.
Date: 2006-05-11
From: Roaring Fork

To: Sunny Bank Farm; Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

The weather just couldn't make up its mind today. The morning started out with beautiful clear blue skies but then it just decided to do the rain, sun, rain, sun for variable periods; mostly rain though, and periods of overcast with "tree rain", ie. the wind blows and you get all the fat droplets from the leafs). It wasn't too bad of a day though. I ended up doing a little over 17 miles(I think) from the Roaring Spring shelter into Hot Springs, NC. I met up with Wild Poodle at the shelter 3 miles out from Hot Springs. She's from FL and had been hiking with Ben Here the last few days. She said that Ben was looking for me to catch up with him, which I did tonight as he was staying in Hot Springs at the Cody Hostel.I ended up at Elmer's Hostel in a room along with "Pie" who is a retired fire fighter from Philadelphia, PA. He told me about Sam's Gap I started rethinking the rendezvous plans with the parents. Pie, Ben Here and I ended up eating at a awesome little diner across the street from Elmer's. Later a bunch of us went down to the local pub from drinking and socializing(unfortunately no hard liquor, just beer (doh)).I went back to the Cody hostel to watch a movie and ended up chatting with Ben and making a new stove. He bought a titanium alcohol stove to reduce pack weight at the outfitter today and was testing it out on when I got back from the pub. I told him it looked a lot like a Pepsi Can stove. We ended up digging out some beer cans from the recycle bin and sliced and diced to create some stoves. His first one worked pretty well, but it took a 2nd try for mine to fly. I think I can use this one with a tall crab meat can(a little taller than a tuna fish can) as a wind screen / pot holder. I'll have to test it out tomorrow before I decide to toss the cat can stove.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Sunny Bank Farm; Hot Springs, NC

To: Sunny Bank Farm; Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Taking a zero day in Hot Springs after the long day yesterday through the rain, blisters, and chaffing. The library here has locked down the pc so you can't access usb devices(very convenient huh) so again, no pictures. I'm told the outfitter has a computer and I may be able to upload pictures using that, so if you see pictures before 35's posting that's why. Getting closer to VA everyday(well, except the zero days
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Sunny Bank Farm; Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

It was a fairly late start out of town since I needed to hit the PO before I left. Rainbow Brite, Muddyshoes, Nowhammers, and Firemonger had just rolled into town and were outside of the PO went I got there. The hike out of Hot Springs was absolutely gorgeous. The first .5 miles or so was along the banks of the river; it then climbed fairly steeply but offered almost cliff top vistas of the gorge and town. Next was the concrete dam and pond right below Mill Ridge. Mill Ridge was the cherry on top, beautiful mountain meadow and scenic views of the surrounding countryside.I called it a day at the shelter 11.x miles. When I got to the shelter there were 3 backpacks and one older woman. The other 2 where fetching water down the hill. It was pretty funny how things are all relative out here. When the two return I asked if it was far to get water. They said it was a nice little hike down to it; then the older woman chimed in about the privy saying it was a LONG way so far that she said "To hell with this!" and found a tree. I had a good chuckle when I found it rather unexpectedly 300 ft away.I was joined that night by Wild Poodle, Uphill, and Big & Bed Bug. Wild Poodle is from FL; Uphill from Richmond, VA; Big & Bed Bug from GA.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Spring Mountain

To: Jerry Cabin
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Did a fairly good day today into Jerry Cabin Shelter. The best part was going over the Firescald Ridge(I think that was the name). Basically, you're hiking along the trail and you come a sign reading "Exposed Ridge: Blue Blaze = Bad Weather trail; White Blaze = Appalachian Trail". It was just overcast so I wasn't going to pass that up. Wow. The ridge was definitely exposed alright. From one of the vistas you see this white wall that followed the ridgeline up and down in to the distance; guess where the trail was...that's right follow the white-rock wall. There was only one really scramble but you had to slow down and pick your step more cautiously(falling would be bad mmm-kay).Jerry's Cabin Shelter was really nice, much nicer that the last few shelter I'd seen. There was even a built-in fireplace and a tarp for wind protection. Wanderer, Eagle, and Uphill were all there when I arrived then Wild Poodle and Big & Bed Bug came in. Wanderer says he's going to live on the trail the next 10 years, and Eagle is a survival instructor / store owner from Texas. We also had another visitor / guest that night. A stray dog slowly and cautiously approached the shelter as we were all cooking dinner. He looked really hungry but like a wild animal didn't trust anyone enough to get too close. I think I was the only one who managed to pet him and that took a little bit of bribery with pepperoni. I don't know what breed he was but he had a dull brown/grey coat with black spots almost like a hyenna, white fore-paws, and blue eyes.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Jerry Cabin

To: Hogback Ridge
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

It was a fairly easy 14.7 today. The bald early in the morning was pretty cool scenery wise and after that we were on a old road for at least a 1.5 miles. Eagle and I saw a huge scat in the middle of the road and he says, "Think that's a cow pie?" To which I responded, "Either that or a diarrheic bear"; the scat was slimy and loose(want more details huh? I'll post the picture in a few(just kidding)). I think the general consensus between everyone that saw it was bear scat.Uphill, Wild Poodle, and I all continued on to the Hogback Mountain Shelter after a brief lunch at the Flint Mountain(you own a mountain!?) shelter. There was a really cool waterfall about half way up the climb in the after noon. It basically flowed right over the top of a gigantic boulder. I do have a picture of that.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Sams Gap; US23 & I-26
Miles today: 2.4

Met up with Mom & Dad at Sam's Gap in the morning after an easy downhill 2.4. We went into Johnson City and basically hung out and ate. Overall a very nice nero day(nearly zero, not pyromancy and music).They thoughtfully left a cooler with soda and candy bars at the gap for trail magic which were a big hit. Well done!
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Sams Gap; US23 & I-26

To: Uncle Johnny's; Erwin, TN
Miles today: 24.5
Weather: light rain

Mom & Dad dropped me off at Sam's Gap a little after 8 this morning. After getting to the top of Big Bald I discovered something, a little mystical side trail were I discovered a hidden secret, a new pair of :Trail Legs 2.0New features including:RRDA (Root & Rock Detection and Avoidance)GSBC (Gyroscopic stabilization and Balance Control)PPIS (Pole Placement Integration and Synchronization)20% Speed IncreaseIncreased durability(yet to be proven)Ok, a too much video game influence I know, but I felt pretty good today. I trucked all the way from Sam's Gap into Erwin, 24.5 miles in about 11 hours with about 1.5 hours of stops for lunch / dinner / talking with other hikers;
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Uncle Johnny's; Erwin, TN

To: Miss Janet's; Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Took a zero day in Erwin. Moved from Uncle Johnny's Hostel over to Miss Janet's since Uphill said he was going to reserve a room there for everyone. Hit the library there then ran into Rainbow Brite, John Peterson, and Muddyshoes who were eating at Erwin Burrito. mmm food....So I decided to join them for a nice burrito as well.A bunch of us checked in to Miss Janet's and then headed over to the Holiday Inn Express to make use of the hot tub as John Peterson was staying there an additional night.
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Miss Janet's

To: Duct Cove; Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm not even going to try to capture the spirit of trail days in a post. It was really fun and it lasted 3 days For those that were there here is a nice list of things to remember:Go Fish! Glowstick Nalgenes Happy Mud Bonfires, Dancing, Drums Parade + water warz!
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Duct Cove; Damascus, VA

To: Duct Cove; Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I'm not even going to try to capture the spirit of trail days in a post. It was really fun and it lasted 3 days For those that were there here is a nice list of things to remember:Go Fish! Glowstick Nalgenes Happy Mud Bonfires, Dancing, Drums Parade + water warz!
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Duct Cove; Damascus, VA

To: Miss Janet's; Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Came back to Erwin for another zero day, which after trail days was much needed. I woke up way too late to go white water rafting so I decided I'd just have to go the next day, which worked out nicely as it turned out since it gave Rainbow Brite and Muddyshoes a chance to catch up from Devils Gap.There were 28 hikers at breakfast this morning and Miss Janet did the three questions thing (What's you're name, where you're from, and what was the most memorable thing about trails days for you?). It was interesting to hear about some of the other experiences hikers had.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Miss Janet's; Erwin, TN

To: Uncle Johnny's; Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

#$%^#%^ AWESOME WHITE WATER RAFTING!!!Wow, I'm sure glad I decided to stay another day in Erwin so that I could go whitewater rafting. I used USA Rafting and did the full day Nolichucky trip. Near the top of the river there was a section they called the "Quarter Mile Run", which was a .25mile string of 7(maybe it was 6, but I think it was 7) class IV rapids. HEHE, we had an interesting run down those suckers. We went down one of the rapids backwards and the right side of the raft all had to duck because we scraped(literally scraped) underneath a huge undercut rock. We kidded that they all had to test the helmets to see if they work as expected. The guide(who was the most experienced guide on the trip) said he'd never had that happen before We also did some rapid surfing, which I'd never done/seen before. Basically, you paddle into a big hydraulic and when you get close enough it sucks you in and if you steer well you just sit there in the rapid. I got a good movie of one of the other rafts doing it, but I think we had the best run of the day. The guide had me sit up front so the nose of the raft dipped down, which led to water rushing into the front of the raft, which led to us being rapidly shot backwards out of the hydraulic after we'd surfed it for a bit. The rest of the rapids were mostly III's and II's, (I think there were a few solo IV's left but not many). hehe, I also loved how we always had a "Plan B" for the rapids, which was generally, swim hard (LEFT|RIGHT) cause there are shivs and undercuts the other way. It was a LOT of fun! We only had 3 or 4 swimmers so I guess it was a good day
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Uncle Johnny's; Erwin, TN

To: Curley Maple Gap
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Spent a good portion of the day in town again thanks to the Pizza Hut lunch buffet. It really felt good to be back on the trail again after all the zero days I took for trail days etc¢¦ Hiked to the Curly Maple Gap Shelter, which was a few miles passed the outfitter I went white water rafting with.
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Curley Maple Gap

To: Cherry Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I think the zero days took their toll on my legs. Today was murderous hiking, the ups were killing me, I managed to push through, but jeez. We did get a bit of trail magic from Morris Davis and Jim who were setup in Low Gap. They just finished building a home and decided to come up to the trail for some R&R and trail magic. They didn¢t let me leave hungry that was for sure. I was hoping to reduce pack weight by eating dinner that night too, but no complaints; the pork tenderloin and home fried potatoes were delicious.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Cherry Gap

To: Greasy Creek 
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

The plan to hike up Roan Mt at the end of the day was swiftly replaced with staying at Greasy Gap "Friendly". Woke up at 6:30 to the sound of rain and quickly rolled over until 9:30 or so, when 4 section hikers rolled into the shelter area in search of water.Grease Gap "Friendly"(pun on not being "Hostile" aka Hostel) was named in part because of the Hostile neighbor that dislikes people. He basically finds some really creative ways of making really loud noises to irritate the hikers / home owners there. To me he was just a amusing character, but I can definitely see how he routines would get old and ultra annoying. The decision to stay here was further justified that night by an impression thunderstorm and hail the size of large grapes. Glad I listened to R.B.! Well, the pull of getting a shuttle to the top of Roan so we could hike down it was a strong reason as well.(Roan is like 2500 ft gain in like 2.5 miles, sounds fun huh!).The next morning we got a surprise at breakfast, a local newspaper journalist came to interview the "Friendly" owners and got caught up in the interview / pictures as well.Climbing down Roan was a lot of fun, much better then up Once back at the "Friendly" the husband shuttled us back to Roan where we stayed at the Roan High Knob shelter and enjoyed an vibrant sunset. Thanks to the Grease Gap "Friendly" we left a bunch of soda in the shelter as Trail Magic for incoming exhausted hikers who were climbing Roan. Hope you all got some and enjoyed it!
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Greasy Creek 

To: Roan High Knob
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The plan to hike up Roan Mt at the end of the day was swiftly replaced with staying at Greasy Gap "Friendly". Woke up at 6:30 to the sound of rain and quickly rolled over until 9:30 or so, when 4 section hikers rolled into the shelter area in search of water.Grease Gap "Friendly"(pun on not being "Hostile" aka Hostel) was named in part because of the Hostile neighbor that dislikes people. He basically finds some really creative ways of making really loud noises to irritate the hikers / home owners there. To me he was just a amusing character, but I can definitely see how he routines would get old and ultra annoying. The decision to stay here was further justified that night by an impression thunderstorm and hail the size of large grapes. Glad I listened to R.B.! Well, the pull of getting a shuttle to the top of Roan so we could hike down it was a strong reason as well.(Roan is like 2500 ft gain in like 2.5 miles, sounds fun huh!).The next morning we got a surprise at breakfast, a local newspaper journalist came to interview the "Friendly" owners and got caught up in the interview / pictures as well.Climbing down Roan was a lot of fun, much better then up Once back at the "Friendly" the husband shuttled us back to Roan where we stayed at the Roan High Knob shelter and enjoyed an vibrant sunset. Thanks to the Grease Gap "Friendly" we left a bunch of soda in the shelter as Trail Magic for incoming exhausted hikers who were climbing Roan. Hope you all got some and enjoyed it!
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Roan High Knob

To: Mountain Habour B&B&H; US 19E
Miles today: 15.2

[Sorry for the delay on posts, time and technical problems]Awesome day out of Roan High Knob shelter today. The vistas from Carver's Gap and the next few miles were outstanding; especially Overmoutain Shelter(aka The Barn), Little Hump Mtn and Hump Mtn.We passed Bouy early in the day and chatted with him for a good while. He saw a bear cub and we're completely jealous. It's always nice to stop and talk with Bouy!Had lunch at the Stan Murray Shelter and were accompanied by 2 weekenders. One of which was an avid litter collector. Yah for people doing good deeds. Next stop was to kick back and enjoy the vista and atmosphere of the overmountain shelter. Picture a huge red barn perched on the side of a mountain meadow overlooking the valley and with views of Little Hump mtn.My "Bald Luck" apparently disappear for the day(maybe longer??). Hump Mtn and Little Hump were only partially cloudy. Actually, the hike up them was mostly in the sun. But the views from the top were worth the heat.We pushed all the way to 19E and into the Mountain Habour Bed & Breakfast ( & Hostel). Man oh man, the hostel is awesome! We heard a LOT of good things about the breakfast(which I might add only costs 5$) so expectations were running really high. It surpassed all of the that!!
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Mountain Habour B&B&H; US 19E

To: Stealth Camping
Miles today: 12.2

mmm. Another awesome breakfast at the Mountain Habour before hiking. "Pipe Dreams" rolled in the previous day and join us for breakfast as well. IIRC, he is a chef and does fine cuisine; also met Jonah for the first time. He is sort of on vacation. Apparently he just finished up his service in the Israeli military.(Good time to leave huh).Met Warren Doyle(trail celebrity of sorts) today. He seemed like a pretty cool guy. The new shelter(sorry forgot the name) was pretty cool. It was built the last day of trail days by a bunch of volunteers. Grizzly Bear was there along with Jonah. Ate dinner and pushed on to a camp site up the way.
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Stealth Camping

To: Kincora; Dennis Cove; USFS 50
Miles today: 11.6

Awoke to the sound of (I suspect) two mating owls. I really can't begin to describe the sound they were making, but I'll give it a shot: Owl #1: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #2: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #1/#2: [shift positions, ie rotate around the camp]Owl #1: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #2: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #1/#2: [shift positions meeting each other]Owl #1/#2 indistinguishable: HoHOOhoo HOOOHOhoooHOOOOOO hoooohoohoooHOOOOOhoHOOOO [repeat the above 5-6 times]Another fun day of hiking, had to stop to hunker down during a severe T-storm. Love the flash-bang lightning/thunder combination. Walked into kincora(Well known hostel) and was reaquantied with Wild Poodle, Stoker, Eagle, and Red Socks.
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Kincora; Dennis Cove; USFS 50

To: Kincora; Dennis Cove; USFS 50
Miles today: 0.0

Rainbow Brite and I did a pack shake down after seeing Stoker and Red Socks trying to reduce weight. Stoker was pretty funny about it. I guess he got tired of his cell phone; so naturally, he decided to destroy it with a hatchet. Tons of cat around the hostel. The white one, Nemo?, is incredibly affectionate. You reach to pet him, and before you can touch him he would rise to meet your hand and begin self-petting using your hand.Evan and Beth came in today as well. She made chocolate mousse for all of the hikers that night. WOO!.
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Kincora; Dennis Cove; USFS 50

To: Watauga Lake
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: moderate rain

Wow the Laruel Forks area is beautiful. Very picturesque stream, falls, and surrounding forest. The Laurel Fork Falls were especially nice. I'm really glad that the low water trail wasn't submerged. It goes right alongside of stream past the waterfall. Tons of wildlife today as well: a huge gardner snake, black snack, lizard, squirrels, grosse(followed by gunshots...eep), toads, and canadian geese with goslings. Stayed at the Watuga lake shelter after a quick dip in the lake itself.Saw a funny entry in the register saying that Watauga is Cherokee for "No white man, Pond flat, mountain hilly" making fun of "Pond Flats" which is a nice steep mountain with no "pond" at the top.
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Watauga Lake

To: Iron Mountain
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

Left Watuga Lake shelter and passed Buddy's and Chief's campsite(a thru-hiking couple we meet briefly last night at the shelter) early in the morning. We passed by an unmarked cooler, which we suspected as trail magic but couldn't be sure of, at a road crossing. A few minutes later we meet Mountain Squid who asked if we had some of the trail magic. Soon after we were down at the truck to get some goodies. Buddy and Chief rolled in and joined the magic.Stopped at the Vanderenter Shelter shelter and enjoyed lunch and the view down to the valley and lake below. After being warned verbally and by the register entries we decided not to use the .4m STEEP-AS-HELL blue blaze to the spring below the shelter. Some of the entries were pretty funny and can not be repeated in this forum as small childrens ears may start burning. hehe.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Iron Mountain

To: The Place; Damascus, VA
Miles today: 26.4
Weather: light rain

WOO. Did over 26m today into Damascus! A marathon with pack, up and down hills, and through 4 rains(and a bit of hail).Today began the "COO-LER" teasing regarding my vocalizations at road crossings. As in:[voice of seagulls in Finding Nemo]:Hiker approaching road crossing: COO-LER?!Hiker seeing cooler at road crossing: SOOO-DAH?!Hiker seeing soda in cooler at road crossing: MINE! MINE! MINE!Got to Damascus about 8:40 at night and were rewarded by Sicily's being open!!! YEHAW! Saw Rhyme & Reason, Big and Bed Bug, and Firemonger & No Whammies at the restaurant and heard that Wild Poodle hitched into town to see a Doctor.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: The Place; Damascus, VA

To: Dave's Place; Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Had breakfast with No Whammies and Firemonger(Rainbow Brite likes them a lot) then packed up and took over their room at "Dave'sPlace". Hit the P.O., outfitter, Dollar General, laundry, cowboy's, food city, Sicily's(mmm again), Baja Cafe. Rainbow Brite received the hair dye from her friend and decided to do the "lighten" dye to blond at damascus. She ended up not leaving the dye in quite long enough so it only slightly lighten it.