morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-17
From: Stecoah Gap, NC

To: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC
Miles today: 15.1

Got moving pretty early out of the San Ran Motel and the 4 of us started thumbing or a ride back to the trail. It took awhile, but eventually a pickup pulled over to give us a ride. Earnhardt jumped in the cab. Bama, Rambler, and myself jumped in the bed.The hike out of Stecoah Gap starts with a steep climb called Jacobs Ladder. I'm glad we waited until morning, I'm not sure my legs would have made it last night. After that things leveled out a bit and we were pounding out miles to get to Fontana Village, our next resupply. Fontana Dam is the largest dam east of the Mississippi River and the lake behind it is massive. We had views of the lake for over an hour before we reached it. There is a shuttle from the lake to the village for resupply. I called for it at 4:45 (the store closes at 6) and again at 5:15, but after 45 minutes, it hadn't shown up. Earnhardt found us a ride to the village and we walked in the door at 5:59. We resupplied, caught the shuttle back, and made our way to the Fontana Dam Shelter, aka the Fontana Hilton because it had bathrooms, showers, and room for 20 people. It was a mad house, easily 50+ hikers in and around the shelter. This is the last stop before entering the Smokies. There was a nice fire going and people were making s'mores. Pretty cool place to be.
Date: 2014-04-18
From: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC

To: Russel Field Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 13.8

Leaving the Fontana Hilton, the trail crosses the top of the dam with great views. On the downstream side of the dam you can see the incoming/outgoing transmission lines and substations (For my coworkers from Delmarva). Early morning I crossed into Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I dropped off the lower half of my permit in the metal box. As expected, the smokeys greeted us harshly with roughly 3000' in elevation gain. Bama and I climbed the Shuckstack Fire Tower, which was by far the most rickety fire tower I've ever seen. It was missing a railing on the first flight of stairs, and they are in the process of replacing the wood stairs, though many loose, rotten ones still remained. The tower is no longer in use, so the room at the top was open, but only consisted of foggy, old windows and rotten plywood. But the views were great, so whatever. We had seen lots of torn up dirt along the trail (sign of wild boar) and sure enough, just past Mollies Ridge Shelter, we saw a group of them (6-8) running around way down the hillside. Glad they weren't closer, they are supposed to be pretty aggressive. We stopped at the Russel Field Shelter. In the Smokeys, you are required to sleep inside the shelters, if there is space. If not, you must camp in the immediate vicinity of the shelter. I wanted to sleep in my hammock, so I waited around for the shelter to fill up and then set up camp. There was a fire going outside. I was feeling pretty beat and turned in around 9.
Date: 2014-04-19
From: Russel Field Shelter, NC/TN

To: Derrick Knob Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: moderate rain

Apparently there was a bear in camp last night, but i slept through it. other campers yelled at it and it ran off. Real hard getting out of bed this morning. It was cold, windy, and raining. I ate breakfast and packed up under my tarp. Kept everything dry. I was hoping the weather would pass, but it didn't seem like that was in the cards, so I got movingWeather stayed windy, wet, and cold pretty much all day. The trail was steep and muddy, so things were really slippery, I almost went down several times, but managed to save myself with my trekking poles. The views from Rocky Top were incredible. The Smokeys have some killer views. Got into Derrick Knob Shelter around 1:30. The shelters in the smokies have fire places inside (other shelters typically do not). There were cool people here and they had collected a huge pile of firewood, so I decided to make this my first night in a shelter. Better than setting up in the rain. There is a couple here on their honeymoon. I also met a girl named G-Bird, that hiked the Pacific Crest Trail last year and a testing engineer who works with plane/space shuttle blades (though he was only out for 1 night). The engineer shared a flask of whiskey with us. Around dusk some coyotes were passing by. A couple of them were in the field in front of the shelter, probably 100 feet away. There was some bear activity here last night. A girl left her platypus (water bladder) outside and in the morning it had been carried off into the woods and chewed up. Still haven't seen one yet though.
Date: 2014-04-20
From: Derrick Knob Shelter, NC/TN

To: Mt. Collins Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 13.5

What a beautiful day! Came out of the shelter this morning to sun, blue skies, and warm temperatures. Didn't sleep too well in the shelter last night. In the future I think I'll stick to my hammock. Started the day in great spirits and hiking with Bama, Earnhardt, and Rambler. Finally seeing spring set in down here. Green vegetation and white flowers everywhere. Approaching the summit of Clingmans Dome, the ecosystem switched into a beautiful pine forest covered in moss. There was a very strong scent of pine in the air. Trail was slick and muddy, but not too rough. The last mile towards Clingmans Dome afforded several great views of the peak. The view from Mt. Buckley was probably my favorite. Clingmans Dome has an observation tower on top with a concrete ramp up to it. There were tons of day hikers out and about. I took some pictures and moved on. The rest of the days hiking was in the pine forest as well, and as luck would have it, so was Mt. Collins Shelter. I grabbed a nice secluded spot for my hammock. Other hikers in camp included Earnhardt, Bama, Monkey Man, Pearl, Yoda, Dragonfly, Freckles, Nemo, & Smokin Bear.
Date: 2014-04-22
From: Newfound Gap, NC/TN

To: Icewater Spring Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 3.0

Got up this morning and headed to the Grand Prix Hotel to catch our $30 taxi/shuttle out of town. Weather was cold and nasty in town, and only got worse as we got back up into the mountainsI got my picture with the first sign I've encountered that lists the mileage to Katahdin. Only 1972.8 more miles!It was real windy up at Newfound Gap as we got moving. It was difficult not overheating in my rain gear, but too cold without it. We had originally planned a 10/14 mile day, but ended up stopping after 3 miles, partially for the weather and partially because of an overlook called Charlie's Bunion. It's supposed to be one of the nicest views in the Smokeys and I didn't want to hit it with 300 foot visibility. We stopped at Icewater Spring Shelter, initially just to warm up, but ultimately for the night. The park's backcountry manager, Christine, and a reporter from the Knox News Sentinel. He was writing a report on graffiti in the Smokeys. I was hoping I'd end up in his article because he took a quote from me and my name/age/etc. Something along the lines of "I really don't mind the graffiti in the shelters. I'd rather see it concentrated in the man made structures than scattered over the natural landscape itself." He was having trouble finding a single hiker opposed to the carved/sharpie graffiti that covers the inside of the shelters. I didn't get quoted in the article, but Earnhardt, Bama, and I did make it into the photo. I wouldn't recommend buying a subscription. It's not worth it lol. He doesn't quote me and takes the park's stance that the graffiti is evil. Ultimately only quoting the backcountry manager and another ranger. http://m.knoxnews.com/news/2014/apr/28/tarnishing-the-trail-smokies-seeing-increase-in/I took a nap in the shelter, but set up my hammock when I turned in for the night. Oh! And I met another civil engineer-thru hiker named Frankenstein.
Date: 2014-04-23
From: Icewater Spring Shelter, NC/TN

To: Cosbey Knob Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 20.3

Mileage the last 2 days was bugging me, so I busted out my first 20 mile day today. This morning was my coldest on the trail yet, and really windy. I had frost on my tarp and on the bug net for my hammock. It was hard getting moving. I'm really glad I took the short day yesterday to let the weather clear because the view from Charlie's Bunion was fantastic. It's a sketchy rock outcropping with views way down the valley. It was crazy windy though. And unfortunately all the pictures are on my camera, not my phone. Today's hike was very scenic. We spent a lot of time on a very thin ridge line with views on both sides. Stopped for lunch along the ridge and snapped the photo above. Tonight I'm camped by Cosbey Knob Shelter. There is a Ridge Runner in camp (they are part time workers or volunteers that hike along the trail, point hikers in the right direction, and in my opinion act as a buffer between the hikers and the rangers).
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Cosbey Knob Shelter, NC/TN

To: Painter Branch Campsite, NC/TN
Miles today: 12.8

Beautiful start to the day! Blue skies and sun. I was eager to get to the Mt.Cammerer Lookout Tower. It was.6 miles off the trail but the proprietor of the Top of Georgia Hostel said it was a must see. The tower did not disappoint. It was an old building with creaky wooden floors, hazy windows, and a walkway around the outside. I grabbed a bunch of cool pictures and hung out while I ate a snack.Leaving the tower, the weather really started heating up. I was sweating bullets. Midday I passed the northern boundary of the Smokies. Shortly after, the trail parallels a steep, rocky creek and one spot had this log jammed in it that created a perfect waterfall into a small pool. Bama and I dropped our packs, climbed down, and hopped in the pool of water. It was probably only 3 or 4 feet at its deepest, but it certainly was refreshing. I then took a trail shower under the log waterfall. Next landmark was Standing Bear Hostel. This place is the coolest! Very relaxed atmosphere. The resupply shop is on the honor system, take what you need, write it down on an envelope, add up your total, and hand them the money. There is a nice rocky creek that cuts through the property. Alongside the creek is a fire pit with seating and a small building with a kitchen table, oven, pots, pans, sink, etc. use what you need and wash it. I bought a frozen pizza, heated it up in their oven, and had a few beers. Hung out there for several hours. Earnhardt ended up getting a bunk. Bama and I hiked an extra 2 miles and set up camp at a campsite along Painter Branch.
Date: 2014-04-25
From: Painter Branch Campsite, NC/TN

To: Max Patch, NC/TN
Miles today: 11.7

Today started with uncooperative rain. It rained hard for the 30 minutes while we packed up camp and rained again as we hit our first nice view of the day, Snowbird Mountain. We heard some rumors of some trail magic in Brown Gap and sure enough, as we descended into the gap we heard voices. This was my first time seeing trail magic since day 2 of the hike. These guys were legit. They had several ez-ups/canopies, 2 grills, and an entire trailer filled with food and supplies. Apparently this group of guys do this every year, around this time, and stay and feed hikers all weekend. They had just stopped serving breakfast, so I tore into some Oreos, Girl Scout cookies, and fruit. The weather was crappy, alternating between sun and rain, and they were gearing up for lunch, so I decided to hang out. A huge crowd of hikers amassed, easily 25/30 people. They fired up the grill for lunch, so I had a hotdog and a hamburger followed by some baked beans and more cookies. The weather got worse, cold really windy, and rainy, so I decided to wait out the storm under their tarps and have some hot cocoa. Eventually Earnhardt, Bama, and myself pushed foreword and escaped the hiker vortex.Coming up next was Max Patch, one of the best views in the area. We hit the road crossing before Max Patch and there were 2 guys that had gone up and turned back. Apparently while we were getting wind and rain back at the trail magic, they were getting hit with 60mph winds and horizontal, freezing rain on Max Patch. We waited a bit for the weather I clear, bundled up, and pushes ahead.The wind on Max Patch was wild. My raincoat was flapping in the wind and I had to lean into the wind to stay upright, but the views were incredible. Max Patch is a large, grassy, bald mountain. It's not actually above the tree line, it was originally cleared for grazing/farming, but now is maintained as a viewpoint. It offers a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. I decided I had to see sunset and sunrise from Max Patch. About 1/4 mile past the summit, the trail renters the woods, so that's where Bama and I set up camp. Earnhardt decided to push ahead. I collected a bunch of wood, got a fire going, and had dinner. Then Bama and I started the hike back up Max Patch for sunset. It was breathtaking, even with the lingering clouds from today's storms. Perfect end to a great day.
Date: 2014-04-26
From: Max Patch, NC/TN

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 19.3

Against all odds (a joke regarding my sleeping habits) I woke up at 6am today, threw on every piece of clothing I'm carrying, and hiked up Max Patch to checkout sunrise. Yesterday's storm clouds had moved out, so sunrise was even more beautiful than sunset. I hung out up there for over an hour taking pictures and taking in the sights. There were several valleys in the distance filled with fog. Packed up and hiking by 8, Bama and I were trying to catch up with Earnhardt, but the trail has its ways of intervening with plans. At one intersection with another footpath, a guy in a t-shirt, with no pack, asked if we were thru hikers. Once we said yes, he asked if we wanted beer and pizza ( a ridiculous question, I always want beer an pizza). Turn out that guy was Badger, the author of Appalachian Trials, and he is out here for the day with a bunch of previous thru hikers providing trail magic. I hit trail magic 2 days in a row! They had a keg of beer, pizzas, crispy cream donuts, the works! Really hit the spot. I did a brief video interview with Badger and hung out for an hour or so. With more than a few beers in me, plus pizza and Krispy Kreme Donuts in me, I continued the hike into Hot Sprigs, NC. The sun was beating down and hiking while that drunk/full was pretty rough, but I managed. When we hit the edge of town, what did we find but more trail magic!Another hiker's (Space Blanker) mom was there with more food, more beer, and water. I helped myself to a beer and a water and hiked into town. Hot Sprigs has quite the reputation in the hiking community, but it didn't look like much at first. It's also a void concerning cell phone reception for Verizon and AT&T. I had turned my phone on during the descent into town, hoping to hear from Earnhardt, but had no luck. Bama and I started wandering around town looking for Earnhardt and a place to stay, but with no luck. There are 2 weddings in town and everything was booked solid.While standing on the side of the road wondering what to do, 2 people approached us and asked if we were Earnhardt's friends. As luck would have it, Earnhardt had met these people and we were free to setup in their campsite in town. We ran down there, saw Earnhardt, and set up camp. Shower time! Space Blanket and his mom ended up camping with us too and the 5 of us headed for dinner at the Spring Creek Tavern. The tavern has a deck overhanging the creek and the place was packed. There was a band playing outside on the deck. We grabbed a round of drinks and put in a good order. Earnhardt ended up getting us a table outside on the deck. This place was hopping the rest of the night, packed with an odd mixture of locals, hikers, and well dressed wedding guests. It was a blast and turned into a late night before I retired to my hammock.
Date: 2014-04-27
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Great nights sleep until I was awoken by the train rolling past out campsite (roughly 35 feet from where I was sleeping). Earnhardt, Bama, Space Blanket, and I headed to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast. Space Blanket's mom was kind enough to offer to take care of laundry for the 4 of us while we were at the diner.After breakfast, I poked my head into the Dollar General next door. When I came out I was cooking! I was wearing my rain pants and rain coat while my clothes were being washed. Standing outside, I saw Bottlecap, Reboot, and Neumo. The 4 of us walked up to check out Elmer's Sunnybank Inn and omg was I impressed. This is an ancient building that's been a boarding house for years. I reserved myself a bed and ran back to the local outfitter to find Earnhardt and Bama to encourage them to do the same. I made my way back to last nights campsite and my clean laundry was there. I grabbed a shower, packed up camp, and started the walk across town to Elmer's. I stopped on the way to resupply at the local outfitter, and mailed some stuff home while I was there. Then finished my walk to Elmer's. This place! It was built in the 1800's and easily has more books than the local library. And it's packed with interesting articles, nicknacks, and art. It's like a museum. I could easily spend hours just walking around and inspecting things. It has several porches on the 1st and 2nd floors. Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru hike the AT, stayed here on both of his thru hikes. I would love to spend a rainy day just reading in this house.I dropped off my stuff and headed back down town to try and find hikers to hang out with, but the place was a ghost town. I sat down in the outdoor setting at the Still Mountain Restaurant and had a few beers while listening to some guy play covers. I left and ran into Bottlecap, Reboot, and Neumo. The 3 of them invited me to join them for dinner at the Spring Creek Tavern. Earlier in the day, Bama and gone to see about booking a time slot at the actual Hot Springs. We headed up there for our 7pm time slot. They pump the water from the hot springs into hot tubs that overlook the adjacent creek. Midway through our 1 hour time slot, I climbed down and jumped in the creek for a temperature shock. Made the hot tub feel extra warm when I got back in. The wind started blowing and it seemed like it might thunderstorm, but it passed without rain. When our hour was up, we ran into Bottlecap, Reboot, and Neumo. They were jumping in for their 8pm time slot and had extra room left in their hot tub so we joined them. 2 hours of hot tub! It felt great. We left and started the walk back through town. We were planning on going back to the bar, but by 9:30 they were empty and putting up bar stools, so we just headed back to Elmer's.
Date: 2014-04-28
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Enjoyed my night in "The Study" at Elmer's. Originally we were hearing bad rain forecasts for today, and I was legitimately considering staying another night and reading all day. But that weather forecast was inaccurate and they were booked anyway. I got up early an wandered around the house taking pictures and reading articles hung on the walls. Then I jumped in the shower. Elmer's is famous for their vegetarian meals and the breakfast bell sounded as I stepped out of the shower. There were 8/10 of us for breakfast which included waffles, strawberry sauce, fruit, homemade granola and more. Elmer asked us to go around the table and share who we were and why we were hiking. He shared some of his own stories and experiences too. It was very pleasant At the end of the meal, Elmer told us about a thru hiker named Doc Narley. He had thru hiked several times, loved the trail, and last year he passed away. His wife had sent some of his ashes to Elmer and asked if they could be distributed along the trail. There were 3 containers of ashes and Earnhardt, Reboot, and myself each took one. In talking with Reboot, I found out that he was carrying his fathers ashes as well (and his father was from PA), small world.There is a beautiful chess set, between 2 rocking chairs, in Elmer's living room. I had been itching to play a game, so after breakfast Reboot and I sat down or a game. It was kind of a mistake, because our game ran from 9am till about 12:30. I started strong, and had a 1 pawn advantage or the first 2 hours, but ultimately it was Reboot that won. We packed up, walked across town, and grabbed one last ice cream cone before leaving. I hiked out with Bama, Earnhardt, Bottlecap, and Reboot. The gnats in and outside of Hot Spring are relentless. I easily killed 50 in our first hour of hiking. The climb out of Hot Springs was steep and rocky and it was hot as hell. There were some views back down of the river and town. All afternoon it looked like it was going to pour, but we never got more than a few drops. We passed a pond and took the side trail to climb the Rich Mountain Lookout Tower, which was certainly worth the few extra tenths of a mile. We stopped for the night at Spring Mountain Shelter. The gnats here are unreal. They were seriously impacting my sanity until I got my hammock setup. Once inside they sounded like rain hitting the outside of my hammock. I waited a while, and wrapped myself head to toe before jumping back out to make dinner.
Date: 2014-04-29
From: Spring Mountain Shelter, NC/TN

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 15.4

A bit of a late start today. It poured last night. was woken up several times by thunder and lightning, the first I've seen on the trip. It's awful hard to get out of a warm, dry hammock when it's cold and raining outside. I waited for the rain to die down a bit and we started hiking around 9:30/10. The rain made for hot, humid hiking and I started sweating immediately. Earnhardt, Bama, & I were discussing how nice it would be to have ice cream, cold drinks, and a swimming pool. As the cold beverages conversation continued, we hit a trail intersection and saw a piece of old siding with "Mom's" and an arrow spray painted on it. Like intelligent, responsible human beings, we followed the arrow on the sketchy sign. It took us a couple hundred feet where we hit a road, and to our right was a run down old building. Were I by myself, I very likely would have kept going. This looked like the spot in a movie where you break down, go inside for help, and then get locked in the basement and tortured. The sign hanging by the road was spray painted and there were more spray painted siding signs nailed to the building. We stepped inside a shop that had clearly been abandoned for quite some time. There were calendars for 1999 and 2000 on the walls, and much of the stuff laying around was much older than that. But..... They had ice cream and cold drinks! I had a Klondike bar, a yoo-hoo, and a powerade. Really hit the spot. We hiked on. Late in the day we hit a pretty rough stretch of trail. Rough enough anyway, that it has a bypass. There were lots of steep, rocky ups and downs. At one point the trail dropped a good 10 feet, so we threw out hiking poles down, and turned around so we could climb down. At least, like most challenging stretches of trail, we were rewarded with nice views. We ended the day camping by Jerry Cabin Shelter. The wind is blowing like hell. I have my tarp pitched very low to the ground and I'm using 2 large rocks on extra tie downs.
Date: 2014-04-30
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter, NC/TN

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 14.7

Damp! After the last couple days, everything I own feels damp. My clothes, insulation, hammock, body. All of it. Passed through some farm fields today with little sets of stairs that take you up and over the fences. Then had a steady climb along a stream. The landscape around the steam seemed almost unnaturally green and mossy. This stretch also included a small waterfall. The last few days there have been signs that there will be trail magic tomorrow morning in Sams Gap. Earnhardt, Bama, and I are camped a few miles before there, at Hogback Ridge Shelter. There is a very large, rowdy crowd here tonight with lots of yelling and laughing. Glad I have a set of ear plugs Trail magic tomorrow!