morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-02
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 7: No rain during the night and we awoke to clear sky. On the trail at 7:50am. More ups and downs, as usual but not as big as yesterday!Took this picture of ET on one of our breaks. We have a pattern for our breaks. We get up and on the trail without breakfast. Then an hour into the hike we stop for breakfast. We find that this takes less time than eating first and we don't get hungry as soon for lunch. After breakfast we hike for 1.5 hours until we stop for our first lunch break. Then 1.5 hours later we stop for our second lunch break. We find splitting our lunch into two "snacks" keeps it from feeling like a lump in your stomach as we hike and it spreads out the energy intake.We always take off our boots and use them to prop our feet up. This also allows our feet and socks dry of sweat. Its a lesson an old hiking buddy taught us..a wet foot gets blisters a dry foot doesn't!! We also take this time to study our maps to see what to expect over the next 1.5 hours.It stayed sunny all day today and got hot...75 degrees and high humidity. We made good time in spite of it and arrive at the shelter at 3:30pm..our earliest time into camp. We took advantage of the early time to do a little laundry and just kick back..
Date: 2012-05-03
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 8: We made it!! We are now in North Carolina. We got up a little early today so we could be on the trail by 7:40am. We did several fairly easy ups and downs before raeaching the GA/NC border at about 10:30am. This is our first major milestone. Also the word on the trail is that the ups and downs in NC are not as drastic as GA.Well right after the border we climbed our first mountain in NC...and it was a doozy. 400ft straight up almost completely done by stairs. When we got to the second mountain it was the same thing!! 500 feet almost straight up only this time no stairs we provided..Welcome to North Carolina!! Fortunately the rest of the day was as advertised fairly gentle ups and downs.Animal sighting update: We saw a tortise on the trail today. He popped into his shell as we approached..but we took a picture anywayArrived at the shelter at 4:50pm..pretty tired.Today was another warm, muggy day. We find that we need to fill our water containers several times a day because of the volume of water we are drinking. Spider is drinking 3 liters a day!! Guess that should keep the system flushed out!! We had some high clouds come in later in the afternoon and now it has cooled down significantly. Maybe tomorrow will have better hiking weather...as long as it doesn't rain!!
Date: 2012-05-04
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 9: We were awakened at 4am by the patter of rain on our tent. It rained on and off until we got up at 6:30am. We quickly moved everything under the shelter so we could more easily pack up. Since sitting in the rain and eating breakfast didn't sound like fun, we decided to break our pattern and have breakfast in the shelter of the shelter!! We hit the trail at 8:20am and immediately began to climb Standing Indian Mountain. Fortuantely the story that North Carolina trails are less steep than Georgia proved true all day today. That coupled with the cooler overcast day meant we could "fly" down the trail. We actually made it to our planned stealth campsite by 2:15pm. Too early to stop, so we decided to head to a shelter a little over 3 miles away. Unfortunately it was also a 1000 foot climb over Albert Mountain..the tallest mountain we have been over so far at 5250 feet. There was a fire tower at the top that gave grand views of the valley to the east. Made it to the shelter by 5pm.The photo I have included is of the privy at Standing Indian Shelter. We are finding ourselves enjoying the shelters (as long as we don't sleep IN them and have to contend with the mice!!). The shelters have a privy similar to the one in the picture. They use a aerobic process called "moldering" to digest the waste. After you "do your thing" you toss a handfull of forest mulch from a nearby bucket into the pivy. This keeps the smell down and inhances the waste breakdown process. Sure smells better than most Portapotties I've been in!!The shelters also have cables set up to hang your food out of the reach of bears...so we don't have to worry about finding that perfect limb to try to throw a rock with string over!! There is also always reliable water nearby. Lastly it is fun to socialize with the other hikers. Some are going the opposite direction on the trail so we "pick there brains" about what is ahead of us.Another milestone today...we passed the 100 mile mark! We are 1/4 of the way done...unfortunately we have used almost 1/3 of our planned time so we have to "kick it in gear" the rest of our hiking days in May.
Date: 2012-05-05
From: Big Spring Gap Shelter

To: Budget Inn, Franklin, NC
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 10: We made it to Franklin, NC for our first day of rest tomorrow. The day started by waking up to a windy, cool morning. The wind had picked up during the night but the low area we were camped in was fairly protected. We hit the trail at 7:45am and headed downhill for a change. After two climbs we arrived at Highway 64 at 12pm...the road to Franklin, NC. We had sent our 2nd food box to a motel in Franklin, the Budget Inn, that caters to hikers, including a shuttle service to/from the AT. We also made arrangements to stay at the motel. When we arrived at the highway one of our fellow hikers, Woolwine, had already called the motel for a shuttle so we just waited with her. In about 45 minutes Jerry showed up in his pickup and took the three of us to the Budget Motel arriving by 1:30pmThe picture is of Woolwine (aka Anne). We first met her 3 days ago at Plumorchard Gap Shelter. She was just heading out as we were arriving. We then stayed at the same shelters the last two nights. In the course of these times together we learned that she is a lawyer in Tennessee on a 6 month sabbatical and is hiking the AT as long as the weather permits. This is just one of several interesting people we have met along the way. There was Patrick from Panama City, FL, a software engineer who, altough he got a late start, is trying to hike the whole AT. The worldwide surfer who now is focusing on meditation and Budhism. The newlyweds that are hiking the trail as their honeymoon, trail names Honey and Mooner!! Since the guy was wearing a hiking kilt..it was appropriate that his trail name was "Mooner"!! and many others that were just section hikers...each with their own story why they were on the trail.Once we checked in and got our food box (yes it was here..2 food boxes down 4 to go!!), the first thing we did was to take showers...Wow did that feel good. Next ET got the laundry started while Spider headed off wearing his raingear (because that was the only thing not being washed) to the local McDonalds for a burger and milkshake...Mmmm! He brought a milkshake back to ET so she could savor the sweetness of civilization too. After watching the Kentucky Derby on TV we went to the local Roadhouse for steaks and wine/beer. Now we get to sleep in a bed...It's amazing how much we take for granted until we are on the trail for 10 days!!
Date: 2012-05-06
From: Budget Inn, Franklin, NC

To: Budget Inn, Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 11: This is our first "zero" day in hiker parlance...meaning no miles were hiked on the trail. We woke up around 7am and layed around for a while (Boy, what a luxury!!) Finally wandered down to McDonalds for breakfast...eggs and pancakes sure tasted good! We bought a couple things at the Dollar General then headed back to our room. Layed around, read the newspaper (not much has happened in the world in 10 days) and watched TV (Spider got his golf "fix"). We also made calls to various friends and family to catch up on what had happened in our absence.We also used this time to evaluate our bodies. We certainly feel stronger but are still relying on "Vitamin I" (a hiker euphemism for Ibuprofin) to mitigate the daily soreness. The trail lore is that we should expect to have our "trail legs" after 14 days of hiking...I hope so!!Both ET and I have a bad knee which we were a brace on. We we concerned about how they would fare..especially hearing about the number of people going off the trail in Georgia with knee and ankle problems...but our knees have done well so far. We have been fortunate that neither of us has developed any blisters on our feet. We have seen many other hikers fighting to continue to hike with blisters...It has to hurt!! The only sore spots we have is our hips and shoulders where the packpack sits. Hopefully those areas will toughen up as time goes on.Given the "green tunnel" getting sunburned hasn't been an issue. Our biggest issue has been the various biting insects. We both have quite a few red bumps on our arms and legs from these pests.However, overall we are happy with our physical health after 10 days on the trail and will be ready to hit the trail again tomorrow.Finally we went to dinner at the Roadhouse again since ET liked the winelist!! Back to the room to enjoy a bed for the last time for the next 10 days. All-in-all a very zero "zero day"!!
Date: 2012-05-07
From: Budget Inn, Franklin, NC

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

Day 12: The USA Today we read in Frankin had an article on strange town names in the US, e.g. Hell, Intercourse, etc. If they ever want to do an article on strange names for mountain gaps or passes we found one today that I would submit as an enrty...had to take a picture of it!! Wonder how it got its name? Is there a nudist colony nearby? I need to Google this one sometime!!We got up at 7am, took a shower (last one for a while!!) and finished most of our packing. Then headed to McDonalds for breakfast. On our return, Spider headed to the office to use the computer offered by the motel to check on the weather and inquire about the shuttle back to the AT. Weather was 30 percent chance of thundershowers today 60 percent tomorrow!! Lady at the desk said she wasn't sure when/if the shuttle would leave since their hiker "season" ended April 30...first I heard of that!! We finished packing and decided to sit outside our room to wait and see if the shuttle would run at 9am as the website said...or not. At 9am the lady came by to say the shuttle would be leaving in 30 minutes. At 9:45am the "shuttle" arrive...it was a red pickup...well it was transportation atleast. ET and I piled in the back along with 2 other hikers and away we went. Finally arrived back at the AT at 10:15am. At this point the driver introduced himself. He was Ron Haven owner of the Budget Inn...guess he moonlights as a shuttle driver too!!As with most gaps, the only way out of them is to climb out, so as we headed out on the AT from Winding Stair Gap, we began to climb. Fortunately, it was a gentle climb so we made good time. We wanted to make some miles today so instead of.taking a break every 1.5 hours, we did it every 2 hours. As we hiked the weather remained overcast and muggy. 60 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Finally around 4pm it began to sprinkle. Fortunately, it was short lived. Over the next couple of hours we were sprinkled on several times but never enough to make us put our raingear on. We finally arrived at the shelter at 6:50pm. Only one other person was here. We quickly set up the tent and prepared dinner before it got dark...We are on the trail again.
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Grassy Gap
Miles today: 14.6

Day 13: It started raining about 2:30am and continued on and off until about 6am. We got up at 6:30am to a cool, foggy morning. We packed up our stuff, had breakfast under the roof of the shelter and hit the trail at 8:30am. It was an eerie feeling walking down the trail only being able to see 50 feet each direction because of the fog. We also had to be really careful where we stepped because every root and rock were now slippery because of the rain. We had a couple of ups and downs then a long down of over 2500 feet to cross the Nantahala River. Fortunately the sun came out about noon.From looking ahead these long descents will a pattern that will repeat itself several times on the AT. Because the Appalachians are an old range they have been cut by a few rivers over time...so to cross these rivers we usually have to descend sveral thousand feet, cross the river on a bridge then ascend back up several thousand feet!!Animal sighting: As we walked down the foggy trail we came to a tortise walking up the trail. As we stepped over him, he didn't even pull his head in!!The nice thing about these river crossings is that there is usually a town our something there. In the case of the Nantahala there is the Nantahala Outdoor Center including a restaurant, outfitter and grocery store. Of course we had to stop at the grocery store a buy an ice cream bar for each of us. We then crossed the river via the pedestrian bridge..where I caught ET with that "I just had an ice cream bar" smile!!On the other side of the river we used the facilities to get some water and get rid of our trash. Then we started our climb back out of the valley. We finally arrived at our "stealth" campsite at 6:30pm after going 2.5 miles and climbing 1100 feet. We've had two relatively long days and our legs were happy to get to camp today.
Date: 2012-05-09
From: Grassy Gap

To: Brown Fork Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

Day 14: We awoke to an overcast cool morning. We packed up and hit the trail at 7:40am to continue our climb out of Nantahala Gorge. Within 15 mintues of being on the trail, it began to sprinkle. It soon turned to rain. We stopped and put on our rain jackets and pack covers. Soon the wind kicked up and the rain intensified...we were experiencing a real storm and the temperature was only 50 degrees...Brr. We continued to climb on the slippery trail until we had gained 3000 feet above where we crossed the Nantahala River yesterday. Then we dropped down to Sassafras Gap where there was a shelter. The trip down was particularly slippery, so we took it slowly. We decided to take refuge in the shelter from the storm for a little while. We found it occupied by 5 young meen who had stayed in the shelter overnight and were trying to wait out the storm. I took this picture of ET just after we got to the shelter.We changed into some warmer clothes, put on our rain pants and ET tried out her new gaiters. We heated up some water and had hot tea with our lunch. After an hour the storm showed no signs of letting up, so now warmed and fully geared up we stepped back on the trail at about noon. Many ups and down with some being fairly steep...and slippery.The rain finally stopped at about 4pm after raining almost continuosly for over 8 hours. Our raingear performed pretty well although it acted like a sauna when we would sweat on a steep climb!! The sun finally came out around 5pm...a delightful sight. We finally arrived at the shelter at about 6:40pm. The shelter is full...everyone, incuding us, want to make it Fontana Dam tomorrow.
Date: 2012-05-10
From: Brown Fork Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 15: We awoke to a clear, cool morning. The wind was blowing and it was 48 degrees.. We hit the trail at 7:50am. We had one serious climb them mostly downhill to the Fontana Dam area. The sky was clear and sunny the whole day...what a difference from yesterday!!As we passed through the marina area of Fontana Dam we self-registered to enter the Great Smokie Mountains National Park tomorrow. This will be different for us because we are required to sleep in the shelters while in the park. The only exception is if the shelter is full, then thru-hikers are allow to stay in their tents. We are not looking forward to the shelter..but we are looking forward to the Smokies!!After registering, we proceeded to the Fontana Dam Shelter. It's called the "Fontana Hilton" because it is one of the nicest shelters on the AT and includes free hot showers, bathrooms with plumbing and water faucets with potable water. Upon arriving at 4:15pm we immediately took a shower and did a little laundry at the same time!! Then we called a shuttle that is run by the Fontana Villiage Resort to take us to the resort. This is where we were to pick up our food box for the trip through the Smokies...and it was there!! We then visited their restaurant and ate some "regular" food. As the picture shows, we shared a table with a couple we met on the trail, Short 'n Sweet and Greybeard. They are hikers and also "trail angels" in Vermont since their house is right on the AT.We caught the shuttle back to the shelter. We are looking forward to seeing the Smokies but the weather forcast gets iffy starting Sunday. Hope the weatherman is wrong!
Date: 2012-05-11
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 16: We are finally in the Great Smoky Mountains. We got up, packed up and ate our breakfast which consisted of a muffin each that we had picked up at the Fontana Lodge last night. We had planned to hit the General Store and pick up so interesting things for breakfast, but it was closed by the time we got there...so we improvised by spotting the muffins and buying them.We hit the trail at 8:30am and walked down the road from the shelter to the Fontana Dam Visitors Center. That is where I took this picture of the Fontana Dam. Some info we found out about the dam is that it was built by the Tenneesee Valley Authority. It was built on the Little Tennessee River and is the largest dam east of the Rockies.After our pictures, we walked across the dam and began to climb out of the valley. As I have said in earlier posts, the disadvantage of dropping into the gorges/valleys and to towns, is that you have to climb back out. In this case we had to gain about 2900 feet. However since the trails in the Smokies allow horses (no where else on the AT!!) they are graded much more gently. That allowed us to keep a pretty good pace. We arrived at the shelter at 4:10pm. We set up our beds in the shelter and got water. Now we will see what it is like to sleep in a shelter!!
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Day 17: Happy Birthday to ET! ...and she only had to walk 12 miles to celebrate it! We woke up to a cold, blustery, overcast day. Our first night in an AT shelter was uneventful...no "mice" episodes! We hit the trail at 7:40am. The first half of the hike was reasonable ups and downs but the second half made us think we were back in Georgia...straight up and straight down the mountains! What happened to horse-friendly trails!! The wind never stopped blowing and the temperature never got above 50 degrees..Brrr.Animal sighting: Spider saw a wild turkey, unfortunately it was gone by the time ET got there.We finally arrived at the shelter 4:30pm. We found a back country ranger there. They are responsible for making sure everyone is obeying the rules around the shelters. Interesting guy to talk to. Had all kinds of stories about the backcountry and had also thru-hiked the AT several years ago, so had some good info on what is ahead.Spider had "smuggled" in a small bottle of wine, cheese and crackers and a birthday card for ET. So we had a little birthday celebration before dinner...in the middle of the Smoky Mountains!As we crawled into our sleeping bags, we saw a mouse run across the rafters! Uh oh..what will our second night in a shelter be like?
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Derrick's Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Day 18: Once again we were not bothered by any mice, but we were awakened at 4am by the sound of rain hitting the roof above us. We awoke to a rainy, windy, cold day..Darn we had hoped the weather forecasters were wrong! So we ate breakfast, put on our raingear and hit the trail at 7:45am. We had several major ups and downs to do including climbing over the high point of the AT, Clingman's Dome at 6643 feet. It's hard to hike in raingear even on a cool day. You get hot when you climb so you wear minimal clothing under the raingear, but then you get cold going downhill!As we climbed towards Clingman's Dome the trees switched from the deciduos forest we have been hiking in since Georgia, to a pine forest, it almost felt like we were back home hiking in the Sierras. When we arrived at Clingman's Dome observation area but no views because of the. rain.We took a break near Clingman's Dome and ET was able to get cell service so we called both our Moms to wish them Happy Mothers Day.It rained constantly all day and the ridges were very windy..not our favorite hiking weather! By the end of the day the trails were rivers of water in the steep areas and ponds in the flat areas. Needless to say we discovered that our waterproof boots...are not!!Major milestone: we passed the 200 mile mark today.We arrived at the shelter at 5:15pm. We strung rope inside the shelter and hung our wet/damp clothing on it hoping it will be somewhat dry when we have to put it back on in the morning.. Maybe the sun will be out!!
Date: 2012-05-14
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: moderate rain

Day 19: We awoke at 6am to a downpour of rain. It had rained most of the night. We were not looking forward to hiiking in the rain for another day. We got up, put on our wet clothes from the previous day, ate breakfast and hit the trail at 8:20am. Fortunately, the rain had stop by the time we left. We headed downhill on a trail that was still flowing with water.At the bottom of our descent, 4.6 miles later, we arrived at a road with roadside rest, complete with bathrooms...so we used them. Then we sat down to have our "first" lunch. Unwittingly we became a curiosity to all the tourists at the rest area and were bombarded with questions about the AT. We finally tore ourselves away 45 minutes later and got back on the trail.The trail now climbed up to a razar-sharp ridge and began to follow it. It was eerie walking a trail that was only 18 inches wide that dropped quickly off on both sides..especially when all we could see was fog both directions. Too bad..on a clear day we would have had magnificent views.With no additional rain, the trail dried up fairly quickly..until 2pm when we heard a boom of thunder and it began to rain. So on with the raingear again and slogging on a flooded trail! The rain lasted 2 hours..enough to get us thoroughly wet.We finally arrived at our destination shelter at 6:30pm. Once again we strung some line and hung up our wet clothes.I should mention something about the shelters in the Smokies. They are a step up to most the shelters we have seen so far. They are made of wood and stone and always have a fireplace. They have spots for 12-14 people to sleep and a separate cooking area. Given the weather we have been expieriencing, the shelters have worked well for us..and no mice problems yet!One of the hikers in the shelter said that the weather is supposed to be nice the next couple of days...we hope so!! Unfortunately, as I write this it is raining outside!!