morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-01-05
From: jerry's cabin 

To: spring mt shelter
Miles today: 15.4

As cold as it was, i actually slept really well. i wore my jacket in my bag and was hot at one point. i woke up feeling fresh and ready to go. the hike out was beautiful. i mentioned to butters i wish we could have a view above the trees so i could take a picture of the ice covered tree tops. right around the corner i got my wish. it was like the bigalows in maine. you come up one hill and can see the other. then you dip down in between and come up on the other side to look back. it was perfect. i then mentioned to butters it'd be nice to meet some college girls at the next shelter. no luck with that one. we got below the snow today. i actually walked on dirt for the first time in days. the shelter we are at isn't covered in snow! i tried to make a fire, but all the wood is frozen. it was so close, but nothing big would catch. there was quite alot of day hikers. one had a pack on bigger than mine. what could you possible carry on a day hike to take up that much room? i checked the maps, i still don't think i'm up to 20's with my ankle. i planned from hot spring through the smokies to take 6 nights. so i'll pack that. if i feel up to a 20 one day there is multiple places i could. other wise i'm sticking to 15s till i'm past fontana dam. it'll only put me a day or two later than doing 20's and it would suck to push to hard on my ankle and mess it up again. i just need to find more books to kill the down time in shelters.
Date: 2013-01-06
From: spring mt shelter

To: Hot springs
Miles today: 11.0

The shelter last night was horrible. i think hanks down the worst one i've stayed at. there was trash every where, the water source was a mud puddle, and the mice came in hordes. before it was even dark i had one run across my foot. butters took over the traps cause he had more on his side. he killed two in one go. then we got 4 more. but there was still enough to keep me up all night running around. half way through the night it started to rain and the shelter leaks. we hiked out this morning in a fog fit for the zombie apocalypse. me an butters debated zombie survival strategies for most of the morning. we were nearly in town when i recognized city slikers tent. i yelled his name and he came out. we all went to the smokie mountain dinner for lunch. city had called golden eye and she was coming up. we are all at a hostel now. i'm glad she came in, she gave us a ride to a real grocery store. they said resupply in fontana was iffy at best so i got extra food and i'm gonna mail it to myself in fontana. i spent to much money today. city's check didn't clear so i bought his lunch for him and a few other things. he said he'd get me back tomorrow. i believe him. the last guy i lent money to i knew i wasn't getting that back. but city is good for it. luckily the hostel has a computer and i'm all caught up with journals again. i have no idea when i'll get to do them again. it may be after i finish.
Date: 2013-01-07
From: Hot springs

To: Hot springs
Miles today: 0.0

decided to take a zero day instead of the planned 3 miles. it was a gorgeous warm day and nice to jut sit in the sun. also we have alot of town chores and didn't wanted to be rushed. i called a few people;. i started making solid plans for reentry to the world. i said i would be back to work on the 28th. that'll give me about a week off to unwind and visit every one i haven't seen in over 5 months. Through the magic of facebook and thanks to robs big albums of every hiker who has ever stayed with him, i was able to talk with alot of the people i went north with. i never got any of their real names, but Rob's book has all that. i wrote them down before i left. i found a couple books at the hostel. i'm gonna carry out 3. i refuse to be bookless again. get to a shelter at 2 and twiddle my thumbs for 6 hours before bed. No MORE! we made plans with city's friend with the lodge for either firday or saturday. when ever we get there really, no rush. luckily city doesn't drink on trail cause right now he's had a few and hasn't stopped talking since 5 this evening. i'd kill him after two days if he were this chatty all the time. but on trail he's quiet and reserved. i talked with elvis, he's a few days behind but catching up now. he's with blue berry, angry german and green thumb. so plus me and city, there's five SOBOs left. which is actually more than i thought there would be.
Date: 2013-01-08
From: Hot springs

To: Walnut mtn shelter
Miles today: 13.1

It's another beautiful day. eagle eye made us pan cakes and eggs. we did a last stop at the post office so city could send something. the entire days was up hill. hot springs is at 1300 feet and bluff mountain is is 4600 feet up up and farther up still. since i'm carrying so much food it was harder than normal. i met two section hikers early on who said they were coming to the shelter. they never made it. but another section hiker named Chrissy came in shortly after me. she's just getting into hiking and is so enthusiastic. it's refreshing. we talked a ton. i showed her how to make a fire. told her the tricks to stay warm. all the stuff other people along time ago showed me. its fun to pass it on. when i first started, the nobos said to bottle up some of my enthusiasm and save it for later on down the trail. seeing her like makes me happy to still be out. the hike today was nice. not many views but you could see through the trees in alot of places. today was the first day my ankle didn't hurt. i had no pain at all. WONDERFUL!!! but my mouse trap failed today. i killed 25 with a single trap. it's had a good life and caused much happiness to the hikers.
Date: 2013-01-09
From: Walnut mtn shelter

To: Groundhog creek shelter
Miles today: 13.1

3 hours after we went to bed, 3 horrible loud teenagers decided to have a 45 minute talk including singing right outside the shelter while they were trying to decide what to do. at 6 a clock this morning i was singing stomping around. i even put on music as loud as my phone would go. they came out bleary eyed but said nothing. i made plans to hike with Chrissy some time later. she runs a llama train up into the smokies for the lodge we are staying at. that sounds like a ton of fun. the first part of the day was uneventful. i had a day hiker warm me about the smokies even though its 60 degrees and we are only 10 miles from them. went over max patch today and got my first glimpse of the smokies. they look big and like a ton of fun. it sprinkled off an on after lunch but nothing major. i got to the shelter and actually took a nap. that's rare for me. i was reading and then city showed and it was two hours later. i don't even remember putting my book down. it's supposed to rain tomorrow. but thats ok when it's this warm out. city emailed his friend and said ti would be better if we got to the lodge on sunday. 40 miles in 4 days. normally that would kill me but i'm gonna enjoy the final part of my hike. my ankle feels great, but the boots hurt after 13 miles. i think i'm gonna wear my camp shoes unless there is snow. just carry the boots. my camp shoes are runners anyway.
Date: 2013-01-10
From: Groundhog creek shelter

To: Davenport gap shelter
Miles today: 10.5

it was supposed to rain today but it never did. it was insanely hot today though. 70 degrees. when you are used to 30 and it jumps to that and you have on your 30 degree clothing it's unbearable. i sat down on a climb today panting and pouring sweat. if there had been a big creek at this shelter i'd of dunked my head in. i was talking to some of my nobo friends and they asked how i stand the cold. i ak how they stand the heat. i didn't see anyone other than city today. i'm betting with this weather we'll see a few in the smokies. i was kinda disappointing. there wasn't even a sign saying entering the smokies. i wanted to take a picture of it and the lack of snow in January. if the stories i've heard were for the past thousand miles were true, i should be up to my chest in snow right now. after such a big deal made about the smokies i've been hoping for weather like this. not cause i didn't want snow, thats beautiful and a challenging fun hike. but because i wanted to tell people just cause you hear something, doesn't mean its always true. everyone knows the smokies get alot of rain and snow at times, but it's not always the case. right now i'm in the smokies and January with no snow on the ground and i'm wearing shorts. this may be a freak week, but they do still happen.
Date: 2013-01-11
From: Davenport gap shelter

To: cosby knob shelter
Miles today: 7.1

It started to rain last night. not to bad, just a drizzle. we hung out for awhile and in a break i set off. just an uneventful day really. got to the shelter before the major rain started. we said we'd decide what to do when we got here. tri corner knob is supposed to be "soggy" so we made a super short day. my back pack finally weighs a respectable amount. i still resent my boots unless there is snow. i'll never wear boots again. trail runners are so much better. a section hiker came in but left. it's bad when the section hikers go further than us. but we still have two days till we are supposed to be at leconte. i keep hearing good things about it. it rained off an on. i tried to make a fire but everything is so wet. i'm excited for the lodge, but i'm ready to move again. the cray heat has screwed up the bugs. i got bit by a mosquito today. and at the shelter i saw a honey bee buzzing around. a few other kinds of bugs. they are about 3 months to early though. i haven't seen a bug in two months.
Date: 2013-01-12
From: cosby knob shelter

To: pecks corner shelter
Miles today: 12.9

woke up early and was just about to head out when it stated to rain. i pulled my stove back out and made another pot of coffee. there was a bunch of section hikers. the weather has called for "am" showers. at 11:59 the sun came out. it was kinda funny. i have never seen so many springs just bursting out of rocks. there were so many. they just bubbled out at over 6000 feet. they cut the trail and went off down the mountain. i had a glimpse through the trees of the clouds clinging to the mountains like smoke. it was really pretty but i couldn't get a good picture. at the shelter i h9ink i met my first nobo of the year. but he says he started in October and he hasn't even made it 250 miles. he's a bit off. he's carrying his food in grocery bags on his arms and has his sleeping pad strung around his shoulders. luck to him. the spring at the shelter is a gushing rock. it's cool to see that much water bubbling from the ground. i didn't even bother with a fire. as wet as it is there's no sense. gonna be an early night i think.
Date: 2013-01-13
From: pecks corner shelter

To: leconte lodge
Miles today: 13.2

so the off guy last night turned out to be legit crazy. talks to himself and thrashing around around violently in his bag. got up in the middle of the night walking around and talking to himself. muttering incoherently. a few words i could make out and none of it sounds happy. i slept knife in hand sleeping bag unzipped. if city wasn't there with me i'd of left at midnight. theres no way i'd of stayed by myself with him. i slept terrible. as soon as it was early enough to b e up, i was up. city had the same opinion. we wanted out and away. we were gone by 7. "i later found out that this was the guy who died in the smokies two days later. they found him dead in the tri corner knob shelter. i do not know what happened, but this poor man was off his medication." the hiking was easy but i was tired from the lack of sleep. i stopped at all the vies to take pictures. i took the 5 1/2 mile side trail to leconte. it was nice trail but had a couple of bad trees down. the clouds moved in. i hope tomorrow will be better. the trail is supposed to be really pretty. we got to the lodge which is actually about 10 building close together. JP gave us a ton of food and said to help our selves to the kitchen. blue berries, oranges, cheese, wine. lasagna. it was great. city started drinking and started talking. he never shuts up when he's drinking and it gives me a head ache. he's great when he's not drinking though. i'll leave him tomorrow. he's going into town for a package. i'll be sad to see him off, but i want to start moving normal again. i think i'm good for it nol i'm gonna attempt a 20 tomorrow. hopefully it'll go well.
Date: 2013-01-14
From: leconte lodge

To: Double spring gap shelter
Miles today: 19.0

If i was to say i were wet, i'd feel like i were lying. not because i'm ot wet, it just does so little to justify how soaked i am. everything is wet. my journal, my sleeping bag, my spare clothes, some of my food, my medicine bag, my hair, me. everything is wet. i had trash bags, dry bags and ziplocks. but it only does so much when it pours all day. just pouring. never slacks up. then then the wind drives it in for extra measure. i've worked on creeks for my summer job with less flow than what was coming down the trail. it ws knee deep at times. as city would say, "there's a little trail in that creek" i'm glad there is a big empty shelter. i have stuff spread out all over the place. i have the damp stuff in my sleeping bag hoping to dry it out. my hiking clothes are on a clothes line, "which is wet" but theres no hope for them at all. i rung my shorts out while i was wearing them just by squatting. some one once said, you can be cold, wet, and miserable or you can be cold and wet. as negative as this entry is i kinda find it funny. everything is so wet! i'm just glad its warm. if it were like this a week and a half ago i would probably die tonight. i really hope tomorrow is better. two days of this downpour would be kinda horrible. Also before i left the lodge, jp said to raid the kitchen. i'm stocked up with awesome food now.
Date: 2013-01-15
From: Double spring gap shelter

To: Mollies ridge shelter
Miles today: 19.2

It rained all day again. just ridiculous amounts of rain. it soaks through everything. even in vermont when it rained every day i wasn't this wet. up there it would rain, stop rain again, stop again. now it's just constant. it's never big rain, just constant. i waited till 10 to leave. i figure if i'm gonna be soaked, might as well let it warm up. i met the first nobo today. i decided not to count the crazy guy. his name was joe and i didn't think till just after a multitude of names for him. alpha, ground breaker, crazy. o well i didn't see anyone else till i got to the shelter. george had a freaking fire going! the most amazing beautiful thing i have ever seen on a rainy dreary day. some one had left a ton of wood in the shelter before the rain started. i'm gonna try and dry out my shorts and leggings at least. i wore my rain pants today, that worked pretty well for the first two hours. after that onslaught nothing is water proof. i am very displeased with these boots. they aren't even slightly waterproof. every time i kick a stick a new spot opens up. i haven't even put 200 miles on these and they are full of holes. and they don't even attempt to dry, even when slightly wet. i noticed that a few days ago, just a little damp should dry, but not these. now that they are soaked, i figure it'l be days before they are dry. even if the sun comes out. also holy crap 2000 miles down, only change left.
Date: 2013-01-16
From: Mollies ridge shelter

To: cable gap shelter
Miles today: 17.6

This morning it was only raining a little. because of the amazing fire my clothes were mostly dry. the section hiker geroge hiked out before me and i caught up and walked a while with him. he talks, but does not listen. when we got to fontana dam, he offered to take me into a bigger town for food. BOJANGLES FRIED CHICKEN! the two of us got the tail gate party bucket. While i was at the post office getting my package i had sent to my self i was talking to the lady about about the weather. when i came out my pack and boots weren't in the back seat where i left them. goerge said sorry dude i couln't do it. i had to put them in the trunk. they smelt pretty ripe and apparently chased him out of his car. after that i took a shower. a shelter with a shower. thats the good stuff. i hiked on though. tomorrow is supposed to be sleeting rain and miserable. and i wanted a smaller day into the NOC. no one else here tonight and it's to wet for a fire. i finished my book, but i picked up another one yesterday. the 2000 mile long book exchange continues.
Date: 2013-01-17
From: cable gap shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 22.1

22 miles by lunch! woke up early and was out before 6 in the dark. i knew the worse of the weather was gonna hit after lunch. i still got pretty wet, but i avoided the down pour. no views and no reason to stop. the NOC is amazing. a guy offered me a job at the outfitter. if i could work out a summer schedule i may look into it.at lunch i started talking with the waiter and he started bringing me free food. Sweet! i sat there for a while reading a book and he came back and says to come back at 530, someone paid for my dinner. SWEET! i go do laundry and take a shower. at the outfitter i started talking with Jane who plans to thru next year. i met her for dinner, turns out she's the one who bought my dinner. then she said i could come down when ever to Florida to here beach house. SWEET!!! as soon as i got here good thing after good things keeps happening. There is a hiker thing here this weekend, and my friend josh who hiked last year is gonna try and come camp with me tomorrow night. then katerine is coming out saturday. leon is picking me up monday. then i finish on friday. 7 more days. it hit me today that this is finally closing to an end. it's seems so far away for so long and it just hit me. i planned out my last week. i started going though all my pictures and looking back on this trip. 5 months today. it's been more than i ever cold of hoped for. and the next 6 days are sunny!!!!!!
Date: 2013-01-18
From: NOC

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 16.4

I was all kinds of happy today. first off it's sunny. not a cloud in the sky. second i got to make the coffee this morning so it wasn't the watered down stuff like normal at the hostels. it was thick. leon would of been proud. then the "terrible winter storm" that some guy said i should just go ahead and plan a zero cause it was gonna be "a foot of snow". it dropped an inch. and only at the higher elevation. which is perfect. you can see all the rocks, it doesn't bog you down and it makes everything pretty and white. i was just dancing and singing and loving this hike. the final week is all good weather. it was cold and crisp. way better than the 60 muggy stuff in the smokies. i called elvis. that group is in hot springs and has great weather for the smokies. i'm gonna finish a week ahead of them, so i'm gonna come back and do magic for them if i can. it's just been a great day. good trail. i was in no rush today so i did multiple blue blazes to views and an observation tower. the tops of the mountain are all dusted white and for the first time in what seems like a thousand miles, the view didn't have a city in it. it hasn't been this remote since maine. josh hasn't got in yet, but he said it'd be after dark, so i'm still up waiting. also the second nobo is here. he talks and listens.
Date: 2013-01-19
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Big spring shelter
Miles today: 20.1

At the NOC i asked the lady at the office if the road to wayah bald was open so josh could drive up. she said it was, but when he got there it was gated. he texted that he wasn't gonna make it but he'd leave some "liquid ethanol" aka beer at the next shelter by the road. there was more people on the trail today than i've seen all the past month. no idea why. but there were groups ever where. i say 8 dogs! i met one fella who taught at my school back in the 70's. i wonder if he taught my mom. i'll have to ask. right before i got to the road i found katherine. first familiar face since my family came up a month ago. and she had chocolate milk!! we went into franklin and got a little extra food. i just need breakfast since leon is picking me up in two days. it was alot of fun to hike with katherine. she nobo'd in 2011. i met her in deep gap shelter while i was on spring break. she said she wasn't sure if she was gonna keep up with me, but to tell the truth i was struggling to keep up with her. she was flying up the hills. i'm glad i have other thru hiker friends who live close by. have someone to reminisce with when i'm done. we found the beer josh had left and a bunch of snacks. we stayed up to late talking, but it's been so long since i've seen someone i knew before the trail. i convinced her to stay another two days since she didn't have class. on a side note, i'm done with these boots. they hurt. i changed into my camp shoes and did half the day in them. i'm done with boots.
Date: 2013-01-20
From: Big spring shelter

To: muskrat creek shelter
Miles today: 19.3

me and katherine climbed to the top of albert mt and she checked her phone. she forgot she had said she would cover a shift at work tomorrow. so she wasn't going to be able to stay another night. that sucks. but she'll be back out friday with a bunch of my other friend for when i finish. i was tired today. i haven't really slept the past week it seems.the trail was nice and the snow patchy. with out those horrible boots my feet didn't hurt as much. my right ankle started hurting yesterday from the boots, it gave me a little trouble today. i have less than a hundred miles left! i'm stoked. i read in the log book a few months back, all the sobo's kept talking about springer fever and that they were night hiking to get there sooner. i think if anything i've slowed down. i'm stopping at more views, talking to more people. i'm enjoying my final week. it's back to normal life next monday. so i'm gonna take in a much as possible. i've been reflecting alot recently. looking back at all the good times and thinking about the people i've hiked with. bebop and rock steady, privy inspector, dirty d and bunny and shortterm and eva, pillow talk and 70% and fire fox, rocket, birdman, patrick and butters, merry, magpie and scarecrow, hobo. all the section hikers and the people in towns. the trail angles like greg, jz and lauren. it really is the peopl that make this hike what it is. i'm so glad i got to meet all these people. they made my hike what it is.
Date: 2013-01-21
From: muskrat creek shelter

To: Check station
Miles today: 11.8

it was cold last night. even zipped all the way up i was a littly chilly. i got up an out in good time. i think i was excited for my last state line and to finally be back in georgia. back in familiar trail. i was practically jogging today. i picked up my last rock. i now have one from every state plus the 2000 miler rock. they have really added up! once i got to bly gap i remembered every thing from past hikes. it's great. i nearly ran past a large group. they said it was MLK day. thats why there were so many people this weekend. i got to dicks chinese creek gap and got in the warm sun. leon came about 15 minutes later and we got c buffet. it's great to see him. so many familiar things. i got groceries and took a shower at work. then went o leons house for dinner. his 5 year old is so cute and gave me a hug before i left. we told her i had walked across the country and lived in the woods and she flat out did not believe me. we had deer meat BBQ and it was amazing. between that and the chinese i've had 7 plates off food today. i don't put it on the stuffed list though. they were interested to hear about my trip and may have talked to much. i'm glad leon got to pick me up. had i been a day later he'd of been in south georgia working on a controlled burn. i'm staying at the check station where i live during the summers. it still smells the same. but leon said i smelt to bad for the couch.