morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-28
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: US 19 (NOC)
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 15 -- Slept pretty well last night and awoke to an overcast morning. We all got up knowing we needed to get to NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) by a certain time for our ride. All 7 of us ended up leaving camp together and traveling the 3.6 miles down to Tellico Gap together. It was pretty motivating. After that, though, was a huge climb up to Wesser Bald and we spread out some. I talked with Mouth on the way up and that helped time pass. We passed Troutbum and when we got to the top we couldn't see a thing, so we didn't even climb the tower. Soon after that we caught up to Top Hat and then I felt a pull in my left heel again and slowed, losing the guys. I stopped, took more Advil, had a snack, and put on my pack cover, since it was sprinkling. Mouth whooped for me to see if I was okay, which I really appreciated. I later caught up to them and Wing It, and we hiked the rest of the day together. I took a few diggers (fell) and people were slipping a lot, so we decided to rest/snack for a few minutes. We made it to NOC around 1:30ish and tried to get our act together. Originally we were going to shower/launder at NOC while waiting for our ride, but we decided to get a motel room and do that there in Franklin. We hung out at NOC at the picnic tables and a couple of hours later our limo pulled up. It was a funny sight, 8 (Stripe came off the trail and wanted to join us) funky smelling hikers and their packs stuffing into a limo. Ms. Cathy, from Starlite Limousine/Shuttle Services, got us some music to listen to and we thoroughly enjoyed our ride to Franklin (see video below). We set up at the Franklin Motel, got showers, did landry, shopped, and when all was finished we found Cafe REL (I had a Philly cheesesteak). On our way out we saw Hotwheels and Corly who said the Bash had fizzled out, but some of us wanted to check it out anyway. So to the Sapphire Inn we went and I met Machete and Slap Happy and saw Ron, KTR, Fisherman Fred, Tie Dye, and T Bone (formerly Juice). There was hiker talent (guitar, banjo, harmonica, etc.), lots of fun conversations, catching up, and meeting new people. Ron got us a ride back and we ended up beating those who were walking back. We plan to zero tomorrow to hang out at the Bash.Video:
Date: 2008-03-29
From: US 19 (NOC)

To: Hiker Bash (Franklin)
Miles today: 0.0

Day 16 -- We slept in this morning and headed over to Miller's Restaurant for breakfast--great local food, nice people, French toast and restaurant-rolled sausage patties! After filling ourselves up with fresh food, some of us wandered over to the Rattskellar and hung out waiting for the internet. While waiting, I played checkers with Wing It and Mainiac played Mancola with Fire, and we used our phones to check in with people. I enjoyed the e-mails and journal guest book entries and hope everyone understands that I have limited time for replying. We came back and hung out for a while...I showered and when I came out I saw Kong walking by, so when I finished combing my hair I went out and found Wing It outside with him and Solo. Turns out today was their third day in Franklin nursing injuries. They gave Wing It and I a cool drawing of a peanut with wings--it's us together--WingNut. (Many people have called her that.) Eventually we got hungry so we and Grasshopper and Stripe strode on over to the Rattskellar again, got food, and hung out for hours. Grasshopper and I played chess--intense game! A lot of fun. On the way home we stopped at the ice cream store across the street--it's only been open three weeks...I think it was called Peppermint Patti's. I got a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream, fudge cool whip, and a cherry...fantastic! My first ice cream since before Lent. We hung out for a while at the motel and then we got a ride to the Sapphire for the Hiker Bash. We saw Solstice and Equinox there, who we haven't seen since he got off becuase of a hurt ankle, had nice converstions with KTR, FisherFred, and Equinox. I met Baltimore Jack, Bear Paw, and the woman formerly known as Aimless--I can't remember her new name. Most of the hikers we saw/met that are currently hiking got off at Winding Stair Gap, so we won't see them again for a while since we got off at NOC. When we got back I stayed with Kong and Solo to free up space in the motel room since we squished so many in our room. We watched Spiderman and tried to sleep with all the people outside and then some lady pounding on a nearby door about 2:30 a.m. about someone owing her money.
Date: 2008-03-30
From: Franklin Motel

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 17 -- As I had asked, Grasshopper came and woke me up. Turns out Miller's isn't open on Sunday, so we packed and waited for Ms. Cathy to pick us up with the limo. She drove us to McDonald's to pick up breakfast and then dropped us back off at the NOC. What a great deal! A fun ride with a really nice lady. She was very friendly and helpful. We hung there for a bit, and struggled up the mountain. We knew it was going to be pretty steep almost the entire way. It helped knowing ahead of time and the climb wasn't too bad. Yeah, we felt the burn, but it was all good. Wing It and I seemed to tail Mouth and Top Hat most of the way, which also helps me. Maybe it's some form of positive peer pressure to keep going. At one point we heard Mouth and Top Hat yell and couldn't believe we were already at the shelter spur. Q, Adam, Bahama Dave, and Brad were already there. Foghorn, Sean, and Austin came in later and Hotwheels, Shutterbug and Corly came in even later...big crowd--this shelter can handle it...we'll see about tomorrow! I'm ready for bed already and it's not even dark. I hope I sleep better/more tonight than last night. I guess that's what happens in town--stay up late (because of artificial light) and still wake up with the sun.
Date: 2008-03-31
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 18 -- I slept very well last night and sure didn't want to get up this morning, especially because we could hear drops on the shelter roof. When I peeked out of my sleeping bag, it was still all foggy out. Everyone was up and out pretty quick, with a few stragglers, including me. I ended up starting out on my own and really enjoyed it. I actually caught up to Mouth and Wing It. I wasn't even trying because I was so far behind. Soon after we stopped at Stecoah Gap for lunch with the picnic tables I ate and jetted becase I was cold and it was drizzling. A few miles in I stopped at Brown Fork Gap Shelter for water and privy use (no walls on this one!) and on the way out Shutterbug, Hot Wheels, Corly, Foghorn, Sean, and ___ were coming in to stay the night. Since I stopped in, I ended up at the back of the pack solo most of the rest of the day. I got into camp and met Sprite and Mizzie and ate. As we came in, we spot Top Hat sitting in a high back wicker? chair, which, it turns out, he carried in a few miles from the road. Oh, the things we do to get to sit in a chair with a back! Right beind us came Marathon, who just finished 22ish miles. He's planning on finishing by the Fourth of July. WOW! We hung out, ate a lot, and rested our exhausted bodies. "Challenges come so we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle now. When we face our challenges with faith, prepared to learn, willing to make changes, and if necessary, to let go, we are demanding our power to be turned on." -Iyanla Vaneant
Date: 2008-04-01
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Birch Spring Gap
Miles today: 12.5

Day 19 -- Woke up to Marathon packing and by the time he was out, most of us were stirring. It was still raining as we all packed up, but by the time I headed out, it was clearing out. I started out alone and Grasshopper passed me as I was trying to warm up my feet. I caught up to him later but he took off after a while. My heel was really bothering me (a co-hiker says it's my Achilles) and my morale was pretty low...I was hoping for some company. After a while I could see Fontana through the trees and soon after, Mainiac came by. I stuck with him for a while and it made me forget about my heel, but it didn't last long. I lagged behind and didn't see him again until the Marina. I got my back country permit and headed on. I was so tired, was alone, and couldn't wait to get to where everyone else was. I exited the woods and followed the road to a little picnic area where Mainiac's family brought us lunch. I was on the verge of tears approaching so I held back to suppress them. I wasn't really in pain, just discomfort. I was feeling alone and tired. We ate and his family took us to the Post Office and store. When we got back it was decided that we were going to hike further, which I was against. I really wanted to stay put, but everyone wanted to move on and it was more important for me to stick with the group, so I went along with it. Once we got on the other side of Fontana Dam we entered the Smokies and climbed 2,000 feet. It was really tough with all the new food weight. I was really struggling, especially with my morale still being so low. I cried a bunch of the way up. While stopped for a snack, Beau flew by us (met him at the Post Office earlier). We moved on to find some of the guys sitting 200 ft. further, over a hill at the bottom of a side trail to the fire tower. On the advice of everyone we headed up--great views, especially of the thunderstorm that was blowing in. We scooted down the steps, and hightailed it towards camp, but got rained on anyway. It's amazing how fast I could move in the rain--all the craziness the rain brings chased away all those negative/low morale thoughts. Luckily though it slowed and then stopped as we pulled in and set up our tents. Hell on Bad Wheels was already there as well as Beau and the rest of our group. Over dinner, mileage for tomorrow was discussed--11 or 17.1--Wing It wanted to go the 17.1--I hope I can make that.
Date: 2008-04-02
From: Birch Spring Gap

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 20 -- Just before bed last night Wing It and I decided we would attempt the 17.1 miles as opposed to the 13ish. Most of the guys were intending on it and we were willing to try it to stick with them. If we couldn't do it we would just stay at the shelter before it at 13ish miles. As we started out, we passed Grasshopper and Top Hat enjoying a view and making a phone call and then ran into Jed, one of the ridge runners who said there was a good chance of rain the next two days and that the six miles before our destination is the toughest in the Smokeys. We decided to go for it so we could do those tough miles in good weather. We stopped at every shelter to rest/eat. Grasshopper passed us and at most shelters, we got to see him and Stripe at the end of their breaks. At lunchtime we met Bag Lady and we fueled up for the upcoming trail. It was steep up, steep down, repeat, and with 11 miles already logged in for the day and too much food in the pack, the journey was tough. But we made it by 6:30ish and were welcomed with some screaming and hollering and returned it. We were so glad to be finished for the day and are NOT planning on doing that high mileage again for a little bit. We are very thankful the others are planning on a 13 mile day tomorrow because that's as far as we were going to go. Beau made it here earlier too, but is planning a 20 miler tomorrow, so we won't get to hang with him again. :>(As soon as I got to camp I set up my tent to dry and did all the camp chores. By the time I was finished, everyone was in bed. I didn't even get everyone's name!
Date: 2008-04-03
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

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

Day 21 -- Tossed and turned a lot last night but was plenty warm from my bag and the people on both sides of me. Woke up to crazy fog. One by one people got up and got ready to go. We knew there was a good chance of rain today, so we all had our rain gear on or nearby. I felt very strong today, which was a nice change. The last two days were tough for me, but today I felt good. Wing It, though, was not feeling great at all. It's a good thing our bad days are usually on different days, so we can help each other out. There were a couple of shelters along the way again today, so we used them for breaks and to get out of the rain and wind. The Brothers and Maniac stopped at the same time, so we had good company. Mainiac was there when we reached Clingman's Dome and we walked to the top together, then headed 0.5 down to the bathrooms because I had to go, but we were also looking for running water, which it didn't have. We hiked back up to the room under the ramp to eat. It smelled pretty nasty, so we didn't stay long. I felt tired after lunch, but it still wasn't too bad. We were glad when we reached the shelter so we could get warm and dry. Everyone was in their bags when we arrived, and we pretty much stayed that way. Oh yeah, Wingfeet and Danger Danjo are staying in the shelter, too.
Date: 2008-04-04
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 22 -- No one really wanted to get out this morning, except the three getting off and going to Gatlinburg, because we knew it wasn't going to be a fair weather day. We hiked 4.5 mi. to Newfound Gap where we took advantage of flush toilets and trail magic from Corkscrew (Gatorade and chocolate moon pies). This is where Chelle took Sarai and I when we visited so I was thinking of them then. I called home and wished my Mom a happy birthday and we headed up. Wing It, Grasshopper and I made great time climbing out of the gap and we lunched at Icewater Spring Shelter. After lunch was the longest 7.5 miles I've hiked this trip. It was also the most beautiful. Storms/clouds were rolling in and Wing It, Grasshopper and I stopped at Charlie's Bunion, a beautiful rock outcropping, and hung out there for a while. I slowed down significantly after that and we lost Grasshopper. Soon after, it started raining off and on, almost as if it couldn't decide, as Wing It said. My feet were feeling the dampness of the socks and boots from the day before and my pack seemed a lot heavier. It started pouring and the afternoon just drug on for me. I just wanted to be at the shelter so I could take off my boots. We came across Danger Danjo later and we figured we were pretty close. We all picked up speed at the thought of a warm, dry shelter. I was feeling pretty crappy by now and couldn't wait to get water and change into dry clothes. Tonight we shared the shelter with Marco, Crush, Chris and Scott. With all the guys inside, I changed outside of the shelter, under the covering (hoping no new hikers came by). Inside I took my socks off to dry my feet and got quite a response. My feet were SO wrinkled people were worried, and to tell you the truth, so was I. Fire set me up with alcohol pads and a place by the fire and Danger Danjo gave me some powder. I'm pretty nervous and worried about tomorrow and the next day especially...how far will I be able to go? Will I have to fall behind my new friends because of this?
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

Day 23 -- Marko, Chris, and Scott left before we were even up, but that's not saying much sincewe slept in this morning. When I woke up, Grasshoppertold me that Marko left us a notenaming us the Bloodhound Gang, because we are fast enough (high mileage) tokeep up and we smell so bad and are so loud, it's easy to spot us. I'm not sureif it will stick within the group, but we'll see. I certainly didn't want to goanywhere because I was pretty scared about my feet and hiking. We putzed aroundfor a long time and didn't get out of camp until 11a.m.! Fire and Mainiac were ahead of us but the restof the group was together all day. On the way out of camp, we met Austin on theway in--guess he was going to lunch there. We made great time to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter for lunchand met Dirty Harry there. He waswaiting for his group, all of whom were going to stay there for the eveing. As we were cleaning up, Seanand Foghorn rolled in, followed by Moss and Knuckles, all of whom we hadn't seen in a couple of days.The afternoon went by pretty fast, with lots of talking and singing. As we gotcloser, my feet started giving me trouble, but luckily not as bad as yesterday.We made it to the shelter just as it started pouring. We had been lucky to havehad a relatively dry day. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow--hopefully we candry our stuff.   We shared ashelter with Austin and Lauren, two elementary school teacherswho were out for the weekend, a male section hiker, Marko, and Danger Dan.   (Note: We want to thank Wing-It! for generously sharingpictures of Peanut and others on the trail. Wing-It!'s pictures are in the "Photos" section on thisjournal all under the date of April 05,2008. They aren't captionedyet - Peanut will have to do that in the Fall - Thanksagain Wing-It!)
Date: 2008-04-06
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hiking Hostel
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 24 -- We actually woke up to clear skies this morning and a beautiful sunrise (see the pictures). Wing It and I didn't start out until late because it took me so long to get my feet treated and ready to go, plus I was afraid of what my feet are going to look like at the end of the day. We finally got going after chatting with Allison and Lauren. Wing It and I did well with the morning ups and then we did the 0.6 side trail to Mt. Camerer Outlook (see video below) --gorgeous! We were above the clouds, and some of the mountaintops were sticking up out of them. It was like being in a plane, only lower and my own two feet got me there! At the top we met Mouth, Marko, Danger Danjo, and Top Hat. The rest of the morning to Davenport Gap was downhill. We passed the guys, except Danger Danjo. On our way down around a ridge, Danger alerted us to a deer eating on the side of the trail, and another one came by, too. We continued down to the Gap and then to the road that leads to Standing Bear Farm Hiking Hostel to resupply and get Wing It's box and hopefully some burgers or other real food. Well, it turned into an overnighter. My feet are happy! We hung out, ate lots of frozen pizza, sat around the fire, listening to music, singing blues with Mouth playing, just hanging out. Others that came in later include Yukon, Yazzie, Foghorn, Sean, Austin, Mary Poppins,and August.Video:
Date: 2008-04-07
From: Standing Bear Farm Hiking Hostel

To: Max Patch Summit
Miles today: 16.0

Day 25 -- Woke up this morning to Fire, Grasshopper, and others making pancakes, eggs, and bacon. We ate, cleaned up and got back on the trail around 10:30 a.m. Wing It and I came upon Fire and Mainiac having a snack (really they were trying to eat their extra food they brought) and Moss and Grasshopper pulled in behind us. She and I and Grasshopper started up the trail again, with Fire and Mainiac stuggling with their heavy packs and full stomachs. They caught up and the five of us trekked together, singing, joking, and fooling around to Groundhog Creek Shelter for a quick lunch. The guys got tired of waiting for us, so they went on and Wing It and I were on our own. It was a beautiful day with lots of green grass and white flowers popping up. We met up with Mike (the Grateful Green Peace guy), who had stopped into the hostel last night. A bit later Wing It could see a bald across the way and then we heard a holler (proably by Mouth). A mile later we were hiking up it--what a gorgeous place! We cowboy camped a few feet from the summit and are hoping to not get rained on. The sunset was beautiful! Didn't sleep very well--too worried about rain/dew on the down sleeping bag, but toally enjoyed the stars.Video:
Date: 2008-04-08
From: Max Patch Summit

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 26 -- Woke up to cloudy skies and didn't think we would get much of a sunrise view. I awoke to Danger Dan making some whistling noise and saw that some hikers had come up to the summit. Grasshopper went over and said hi. He found out that they were a wilderness rehab group with Phoenix Outdoor. Sunrise was beautiful and we hung out for a while. Jake , one of the leaders of their group, came over and asked if we wouldn't mind talking to the guys about thru hiking and they came over and chatted for a while. We took some time to dry out our bags (see picture)Drying out sleeping bags (on Max Patch Summit).and got going about 9:40 a.m. We had a great hiking day today--the weather was great, our spirits were up. After a quick stop at Roaring Fork Shelter for a privy stop, Grasshopper, Wing It, and I held out, and came across Marko (now Hang Man) and Mouth . The five of us hiked together for a while until we came across Top Hat resting at a campsite with Rain and her husband, Barley. We were going to snack there until we figured out Walnut Mountain Shelter was only 1.5 miles away. At the road, before ascending to the shelter, was the Grateful Green Peace Guy,Wes (Bronco--whom I met at REI in Timonium and at a thru-hiking talk), and Art. Yesterday I had asked Grateful to tell Wes "Hi" for me since I didn't think I would catch up to him before he went home, but here they are. Great guys! Everyone was at the shelter for lunch, including Rainand Barley, and three nice section hikers from the St. Louis area.The group decided to hike about six more miles to camp and be closer to Hot Springs. We ended up not finding any good spots near water. At Garenflo Gap we came across a tub of trail magic--she had bagged goodies and we all sat around enjoying it and the break. We decided to keep going until we found a place to camp or got to the Deer Park Mountain Shelter . Wing-It! and I rolled along, ran into Stripe and then Hang Man , and we cruised into camp, tired, but happy to be there. Wood was collected, water filtered, dinner made. We played 'What's Behind the Green Glass Doors?', and talked about our town plans. Most people are tenting/hammocking tonight, but Wing-It!, Top Hat, and I are going to brave the shelter and its inhabitants. Video: