morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-27
From: Fontanna Dam Shelter

To: Birch Spring Tent Site
Miles today: 5.9

No mice last night! We weren't able to get many miles in today because we couldn't get started 'til 3:45.We woke to a beautiful sunrise over the lake. Then we had to go into town to get more food for the Smokies. A young couple that camped by the shelter said they could take us to an intersection about halfway to the grocery. The second they dropped us off Andrew stuck his thumb out and we got the second ride! We pushed out backpacks around in shopping carts then sat outside the store and organized our new supply of food. I think we looked homeless. It was funny.We walked for about a mile to get to a library that was only a quarter of a mile away. (Bad directions.) First time we could check our email. We walked to Wendy's, pigged out, dealt with a bunch of things over the phone back home then stuck our thumbs out again. A nice man stopped and picked us up, said he saw us out here but his car was full of stuff so he went home to get his pickup truck then came back. That was so nice of him! He took us as far as that intersection earlier then Andrew saw a Honda doo-hickey. Then he said "Oh, I'd like to see the inside of that!" and wouldn't you know it, they stopped. So he got to ride in one.Finally we hit the trail. We hiked way up; I thought I may have to attend and perform my own funeral. I'm sure my dead body is still back there on the trail. I was exhausted. Andrew has a battery pack in his head, he just keeps going and going.We hiked through the sunset and had to use our headlamps for the last 20-30 minutes. We fumbled around making dinner and set up the tent then went to bed about 8:30. Which is very late. Eveyone goes to bed around 6:30 and 7:00.It was a long day.
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Birch Spring Tent Site

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

As of today we have less than 2000 miles to go!Surrounded by brown leaves, brown trees, mountains that seem to grow and a trail that never ends. Wait, let me go on... feet that don't stop hurting, a mind that can't stop thinking of Jamaican Steak, a thirst that won't quit and my hair is falling out! I've been told it's from the stress my body is under. First bald spot and I'm shaving my head!Poor Andrew, who is so wonderful, had to deal with my freakout emotional moment today. We know we had three miles to go before the shelter and we came to a bald that we believed was 1 1/2 miles and still had that far to go. I went nuts; I thought we were so much closer! "I'm tired! Waaa! How are we ever going to get anywhere? Waaa! We're the slowest ones! Waaa! My feet hurt! Waaa!" Andrew talked to me and I calmed down then we took about four steps and saw the sign for the shelter. TURN RIGHT! End of story!
Date: 2004-03-29
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

This was a better day. We got an earlier start and saw another deer.Last night we fell asleep to the sound of coyotes howling at the moon. It was actually very relaxing. They sound nice, not like your neighbor's dog that's just yapping away.We climbed up Rockytop in Tennessee today. No view because of fog. I think we're actually in North Carolina now. The trail weaves in and out of both states through the Smokies.We're meeting more people tonight at this shelter that we haven't met yet. They're all very nice, but putting in more miles than we can do, so we'll probably never see them again.Ho hum feeling kinda' blah.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Today was a strange day. It started out with a cold rain around 2 AM that we hiked in for a couple of hours. Then we got real hot, then we started up to Clingman's Dome (6643 foot elevation: highest on the whole trail) and it snowed. There's ice everywhere. I even went ice skating...for about three seconds. The ice was covered with mud on the trail so I didn't know it was there. We're in a little motel tonight to do our laundry and pickup more food.We discovered yesterday we weren't taking in enough calories. We should be having around 3000 a day. We've probably been having 1000-1500. So we ate a bunch of our food for breakfast and lunch, took in a whole bunch more calories than before and MAN! We were hiking like crazy after that. We're excited to have found out why our energy levels haven't been great.Crossed the 200 mile mark today! Good news!
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Newfound Gap

To: Microtel
Miles today: 0.0

We had no intention on taking a zero day today but as we were getting our groceries, going to the outfitters and the post office it got really cold and started to snow. Cars were coming down from the mountains covered in snow. Why would we head out in that?We changed hotels because of better hiker rates and it's nicer.We're getting good rest and eating really well. We both feel great. Tomorrow's going to be a terrific day!
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Microtel

To: Microtel
Miles today: 0.0

We took another zero day and decided to come home. We just don't want to do it anymore.April Fools!Actually we couldn't get back up the mountain due to snow. We and another hiker couple (Close Call and Carter) found out that we couldn't make it back to the trail due to roads being closed and ten inches of snow.We've been staying warm in the hotel room, walked to the library and will go out to dinner with Close Call and Carter.Tomorrow's going to be a terrific day!
Date: 2004-04-02
From: Microtel

To: Public bathrooms at trailhead
Miles today: 0.0

You'll never believe in a million years...We got a hitch back to the public bathrooms at the trailhead at Newfound Gap. So did Close Call and Carter.We were going to use the restrooms then head down the trail. We were literally blown across the ice and had to hold on to signs and a fence. The wind was harsh and the snow hurt our faces.Our rides were gone and we felt somewhat stranded. We knew they were going to close the roads soon.Hikers were coming out from the trail saying it was getting covered by the snow and hard to see where to go. With the wind so strong the four of us decided for safety's sake to just put up our tents right here. The other couple is from Nova Scotia and are very used to snow and thought the conditions were far too dangerous so we are letting them lead and we'll follow orders. In the summer we'll help them with heatstroke problems. Hee hee!Tomorrow will be a terrific day!
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Public bathrooms at trailhead

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

We trudged through the snow. It was beautiful at first. The snow was soft and looked like powdered sugar. The views of the Smokies were breathtaking with the snow on top of all the mountains.Our legs went in the snow a couple of feet on many occasions. It was about fifteen inches deep everywhere.Andrew and Carter took turns going first through the snow to make places to step for the rest of us. I tried it but it was very tiring. By the time we made it to the shelter it was about two minutes before dark. There was a group of four men there already. We just made our beds (in the shelter, screw the mice) and went to sleep. It was a tough day and we aren't getting far in the last several days.Tomorrow will be a terrific day!
Date: 2004-04-05
From: Ranger station

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We decided to pass all the snow and hitchhike 45 miles to Hot Springs, NC. We will start north from here and go back to the section we missed later when it warms up. They say at 6000 feet it doesn't warm up for a while. We have to go back or we can't say we thru-hiked.With four rides here, 2 retired police officers, a pastor, and a lady who wanted to be sure Jesus is our friend, we made it. Lot's of hikers are here, we will resupply in the morning and hit the trail.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Hot Springs

To: Campsite
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: clear sky

Finally, today was a terrific day! We resupplied, walked around the tiny little town of Hot Springs which is completely dedicated to hikers and caters to us very much. The trail goes right through the center of town then you actually have to hop a guard rail off the road in order to stay on the trail. The temperature was around 75 degrees, the sky was blue and the people were fabulous. Did I mention there was no snow?! We enjoyed reading our emails. Thanks everyone!It seems we've skipped 56.7 miles of the trail in order to ensure getting away from that horrible white stuff that's so pretty "in the movies". So we're making plans on when and how to go back and complete that section. (Hopefully in a week or two.) Expecting another terrific day tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-07
From: Campsite

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

What a fabulous day! We hiked one million miles! We carried one million pounds of food! We ate one million calories! I ate a chocolate chip cookie the size of my face! I feel like a million bucks!Did you know that if you eat one of those cream cheese danishes from the convenience store, you know, the ones with the shelf life of one million years, well, one of those will get you over four mountains in ten minutes!Man! What a great day!Woo Woooo!
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Campsite past Flint Mountain
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

What a strange hike. We climbed boulders, for what felt like three miles, we walked on gravel roads, on old logging roads, through open grassy areas, we got hot and worst of all we climbed high enough to walk through snow! It made us both feel sick to our stomachs. We weren't worried because a lot was melted. According to journal entries at the shelters the snow had fallen almost a week ago. We also hiked completely alone all day. The first day that we've not seen another living soul. However we saw several graves today. Two of the graves were men that were ambushed near here and killed by Confederate troops during the Civil War. We're still walking the NC-TN state line but our next stop is Erwin, TN.We seem to be doing better on our mileage thanks to ONE MILLION CALORIES!
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Campsite past Flint Mountain

To: Tent next to I-26
Miles today: 10.2

Today was hard. My body was tired. We even stopped around 11:00, put up the tent and took a nap. Actually, Andrew went on ahead, found a good flat spot, put up the tent, and laid out his sleeping pad so I could just get in and sleep. It must be hard for all you women out there to be married to the 2nd best husbands!We decided to hike until we came to a road that our book said had a diner two miles down. Man! We started dreaming up what we wanted to eat. We got to the road and it took us forever to get a ride. When we did, the diner had been closed down so the guy took us another mile to another diner. It was closed too! We were so bummed, so we had to hitch another ride back. There were no real campsites so we made one near the interstate. It's weird hearing cars and trucks. Andrew again took care of me and while I got cozy in my sleeping bag he made dinner for us and did the dishes. Also right near our site a trail angel left some trail magic. They left Little Debbies! Also, bananas, oranges, sodas, Oreos, even some of those little marshmellow Peeps! Oh, and doughnuts! We took enough stuff for dessert and breakfast. That was an awesome way to end our day.
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Tent next to I-26

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Nothing too special today. We haven't seen another thru-hiker in three days. We've never gone even one day before, without seeing others. We did see a real nice family day hiking, enjoyed talking with them. We are starting to want to have other people to hang out with.We should get to Erwin, Tennessee tomorrow. Hopefully by dinner time. We need showers more than you want to know. Heck! More than WE want to know!Earlier today we went over Big Bald at 6000 feet. There was still some snow up there, yuk! But the views were amazing. Surrounded by blue mountains - we felt so tiny. Down here at 3000 feet the temperature is warm for a good night's sleep as we listen to the owl off in the distance. It was a great day.
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Spivey Gap

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 11.2

To our amazement we made great time today! We made it to Erwin, Tennessee by 2:00 today when we were hoping to just make it by dinner time. However, 2:00 was still one hour too late to make it to Miss Janet's, another hostel for the 1:00 Easter dinner. We were able to catch up with some hikers we haven't seen in a few weeks. Toe-ritis, Harmony, Numbas, Wetstone and Longshot. They were all able to make it to an Easter service here in town, but Andrew and I just had our own Easter moment on a little footbridge overlooking a waterfall, because we were still trying to hike in. We are doing so well lately! We're lean, mean, hiking machines! A little rain today, but it was still a beautiful day.
Date: 2004-04-12
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 8.2

Today we did something new and loved it! We slackpacked! We left all of our stuff at the hostel and Charlotte from the hostel gave us, Numbas, and Harmony a ride to a trail head 8.2 miles north and and we day hiked back. It was wonderful! We felt light as air with no backbacks, and we were able to go so fast. Oh yeah, Andrew has lost about thirteen pounds and I've lost eleven which is fine as long as we don't do that every month. Anyway, we're staying here again tonight and will leave around 8:00 in the morning. What a fabulous day!
Date: 2004-04-13
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

So close to the 300 mile mark! We didn't get very far today. We both seemed to lack a good attitude. There may be a chance of snow tomorrow as we climb Roan Mountain at 6100 feet. We're really hoping for that to be a good day.Today we walked through a pine forest. It was so neat and clean. No brush, just pine trees and pine needles all over the ground. I was waiting for Little Red Riding Hood to run through at any moment. Then the trail turned into a river! We had hiked through rain for a couple of hours and it rained all night so the runoff was going down the trail. I mean white water and water falls! Andrew waterproofed his boots since the snow situation but guess what - his feet are wet. This is not good. We are actually saving our plastic bags to put in his boots if the temperature drops too low. Please summer come soon! there's nothing even blooming at these elevations.
Date: 2004-04-14
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 2.7
Weather: light rain

6:50AM: Woke up to Andrew beating snow off the top of the tent. THIS IS NOT OK!! WE ARE NOT HIKING IN SNOW! Andrew's boots got wet yesterday and we're not going to go through what we went through in the Smokies. There's a road 2.7 miles north and we're going back to Erwin to come up with a plan. We can't just keep skipping sections because we keep going further north before the warmth gets there.Later: We hitched back to Erwin and are staying for two nights in a hotel. The weather is supposed to warm up and hopefully melt the snow.We went out to dinner with about twenty other hikers that Miss Janet shuttled to an all you can eat buffet.Miss Janet is a well known hostel owner who really caters to thru-hikers. She has spent the day running shuttles to get hikers out of the snow.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: Best Southern Hotel

To: Best Southern Hotel
Miles today: 0.0

We are stuck in hotels way more than we expected. Ouch!$But of course Sir Fix-a-Lot has arranged a work for stay situation with Miss Janet. He's working on her bathroom in trade for a night's stay. We'll stay at her place tomorrow night and plan to slack pack Roan Mountain tomorrow. We're thrilled to slack pack that mountain because it's supposedly known as the coldest mountain year round on the A.T. So we'll get past it and have hot showers and a warm place to stay afterwards.Happy Birthday Dad!
Date: 2004-04-16
From: Hughes Gap

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, we weren't able to hike Roan today but went 9.2 miles. We'll conquer the mountain later. Miss Janet took us for the slack pack then picked us up and took us and several other hikers to Trail Fest in Hot Springs. It was about a 1 1/2 hour ride but took us five days to hike. We've experienced the "trail grapevine". Before people knew who Andrew was they had heard stories of our rescue out of the Smokies. There was one story that he "didn't" make it! He said "Oh my God! I didn't make it?!" There was another story that he was taken down by a sled. It's funny how stories travel.Something cool happened while we were at Sonic getting ice cream. Another thru-hiker was there named St. Rick. We started to talk to each other and I asked him if he was from England. He was, so I jokingly asked him if he knew Jamie Oliver (the Naked Chef on the Food channel. He's not naked, his food is.) Anyway, he grew up with him! He told us some stories about he, his brother, and Jamie Oliver. It was great!
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

What a wonderful Day! This tiny town is having a tiny festival for thru-hikers. There's folk music, contests, raffle drawings, a speaker named Jeff Alt who hiked in 1998 and raised money for the home his brother is in for mental retardation. He told great stories and explained how he made it through the toughest days. He simply always found something to celebrate. Even if it was just a cup of coffee and that was the only good thing that day he would celebrate it.He introduced a man that hiked the trail in his 70's who's trail name was "Jumpstart" because he jumped out of a plane onto the A.T. the day he started. He told a story about a 79 year old woman he came across on the trail who was sitting down taking a break and asked her what the arrow was for in the dirt in front of her. She explained that she would draw an arrow in the dirt whenever she stopped so she would know which way to go when she started again!A lady chased me down the street. When she caught up to me she gave me a brand new pair of backpacking socks! I didn't have the heart to tell her they were too small for my skis, I mean feet, so I will just pass them on to another hiker with smaller feet.I've entered "The World Famous Duck Race". It's where you put a rubber duckie in the river and watch a couple hundred of them ride the current and if yours wins you get $100!We decided that we will hike the part of the Smokies that we skipped from here in the morning. We have to cover 66 miles. We're going to hike South from here to Gatlinburg and Scott, Andrew's brother, will pick us up and take us to Erwin (north) to pick up where we ended. It'll be nice to have that behind us. We found out the snow is melted but the temperature is low. We'll handle it.Later...my duckie won! But I didn't. My duckie was the first one to the finish line but they pulled out the first 7 and wrote them down in any old order which then caused me to be 6th. I got a t-shirt that I can't use. Oh well.
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Hot Springs

To: Secret Camp Spot off A.T.
Miles today: 7.6

Got a late start today. Had to check the bank account, mail a package to myself and go to an "all you can eat" breakfast.It feels great to go back and cover those miles we missed. It's also fun to go Sobo (southbound). We get to see a lot more thru-hikers during the day. We met two great people today, Lefty and Michigoose (Robert & Karen). I've missed having friends around so much and after talking to them we'll probably meet back up once we finish our "make up miles". We have to make up 56.7 miles but rewalk another ten from where we were rescued.The temperature was up to 85 degrees today. Wow! What a difference. We found a great campspot for the night off the AT about 150 yards. There's an old barn, old cabin and a stream with lots of grass. We love it! It's been another wonderful day! Thought lots about my grandparents today. Miss them so much.Forever smiles to you my friends and family.
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Secret Camp Spot off A.T.

To: Brown Gap
Miles today: 15.7

Laundry tip #1: Do not put little packs of jelly in the dryer with your very limited wardrobe.I did this, and Andrew stuck his foot in a jelly sock this morning! Oops! The good news...it rinses out.Sir Fix-a-Lot made up a game he's been getting rather good at: "Hiker Bowling". When we're on a ridge he kicks rocks over the side trying to miss boulders, trees, and brush. He gets very excited and stands there with a goofy grin of a four year old on his face. One day he's going to hear "Ouch! *@!?$!@" from down below!We climbed over Max Patch today. It's a huge grassy bald. It was just beautiful. A hiker, Ross, and his friend Grace were at the top giving away trail magic on his day off from hiking. Ross is way cool. He's from England and wears a kilt hiking.Another super fabulous day!Forever Smiles!
Date: 2004-04-20
From: Brown Gap

To: Campsite
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

I think I enjoyed today more than any other day yet.We had a tough day to start. Uphill for miles. Rain, put jackets on, rain stops, take jackets off, repeat. That is so frustrating because you have to take your pack off and put the rain cover on it too.However, it does seem fun hiking south because we stop and talk to other hikers all the time as they pass. Today we met two from England and one from Israel, one from California and a whole bunch of others.Later Andrew and I started fussing at each other, for no real reason. We admitted we were both grumpy but then kept being mean and fussing at each other some more. "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt NOT kill!" I thought if I didn't get a grip on this Jamaican steak craving I just might kill!We found out we could get giant burgers at Mountain Mama's but then we found out we wouldn't make it in time. As we were both grumpy and complaining about not getting our burgers a car pulled up (we were crossing a road) and the ladies inside said "Hey, would you like to go to Mountain Mama's?!" I squealed, Andrew said "Well heck yeah!" So away we went. We filled our tummy's with giant greasy slimy burgers, fat greasy fries, soda pop, and you better believe it...ice cream! We stopped fussing at each other.We had to walk about a mile back to the trail but we didn't mind one bit. On the way we sat by a beautiful white water river that we saw two guys with kayaks getting ready to get in. They told Andrew they would wave as they go by. So we just sat on some rocks. They were awesome how they handled those boats. We walked along that river all the way back. They showed off for us and did all sorts of stunts and tricks. We woo hooo'd at them, and took pictures. It was great. Then we turned off into the woods and with one last wave to us they continued down the river.Once we got to camp we found other people there. Everyone bathed in the stream and sat around and talked. This is getting better all the time!Forever Smiles everyone!
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Campsite

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hard day today. Uphill for about seven miles! My feet hurt! And if one more insect flies in my ear, or eye, or up my nose or down my throat I'm going to strangle it with my dental floss!Well we're back in the Smokies again and it's not snowing. It's cooler at night than the last couple of weeks but definitely better than before.Oh! Guess what! I saw bear poop! It looked like new so I thought I'd see the bear but no. Why do they call it bear scat? It should be called bear mound.Anyway...the flowers and leaves are really popping out now. Everything smells great out here in the sunshine. Keep up the great weather God. Good job!