morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-12
From: Danby, VT

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: broken clouds

In the morning, Tom and his wife made us a delicious breakfast with waffles. They were just the most delightful couple and I really enjoyed our time with them. Mindy and I also spent some time evaluating her gear. Her pack weighed at least 70 lbs, but she didn¢t want to ditch any of it as it was all gear that she would be required to pack on her 30 day Outward Bound trek in the Rockies. The next couple of weeks was going to be very slow going!It was a long drive back to Danby, VT, to pick up the trail where I had left off. Tom was happy to make the drive as the section of trail we were about to hike was the section he¢s responsible for maintaining. Also, we were paying for his shuttle services. Trail maintenance is mostly removing trees that have fallen over the trail, which means it¢s a lot of time hiking up and down mountains with a chain saw and other heavy equipment. On the drive, Tom told us a story of an older teenager who went on a two-day winter hike on the AT. He was well prepared with all the right gear, his parents knew exactly where and when to pick him up. When he didn¢t emerge from the woods at the set time, they notified the authorities. It was evening, and winter, and the authorities elected to wait until morning, figuring he¢d turn up. Sadly, he had fallen and broken his leg and couldn¢t walk any further, and he froze to death that night. After that incident Tom put together a network of volunteers who were willing to do search and rescue at any time in any conditions covering much of the trail in VT.Once we arrived at the trail, Tom talked us into letting him slack pack us! The hike was fairly uneventful (Mindy may not agree). We did eat lunch on a cliff edge with a nice overlook. Where the side trail to this overlook met with the AT, there were a large number of cairns all over the place in a 30 yd radius. Many hikers had stopped to rest at this spot, and in their boredom stacked rocks. Mindy accidentally bumped into a few of them knocking them over. She was a little horrified thinking that they had some kind of significance (e.g. burial ground or ancient religious ritual). We had a good laugh about that.Tom worked all day cleaning up the trail, then met us 15 miles down with his car and our gear. He then took us to a restaurant a half mile down the road for dinner. We got Kleenex and the Troverts to join us too. The restaurant was just an old caboose with a large attached patio for seating. Nothing fancy but we all had a good time sharing stories.After dinner, Tom drove us back to the trail. With our backs fully weighed down again, it was a short but very steep uphill to the next shelter. The shelter was quite nice, it had well maintained front yard with plenty of potted flowers decorating the space. John Wayne was here which was fun. I hadn¢t seen him in forever, and he was nearing the end of his time on the trail. The shelter was quite full by the time we arrived so Mindy and I set up our tents out in the grass.
Date: 2012-03-04
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

First day or hiking! Still hasn't hit me I'm gonna be out here for 5+ months but I'm pumped. 13 thru hikers in my 1st shelter but all cool people and chilly. Casey, Matt, Valerie, John, Andy, Sap, Vice Grip, Joe. Maybe some others. Long day tomorrow...
Date: 2012-03-05
From: Stover creek shelter

To: Blue Mt shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Fairly long day. Net up with Joe, Matt, and Casey and they're really cool. All sane pace surprisingly and we get along. We nay stay together for a while to come. Cowboying it tonight under the stars under a rock ledge. Food mood was intense today. Conversation was 90% about food, what we wanted, how we wanted it, and what we were gonna buy :] Goong to Neels Gap tomorrow and buying food galore.
Date: 2012-03-06
From: Under the Stars

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Great day! Climbe Blood Mt. amd climbed some boulders. Views were sick, I hiked with same crew today all day. Casey (22) climbs a whole lot and lives 30 min away from the Red River Gorge. Joe (29) was a Ranger and a little slow. Matt (23) is small and fast. Casey's pack is 36 lbs (heavy), Matt's pack is 20 lbs (ultralight), and Joe's is 19 lbs. Mine is about 23.5 to 24 lbs. Today we hit Neel's Gap Hostel and Store and bought a crap ton of food. We rented a cabin at 60$ split 4 ways and bought 5 pizzas for us. Destroyed those pizzas :]
Date: 2012-03-07
From: Neels Gap Hostel

To: Blue Mt shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Freaking LONG day! Left knee started to kill me, I expected to hurt am know that this is part of it. Thankful for knee brace (thanks mom). Found some weight I can ship home at Hiawassee, GA in 2 days. Went to one shelter and got a bad vibes and still felt strong so we decided to hike it out and go to the next shelter like 7.5 miles away. We hiked the last 6+ miles in about 2 hours so we were booking. The last half hour was in the dark and needed head lamps. Feeling the aches but definitely getting stronger. P.S. Casey is now Renaissance Man and Joe is T.I. Joe.
Date: 2012-03-08
From: Blue Mt shelter

To: Tray Mountain shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Decided to take short day to recoup. A couple big climbs and descents but I've basically got my trail legs, joints just need to catch up now. Felt much better by end of hike but back in the shelter my knee hurts again. No adrenaline or endorphins now :[ Found the shelter basically empty besides 2 guys and completely stoked for some AYCE (all you can eat) in Hiawassee tomorrow! Just finished sewing the holes in my shoes shut. Right now just trying to heal a hurt body haha.
Date: 2012-03-09
From: Tray Mountain shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.1

Pretty short day. Started feeling great then a 2 mile descent hurt my knee again. Feels a lot better tonight though. Decided to stay in Hiwassee tonight for $15, but I need to start conserving more money. Forgot to tell y'all about Machete Mitch who happens to be the biggest weirdo on the trail yet. He doesn't carry a sleeping bag or any shelter. Apparently he digs a 3 inch hole and puts hot rocks in (while burning his hands) and buries himself in a pile of leaves and just rustles around all night lol. He must not sleep well because he takes on the trail. Literally on the trail. He says he tried thru hiking last year but a bear attacked him. He's probabaly just a local out here screwing with hikers in my opinion, not really a hiker. Finally got an AYCE! Amazing Georgia fried chicken, fried fish, fried hush puppies, and a lot of other amazingness. We'll be crossing the border into NC in 3 days. Trail is flying by. Good day tomorrow, about 15 miles. Just trying to rest and heal right now. P.S. Matt is now Fancy Pants. His girl Haley visited him and he comes walking out of the hotel room with her pajama bottoms on that are easter colors and glittered up. Fancy Pants indeed.
Date: 2012-03-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.6

Great day. Crossed GA/NC border! First state bagged and won't be the last. T.I. Joe went ahead so it's just the 3 Amigos now. That's a good thing bc we like to do bigger miles but also goof around all day while we're at it. It keeps the moral high. I've started to leave notes of the Zombie Apocalypse happening in the real world complete with comics and subtitles to entertain myself lol. Going to continue this all the way up the trail to keep the people behind us looking forward to something, my own easy small way of trail magic. P.S. We've dubbed the group the Vikings bc when we go into towns we do nothing but pillage food joints and grocery stores. Knee feels mcuh better but I don't know if I have enough food.
Date: 2012-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.1

Really long day but somehow super chill. We've decided to call our hiking strategy the Lolligag. We are the laziest most active people out here. We'll hike 10 miles then goof off for 2 hours (spear practice with trekking poles, eating Snickers, and drawing Zombie pictures) then continue on. None of us really care to hike at night so we usually roll into camp late. I think the Vikings have developed somewhat of a reputation as a Katahdin contender. I think we've lost T.I. Joe for good. So Ren Man, Fancy Pants, and I sat with our minds blown on a log for an hour bc we passed a hundred miles today! Lot of firsts today: First trail magic (free tuna and cliff bars), first 20 miler, first February starter passed, 2nd trail magic later (homemade cookies left for our enjoyment, and first real night hike...
Date: 2012-03-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.8

Pretty cold and wet day but feeling ok. Trail Angel names Socks who thru'd last year was day hiking and looking for some thru'ers to give Mcdonald's to. Well we qualified and I got to eat a sausage mcmuffin in the morning, oh yeah... It was glorious. Stopped at a sweet shelter that was a 1/2 mile off trail but worth it bc it was on a bald. Just sharpened my pencil! Met old guy named Catfish, awesome guy. He thru'ed in 2009 and is trying again. Wealth of knowledge and funny. Towards end of day we sloshed into a packed shelter and just slept on the floor bc it was packed and still raining. Fancy Pants hurt a tendon in his foot pretty bad so we'll take a zero maybe in Nantahala resupply. Phone's acting all messed up...
Date: 2012-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.6

Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. Started out drizzling but got really warm and sunny 2 hours later. Phone seems to be ok now, fingers crossed. Gonna eat, eat, eat tomorrow at NOC! I am ALWAYS hungry now but normalities are to starting to change. Showers are weird, soap and deoderant smell extremely pungent, hungry is the new satisfied, walking everyday is too easy, and real beauty is a thing I see everyday. Gotta love nature. Good thing, Ren and Fancy decided to slow down so we're gonna nice and easy for a few days to heal and take this all in. We took a 3 1/2 hour break today at a shelter when the sun came out and easily, EASILY walked 10.6 miles. Weird when it's a stroll to walk 10 miles. Having a great time so far. Met a trail angel named Stride who thru'd last year. She gave Renaissance Man and me some cereal and good conversation. Saw some cute girls on some church outdoor outing with Stride. A very nice change from all the dikes out here hiking. Shelter's empty except for Fox who's a cool old guy who's been to Philmont a couple times. Oh yeah... FOOD TOMORROW!!!!!!!!
Date: 2012-03-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.6

Really great day (again)! Had a nice easy descent in NOC and the river was beautiful. Looks like pristine fly fishing territory. The only thing more beautiful was the 1 lb burger called the Hungry Hiker (2 half lb patties, lettuce, bacon, cheese, onion, ketchup, mayo, and pickles!) and the 1/2 lb of fries that all of us desroyed in about 15 minutes. Once we were done with that we headed to the general store and inhaled a pint of ice cream each (craving, fulfilled). Unfortunately, we stsill had 6.5 miles UPHILL out of NOC to get to the shelter. That was a lot harder with 75 degrees and a stomach full of cream and meat. Saw T.I. at the shelter and hammocked for the first time since the first night out. It's finally warm!
Date: 2012-03-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.1

Ren hurt the same tendon Fancy had, so we're going nice and slow and short today. I'm not in any rush this whole trip so I'm stoked. Starting to feel excellent everyday now. Physically I'm starting to become an animal, I walk uphill for 6 miles and am not really that tired. And the knees and starting to become bullet proof. Food Mood hardre than ever today, We sat down for 45 minutes today and discussed food... How we wanted it, recipes, and what exactly. Had a climb today up a hill called "Jacob's Ladder" and it really was never ending straight up. Fontana tomorrow and then a zero day. First of the trip so should be weird to not walk 15 miles in a day. Stoked to rest and get good food though. So pumped about smokies and especially VA!
Date: 2012-03-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.6

Another breezy day. Flat and awesome until we descended into Fontana. Trail ran most of the last 2+ miles. Just ate an excellent hot dog with chili, onion, sauerkraut, and jalepenos... oh yeah. Also ate 2 Reese's ice cream bars. Feeling amazing physically. Me and Fancy stealth camped off the road so we didn't have to buy a room while Ren was with his girl in a nice hotel. Good night though.
Date: 2012-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

First zero day in 13 days! Feels excellent. Spent a crap ton on food but finally staved the PB and J craving (check). Resting, eating, television, eating. Met a hiker named Lighting Jack and he offered to let me sleep in his extra bed for free! Awesome, went and got a burger, fries, and a beer with Fancy and his girl Haley. Then went and veg'd all night. Good stuff...
Date: 2012-03-18
To: Smoky Mountains
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: few clouds

Back on the trail, it was calling. Didn't get started till 3 pm because Fancy and Ren wouldn't leave their girls But we ate a crap ton and finally hit it. Entered the Great Smoky National Park and I'm lovin' it so far. It's so freaking hot but I'd rather have hot than freezing I guess. The Smokies seem easy so far, I think it's the grade and my muscles now, but we're trucking! The terrain just feels easier than NC and Georgia. Got into camp at like 10 pm so we obviously were night hiking. But I believe we ran into a bear, while hiking Ren man was in front and stopped bc he heard something. Then there was a loud rustling and we started to make some noise. Whatever it was ran very clumsily and loudly down the ravine away from us. Either a hog or bear I guess.
Date: 2012-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.8

Miles feel easy now. Made our way into Gatlinburg finally. I let Fancy and Lightning Jack take the 1st hitch into town while I waited for Ren Man. After they had a left a guy named Steam who thru'd in '09 came up to me and said he had one seat in his car and asked if I needed a ride. I figured I should take it while I had it so to Gatlinburg! Oh forgot, we got up this morning at 5 am to catch sun rise on Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the AT at 6,300 something ft I believe). It was really amazing but cold, got some cool pictures. Anyways, Steam got me excited for the Norhtern TN terrain. He said that was his favorite bc there are balds and big views everywhere. So once in Gatlinburg, I found the outfitter I had sent my resupply box to had closed. But luckily the post office had held it. So I had to walk 3 something miles acroos town to pick it up. But I finally got my shoes and some good food (thanks Carrie and Mom!) and then we headed to Shoney's to pig out at the AYCE. Somehow and unfortunately I went through the entirety of Gatlinburg without buying a funnel cake, fudge, hot dog, taffy, or anything awesome. What was I thinking?! Well by the time we finished eating 4 plates of food each, it was 9 pm. So hitching was extremely difficult. Finally me and L.J. kinda invited ourselves into this person's car for a ride. They were nice and curious about our adventure so far. So we got to the trailhead at like 9:30 and that meant ANOTHER night hike, it was only 3 miles and we had a lot of energy from the food so it's all good.
Date: 2012-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.6

Just remembered we've now walked over 200 miles!!!!! Sharpened my pencil Got to this shelter super early which was a nice change from gettign in after 10 pm. We rolled up at about 2 pm. Since we had so much time I finally took the plunge to modify my backpack a little. On the back I did have a zipper pocket made out of the same material as the rest of the pack. It was too awkward to stuff and find things. So I took some old bug netting I found and sewed and awesome mesh pocket to were the old pocket was once I cut it off. Turned out really nice, hopefully I'll have wifi soon to upload some pictures from my phone so y'all can see what I am.
Date: 2012-03-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.8

Finally got my trail legs!! It's weird, all the sudden I feel like I never get tired and can go forever. The only thing holding me back is a hurt pinky toe (yeah, I know right). But I feel excellent. Northern Smokies were awesome! Flatter and amazing views the whole time, I averaged like 2.8 miles per hour today and wasn't even rushing, but feeling so stoked. And yes, 2.8/mph is fairly fast when you gain like 15,000 ft over the course of a day. Ren hurt a tendon in his knee and zero'd then nero'd in Gatlinburg so hopefully he'll catch up to me and Fancy soon, I like that cat...
Date: 2012-03-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 22.7

Biggest day yet and feeling it. So tired rolling into shelter. Me and Fancy took a wrong turn at Davenport Gap bc we thought that road was the one to actually get to Davenport. Wrong, it was actually down the AT a ways. But it all turned out ok bc we found this aweosme church that built in 1890 and it always keeps the doors unlocked. It started to rain once we were inside (we always dodge rain perfectly) and we cooked a little oatmeal in the church and charged phones lol. So we walked down the trail again and found Standing Bear Hostel in Davenport. What an amzing place! If I opened a hostel, it would look like that, the resupply was excellent and you paid on the honor system. Too bad we weren't staying there for the night. We caught a lot of people at the hostel, like Pilgrim. That guy's been walking all over the country for a couple years now. Gonna miss his register entries. Anyways, when we got to Standing Bear, apparently they have food you can cook. So me and Fancy bought a pizza, an 8 pack of hotdogs, and 2 fudge pops each as a snack. It was excellent. After all this we still had 10.5 miles to walk and it was already 2:30 pm. So after a long walk we came to this bald that overlooked Knoxville I believe. Wish y'all coulda seen it! There was a crescent moon suspended and the city lights lighting up the clouds while there was a slight drizzle. The biggest night crawlers I've ever seen were EVERYWHERE on top of the bald soaking up some rain. Short walk to the shelter after that and had a delicious meal of instant potatoes with salmon infused! Massive food mood today even after that huge lunch. Really feeling those miles today...
Date: 2012-03-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.1

Another long day! Body feels fine except my right pinky toe. Apparently that's my Achille's heel. Bu we made a push to go into Hot Springs early for a hot meal. Great idea! Unfortunately the cabins were all booked bc we had met Achilles earlier and he was gonna split a cabin which wouild put it at like 9$ pp. So we headed over to the diner, me and Fancy split a two person fajita, I got a philly cheese steak with a crap ton of fries, and Fancy got a BBQ sandwich. Nothing was left...THEN we went to the Dollar General and bought a pint of Ben and Jerry's (oreo) to split, split a 13 oz chocolate bunny (called The Professor), and a 6 pack. New tradition for town, get a pint and a professor (or any chocolate really). Still haven't fulfilled that cookie dough craving though AAAGGHHHHH! Tarped by the Nantahala river to save a buck instead of the hostel, really nice spot.
Date: 2012-03-25
To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

2nd zero of the trip. We needed it though. Woke up to light rain, but we stayed nice and dry. actually one of the best night's sleep I've had. To do list for town:-Laundry ... check-Trail Journal update... almost check-Eat... double check-Send home some winter gear... check-Eat... double checkShipped 2 lbs home! Winter pack weight without food and water is now about 13 lbs. Not too bad, I'm happy. Zero was excellent, we started the day with a pack of bagels with a half lb of cream cheese (really craving dairy alot), strawberry jam, and apple butter. Washed that down with 1/2 gallon of milk and a pop tart, and a little professor. Then we did laundry, while waiting I played hacky sack and read a romance novel lol. After that we went to a cafe and I got a cookie dough ice cream sandwich (oh yeah). And me and Fancy split a Mango Passion Guava Banana smoothie. It was excellent. Bought some Injinji toe socks which are the bee's knees! Then we went back to laundro mat to hang until supper. I just read a little more, it's weird I have this strong urge to read a lot... Dinner was a great club sandwich (craving... check!) and curly fries. Tarping with Fancy again by an even better spot right on the river. Good times...
Date: 2012-03-26
To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: few clouds

First day back on. Pretty easy except for climb in first mile out of town. If there's an absolute truth on the trail, it's that there's always a climb out of town because one must pay for all the food one has eaten. Day went by really fast though. Staying at an old shelter but I'm hammocking beside it. Made a super tarp/house out of mine and Fancy's tarp. Met a cool cat named Far East Coast. He's from Singapore and only has a 6 week VISA. He has to renew it while still on the trail if he wants to continue. 15 mile day tomorrow, ain't no thang.
Date: 2012-03-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

So we heard rumors about a couple serving free food 4 miles away from us right now. After hiking and coming to I 60 we see a sign that reads, "Hercules and Fal welcome you to come to our home for a free meal of Belgian waffles, soup, ice cream, and much more." Well it wasn't really an option to not go once you read something like that. Their house was beautiful, a log cabin with great rustic decoration. But the food, oh the food. I'm getting ahead of myself though, the couple had thru'd in '99 and sectioned about 75% of the trail again. Their age has slowed them down but they can still crank some miles I'm sure. Ok, so the food: started out with a belgian waffle with butter in EVERY square (craving... check!), french vanilla hot chocolate, chicken/vegeatable stew with homemade bread (AMAZING bread), and finished it off with a beautiful banana split. The split's presentation was prize worthy with a cherry on top. A lot of people got upset because after the meal they kinda went into the Christianity topic. Which obviously was fine with me. They didn't even Bible thump, it was mostly just them setting out apologetics books and explaining and recommending some. I took More Than a Carpenter because that book is awesome. I was more than happy to finally have reading material. Their dog, Heidi was excellent. She was 7 years old and more hyper and friendlier than a puppy. She also did the Air Bud thing with a soccer ball. We hugged and took pictures then were on our way.At the next shelter down the trail we found a scattered assortment of their books strewn across the shelter floor. Oh well, I guess people took them just to be nice. P.s. Found a Hardy Boy's book No. 35! So excited about that.
Date: 2012-03-28
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Great, beautiful, breezy day! Tendon hurting pretty bad again all day. Pinky toe still hurting too, but besides that I feel excellent. Super flat terrain in beginning of day but ended in HUGE climb! Trail legs are almost here completely though because I can climb for 2 hours without stopping. Breakfast and resupply tomorrow morning! P.s. found The Hunger Games in shelter just as I finished the Hardy Boys. Fancy Pants has never read them so I'm letting him read it first, because we're gonna see it in Erwin, TN!P.P.S. Spoiler alert, the Hardy Boys solved the case... thank God...