morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Low Gap

To: Cheese Factory Campsite, GA
Miles today: 13.0

It was unbelievably cold last night ¢ down below 20 degrees. After yesterday¢s snow, the skies cleared up and the temperature dropped rapidly. We stayed in the shelter last night but we should have stayed in a tent,Karen was comfortably warm, but I was painfully cold. Karen¢s bag, a 15 degree women¢s Marmot Maverick, performed admirably; my bag, a 20 degree EMS synthetic bag just wasn¢t warm enough. I was especially cold where my 3/4 length thermarest ended, which meant that my feet were blocks of ice all night. I put a reflective tarp under us at one point, and my feet promptly warmed up, but the wind picked up, so I had to move the tarp on top. My feet froze again.Oh yes, and mice are not averse to cold either ¢ fortunately, they only bothered our neighbors. And speaking of our neighbors, john, a scot who also spent the night in the shelter, fared worse than us. In addition to a mouse actually falling on his face in the middle of the night, he only had a 35 degree bag, He survived, he says, owing to his "brass monkeys". But today we were well compensated for our pain. The sky was a gorgeous blue with white puffy clouds, and a slight breeze, around 50 degrees. Perfect hiking weather. Plus, the first 6 miles were a breeze ¢ the trail was so smooth you could have rolled a wheelchair up it.An additional seven miles later, and we¢re pretty tired. Yet the long miles have also rewarded us: The Cheese Factory Campsite, easily the most beautiful tentsite I¢ve ever seen. There is soft green grass under our tent, and around the corner is a stone fountain, built meticulously out of flat stones, where spring water just gushes out. This site was formerly the home of a cheese factory, owned by an eccentric new englander, sometime in the 19th century. Now, it is all green grass and mountain laurel ¢ not a trace of the original building remains. This is a really beautiful place but too bad there¢s on more cheese!Dan
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Cheese Factory Campsite

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we had much nicer weather. It was 68 degrees and blue skies. We had a shorter hike today than yesterday 9.0 miles. This morning we hiked up Tray Mtn. (4930 ft), there was a 360 degree view from the top with not too much haze. Then we continued on over a few more bumps. We finished today¢s hike with Kelly Knob, which was like a small mountain. We ran out of water on the top of the mountain but we were close to the shelter. Deep Gap shelter is pretty nice looking. The building looks new and the camping area is green grass. We¢re here with about 5 other people that we¢ve seen along the way.Tomorrow we¢re going into Hiawassee to resupply on food until we get to Wesser, NC. Dan is also going to buy a hat tomorrow in town because he got a fairly decent sun burn on his head. I think I might buy some hiking poles because I¢ve been using a walking stick and I really like using that, it takes the weight a little off my legs.Karen
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Campsite near Little Bald Knob
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: clear sky

We had and "easy" day today, only 3.9 miles, only we went into town for supplies, and I¢ve come to feel like going into town (Hiawassee, GA) makes me more tired than just the miles.After an early start this morning, we got to Dick¢s Creek Gap, US76 after an hour and a half of walking. The owner of the Hiawassee Inn, a friendly guy with a heavy Mediterranean accent, picked us up and brought us into town. He was clearly hoping that we¢d stay in his hotel ("very clean room. Only $39.09 plus tax. I give free shuttle back to trail"), for which I felt a little bad, but not bad enough to actually stay there. From the Hiawassee Inn, Karen and I walked to the laundromat, and then to the public library to send/check email. After that, we headed to the post office to mail home some extra gear. My pack is about as lean as I feel safe with about now.Next we went looking for pizza. We found a "pizzeria" and sat down to eat. The waitress handed us lunch menus that ¢ surprise ¢ had no pizza on it. So we got sandwiches instead, a little disappointed. A few minutes later another couple walked in. One of them says to the waitress, "hey, I don¢t see any pizza on this menu. Can we get pizza?" to which she said yes, GRRR!!!Anyway, we managed to get a shuttle back to the woods. So here we are now, camping up on a ridge that runs directly north, with beautiful views to the east and the west.And tomorrow we¢ll be in North Carolina!Dan
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Campsite near Little Bald Knob, GA

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Last night when we camped on the ridge it was calm and had beautiful views. In the middle of the night the wind picked up over the ridge and made us a little chilly, It took some extra effort to put the tent away, it kept blowing all around. We walked away from the ridge to have breakfast so that the stove would work out of the wind.The temperature increase today to what felt like at least 80 or 90. We were hot all day. The bugs decided they were going to come out and join us today. First we put on some DEET for the bugs. Then to prevent any further sunburning of my nose or Dan¢s scalp, we put on sunblock too. Unfortunately the sweet smelling sunblock attracted the bugs. So the next time we get to an outfitter store we¢ll be looking for bug repellent and sunblock solution combined. WE finished our steamy hike today with Court House Bald Mt.(4600 ft) and Brushy Mt. When we got to camp we tool the time to wash all the dirt, sweat, and blood from bugs off ourselves, me and Dan feel about 10 times better.Then we had a delicious stuffing, chicken and snickers dinner while the sunset an a view of Hayesville, NC. It was one on the nicest views yet, I think.The most exciting news today is that we crossed over into North Carolina. And what does the border of NC and GA look like? It has a nice little sign that we were going to take a picture of, except the odor and sight of a fellow hikes feces on the border made us want to leave as soon as possible.Tomorrow we¢re expecting a storm in the evening so we¢ll be getting up early to make sure we have a spot in the shelterKaren
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter NC
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Happy Birthday to me! I¢m now 24 years old and I have a sunburn where my hair is thinning. Wait, I¢m not balding. Never mind.I totally forgot to write yesterday. Basically, we took it real easy yesterday - only 4.9 miles from our campsite near Muskrat Creek Shelter to the Sanding Indian Shelter. Both Karen and I had burnt ourselves out coming over Court House Bald on Thursday, so our bodies needed the rest. It was nice ¢ we lounged around the shelter all day, eating trail mix and reading our books.Last night, a big rain storm rolled in, so fortunately, we were in the shelter. Unfortunately,, the shelter had a tin roof. Every time the rain started up again, everyone in the shelter woke up, unhappy.We woke up for good this morning at 6am in time to seethe real storm start. While we ate breakfast, the rain started coming down in buckets, and by 7am, the shelter was being belted by hailstones. The thunder and lighting show started about then, too. By 8am, the storm had eased a bit, and Karen and I were tired of waiting, so we left with many "good luck¢s" given on our way out (we were the first to go).20 minutes into our hike, I realized that my rain jacket just wasn¢t up for the task ¢ within 30 minutes, I was drenched. But around 10 am, the sky cleared, and it quickly became one of the nicest days we¢ve seen yet. 73 degrees and partly cloudy. I dried off quickly.After yesterday¢s rest, our legs felt great, and by 2 p.m., we had hiked the 11 miles to Betty Creek where we originally planned to spend the night. We still felt good, so we decided to push on.Around 3:30 p.m., we reached the summit of Albert Mt. (5220 ft) with some really spectacular views of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Atop the firetower, you could see 360 degrees around Albert Mt.After the summit, it was an easy 1/2 mile walk down to the shelter. I finished off my fuel canister making Lipton stroganoff noodles, and we enjoyed the company of our fellow hikers through dinner (Joe the German, Elizabeth, Tom For Short, The Lizards, Booble and others),Karen also had a special birthday surprise for me today _ Russell Stover candies she managed to sneak in all the way up here from Hiawassee, GA. She sang me Happy Birthday and presented them with a flourish, What a sweetheart!Dan
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Big Spring Shelter, NC

To: Rock Gap USFS Road 67, NC
Miles today: 5.4

Today we walked 5.4 miles to USFS Road 67. It was mostly down hill and the weather was partly cloudy. At USFS Road 67 we met Tom For Short and his wife. Tom For Short¢s brother gave us a ride to Rainbow Springs Campground, a mile down the road.Dan and I paid for a tentsite at the campground. We did our laundry and took showers. We also ate pizza, ice cream, fruit and had sodas.We also saw Face and Blaze here, who we just met. They¢re stopping here until tomorrow so they can pick up a package in Franklin, Pirate is here too, he hikes the trail every year. It just started to rain here. Hopefully it won¢t pour or thunder.Karen
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Rock Gap USFS Road 67, NC

To: Campsite near Wine Spring Bald, NC
Miles today: 11.3

After a very refreshing stay at the rainbow Springs Campground in Franklin, NC(2 showers, pizza for lunch, pizza for dinner, and pizza for breakfast), The manager of the campground drove us back up to Rock Gap and dropped us off. Fortunately, although the skies were overcast all day, we had a pleasant and cool day of hiking ¢ no rain. Last night, it rained heavily (just as Karen feared) but our little tent pulled through valiantly and we were dry all night. We had quite a hike up today, and we are camping on the side of Wine Spring Bald, right next to the ol¢ spring itself. It is extremely wet here, and everything is covered in moss and lichens. The clouds closed in a few minutes ago, and after a brief rain shower, we were blanketed in a thick fog. I¢m guessing that¢s pretty common here¢Oh ¢ Almost forgot to mention: We saw our first Grassy Bald today, Siler Bald. It¢s pretty cool, as it actually looks like a cow pasture on top of this 4900 foot mountain.Karen¢s stomach is disagreeing with her right now. That always happens when we go from trail food (nuts, powerbars, granola, noodles) to town food (pizza, ice cream, hamburgers).Now me, on the other hand, all I want is more pizza and burgers. And ice cream. And pizza.Dan
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Campsite near Wine Spring Bald, NC

To: Wesser Bald Shelter, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was wet, it rained almost all day. The day started off foggy on top of Wine Springs Bald, where we camped. We Went over Wayah Bald which is supposed to have really terrific panoramic views. It was fogy there too, however, so we didn¢t see anything but white clouds. But there were toilets and trash cans at the top.   So we unloaded our waste there. Funny how these ordinary thing are exciting on the trail. At the end of the day we went up Wesser Bald which also had a white cloud view.It sprinkled most of the morning. Then in the afternoon it rained steadily and fairly heavily. Dan¢ jacket is still not waterproof, luckily tomorrow he can buy a better one in Wesser at NOC. When we got to the shelter it was already full. So we pitched our tent, luckily there was a lull in the rain. People at the shelter say the storm is going to last for 4 days and there might be snow.Karen
Date: 2003-04-09
From: Wesser Bald Shelter, NC

To: Campsite near Grassy Gap
Miles today: 8.2

We had a seriously wet evening last night, and a very wet morning , too. It rained all night, and as the night went on, the rain came harder and harder. There was no breeze, either, so the walls weree dripping with condensation inside our tent. Finally, at 8am, the rain let up long enough for us to break everything down and move into the shelter for breakfast. After breakfast, we walked through parts of the forest which seemed always wet ¢ moss hung heavy on the branches of trees, and everything was wet and slimy. But all of a sudden everything changed. We walked around a corner and the terrain and foliage changed. Flowers were in bloom, trees had new, bright green leaves, and we even saw an occasional raspberry bush. At the same time, the sun broke through the clouds ¢ after more than three days of rain, seeing the sun was monumentally uplifting.A short time later, we smelled food. And then we heard a train, cars, and people. We had finally arrived in Wesser! After being in the backcountry for more than a week, seeing a place like Wesser was a little shocking. Karen and I both remarked that it felt like a circus.   See, the AT goes right through the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which is apparently some kind of Mecca for whitewater rafting. People (clean people), mostly in jeans and t-shirts were everywhere.But the hikers, particularly a large number of thru-hikers we¢ve come to know, were there, too. They really stood out from the crowd, looking tired, dirty, and lean. But really happy. Ad that is because the N.O.C. is a hiker¢s paradise, too. In addition to the fabulous outfitting store, there are three restaurants within sight of one another, laundry facilities, bunkhouse, and cheap showers. Karen and I opted for some excellent (but cheap) sandwiches and laundry. Our water logged gear needed some serious drying.At the outfitter, we bought supplies for our short trip to Fontana Dam, N.C., home to our first mail drop, our first zero day, and hopefully a rendezvous with my father. I also picked up some much-needed stove fuel, but most importantly, a new rain jacket! I bought a bright yellow (so I won¢t be gunned down by the turkey hunters) Marmot Precip rain jacket. I hope I am as happy with mine as everyone else on the trail is. Nearly half of all the hikers we¢ve seen are wearing one.At 5:15 p.m., we headed up the trail to camp again. We found a nice spot near a gushing spring around 6:30 p.m., just before the rain started again. Once again we¢re in a healthy downpour as we lay in our tent. The forecast calls for snow tomorrow and Friday. Oh boy.Dan
Date: 2003-04-10
From: Campsite near Grassy Gap

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter, NC
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: snow

Last night it rained almost all night. Our tent got pretty wet, but it kept us dry. There was a puddle of water at Dan¢s feet, but luckily he wasn¢t laying in it. The temperature had dropped to 34 degrees by the morning. We waited until the rain let up before we got out of the tent. By the time we left camp it was about 10:30, later than we usually leave.   We were able to warm up within a few minutes after our hike. We hiked up another 5oo feet up in elevation to Swim Bald. On our way up it started raining lightly, so we put our rain gear back on. Then as we continued up in elevation it started to snow. At first it was a light snow. Then it got heavier and windier. We decided to take lunch and stop at Sassafrass Gap Shelter just over Swim Bald. We were getting a little cold on our descent to the shelter but it wasn¢t very far.The shelter was a bit down hill form the trail. On the way down, Dan slipped in the snow and mud and got his shorts wet and muddy. At the shelter there was one other man there who we had never met before. He was setting up camp and calling it a day. Moo and 42 arrived shortly after us. All of us decided to call it a day and stay at the shelter. We cooked a hot lunch of couscous and ham. As we were eating Brian came down and said someone up a mile on the trail had just broken their leg and someone else was on their way back to the NOC for help. Dan and Brian went to go help the guy with the broken leg. Moo went about 20 minutes later with some hot water and Joe left another 30 minutes later.Karen
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

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

Funny, everyone in the shelter right now is writing in their journals. Journal time!It was a long day today. The weather was good for hiking ¢ about 45 degrees, no wind, overcast. It sprinkled briefly just before we arrived at the shelter, but then the sun came out for an hour. In all, it was an uneventful day ¢ too overcast for views (clouds start at 4000¢ here), Last night was much more interesting, but I was tired because of it today.   As Karen mentioned, a guy broke his ankle on the trail and Brian and I went to help him. Due to some misinformation, the injured hiker was two miles from the shelter, not one ¢ not to mention it was up and over the top of Cheoh Bald Mtn. I borrowed a pair of hiking poles from 42 and I covered the first mile and a half in about 20 minutes, but because I was only expecting to walk a mile, I was worried that I zipped past him, so I doubled back until I ran into Brian again. We were both worried that the hiker who told us about him was playing a prank.Finally after walking down the trail for another 10 minutes, looking off the side of the trail, we found the broken hiker. His name was Scamp, and he was a big guy, around 50 years old, and he was chatting pleasantly with Smiley. This guy was unbelievable ¢ His ankle was pointing in the wrong direction about 15 degrees, but he said he was fine. We bundled him up in his sleeping bag and put him on top of his 20 year old thermarest. Eventually the mountain rescue weekend warriors finally came up in ATV¢s for him.I¢m going to end this entry right now ¢ the people in this shelter are pretty animated and this is a fun conversation.Dan
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Fontana Dam, N.C.

To: Birch Spring tentsite, N.C.
Miles today: 7.0

We haven¢t written in a couple days because we took a zero day in Fontana Village. We arrived early in Fontana Village on Saturday so we¢d be able to get our hiker box at the post office, before the post office closed at noon. Dan and I both received boxes from our parents, filled with food, maps, and Easter candy. We spent two nights at the Fontana Inn. We ate a few meals at the Fontana Inn Restaurant and ate as much as we could. We also watched TV, did laundry, and checked our email. The weather was sunny and warm the whole time we were there. On Sunday night Dan¢s father came to visit. He took us into Robinsville, NC and treated us to Subway sandwiches, groceries at the supermarket, and a couple of beers.On Monday morning we ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. We packed up our things and made a bounce box that we shipped to Mountain Moma¢s. by the time we left it was about 12:00 p.m. We had originally planned to go to the first shelter which was about a 12 mile hike. But since we started late we decided to stay at a tent-site before the shelter. When we got there we met Molasses, a woman in her thirties and another person. Awhile later a few more people came to tent. After dinner the campers on the other side of the creek said that they saw a bear in the area. So we are on look out for bears.Karen
Date: 2003-04-15
From: Birch Spring tentsite

To: Derrick Knob Shelter,(N.C)
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I¢m pretty tired, so this will be short. Karen and I had a long day today: 17.1 miles. And Smoky Mountain miles are much longer than regular miles.Basically, we hiked so far because there¢s a thunderstorm coming in tomorrow evening, follower by a day of rain, so we wanted to get over Clingman¢s Dome (6643¢) before the storm hit. Hopefully we¢ll get some nice views tomorrow like we did today. We saw some neat stuff today ¢ once we reached about 4000¢. We discovered alpine meadows. These are large fields of wild grass, and at this time of the year, they are filled with clusters of little white flowers. They were beautiful, and we walked through miles of them. Also, we had some spectacular views from Little Bald (5200¢), the best Grassy Bald we¢ve seen yet, and also from Rocky Top (5441¢).We were pretty sore and tired when we reached the Derrick Knob Shelter. But we had an interesting visitor during dinner. A deer ran behind our tent and snorted loudly. Since we were up the hill a bit form our tent and it was dark out, we had no idea what kind of animal it was. By the way, when a deer snorts at you, it sounds pretty much like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. Anyway, Karen and I jumped pretty visibly. Booble made fun of us ¢ I think I¢ll be hearing about that one for awhile¢¦Dan
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Birch Spring tentsite to Derrick Knob Shelter,(N.C

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we went up the highest mountain on the trail, Clingman's Dome, at 6644 feet. The weather was a nice 60 degrees F and partly cloudy. We got a 360 degree view and sore feet and legs. I took a rock from the top to send home to my house.Some guy just came into the shelter after a 25 mile day, and I was tired after 14 miles. Tonight we're staying in the shelter. I hope there aren't any mice.The shelter is in a pine forest. Since we were near the top of Clingman's Dome until down here there's been pine trees. Going up the mountain there was a smell in the air of marijuana; apparently there are plants along the trail with the same smell.Tonight, at the shelter, there are about 10 people here. The Lizards, Clete, and Gazelle are here by the fire that they made. I hope the rain isn't too bad tomorrow.- Karen
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Icewater Sprin Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Karen and I made it to the next shelter before the rain really started. Serious downpour. And we packed the shelter - 19 people on the platform, another two pitched tents inside the shelter, on the ground.A family of "hikers" stopped in to the shelter, wearing jeans and sweatshirts, soaking wet. They were all quite enthusiastic about their hike, shivering as they spoke - all of us thru-hikers were horrified, as it was 45 degrees F and pouring rain. They even claimed they knew it was going to rain, which makes their lack of preparedness more a case of stupidity than oversight. I suggested that they get back to their car ASAP.- Dan
Date: 2003-04-18
From: Icewater Sprin Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Right now we are possibly in one of the worst shelters yet. We would have tented tonight except there were no tent sites left. There are puddles of water on the floor. There are two levels; the bottom level is slanted and you can't sit up. I hope the second floor doesn't fall on me in the middle of the night.The terrain today was gradually uphill all day. We got some beautiful views this morning with the fog in between the mountains. We hiked up to Charlie's Bunion, which was a ledge basically. It would have been a great view, but the fog had risen to block our view. We were on a ridge most of the day and had views for a couple of hours, but then the fog set in.Dan and I ate hummus again for lunch with chocolate. Our stomachs were still rumbling and we were a little low on energy so we had some Tasters Choice instant coffee. That gave us some more energy.Tomorrow's our last day in the Smokies.- Karen