morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-25
From: Double Spring Shelter

To: Newfound Gap / Gatlingburg
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up around 2 in the morning to a mouse running around my head. I tried hitting it but those things are quick. Kinda gave me the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, today was a good challenge. Left Double Spring Shelter around 9 or so and started the 3 mile uphill over Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail at 6,643 ft. It wasn't that steep of a pull, just long. I got to Mt. Buckley, which is at 6,582, and man, I can't describe how awesome the views were going up it. I could look to my left and see Tennessee with the big mountains and flatlands past it, and then to my right and look at the hills in North Carolina. It was cool being by myself at that point, I was able to stop and take it all in. Clingman's Dome's view is pretty good, but not as good as how it looks going up it. There is an observation tower you can drive to, and I guess the man-made aspect of it took away from my ability to appreciate it. I met this guy, his name was Len, at the base of the tower and got to talk to him for a few minutes. Good guy, he was in Gatlingburg for a business convention and came up to get away from the city. He was asking me about thru-hiking and said he always wanted to do it but never had the chance. Nothing too exciting about the conversation, it just reminded me that I'm out here pursuing a dream. Definitely made the rest of the day better. Got to Newfound Gap, 10.8 miles for the day. I was able to get a ride from a couple of really nice section hikers, one of them took me into Gatlinburg: took me to the grocery store, hiker store, and hotel. I met up with Rebel and Big Brother, Rebel's wife, and Earthman Mike, a section hiker who was experiencing knee problems at the time. We went to eat at this really good microbrewery. I got a big ole cheeseburger with really good fries and a few homebrews. I don't know if I've already mentioned this but my appetite has definitely gotten bigger over the past month. I'm eating more than I ever have -- and I'm not watching what I eat, other than making sure I'm getting enough protein and carbohydrates and calories. It's a nice change from the past two years, when I've been trying to eat healthy and not eat junk food. Now I eat whatever the hell I want.
Date: 2007-04-26
From: Newfound Gap / Gatlingburg

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

Man, today sucked. Woke up at the hotel in Gatlinburg around 7, went out to breakfast with Big Brother, Rebel, and Rebel's wife at Bennett's BBQ in Gatlinburg. It was good -- all you can eat. We saw the weather forecast was calling for rain but later in the day, around 3 and going late in the night, so we figured leaving at 9 would get us to the shelter well before the rain started up. Well, it started raining right after we passed Charlie's Bunion (great view, small little side trail; I'll try to get pictures up on this sooner or later) and we were up on the ridgeline pretty much all day, so we were in the middle of a cloud and wind the whole time. It wasn't raining too hard, but enough to make it miserable. I got to the shelter, everything I was wearing was pretty much soaked, and it was pretty cold. I got out of my wet clothes and into dry ones, laid in my sleeping bag for a while, got up to fix dinner, went to bed. Nothing much to say about this day except I'm really glad it was over and I know there'll be more like it but this one flat out sucked.
Date: 2007-04-27
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Started this morning out pretty slow because all my stuff was still wet. I hung most of my clothes - socks, underwear, shirt, rainjacket - on the outside of my pack so they would airdry, I'm sure I looked like a hobo walking through the forest. Plus my pack was a little wet, so the water added some weight to the pack. Got out of there around 8:30, got back on the trail (0.4 miles to the trail from the shelter -- whoever put that shelter all the way down there is a moron), and figured Big Brother and I would make it to Cosby Knob shelter (12.9 miles) without a problem. Lots of ups and downs, but nothing to keep us from getting there by 2:30 or so. I had a big breakfast (couple of pop tarts, some sour patch kids, a clif bar, fruit snacks, and beef jerkey -- breakfast of champions), kept a bag of skittles in my pocket for when I got hungry during the hike, and felt really good all day long. We stopped for lunch (whole wheat tortilla with easy cheese and sliced summer sausage, may not sound good but it's pakced with protein and really fills you up; some oatmeal cream cookies, more sour patch kids, more jerkey, and yep, more fruit snacks), then decided we'd be able to make it to Davenport Gap shelter if we got to Cosby Knob in good time. We made good time getting down to Cosby Knob, where there had been bear problems earlier in the week. We didn't see any bear, unfortunately, but we did see big mounds of crap they decided to leave in the middle of the trail. I came close to stepping in a couple. Anyway, we got to Cosby Knob shelter, took a break, I changed my socks, put back on my hobo pack, and pushed on to Davenport Gap shelter. Good 7 mile hike to Davenport Shelter, mostly downhill with a good mile uphill. We passed some section hikers (it's really easy to tell who's a section hiker, by the way -- they look too clean shaven and happy) who were out for a couple of days. It's kinda cool to talk to them, if nothing else but to boost self esteem. Usually when I encounter one of them, I can tell they are looking at me or any other thru-hiker differently than others, they ask, "So you thru-hiking?" At that point I stop, furrow my brow, grit my teeth, let out a big sigh, and say "Yeah, that's the plan." I'm also looking way off in the distance for effect. It's not something I do on purpose, it's more of a habit that I don't know I'm doing until I've already been doing it for a few seconds. Ended the 20-mile day, the longest distance I've done yet, with some other people at the shelter. We built a fire in the fireplace in the shelter, dried some of our clothes out that were still wet, and hung out for a while. Everybody there put in big miles, so we pretty much just sat around. Great day to finish off the Smokies.
Date: 2007-04-28
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Short hike this morning to Standing Bear hostel. Really great place, small farm just a few hundred yards off the trail. Reminds me a lot of the TA Ranch in Athens, a few shacks here and there that are used for laundry, kitchen, or bunkhouse. Everybody is in good spirits here, I'm gonna miss it when I leave, but we're trying to make it to Damascus in time for Trail Days, which is May 18-20. Big festival for thru-hikers, the trail goes right through the town. We've got about 220 miles to get there in 3 weeks. Probably no zeroes, just half days for rest. I'm excited about it.
Date: 2007-04-29
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 13.6

One of the best days on the trip so far. Woke up around 6:30 or so, hung around Standing Bear hostel for a good hour two hours chatting with other hikers and taking it easy. The weather was great all day long, me and Rebel and Brother took off around 9:30 or so. The first 4.5 miles or so were uphill, not too steep but just took a while to get over. We took about an hour lunch, headed out and met up with some other hikers we hadn't seen in a few days. After a while, we came up to the top of a hill, and I smelled food...as we hiked down the hill, the smell got stronger -- burgers and steaks. I had heard about there being trail magic somewhere in the area, and sure enough, we got to a dirt road where the trail crosses over and there were a few past thru-hikers with a tailgating set-up and grill. Ox, one of the past thru-hikers, was the main one in charge of it all. I had two cheeseburgers, a few helpings of beans, an apple, a banana, two oranges, a Coke, a root beer, and a lot of small snacks. Needless to say, the next 3.5 miles to Max Patch took a while. Max Patch was one of the best sites on the A.T. that i've seen thus far. It's a huge grass field at the top of a mountain (4,629 feet above sea level) with 360 degree, incredible views. A big group of us wound up staying to watch the sunset, camped out on top, and watched the sun come up the next morning. One of the best endings to a day I can imagine.
Date: 2007-04-30
From: Max Patch

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

Big long day, it's starting to get hot, and I was tired pretty much all day long. 16.6 miles is a long way to go, and today there were only 2 big pulls that we had to do. One was up Walnut Mountain, which wasn't too bad but the view from the top wasn't any good, and the next was up Bluff Mountain. Going up Bluff wasn't real steep but it just took forever, a lot of spots where I thought I was close to the top and then see another hill. After we got past that we stopped for lunch and had another 8 or 9 miles to go, and I thought they were all downhill, so I wasn't worried about anything. I went about 4 or 5 miles, and I was feeling alright, but then it started going uphill again. At first I thought it was just a little bump and it'd be over after the next bend, but each time I got around a corner I'd see another uphill stretch. Pretty soon I ran out of water (the shut-off valve on my camelbak came off, I got a new one in Hot Springs today) and was worried about how much longer I'd have to go. Plus it was hot, and that was draining me pretty fast. I sat down on the side of the trail for about 15 minutes, started hiking again, and within 2 minutes I could hear the voices at the next shelter. I was pretty relieved until I saw the water source there -- very slow drip that took a while to fill up my bottle. The only good thing about today was that I met someone who is a fellow Ween fan. We were at the shelter and there were these two guys, one named Murphy and the other I can't think of his name, who were doing a practice hike, getting ready for a southbound thru-hike in June. At one point, Rebel said something like "Well, Boognish, what're you having for dinner?" and after I answered, Murphy said "Boognish, that's not Ween-related at all, is it?" Turns out he's as big a Ween fan as me and most of my friends back in Athens are. We talked about Ween for a good 45 minutes or so, it was pretty awesome. (It was exciting because there hasn't been hardly anybody on the trail who knows who Ween is, so whenever I've introduced myself as "Boognish," they usually tilt their head like they're deaf and say "what's that?" Either that or they look at me really weird.)
Date: 2007-05-01
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn (Hot Springs)
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up this morning around 6:45 or so to Rebel poking his head in the window of my tent, whispering real low, "hhheeeyyyy boooooogggggieeeeee." I had earplugs in so I couldn't hear him at first, eventually I rolled over and looked up and saw his thick glasses and lit cigarette peering over me. Then he said in his normal voice, "Hey boogie!" It was funny, you'd have to have met him to appreciate it. Hiked 3.2 miles into Hot Springs, beautiful day, tomorrow I think it's supposed to start raining. Once we got into town, we put our names down at Elmer's Inn, an old Victorian House that I'll get to later on, then we stopped at the Smoky Mountain Diner and had a big breakfast. I had two pancakes, two eggs, a side of bacon, and some toast. Made a few bacon-egg sandwiches (with ketchup), my favorite breakfast, before going through the pancakes. Big pancakes too. When I got done, I looked down at the plate and thought to myself, "One month ago I probably wouldn't have had half of that meal." Funny what hiking does to your appetite. After breakfast we walked through the town, which is real small and pretty cool. Everything is within walking distance. There is this really great outfitter store, Bluff Mountain Outfitters, that has pretty much anything you need. I got a few items from there and after that it was time to check in to Elmer's. Like I said earlier, Elmer's is this big old Victorian House with several different rooms for lounging and relaxing. The hosts are really great, Elmer and Sunshine, two hippies with a very welcome attitude and bumper stickers all over the place that clever puns on impeaching Bush (not that I'm pro-Bush or anti-Bush, I'm just trying to create a mental image for you guys). Of all the hostels/hotels I've been to, this has been the most pleasant that I've seen so far. Standing Bear great, but Elmer's is within two minutes to town walking. Hot Springs has a spa with, well, hot springs at the other end of town, so I called them up and reserved an hour to sit and try to restore my energy. It was great -- right next to a river and the sore muscles in my feet and legs feel better, though after a while it got to be too hot. Definitely worth it though. The only downside was that it was on the other end of town, so I had to walk 10 minutes in the heat to get back to Elmer's. Anyway, today's been pretty great. Gonna get some dinner pretty soon and probably just hang out tonight and get everything ready to head back out tomorrow.
Date: 2007-05-02
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn (Hot Springs)

To: A little bit past Allen Gap
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Started the day off with breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner (eggs, bacon, and toast for a couple of sandwiches) and started hiking at around 10:30 or so. Rebel is tentatively hiking without Big Brother and I to tend to some matters back at home, don't know if or when he'll be able to meet up with us again. Hiking was tough starting out, we had a good mile and a half pull up over Lovers Leap Rock and then a 2 and 1/2 uphill over Rich Mountain. The weather was good, warm and a little cloudy, and we planned to make it a short day to Spring Mountain Shelter. That would've put us between 10 and 11 miles for the day. We got there and the shelter was a dump, lot of trash laying around and the privy was filled to the brim. Big Brother and I were both feeling good and decided to go a few miles to Allen Gap, which is where a road passes through and we thought there'd be some camping there. We got there around 7 or so, we pretty tired and ready to get some dinner, but there wasn't a campsite around, and the spots where we might have been able to camp out was right next to the road. We didn't want to listen to cars go by all night, so we hiked about a half mile up the trail and found an area where we could sleep. We fixed dinner, hung up the bear bags, and went to bed. Nothing exciting, just getting back into the hiking mode after a day off.
Date: 2007-05-03
From: A little bit past Allen Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Pretty long day, woke up in the tent with a headache and took a couple Aleve. Big Brother went on ahead of me, we knew we were going to put in a long day so we got up early. I wound up leaving camp at a little before 9:00 (not so early), we had a lot of uphill early in the day. There was a pretty big uphill to Camp Creek Bald, wound up being around 4 and 1/2 miles with a little bit of level ground in the middle. After that, though, the rest of the day was pretty easy as far as the terrain goes. In the middle of the day, though, I had a kind of exciting hour or so. I got to a sign that had two paths following it, one said "Exposed Ridge Trail" with a white blaze, and the other path was "Bad Weather Trail." I looked up at the sky, it was a little cloudy but no dark clouds, actually looked pretty nice, so I went ahead to the exposed ridge trail. I figured I'd get some good views and it'd be some good hiking. I got up on the exposed portion of the trail (excellent views, by the way), looked around, and saw some black clouds behind me. I thought "Wow, good thing those clouds aren't headed my way." So I took a couple of pictures and started taking a nice, slow pace over the rocks. Then I heard thunder, looked back at the dark clouds, and thought "Wow, those look closer than they did a second ago." I looked right above me to see which direction the clouds were headed in, and sure enough, they were coming my way. I started going as fast as I could and not fall over anything. Eventually the rocky trail turned back in to the regular trail, but by that point, the clouds were really close. I was back in the woods and running with 35 pounds on my back. It was good that I was under tree cover, but I was still pretty high up on the ridge. Soon I ran out of breath and started walking again. Then I heard a HUGE crash of thunder, right above my head, and that got me running again. I got to a low point where there were some downed trees and another hiker with his pack on the ground. I stopped there, put on my rain gear, and waited it out with the guy. Wound up being the best thing, because the trail went uphill after that part, and I would've been back on the ridge. Got to Jerry Cabin Shelter for lunch, met up with a few other thru-hikers, one is carrying a small guitar with him, so I got to strum through a few songs. It felt pretty good, especially since I hadn't played in about a month. After lunch we only had another 6 miles to go, so we headed out to finish off the day. Before we got to Flint Mtn. Shelter, though, it started raining, nothing too bad, just kind of annoying. Finished the day off in the shelter with some other hikers, including the guy with the guitar, so I got to play some more. All in all a good day, especially since we put in some big miles.
Date: 2007-05-05
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Nolichucky River / Erwin
Miles today: 17.0

Woke up this morning dreading to get started. I think I forgot to include in yesterday's entry that my sleeping bag got wet, along with a bunch of other stuff in my pack. So I slept in a soggy sleeping bag, which actually dried throughout the night from my body heat but was still damp in the morning, and got up knowing I'd have to put on wet socks, a wet shirt, and wet shoes. Not something that makes you jump out of bed ready to tackle the challenges the day brings.   Oh yeah, and I was almost out of food. I didn't resupply well enough in Hot Springs, so all I had to get me to Erwin basically was a Snickers bar, a couple of Oatmeal bars, a tortilla, a few slices of pepperoni, and a Little Debbie Oatmeal Pie. So my goal was to get to Erwin, regardless of how hard it rained or how much pain I'd be in. It was a long hike but it was mostly downhill with a stop at a shelter 11 miles out for lunch. Making it to the shelter wasn't real easy, though; my right foot started hurting with each step, and it seemed to take forever to get to the shelter since I had to hike real slow. When I did get there, I finished off all my food, rubbed my feet, and headed on. Lunch helped out, as it always does, a lot and after it I was feeling much better. We got into Erwin around 5:30, and Bloody Nose's uncle was meeting him where the trail crosses the road. We checked into Uncle Johnny's Hostel, which is just about 50 yards from the trail, and went out to eat at the Erwin Burrito. I got a steak burrito with black beans and finished it off in about 5 minutes. After that, we stopped by Sonic and I got some tots. Made me think of that Sonic commercial where one of the guys is eating some tots really slow and the other guy slaps it out of his hand and says something like "OHHHHHH, DON'T EVEN BRING THAT!" or something like that. Uncle Johnny's is a pretty good place, kinda far from town but they run shuttles. Good place to recoup after going 68 miles in 3 nights/4 days.
Date: 2007-05-06
From: Nolichucky River / Erwin

To: Miss Janet's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Taking a 0 day today to rest up. Got up this morning at Uncle Johnny's, had a shuttle to the laundromat, resupplied at the grocery store, and then switched over to Miss Janet's hostel, which is right in Erwin. Walking distance to anywhere you need to go. I walked down to the laundromat to wash my sleeping bag (which smelled terrible, I didn't really mind it until sleeping in it inside last night at Uncle Johnny's, I could describe it but my description would be pretty vulgar). I had to use a front-loading washer, and they didn't have any at the laundromat we used this morning. Anyway, I was walking back to Miss Janet and this woman in a van with tons of stickers all over it drove up and said "You want a ride?" I said "Yeah, I'm going to Miss Janet's." She said "Well, I'm her, hop on in." Just my luck. We got there, I got my stuff settled in, and then walked to the back of the house. She had some hair clippers that she was putting away and said "How 'bout a haircut?" I was like "Nah, I think I'm growing it out. I have thought of getting a mohawk before, though. But I don't think I'll get one." Then I thought about it for a minute or two, thought my hair was getting a little long and shaggy, so I went back to her and said "You know what, let's go ahead and cut it." So I chopped all my hair off. It feels better, I don't have to worry about it itching as bad or blowing around when it gets windy. Still got the beard though....that ain't coming off 'til Katahdin. Or before.....we'll see.
Date: 2007-05-08
From: Iron Mtn. Gap

To: Carvers Gap
Miles today: 14.0

Slackpacked over Roan Mtn, which is supposedly one of the hardest uphill sections on the southern portion of the A.T. I got dropped off at Carvers Gap and went to Iron Mtn. Gap, so I went south over Roan Mtn. and hiked down the hard part. Came across other hikers who were coming up the mountain and I could tell they were having a really tough time with it. I felt kinda cheap slackpacking over it, like I should've been roughing it with everybody else instead of taking the easy way out. Then again, going down the mountain wasn't easy -- hard on the knees.
Date: 2007-05-09
From: Being For The Benefit of Mr. Hoss

To: Iron Mtn. Gap
Miles today: 19.0

Slackpacked from Iron Mtn. Gap back to Erwin, a 19 mile day. Got dropped off north on the trail and hiked back to the river. Pretty weird slackpacking, only taking snacks and water -- much easier, obviously, but knowing that I was hiking south instead of north was very strange. Just felt odd heading in a different direction. Good hiking, felt great at the end of it.
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Carvers Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

Very short day, got dropped off at Carver's Gap by Miss Janet to join back up with the trail and only went 5 miles to Overmountain Shelter. Great place to stay, it's an old barn that was converted to a shelter years ago. Incredible view looking over a valley.
Date: 2007-05-11
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Doll Flats Campsite
Miles today: 6.0

Another short day -- could've easily have gone further but I planned on doing 26 the next day and stopping at Kincora, a hostel on Dennis Cove Road. Really great campsite at the end of a long field that looks over a small town in North Carolina, I think it was Elk Park.