morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-02-16
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It is hard to get out of a warm sleeping bag when you see ice in your water bottle and snow on your stuff. Well i spent from 3h30 pm to 7h30 AM in my sleeping bag so i think it's time to get up.After cooking I finally got off. Hiking is awesome because I can be shivering before leaving but while I hike i warm up really quick. It was cllimbing for an hour to Standing Indian Mountain(5500ft) and the summit was above the clouds ,as a result it, was wonderfully nice. Atfer that it was either downhill or flat for the next 10 wich fitted very nicely because hiking in the snow is not the easiest thing to do.The last 2 miles were uphill and it was magnificient because at 3500 ft it was cold and cloudy but on top of ALbert Mountain(5200ft) I was way up above the clouds and the sun made me feel like it was the 5th of May.Tonight Garrett,Dozer,Coolhand Luke,A-One+Gus and I are staying at Big Spring Shelter.Tomorrow is Franklin for 2nights and we are all looking forward to the heat.GoodnightL-A Domp.s. My trailname is L-A Dom you can click on trailname to find out why.
Date: 2004-02-17
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Franklin, North Carolina
Miles today: 9.1

Everyone of us at Big Spring Shelter wanted to get up early this morning and leave early to hike the 9miles that separates us from civilization.I woke up around 7 and I was ready to leave around 8. The only thing left to do was put my boots on. Piece of cake right? WRONG!They were frozen solid. I thought of pushing my feet in them desperatly: didnt work! Everyone was leaving and I was stuck there. I thought of blowing in them for heat: didnt work! As Dozer was leaving , he suggested to boil water , put in zip lock bags and put thoses bags in my boots. It Worked! My boots were still frozen but thawed just enough for me to fit my feet in. The leather pushed agaisnt my skin and every footstep was as painful. Fortunately my feet got warm and my boots thawed.The hike was quite easy. Almost all downhill. Hitchiking to Franklin took only around 20min. The man who picked us up was 78 and he said he picked up people from all over the world. A great man he was.Tonight we went to eat at Sizzler's restaurant, a wonderful steak house.Garrett's parents drove from Toccoa to join the party at the restaurant and they even picked up the tab! They are just too kind.The food was great and all the hikers at like madman.Tomorrow is my first zero day and I'm kinda looking forward to it in order to help my knee and my gluteus maximus get better.Happy Gilmore is on so that means see ya.L-A Dom
Date: 2004-02-19
From: Franklin, North Carolina

To: Siler Bald
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: broken clouds

Hmmm. If I'm in a shelter or a tent I sleep well. When I'm in a motel room I don't really sleep well. WEIRD!I don't know what I ate last night but all night it gave me an upset stomach. EVen with all the blankets I was cold. Breakfast at Normandie's helped me get better.We only hiked 4.2M today. All uphill but still quite easy.Felt fine during the hike but after I stopped that I became quite tired. Ohh
Date: 2004-02-20
From: Siler Bald

To: Cold Spring shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday was a beautiful day. SO was last night At midnight it was prob in the 40's but this morning the forecast they had predicted was wrong. Cold walking today but still very nice. I kinda wish i had my skates today. hahaA-One,Cactus,Garrett and Dozer are still with me.Can't write much because I only have 30min
Date: 2004-02-25
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: RUssell field shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

3rd state today. I am in Tennessee tonight in Smoky mountain national park. If you go Northbound on the At trail in the smokies , the left of the trail is Tennessee and the right is North Carolina. The trail is right on the border.Today I had to say goodbye to the beautiful heated privys (toilets) at Fontana Hilton SHelter and now I'm at a shelter where there is no privys .\The hike today wanst as bad as i had anticipated.4M of climbingright off the bat and the rest got a little easier. I've been backpacking for 2weeks and a half now ;therefore, my physical shape and endurance got a lot stronger.Tonight we are staying at Russel field shelter. This shelter is a typical stone 3 sided CAGED shelter. The cage is there to make a zoo with caged in humans for the bears to enjoy. hehe :-PThe weather reports said after midnight it should start to rain and eventually snow for total accumulations of 6-10 inches. Snow or not I will have to walk tomorrow so hopefully it's not snow. hehehReading TimeL-A Domps tonight we heard coyotes howling 5 feet away from the shelter it was awesome!
Date: 2004-02-26
From: Russell field shelter

To: Silers bald shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: snow

Worst hiking day of my life. the 6inches-12inches of snow made it so hard. I didnt hike with anyone today because I wanted to get to the shelter asap. Well i got there early but I was so bored. Dozer A-1 and Georgia Chainsaw(Garret) arrived after. A mouse climbed up on my arm while I was writing my journal and scared the living crap out of me. hehe I screamed and the others laughed. I guess we all did. Well bad days make great stories so maybe one day I'll have a good story about today. At least I didn't get attacked by a bear who looks like Michael Jackson. I guess it coudlve been worst.I guess usually my entries sound like joy joy but nothing is perfect I guess.Hopefully the snow stops soon
Date: 2004-02-27
From: Silers bald shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Hmm woke up to a little more snow. To go with the irony of it all today I hit Clingman's Dome wich is the highest point on the AT at 6643ft.The walk to the summit was not as hard as I had anticipated. Sure it was harder than solid ground but we are in the winter. After the climb was a long 8Mile downhill to 5040ft. The thing is the sun came out and the temperature went up in the upper 40's so all the snow that was piled up on the trees we're pouring on me. After 20min I was completely soaked! hehe (maybe it's because I was lazy this morning and I didnt put on my rain gear). I was happy to get to Newfound Gap(the only road that crosses the AT in the Smokies) and luckily Georgia Chainsaw talked to these two nice ladies who agreed to give us a drive down to Gatlinburg. The park town wich is 20M away.Now I am in Gatlinburg with the Dutch boy Posse - Cactus and we are all waiting for some of the snow to melt in the Smokies.Call me a woos but im here for a good time .LaterL-A Domp.s The dutch boy posse is in my photo page on Feb 18.pps. When I put M it doesnt mean Metres, it means Miles.
Date: 2004-02-28
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Resupplying and waiting for the snow in the mountains to melt. This a the biggest trail town I probably will encounter the whole trail. It's nice.my wet stuff from yesterday is now drying. I can't wait to get back on the trail because there are too many people out here. It's so touristic it's crazy. I hate tourists. Ohh wait maybe I shouldn't say that I'm Canadian. Ok so I mean I like to be on the trail and seeing other hikers more than regular people. Yes in my simple mind everyone that doesnt hike is regular. Sure i know there not really but beeing out there so long it changes your way of seeing people.Sorry!The peace and quietness will be well appreciated tomorrow. Tonight A1,Dozer,Chainsaw and we all ate at an All You Can Eat. Yamm Calories!We are watching Forrest Gump now.Great movie!I'm missing good movie parts so See ya!L-A Domp.s Heat and no snow can be fun.p.p.s Cold + snow can also be fun.p.p.p.s Bathing in cold water is no funp.p.p.p.s Bathing in hot water is fun.
Date: 2004-02-29
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Peck's corner shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Yey today we leave civilization for peace,quietness and a good physical workout. I'm glad because I'm starting to hate big crowds.Dozer and I hitchiked from the motel and we got pitcked up by a park ranger wich was awesome! At first when he pulled over we thought he was going to tell us that hitchiking is illegal. Guess not!The hike was really challenging because a lot of the snow turned to ice. The views were amazing today as the sky showed no cloud.In Gatlinburg I had the chance to resupply at a massive grocery store; as a result, I found stuff I don't normally find in regular town grocery store. Tonight I had taco rice with cheese and spicy tuna. Yumm it was good. Hershey bar for dessert. I need to pack in the calories for our 20M hike tomorrow.See yaL-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-01
From: Peck's corner shelter

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

The wonderful thing about mountains is you can go from winter to spring in one day.This morning I was walking in wet snow and Ice and it was hard. Then I got up to 6300ft and after that It was mostly all downhill. After about 3000ft down there was no snow left. It was a nice gift from mother nature.My glutius injury is bothering me and I'm trying to figure out a pack setting that will stop it from hurting me. Oh well what kind of hike doesn't have any injuries involved? I met another thru-hiker today . Drifter is his name and he is staying with us tonight.Dozer built a cowboy tv in the shelter chimney and it heated up the shelter a bit. Not that it really needed heating because we are so low that the weather is in the 50's even at night.Gotta sleep now.L-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-02
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: moderate rain

Rain,Rain,Rain!One positive thing about rain is you know the Springs won't get dry. That's about it though! heheMy walk today was miserable today going mostly uphill because I have a pulled muscle just above the buttox and it really hurts when i go up. I had to stop while rain was pouring on me . It wasnt really fun. At least the walk was only 10.5m!I'm going to start stretching in order to recover better from the injury.It stopped raining during the hike wich was awesome and tonight we've had a good old cowboy tv. Dozer,A1 ,CHainsaw and Drifter are here with me enjoying the night.Time to read now.L-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-03
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Man I slept really well last night except for one thing that kept waking me up!My aluminum stove windshield was in beetween me and Drifter and every time one of us would touch it, it would make this crazy sound and kept waking me up. At one point during the night I chucked it right beside A-1's head! heheThey said 30% chance of rainshowers today and I sure am glad there we're right. It didnt rain and when I got to Max Patch ( a massive bald on top of a mountain) I could see 360degrees around me. It was a superb experience. We chilled there for a good hour and it was well worth it. The hike was fairly easy after that and my glutius maximus was not really hurting. Sweet!Tonight I am at one of the smallest, if not the smallest shelter on the entire At. We are 5 and it is nice and cozy. We built another cowboy tv and it was warm. A-1 ,Dozer,Drifter and Dozer are here with me. Reading time.L-A DomPS It's views like MAx patch that make you want to be out here
Date: 2004-03-04
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC 
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hmm woke up this morning and it was already warm. We are all going to Hot Springs today and Chainsaw really wants to get there early it appears. He left the shelter at 7:15Am this morning. I left at 8. We all hiked very quickly to get here though. I was here by noon. Today was the warmest day yet. I had sweat pooring from every pores of my body because the sun was right on me. WHen I got to the outfitter(free internet!) the thermometer indicated 77degrees. 77DEGREES!! That's a nice june day in New-Brunswick. Tonight we are all staying at Helmer's . It's a hostel inside a victorian house.Nice! Tomorrow we are not taking a zero day. Next zero day will be in Erwin 70M from hereTime to go now my laundry should be doneL-A DOm
Date: 2004-03-05
From: Hot Springs, NC 

To: Spring Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up early this morning to read. Elmer(the man who owns Sunnybank Inn) has a massive collection of books on the AT. I read one that commemorated Earl Shaffer's 50th anniversary thru-hike. For those of you who don't know ,Mr Shaffer is the first person to have hiked the appalachian trail in one continuous journey in 1948. In 1965 he hiked it again going south and in 1998 he hiked it for the last time at the young age of 79.I resupplyed and got tons of food!Before hitting the trail I ate a big cheeseburger, a hotdog, a Reese's peanut butter bar and 2 sodas. That was enough food for me until I got to the shelter. That's crazy because usually I eat so much while I hike.Today is a first for 2 things. The first was hiking shirtless because it's so warm and the 2nd is sleeping on my new foamy. Yes I sent my 2 pounds Thermarest pad yesterday because I brought it for the cold and now it's warmer.Tough few days coming up- 15M tommorrow and the day after and 20M in 2 days. That means I need rest I think?One thing left to doZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZL-A Domp.s. A1,Dozer,Drifter and Chainsaw are here with me tonight
Date: 2004-03-06
From: Spring Mtn Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin's shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up at 3Am by 3 section hikers +1 dog who had just gotten in.Unfortunately there was no room for them in the small shelter and fortunately one of the guys said it was fine because they had a tarp. It was pouring rain so i felt bad for them.This morning they came and introduced themselves. Really nice people. Fireball,Duct tape, Bean and the dog.The rain stopped around 10AM and the rest of the day was partly cloudy. Good for hiking. The climbs today weren't killer, the views awesome and the temperature perfect ~60F. When we were on top of the new reroute we could hear tyhis guy whistling away lower on the "bad weather trail". He shouted " What are you doing?" So we all yelled back "we're hiking !" and then he yelled back I'm General Pain. General Pain? General weirdo if you ask me hehe.Tonight we are having a high definition Cowboy Tv here in the fire place inside the shelter. It's sweet.That's it for today.L-A Domps For those of you who still didnt get Cowboy tv -it means FIRE! hehe
Date: 2004-03-07
From: Jerry Cabin's shelter

To: Hogback ridge shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

1month anniversary on the trail. Last night Dozer's little radio forecast for today was bad.AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Turns out today had a few clouds in the sky. About 60F outside so it was really perfect for hiking. The wind picked up a bit but it wasnt bad.Today the trail went through a farm land and I had to go over a stile to get on the farm land. It's different to walk on a field; as oppose, to the forest. Different is a change and change is GOOD!I got to the shelter at about 16h15. An hour later the sky was cloudy, it was thundersnowing. Yes thundersnowing!!! The wind was crazy and the trees we're creeking and falling! Thank god there was a cheap tarp to cover the opening of the shelter from snow blowing in,if not I would be an ice cube.Fiouf! Well hopefully tomorrow the weather will clear up.Sleeping bag timeL-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-08
From: Hogback ridge shelter

To: No Business knob shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

Another long mileage day today.It didnt start out too good because the wind was imminently strong. On top of big bald the winds reached 55mph. I had a hard time not falling because up there, there a no trees to cover from the wind.5500 ft was the highest point of my day ;as a result, getting lower was nice with way less wind and warmer temperatures. This was probably my easiest >20M day both physically and mentally.That means my physical shape is getting better and better. As for my body shape - well I've lost 12 pounds so far. Man I'll be skinny at the end of this trip because I'm only 150lbs now.Dozer and I hiked together for a long stretch of the trail wich was nice because we talked a lot and time went by fast.Tonight A1,Dozer,Drifter,Chainsaw made a big cowboy tv and it was magnifienctly cool to watch the same channel over and over again.Hasta ProximaL-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-09
From: No Business knob shelter

To: Miss Janet's , Erwin Tn
Miles today: 6.3

Hmm only 6.3 M to civilization today. Nice!The hike took just a little under an hour and a half. It was fast and easy terrain to get here so that was nice to give me a break.Now I'm at Miss Janet's hostel wich is an awesome place to stay. Heat, mattresses, tv-vcr,Internet access,laundry,shower and shuttle service around town in a nice big ol' house.Prior to beeing here, I had heard that Ms. Janet will bend over backwards for thru-hikers, actually for anyone. By what I've seen so far it's TRUE! I'm glad we didnt have to hike all day today because it's snowing out there and the schools from the county are cancelled. Hehe it makes me laugh because there is barely an inch of snow on the ground. At home in Canada it takes much more than that to cancel schools. I guess we're in the south!Time to watch office space.L-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-10
From: Miss Janet's , Erwin Tn

To: Miss Janet's , Erwin Tn
Miles today: 0.0

Yes I might be lazy to take a day off here but Miss Janet's is too great so I had to stay another night. I worked for stay so it didnt cost me anything. Dozer,A1,Chainsaw, Magic and Chainsaw are the other thru-hikers here. Drifter joined the Dutch boy posse yesterday because he bought the dutch boy shoes. hehehe. His are blue so they are not as flashy as my red one and Chainsaw's yellow one. Today we watched movies all day, I was able to upload my pictures on the site and we played nickel poker again. I lost prob around 5$ since im here in nickel poker. Another thing I did today was learn how to make alcohol burning stoves out of soda cans. It's very simple and obviously very cheap. I will be switching to this type of stoves in a few weeks when the weather warms up. This stove doesnt even weight an ounce! sweet Yes I am not good at all at those games but when it was my time to deal we played blackjack and that's where i made a bit of money.Im sleepy so Im going to my warm bunkbed. Rrrrrrrrrrooooonnnn Shhhhhhhh (Snor)L-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-11
From: Miss Janet's , Erwin Tn

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Back to trail world today. Beautiful day to do it so it felt awesome. Miss Janet prepared us this morning with a good continental breakfast. Yamm.16m today mostly uphill but it still wasn't that hard. We went up from 1700ft at Erwin to 5200ft today. Then we plunged down at 3900 ft where we are now. It's weird to see snow all around the shelter.I hiked most of the day with the company of Magic and Chainsaw. Time and Miles flew by as we were talking away. Magic thru-hiked last year and he's doing an encore this year. It's awesome to have him around because he has lots of thru-hiking stories from last year.I didn't resupply white gas in Erwin ;as a result, I knew I would not have enough to get me to Kincora Hostel in Hampton. What I did is I took a homemade alcohol stove from the pile of stoves Miss Janet's has and got enough denatured alchohol for 1meal. I used the alcohol stove tonight and I don't know who built it but I think it's fair to say it's a failure. The stove had leaks so after I poured the alcohol in there and lighted the stove- the picnic table went up in flames. I did master the leaking stove and about an hour and a half later my meal was ready. Of course the others we're done one hour and 15min before me but that's ok. Tomorrow should be better with my good old white gas stove.A1,Dozer,Drifter,Chainsaw and Magic are here with me tonight.Entertainment time.L-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-15
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 6.1

Easy day today. It rained so we we're lucky. Got to Kinocra hostel around 10h30 Am and Pat People's greeted us with open arms.Kincora is the hostel of hostels. It's situated 0.2M off the trail on a road in the mountains just above the town of Hampton Tennessee. It's a log cabin connected to Bob and Pat People's home. It has shower, toilets, couch, 17beds, kitchen, wood stove, telephone and every single backpacker magazine dating back to 1998. It's an awesome peaceful place and it's only 4$ a night. Bob( the owner) offered to shuttle us in town at no extra charge and we ate at an all you can ear chinese restaurant. I was full for only 4.99$. Then we resupplyed.For supper tonight we all split burgers and CHainsaw cooked them on the BBQ for us. They even had Montreal steak Spice in the hostel. My favorite spice! A1 is not feeling too good today , hopefully he'll feel better in the morning. In addidtion to A1,Dozer Chainsaw and Drifter are here tonight. We have the place to ourselves. Time to sleep in a bedL-A Dom
Date: 2004-03-18
From: Iron Mountain SHelter

To: US421
Miles today: 11.5

I guess I have giardia too. Woke up about a dozen of times last night. First I had an upset stomach, then I had to get up and go take a crap wich was not pretty. I started vomiting all over over my dutch boy shoes. Good thing it wasnt inside the shelter!It really blows to be in the middle of the woods when you are sick. I had to hike out 11.5 M to get to a road today and it was hard. Every 30M or so I had to stop to do #2 wich dehydrated me big time. Good thing Dozer, Chainsaw and Drifter were with me because they took good care of me. They stuck with me throughout the day to make sure I wouldnt faint. We stopped at a shelter and they made me drink chicken broth. I hated chicken broth before so imagine how much I hated it when my body would barely accept any food. Berk!After that we hiked to US421 and a medical student picked us up. Chainsaw did not put his thumb up to get a ride. He waved his arms like a madman. At that time I felt like a zombie. The driver took us to a convenience store where Dozer called Bob ( Kincora owner) for me and he came all the way to Shady Valley, an hour drive, to pick me up and get me back in Kincora. No charge! Kincora is the best hostel on the AT.
Date: 2004-03-19
From: US421-Kincora

To: US421-Kincora
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up today with fever. I still have diarrhea(sorry if I gross out people) I drank so much water last night to make sure I would not get dehydrated. A1 and Stanimal left today and Stanimal said he felt fine but A1 looked like he was a little rough. He said he still had nausea but other than that he was fine.Bob dropped me off at the Medical clinic this morning where I got to see a doctor who prescribed me some antibiotics and anti-diarrhetic. Hopefully they start kicking in soon. I ate 3 apples , 2 bananas, 6 slices of bread today+ drank a couple of gatorades. The diarrhea and vomiting seems to be gone wich is a great thing. I still feel sick and hopefully tomorrow I'll be better.Tonight we are 10 at the hostel. Another thru-hiker came in today-Foggy Bottom + 5 more section hikers. There were already 3 other section hikers here so that makes 8 for the section hikers. It's great we are so much because Bob comes in and tells us stories about the AT. Tomorrow I shall take another zero day and I will probably be heading out 2 days from now. Hopefully I'll catch up to A1 within the first day and Dozer,Drifter and Chainsaw in a few days.Wish me luckL-A Dom