morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-03-06
From: ashville nc

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Well it is back to the fontana hilton for a night to wait out the rain. Hopefully I will run into some friends from a week ago. In ever really know what the trail is going to bring me, but I do know that being able to adapt is key to life on the trail. I miss my dad already as I sit in the hotel getting ready for the Hike through the smokeys. I've met alot of great people so far, but boy do I miss and love my friends and family. Being on the trail has already taught me so much, particularly the value of a good conversation(i still believe it to be the highest form of communication) more to comesirjellypants
Date: 2011-03-11
From: Erwin

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

In Erwin Tn. Stayed at Uncle Johnny's place last night. Great little hostel and good people. Its funny how i think I'll never see someone again and then i bump into them in town a week later. Anyway the Smokies were rough. Weather was insane, but i suppose after skipping out on the winter in New England this year i had it coming to me. Life on the trail is amazing as are its people. I am now starting to get a little homesick. Its funny how Ive done a lot of traveling in my life, and this is the first time I've felt homesick. I miss my family,friends, school, even work sometimes. Oh well, all the more reason to keep walking north. Still there is nowhere I'd rather be then NOBO 2011 on the AT. Every day is a lesson in patience, acceptance, humility and above all reverence. TO all who are reading, may your enjoy your journey as much as i have enjoyed mine-sir jellypants
Date: 2011-03-02
To: "prepared"
Miles today: 0.0

Well we are about 13 days from Springer and a grand adventure for Dan, Max and I. This is Matt by the way. Along the trail we are going to take turns updating this blog to keep everyone informed where we are and how we are doing. Dan and I have been spending the day weighing out our gear (turns out our shit is heavy) and making some final plans for our first couple mail drops. We are going to put up our gear list sometime soon in the next few days. We will be posting by my G2 smart phone so hopefully it lives up to its name and lets us keep you posted every couple days. But that's all for today
Date: 2011-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well Matt Checking in. We are about 8 days from springer and Dan and I have finished our last days of work. Thanks again Dr Newtons you have been great. Its now really starting to set in Im finally about to start this trip I have been planning for years. I thought i would take a minute or two and make a list of things Im going to miss and what Im excited for on the trail. Well what Im going to miss first. My wonderful Girl friend Joelle, Hands down the hardest part of this trip will be not seeing her for months at a time. Im going to miss Joelles dog Penny she has quite the personality that i will miss. I will miss my bed, my moms cooking,Joelle even more Im sure, sitting on the couch on a rainy daying watching movies and my family. What Im excited for is setting my own schedule every day for the next 5 months, Being in the outdoors with all its beauty, Testing myself , the time to reflect and plan for the future, meeting a ton of new peopleand The time i will spend with my Dog Maximus. But before I blabber on for to long Im off to check my gear one more time trying to shave a few ounces cause as they say ounces add up to pounds and pounds add up to pain -Matt
Date: 2011-03-06
To: almost there
Miles today: 0.0

Matt checkin in. Well we are 4 days away from springer now and the nerves are setting in a little bit but I feel confident that dan and I can make it. We both are all packed up and ready to go Dan is at 42 pounds with 5 days food and 3 liters of water. I'm at about 44 pounds with the same 5 days and 3 liters. I'm carrying a dog bed and extra 2 pounds of dog food and Dan has a nice ukelele hanging off the back of his pack giving him a couple extra pounds. It will bring hours of entertainment so its worth it. But I'm off to portland to get the last few things. We are taking off Sunday and plan to be on top of springer early Tuesday (we are skipping the approach trail) well that's all I will check in again before we leave.
Date: 2011-03-13
From: almost there

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

And so it begins... sort of. Current time is 10:15 and we seem to be somewhere inbetween Pennsylvania and trucker-ville. So far smooth sailing and if the garmins predictions are correct we should be strolling into Georgia around 7a.m. tomorrow morning. One thing I do fancy about traveling across country is the food intake. Today's diet has consisted of: water, clementines, cliffbars, girlscout cookies, doritos, starburst and of course everyones best friend red bull. Mmmmm. Pizza planned for tomorrows arrival. I even hear there's a pool where we're staying!Just want to thank all my friends and family for all of the support, it's greatly appreciated. Without you this trip probably wouldn't have been possible.~Dan
Date: 2011-03-15
From: Springer Mtn.

To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.8

The day couldn't have been better. Well, according to weather.com the day couldn't have been better. The forecast called for 30% chance of rain with temps in the 70's. Unfortunately mother nature had a differant plan. We arrived at the Springer Mtn. Parking lot around 9 a.m. and hit the summit soon after. The rest of the day was spent banging out a quick 7.8 miles to Hawk Mtn. Shelter where we met a handful of veteran thru-hikers. They brought us up to speed on trail lingo and offered some insight. Though the whole day was spent trucking along in the rain I'm feeling pretty positive and hope to keep a good attitude through this hike.~Dan (Don Juan Miguel)
Date: 2011-03-16
From: Hawk Mtn Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 2 woke up to the light patter of rain on the tents fly but soon after packing up it cleared off to a nice day.We got a late start because of all the safety meetings with past hikers. We did a slow and easy 8.7 miles today. Stayed with a bunch of thru hikers got a little trail magic by having firewood at the site when we arrived. Max is holding up great much better then Dan and I. He is always looking down at us from the top of the mountains asking what's taking so long. But spirts are high miles are not so far but our trail legs will come sometime we hope. ~matt
Date: 2011-03-17
From: Gooch Gap

To: Slaughter Creek Campsite
Miles today: 11.0

Unbelievable day. Woke up this morning with ice inside the tent and got somewhat of a slow start. Within about three hours it went from being 30 degrees to 80 which made walking sluggish. Regardless we covered a solid 11 miles which put us right before Blood Mtn. at Slaughter Creek Campsite. It really is a lot nicer then the names make it out to be. Set up camp and ate our solid dose of Ramen and Tuna packets. Mmmm mmm good. Then we sat around talking with a German chap by the name of Madlock. Funny guy. Headed to Neels Gap tomorrow for a "shakedown" to try and drop some pounds off our packs. Oh and did I mention they have free burgers? Until next time.~Don Juan
Date: 2011-03-18
From: Slaughter Creek Campsite

To: Bull Gap 
Miles today: 5.2

"Hurtin' for curtain" seemed to be the line of the day. Woke up around 10ish and had a quick climb to the top of Blood Mtn. From there it was a steep 2 mile decline to Neels Gap where the legend of free burgers was real. After stuffing our faces we took part in the ritualistic shakedown. Matt ended up dropping 5 pounds and I sent home 2 1/2 . However, Worldwide gave me some solid pointers on packing and my 45 pound pack ended up feeling light as a feather. After Neels we had the intention of putting in some miles until we met up with a local by the name of Long Island Ice Tea who showed us some spots off the trail where a Native American tribe dating back to 900 A.D. once romped. So needless to say we decided to stay put at some stealth spots near by. Shooting for Low Gap Shelter tomorrow.~Don Juan
Date: 2011-03-19
From: Bull Gap 

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Very slow start today didn't get hiking till about 11 or so. It was a very hot day around 80 for a high. Max and I ran out of water after 3 miles and had 4 more till the next spring. Thank god for trail magic we ran into a great guy named gordan who gave us a couple gatoraids and filled maxs bowl with some cool water. He even filled my camel pack. Got to low gap at 6 or so it was packed we were beat so we camped about 2 feet off the trail in a flat spot. Max met a very pretty german shepard named nala who was also 11 months old. They played for about an hour. where he gets the extra energy I have no idea but spirts are still high but the blisters and sore muscles are adding up we are thinking a couple down days are in order.~matt
Date: 2011-03-20
From: Low Gap

To: Former Rocky Knob Shelter
Miles today: 6.2

Well yet another slow start today started hiking around noon did a easy 6.2. My feet were giving me some fits but all and all I'm doing well. This is matt by the way. We are going hike the 3 miles out to unicoi gap and head into Helen for a couple days of R and R. Max is doing great eating a ton of food around 3600 calories a day! but that's all for today
Date: 2011-03-21
From: Former Rocky Knob Shelter

To: Helen GA
Miles today: 3.2

Helen was so nice we had to stay twice. We got a great deal on a room at the Helendorf in helen. They put us up in the maids chambers under the stairs but the queen size beds were amazing none the less. The actual town of Helen was once a mill-town that dried up in the mid fifties. To try and reboost the local economy they signed a contractor to revamp the town with a brand new German look. The town is chocked full of windmills, dutch architecture, and enough resturants to feed a third world country. It goes down in my books as one of the top five tourist traps in the U.S.A. However I will most deffinentaly return at some point in my life. On a side note we threw a stick into the river so we got to watch Max battle out some rapids. Oh and I tried getting a penny crushed into "I Love Helen!" But instead the machine birthed "#1 Braves Fan". Unfortunate.
Date: 2011-03-21
From: Former Rocky Knob Shelter

To: Helen GA
Miles today: 3.2

Helen was so nice we had to stay twice. We got a great deal on a room at the Helendorf in helen. They put us up in the maids chambers under the stairs but the queen size beds were amazing none the less. The actual town of Helen was once a mill-town that dried up in the mid fifties. To try and reboost the local economy they signed a contractor to revamp the town with a brand new German look. The town is chocked full of windmills, dutch architecture, and enough resturants to feed a third world country. It goes down in my books as one of the top five tourist traps in the U.S.A. However I will most deffinentaly return at some point in my life. On a side note we threw a stick into the river so we got to watch Max battle out some rapids. Oh and I tried getting a penny crushed into "I Love Helen!" But instead the machine birthed "#1 Braves Fan". Unfortunate.~Don Juan
Date: 2011-03-23
From: Helen GA

To: Sassafras Gap Campsite
Miles today: 10.4

Well after a couple days of rest in helen Rocky and Trey Mtn kicked our ass. It was a overcast day but the rain held off till we got to sassafras gap and got all set up for the night. Max is a hiking beast he covers about double the miles I do by running up ahead and back and as soon as we get to camp all he wants to do is play fetch with a stick. Spirts are still high loving being out with nature just missing my wonderful girl friend.
Date: 2011-03-24
From: Sassafras Gap Campsite

To: Hiawasse 
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up wet this morning not soaked but a little damp. Walked a easy 6 miles out to dicks creek gap. We missed the shuttle by about 5 minutes we heard which lead to about 45 minutes trying to hitch a ride into town. Thankfully a guy in a pickup decided to be kind enough to swing us iinto town. Stopped at the post office where my mail drop had made it safely (Thanks Ma and Pa) but Matt and Max's had not. So, heads up everyone.... you can't UPS packages to post offices. Only Fedex or through your local post office. Afterwards we hit up the Hiawasee Budget Inn and there was no vacancy, so for $10 we were able to camp out on the lawn and score a couple showers! Shoutout to Megaphone for hooking it up with the Sierra Nevadas they were much appreciated and if we catch up to you I still owe you an oatmeal breakfast. Onward tomorrow!~Don Juan
Date: 2011-03-25
From: Hiawasse 

To: Rich Cove Gap
Miles today: 6.4

Started my day off right with a warm shower. We took the 11am shuttle back to the trail which I held up (sorry everyone). Dan got dropped off at a shoe store on the way to try out some new runner shoes to help with his sore heel. I went up to the trail head with my stuff all over the 10 passanger van. I tossed all my stuff out and repacked everything and had a great talk with a kid out on spring break from GTech. He had a great bear story, he was a couple miles out of neels gap and hung his bear bag at about 9 and not much later a bear came and knocked the food bag down and took off with it. He chased it up the trail with another guy and got everything back except his tuna packets. After talking for about 30 minutes Dan showed back with with a smile on his face and some new shoes. We hiked for about 3 hours to Rich Cove Gap and made camp for the night. It was a great spot up on a hill. Just as I went to sleep I heard the drops of rain on my tents fly. North carolina tomorrow whooo ~Matt ps max is still doing great
Date: 2011-03-26
From: Rich Cove Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up this morning in a wet sleeping bag and about an inch of water in my tent. I heard Matt yell a quick "No Max wait!" Apparently he couldn't hang with the big dogs and hold it until noon. So on top of both of our tents being completely soaked, Matt got to deal with a piss blanket. Which he washed right after. A very late start to say nontheless, 2 o'clock to be exact. We made a slow trudge to Muskrat Shelter which was full so we set up camp on the ground. Made dinner, met some great people and tried to "dry out" our gear. Right when we were about to lay down Forest Gump sideways rain came in hot. I would say throughout the night we were drenched in about two inches of downpour. Amazingly we stayed just warm enough in our bags to cop some Z's. ~Dan
Date: 2011-03-27
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Beech Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Yet another wet morning. Woke up soaked. Got going around 11. Was easy terrain but my body felt slow and weak all day. The weather cleared up in the afternoon had a nice campfire and had time to set up before the rain hit again that night. Going to push over the 100 mile mark tomorrow@matt
Date: 2011-03-28
From: Beech Gap Shelter

To: Random Campsite
Miles today: 13.4

Matt tried waking me up around 10:30 but I refused so he took off ahead. After another hour I decided to peel myself out of my wet tent and pack up. Once I got moving I moved. Ended up covering 7 miles in 2 1/2 hours. Easy terrain=Easy miles. Met back up with Mateo and Max, mowed down some food and made a push just past Glassamine Gap where we decided to call it a night. Headed to Franklin N.C to chill out for a couple days at the ol Budget Inn.~Dan
Date: 2011-03-29
From: Random Campsite

To: Franklin N.C.
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Had a rough walk down to winding stair gap this morning. My feet were bothering me on the down hill. Got a ride into town with a very nice mother and daughter getting water from the spring. Got a room at the Franklin inn and did some laundry and cleaned up. Then I went over to the Ingles for some food while dan made a 2 mile walk down to sonic for some burgers he was dying for. I think we are going to zero tomorrow to rest up and eat up. ~Matt
Date: 2011-03-30
From: Franklin N.C.

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Having a lazy sloth like day and its awesome. We went up to a 50s diner for some burgers around noon and they even had a chicken meal for max. We are all packed up and ready to head out on the 830 shuttle back to the trail to make the push to NOC. ~Matt
Date: 2011-03-31
From: Franklin NC

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

Got moving by 10 o' clock this morning. Mainly because the shuttle left at 9:30 but rregardless our earlist start yet! Ended up climbing up and down some pretty serious elevation but still managed to cover about 11 miles in six hours. Chilled with The Dooda Man and Bearcat. Had an interesting discussion about the band The Byrds. Overall an excellent day of hiking.~Dan
Date: 2011-04-01
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: A Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Got hiking around 1030 today. Was damn cold this morning a guy I passed on the trail said it was 25 this morning. It took me a good 15 minutes to get my camel pack flowing. We had a nice and steady pace all day with tons of breaks. It seem to work though we had our longest miles day so far but we did hike till 8pm. But I'm a tired hiker. All is well heading to the NOC tomorrow am for our mail drops then its on to Fontana damn in a few days.~Matt
Date: 2011-04-02
From: A Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to the sound of a trickling stream and troops of hikers romping passed my tent. We were only a mile from N.O.C so we took our time getting up and made a quick jaunt down the mountain. Got hooked up with our mail drops and chowed down on some local grub. From there we made the horendous six and a half mile ascent to about 4700 ft. Right around 3000 ft. Elevation gain. Matt's feet were saying no more so he set up camp seven miles in at Swim Bald. I was feeling pretty ambitious so right around dusk I set foot for round three. Watched the sunset from Chenoah Bald (dope!) Then took off into the night. Covered another few miles and called it quits at Locust Cove Gap an 11.2 mile day. Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow. Until then.Dan
Date: 2011-04-03
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Cody Gap
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

Well after feeling like a bum yesterday I thought I should get up to catch up with don jaun by getting an early start. Ate some wonderful poptarts thanks dad as max wolfed down his 3 cups of food for breakfast and we were off by 845. Caught up with don juan around 1015 it was a real quick 4:5 miles with a couple great views. We had a safety meeting to plan out our day. It was a great day of hiking a little hot but nice all the same. Into fontana dam tomorrow and then max is off to the kennel for 6 days of rest. ~Matt
Date: 2011-04-04
From: Cody Gap

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Well the day had an awesome start woke up at 9 the sun was out in full force. We had a nice breeze so I feed max and laid in the grass for a 3 hour nap to start my day. After the nap I had a nice early lunch of ramon and tuna one of my favorite trail dishes so far. We took off around 3 or so headed into fontana to try and avoid the rain and thunder storms that were coming in that night. We reached cable gap around 5 to have a power bar or 2 and rest the feet for a minute. Just about half a mile from the shelter the hail started. It was small and a nice way to cool down but not more then another mile down the trail the skies opened up. We still had 4 miles to go so we put on the rain gear and pushed on. The lighting was pretty close a couple times close enough to have Spicoli (dan) sprinting off the mountain with max leading the way. Got to fontana shlter at about 730 and it already had 23 people so max and I slept on the floor.~Matt
Date: 2011-04-05
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Walk down to the dam to drop max off. Lida then brought us up to the fontana dam lodge to dry off while she took max for the smokies. Had a great meal, rested our sore feet, and dried out it was a great 0 day.~matt
Date: 2011-04-06
From: Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Had another 4 mile push up into the smokies today. It reminded me of the trek out of N.O.C except for the fact that we had about 15 pounds of food, making our overall pack weight in the mid fourties. Halfway up the trail I actually pulled aside and called home to have some lighter gear sent down. The rest of the day was pretty tough but we managed to crack out a quick 13 miles to Russel Field Shelter and even got to camp! (You have to stay in shelters unless their full) Not sure what's in store for tomorrow.~Dan (Don Juan, Guns, Spicoli)
Date: 2011-04-07
From: Russell Field shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

Short day to Double Spring. Original plan was to do a huge day to Ice Water Shelter but started feeling pretty lazy. Chilled down with a bunch of good folks and had discussions ranging from politics to food, music, movie quotes and more food. Hoping to wake up early tomorrow morning and maybe catch some views from the top of Clingmans Dome tomorrow.~Spicoli
Date: 2011-04-08
From: Double Spring Shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

We were flying down the trail today. Left camp by 9 our earliest start so far. Got to clingermans Dome around 10 no views. Just looking into clouds. The weather cleared a little for us on our way to new found gap. Got a ride into Gatlinberg for a all you can eat buffett. It was so worth it. Found a cheap room in a run down hotel. Making the push out of the smokies in 2 more days then back to hiking with max. Max is doing great by the way talked to lida the dog lady today. ~Matt
Date: 2011-04-09
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Mt. Camerrer Fire Tower
Miles today: 26.1

The Day started with full stomachs and a ride to the trail head in the back of a pickup. Took a few pictures of the TN/N.C line and headed on our way with Captain Planet, Fin and Redstripe. The original plan was to make a quick jaunt up to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter but after a couple safety meetings the game had been changed. We decided to kick it up a notch and try our first marathon day and make a 26.1 mile (really 27.5 after non-trail miles) run for Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower. With no time to spare we got moving with the intentions of night-hiking. We stopped at all the shelters and made sure to fuel up on snickers bars and on a few occasions had to drink some pretty suspect water. Around midnight Matt called it quits at Cosby Knob Shelter (a 23 mile day) and the rest of us pushed on. One hour later we made it! 27.5 Miles to Mt. Cammerer! which by the way is probably the coolest fire-towers in all of the appalachians. One hell of a night.`Spicoli
Date: 2011-04-10
From: Mt. Camerrer Fire Tower

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Had an amazing night of sleep in the fire tower. Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head... then we all had breakfast and got a move on. We were cruising down the last down hill of the day when we came across Davenport Gap Shelter where we noticed a crew of paramedics standing by. Being as chipper as we were we figured it was nothing and continued. A little further down the way we crossed paths with a couple who had been staying there and filled us in on the situation. Apparently an elderly man who had been crushing miles and went to sleep happy as can be passed during the night. He was found in the morning by fellow bunk-mates. We all stopped at a water-fall further down the trail and agreed that if any of us were to go... we'd want it to be in the woods doing what we loved most. R.I.P. M-T. Rocked it down to Standing Bear Hostel and mowed down on tons of good food. Thinking about a slack pack tomorrow. Rain tonight!`Spicoli