morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-09
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: few clouds

Lately I spend an inordinate amount of time every day thinking about food - fantasizing about it, really. So I was highly motivated to reach Standing Bear Farm, a hostel with delicious, heavenly frozen pizza and soda. I daydream about homemade pizza and gourmet salads and Parisian pastries...but I will take whatever I can get at this point! There were a lot of familiar faces at the hostel - people we had finally caught back up with. And some new people, too. I ate pizza, had a beer, and a wonderful gentleman by the name of Hawk gave Cotton and I two chocolate covered strawberries "for the ladies". It's great being a female hiker on the AT sometimes! And that was seriously the best chocolate covered strawberry that I have ever eaten. I relaxed, took a shower, and didn't do laundry. So I'm clean but still kind of stink. I figured clean clothes could wait until Hot Springs, with the exception being underwear!There was a long uphill climb from the hostel to the first shelter and it made me seriously regret the 2 sodas, beer, and pizza I had eaten. So when I nauseously arrived at the first shelter I abandoned my ambitious plan to cowboy camp on Max Patch. I didn't even leave the hostel until 4:30, Max Patch was 16 miles away, it was starting to get really cold (making the idea of camping with just a tarp on an exposed hill very unappealing) and I felt like I was going to puke. So I called it quits at the shelter and was pleasantly surprised to see that everyone else who had left earlier from the hostel was at the shelter too.A few of us stayed up late around the fire taking turns reading aloud from a book of short stories someone had found. Lots of great writers like Ray Bradbury and Doestoevsky... but apparently the goal of the compilation was to depress the reader as much as possible - every single story seemed to be about death or something equally depressing like insanity...so ready the stories aloud became sort of unintentionally bizarre and hilarious. Lately I have really been enjoying the moments of social interaction on the trail... I went to bed in my hammock tonight very content to be surrounded by other hikers, staring up though tree branches at a cold, crisp starry sky.
Date: 2010-05-10
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I seem to sleep really well in my hammock when it's cold out. And last night was definitely cold! Duffy was nice enough to loan me his hammock webbing so I wasn't stuck in the shelter. Despite sleeping well I felt incredibly sluggish all day. The terrain was gentle but the hills stretched on and on and just wore me down. I straggled up Max Patch at half my normal speed and collapsed. A bunch of thru-hikers lay sprawled at the top of the giant grassy hill napping and lounging - we joked that you can tell always tell thru-hiker apart from other hikers...because they are much, much lazier. We definitely were enjoying life up there on the bald though, lazy or not, and in spite of the gray clouds and threat of rain.When I reached Walnut Mountain Shelter I took an instant mild dislike to it. It was tiny (sleeps 6), exposed, cold, and crowded. Since Duffy wasn't there I had no hammock webbing (I should get mine back at Trail Days) to borrow. I cooked dinner and gave myself a pep talk and decided to keep going. Sherman was moving on as well and he was nice enough to wait for me. We left at 6:30 pm and had almost 10 miles to cover to get to the next shelter. Those elevation gains that on paper had looked tiny were pretty awful in reality, but then we had a huge stretch of gentle terrain: steep downhills but with soft soil that was flat and level and root/rock free. It had started to sprinkle when we left the shelter but I was fine without my rain jacket on.We started to run and flew past startled people at various campsites and felt pretty badass...and then Sherman took a very impressive fall. He stepped a little too close to the edge of the trail and with the soil so soft it just sheared away and he tumbled down a seriously steep hill, rolling for at least five feet. He didn't get hurt though, and it's a good thing, since I burst out laughing the minute he came to a halt. And so did he. Running with a pack on downhill felt really powerful and was a huge rush, but the minute we slowed down my quads would tighten up and my feet would remind me just how tired they really were. Because of the dark clouds it got dark quickly. My headlamp was dying so I just followed behind Sherman's. The movement of his legs walking had a mesmerizing effect - I'd be trying to concentrate on watching for rocks and roots and would get lulled into this weird spaced out trance instead.We reached the shelter in 3 hours, which was a pretty good pace considering the rain and darkness. We woke up poor Tim who had fallen asleep alone in the shelter hours earlier at 7:30 but he was very good-natured about it and even stayed up to talk with us for a little while. I'm glad I regained my energy for the 2nd half of today's hike... and happy to be sharing a tiny shelter with only two other people.
Date: 2010-05-11
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: broken clouds

In spite of the long day with lots of miles I didn't sleep well, but we were up and hiking by 8:30, motivated by the goal of breakfast at the diner. There was an incredible orange newt on the trail, puffy and bloated with tiny black speckles. We passed two graves set side by side in the woods - a husband and wife who had both been born in the late 1800s - one had died in the 40's, the other in 1966. I couldn't think of a prettier walk to a grave than theirs. Mountain Laurel is beginning to blossom, Lily of the Valley and blackberry bush flowers perfumed the air. We reached the diner after only a few short miles and had breakfast with Tim, and it was amazing. I had sweet potato pancakes with fried apples, orange juice, milk, sausage and scrambled egg with cheese and I took a biscuit for lunch.I did a work for stay at Elmer's and weeded the garden, which was pretty pleasant. The Sunnybank Inn is an incredible Italionate Victorian home and has a relaxed, quirky feel to it. Good book, antique furniture, peeling wallpaper, and beautiful gardens. There is a black and white dog named Carter that I'm in love with and a few handsome cats lurking outside. Sadly, there was no dinner served. I've heard so many good things about the great dinners served here where everyone eats together...but not tonight. Instead I ate a bag of salt & vinegar potato chips, a cheerwine soda (apparently this is a southern thing: think grenadine syrup in soda form), two ice cream sandwiches, and half a cheese sandwich. I've definitely sunk to a new low with this dinner. This was my substitution for an organic, homemade vegetarian meal. When this trip is over I will never take a salad for granted ever again!I'm thinking that after Trail Days I'll take some time to decompress and hike and camp alone. The community out here is great but it can be exhausting. I'm only alone with I walk, and sometimes you need time and space to be still rather than distracted by what's going on around you. We'll see, though. I'm still mostly playing this by ear!
Date: 2010-05-12
From: Hot Springs, NC

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

I left Hot Springs very slowly and reluctantly; I plodded over the French Broad River and up to Lover's Leap. It was depressing knowing that some of my friends were staying behind and could indulge in a hot spring spa soak and dinner at Elmer's! I did pack out a really delicious black bean burger for dinner as my consolation prize. I spent the majority of today's hike trying to figure out my goals and what I really wanted to get out of this hike. And I spent the rest of the hike getting really annoyed with my camera. There's no macro function and it's a point and shoot, which means every time I want to take a decent photo of a flower I have to plop down in the dirt for a couple minutes and curse and fiddle with it, and cross my fingers that it will actually come out. In Hot Springs I sat down in the library with a field guide to Appalachian wildflowers and plants and realized that I've seen over seventy species now! Basically, the plant and butterfly population of the Appalachian Trail is what keeps me sane - other than a few snippets of small talk and greetings everyday the nature that surrounds me is my sole entertainment. I get pretty tired of my own thoughts but I never get sick of the shapes and colors and scents out here. I got to walk through fields and meadows today and it was a pleasant change of scenery. Primroses and flowering thorny blackberry bushes draped the edge of the road and I found a patch of chives growing wild. I never really picked up my pace but I gradually began to feel better about leaving town. I made it to the shelter just after the sun set. It was a glowing neon tangerine that became increasingly tinted with coral as it sank in the sky. Cotton, Tim, Wounded Knee, and I are bedded down for the night in a small shelter with many missing floorboards and a very active family of rodents in the rafters!
Date: 2010-05-13
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Log Cabin Road
Miles today: 5.3

I slept really poorly but was not really surprised; my second dinner of molasses cookies and milk had lots of sugar to keep me awake - totally worth it though. We hiked a little under 7 miles to Hemlock Hollow (a cafe/hostel) and waited for Grommet to pick us up. The weather was beautiful and we sat and had tea and journalled while we waited. Cotton was the only one who ended up needing a ride. Grommet arrived with Katchup and Billyhoot and we drove two hours to Lenoir, where Grommet and Katchup live. After a shower and laundry I finally felt like I smelled good; this is the first time I have felt that way in almost a month! That alone would earn Katchup and Grom a giant thank you but it gets better: we visited the local goat farm where Grom works, pet baby goats (a small horde of them), and then went home and ate goat cheese on crackers with homemade fig and strawberry jam - perfection. Then we had a wonderful dinner (baked ziti with lots of veggies, a fresh loaf of bread, toasted, salad and asparagus sauteed with garlic - all so, so good). What a great day.
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Log Cabin Road

To: Damascus, VA - Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

No hiking today! Katchup and Grommet spoiled me and I ate fresh fruit with granola, banana yogurt, and vanilla Greek yogurt. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that guzzling soda and pounding candy bars constantly kind of sucks. It was fun at first but now I miss being healthy. The junk food binges will not stop anytime soon though - I need the calories. Speaking of, for lunch today I had an amazing blackberry/strawberry/raspberry ice cream smoothie, 3 cookies, and an incredible cinnamon bun with cream cheese frosting. Simultaneous sugar rush and food coma. On our way to Trail Days Grommet not only took me to a bakery, but she also took me to an art supply store! This was the icing on the cake for me - Grom, thank you so, so much for spoiling me! I honestly didn't even remember bringing her cookies in Lyme, NH...but she remembered and repaid me with equally delicious cookies! Trail magic reciprocation is a wonderful thing.So we made it to Trail Days in Damascus, VA after less than 2 hours of driving and reunited with Storm and Rocket...and my (former) co-worker Cobweb! I met a ridiculous amount of 2009 thru-hikers and they were all incredibly friendly. We ended up at the local bar and had a great time until I realized that my rain jacket was missing from where I had stowed it under a bench...and it contained my phone, camera, headlamp, license, and debit card. We searched but it was clearly gone. I tried not to freak out too much. I would check the bar again in the morning.
Date: 2010-05-15
From: Damascus, VA - Trail Days

To: Damascus, VA - Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

After eating 6 pancakes, 1 piece of french toast, and a biscuit along with a chai latte (an epic amount of food) I checked back in at the bar but it was closed. I checked with the police but no luck. I decided to wait to cancel my debit card because I was still hoping it would turn up. I think I was less upset about the lack of money and more upset about the loss of my rain jacket. I love it and I've had it for over three years of hiking. I had more important things to focus on though: the hiker parade. Picture a throng of hikers and random people, some dressed in ridiculous costumes (and by ridiculous I mean amazing) walking by at least half a town's worth of spectators...and an insane water fight that lasted the entire length of the parade route between the two factions. Water balloons flying everywhere, people spraying everyone with squirt guns - everyone! Older women, little kids...it was hilarious. With a helicopter buzzing overhead it seriously felt like we were under siege. Perfect hot sunny day, too - prime for a water balloon fight! We then got to watch the hiker talent show, hung out with friends, and I witnessed contra dancing which actually seemed really fun. And I typically hate dancing! My jacket was finally discovered with all possessions intact - the gentleman sitting above it had thought it belonged to someone else and when they realized it wasn't theirs they had just tossed it in their car. Funnily though, one of the culprits was the ridgerunner for the AT in Georgia, and he and I already have a running joke that he stole the other article of clothing that I really did lose!So after the relief of knowing I still owned my favorite rain wear, my debit card could go uncancelled and my phone was in my possession, Grommet, Billyhoot, Loon, and I checked out the massive firepit/drum circle with fire breathers and an impressive array of drums. We hippie danced around the fire and then decided to head back to our tents...and apparently we are tenting in the middle of frat row. The 2009 hikers are getting pretty damn rowdy, and I can hear drums pounding off in the distance and the occasional war whoop. This is definitely not normal life in the trail. I'm hoping to fall asleep by 2am (it's looking highly unlikely) and I'm also hoping that it's just a bug bite on my butt and not poison ivy (I'm just not going to look - I'm pretending it's not there and it doesn't itch...somewhat unsuccessfully). Trail days is a vast amount of people, a war-zone like construction field, carnival food, fun, and lots of drunken festivity... a bit overwhelming but it's nice to be here with all of my friends. (If Dale or Jim or any of the hammock guys read this: thank you so much for the sympathy and generosity - I hope I can repay you soon...although Trail Days ends tomorrow so if I can't reach you, expect to hear from me after my hike! I won't forget. You guys were so great.)
Date: 2010-05-16
From: Log Cabin Road

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: moderate rain

My neighbors in tent city stayed up past 4am last night, and they weren't exactly quiet about it, either. Trail Days was fun; it was great seeing my friends and I'm still pretty amused by the cross-dressing rapper who entered the talent show among other crazy things but it is definitely time to head back to the trail. I can tell I'm becoming a slightly more flexible, tolerant person out here- before being kept up all night would have left me seething with frustration and anger, now I just sort of accepted the fact that I knew what I was getting into by tenting there and was only a little grumpy before taking decisive action and asking them to keep it down. They were so drunk they didn't even know what time it was. Trail Days was a great event but the overwhelming boisterousness definitely made returning to the trail easier, even though it wound up pouring rain when that happened. I only had to hike about 3 miles and so I got drenched but only for a little less than an hour and a half...and even though it was all uphill, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was nice to arrive at the shelter and still have several hours of daylight left. I finally have all my hammock gear again but opted to sleep in the shelter because I was feeling lazy about setting up in the rain. Only Quest Seeker is here in the shelter with me. It's after 10 and I'm exhausted. I hope we both go to bed soon.I forgot to mention how I got back to the trail from Damascus - OG very generously gave me a ride, and definitely went about an hour out of his way to do so and refused all of my attempts to pay him back. Yet another awesome hiker from the Class of 2009. I love how generously hikers pay kindness forward and how willing this community is to give with no expectations in return. There is so much trust and openness.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: moderate rain

Everytime I left a shelter today, or my wet clothing finally dried...the skies opened up again and it poured rain. Ironic, because at Trail Days all of the 2009 thru-hikers had been bitterly commenting on how unfair it was that we have been having such nice weather this year! There was about five rain showers today, but only one was chilly enough to require a rain jacket for warmth. No views on the ridgeline but watching the fog twist and swirl in the valleys below was just as nice. Rain was pelting down and it felt eerily quiet and almost like I was marooned in the midst, with no life outside the rocks I clung to. I met MOM (miles of miracles) an adorable older gentleman with a very impressive beard who is at least seventy (which is even more impressive than his beard!). The weather eventually cleared up and by 4 pm it was beautiful and I had regained my motivation to hike a longer day. I ate dinner and left the shelter at 5:30. And by dinner I mean protein powder and a giant peanut butter cup. I saw 12 snails and 2 baby salamanders (red ephs?) in one 4 mile stretch. There was a small patch of rhubarb growing wild but with no sugar or cinnamon to stew it with I left it alone. I also saw a giant cluster of fungus that was the same color orange as a salamander - I later learned that this is called chicken of the woods and when cooked it tastes like chicken!I made it to the shelter around 9 so I made good time although it was dark enough to need a headlamp and mine died right after reaching the shelter and cooking dinner. Dream Catcher and Kadiddle were there with their dogs Sheba and Sage (a really pretty white german shepherd and husky) and they were kind enough to loan me their light in order to get ready for bed. As we drifted off to sleep we heard a loud shriek nearby from an owl who sounded much louder and more intimidating than the barred owl we hear so often out here. At 2am the rain poured down again, drumming against the metal roof.
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I still felt achy and had a slow start to my morning, enabled by the Musicians mutual slow start and procrastination. I talked to Howard, who heads a trail maintenance crew and was there bright and early to replace the privy. Howard showed up lugging a helmet and chainsaw... and he's 84 years old. I was very impressed. He had planned to repair a broken picnic table but apparently some earlier hikers had burned it. I had lunch against a big boulder with the AT symbol painted on it and consumed a ridiculous amount of calories. I met Warren Doyle and we talked about contra dancing. I really enjoyed our conversation, he was very pleasant. I met section hikers Postman and Crown Royal, and then I made it to Erwin, finally!The hostel is very conveniently located right next to the trail, and so even though I'd been entertaining thoughts of camping by the river, it just seemed easier to walk in the door of Uncle Johhny's and take a hot shower. The big draw was shuttles into town, because the town is pretty spread out and the shuttle is free. We drove around to get beer and dinner and then I purchased a ridiculous amount of ice cream with other people's money. (I had a slight meltdown staring at all the flavor choices and figured I couldn't go wrong if I bought almost all of them!)
Date: 2010-05-20
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

An unintentional zero that started out with us walking... (We walked from the hostel and across the bridge...and then under the bridge.) I had only planned on hiking out to the first shelter, which is 4 miles out, so I'm ok with the lack of miles today. Plus today was one of the best days out here yet, despite it not involving actual hiking! I woke up and realized that I had staked out my tarp in the backyard of the hostel in a pile of old dog poop - one of the hazards of setting up in the dark. The day improved instantly when the two brothers (not the two musicians) shared their watermelon with me for breakfast. It was so good... if only fruit wasn't so heavy, it would be in my pack every day. San Gabriel gave me a yogurt and I ate it using a watermelon rind since I was too lazy to get my spoon.I did a terrible job resupplying today - despite wanting to eat healthier I wound up with ramen and chips and candy bars...again. But after eating at the all you can eat pizza buffet I only had a half hour left to resupply before the shuttle picked us up. Too much pressure! I also had a moment of temporary insanity and bought a huge thing of mouthwash to balance out the awful diet and sugar overload. My pack is ENORMOUS right now. And did I mention yet that San Gabriel's pack weight is five pounds before food and water are added? I don't even want to know what my pack weight is right now. Let's just say that I have a lot of gargling to do! After resupplying my plan was to be productive and hike out, and maybe even make it to the second shelter...instead I went tubing down the river - quite possibly the best decision ever. It was perfect weather, the water felt great and spinning down the river in a tube made me feel like a kid again.Then I finally began hiking...and made it less than half a mile before I followed the musicians under the bridge and made yet another excellent decision: to stay in Erwin! We had a bonfire and cooked scallops with pearl onions, garlic, red peppers, herbs, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and angel hair pasta...with an appetizer of smoked cheddar cheese, crackers, and cheddar instant mashed potatoes! All this and I got to enjoy listening to kazoo and ukulele music...with a lovely bullfrog accompaniment. (He seemed to really like the kazoo and would get a lot more vocal when it played.) It's midnight now, which is crazy. Way too late, time for bed.