morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-14
From: NOC

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 7.9

We didn't go rafting this morning, it's impressive how in sink the group is now, we didn't even discuss it we all just silently started packing up this morning. Had a big climb out of the NOC, 4300' to the top of Cheoh Bald it was a slow start getting everything packed so most of the climb was in the heat of the day. We plan on staying on Cheoh Bald but all met up at Sassafrass Gap Shelter to discuss the plans the weather looks like it could be sketchy this evening. After about an hour of eating and talking we decide to go for it anyways. Dexter and I make it to the top first and meet a new Sam who Dez had been hiking with earlier. The bugs on Cheoh are terrible but the view is pretty impressive. As the rest of the group arrived we all got set up and started cooking. My frozen steak thawed nicely during the day and I cooked it on the fire and passed a piece to everyone on the bald. After eating we all sat by a great fire built by New Sam. Suddenly the wind started picking up and a storm was visible in the distance. The wind really whipped through the site and we all ran around battening down the hatches before taking shelter but after about half an hour it all let up with very little rain. As the sunset a group of us went over to the other side of the bald and watched an incredible sunset.
Date: 2016-06-15
From: Cheoah Bald

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 15.0

Woke up this morning to light rain, worked together to get the fire going again to dry out gear. New Sam was already gone when we woke up. Some of the group is planning to hitch into Fontana from Stecoach Gap while Dex, Dez, and I do the 20.7 into Fontana. Allot of the group is having problems with their feet and Leroy ate some bad food last night and was up all night with stomach cramps. We got to the Gap we found magic in the form of Bananas and cold water in a cooler. Dez decided to hitch with the rest of the group, so it was just Dex and I hiking on. I'm definitely starting to feel the trail as well, I rolled my left ankle coming up Cheoah yesterday, it's an old injury that gets agitated on occasion when we stopped at the gap I pulled out my ankle brace. The climb out of the gap was the start of Jacobs Ladder 600' in .6 miles. The climb was pretty hard on my ankle, I ended up grabbing a shuttle into town out of Yellow Creek Gap 5.7 miles out of the shelter. In town I grabbed a burger and a couple beers at the tavern. Fontana is a huge tourist resort there are 200 rental cabins in town most of which date back to the work town from the building of the dam. Dexter and Anon are headed into town to resupply and pick up a package at the resort I'm going to ride back to the shelter with them. I also printed my pass for the Smokeys at the resort, in the smokeys thru hikers need to purchase a $20 pass. I picked up my supplies at the general and we headed to the shelter. It's pretty impressive; actual showers, solar charging station, a huge fire pit, and a huge new shelter. It was amazing to get a shower and I washed my clothes in the shower too. The sunset was awesome over the lake.
Date: 2016-06-16
From: Fontan Hilton

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 0.0

Spent the morning doing chores sorting and cleaning gear, then set up my hammock to lay in the sun.New Sam showed up at the shelter he was headed out but realized he left his wallet in the cabin he stayed in in town. So a bunch of us grabbed a shuttle and went into town for arrends and lunch. After dinner we grabbed ice cream from the general store while Cherish waited for a package to arrive. Eventually some of us headed back and ended up swimming in the lagoon, Bookbag and I decided to build a raft out of the drift wood laying around. When the rest of the group got back we went down to the lagoon and decided to paddle our raft around the point to see the shelter. It was exhausting but fun. After cooking we gathered fire wood to have a real fire tonight. It was an awesome time in going to sleep out tonight and a lot of the group is going to cowboy camp. Tomorrow we will enter the smokeys where we will have to stay at shelters, Dez, Dex, new Sam, and I plan to get a really early start and head for the shelter Derrick Knob Shelter 23 miles out.The group will be splitting up to a large extent tomorrow; staying behind waiting for packages are; Magic Hat, Dancing Bear, Kevin, Leroy, and Bookbag.
Date: 2016-06-17
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Spence Fields Shelter
Miles today: 17.3

We ended up getting hit with a pretty big storm around 2am I was laying in my hammock just watching all the lightening on the lake and suddenly there was a strike on he opposite shore and we all scrambled to get gear to the shelter. Luckily we all made it into the shelter just before the skys opened up. Got a very early start with Dez, Dex, and New Sam, we picked up and headed towards Fontana Dam and the smokies. We are somewhat worried that Derrick Knob shelter may be closed due to bear activity. When we got to the entrance to the park we found a bulletin board that confirmed Derrick Knob is closed so we will likely aim for Spence Field instead. 20 minutes into the smokies we saw a bear in the distance, 20 minutes later we saw a cub by the side of the trail. I drifted back from the rest of the group feeling kind of sluggish today. I soon saw a third bear on an opposite hill, so far they have all paid us no mind. I went up into a watch tower that had a pretty great view but some of the stairs only had railing on one side and it was pretty windy up there. I had expected to cath up to the group at the watch tower but the side trail wasn't well marked so the my missed it. I would spend the rest of an uneventful day hiking alone about 20 minutes behind the group. When I got to Derrick Knob they were already there along with 5-6 other people. The shelter is a nice stone shelter with two levels of platforms and a large covered area for cooking and congregating. As we all cooked and ate the SAMs and Cherish walked in, doesn't sound like any of the rest of the group was going to try for this shelter.
Date: 2016-06-18
From: Spence Fields Shelter

To: Clingmans Dome
Miles today: 16.3

Today we plan on making it to Clingmans Dome, even though we're supposed to stay at shelters in the smokies cowboy camping on top of Clingmans is an unofficial thru hiker tradition. If we make it to the top before the visitor center closes there is supposed to cold drinks available. I was the first on trail, also hoping to be able to stream at least some of Le Mans today. The first minor summit of the day was Rocky Top with incredible 360 deg views. New Sam caught up to me there and set his pack to enjoy the view unfortunately he set it in a pile of poop. People who don't bother to dig a cat hole disgust me especially if your going to poop on top of a mountain where lots of people are stopping. I ended up wasting a lot of the morning trying to get the Rlm feed to work but just didn't have a good enough cell signal and eventually gave up with a lot of the group ahead of me. We also meet our first Ridge Runner today she asked a lot of questions about a group of high school football players who came into the shelter late with there coach last night. She wanted to know if we know where they ended up staying since the shelter was full, sounds like the caused some problems with having an overloaded permit, not staying at shelters, and leaving trash behind them.All day the group was flipping over each other the hiker hunger is starting to hit hard and we all made a lot of snack stops. Water was also sparse in some stretches. But there was an incredible point where the forest changed from all deciduous trees to all pines it was literally walking around a corner it changed over completely and the pine forest was incredibly green with mosses. It was an absolutely amazing sight that stopped me in my tracks.Eventually though we all made it to the top and I found New Sam headed down from the visitor center who told me that there were no cold drinks, I refused to believe it and had to check for myself. But sure enough no cold drinks or cheap snacks gradually the group all arrived and we all gathered in the grass at theedge of the parking lot, the view is incredible but spirits are still low with no drinks. Plus the drive up view always takes a little away from the view, there's so many day hikers and tourists it's a little overwhelming.We also met Finder a hiker from out west he shared some pickles with us that he had bought at the visitor center. We also got incredible Magic a man walked up and asked if anyone wanted cold drinks, he had a cooler full of pop and water on ice, amazing!!As it got closer to the sunset we all went up to the tower to check out the view and scout out campsites. The view from the tower is incredible and we decided we would spend the night up there to enjoy the sunrise as well, we set up our stuff at the base of the tower cooking dinner. It's really windy and cold already it's going to be freezing cold tonight. Finally the last of the tourists took off and we carried all our gear up to the top of the tower and huddled together behind the walls.
Date: 2016-06-19
From: Clingmans Dome

To: Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Miles today: 7.6

Was absolutely freezing last night but i stayed fairly warm in my bag I really need to get a sleeping pad though. Me and scout master set out at about 6:30 we only have to do 7.6 miles to the road crossing where we'll hitch into Gatlinburg. It was fairly easy and beutiful terrain with lots of the trees uprooted showing their root balls the forest was also incredibly green with mosses. By about 9:30 we reached the road and found a hitch with a family. In town we went straight to Five Guys which the group has been talking about obsessively for the last two days. We spent the rest of the day seeing the sites and hanging out, I've been to Gatlinburg before but it's still an experience. In town tonight is Dex, Dez, and the Tri-SAMs. Kaitlin, Chloe, Moma Bear are staying at the same hotel. We got some moonshine and cigars and stayed up late into the evening talking on the balcony celebrating how far we've come.
Date: 2016-06-20
From: Gatlinburg, Tenn.

To: Icewater shelter 
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was spent like most town days resupplying, and tearing down gear. It was a really lazy morning as everyone was feeling the late night. We decided to night hike the 3 miles into Icewater shelter tonight. One of our stops was the NOC outfitter on the way there we ran into Magic Hat and Dancin Bear they plan on staying at the same shelter tonight. I got a sleeping pad at the outfitter. We all caught a shuttle bus to the trail head and laid around for a few hours waiting for it to get dark. Then we set off on the night hike, there was 9 of us and it was a very loud and energetic hike. We didn't get much in terms of views of the sunset but it was still a great experience, and half way through the hike we were joined by Magic Hat and Dancin Bear who were hiking in their birthday suits for naked hiking day.We all rolled into the shelter and pretty much went straight to bed Sam the third and I plan to get up really early to go watch the sunrise on Charlie's Bunion.
Date: 2016-06-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: few clouds

6/27Rained early this morning resulting in a slow sluggish start for all of us not getting on the trail until 10 AM. Have seen several signs for a new hostel around mile 307 ish, will probably pop in for some resupply.Caught up with Yukon, Scout Master, and Srgnt Pepper just in time to Stop at small store called moms just off trail cool run down place with cold ice cream and drinks. We all stopped at Little Laurel Shelter and saw Kate and Teddy.Got a text from Dez she is going to wait for us at Hogback Mountain tomorrow while Dex goes into Ashville with his Aunt. Teddy spotted rattler down the trail from the shelter and came back for advice. The snake was gone before Scout Master Norris could turn it into dinner though. We got up to the top of Blackstock Cliff and had an amazing view from the ridge line in both directions. Also had a great signal and face timed my mom really quick. As we moved in the trail dropped off the ridge line for a bit and found blueberries that we spent a few minutes picking. The trail then came back up to the top of the ridge line and we found a completely different sight with storms moving in quickly, we were still 3 miles from the shelter so we started moving fast. It was a rock scramble following the ridge for about a mile the storm rumbled behind us the whole time including one point when the clouds hit the mountain and shot up over our heads.The last 2 days I've been listening to the Le Mans podcast on my phone and finished it about 15 minutes out of the shelter, wow that's all I can say. If I wasn't running from a massive storm I would have stopped in my tracks to shed a tear for the Toyota team what a terrible way to lose a race. We made it to Jerry Cabin Shelter just in time to gather water and fire wood before it started pouring, luckily there is a fire place inside the shelter. Already at the shelter we found Teddy and Mojo (who had blown past us on the ridge line). Nepala is also camped nearby her feet are really bothering her.Storm cleared up after dinner had a good meal knorr cheddar broccoli with tuna Frank's and crushed red pepperDefinitely miss the roomy shelters in the smokeys but at least we have a fire place.
Date: 2016-06-28
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

6/28Rained last night and I never sleep well in shelters anyways. It was Very foggy this morning making the forest look kind of Erie. Teddy is officially part of the village and has been hiking with us all day talking about movies and TV shows from our childhood. We still haven't heard anyword from Curly Q or Tats.We met four nice ladies when we stopped to rest at flint shelter they had awesome things to say about the new Hikers Paradise hostel we saw signs for yesterday. The also had pizza so we decided to stop there for lunch.The hostel was only .5 off the trail so it was just a quick road walk and a neat looking hostel that was being added on to as we speak. I grabbed a frozen pizza to pack out to Hogback Shelter for dinner. We found Dez at the shelter lonely from a long day hanging out at the shelter. Me and Scout Master Norris built a rock oven to cook the pizza. There's quite a few people staying at the shelter or camping nearby and the pizza was a big success.It's a .25 walk to water and the trail was partly blocked by a down tree that Scout Master Norris Cleared providing us with a decent campfire. The privey here is pretty nice and it has LTE.
Date: 2016-06-29
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Big Bald
Miles today: 10.1

6/29Everyone moving slow out of the shelter this morning Teddy and I headed our first soon passing some trail crews .5 out of the shelter, thanks to all the volunteers who maintain this trail. Dez decided to wait at Sam's Gap for Dexter while the rest of us moved on.We found incredible views on top of Big Bald, and the village decided to just hang until the sunsets and night hike another 6.Me and scout master went ahead for water while Yukon and Srgnt pepper cooked lunch. Teddy moved on she wants to meet Kate tomorrow in Erwin and be fresh to hang out with her. Dez sent random photo of her and baby deer while she waits for Dex at SAMs gap. It's absolutely beautiful up here the best view we've had on the trail yet, how could life get better than this freedom. We set up a tent fort to block some of the wind and started to cook food, we're soon joined by Mayhem, Nepala, Dex and Dez. Dez brought news that Curly Q and Tats hitched into Erwin trying to catch up with us, also Tats will be getting off the trail due to a family emergency. Looks like we're all spending the night up here to many rounds of food to move on. The sunset was absolutely beautiful and I got the best time lapse yet. The stars were also incredible we could see so many of them and off in the distance was a heat lightening storm. We all stayed up late into the night talking and playing games, before 5 of us crammed into the tent fort for a cold night on the mountain.
Date: 2016-06-30
From: Big Bald

To: Erwin, Tenn.
Miles today: 0.9

6/30It was actually surprisingly warm in the tent fort last night with so many people huddled together. Some of us decided to try and hitch into Erwin to get there before the all you can eat pizza ended the group included Scout Master Norris, Nepala, Mayhem, Srgnt Pepper, Yukon, and myself.The dirt road and parking lot on top of the mountain actually leads to a private summer resort not a main road. After walking about 4 miles we found or selves in a very high end resort with a private golf course, riding stables, ski runs, and more. It was clear by their looks that many of the residents weren't thrilled to see hiker trash walking around. Prospects for a hitch were looking pretty bleak especially when we found out it was another 4 miles just to the front gate of the property. Luckily one of the suspicious residents called security on us and a very nice guard named John ended up giving us a ride all the way into Erwin. John is a local and an awesome guy who gave up an hour of his time just to drive us into town we can't thank you enough.We also made it into town in time for the all you can eat pizza, and a pizza eating competition quickly ensued. Later we grabbed a shuttle to Uncle Johnnys after consuming 15 slices, 5 pieces of bread, and a large salad. Also me and Scout Master are planning to carry a duck out of Erwin. After getting set up at Uncle Johnnys and taking an amazing shower, Dex and Dez showed up and we all caught the dinner shuttle into town for Mexican. At dinner the village was joined by Leafs and Trips two teachers from Denver who are section hiking. After dinner we checked out Walmart, no duck. Cherish leaves at 1 tomorrow it will be sad to see her go. Most of the camp stayed up late drinking and watch movies on the front porch. Uncle Johnny really does have a great set up here.
Date: 2016-07-01
From: Erwin, Tenn.

To: Curly Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: clear sky

7/1Went to Huddle Bouse for breakfast with the village and caught the shuttle back to the hostel. Roll aides, Dancin Bear, and Kevin made surprise visit Kevin is back from Florida and he brought his car with him. They are staying at standing Bear with Bookbag and magic Hat.We all said goodbye to Tats as we headed into town for lunch and resupply. Hit ayce pizza again after feast shopping with Yukon. Tonight's feast will include 6 lbs of Ribs, 5lbs of potatoes, corn, cheddar broccoli soup, fruit, and brownies cooked on the mountian.Back at the hostel we did laundry in the river and packed up all our gear. As I headed out on the trail ahead of everyone I saw a deer near the railroad tracks.Definitely felt those ribs coming up the mountain but was a good climb with lots of stream crossings many with actual fish in them. A Sobo reports no water at shelter so I loaded up about a mile before hand. Got to the shelter and found a good source. There was a section hiking couple Thurston and Shauna at the shelter who were wide eyed as we unpacked our feast. The ribs were amazing and so were the brownies. The feast was awesome, and the village had great team work getting all the food cooked.
Date: 2016-07-02
From: Curly Mountain Shelter

To: Unnamed Campsite
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

7/2 Stuffed from the feast got a late start, we hit the trail around 9:30. Packed up and headed up and up and up, lots of climbing early. Planning on a 17 today and a 19 tomorrow to spend the night in the barn Yukon saw 2 bears this morning within 20 minutes. Headed to iron gap this evening to meet Scout Masters cousin tonight. Hot day Kicked it into beast mode on 1800' climb, and promptly rolled my ankle hard on the way down. Dez and Dex moved on to the next shelter doing a 22 along with Mayhem. Nepala is having lots of foot problems again and is staying at Chery Gap Shelter, I fear we are seeing her for the last time.Sam squared are thinking about staying on all the way to demascus and just picking up SAMs brother in Hampton. Tri-SAMs, Yukon, and myself were waiting for Scout Master Norris's cousin on the side of the road and two awesome locals just stopped and gave us cold water and let us play with their dogsPlans to get home for my trip to Europe are starting to take shape, Scout Master will be off to boot camp soon and Yukon is going home for a friends wedding. Scout Master is getting picked up on the 10th probably in Damascus by his brother and going to Atlanta for a few days before heading home. So Yukon and I are going to tag along and crash at my friends house for a couple days before grabbing a bus to our destinations. Scout Master will be off to boot camp soon and Yukon is going home for a friends wedding.SAMs cousin arrives around 9:00 with her two dogs and beer, but she didn't stop to get food wanting to find the random road side crossing while it was still light out. She asks if we want to ride into town for food, obviously the answer is yes so we stash our packs in the bushes and cram 6 people and 2 dogs into her Prius. Of course on the way into Erwin there is a police checkpoint and we have to many people in the car, but luckily the cops were cool and just laughed it off letting us head into town. The only place we could find open at 10:15 was the Little Caesers so we sat on the curb and destroyed 3 hot and readys, 2 bags of crazy bread, 1 Italian cheese bread, and a 2 Liter. Laura is super cool she SOBO'd the upper 900 miles a couple years ago and has about 300 miles of the south end sectioned together now. We got back to the trail around 11:30 PM passing through the checkpoint again without incident. The 1.3 mile night hike to our campsite went off with out incident there is one other tent set up, I believe it is Ross (Tinkiwinkys) who I had meet the night before.