morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-11
From: Home

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: clear sky

Our excited last night for me at home ended at 3:30 AM, Monday March 11, 2013, when we arose to prepare for the flight to Atlanta. We left the house, headed for the airport, about 4:30 AM, and by 5:15AM I was through security and waiting at the gate for the 6:30 flight! Smooth as silk. The plane landed shortly after 8 AM, but my shuttle driver couldn¢t arrive until about noon. We made a couple of stops, and reached the Springer Mountain parking area shortly after 2:00 PM. Again... smooth as silk!        The shuttle driver told a funny story: He once dropped off a small group of first-time backpackers, in pre-dawn darkness on a foggy, rainy morning. He was a half-mile down Forest Service road 42 when his cell phone rang: ¢What do we do now?¢ Fortunately, no such problem with me; after he left at 2:30 PM, I donned rain gear and the pack and headed south the 0.9 miles to Springer¢s summit. The summit steward or shelter maintainer, a young blond woman, greeted me as I was ascending, and later as I descended. I reached the summit at 3:15, signed the register, sent my first SPOT ¢OK¢ message and snapped a foggy photo, then left at 3:30 PM ¢ the start of my northward trek! At the summit I met another old-timer, Ol Man, age 74, who¢d completed the trail in 2003. I was to share a couple of shelters with him.        Passing through the parking lot at 4:05, I walked carefully over the wet and somewhat rocky trail to the Stover Creek Shelter at 5:15 PM: the 2.8 mile point on the trail. (I¢d therefore walked 3.7 miles that afternoon.) Ol Man was there, two Maine boys (aged 20-ish), a young long-haired man named Herb, and a bearded man already in his bag. (I heard later that he was a guide, and rushed along to meet his party.) I sacked between Herb and the guide on one side; capacity was probably 8 (4 on a side).
Date: 2013-03-12
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

That first night seemed pretty cold. I was used to arising about 5:15 AM, and judged it to be about that from the slightly lightening sky ¢ but it was 7:15! I was second only to the time-pressured guide to arise, and left my first shelter at 8:45 AM. I quickly adopted the trail-name habit: When one is asked one¢s name, the automatic response is one¢s trail name. Mine: Werdigo!        I continued to wear full rain gear, and mittens and wind hat, for warmth, and enjoyed the trail through largely deciduous woods (multi-toned brown leaves on the ground but none on the trees) with an occasional green fir (pine, usually). In many spots, despite my tenuous tendon (left Achilles tendinitis), I strode along at almost a normal pace. I stopped for lunch at the Hawk Mountain Shelter, finding Herb there doing the same. I took a photo of us there. He planned to camp somewhere south of Gooch Mountain Shelter, considering that too long a day. My lunch was the second half of last night¢s dinner, Backpackers¢ Pantry Chana Masala, and I left the stop at 12:45 PM.        At Hightower Gap (1:10 PM) I put the cord on my hat since it had become windy, and finished the ascent out of that gap at 1:30. An hour later I was down in Horse Gap, and by 3:10 was up out of it, back on level, rock-free and pleasant trail. On the descent to Cooper Gap I overtook a 66-year-old man scoping out a potential camping site. He was ¢All Small Stuff¢ (from the old saying ¢Don¢t sweat the small stuff... it¢s all small stuff¢). He wore Vasque Breeze boots, as did I. We chatted a bit but my pace was a little faster so we moved apart. At Cooper Gap (4:00 PM) a sealed gallon of supermarket spring water awaited; I took 2 liters! Across the road a military tank truck (supplying military groups working in the area ¢ we heard large guns being fired) offered potable water. Beside it, a college girl waited to be picked up: she¢d sprained her ankle, altering her Spring Break plans.        Rising up out of Cooper Gap involved climbing Justus Mountain ¢ it took about half an hour. By 5:10 I reached Justus Creek, where Herb planned to camp, and passed on through, reaching the Gooch Mountain Shelter at 6:12 PM. Ol Man and the two Maine boys were there. (With bags rated only to 45 degrees, during the Stover Creek night they¢d done calisthenics for warmth, but at Gooch erected their small tent inside the shelter for warmth.) Herb showed up and tented nearby; others tenting included Rooster and his dog Bangarang, and a prematurely bald New York (Long Island) man whose name (from a grandchild), I later learned, was Pee Paw. It had been a 13 mile day for me (and all of us Stover¢s), pretty good for my first full day! Good boy: I did back stretches immediately upon arriving! Dinner was half of a Zucchini Lasagne (freeze-dried); I couldn¢t eat the whole 2-person thing.
Date: 2013-03-14
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Thursday¢s (March 14) walk began with icy water bottles and patches of ice along the trail. I realized why I¢d had trouble stuffing the pack cover into its little stuff sack: It was damp and frozen! It was a cold but sunny day, generally pleasant walking. At 2:10 PM I¢d descended to Tesnatee Gap, and was headed for the trail climbing out of it when a pickup truck, descending the adjacent highway, skidded to a stop on loose gravel. Its driver, a pleasant man with a trim beard, asked if I needed water or drinks. I thanked him but said ¢No.¢ After I told him of my day¢s destination, he said I had a long walk ahead; I told him my ETA was 6:30 PM. (It had been 5.5 miles in 4 hours from Neels, and it was another 5.5 miles to Low Gap Shelter.)        About 3:00 PM a pleasant young woman, Wild Rain, passed ¢ friendly and nice. She¢s headed for Maine also. (I learned later that she¢d done GA to PA before, but wanted to do the AT E2E so she restarted in Georgia! Strong hiker. Others later mentioned how charming she was.) At 3:09 I reached Hogpen Gap and began a long but smooth ascent of Poor Mountain. I thought I was at its top at 5:02, 5:20, and 5:27! I rolled into Low Gap Shelter at 6:00 PM, finding it full ¢ actually, over-full ¢ so I set up the tarp immediately behind the shelter.
Date: 2013-03-15
From: Low Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

That night (Thursday, March 14) was fairly comfortable, but I chose either a zero or short day Friday at Low Gap. There were 82 audio notes, from the past three days, accumulated on my Memorex recorder, so I spent the morning transcribing them into a waterproof yellow notebook and drinking coffee while others packed up and left. I finally pulled out at 12:22 PM, headed for the next (Blue Mountain) shelter, and met Chino, a 54-year-old ex-military man, just as I had returned to the AT at 12:30. He was moving fast but taking lunch at the shelter.         The trail ascended that afternoon but was smooth and pleasant; I could have been in shorts and T-shirt. The woods were pretty: wide vistas of bare deciduous trees sprinkled with the occasional fir. I took a few photos to show the nature of the trail.        About 4:00 PM I met, coming toward me, Sourdough (Class of ¢06), Kimberley, and their dog, Action Jackson. He was very encouraging and urged me to look for his ten tips for a successful hike at Blue Mountain. I rolled in at 5:00 PM, after filling three 1-liter bottles at a trailside piped spring just a few minutes earlier. It had been a pleasant, albeit ascending, afternoon of hiking.         After my double portion of Wild West Chili, I sacked between Duct Tape (a young man who enjoyed marijuana) and Chino, with a young couple Fun Size (woman) and Bottle Cap (man) on Chino¢s other side. It was that evening that I heard the estimates of 14 degrees F and 60-70 mph wind for Wednesday night at Neels Gap, and that the cabins were packing hikers in. During the night I enjoyed fond remembrances of that delicious chili; the next morning, Chino good-naturedly commented that his remembrances of it were not so fond! (Our other shelter mates averred not to have noticed.)        From the Blue Mountain group I learned that Ron Haven does not pick up at Deep Gap, as I¢d been thinking. My T-Mobile cell service continued not to work, but I have sent SPOT ¢OK¢ messages from Springer and each day¢s stopping point. Bottle Cap said relatives insisted that he and Fun Size carry one too, but bought them a much larger and heavier (8 oz) brand than SPOT. At Blue Mountain I met Blackhawk Bob (an ex-military helicopter pilot who got along famously with Chino, an ex-military bomber pilot), and Brian; they said Wild Rain passed through Friday afternoon.
Date: 2013-03-18
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light snow

Monday, March 18 2013, I left Plumorchard Gap Shelter at 9:55 AM, heading north in a light rain, planning a short day to the Carter Gap Shelters. It was misty and overcast, visibility about 100 yards, and I hiked with full rain gear on. A pair of men headed south passed about 10:30, and a woman headed north. I shucked the rain gear at 11:20 and enjoyed about half an hour of pleasant walking, until rain, sleet, and a cold blustery wind made me regret removing the rain jacket. At 12:51 I met the GA/NC state line and snapped a couple of self-photos there! A real milestone! Like the Springer photo, it¢s a foggy, misty shot. At 1:00 PM Bly Gap arrived, still with sleet and cold, blustery wind. Occasional shelter was offered by clusters of evergreen trees or bushes with long, narrow, oval-shaped leaves; I was told later it was mountain laurel.        The trail climbed steeply in places, with an occasional rock scramble required, and the cold blustery sleet continued. I thought I was ascending Courthouse Bald, but it came later. Climbing a steep section about 1:30 PM, I met a bushy-bearded large man descending toward me, in a red poncho; he was this section¢s ¢Ridgerunner,¢ a cordial and friendly man who asked me about shelter registers (There weren¢t many!) and said I¢d have no trouble making Muskrat Creek by my 4:00 PM ETA. I came to Sassafrass Gap at 2:20 PM (and wondered if those oval-leaved trees were sassafrass!) and arrived at the Muskrat Creek Shelter at 2:55 PM, well before my ETA. Finding no bear cables, I strung my bear rope before changing clothes.        The extra time allowed for some writing, in which I noted a change in my planned schedule. Instead of 16.6 and 15.3 mile days to Rock Gap Shelter (Plumorchard to Beech Tenting to Rock Gap), I was doing 7.3, 12.5, and 12.1 miles (to Muskrat, Carter Gap, and Rock). Much more reasonable! I shared Muskrat with Mozyin, Atlas and Scott, and others ¢ it was a tough, cold, rainy night. Two fellows slept on their tarp, on the ground under the roof that covered the picnic table. ¢Atlas¢ is a geographer, often feels as if her pack is the weight of the world, and is a Scottish-descended lass on the AT! That makes her name almost as good as my Werdigo!        My notes report that I threw out 4 tortilla/PB-Nutella things at the Indian Grave Gap trail-magic stop, and that ¢This is tough! I can understand why 20% drop out at Neels Gap!¢ Many of the Muskrat Creek group resupplied in Hiawassee, and walked that day from Dicks Creek Gap. A few, besides me, are headed for Franklin in a couple of days. It was nice to meet Mozyin, a retired corporate lawyer who has homes in Missouri (MO) and Indiana (IN), and claims to move slowly! I told him and Scott/Atlas that my name, besides being the question neighbors ask my wife (¢Where¢d he go?¢), has a literary connection. Neither they, nor anyone else so far, has known it!
Date: 2013-03-19
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelters
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

        Tuesday morning (March 19, 2013), I left Muskrat Creek about 8:30 AM, with fingers so cold I could barely work the Memorex recorder. A small older man, Sandals, passed, as did Atlas and Scott, about 10:00 AM. Ascending along the west side of a ridge, we were somewhat out of the wind, so about 10:30 I removed my rain jacket, mittens, and wind hat. Deep Gap arrived at 11:00 AM, and the trail began to follow an old woods road. It constantly ascended, but at an easy grade and relatively free of rocks. I reached Standing Indian Shelter at 11:40 and walked on by, in bright cool sun.        About 12:40 PM, after I noted that I seemed to be getting up pretty high, I reached the summit of the 5,498¢ Standing Indian Mountain. (Actually, it was 0.1 mile off the trail, and I didn¢t go to it.) A pleasant descent then began. I passed Sandals, applying Moleskin to his feet, at 2:00 PM, and rolled into the new Carter Gap Shelter at 3:40 PM, finding Mozyin there and Phoenix tenting nearby. We all dried our clothes and bags in the hot sun, burning off Muskrat Creek¢s dampness. We again had to use bear ropes ¢ no cables here either. I had so little food that Mozyin let me add mine to his (one dinner and one snack left!).        It was a cold night. Phoenix, the young man in his tent, reported feeling as if he had slept in 10- or 20-minute periods, then rolled over with a few minutes of wakefulness ¢ exactly my feeling. Mozyin did a bit better; he apologized for snoring, but I honestly told him I was happy to hear it because it indicated that one of us, anyway, was sleeping! There was ice on our water when we arose.
Date: 2013-03-20
From: Carter Gap Shelters

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

I left the Carter Gap Shelter about 9:00 AM, Wednesday March 20, 2013, and an hour later snapped a shot of a spectacular east-facing overlook. My Memorex recorder had stopped working; Register C had 99 zero-length recordings and the device showed ¢Full.¢ Warming it in my shirt pocket, and resetting it by removing and replacing the batteries, allowed me to delete the false recordings and (briefly) resume its use. At 10:45 I noted ice crystals, like tiny stalagmites, at the edges of the trail, and found ice in my water hose.        About then, the recorder stopped working again, and I made few written notes. The trail ascended sharply, up rocky scrambles reminding me of Adirondack mountains with sharp dropoffs to the right. At 12:05 PM the steepness had abated, and I noticed white through the trees. Anticipating a utility building like those found on the summits of some northern mountains, I followed a short open path to find a large RV! Phoenix was there, with two people at a campfire! Fishing Fred and his wife Sue gave me an orange and a soda, and showed me an old Indian campsite near a ledge, where we took photos. Grateful for Fred¢s ¢trail magic,¢ I left at 12:30 PM for more steep ascent, and reached the Albert Mountain fire tower at 1:05 PM.        Phoenix was there, and a backpacking couple I hadn¢t met before. I depacked, climbed the stairs until a gate blocked access, and took some photos. After a brief lunch, I left at 1:20 PM, beginning a smooth pleasant descent on a broad path, perhaps an old road. I saw bear cables for the Big Spring Shelter (but neither the shelter itself nor a sign to it) at 1:45, and the brand-new Long Branch Shelter at 2:35 PM. I rolled into the Rock Gap Shelter at 4:20 PM. Mozyin and Phoenix (who was tenting again) were there, and there was a horizontal bear cable but no descending hooked cables so we slung our own ropes over the horizontal cable. My bag had only garbage anyway!        That Wednesday was another tough night. I¢d placed my space blanket on top of the Z-Rest, under the sleeping bag, and was not very cold during the night. But a 5:30 AM privy run, in my Crocs, found SNOW on the ground, and all water bottles frozen solid. I later heard 13 degrees F reported that night. Nearly everyone planned a run into Franklin, and left aroung 7:45 AM, heading 3.5 miles up the trail to Winding Stair Gap for Ron Haven¢s shuttle. My plan was to pick up that shuttle at Rock Gap, about 0.1 mile down through the trees (we could see the road from the shelter), and I was very nervous to be left alone by 8:00 AM! Was I wrong in anticipating a shuttle stop at Rock Gap? I¢d been unable to telephone Budget Inn to confirm a Rock Gap shuttle.
Date: 2013-03-21
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.1
Weather: few clouds

On a frigid, snowy and windy Thursday morning, March 21, 2013, by 8:00 AM I was alone at the Rock Gap Shelter; everyone else had hustled out to make the 3.5 miles to Winding Stair Gap for Ron Haven¢s shuttle. It seemed as if I was alone in believing he picked up at Rock Gap, and I was very anxious about that. I quickly packed up and hustled down to the parking area, reached about 8:35 AM. I figured that if I was wrong, I could hitch into Franklin... but absolutely no vehicles passed! I was utterly alone, pacing loops around the parking area to keep warm and hoping for a van or bus to appear. It was sunny and clear, but very cold and quite windy. To my huge delight, Ron¢s van appeared about 9:15 AM. After a swing by Wallace Gap, we filled it at Winding Stair and were at Franklin¢s Budget Inn by about 10:45 AM!        Although the Budget Inn is hardly fancy, dating from the 1950s, I was delighted to land in Room 4, actually a two-room, two-bath, efficiency. After unpacking in the dining-kitchen room, I walked down Pearl Street, looking for a lunch spot, and found Caffe Rel, a great restaurant only perhaps a 5-minute walk from Budget. After a Greek salad, I wandered farther and found a Subway (cheese foot-long) and a Dollar General (milk, cheese, chips, writing tablet...). That afternoon I worked on a writeup of my first 10 days, then walked up to Main Street and Franklin¢s central business district. At Outdoor 76 I bought a sleeping-bag liner and two fuel canisters. My dinner that evening was again at Caffe Rel, but I had arrived late and felt as if I was being rushed out (¢Don¢t feel rushed,¢ the young man told me, as he mopped the floor and flipped chairs on top of tables...). I planned on tomorrow morning¢s Baptist Church all-you-can-eat free pancake breakfast.
Date: 2013-03-22
From: Franklin NC

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Friday, March 22 2013, I was in the Budget Inn parking lot at 7:25 AM for the church van pickup... but discovered it had come and gone at 7:15! Rats. But I had a $10 coupon for Sunset Restaurant, given to me by Outdoor 76 for spending over $50 (I think it was), so I walked about a mile on a pleasant cool morning to enjoy pancakes there! I completed my writeup of the hike¢s Springer-to-Franklin section and walked to the Post Office to mail it to my wife, stopping again at the Subway and Dollar General. That evening, still satisfied from the sub, I had only another Caffe Rel Greek salad.
Date: 2013-03-23
From: Franklin NC

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Saturday, March 23 2013, I packed up, then caught the Church van at 7:15 AM, enjoying a table with Pilgrim (leaving the trail due to back problems; he¢d purchased a new pack but the damage had been done), Slow But Sure and Because Of Her, and others. A volunteer worker snapped our photos, printed them out, and the Church mailed them (with our personalized notes) in envelopes we addressed! What a nice service. We were back at the Budget at 8:30 AM, in time for Ron¢s 9:00 AM shuttle back to the trailheads. Many got off at Winding Stair Gap, but of course I had to begin my day at Rock Gap.        Without a functional audio recorder my notes and recollections are a bit sparse, but I left Rock Gap at 9:50 AM and reached the Winding Stair Gap highway crossing at 11:50 AM. (I snagged two excellent oranges from a trail-magic box near the end of the descent to the Gap!) After a plod up the rise out of the Gap, I reached the turn to Siler Bald Shelter at 2:05 PM ¢ earlier than I¢d expected, but the next shelter was too far so I pulled off the AT and onto the blue-blazed side trail to the shelter. A half-mile later (Aieee!), I arrived at the shelter: 2:35 PM or so. It was nearly full, the party of six twenty-somethings I had and would encounter often; I got spot 7 in the 8-person shelter. Lunch was two hot-dog rolls (two of them pack very neatly into each Croc sandal!) with Dollar General pimiento cheese spread, and dinner one of my Backpacker Pantry freeze-drieds. About 3:30 PM I¢d sent a SPOT ¢OK¢ message to my family.
Date: 2013-03-26
From: NOC, Bryson City

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Tuesday, March 26 2013, found snow falling outside the Overflow #2 window at the Bryson City NOC. Brad and Condor had come from Wayah Bald Shelter yesterday, much farther than me, and were planning 16-mile days to the Brown Fork Gap Shelter today. My more modest plan to reach Fontana, formulated in Franklin, called for 6.7 miles to the Sassafrass Gap Shelter today, 9.1 miles to Brown Fork tomorrow, and 11.5 miles down to Fontana on Thursday March 28, the first day of my Lodge reservation.        I pulled out about 8:45 AM, and shucked the full rain gear partway up the long climb out of the river valley. I was overtaken by a friendly man, Tenderfoot*, who was younger (36) and stronger than me. He could easily have outdistanced me but liked my pace, saying it was a good one for his weak ankle; he stayed with me nearly all day, pausing to wait if he got ahead and catching up if he got behind.         Notes are sparse because of the demise of the Memorex and weather that discouraged manual note-taking, but it was a tough day of walking, with snow making blazes impossible to see. Everyone had talked of pushing 20 miles to Fontana, so Tenderfoot and I had hopes of a clear shelter at Sassafrass Gap, but both levels were jammed with side-to-side bags, two hammocks were strung over the covered picnic table, and a couple of tents, set on snow, were erected nearby. We¢d arrived about 2:30 PM, plenty early, we thought. Brad and Tenderfoot set up tents. Tallulah (one of the Stover Creek Maine boys), perhaps familiar with my tarp and taking pity, persuaded his lower-level neighbors to make room for me to set up perpendicular to the lower-level bags, across their feet, on the couple of feet of space between the bags and the front edge of the sleeping platform. I gratefully did, and simply had to be careful not to roll off at night. Tallulah later estimated that we had 20 people in that shelter, plus about 4 tents (including Brad¢s and Tenderfoot¢s).* Tenderfoot's is a sad story. According to a May 15 2013 post to Triple Step's Guest Book, Tenderfoot was found dead in a Virginia house. Triple Step knew him better than did other hikers, and has written of his and others' experiences with this tragically troubled man. See Triple Step's entries of July 2, 8, 11, 15, and 20. I am the "older hiker" with Tenderfoot at Sassafrass Gap Shelter in TS's July 20 piece, but we arrived there March 26, not March 27.