morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-03-28
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

One hundred miles! The forecast was spot on and the rain moved in shortly after midnight It was pretty crowded in the shelter last night, but the sound of rain on the roof helped to create some white noise to mask some of the snores. I didn't get much sleep due to sore legs from yesterday's 15 mile day, and from being really packed in the shelter. I like to be able to move around a bit without smacking into the person next to me I wanted to get an early start today, but didn't manage to get going until 8:45. Today's hike was all rain, mud and mist. I reached Long Branch Shelter in the early afternoon. I was too tired to try to push the 3.5 miles to the next shelter, especially since five hikers headed out of Long Branch in that direction shortly after I arrived here. It's only an eight person shelter, and I sure didn't want to end up tenting in this weather.Tomorrow I want to get started early enough that I can reach Rock Gap for the 9 a.m.shuttle to Franklin. I did a better job of figuring how much food I needed for this section. I'll eat the last of it for breakfast before leaving the shelter. Another full shelter tonight. Twelve or so in the shelter and four tents. Hoping I sleep tonight. It's a larger and newer shelter that allows two more people to sleep sideways the front, while six or seven sleep against the back wall It also has a loft Not much sleep since leaving Haiwassee. One hundred mile report: The first 32 miles were mud, mist and gray. It was nice to get some sunny weather coming out of Neel's Gap, since I had rain and mist last time. It was a beautiful section with long views. The 17 mile section from Unicoi Gap to Dick's Creek Gap was very tough and cold, but at least no rain. The terrain seems to be more agreeable since leaving Georgia, except the little slice of hell called Albert Mountain. It would have been nice to climb that on a warm, sunny day. The last 20 miles or so haven't been too bad. In sunny weather they would have been fun.
Date: 2014-03-29
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: moderate rain

I set my alarm for 5:30 and was hiking by 6:30. The first hour was difficult trying to follow the trail in the rain by headlamp. My headlamp isn't particularly bright. It wasn't long though until it brightened enough to see the trail. My goal was to get to Rock Gap she the 9 a.m. shuttle to Franklin. I was a little worried because they've got the Hiker Bash going on this weekend and hotel availability was a question. I didn't know because I had no signal. I made it to Rock Gap Shelter about 8 a.m. I didn't mean to get there that early, I wanteof allow plenty of time due to the rain and mud. As it was, the shuttle didn't show up until 9:30, but we were happy to hear they had rooms available. The late rising hikers that waited for the 11 a.m. shuttle may not be so lucky. I don't know if I'm just in a large knot of hikers, but lately there's about 20 every place I camp. We'll have to see if they spread out in the next couple of weeks. It was nice to get a room and take a shower and get laundry done. Here shortly, the shuttle will take us into town for dinner. Back from dinner. Resupplied at Dollar General. Plan to relax the rest of the night, get a good night's sleep in a real l bed, and then tomorrow go to the pancake breakfast at the local church, before heading back to the trail. No particular destination tomorrow.
Date: 2014-03-30
From: Rock Gap

To: Siler Bald Campsite
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I enjoyed the pancake breakfast at the church. They brought us back to the hotel about 8:30. There was a 9 a.m. shuttle, but I decided to relax a while and take the 11 a.m. shuttle, so I got started hiking about 11:45. I didn't have a set destination in mind. I met up with Blue several times during the day. I've been bumping into him for about a week now. He's a funny guy. We ended up getting to Siler Bald about the same time and climbed to the top. I was there three years ago, but it was a cloudy, gray day and I didn't even bother climbing it. I'm glad today was a clear day, even though it was cold and windy. The view was amazing. Better than Max Patch in my opinion. I took pictures and video, which reminds me, I posted a video on YouTube with clips from Springer to GA-NC Border. If you're interested, enter the word "wraijthify" into the search field and set the time filter on "This Week" to find it. At the bottom of the bald, there's a trail that takes off top the right a couple hundred yards that comes to a round little bald section in the woods. Blue and I decided to camp there. It was a cold windy evening, but the grass made for comfortable sleeping.
Date: 2014-03-31
From: Siler Bald Campsite

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Today, for the first time on this hike, I was able to hike in shorts. It was pretty cold when I woke up, but by the time I reached the climb up to Wayah Bald, it was nice and warm. I'm an early riser, so I was packed up and ready to go before Blue had packed up. He wanted to climb the bald again, so I started hiking, figuring he would catch me soon. He's a much faster hiker than I am. He never caught up, though. I think he must have had problems in the muddy section before Wayah Bald. He was having problems with his boots, so he sent them ahead and has been hiking in moccasins, which must be hell in long, muddy sections. I waited a while at the trail magic we ran into at Wayah Bald, hosted by Kicho. Thanks for the food, Kicho.The views from the stone fire tower were almost as nice as Siler Bald. There was a better view of the Smokies, which were covered in snow. I'm hoping it will melt before I start that section, which should be on Sunday. Anyway, Blue never showed up, so I headed on. I ended up at Cold Spring Shelter at Mile 125.6. I decided to stay in the shelter, because it's nearly empty. At 8 p.m., there's only three people in the shelter, including me. The other two are section hikers going to the NOC. My original plan was to stop at Rufus Morgan Shelter, one mile short of the NOC, and then go into NOC the next morning, but I may decide to hike into the NOC and get a bunk at the hostel. I haven't really decided yet. Retro, who will be hiking the trail next year, asked about my pack weight with my Kelty external frame pack. The pack is five pounds empty, and my average pack weight with food and water is about 33 pounds. I'm not singing the praises of external frame packs. My summer pack is an internal frame. But of the different winter packs I tried, the Kelty Tioga was the most comfortable for me.
Date: 2014-04-01
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 11.7

No one else showed up last night, so Jeff and Kirby, the two section hikers, and I had the shelter to ourselves. We did have some mice for company. I woke up in the middle of the night and heard a mouse gnawing on something, but I didn't see him. Jeff said they got inside his pack, but no harm done. They're also early risers, so we were packed and out of camp by sunrise. My original goal was to go to Rufus Morgan Shelter, one mile short of the NOC, for the night, but I quickly decided today I would push on and get a bunk at the NOC hostel. The only real climb today was up to Wesser Bald. There's a fire tower on top that has been converted into an open air viewing platform, but I was too tired to climb it. I did climb it three years ago with Teach, but I've had good views the last two days, so I decided to pass this time. The hardest part of the day was the very long and steep descent into the NOC. It seems like it just goes on forever. I'm glad that I had a dry day with good trail conditions. I can't imagine what it would be like to climb down that thing in the rain. Eventually, of course, it does come to an end and you find yourself at the NOC. The first order of business was the restaurant. A cheeseburger, fries and a soda, followed by a pint of ice cream from the general store. For some reason, the outfitter here closes at 4 o'clock, but I think that AT hikers are a minimal part of their business. The NOC is a big kayaking and white water rafting attraction. The AT goes right through it, but I think a lot of the people that come here don't know that. I'm going to just eat a snack for dinner tonight, but I want to have breakfast at the restaurant in the morning before heading out. I have reservations at the Hike Inn for Friday, when I reach Fontana. It's three fairly easy days to get there since it's 27 miles. That's a bit much for two days. Instead I'll do an easier nine mile a day average and get there about 1 or 2 on Friday. My plan currently is to take a zero at the Fontana Hilton on Saturday after leaving the Hike Inn. All plans out here, though, are subject to change according to weather.
Date: 2014-04-02
From: NOC

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I spent the night in a bunkhouse at the NOC basecamp. There are only four bunks in each room, and only three of ours were used, so it was reasonably comfortable. The front entryway had chairs and a good view of the hills. For $19, it's not a bad deal. Most of the hikers were at the restaurant when it opened at 8 a.m. I don't usually like to eat a big breakfast before hiking, but I made an exception this morning. I definitely burned it off on the long ascent out of the NOC. I remember thinking when I made the climb three years ago that it wasn't that bad. I must have been on some spanish fly or something, because the climb today was horrific.I hiked most of the day with Hiker Monkey. He's much more fit than I am, but his knees are giving him a lot of trouble. The plan today was to go to a campsite about ten miles in, but by the time we made it to Sassafrass Gap Shelter, we were exhausted. It's only 6.3 miles in, but it's 2600 feet above the NOC. With full stomachs and food bags, it's a tough job. The shelter only has four people in it at 6:30, but I expect some more hikers will show up by sunset. It's a fourteen person shelter, though, so it shouldn't be too crowded. Certainly not like three years ago when Teach, Richard and I stayed here in the freezing cold and sleet. We counted 34 people trying to gather under the roof to cook dinner. It's a much nice evening this time with temperatures in the mid 60's. Tomorrow's plan is to get an early start and hike 12 miles to the Cody Gap campsite, which is same thing we did three years ago. Then Friday will be a nine mile day into Fontana and a night at the Hike Inn.
Date: 2014-04-03
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Cody Gap Campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

I left the shelter about 7 a.m. Jake (Hiker Monkey) and I sort of leapfrogged all day. The climb up to Cheoah Bald was hard, it would have been tortuous to try it last night. Then there was the 1900 foot descent into Stecoah Gap. So the first seven miles were very tiring. Then came Jacob's Ladder. 30 minutes of rubber-legged hell, followed by another steep descent. In my journal a couple of days ago, I think I said something about "3 fairly easy days" to get to Fontana. Wrong. After two days and 19 miles with the ups and downs we've had, I'm exhausted. My last zero was at Mile 70. I'm definitely looking forward to a zero on Saturday. Actually, a "nero", since I'll hike one mile from the marina to the Fontana Hilton, which is where I'll spend Saturday. I'll start the Smokies on Sunday, but I've made one change in my plans. I don't think I'm fit enough to do the Smokies non-stop, so I'm going to do a zero in Gatlinburg at Newfound Gap. I think I'm pushing myself too hard, too soon. Even taking a zero in Gatlinburg, I'll still be five days ahead of my 2011 pace. Tonight I'm at Cody Gap at Mile 156 with Jake and several other hikers, most of which were at the last shelter.Tomorrow will be an 8.7 mile day to the Fontana marina. Hoping it doesn't rain tonight.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Cody Gap Campsite

To: NC 28 - Fontana
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Jake and I packed up and we were out of camp at 6:45. Fortunately, it didn't rain during the night. Our goal was to make it to Fontana as soon as possible. The first three miles today were pretty easy. We were about halfway through the day's hike and had just completed the big climb of the day when the rain started. It only rained hard for about an hour, but that was enough to make the long descent into Fontana brutally painful. Hiking downhill in rain and mud makes each step twice as hard, because you have to be sure your boot will stay put. One slip could end your hike. The concentration alone is tiring. Bit in any case, we made it down just after noon. I'm at the Hike Inn in Robinsville. I highly recommend the Hike Inn. It's run by good people and you get to resupply at a real grocery store. Jake had to hike the mile and a half to the dam itself to get his ride. He's staying in a hostel. I don't know if we'll meet again. He might have to take a few days off because of his knees. He's also planning on doing low miles for a while. Right now my feet are in about as much pain as they've ever been in. My left knee is also tight and sore. I'm going to spend the rest of today staying off my feet as much as possible. Tomorrow, I'll hike the mile over to the Fontana Hilton and relax there the rest of the day. On Sunday, I'll start the Smokies   I'm definitely going to go into Gatlinburg when I get to Newfound Gap. I've got to take better care of myself than I have so far, if I'm going to keep myself injury free.
Date: 2014-04-05
From: NC 28 - Fontana

To: The Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Sorry for the delay in entries. Signals are few and far between in the Smokies.There's not a lot to report today. I got the shuttle back to the marina about 8 a.m., and hiked the mile over to the Fontana Hilton. They rerouted the AT in this section to take away about a quarter mile of road walking, and made the trail come out right by the shelter. A definite improvement.The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the shelter, trying to get my batteries recharged. I'll head out early tomorrow. The first shelter is about 11 miles in, the next is about another 3 miles. I'm going to try to make the second, but it will depend on weather. There's a fair chance of rain tomorrow, and a likely chance for m Monday. I'm still kind of phobic about rain and cold weather in the mountains. I'll be very happy in another six weeks or so when the cold is no longer a real issue.
Date: 2014-04-06
From: The Fontana Hilton

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Fontana was a cool shelter. It's nice to have trashcans and restrooms nearby. The only downside was the two water spigots weren't working, so we got water out of the bathroom sink. I packed up and left right at 7:00. The first mile and a quarter or so is along the road and over the dam. As soon as you start climbing, though, you really start going up steeply. It started out cloudy and cool, but for a few hours the sun came out and it was nice and warm. But then the clouds rolled back in, and at 6:00 p.m. it's cloudy and fairly cold. It's supposed to rain tonight, so the biggest goal of the day was to get to the shelter before it filled up. In the Smokies, you're required to stay in a shelter, because of the danger from bears and wild boars in the park. If the shelter fills up, then thruhikers are allowed to tent. Anyone other than thruhikers are prohibited from tenting. I made it into the first shelter about 2:15. There was a ridge runner there counting thruhikers as they came in. The ridge runners patrol the trail in the Smokies, and have the power to write a citation if you don't have a permit, or violate the park rules. He was very nice, though. Since it was so early, he suggested that I move on to the next shelter, three miles farther on. I could have stayed if I wanted to. I just didn't want to end up getting to the next shelter and having it turn out to be full. With rain coming I didn't want to have to tent. Fortunately, there were a few spots left. Within thirty minutes of my arrival, though, it was full, with more hikers coming in. It ended up being a productive day, with 14 miles hiked, in spite of the big climb out of Fontana. Tomorrow will probably be an uncomfortable hike in the rain, but starting Wednesday it's supposed to start getting more sunny and warm.
Date: 2014-04-07
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: moderate rain

It poured for 10 hours last night. Fortunately, it stopped just after sunrise. It turned the trail into a gooey mess, though. My knee was hurting from the 14 miles I hiked, along with the monster climb out of Fontana, and with the insane mud, I just couldn't do much. I did the three miles to the next shelter and had to call it a day. Thanks to Double Shot for carrying my Crocs to me that I had left in the last shelter.
Date: 2014-04-08
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today I wanted to at least get to the shelter 12 miles in at mile 194, which I did, but with the freezing wind chills and the ridiculous amount of mud, I stopped there instead of going to the next shelter a mile and a half further. It was the hardest 12 miles I ever hiked. Mud makes hiking twice as hard. Tomorrow is the Hike over Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT at 6643 feet. It's 13 miles to Newfound Gap from here, but with the big climb tomorrow, again in the mud, I'm not going try to go all the way tomorrow. Instead, I'll stop at the shelter at Mile 202, and do the five miles to Newfound Gap the next morning, so I can get into Gatlinburg early. I don't really want to zero, so I want to get there early to have time to resupply and do laundry. To get to the grocery store, you have to take two trolleys. It doesn't cost much, but it takes a couple of hours. I'm hoping the weather gets warmer, or I might decide to zero in Gatlinburg after all.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: few clouds

I just typed a whole entry for today just to have my phone accidentally delete it. I'm too tired right now to retype the whole thing, so I'll just settle for the summary. Today was 8 miles, plus a half mile side trail to Mt Collins Shelter. More insane mud to start the day. Snow going over Clingman's Dome. No views. Then the steep, rocky and slick descent to the shelter. I'm exhausted. Going to Gatlinburg tomorrow.
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

Sorry about the short entry yesterday. The last four days have been torturous. Steep ups and downs, freezing temps, and killer mud have taken a toll. Today I wanted to get an early start so I could get to Newfound Gap in time for the first shuttle to town. It was just five miles, counting the half mile side trail back to the AT, but I was still worn out by the time I got there. I hiked in with another hiker who shall remain nameless, due to the fact that they are leaving the trail. We were early for the shuttle, and I was talking about how Teach and I had been offered a ride to Gatlinburg when we were at Clingman's Dome three years ago, when suddenly this couple walked up and offered to take us to town. What was even better was that they had come to the gap to hand out trail magic sausage biscuits and sodas, as well as fruit and boiled eggs.Great thanks to Carol Ann & Donald Cope for the food and the ride. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I ate three sausage biscuits and drank two orange sodas. I checked into the Grand Prix hotel about noon. This is the same hiker friendly hotel I stayed at three years ago. They're having trouble trying to keep the place open, because they don't get much business once hiker season is over. I wish them luck though, because they treat hikers very well. As I've said before, to get to the grocery store, you have to take two trolleys there and back, which takes about two hours. When I mentioned it at the office, the maid said she was about to go to the store, and offered to take me. So I got another free ride and saved about two hours. On top of that, there's another couple of trail angels that stop by the hotel on Fridays and Saturdays to take hikers back to Newfound Gap.I'm really doing well with the trail magic today. :-)Tomorrow I'll spend most of the day relaxing. There's a breakfast buffet close by that I want to go to in the morning. I'll need to stop by the NOC outfitter here to replace the 16 ounce pouch that goes to my Sawyer Squeeze filter. It burst at the top, but I may have been squeezing it too hard. I'll see if there's anything else there that might be useful. There's also a chair lift nearby that goes to the top of the mountain. There's a sky car that goes up there too, but I took that last time with Teach. I haven't done the chair lift before, so that will be fun. I'm hoping that the warm and sunny weather today and tomorrow will dry up some of the mud on the trail. I'll be back out on Saturday. I expect to be out of the Smokies and at Standing Bear Farm on Monday.
Date: 2014-04-11
From: Newfound Gap

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I added another video with clips from my hike and linked them to my journal. You can access them from the Videos tab in the sidebar.Today my only real goal was to relax and give my legs a chance to recharge. I had the breakfast buffet at Bennett's, then walked over to the NOC outfitter to pick up a new 16 oz pouch for my Sawyer Squeeze. Imagine my surprise when I discover that the NOC doesn't sell Sawyer products. The Sawyer is the most used filter on the trail by far (among the hikers I've seen), but the NOC doesn't stock the filter or any of the accessories because their buyer says there is "no market for them". Wow. Tomorrow, a couple of trail angels are supposed to do a pick-up here at the hotel and give a ride back to Newfound Gap. My goal is to make it to the shelter at Mile 217.
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Newfound Gap

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4

I don't have a strong signal now, so I can't add any pictures to my journal at the moment.The shuttle arrived at 9:30, and had us to the gap by 10 a.m. Thanks to Mark Booth, aka Godspeed for the ride. He also pulled out a couple of ice chests full of food and drinks and started feeding hikers at the gap. Thankfully, the trail was dry today. Possibly, the north half of the Smokies received less rain than the southern half. The terrain was also much easier, with mostly gentle ups and downs. I hiked this section on 2011, but on a gray, misty day. I'm so happy that it was clear today, because the views were amazing. I had no idea what I was missing three years ago. Charlie's Bunion is the best view I've seen in 217 miles. Siler Bald was cool, but Charlie's Bunion was better. There were many other great views today, too, on both sides of the trail. I took many pictures and several video clips. My goal for the day was Peck's Corner Shelter. I wasn't anticipating the easier terrain, though, and made it by 4:15. If the next shelter had been three miles away instead of five, I'd have continued on. I actually hiked 11 miles since the shelter is a half mile off the trail, and it took 6 hours and 15 minutes with just one 15 minute sit down break. I'm definitely getting stronger. Tomorrow will be a 13 mile day, because the shelter after that would make for a twenty mile day, which I'm not ready for. That will leave a ten mile hike on Monday, out of the Smokies, to Standing Bear Farm. Hopefully, I'll beat the rain that's in the forecast for Monday. On Tuesday, I'm going to see if I can do a slack pack from Standing Bear.