morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-17
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Elmer's hostel, Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Around 2am I woke up and heard loud crunching sounds- that of a large animal stepping on sticks. Uff-dah woke up too and we talked briefly about it and then went to sleep again. When we got up for good around 7am, Uff-dah checked on the food bags. TOTAL CARNAGE! The bear ate everything. Uff-dah, Hot Tang, Bad Idea, and myself all lost our food. All that remained was my toiletry bag, Hot Tang's deoderant, and Uff-dah's cookpot. Catfish generously gave us each oatmeal for breakfast, Downstairs Dave gave us each a snack item. Uff-dah miraculously recovered a ziplock bag with three sets of PopTarts in it that was from my food bag, so we split that up too. That was all I had to make it the 18 miles to Hot Springs- a total of two Pop Tart packs. Then a couple came by the shelter and gave us each a protein bar. Although I can't remember their names, I sure do appreciate that too!!!Today was very warm for me, so that wore me out even though the terrain wasn't that difficult. At one point I had a "hiker hallucination" Sometimes when I am dehydrated, hot, and tired I will see something ridiculous briefly. Today it was a semi truck. I'm walking down the trail, look up and suddenly the image of a semi is right in front of my face. I was like "WOAH!" and stopped dead in my tracks, drank a bunch of water and ate the protein bar. I was fine after that. About 6 miles from Hot Springs was trail magic. There was a cooler with ziplock bags in it. Each bag had a gatorade, granola bar, crackers, and some candy. It sure helped me get through the day.In Hot Springs Hot Tang, Uff-dah, and I ate dinner at the Paddler's Pub. I had a giant buffalo burger and fries. It was so great! Elmer's hostel is also amazing. The hostel is in a mansion that has a music room and a progressive library. He even had an Earth First! songbook! I felt right at home. Lots of familiar faces are also here- Downstairs Dave, Catfish, Gambler, Aaron and Jinx (the dog), and Briar. We are staying here for a zero tomorrow.
Date: 2008-04-18
From: Elmer's hostel, Hot Springs, NC

To: Elmer's hostel, Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a glorious zero day. It started off with going to the restaurant and earing an omelet and french toast. During the day we did laundry, went to the outfitter where I replaced my bear bag and bought a tank top to get rid of my awesome farmers tan. The outfitter replaced my broken water filter for free!!!!After that, I went to the library to try and update trailjournals a bit, but I only had a half hour. The best part of all was the evening-I had dinner at Elmer's which was SO awesome. Lentil soup, salad, lasagna, and lemon pie. SO good. Then Hot Tang, Uff-dah, Bad Idea, Catfish, Catfish's girlfrien, Muzungu, Briar, Bondi, and I all went to the Hot Springs!!! We soaked for an hour and it was a great time. It felt to nice to relax in a hot tub.
Date: 2008-04-19
From: Elmer's hostel, Hot Springs, NC

To: Yello octagon house, Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Zero again! Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I stayed in a house with Catfish, Muzungu, and Catfish's mom Diane, Catfish's girlfriend, and his mom's friend Brenda. Diane and Brenda were so awesome!!! They fed us all dinner, which Catfish and his girlfriend cooked. Brats, beans, corns, and drinks! Brenda gave my ankle some ridiculous squeeze that hurt alot but oddly enough it fixed my ankle problem. She does accupressure. What amazing people! In the afternoon we also hit the Hot Springs again. Leaving this town will be so hard.
Date: 2008-04-20
From: Yello octagon house, Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

This morning, Brenda and Diane treated us all to breakfast at the diner before we hit the trail. I cannot stress how nice they were to us! Amazing people, true trail angels!!! I hit the trail around 12pm. Two days of eating a bunch of food and slacking off really didn't pay off trying to hike again. My god. I felt like I hadn't been hiking for the last 300 miles. I was out of breath and so sluggish getting up the not so steep mountains. Quite pathetic.
Date: 2008-04-21
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

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

Today was like yesterday. Moving so sluggish. Out of breath. Paying for that food and those hot springs. About 4 miles into the day, there was a sign for Trail Magic. The magic was at a couples' house who had thru hiked previously. First they fed us waffles, then a bowl of stew, then dessert. I had an ice cream brownie sundae. It was incredible!! I ate all of that before 930am. It made the next 12 miles so tough though.Catfish, Hot TAng and I just sat down in the middle of the trail to digest for awhile. It was a rough day. Everyone rolled into camp absolutely exhausted today.
Date: 2008-04-25
From: Whistling Gap

To: Uncle Johnnys Hostel, Erwin TN
Miles today: 13.5

Today was a very pleasant day into Erwin. The hike was very nice, lots of downhill and the weather was cooperating. Beautiful sky, clear and warm. I finally saw some wildlife. Uff-dah and Hot Tang managed to see a bear this morning, but I wasn't with them. I did see a wild turkey though! It was escaping too fast to get a picture. Upon arrival at the hostel, the three of us received a cabin that was even nicer than the last one we stayed in. We had a bed, a futon, a bathroom, and a TV. Best of all, we had a full kitchen! After an all-you-can-eat buffet at the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (it was amazing, surprisingly) we went grocery shopping and bought resupply food as well as breakfast and dinner for tomorrow.
Date: 2008-04-26
From: Uncle Johnnys Hostel, Erwin TN

To: Iron Mtn Gap to Uncle Johnnys
Miles today: 19.1

Today Uff-dah, Hot Tang and I got up, ate cereal and milk and then packed up to do a 19 mile day slackpacking. That means that we left all of our stuff at the hostel so we didn't have to carry it and hiked southbound after being dropped off. We didn't start walking until 8:30am which is pretty late for a 19 mile day. After about 8 miles we ran into Fix-It, a alum thru-hiker and his family who had set up some amazing trail magic. I ate a hot dog, hamburger, and fries! It was so great. I was very full, but about 2 miles later we ran into more trail magic. This time it was a picnic full of fresh fruit and veggies courtesy of a section-hiker and her daughter. It was sooo good even though I'd already eaten quite a lot. After hanging out with all the trail magic folks it was getting rather late and we still had 10 miles to go. The miles went be relatively quickly as it was mostly downhill and followed a river for quite awhile. Parts of the trail went through controlled burn areas. Some of it was still smoldering after having been burned yesterday. It was quite hot hiking through those areas. Upon arrival back at Uncle Johnny's and our super sweet cabin, Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I ate a massive dinner of 14 pieces of bacon, 14 eggs, 2 peppers, 1 onion, 2 tomatos, a pack of ham, a brick of cheese, an apple pie, and ice cream for dessert. I was suprised we managed to eat it all. My hunger constantly surprises me these days.
Date: 2008-04-27
From: Iron Mtn Gap to Uncle Johnnys

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning I got on the slackpack shuttle back to Iron Mountain Gap, but this time my backpack was full. I only hiked 6 miles today and they weren't tough, but a heavy backpack still makes me tired. Upon arrival at the shelter, I spread out my stuff and promptly took a four hour nap. It started raining really hard and I was glad to be in my sleeping bag rather than hiking. Unfortunately, when I woke up I realized that my sleeping bag and pad were covered in water. The ceiling had leaked all over me. I dried it off, best I could. Mzungu rolled in with Mainiac and they decided to stay even though they had come in pretty early too. The rest of the afternoon I attempted to eat the contents of my food bag so I wouldn't have to carry it up over Roan Mountain. The lighter my backpack, the better!
Date: 2008-04-28
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning to rain. It's always so hard to get out of bed when its raining. Today was particularly worrisome because I had Roan Mountain to climb, a steep climb and then three bald mountains after that. Basically, a day of being super exposed to the sky, so if there is lightning, I'm a lighning rod. It rained the entire climb up Roan mountain and I was drenched by the time I reached the top. At the top of the mountain was the highest shelter on the Appalachian Trail. Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I met at the shelter and ate our "high-point" cookies, huddled together for warmth. These cookies were the last chocolate chip cookies Hot Tang had baked in Erwin and we ate them in honor of climbing what I think is the tallest point on the AT in Tennessee. Tonight I'm at the coolest shelter ever. It is a barn that has been converted into a shelter for hikers. It has an amazing view down the valley below. I hear its supposed to be 70 tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to that!
Date: 2008-04-29
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: US 19E Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 8.7

FROZE TO DEATH at Overmountain Shelter last night. At first, during the night, I thought that it was raining and dripping on me again, but I was wrong. It was actually snow blowing into the barn and melting on my face. We all woke up, I mean EVERYONE in the shelter, and we were so cold. It was the coldest night on the AT. I was cold all night, even my contact lenses froze. Everyone at the shelter decided to bail and go to the mountain Harbour bed and breakfast. Getting to the hostel was a challenge because there was an insane obstacle in the way. Hump Mountain was like Everest in disguise. The snow, temperature, and wind combined to make a seriously unpleasant climb. I thought I was getting frostbite on my face. It was so cold over the first four miles or so because they were all over balds- completely exposed to the elements. I was wearing my longsleeve top, jacket, and rainjacket as well as all my hoods and hat and gloves. It was insanely cold. The hostel was really nice after that. We went to a restaurant and ate the best burgers ever. Mzungu, Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I had a RV to ourselves at the hostel.
Date: 2008-04-30
From: US 19E Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: clear sky

In the morning, the hostel served the most amazing breafast ever. It had quiche, potatos, grits with shrimp, sausage, bagels with honey mustard apple and ham, carmel roll cake, lemon cake, banana bread, watermelon and more! It was so great. I had one of everything at least. I was among the last to leave the hostel. Today the hike was so beautiful. The trail followed a river for a long ways, led through some open areas, and past a beautiful waterfall. Mountaineer Shelter is by a waterfall as well and the shelter was very nice. It had been built in 2006, had three levels and even a carved bear statue. We built a large fire and hung out at night with Flamethrower and Pacer, among others.
Date: 2008-05-01
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Dennis Cove, Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.6

Arriving at Kincora today was awesome. I really have been looking forward to meeting Bob and Pat Peoples. They truely are some amazing people. Bob took us into town for dinner and Hot Tang and I shared an entire pizza and Mzungu, Uff-dah, Hot Tang and I drank a 2 Liter of Dr. Pepper. We returned to the hostel and played a rousing game of hearts. It was quite the night, lots of fun. Today we hit 400 miles, which is always exciting!
Date: 2008-05-02
From: Dennis Cove, Kincora Hostel

To: Dennis Cove, Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I really did have every intention of leaving the hostel today. I had my boots on, my backpack was packed and on the porch just waiting to continue on. Things happen though, and Mzungu, Uff-dah, and I started a water fight. We have these little water guns, but it quickly progressed into an all out battle with a bucket and a cup and our guns. We were all soaked and then Hot Tang joined in the fun. Before we knew it, it was 12pm and all motivation to leave was gone. Bob Peoples told us about a swimming hole just down the trail, so Uff-dah, Mzungu, Flamethrower and I made the trek down there and spent the afternoon swimming and sleeping on the rocks. It was a wonderful day.I also received the best maildrop ever. My former employer and her kids sent me a very large box full of great trail food. I had way more than I could eat as you can see by the picture. Thank you guys!!
Date: 2008-05-03
From: Dennis Cove, Kincora Hostel

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was pretty beautiful. There was first a hike by a river to Laurel Falls. The mountain laurels are now in bloom and very beautiful. Next was a big climb up, the last big climb before Damascus, Virginia. After the climb, I had to go straight back down the mountain. I have no idea why the trail went straight up the mountain and then straight back down, but once at the bottom there was Watauga Lake. I sat on the beach for awhile harassing the birds by trying to get close and take pictures of the goslings. The trail then followed the edge of the lake for about two miles. It really was a pleasant day, even if the goose kept hissing at me to back off.
Date: 2008-05-27
From: VA 635 mile 645.7

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: light rain

Lipstick dropped Hot Tang, Snowplow, Racoon, and I off at the trail around 9am. We had a bit of a climb right off the bat. Hot Tang wasn't feeling well so we took a short day. Once we got to the shelter I went off on an adventure. I read in the shelter register that there were cool drinks in a cooler on a road crossing about a mile away. I decided to make the trek but it was to no avail because the cooler was gone. I did see a deer though so now my deer sightings are up to 10. I also had time to read some of the Great Gatsby which I'm starting to enjoy now that I've read some of it. I also found the book Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey at a shelter today and picked it up. It's one of my favorite book and I couldn't resist. Now I have some motivation to get through the Great Gatsby.
Date: 2008-05-28
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: light rain

This morning I woke up, packed up and it started to sprinkle. It didn't stop all day. About .3 miles after starting I slipped on something and fell completely over. At first I though I broke my arm because I landed on a log, arm underneath my whole body and pack. I was fine though and Hot Tang and I laughed about it for awhile. One of the biggest highlights today was passing the biggest tree on the southern AT- the Keffer Oak. The tree was enormous and just so cool to see. I love seeing things like that. I wanted to climb it, but I was soaked from the rain. We also passed through a field that had some crazy donkey in it. The donkey went crazy after we walked passed. I didn't even know a donkey could sound so absurd.
Date: 2008-05-29
From: Niday Shelter

To: Strem Campsite mile 691.9
Miles today: 0.0

Today was quite interesting. Hot Tang and I started walking around 8am but at the bottom of the first downhill there was trail magic of drinks and oatmeal cookies. Then at the top of the mountain there was an old woods road with a bench that had Hot Tang's name graffitied on it. We sat down on the bench for a snack and suddenly a van was driving on this woods road on top of a big mountain. It was the forest service, so that wasn't too weird I guess. They came back and told us that there was a memorial service for Audi Murphy at his memorial on the AT at 11am. We decided to go and were just in time. Audi Murphy was the most decorated soldier in WWII and a movie star. He died in a plane crash on the mountain. There were probably 30-50 people there including several veterans that did a gun salute. The service lasted about 1 hour and by the end many hiker had accumulated. After the service I had about a million cookies (okay, more like 15) and then we began the rest of our long hiking day. The Dragon's Tooth was a hard rocky climb and decent. Excellent views, but there were actually metal hand grips for parts of the 'trail'. It was one of those hand over hand, slide on butt sorts of mountains. We didn't make it to came until the sun was setting.
Date: 2008-05-30
From: Strem Campsite mile 691.9

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning I left camp about 30 minutes before Hot Tang. About 15 minutes into my hike I came into a cow pasture. At that point I lost the trail and couldn't find it again. I looked at the map and knew that the trail would cross the road and I could see the road, so I decided to just get to the road to find the trail. I hopped a barbed wire fence and made it to the road. I wandered north and south on the road and still couldn't find the trail. I finally gave up and went to a house to ask directions but nobody was home. I was getting frustrated, confident that I was somehow just not seeing the trail. I resorted to yelling for Hot Tang, but she didn't answer. However, Double D, who was also lost did. We wandered the road together, flagged down a car and eventually found the trail. We went back up to where we knew the trail was and then made it painfully obvious to those who followed where the trail was supposed to go. Six miles later I ran into Lipstick at a road crossing. She gave me a quick ride to town where I bought two sodas, a gatorade, and an ice cream sandwich. I carried the drinks to the top of McAfee Knob where I finally ran into Hot Tang who passed me while I was lost. We celebrated reaching 700 miles and the top of McAfee with the sodas. Then we continued on the trail crossing over Tinker Cliffs with more amazing views of the valley below. At the shelter tonight are some cool people like: Mustang Sally, White Lightning, Cayenne and Tailgate, and Snowplow.
Date: 2008-05-31
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: US 220
Miles today: 0.0

Short day today into town. I couldn't sleep much last night, so I was hiking by 7am. Town actually consisted of an interstate and highway interchange, but it had tons of restaurants, hotels, a grocery store, and outfitter. I satisfied my odd cravings- I ate sushi, tomatos, ice cream, and an iced mocha. I bought so much food for resupply. It is not a good idea to go shopping for food before eating lunch in town. I had more food than would fit in my backpack! Hot Tang, Snowplow and I shared a room at the Howard Johnson. It was great because it had laundry and a pool! We went swimming before eating at the Mexican restaurant and an all you can eat place called Country Cookin.
Date: 2008-06-01
From: US 220

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning I hiked out of town after a yummy hotel breakfast of waffles, yogurt, muffins, bagels, eggs, and I drank water, apple juice, and coffee. The temps rose quickly but the trail was really nice. I did run into a local who insisted on calling me a yankee about 10 times and telling me about the right to bear arms. Odd, but interesting.
Date: 2008-06-02
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Bryand Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was almost 21 miles. Long and hot! The trail was pretty flat and followed the Blue Ridge Parkway a lot of the way. I managed to get lost again today, so I roadwalked a half mile to where the AT crossed the road. There was a long stretch of trail without water- every shelter we passed had dried up water sources. About 17 miles into the day was Jenning Creek- a nice big creek that Hot Tang and I went for a short swim in. We spent about an hour hanging out by the creek before hiking up to the shelter. The shelter had a lot of people in it, but there were two levels. It was a beautiful building.
Date: 2008-06-03
From: Bryand Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The ten miles I hiked today were all uphill. I don't know how you make a trail that goes up for ten miles, but they did! The weather looked like it could get nasty so Hot Tang and I stopped at the shelter. Thunder Hill shelter lived up to its name. There was a nice lightning storm and lots of rain today. Surprisingly, a trail angel -a thru hikers father- came to the shelter with a grill and made us pancakes, eggs, and sausage! It was so awesome. He made my day!!!
Date: 2008-06-04
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I got up early and started hiking. Hot Tang and I hiked 13 miles before 1pm so we decided to go with Cookie Monster into town for lunch. This town, Glasgow, is notoriously difficult to hitch into but we had no problems. The three of us and Easy Does It got a ride in five minutes. We went to the restaurant and by the time we were finished eating had a ride back to the trail. When we got back to the trail we went for a swim in the James River. This river has the longest bridge on the trail- longest only for AT hikers bridge. People were jumping of the bridge, but I didn't have the nerve to do that. I did go for a swim which was very nice. We went up to the shelter and made hot dogs and s'mores to complete the night. Awesome day on the AT.