morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-12
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Another great hiking day. Most of our miles today were down as we approached Dicks Creek Gap and the gateway to Hiawassee. Lots of hikers were flying by us trying to get to civilization. Lots of talk of where to stay and what to eat.We were off the trail by noon. Mother Nature picked us up and took us home for the night. Tomorrow we'll get on the trail again. One more day and we'll be heading into North Carolina. The time has really gone fast and we're having a great time even though the hiking has been tough.Except for our snowy start, we've been blessed with great hiking weather. The next few days have a significant chance of showers, so maybe we'll get to try out our rain gear. We're forging on anyway with our first zero day planned for our new home town of Franklin, NC.
Date: 2009-03-13
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Campsite North of Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Refreshed after a night with Mother Nature and Smokestack, we got back on the trail. We started a little late, but didn't plan on a big day anyway. It started raining shortly after we started hiking. This was our first walk in the rain since starting at Springer. We stopped at Plumorchard Gap Shelter for lunch and spent quite a bit of time talking to those who were going to spend the night there. We considered staying because of the rain, but a very talkative hiker showed up who planned to spend the night. We were not up to non-stop chatter, so we moved on in the rain.We found the advertised campsite about two miles north of Plumorchard, and it looked pretty nice late in the day. We got to pitch our tent in the rain which fortunately we had practiced before. We got everything in without too much water and did our cooking under the vestibule. The rain never stopped for more than a minute, but it was a gentle rain. Just enough to keep us hunkered down. Tomorrow we'll look for a shelter since the forcast is for more rain.We enjoyed our hike even if it was wet, especially the stuffed bear that someone had put along the trail to welcome hikers to the forest. Looking for a drier day tomorrow, but the weatherman is not predicting one.
Date: 2009-03-14
From: Campsite North of Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: snow

Woke the the patter of rain on the tent fly. For the most part, we had stayed dry, but packing in the rain was a new challenge. The tent is thoroughly soaked, but most of the rest of our stuff is dry.Today was a hike in the rain, but there were some high points. We left Georgia for North Carolina. Yea - 13 states to go. We took a couple pictures, but the rain and cold made for a short celebration. We're now hiking in the Southern Nantahal Wilderness of the Chattahoochee National Forest that is a beautiful hiking area. We hurried on to Muskrat Creek Shelter seeing only a couple other hikers crazy enough to be out in this weather. We took a short day and just hung out around the shelter to keep dry and warm.By evening, we had a full shelter with several others who had to pitch their tents nearby. It was not a good day for the tenters. There are definitely a lot of young hikers out this year. Except for three of us, all the people at the shelter were 18 or 19 years old. I must admit though that the young people have been real nice to us older hikers and we enjoy hearing their stories and AT experiences.Tomorrow we'll push on. Tonight was gale force winds and rain and some tornadic activity (glad we were not tenting!). The purported forecast is for the rain to stop tomorrow with warmer weather. We need to keep moving toward Franklin, or we'll be out of food.
Date: 2009-03-15
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Standing Indian Mountain
Miles today: 6.4

It was a dark morning. The rain had been relentless through the night. A torrential downpour with lots of wind. We felt sorry for those who had to tent. We took our time getting ready to hike, hoping the rain would break, but it didn't so we moved on. Much of the trail was mud or flowing water with no views. Only two or three people passed us today. Many were taking zeros in the shelters trying to wait out the rain.Even with all the rain, the Nanatahala's of North Carolina are beautiful. The mosses and fern were very happy and putting on a bright green display. We were still hearing that the rain would break later in the day, so we pressed on up Standing Indian Mountain instead of staying at the shelter. When we got to the top, the rain did actually stop for a while, and we pitched the tent to a couple of brief glimmers of the sun. We're hoping the rain is over and tomorrow will be a day to finally see the views. We've got the whole top of the mountain to ourselves and are settled in for what we hope will be our first dry night since leaving Dick's Creek Gap. We're a little discouraged with the low mileage, but the continual rain has really slowed our mornings and evenings. The AT is still a great place to be, and we're told that this is just part of the experience.
Date: 2009-03-16
From: Standing Indian Mountain

To: Mooney Gap, USFS 83
Miles today: 10.7

Well, the weatherman lied. About 3:00 AM this morning, we heard the pitter pat of rain on the tent fly. It's back. We packed during a brief break in the rain, and started a long day of hiking where the rain was almost continuous. We ate lunch at Carter Gap Shelter where we met two other hikers. That was our contact with the outside world today.The trail today was mostly downhill with lots of water and mud. All the rain has filled the little streams that are often dry while hiking this area. We were entertained with numerous little waterfalls that were a nice diversion from the wet and cold.We ended up camping at Mooney Gap, right near the forest road. It was flat, and we were tired. We got to put the tent up in the rain again. We're getting tired of cooking in the vestibule. Shortly after dinner, the rain did finally stop, and we're looking for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is Albert Mountain, a challenge we've done before that will be really interesting if it's still raining.
Date: 2009-03-17
From: Mooney Gap, USFS 83

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

We woke to clear skies, cooler temperatures, and a nice sunrise. Praise the Lord, the rain has broken. We hiked Big Butt Mountain, a sheer cliff before Albert, and the views were outstanding. We're glad we camped low and got to enjoy the views instead of hiking up to the next shelter last night. Albert Mountain was tougher than usual. Everything was wet and the footing was very slippery. We took the white blaze trail, because we knew the views from Albert would be spectacular. We weren't disappointed.We stopped briefly at Big Spring Shelter to top off our water and met a nice older hiker there who was planning on spending the day. Seems he's out for a couple weeks just going shelter to shelter and enjoying his leisurely days. We lunched near a stream crossing with a delightfull set of little falls feeding it. The temperatures warmed quickly and we were hiking in the 60's with the sun as compared to yesterday's wet 40's.Dulcimer Dave's left knee is really bothering him on the downhills. Vitamin I doesn't seem to be helping much, so he's in a lot of pain. Mosey carried some of his pack weight down to ease the burden of his downhill hiking. She get's trail angel wings for the day. Dulcimer Dave also caught some germ that has him coughing all the time. Need to go to the clinic once we get to town.Mid-afternoon, we were met by Waterfall, our trail angel in Franklin. She had hiked out from Rock Gap a short way to meet us along with another trail angel who was looking for hikers needing a ride to Franklin. We met another angel giving rides when we actually got to Rock Gap. These folks are a real blessing to the tired hikers arriving in the area and it's great to see them out at the road crossings. We saw people feeding hikers at Winding Stair Gap as Waterfall drove us back into town.Tonight, we'll be staying with Waterfall and enjoying our first meals and sleep off the trail in five days. Tomorrow we'll take a zero to clean up some business in Franklin where we intend to build our retirement home.Finally, Dulcimer Dave went to the clinic and got some drugs to fix his cough. It may take a few days, but he'll get better. The knee is still a problem. There's not much anyone can do for his problem short of a knee replacement. He'll have to see how it goes on the next section. Everyone is being optimistic and hoping for the best.
Date: 2009-03-18
From: Rock Gap

To: Rock gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was our first zero day and it was consumed with catching up on non-trail business in Franklin and in finding our bounce box that had not arrived on time. Fortunely, both jobs were taken care off. We'll take another zero tomorrow to prepare for getting back on the trail. We need a little resupply, Dulcimer Dave needs a little more rest for his ailments, and we need to replan our next few weeks to clue in the people who will help us, but have our outdated hiking schedule.The weather is great with spring blooms breaking out on many of the local trees and bushes. Tonight we'll stay with Waterfall (our friend and scribe) again. We're enjoying her company and support. She's been a great encouragement to us and we can't thank her enough. She left her house and car to us today and went on to work . Mosey is enjoying taking over her kitchen, making dinner for all of us tonight (:>).
Date: 2009-03-19
From: Rock gap

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Took another zero day today to give Dulcimer Dave's meds some more time to work and to clean up loose ends. Big events of the day included haircuts, a trip to Three Eagles, the local outfitter, and dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We also visited Miss Janet at the local hostel and ran across some of our previous trail acquaintances. We have arranged to slack pack tomorrow to get back into trail mode. Saturday, we'll pick up the big packs and head towards the Nantahala Outdoor Center for our next resupply. The zero's have been real nice.
Date: 2009-03-20
From: Rock Gap

To: Wayah Gap
Miles today: 9.6

Today we hooked up with Ron Haven's shuttle to the trail to get to Rock Gap along with several other hikers. We're slack packing for the first time and looking forward to the experience. The day is beautiful with unlimited long range views. We really enjoyed the first miles, taking lots of time to enjoy the beauty.At Winding Stair Gap we got our first trail magic. A local Franklin church was set up and serving cold drinks and snacks with chairs to rest a while. We took advantage and enjoyed the chatter among the thru hikers who took time out to rest. We interviewed three young ladies who were traveling together and did our best to give them trail names. They weren't buying our names though.The day warmed nicely, and after a lunch on the trail, we came to the side trail to Siler Bald. Today was the first day of spring, and the weather was magnificent. Hikers were sprawled on the grass at the bald, just sucking up the sun. Our three young ladies we had interviewed at Winding Stair had climbed up the bald and were singing and playing on the slope to the joy of the rest of us who were too lazy to go higher. It was the perfect celebration of the arrival of spring.We met up with Ron Havens and his yellow bus at Wayah Gap and traveled back to Franklin with some Boy Scouts and their leaders. He dropped us downtown where we went back to Waterfall's house to spend our last night in Franklin. Tomorrow we'll pick up the trail at Wayah Gap refreshed and excited to see what comes next.
Date: 2009-03-21
From: Wayah Gap

To: Burningtown Gap
Miles today: 8.7

Had another great day of hiking with blue skies and unlimited views. Lunched at Wayah Bald (elevation 5,342 ft) with lots of other hikers. Everyone was laying around basking in the sunlight enjoying the warm temperatures.At the top of Wayah Bald is the stone John B. Byrne Memorial Tower, which was built by the CCC in 1937 and renovated in 1983. John B. Byrne, who was supervisor of the Nantahala National Forest, was the first to propose the route of the A.T. through this area. "Wayah," by the way, is Cherokee for "wolf."Finished our day at Burningtown Gap where we're staying in a trail angel's expedition dome tent complete with propane heater, microwave and electric lights. We missed the Baptist Church meal, but got some sausage biscuits. Yum. Looking for another great hiking day tomorrow.
Date: 2009-03-22
From: Burningtown Gap

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

We enjoyed a nice breakfast with Apple in the big orange dome. It was nice and warm and was a great way to get ready to hike. Met Spokes when we took a break at Cold Spring Shelter. We lunched at Tellico Gap before doing the uphill to the Wesser Bald Tower--formerly a fire tower, but now an observation deck offering amazing views of the Great Smoky Mountains and Fontana Lake. It was a great day for views. We ended our day at Wesser Bald Shelter, where we spent the night with Wicked Wahine. This was our first night in a shelter with no recent grads - just us older folks. All went well today, and tomorrow should be another great hiking day.
Date: 2009-03-23
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Another nice day for hiking, and pretty much downhill. Our Franklin neighbors, the Colbergs, met us at Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), an outdoor-adventure center that includes a store, some restaurants, and lots of services for hikers. From there, the Colbergs took us home for showers, a nice meal, and a warm bed. It was nice to see the neighors and the old neighborhood. The pear trees were blooming along with spring flowers and some of the bushes. We resupplied and are ready to continue hiking tomorrow. Oh, and we had one of the NOC famous pizzas along with cold beer. Yum
Date: 2009-03-24
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: broken clouds

The Colbergs got us back on the trail at mid morning, and we started the brutal climb out of NOC--3,235 feet up today. Everyone was complaining. Leaving NOC, we are also moving on from the section of trail maintained by our local AT club, the Nantahala Hiking Club. From here to Davenport Gap, we'll be in Smoky Mountains Hiking Club territory.The winds are kicking up and it looks like a cold night. There are rumors of rain tomorrow, but we'll see. We've got good shelter mates tonight, and once again there are no youngsters. Tomorrow we continue on to Fontana.
Date: 2009-03-25
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

We woke to a dismal day. It had started raining overnight, and it was really coming down when we woke up. We had spent the night with Weatherman and Greg while several other hikers tented near the trail. The tenters had a real wet pack up.The high altitude point of the day was Cheoah Bald, but all we saw was fog and rain. The rain relented later in the day but the clouds stayed with us and it drizzled every now and then. We lunched at Stecoah Gap where quite a few hikers decided to yellow blaze to Fontana Dam rather than taking the trail in the forecasted rainy weather. Big storms expected tonight and tomorrow.We had hiked the trail from Stecoah Gap to the Brown Fork Gap Shelter last fall, so we knew it would be tough. This is a straight up section that was quite a challenge in the rain. We were really happy to get to the shelter to spend our night. There are lots of hikers here and the shelter is small. At least it looks like we'll get everyone in.
Date: 2009-03-26
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Campsite near Walker Gap
Miles today: 9.1

Lots of rain with strong winds last night. The shelter was full plus to get everyone in out of the rain last night. In addition, everyone had a short night's sleep. One hiker who goes by the name of SPIKE had gotten up with his wife at 4 AM and proceeded to fix breakfast and pack up for four hours before leaving at 8, narrating his every move in a mid-day voice level (vs 4:00AM!). He set his light to shine across every one's faces as we lay in our bags, all wishing he'd MOVE ON. This was a one-story shelter and he stomped around, walking on one person's thermarest. He slapped shoes together OVER another hiker's face. He threw loaded stuff sacks up against [attempting to] sleep hikers. What a jerk. When he finally left in the morning, we all voted that he was certifiable, and we hope our paths don't cross again. Everyone else in the shelter was real nice. We had mostly young people like Pecan with his dog and Ketchup with his friends. This was also our second shelter with Greg, a school teacher and a nice guy.Just before we left the shelter, a big tree fell down just a short distance from the shelter. The winds were really howling. The rain was going sideways on the ridge tops, and the wind made for cold hiking. No views this morning.Fortunately, the rain relented later in the morning and it just drizzled off and on through the day. Crossing the boulder fields with all the wet rocks was a challenge. Fortunately, we didn't have any falls. We stopped briefly at the Cable Gap Shelter, but it was only 2 PM, so we decided to press on. We climbed the last big mountain before the descent into Fontana Dam and camped at a campsite near Walker Gap. That left us just 4 miles to get to the dam tomorrow. The rain stopped before we had to pitch the tent, and we had a nice relaxing evening. Several hikers passed us trying to get to Fontana yet today. One had a young dog with him, and the dog put his nose under our tent fly as he passed. That started a conversation with the hiker who had a wet bag and wanted to get to Fontana for a dry night. When the hiker got ready to leave, his dog sat down in our vestibule and didn't want to leave. It took a lot of persuasion to get him to go. I guess he had had enough for one day.
Date: 2009-03-27
From: Campsite near Walker Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: moderate rain

The weather held overnight, and we woke to cloudy skies but no rain. Today's hike was mainly down. We reached NC 28 in late morning and took a break at the restrooms there. Chuckles and Knuckles showed up while we were there, and they chose to head into Fontana Village for the night. We hiked on since we had a reservation at The Hike Inn and needed to get to the dam for a pickup. It started to rain lightly as we approached the dam, and a car drove up as we walked along. It was Nancy Hoch, one of The Hike Inn proprietors, along with Spoons. It seems that Spoons had called for a pickup from the Marina where we had used the restrooms. He knew from Chuckles and Knuckles that we were ahead of him and had a Hike Inn reservation, so he clued Nancy in and she drove ahead and found us before we had a chance to call the inn. We were really glad to see her, since the rain was picking up.Back at the inn, we got into our room, did showers, and got our laundry started. We caught up with Jeff, the other proprietor, and found out that Weatherman and Wicked Wahine were also at the inn. It was a real reunion. We've known Jeff and Nancy since they started their business 17 years ago, so we really felt at home. Jeff took us and the other hikers down the road to the Stecoah Diner for lunch. Great food at a very reasonable price. Later we all went into Robinsville for dinner and shopping. It was nice to relax with old acquaintances while being in out of the rain. Tomorrow's forecast is for more rain, so we'll take a zero and start the Smokies on Sunday when the forecast looks better.Oh, and we got mail from our son and from Chuck Russakov, an Orlando area hiking friend. It was real encouraging to hear from them, and we appreciate the support. Best of all, they sent nice notes, but nothing heavy that we need to carry.
Date: 2009-03-28
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Glad we took the zero. It's raining again, but tomorrow's forecast is better. Crossing the Great Smoky Mountain Park is one of the more challenging portions of the trail, and we really want good weather to get started. We'll have heavy packs due to the food required for this leg, and the trail out of Fontana is up from 1700 ft to 4570 ft where we'll find the first shelter. Weatherman left today, but the rest of us are sitting it out.Jeff has taken us to town where we're catching up on the internet stuff and doing some last minute shopping. It will be a few days until we get another town visit at Gatlinburg. Thanks to everyone who is writing in our guest book. Please be patient for a response, because we don't get a lot of internet time. We'll try to get to all of you eventually.We're loading new pictures today, so please click the photos link on the left of our TrailJournals site if you want to see more than just what's in the daily writeups.
Date: 2009-03-29
From: Fontana Dam

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well, today we started our hike through the Smoky Mountain National Park. We had a good night at The Hike Inn, and Jeff took us, Spoons, and Wicked Wahine to Fontana Dam at 7:30 to start our long uphill hike. The sky was overcast, and the temperature was pretty cool. We got some long range views early, but the fog eventually moved in and the winds picked up. We kept a steady pace to get our miles in and fortunately the trail is gently graded.About mid-afternoon we met the ridge runner and chatted with him a minute before moving on. It had started to rain lightly right after lunch. Mid-afternoon, the rain turned to sleet and snow flurries. Needless to say, we were happy to get to the shelter and find a spot to stay that was dry. We got into our sleeping bags early because of the cold and spent the night listening to the wind blow through the trees. Tomorrow we'll do a short hike to the next shelter in cold weather.
Date: 2009-03-30
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke to an ice wonderland. Everything was covered in ice, and it was very cold and foggy. The ice eventually melted as the day warmed, but the skies remained overcast. We lunched at Russell Field Shelter with Vagrant and the Kiwi's. Had some nice soup to warm us up. We got to our destination early and got set up in the shelter with plenty of time to relax. We had a few short showers during the afternoon, so it was good to get to the shelter early. Tomorrow we'll try for a long day to move us along in the Smokies.Special thanks to the Kiwi's and Vagrant who gathered wood and provided us with a nice warm fire in the shelter on this cold night.
Date: 2009-03-31
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

We woke to cold temperatures and strong winds. It had rained during the night and was very foggy this morning. We got an early start and reached Rocky Top at mid-morning. The winds were really kicking up and would blow us sideways as we walked the ridge. We stopped only briefly with two young lady hikers to take in the views from Rocky Top and then moved on in very cold conditions.We struggled all day with the strong winds and gloomy conditions. Rain threatened as we approached Derrick Knob Shelter, so we decided to cancel the long day along with some other hikers. As we settled into the shelter, the rains started and continued fiercely throughout the night. We were happy to be in a dry shelter. Tomorrow it looks like we'll walk in the rain again.