morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-12
From: Sam's Gap

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 24.5

We did it!! 24.5 miles! The trail was really good in most spots for making good time. We were to be at the trailhead at 7 but we got started in the wrong direction on the freeway out of Erwin so by the time we realized it and got turned around we had lost an hour. But we still were back at the trailhead in Erwin by 7PM. Amoeba had left her car for us to drive ourselves back to the motel so it was nice to not have to hitch a ride or wait for someone to come pick us up. The day was beautiful but the wind was 20-30 MPH with 40MPH gusts. And there were many gusts. On top of Big Bald Mountain and walking down from it across another treeless area until the trail disappeared into the woods it was difficult to stand up or walk straight. We wore our fleece and rain jackets to keep warm and our hands and heads were also covered while up that high--5500 feet. We stopped at Bald Mountain Shelter, where we were planning to stop 2 days ago, but didn't because we went into Erwin instead. Texas and Mountain Mike signed the shelter register and had stayed the night. 60 also signed it and had written a note to us that she missed us. We thought that she had also stayed but found out when we got to the next shelter that she had not stayed, but had hiked out in the rain last evening to get to the last shelter before Erwin. So she night-hiked. At the last shelter we saw Texas--he was staying there and was probably going to be the only one there tonight!We had hoped to catch up to 60 all day to give her some pizza that we carried with us today.Texas said he hiked yesterday in the rain from 2PM on and that it did not stop raining until 3 this morning.Tomorrow we plan to do a zero day and get laundry and other things done. Amoeba, Memere, and Gray Feather have offered to take us with them to do more slack-packing--this time over Roan Mountain--but we told them we did not want to hike. We really are too tired to think tonight. My legs and feet hurt and Toto's knees are sore. Tomorrow is to be a great hiking day and the week-end to be very rainy. But for now we cannot think or plan for another day.Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-14
From: Nolichucky River

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 0.0

Today we felt like we should have been hiking since it was a nice day. We walked to the grocery store and picked up a few things to add to our food supply for when we do go back out to the trail. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain with snow mixed in at times so we will not hike tomorrow either. Today we were to have rain showers but they never came. If we had hiked today we would be in higher elevations where we definitely would not have wanted to be if the rain and snow did develop. To go out and hike a section today would have cost a bit to just be shuttled to where we need to start and then to be picked up and brought back to town.   So we will wait until Monday to hike out. We met up with Diamond today---the first we have seen her since Hiawassee. She is with Otter, a hiker doing a section during spring break, and Boo Boo, who is thru-hiking. They are all staying here at the motel but slack-packing today. We also have met Bluebelle and Tree, a couple from Kentucky. They are not hiking today. It is difficult to sit still because we want to be hiking but it just is not working out for us to do it. We will be glad when the weather is not so iffy so we can get out of Erwin and head north on the trail. Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-15
From: Nolichucky River

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 0.0

Today was definitely not a day to hike. It was very dark and cloudy when we got up. Amoeba asked us if we wanted to be taken to Iron Mtn. Gap to start hiking north but we turned the offer down since we did not like the looks of the sky and the weather report did not sound good. It hasn't sounded good all week and never turned into anything terribly bad, but today has had the worst forecast of snow and rain mix. Otter, Diamond, and Boo Boo went out to Iron Mountain and did from Iron Mountain back to the river and when they came in this evening they were freezing. It was raining when they started and then it turned to snow. When they went over Unaka Mtn. the snow was starting to stick to the ground and the wind was blowing a lot. I cannot imagine being out here in that mess and sleeping in a shelter or tent. Though it has been tough sitting around here and waiting for the weather to clear we are happy to be in where we are warm and dry. Miss Janet came and picked Bluebelle, Tree, Toto, and I up to take us to Johnson City to visit the outfitter and someplace for lunch. She has an old van that she just got out of the shop after having a new carburator placed in it. It was running fine until we stopped just down the street for some gas. Just after that she pulled onto the entrance ramp to the freeway and it would only creep up the ramp. She tried everything from turning the van off and restarting it to stepping on the accelerator to blow out whatever was causing the van to chug chug along. She ended up pulling over and driving at a hiker pace until getting to the next exit. She pulled into an Advance Auto store and Seth, a hiker staying at Miss Janet's house put a new fuel filter in it. They thought that it helped but when we got back on the road and were headed toward Johnson City it still had problems. So we turned around and headed back to the motel. Toto was wanting to get to the outfitter to look for another fleece jacket since he has been having some problem getting the zipper to work. So we spent the day in the motel. We did have a chance to eat at a Mexican restaurant while Seth was working on the van. Later this evening we went to the McDonald's down the street. We will indeed be ready to hike out on Tuesday. Tomorrow is definitely another zero day. The weather report said there could be winds up to 70 MPH and still there is the chance of snow in the morning. The afternoon is to warm up and start melting the snow.Oh, will we ever get out of Erwin!! Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-16
From: Nolichucky River

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 0.0

Today the clouds have rolled away and the sky is a clear blue. The winds are gusting making it feel cooler than it really is. We still see snow in the mountains although it is no longer on the trees at elevations that are just a bit higher than Erwin. Last evening after it quit snowing it was so beautiful to look up at the mountains and see the snow covering the trees. Bluebelle, Tree, Toto, and I were driven to Johnson City by our hotel owner so we could visit the outfitter and eat lunch at some place other than McD's, Huddle House, or a pizza place. We chose Ryan's AYCE restaurant. We will not need to eat the rest of the day.   We had planned to hike tomorrow and the motel owner was going to drive us to the trail at 8 in the morning. At first, Miss Janet was going to take us but she was not going to be able to pick us up until 10 in the morning. We wanted to leave as early as possible so we could have more time to hike to Overmountain Shelter on the north side of Roan Mountain. BUT--- Toto just got back from walking over to Miss Janet's and the word is that Roan is impassable at this time. Apparently Terrapin (a hiker we have yet to meet) called from Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel, which is just a few miles north of where we need to start when we hike again, and she said she was on her way toward the climb up the mountain and had to turn around and hike back and down to the hostel. Snow and drifts were waist deep in places. I guess she is from Vermont and so she should know about hiking in the snow and mountains. SO, again, we are not going to be able to hike. We had called friends we have in Bristol, TN a few days ago but they were out of town and not going to be home until tomorrow evening. Then we decided to call friends we have in Kingsport, TN that we have not seen in way too many years. They will come tomorrow and pick us up here at the motel. We are hoping to get back to the trail as soon as possible to try and make up for the zero days we have had to take.   Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-17
From: Nolichucky River

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 0.0

At about 11AM our friend, Joyce, came to pick us up and take us back to her home in Kingsport. Her husband, Gil, had stayed at home and he was very anxious for us to arrive. He and Toto were fishing buddies in Washington State way back in 1972. Gil has had 2 strokes and has some trouble with walking and also with his speech. We had a great time with both of them remembering old times. Gil has a wonderful attitude in spite of his disabilities and laughs easily. And Joyce is very patient and good with him. We went out to eat twice today and had such a great time with them. They want us to stay another day but we need to move on up the trail. We have been idle too long and we really do need to hike. We are fidgety and it is difficult to keep our minds on anything else. Toto has promised Gil to come and take him fishing sometime after he gets off the trail.It is late and we are very tired---not that we have done anything to tire us out. It is time to start doing something now to make us good and tired!!Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-18
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today had to be one of the toughest days on the trail. We were dropped off at the trailhead at 9AM by our friends, Gil and Joyce. We saw patches of snow along the trail for the first few miles but the trail is clear of snow. We started this morning at 3723 feet and slowly climbed to 4400 where there began to be larger patches of snow drifts and often they were lying across the trail.By this time the trail was slippery underfoot due to the slushy snow and the mud from the melted snow. Some of the drifts were at least 2 feet deep. As we climbed to 6200 feet to Roan Mountain the snow increased on the trail and off the trail. It was not so slushy now but icy. Climbing up over the rocks and roots trying to get to the mountain top was a bit tricky trying not to have our feet slide out from under us. Once on top it was sunny and there were very few patches of snow. This mountaintop once held the Cloudland Hotel, a resort in the late 1800's and early 1900's until it was demolished in 1915. The state-line between TN and NC ran through the middle of the hotel's ballroom. A forest service road when it is open will take visitors to the top to see the Catawba rhodadendroms that bloom in June. It is amazing to me that a hotel was built on this mountain so long ago.    Anyway, on the way down the mountain the trail was again covered with snow and even more ice. The lower we went the ice turned to slush and the trail again got muddy. At the lower elevation of 5050 feet the trail was very muddy and slushy. Worse than that, the trail was badly eroded and difficult to navigate. I slipped once in the slush and mud but just got muddy. We had planned to go to the Overmountain Shelter but we were running out of energy and daylight so decided to stop at the next shelter---almost 2 miles closer.   When we approached Stan Murray Shelter we saw the campfire before we saw the shelter. It looked so welcoming and when we got close we saw that Hobo and Flint were there. We have not seen them since before Erwin. It was after dark before we had eaten and were in our sleeping bags. We are very tired. It is supposed to rain tomorrow but we are hoping it will hold off until we get to U.S 19E where we will be stopping at a hostel. Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-19
From: Stan Murray Shelter

To: U.S. 19E
Miles today: 10.4

By just before 8 this morning we were on the trail. There was no privy at any of the shelters for the past week but Overmountain Shelter does have one. So that shelter is our first stop. Soon Hobo and Flint stopped by. This shelter is a barn and holds a lot of hikers. We met Em, a hiker hiking south, and she had stayed there last night. According to her there were only 8 hikers there.   After leaving Overmountain Shelter we started climbing Little Hump Mountain and then after descendng it climbed Hump Mountain, which is longer and steeper. The weather has been cool with a slight breeze and mostly sunny. It has spit rain a couple of times today--enough to use our pack covers. I wore my rain gear mostly to stay warm from the wind and to keep mud off me since we walked through a lot of it today, also. There was some snow, but not as much as yesterday. By the time we got to within a mile or two of the road we were hearing thunder in the distance. We had decided we would stop here at the Mountain Harbour Hostel, only .3 mile from the trailhead on 19E. Before we could get our packs inside the rain started coming down hard. We are so glad to be inside. Terry, one of the owners of the hostel gave a ride to a restaurant to eat and tomorrow will slack-pack us to Dennis Cove Rd. where Kincora Hostel is. What he will do is take bags with our hiking stuff we won't need to carry with us to Kincora Hostel and we will hike the almost 24 miles to there with a light pack. We are excited to be able to make up so many miles tomorrow. We are also having breakfast here tomorrow. Mary, the other owner, fixes a great breakfast, we hear, for 6 dollars. They operate a Bed & Breakfast in their home but it is not too busy right now. The hostel is above a horse barn and it is very cozy. There are 10 or 11 of us here tonight.We are blessed to be out of the rain tonight and to be warm again.       Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-20
From: U.S. 19E

To: Dennis Cove Rd.
Miles today: 23.8

After a restful night of sleep at the Mountain Harbour Hostel (we had a king size bed with linens) we had a great breakfast up at the house, a lovely Bed and Breakfast. Then we headed for the trail after putting 2 trash bags full of gear we did not need to carry in our packs in the back of the pick-up truck that will carry our stuff to Kincora Hostel. We got to the trailhead at 9AM but we wish we had gotten an earlier start. We did not get here, the hostel, until about 7:30PM. The hostel is a half mile away from the trailhead so we had to walk that on top of the 23.8. As soon as we got here with Hobo and Flint, Bob Peoples, who owns this hostel with his wife, took a shuttle into town to the grocery store and Arby's. I stayed and took a shower and after Toto got back with food and we ate, Toto took a shower. The trail was tougher today than we thought it would be. The trail has been apparently re-routed and so the profile map was no help at all. It seemed to take forever to get to the shelters and then to Dennis Cove Rd. We were very hungry, thirsty, and tired. We did see some beautiful falls today--Jones Falls. I walked the 0.1 mile off the trail in '05 and told Toto it was worth the walk. He agreed.   Toto saw some grouse today but other than that we did not see anything else. Flowers were not too plentiful today. We did see some beautiful white ones yesterday coming down to U.S. 19E but we had the camera packed away because of the rain. I saw them in a flower book back at Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs but can't remember the name of them. I hope I see more of them. Tomorrow we hike to Watauga Dam and will probably stay at the shelter there. It is only a little over 10 miles. After today that will probably be enough. Our bed is a double bed tonight but without sheets--just a mattress pad. So we have put our sleeping bags on top of it so should be quite comfy.Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-21
From: Dennis Cove Rd.

To: Watauga Dam
Miles today: 11.8

Today we started our hike a bit later because we were only going to the shelter here at Watauga Lake. When we got to the shelter we decided to hike almost to the dam where I had remembered seeing some hikers camp in '05. I thought then how nice to have camped here and see the sunrise the next morning. We started our hike at Laurel Fork Falls just past Dennis Cove Road and followed the roaring stream for a long way down at the bottom of a huge gorge. There were walls of rock formations on the mountain sides and rocks all over the ground and in the stream. We climbed down into the gorge on a rocky trail and then when we finally started up we didn't stop until we got to the top of Pond Mountain. It was a very long climb and we had to stop several times to rest. Once on top we had a nice level walk across what is called Pond Flats and then we started a long gradual descent to the lake. The day was gorgeous with sunshine and a gentle breeze at times to cool us. When we got to the lake there was Calamity Jane with Signage and Calamity's mother giving out trail magic. We had cold Sprites, Cokes, and orange soda, oreo cookies, and apples. We had brought with us a sandwich Toto had bought at Arby's last evening and we ate that also. So now we didn't need to cook or filter our water later because we were full and filled up our water containers from a spigot at the picnic area. The Watauga Lake Shelter is back away from the lake and there is no view at all except of the woods, which is nice, but we wanted a different view, so we walked down to find the spot I remembered. We have a fire and have been able to relax. The sun is going down behind us but has turned only a little cool. It will feel good to sleep in our tent again. We haven't used it since the night it rained at the campground in Hot Springs.   Bob and Pat Peoples are great people. Bob was going out today with a large group for trail maintenance and was not going to be around to take anyone into town. Mr. Easy and No Problem missed both shuttles yesterday evening and needed to go to town to resupply. So Pat took them in to drop them off while she went to take trash to the dump and then was going to pick them up. We still have not seen them today so guess they got a later start. Hobo and Flint also have not passed us but they were thinking about taking a 2 hour nap before heading for the trail when we left this morning.It only seems fitting to end the day near water after starting the day with water all around us. We have seen some beautiful water falls the last 2 days, the most beautiful we have seen since starting the trail.Time to turn in.   Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-22
From: Watauga Dam

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

A beautiful sunny, but cool morning started our day today. While we were packing our packs our hands got cold but we soon warmed up on our hike up the mountain from the dam. We climbed all day it seemed until about 1PM when we got to Vanderventer Shelter where we stopped for a break. Then the trail followed the ridge for a while, dipping down a little and then climbing back up a little more. The shelter we are in tonight is 6.8 miles from the Vanderventer Shelter with 2 springs between--one at just over 6 miles and the last one 500 yards before this one. We stopped at the first one, which would be a great place to camp, and filled up all our water containers. Then after reaching this shelter I went back to the spring and brought about 4 liters of water back to filter. We used it for cooking and coffee and refilling what we drank out of our pack water bladders. We gave some water to Mr. Easy and Tattoo when they got here. They are hiking on to Damascus tonight---25 more miles. We told them they are crazy--but they are young. Toto later went down for more water just in case we need to replenish in the morning. The next water source is 7 miles up the trail.Last night at about 11:10 while we were in our tent and asleep we heard hikers walking by talking and a radio blaring. We passed them on the trail at the top of one of the first climbs about 2 miles away. They had stopped there to cowboy camp, and had to move some big rocks around to find room to lay their sleep pads. With the rocks they made a fire ring and got a fire started. Those crazy ones were Tattoo, No Problem, and Mr. Easy. The Owl stopped here this evening but he cooked and went on to go to the next shelter or camp spot. Drip Dry and a hiker we have not met before called Youngandum are here now at 8PM to cook and then they are planning to hike on to Damascus. Everyone is always so anxious to get to Damascus, the first trail town in Virginia. What are we going to do? Hike 15 miles to Abingdon Shelter tomorrow and then 10 into Damascus the next day.We are ready for a shower and laundry. It doesn't take long to acquire the scent of a long distance hiker. Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto
Date: 2007-04-24
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: U.S. 58, Damascus
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We remained the only ones in the shelter last night and we heard no one hiking past during the night. Toto said he did not sleep very well because of the noise of animal movements around the shelter. He said they sounded too big to be mice. I heard the wind blowing dead leaves around on the ground lot and once in a while something fell onto the tin roof or was moving around up there. I slept pretty well, though. We were awake at 5:30 and were up and ready to hike out at 6:30. The trail was nice enough to make very good time today. We were in Damascus by 10AM and by 10:30 sitting in Sicily's Italian restaurant waiting for our spaghetti dinners and appetizers. A stop at the post office gave us a wonderful surprise of 2 packages with goodies. Thank yous to Redhat and to the Kirtland Visitor Center staff. We had completely depleted our supply of dinners, breakfasts, and nearly all our snacks, so it was much appreciated. It took a while to get our meal since the cook was late getting there so we snacked on our new supply of snacks while waiting. Linda, our friend from Bristol, came and picked us up. I had told her we would be out on the sidewalk or in the outfitter store or thr restaurant. she saw hikers outside the outfitter and asked if they knew the Duhl's and blank stares were their response. Then she said "Dorothy and Toto" and No Problem jumped in and said he knew where we were and ran down the street and came into the restaurant and told me we had a friend looking for us. So after Toto shopped for a fuel canister and new pair of insoles we were on our way to Bristol. First on the agenda was laundry and showers. After that it was just sitting around with Linda talking until about 4:30 when we left for Johnson City to meet our friends from Kingsport at Red Lobster for dinner. Now we are back in Linda's home and have decided to take a zero tomorrow and do some resupplying and hike the next day from Elk Garden back to Damascus like we did 2 years ago except this time we will slack-pack the 23 miles in one day instead of doing it in 3 days.
Date: 2007-04-25
From: U.S. 58, Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a very relaxing day. We resupplied at Walmart and got our water containers washed out. This evening we went to the Outback Steakhouse with Linda. Her husband, Barry, was working in Alabama so we have not seen him since we've been here. Linda has made brownies with black walnuts in them and in the frosting. Boy, were they good!! Tonight she is making pepperoni rolls and we will take them with us on the trail tomorrow. One thing I neglected to mention was that yesterday when we picked up our mail we received a package from our 05 friend and fellow hiker, Red Hat. Thanks Red Hat!! We snacked on some of the almonds and pretzels while we were waiting for our food at the restaurant yesterday. Also, we received a package from our wonderful Kirtland visitor center family and we are looking forward to the M&Ms, gum, and candy Easter eggs on the trail. Also, they sent a package of pasta that will be added to one of our evening meals. Thanks to all of you!Well, tomorrow is a long day and we will be up early so we can do over 20 miles.   Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto