morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-28
From: Bald Ridge

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.0

This was a good day for hiking. It was sunny late in the day and we had no rain, which is a good thing. Most of the first part of the day was fairly level, but the last part of the day was a long, upward hike. When we crossed North Carolina Road 212 at Devil Fork Gap, we saw three people, two men and a lady, standing beside two big, black, beautiful Harley motorcycles. I complimented them on their bikes and asked if they had anything to eat because I was hungry. They said they didn¢t have anything to eat, but they did have BEER!!! They gave one to me and one to my hiking companion, Pokey. This really hit the spot as it was mid-afternoon and it was hot and we were tired. This was another example of random acts of kindness by multiple Trail Angels! I had to explain to these folks what a Trail Angel was and that they were, in fact, Trail Angels themselves. We hiked on a fairly large ascent through the valley and there were some young men digging up ramps, a wild onion type plant. I have seen several people digging these up. They use them for cooking, and according to these boys they are really good in fried potatoes. This particular valley had received plenty of rainfall and it was just beautiful with wild Trillium as well as other lush plants.
Date: 2012-04-29
To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 11.3

Water has become an issue. At times there is no water to be found and you must be careful with your water to make sure it will last as long as you need it. It was hot today and because water was scarce, we had to drink sparingly and resupply whenever we found water. We did find a spring where the water comes right out of the mountain and that is very good water. We heard there was Trail Magic ahead, so we hurried on, but when we got to the parking lot where we thought there might be free food, there was nothing. As we sat there looking for something to eat in our food bags, a small RV pulled up and the two folks inside were very generous. They resupplied us with water and even gave us a couple of small candy bars, yet another example of Trail Angels who show kindness when we least expect it.The hike today had many ups and downs. There were several springs, so water was not such an issue later in the day. There were also men riding horses on the Trail, which is forbidden. We hiked across a beautiful bald called Big Meadow. We could see a long distance from there and we could see an area of development outside Erwin, Tennessee where there was an apartment complex and some houses built way up in the mountains. The bald was beautiful and the area around it was very scenic. Today it was interesting in that some entire valleys were covered with one kind of plant. One had an abundance of May apples and it looked like the entire ground was covered with them. A short while later another valley appeared to be covered entirely with Solomon¢s seal. Another valley had an abundance of a small plant with tiny white flowers. I am unsure of the name of that one. Trillium is also very common. It is stunningly beautiful out here in the woods with the different kinds of moss, different colors of moss, and the abundance and variety of ferns and flowering plants. I am camping in a woody area tonight.
Date: 2012-04-30
From: Sam's Gap

To: Near Erwin, Tennessee
Miles today: 12.2

Today¢s hike was a lot of fun. We went over Big Bald and Big Stamp, treeless areas on top of Bald Mountain where you could see forever in all directions. Just a few days earlier there had been snow skiing in these areas as a result of the severe weather and large amount of snow they had deposited there. These areas are beautiful and large.Today¢s hike was long, but not as many ups and downs. We had an afternoon rain shower and it is raining again. This area is very beautiful. The rain seems to bring out these 3-inch long salamanders, or some such thing. They were brown with tiny 1/8-inch long legs. They hopped and wiggled as opposed to walking. There was also a number of snails along the Trail that seemed to enjoy the rain. This morning I saw a 3-foot long garter snake.Today I experienced several crises. One was blowing toilet paper. I went to the field to use the facilities. I laid the toilet paper down and while in the process of ¢doing what I needed to do,¢ the wind blew my toilet paper away. I had to hop along the field holding my pants up, but not too high, so I could retrieve the toilet paper and complete my project. It would have been a startling sight to see!Another crisis was that yesterday I completely ¢bonked.¢ This means you totally run out of energy. I was so tired at the end of the day that it took 10-15 minutes to simply put up my tent and I had to rest a couple of times while doing that. In large part this was because I had not taken in enough food or liquids. I will try to do better from now on as that could be a big problem.I also fell today. I wasn¢t really hurt too bad. I scratched up my arm, but did hit my face pretty hard and cut my nose. Fortunately I did not break my glasses, but did break the cheap watch I was wearing. I will get another the next time I¢m in town.I have been on the Trail five weeks now and I am beginning to get my trail legs, which means as I walk I get less tired and I can walk faster and for longer periods of time. I have not shaved at all and have not had a haircut. I have only bathed a few times if you don¢t count the times I had to walk in the rain. Today we had awesome Trail Magic at Spivey Gap provided by Carolyn, a lady from Marysville, her son, Hoover, a through hiker 2-3 years ago, and his friend, a pastry chef. They provided cold sodas, hot hoagie sandwiches cooked over a log fire, corn-on-the-cob, oranges and brownies. It was so good and really energized me, enough that I could power myself over the last six miles to the next shelter. I could distinctly tell the difference between walking with this food in me compared to when I was totally out of energy.
Date: 2012-05-01
From: Near Erwin, Tennessee

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel,Erwin, Tennessee
Miles today: 5.8

Today I arrived in Erwin, TN after a relatively short hike. I was hungry and thirsty and had only 1 package of Ramen noodles left. It has been 6 days since I have been able to buy any food or bathe. I am staying at Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel near the Nolichucky River. There are about 25 other hikers here including Baby Scrooge, Slayer, Desperado, Micro, Mulligan, Orca, Union Jill and Monster. I met two ladies from Kokomo, Indiana who call themselves Twisted Sisters. One is Styx, the other Psycho. I also met a gentleman from Texas who calls himself Lone Star. He told a great story about bicycling from south Texas to Ground Zero in NYC 8-9 years ago to deliver an American flag that had been signed by many of his friends.Uncle Johnny has been sick, so I never saw him. A gentleman named Grim was running the business and he was way overloaded with work. Because of the number of hikers there and only one person to do all the work, Uncle Johnny¢s was somewhat run down.   I had some cooked food today, did laundry and took several showers. I had an excellent meal at Pizza Plus. I ran into an old friend, Red Wolf, who I have seen on the Trail a number of times. Some beers were delivered to me by a friend. I shared those with Pokey and a gentleman named Missouri Mule. I met a lady named Miss Janet who stays busy day and evening running errands and shuttling hikers to anywhere they need to go.   Word got out here at Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel that I am a retired orthopedic surgeon and there were about 6 people lined up for me to examine, mostly for knee problems. I enjoyed this and I am happy to help when I can, although there are limited things I can do on the Trail.   I am looking forward to a visit from my daughter and her family in a few days.
Date: 2012-05-02
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel,Erwin, Tennessee

To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.4

I left Uncle Johnny¢s in Erwin mid-morning, but was moving slow, just not in the mood to hike fast. We had hiked a little while, a good hike, when at one of the shelters I ran into a group of section hikers, six very friendly, very nice folks who live in the area and who were hiking for the fun of it. I again ran into Twisted Sisters from Kokomo. It seemed that Styx was having some knee and ankle problems and was limping fairly noticeably.Today I saw something I never expected to see on the Trail¢¦a man coming toward me on a pair of stilts! He was moving fairly fast, as this section of the Trail was without big rocks or overhangs and really wasn¢t too bad. He announced that not far ahead there was a form of Trail Magic (ice-cold sodas) provided by Napalm, who thru-hiked last year. That news caused me to speed up and get to the road ahead where I sat down and drank cold soda and talked with other hikers including Neon and Son. Napalm entertained us with stories about his thru-hike the previous year and his dealing with a bad case of lyme disease.
Date: 2012-05-03
To: 4 miles from Greasy Creek Friendly hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I got an early start today, but again was in no hurry. I again hiked with Twisted Sisters from Kokomo. We heard a rumor there might be Trail magic at a road crossing three miles ahead, but there was nothing when we got there. I was a little disappointed, but okay.During today¢s hike I met a very interesting young couple from Australia, Short Step and Gruffalo. Short Step, a very sweet English lady living in Australia, had fallen 4-5 weeks earlier and had what sounded like a nasty fracture of her distal right radius. She was wearing a bright orange cast with many signatures on it. I had a couple of minor falls myself today, but one time I landed on a big rock and dented and scratched my cell phone. I will have to be more careful from now on. I camped four miles from Greasy Creek Friendly where I will meet my daughter and her family tomorrow for a zero day, taking me off the Trail. I am really looking forward to that.
Date: 2012-05-04
From: 4 miles from Greasy Creek Friendly hostel

To: KOA Campgrounds, Boone, NC
Miles today: 4.2

I traveled at a leisurely pace to the Greasy Creek Friendly hostel, just so I could get there in time to take a shower prior to the arrival of my daughter and her family from Carmel Indiana. It was so good to see Julie and Tim, Sydni, Lizzie, and Dylan. They were somewhat surprised to see my long hair and beard, although they didn¢t think I had lost as much weight as they previously thought. I got in their car and they immediately took me somewhere to eat. It is beautiful country here in North Carolina and it was nice to see from the car as well as from the Trail. There are many mountains and many up and down roads. Tonight we stayed at a nice, rustic KOA Campground in Boone, NC. Boone NC is the home of Appalachia State University. It is a beautiful city and the campus is beautiful. It was nice to see lots of young kids around. It really felt good to take a break today.
Date: 2012-05-05
From: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel

To: KOA Campgrounds, Boone, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a zero day, a day for relaxing and recuperating. I spent a leisurely day with my daughter and her family exploring Grandfather Mountain. This is a beautiful place, very scenic and well kept, although somewhat of an expensive activity. The views from the mountain are great. We walked across a mile high bridge (you are literally one mile up from the ground when standing in the middle of this bridge!). Because there was a tremendous amount of wind today, the bridge shook and made interesting sounds as the wind raced past the metal supports. I would highly recommend Grandfather Mountain to anyone visiting this area. We also visited Linville caverns and explored the cave, a very interesting, reasonably priced activity. The cave was cool, only 52 degrees throughout. We later drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which was also very scenic.At my encouragement, Julie brought me a new tent, which I practiced putting up today. It¢s a LightHeart Wedge. It¢s a little roomier than my Hubba tent. It is bright orange, which has become my new favorite color!I met another Trail Angel today, a pharmacist in Boone, North Carolina who was able to sell me some antibiotics I needed for a friend. She could have declined since I did not have a prescription, but kindly sold them to me anyway. I plan to deliver them when I get back on the Trail. In the morning we will leave early so my family can return me to the place I came off the Trail and I will resume my hike northbound.
Date: 2012-05-06
From: KOA Campgrounds, Boone, NC

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

My family returned me to the Trail this morning about 9:30. I had a great time with them and saw many interesting things in and around Boone, North Carolina. My hike today took me on a steep climb to the top of Roan Mountain, which is very high. After getting over the mountain I had to climb over High Bluff and High Knob and I had some spectacular views while the clouds and rain stayed away. I went to Stan Murray Shelter and Roan High Knob Shelter and stopped to see who had been there. I continued to walk until it started raining quite hard. It has already rained for several days, which makes the trail very slippery. The rocks are slippery and the dirt is slippery like oil and it is very difficult to gain any traction. I fell three times, but with no significant injuries. I finally came to the famous Overmountain Shelter, a large old barn that has been converted to sleep probably 20 people. It sits in a clear area and when you look out the door you have a beautiful view of the valley and can see the mountains in the distance. A storm blew in shortly after I got there. It rained hard and the wind blew like crazy, obscuring all possible views. I was very glad to be under a roof, in a dry area, and I was able to cook a decent meal for a change. My sleeping bag will keep me warm tonight. It has been a good day and I got in a quite a few miles.
Date: 2012-05-07
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Near a river
Miles today: 15.7

It was foggy this morning and I couldn¢t see anything much from the shelter. This was my longest mileage day so far. I hiked pretty much continuously for about 12 hours trying to crank out the mileage. I started by climbing over Hook Mountain, which is a very steep bald that seems to go on forever. It was beautiful, but soon the clouds and fog came and then, of course, the rain, so I was unable to get any pictures. While waiting at a crossroads, just taking a break, I smelled something nasty. I looked down the hill and there was a dead bear. He had either been struck by a car and crawled that far to die, or someone had killed him and dumped him there. I don¢t know, but I wasn¢t going any closer to investigate as he was very smelly. I also saw a red lizard today (alive). I¢m not sure what kind it was. Someone told me the young ones are red. At any rate, it was very, very red, almost startlingly so. I also saw a garter snake and a beautiful red scarlet tanager. It is the first time I have seen a tanager in several years. I hiked hard all day and finally came to a river and just set up my new tent and crawled in. I was tired and wanted to get off my feet and get something to eat. It was a long day with a lot of beautiful sites, but very tiring.
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Near a river

To: Vango/Abbey Memorial Hostel
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

This was a light hiking day in that I did less than 6 miles. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. listening to the rain pelting down on my tent and could not go back to sleep. It finally quit raining and I got up, packed up as quickly as I could, shook off what water I could, and started hiking using my headlight. It¢s the first time this trip I have hiked in the dark, but the rain was keeping me awake anyway so figured I might as well get going. I was very careful because of course everything was muddy, wet and slippery. It got light enough after about 45 minutes that I no longer needed the headlight. I arrived at the Mountaineer Shelter around 8:00 a.m. There were several people there that I didn¢t know, but I did run into Hoot and Wallflower who gave me some information about the Trail. I met them on the 5th day of the hike and we have been passing each other off and on ever since. They are a very nice couple who live near Asheville, North Carolina and it was nice visit with them. I fixed myself a light breakfast, and then took off again. I decided to go to the Vango/Abbey Memorial Hostel run by a man named Scotty. He has over 14,000 hiking miles to his credit. He has hiked the AT several times, the Pacific Crest Trail, and about every other trail I can think of. Nobody was home when I got there (he had gone to get groceries), so I took a nice nap on the porch in the sun (the rain had finally stopped). The hostel is home to several cats and a dog. It was a very nice, rustic place. The washing machine wasn¢t working, so I just threw my dirty clothes in the shower with me. I stomped on them to get them soapy, then rubbed them together and squeezed some of the dirt out, finally rinsing them and squeezing out the excess water. This worked pretty well, but it certainly was the first time I ever stomped on my clothes in the shower while washing myself! The dryer was working, so now I have at least semi-clean dry clothes to wear. I was able to talk to some people at home this evening as I could get some cellular signal if I stood really still and held my phone in a certain position. I am looking forward to getting back on the Trail tomorrow and heading north to Maine. I will quickly pass the 400-mile hike barrier in the morning.
Date: 2012-05-09
From: Vango/Abbey Memorial Hostel

To: Vango/Abbey Memorial Hostel
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today was unusual in that I got up at 5:30, fixed a big breakfast of grits, got everything ready, left the hostel and went up to the Trail to wait for a hiker friend who was hiking north toward me. I waited for a while and then decided to walk south and meet her. I did meet up with her and learned she wanted to use a computer. There was a computer at the Vango/Abbey hostel, so we went back there. I am coining a new phrase now, ¢boomerang zero,¢ since today I went one direction about 2.5 miles, then turned around and walked back 2.5 miles, thus ending up where I started this morning! I didn¢t gain any Trail miles today, even though I actually walked about 5 miles.It again started to rain very hard, so I decided to spend another night at the Vango/Abbey hostel. Rain continued and several of my hiker friends came out of the mountains and stayed at the hostel, as well, including Pandora, Shrink, Chatterbox, Greenhorn, and Ever-Ready. I met some new people today including Sticks, a young lady from Missouri; Metric, a young man from Australia; Dr. Tiazac, a family doctor from Madison, Wisconsin, and Loner from Greenville, South Carolina.My daughter¢s birthday is today and I was able to get enough cellular signal to call her at home and sing Happy Birthday. I have coined a new phrase, ¢boomerang zero,¢ which is when you hike one direction for a few miles, then turn around and go back to where you started from. I did this today, first traveling southward, then coming back north to the hostel. The temperature is going down now. It¢s good to be in a warm, dry spot, under a roof, in a bed and with food to eat.
Date: 2012-05-10
From: Vango/Abbey Memorial Hostel

To: Laurel Falls Shelter
Miles today: 14.2

I took off early from the hostel, heading northbound once again to see how many miles I could get in today. The day started out cold and cloudy, but the sun finally came out and for the first time in 112 weeks it didn¢t rain! I came to a road in the afternoon and immediately caught a ride in the back of a pickup truck into Hampton, Tennessee with four other hikers. I pigged out on sweet tea, 3 McDoubles and 2 orders of fries at the local McDonald¢s. I needed to hitch a ride back to the Trail and while in the restroom met a man who said he would take me back. (It¢s a known taboo for men to talk to each other in a restroom ¢ you look straight ahead, do your business and get out - but this young man didn¢t seem offended that I approached him for a ride. He had his wife and 2 young children with him and in spite of likely having better things to do, he drove me back the four miles to where I had come off the Trail and would accept no money. The people along the Trail are so generous and kind. It just warms me all over. I hiked to Laurel Falls, which was an awesome site. It was full of water because of all the rain we¢ve had. The AT runs along the Laurel River and in some places the path is cut into the rock and is only about 2 feet wide. If you were to fall off the path, you could fall into the rushing water, which could be a real problem. Today there was nobody around to share the path with, so I had no problems. When I arrived at the Laurel Fall shelter, I was alone. For the first time on this trip I will likely have a shelter to myself for the whole night. However, the shelter faces due west and I did experience a beautiful sunset between two distant mountains. It was actually very nice to have this beautiful scene all to myself.
Date: 2012-05-11
From: Laurel Falls Shelter

To: Watauga Lake
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

This morning I climbed up and over Conn¢s Mountain, which was very difficult. There were many false summits. Just when you thought you were at the top, you turned the corner an there was more ¢up¢ to navigate. It was a long walk that took all morning and it was nice to get that behind me. On descending the mountain, the Trail wound back and forth and crossed a road, going down to a public beach and picnic area at Watauga Lake. The Trail ran right along the edge of this very large lake. There were a number of young people swimming, so I took off my shoes and socks and waded in the water just to give my feet a break. It was a good time to rest and talk to some of the high school kids there. I met a couple of guys on the other side of the lake who had set up their tent and were fishing for the weekend. They gave me a soda, a Little Debbie cake and a handful of potato chips. More Trail magic! I hiked across a dam and met a very colorful character who called himself Okey Dokey. He hasn¢t driven a car in 10 years and has been living out of his 5-year-old dilapidated pack. Earlier in the week he had been living under a bridge in Erwin, Tennessee. He seemed to just be a drifter, not a true hiker. I went to the public area to get some more water where I visited a mother/daughter combo who were just enjoying the beautiful day and gazing at the beauty of Watauga Lake. The mother was 81 and had hiked a large portion of the AT 30 years earlier. It was very interesting to hear her talk about her efforts hiking the Trail those many years ago. She said adjusting to normal life once she got off the trail was difficult. I also met a very nice young man who was hiking home to Georgia, having started at Waynesboro, Virginia. Last year he attempted a thru hike and got as far north as Waynesboro when a Copperhead, a form of poisonous snake, bit him on the ankle He did go to the hospital right away and received the anti-venom, but still had too much pain in his leg to continue. He was on crutches for a couple of weeks and had a very swollen leg for several more weeks, ending his effort to thru hike the Trail last year. He says his leg is fine now. I also met a lady and her daughter there who gave me a ride in a red convertible back to where I had gotten off the Trail to get my water. Back on the Trail I ran into the Twisted Sisters, the hikers from Kokomo, Indiana, and a hiker lady with them known as Cackles. I hiked on until I got tired, found a flat spot, pitched my tent and I¢m calling it a day.