morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: light rain

Know what? You can eat ramen noodles straight out of the package, without cooking them! You can out here anyway. I don't know about in real life. This morning the rain started again -- buckets. After watching it from the sardine can known as Deer Mtn. Park Shelter for a bit (that's when I had the raw ramen), we decided to put our our wet boots and swim the 3.2 miles to Hot Springs. We were rewarded on arrival with a tiny room in an awesome hotel, the Bright Leaf Inn, and an awesome lunch at the Smoky Mountain Diner. Now THAT was a cheeseburger ¢ NOC should take note. Plus country fried chicken and sausage gravy and¢¦ (drumroll)¢¦ strawberry rhubarb pie!! Probably you don't care what I had to eat, but believe me this is important.Then the usual town stuff, unusually easy due to the town's tininess and the stoppage of the rain ¢ laundry, shopping, spending small fortune at outfitters', Internet. Traded in stupid parka for smart red poncho that also covers pack. Added a little Nalgene flask for whiskey. So our equipment situation continues to improve. Then, out of things to do, we turned to drink for comfort and to pass the time. Rest of night's a rather hazy memory. Sometimes I hate town.
Date: 2006-04-22
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

It's "Trailfest" in Hot Springs, the rain has stopped, someone is up on stage singing "Sugar Mountain", and I had more sausage gravy this morning. Cool. It seems that everyone here really wishes they were on the trail right now, if they're not. We can't wait to head out of town tomorrow.We are proud to have taken second place in the Hiker Olympics -- well, I was second in the tortilla toss and Marc was second in the ice-cream eating contest. We got beat by some of last years' hikers. Shameful, indeed. Sign in the Hot Springs laundromat: "Please keep clothes on while washing ¢ a towel is not acceptable!" Who would think of wearing just a towel in public? That's right, thru-hikers. Bunch of freaks.
Date: 2006-04-23
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Deep Gap Campsite
Miles today: 12.7

Today we left Hot Springs after a fabulous pancake breakfast and are overjoyed to be camping alone here. Bugs are driving me crazy! A lot of Spring Mt. seems to have been charred by a low, not-very-hot fire: large trees still standing, for the most part, but the herbaceous layer seems to be filling in anew beneath them. Lots of irises out today. Also saw a random dam and pond, and a meadow area set aside as a preserve turkeys and grouse (though I saw no birds).
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Deep Gap Campsite

To: Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: few clouds

Okay, there's this really rocky, really narrow ridge, called Firescald, that really sucks. Well, maybe some people enjoyed it, but I didn't. I'm so tired... Bugs still nasty. We had some doubtful "Trail Magic" this morning, maybe it kind of set me on edge all day. There was a sign on the trail, inviting hikers to a feed. So we go, expecting a tarp by the side of the road and some hot-dogs or something. Turns out, this couple invites us into their home, and cooks us a 4-course meal. Wow. We were thanking them profusely and feeling a little awkward already about the fuss they made over us when they pulled the "switch" part of the old "bait & switch." Started asking us if we knew the "truth" and trying to get us to take their religious books with us. Sigh. Well, I guess if you go to a hiker feed, you deserve what you get, and sometimes you got to take the "divine" with the delicious.
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

It rained this morning but my super-cool new red poncho kept me dry. It makes me look like a hunchback wearing a circus tent (strangers actually laugh when they see me) but I don't care. After lunch we met some cute baby cows. The AT corridor is thin here, so there are houses and farms right next door. Tonight we celebrated both 300 miles and our 1-month trail anniversary with butterscotch pudding and whiskey. Our party was rather low-key due to the fact that we're hiking with a bunch of (really interesting, pleasant, friendly) old guys who go to bed at, like, 6:00. Just kidding, I really prefer these guys to a lot of the college kids I've met.The forest around here is beautiful ¢ mostly hardwoods, including some trees older than I'm used to seeing. Maybe it has a chance of approaching maturity sometime soon. In this shelter there's a flier advertising "Trail Magic" a week in advance! I think maybe this hiker feeding stuff is getting out of hand.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Perfect Campsite
Miles today: 15.2

Have you ever noticed that rain makes things look extra bright when it stops? It started again just a few minutes ago, chasing us into the tent before we finished dessert (candybars, as always) Too bad we can't enjoy this perfect campsite, which is near a big stream, under hemlocks, with a flat tent spot that's covered with leaves (not mud!). Had lots of fun mudsliding along the trail. Marc says he almost fell 100 times today.Too rainy for pictures, but I would have liked some of Big Bald ¢ a grassy hill with some heath and bushes here & there. We had some really fantastical views there, with the thick clouds pushing through the valleys below ¢ it gave us the feeling of being above the fray and watching the civilized world roil below us.High Rock was another highlight, though it's really just a big rock that looks like a petrified UFO. Huge rock, actually. Biggest we've seen.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Perfect Campsite

To: Nolichucky River (Uncle Johnny's Hostel)
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

The azaleas are finally blooming! It seems a lot more important when you've been waiting a month for those ubiquitous buds to open. The rain finally cleared up by lunch ¢ blue skies, beautiful fluffy clouds -- and then we descended into Erwin, TN.Conventional trail wisdom has it that Miss Janet's is the place to stay in Erwin, but Uncle Johnny's is right on the trail, and I can't imagine a hostel could be any nicer than this one. They have great showers and a nice bunkhouse, not to mention they do your laundry for you. And it costs all of $12.50. We're hanging out here with Frisbee, Bugler, and Lothar. Bugler's got a busted ankle, and it unfortunately doesn't seem like it'll get better any time soon. It's hard to watch people who want to hike have to leave the trail, or be stuck in town with an injury. Though I think there's also an element of, "glad it's not me...", and of course we're vowing to ourselves to be careful!
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Nolichucky River (Uncle Johnny's Hostel)

To: Campsite South of Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

If I hear one more person say, "hike your own hike," I'm going to spit. Sure, it's a good philosophy -- no one should be belittling anyone else's hiking style. But if making fun of slackpackers and potheads is how I keep boredom at bay on the trail, what's it to you? Okay, I'm joking, that's a joke. It's just that I hear "HYOH" (good advice as it is) like a million times a day, applied to every imaginable situation. To quote Mountain Goat in the register today, "Hike Someone Else's Hike!" I didn't look at much today, just enjoyed the walk -- hiking my own hike, you know. We're tenting again ¢ though there were only two people in the shelter, it felt crowded. I guess after spending a sociable night at Uncle Johnny's with Frisbee & Bugler, we needed some sweet solitude.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Campsite South of Indian Grave Gap

To: Weedy Gap 
Miles today: 13.1

Ah, finally the kind of Trail Magic I can get behind! No Falls and Scrubs, super nice guys that they are, picked up a bunch of extra candy in town and left it along the trail for hikers behind. Just like Halloween, except everyone's dressed as a dirty, smelly vagabond.This site is sweet. We're camped in the apple orchard just south of Weedy Gap. Saw flowers today, more chickweed, trout lily, spring beauty, trillium, etc¢¦ Unaka Mountain is beautiful. I love that each of these mountains has its own individual character. Unaka is grassy with big trees (like a park), turning into pine forest at the top, with rhododendron in-between. Have I mentioned I love walking on pine needles?Saw some grouse at Beauty Spot, another grassy bald. The scenery on the AT changes so fast, boredom isn't a problem (yet). Sure do get tired, though. The wind is really rushing now ¢ it was windy and kind of cold all day. Glad it didn't rain.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Weedy Gap 

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Wild boars do, in fact, still roam the Tennesee hills. I know, because I found a rotting boar carcass in the woods by Hughes Gap. I never smelled anything like it, having never lived in a large European city during the height of the plague.Roan Mt. was a great climb ¢ tough but fun. It feels great to be able to climb faster now, to be getting stronger and hiking better every day. But whether or not one enjoys a climb seems to have more to do with the weather, time of day, and personal mood than the actual difficulty of the trail -- which explains why no one can agree on which climbs are the hardest.It was very windy up at top, in a cool spruce/fir forest. I know the azaleas and other flowers up here are a spectacular sight in the summer, but we're a little early and it's pretty lonely up here. But it's a well-used area, and the trail was in bad shape on the way up. The roots just can't hold that soil up anymore, but they're trying. In some spots, a single valiant root appears to be supporting the entire trail. At the old site of Cloudland Hotel we "imagined the luxury" as the sign requested, but we were cold and really didn't want to imagine a warm, cozy hotel with a fireplace and hot food and warm beds in too much detail.The walk down was odd ¢ a pretty new trail, switchbacked and covered with stones lined in plastic. More of the same on the walk up Round Bald ¢ with the added decoration of a barbed fence to keep us on trail. Is this the future of the AT? It might be (in some parts), if the high-use continues, and the trail-clubs can afford it! The views here are outstanding ¢ grassy balds with some spruce here and there, mountains as far as you can see to the left and right, and big Roan Mountain behind, darkening in the late afternoon sun. We learned quickly that it can get pretty windy and cold on those balds, and the Roan Highlands seem like a dangerous place to be in a lightening storm, so the mix of wind and rain scared us into hurrying on to the next shelter as fast as possible (though I had dreams of making a longer day today). We arrived at the shelter site to see a little, tiny, rickety shack, about which I actually said, "That better be the privy." It turned out to be the shelter. It provided a little protection from the wind, but still we spent one very cold night there with the ghost of Stan Murray and some rain coming in. I slept okay eventually in a 25 degree sleeping bag with all my clothes on.
Date: 2006-05-02
From: Vistas campsite

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Never thought I'd feel this way about instant coffee, since it is to regular coffee what our tent is to the Waldorf-Astoria. But when it's all you've got, you gotta love it by default. Actually, I will publicly sing the praises of the NorthFace Tadpole 23. It's really warming up now so we've been sleeping without a rainfly. The Tadpole is almost all mesh, so it's almost like cowboy-camping, without the bugs. Anyway, under the auspices of fake coffee and a genuine bright sunrise we took off on an easy day today -- mostly flattish, which made it slightly boring. Oddly, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere when I'm not climbing mountains, though the opposite is closer to the truth.A cow pretended to charge us as we skirted the Elk River, which livened things up a bit. Forest-wise, it seems like most of the baby trees around here are striped maple.People were passing us all day, because I'm really slow. Sometimes it feels like we just walk and walk, barely talking, not even thinking. Random thoughts seem to crop up occasionally, memories of events long ago that I'd nearly forgotten about, people I haven't thought of in years, but often my mind is just blank. Marc and I sometimes speak, but mostly we gossip about people on the trail, rarely discussing the past or the future. For the most part, we're living utterly in the moment, and mostly our moments are filled with simple natural beauty. It is not a bad life.Night is falling now on this crowded shelter...
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Pond Flats
Miles today: 11.8

Isn't lunch at a waterfall always awesome? Laurel Fork Falls and the trail around it is really spectacularly gorgeous, with huge boulders. Rhododendron is finally blooming, along with azalea and dogwood and others (I wish I were a better naturalist, and could name them all). All the beauty of a truly diverse forest (little baby trees include maple, oak, hawthorn, tulip, buckeye, and more), accentuated by a mostly flat, easy trail! I was feeling inspired today and began to compose a poem about going downhill, but I never finished it and now it seems kind of silly. But it kept me entertained for a good portion of the day, anyway. Does everyone have games they play while hiking long distances, to keep themselves amused?Crazy steep climb up here to Pond Flats, but it's a good feeling to be all alone and on top of a mountain, as we are tonight.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Pond Flats

To: Watauga Lake
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I will go on record and admit that there has NEVER been a day more fun than today. The walk down to the Watauga Lake was just a three-mile stroll in the perfect yellow morning. Flame azalea: saffron, the color of a monk's robe, came out to meet us, and I was surprised by another brown snake. And then, to emerge from the woods all hot and sweaty and jump in the lake ¢ that's a lucky gift from early May. We ate, we sunbathed, we hitched into Hampton for steaks, sausages, and s'mores, intending to share a little BBQ trail magic with the other hikers. On the way back to the Lake, we ended up in the back of Sutton Brown's pick-up with Frisbee, Treehugger, Pillbox & Rip. Suddenly early May got angry -- a hard rain pelted us for a mile or two, but what did we care? We were done hiking for the day, giddy, and in possession of beer -- and nothing was bringing us down. It was one of those glorious thru-hiker moments in which everyone involved just kind of realizes that life does NOT get better than this, even if it is raining on you in the back of a pick-up truck. The rain stopped soon and we had a great feast on the lake with Frisbee, Rip, Pillbox, Treehugger, Rabbit, DoubleZip, Granite, Pro, Flannel, Jaguar, The Mudboggers, and Dancer. Light fading fast and an amazing peeper chorus cued us to head back around the lake 1 mile to the campsite. There we found Mule, Carnivore, Bud, Catchup, and Jukebox around a fire, and everyone proceeded to drink, eat, talk, play cards, and relax. Mule played a sad song on his guitar, Flannel went night-swimming, and Carnivore fished. At one point, someone found a $5 bill and couldn't locate the owner -- consensus was to burn it. After all, it's no good in the woods. Have you ever watched money burn? It's strangely satisfying, like trashing a pack of cigarettes: you know the thing's worth something, but it's worth much more to achieve a little detachment from the thing. We learned that our friend Granite is a rolling stone. For this kid, in his own words, "The sky's the limit" and "The AT is just the beginning." His excitement is absolutely contagious, and now I want to hobo 'round the world, too, hopping freight trains and hitching rides. It's a life of freedom and adventure and uncertainty that many of us must dream about a little bit ¢ or we wouldn't be out here.
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Watauga Lake

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: light rain

Marc says the little salamanders we see all the time make him "want to buy car insurance."I was on a mission today. Some folks we camped with yesterday are attempting the "40-mile challenge" from Watauga Lake to Damascus (some others are rumored to have gone 50 miles to Damascus, all the way from Kincora!). That's too much, but I decided to push myself a little and have my own "20-mile challenge" ¢ our first 20 miler. I had to walk fast all day, and got a little bored, but am feeling pretty good now. It rained slightly for the last 7 miles, but that actually broke up the monotony. It was fun to have a challenge, but I like 15s much better!It's incredible how different a diverse native forest feels from one dominated by invasive plants. Today's walk felt wholesome and beautiful, compared to the walk out of Elk Park the other day, where the weedy trailside left me with a creepy "let's get out of here" kind of feeling. There's a balance to nature, and a lot of it has already been tipped by humans. Here on the trail we're lucky to see so much healthy forest, but it's not by any means guaranteed to stay healthy and native.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Double Spring Shelter

To: The Place (Damascus, VA)
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

"The Place" is a cess pool of the agglomerated dirt, germs, and smells of dirty hikers. No one really takes care of it or is in charge, so I guess it's amazing that it's as clean as it is, which isn't very. But at $4/night, the shower can't be beat. My first shower in 10 days, incidentally, and it was AMAZING -- I guess you can take the girl out of civilization but you can't keep her from wanting a damn shower once in a while.What else happens in town? Naturally, got a burger at the Dairy King, some beers at Dot's, and went to sleep on a top bunk with no mattress. We'll have to 0 here tomorrow, as packages are waiting at the PO and it's Sunday today. I don't mind, I'm tired & my feet hurt.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: The Place (Damascus, VA)

To: Dave's Place (Damascus, VA)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today we moved to Dave's Place across the street -- slightly more expensive but worth it. It's quieter, and we've got real mattresses and a room for two. Damascus is a small town. I mean, it's really small. I'm from the city, and sometimes I miss it. Hikers seem to hang out at the burrito shop, which has internet access for free. It's so nice to rest, I don't even want to write.
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Dave's Place (Damascus, VA)

To: Bear Tree Gap
Miles today: 11.7

Now I've traded in Walt Whitman for Sylvia Plath. Perhaps my happy-go-lucky mood has finally changed, and I've settled into the belief that I'll really be hiking for another 5 months.Easy day today, though. Great, rolling, dirt trail with few rocks/roots, and very gently graded. Had lunch in what a poet would call a "bee-loud glade," and saw more red efts, which look just like little plastic bathtoys. It's impossible not to love them, even though they are perhaps slimy. Tonight we have a nice site next to a pond ¢ I'm just sittin' here on my mat under the pines, waiting for dinner and watching birds ¢ one in this tree is laughing, he is so tiny but he talks so loud! I hope we'll hear frogs tonight¢¦ Wait, I think I hear one now ¢ a peeper! No Falls and Dancer are here with us, and No Falls has just nearly killed himself attempting to hang his food bag by throwing a rock up over a tree branch in the dark. It's a grim reminder of how far we are from medical assistance (10 miles) if someone should chance to crack his head open upon a rock. Luckily, No Falls is a super nice guy with impeccable karma, and the rock only knocked him in the headlamp. Kids, try not to hang your food bags in the dark.I could have stayed in town another day -- not for food, beer, or company, but something way dorkier. I wanted to read a book. When I get home, I promise to really appreciate those evenings spent curled up warm and comfy on the sofa with a novel.
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Bear Tree Gap

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Peepers sing, at times, beautifully. These little frogs are capable of meshing the various pitches, durations, and volumes of their notes in a quite pleasing way. But most of the time, their sweet choral stylings give way to a mind-bending cacophony of shrill bleats. Makes you wonder if the harmonies were really just randomly generated -- a trick of Chaos, or of my imagination. We traversed miles of fringed phacelia fields (under trees of course), then patches of trillium, bluets, and spring beauty, joined by columbine. It was a fine day for flowers, but not so much for trees. We climbed Mt. Rogers, and were happy to have reached the domain of the conifers again, until we again saw fir trees succumbing to the balsam wooley adelgid, or to air pollution, or to some combination of factors. It was not so bad as Clingman's dome, but it's noticeable.This shelter is well-built, with gorgeous views, surrounded by herds of wild ponies, grassy fields, and pine-topped mountains. Hard to imagine a nicer place to be.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 15.9

Before today I never actually saw a snake flick its tongue to get a scent ¢ it was really cool to watch for awhile, though our presence was obviously bothering the creature so we felt obliged to move it along eventually.Greyson Highlands State Park is so beautiful¢¦ meadows grazed by wild ponies dotted with small trees and bushes, grasses and boulders. The sides of the rolling hills are covered with blooming, budding, and sprouting hardwoods, topped with softwoods that trickle down the sides like hot fudge on a sundae. Oh man I wish I had a sundae. Everything is food, these days.Well, we were planning to night-hike tonight, as the moon is almost full and we have 20 miles to go tommorow to Partnership Shelter, where one can (famously) order a pizza. But the weather has other ideas. This morning I was fending off sunburn, this afternoon I'm getting poured on. 'Tis the season, I suppose, for fickle weather. So we'll stay here, in a cozy, brand-new shelter. Goldfish and Marc are engineers, and its construction is not quite up to their exacting standards. I'm a mechanical idiot, though, so it'll be just fine by me.We met only two wild ponies today, both outside the actual park: Marc fed his only apple to a very pregnant one, and she blew horse-snot all over him and almost took him down looking for more.