morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-13
From: Springer Mt

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: broken clouds

Day 1March 13Daily Miles 2.5Total Miles 2.5Location: Stover Creek ShelterToday was just a walk in the woods. It felt like any other back packing trip i've taken in the past 8 years. It was only the knowledge that this trail stretches nearly 2200 miles ahead of us that makes it special.We drove about 4 hours from South Carolina to the ranger station and weighted our packs on their venerable spring scale just outside the door. Mine weighted in at 30 lbs with about 4 days of food and 2 liters of water. I spent 2 years getting my pack weight down from the 44+ lbs I used to carry and I¢m pretty proud of that. Many other hikers ahead of us wrote down pack weights of 36 to 54 pounds.Post sign in, we drove another half hour to a point a mile from the start of the trail. En route, we stopped for a motorcycle accident that had happened minutes before. This guy, Chuck, had been thrown from his bike and had broken ribs, collarbone and ankle. I did a bit of an assessment and we hung 0out with him until the ambulance Claude called arrived. Later¢¦Hope Chuck is in less pain tonight!After saying good-bye to John at the trail head (Thanks John! You¢re awesome!) We hiked a mile to the top of Springer Mountain. The views were just ok, but seeing the ¢southern terminus of the AT¢ plaque was moving. D & I signed in at the first trail register (Notebook maintained for thru-hikers at shelters up and down the trail) and I wrote ¢GA --> ME ¢04¢ for the first time. I¢ve always loved that the northbound states spell ¢game¢ and the south is ¢mega¢ Just the word freak in me.Met Neil, a northbound thru hiker who hung out with us at the fire Claude built tonight. 40 degrees now and falling to sleep with a creek in the background and some good miles tomorrow.
Date: 2004-03-14
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Blackwell Shelter
Miles today: 12.2

Day 2March 14Daily Miles 12.2Total Miles 14.7Location: Blackwell ShelterTitle: Getting into the flowWe put in some good miles today. Early start out of the tent at 6:45, but not out of camp for another 2 hours. The trail rolled trough endless rhododendron and mountain laurel groves. Unfortunately not budding yet the twisted trunks of the trees were beautiful though.The trail was far busier today. We saw about 20 others out there at lunchtime, Pittsburgh ¢ a guy who shuttles hikers to the start of the trail stopped by on a forest road. He told us what the trail was like ahead and gave us a coke to have with lunch, our first trail magic! Soon after we ran into Kentucky, a nice woman who¢d finished her southbound hike in December. She was the first SoBo thru hiker I¢d met (we¢re NoBo ¢ northbound) but like all successful thrus she emitted amazing positive energy.We¢re tenting again and the shelter is busy with at least 10 other aspiring thus and some shorter distance hikers. We¢re in our bags at 7:15 on this 62-night hopingin that the rain holds off. Claude heard a barred owl last night. I¢m hoping to hear something tonight over the sound of the snores coming from the other tent!
Date: 2004-03-15
From: Blackwell Shelter

To: Unofficial Camp Site
Miles today: 9.8

Day 3March 15Daily Miles 9.8Total Miles 24.5Location: Blackwell Shelter start, unofficial campsite endTitle: The magic continuesDave and I have set up beside the trail tonight with plenty of room to spread out our tents. Good thing too, cause the rain that has been sprinkling through out the day started to come down hard a few minutes ago. My 9¢ x 5¢ 2-person Wanderlust tent is behaving wonderfully, light & tight.We had another magical day, up and out at 8 am we made leisurely progress to Woody Gap before noon. Laura showed up to pick up Claude and brought us some awesome sandwiches for lunch (Thank Laura!). I had a great time hiking with Claude, showing him a bit of the thruhiking world we¢re entering. Claude returned the favor by passing on some birding knowledge. It was fun to hear D (friends since high school) exchange playful barbs. At lunch we met Roger, a 65 y.o. who¢s been dreaming of doing the trail forever and just retired last September. A couple of his friends were waiting for him and he struggled his way out of the woods with a 75 lb pack! Last we saw, they were trying to decide whether to drive to a local outfitter or drive back to Mississippi to pick up Roger's lighter equipment.Shortly after lunch, D & I ran into Willie C. and friend. Willie C is a section hiker, completing the AT over a number of years, doing stretches at time. He¢s due back in Rangeley ME to complete his hike. Good Luck Willie C, thanks for the Snickers!All the people, the trail, even the weather¢s been great so far. I¢m only eating about 2000 Calories a day, but that will start picking up soon, I am sure. By next week I have to eat the equivalent of a snickers bar every hour I¢m awake to try to maintain weight. Life is tough!
Date: 2004-03-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 30.0

Hi!Just heard from Jeff, he called my class...They have dropped off Claude and have headed back into the woods for the next 4 days or so. Jeff sounded good, tired, but good. Keep sending the "sunshine" and good thoughts their way. He got a good laugh out of the fact that we are getting almost a foot (predicted) snow tomorrow. As he has said all along "better now than on the trail..."Think Spring!Heather
Date: 2004-03-16
From: Blackwell Shelter

To: unofficial campsite
Miles today: 11.0

Day 4March 16Daily Miles 11Total Miles 24.5Location: Blackwell Shelter start, unofficial campsite endTitle: CrazinessThe sun's only thinking about rising today. It appears the rain, in contrast, has made up its mind to continue to fall lightly. The walls of my tent have a beautiful pattern of gray on gray on gray with shades of white and black tossed in for variety occasional the droplets release from high up near the peak, building speed and sound as they race towards the ground the sound like tiny race cars zooming through Jell-O.Mmmm, Jellooooooo. Mornings are tough- I¢m on a calorie deficit and my food¢s hanging from a tree, I hope it¢s happy- my stomach is not!Shopping list for the outfitter today:1. Windscreen for stove ¢ we left ours at home2. Alcohol for the stove ¢ we used about 9 oz.Later¢¦Wow this day has felt like it has been two weeks long! 2:30 in the morning I was awake and heard D wake up. Not knowing the time, but seeing a bright sky, I assumed it was near dawn ¢ so I suggested we pack up early and hit the trail. D agreed. So the gear got stowed, the tent got somewhat dried and stuffed. And we got ready to walk. Then D looked at his watch and found out it was 2:30 AM! That is the problem with an 8 PM dark & bedtime! We walked though thick fog and 15 feet visibility though rain, through wind though deluges through dark. We crested Blood Mountain at 4500 feet before any hint of sunrise! Cold, but not unhappy, we checked out for the signs up top, I found a trail down and we descended. Slightly more than a mile later, with the thoughts of coffee dancing though my head. We passed the sigh for slaughter creek tent sites again! I had sent us down the southbound trail. Aghghghghghghg! (Ed. note, which is why I am the map-reader in the car¢¦HW)We turned around and climbed Blood Mountain again in the gathering dawn; found the right trail and headed for Neel's gap 3 miles later we were at the outfitters foro showers, shopping, and picking up our mail drop. I felt so bad!After adding 10 pounds of food to our packs (2 lbs/day) we headed NORTH!I¢ve had some knee pain today and blistered a bit from the wet socks and boots, so hit has been a challenge. However, I loved the adventure ¢ and after played D to a 357 to 357 tie in Scrabble after polishing off 1000+ Calorie dinner while watching the sunset from our 3700-foot campsite. This is AWESOME!I¢ve been trying out a trail name today based on my method of compressing my pack to make all my stuff fit ¢ I¢ve been thinking about ¢Squish¢ What D¢ya think? (Ed. note ¢ I am not too fond of the idea of being Mrs. Squish¢¦think I will keep my name after all¢¦)
Date: 2004-03-17
From: unofficial campsite

To: Blow mountain
Miles today: 8.9

3/17WednesdayLocation: Between low camp and blow mountain (unofficial campsite)Mileage- 44.4 tripDaily: 8.9Title: Tendonitis?Met: Liz & Sarge thru-hikersWe¢re camped tonight on a ridge hoping it¢ll be warmer when we wake up then when we got up this morning. It was 35 degrees with a steady 20 MPH wind and it felt cold, Cold, COLD! I got up, grabbed the food bag and we munched on candy bars while waiting for our water to boil. All day we altered between wind and sun, sometimes in ingle layers sometimes and fleece and hats early in the morning. We entered Hogpen Gap where Bruce (a former thru-hiker) and his wife ha set up a bunch of beach chairs and were handing out fruit, snacks and soda, an apple tasted SO good! Thanks Guys!D & I made it to Log Gap Shelter in the early afternoon where the Roman Noodles were taking a break (He¢s Roman, she¢s Noodles). They¢re both MDs and told me the extreme knee pain I¢ve had sounds like the Iliotibial band (IT band) tendonitis! I¢ve never had any knee pain before but I¢m waling with a stiff left leg for a few days, trying to give it a rest. My right leg isn¢t very about the deal either, since it¢s doing all the work!Back in October or so, I ordered about 100 freeze dried meals from REI on sale. There in a box in the living room for a few weeks before our wonderful dog Tally decided to make herself dinner, Beef Stroganoff, to be exact. Luckily, she only demolished one meal (perhaps that¢s because she emptied her water bowl after that!) D and I want to thank Tally for leaving some for us ¢ it was rather tasty!
Date: 2004-03-18
From: Blow mountain

To: Tray Mt Shelter
Miles today: 11.8

3/18ThursdayLocation: Tray Mountain ShelterTrip: 56.2Daily: 11.8Title: Night on Tray MountainThursday @ Shelter ¢ Numbskull, Pilot, Vaportrail, Little Engine, Cumberland Joe, Jake, Rob, Robin, Roman, Noodles, Liz.We¢re staying intents near the crowded shelter on Tray Mountain (@ 4200 feet) tonight. It was a day of 1000 feet drops and gains but D & I are feeling strong. A storm blew through this afternoon, forcing us to climb Tray Mountain and set up tents in rain and wind, but then disappeared and let us see a red ball of fire sinking into the mountains behind the privy.The thrus with us tonight are a great mixed crowd. Numbskulls been around the world and is traveling heavy but living on a shoestring. Pilot & Vapor Trail are a young married couple, fun to hang out with and have been hiking with Jake, Cumberland Joe (from Rhode Island) and Little Engine, a novice backpacker. Liz (a Red Sox fan from Cambridge!) Rob & Robin & the Roman Noodles have a log more experience and are also great to converse with.40 degrees and dropping now it¢s going to be a cold one and we¢re planning on a 10+ miles tomorrow to get to Hiawassee for a little time in Town! Heard an American Woodcock calling at sunset and saw and heard Canadian warblers in the rhododendron thicket today. I¢m hoping the barred owls will continue to serenade us tonight as they have most nights through the trip.I¢m still picking up my diet ¢ up to about 3000 calories today. Dinner was mashed potatoes & bacon, TANG, 1-12 candy bars and a number of handfuls of D¢s amazing trail mix. This one has spicy Mexican & Chinese snacks. Rice covered peanuts; Chinese fish flavored peanuts, M&Ms and jellybeans! Liz and I decided that you should eat it spicy then chocolate, then jellybean, but Little Engine downed a handful and exclaimed, ¢ This tastes like BILE!¢ Ahhhh, endless variety!
Date: 2004-03-19
From: Tray Mt Shelter

To: Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

3/19Location Hiawassee InnMileage: Daily 10.5miles, Total 66.7milesFridayTitle: Sleeping in a Bed!Showered, Laundered, Fed, AaahhhhhhhhD&I are spending the night at the Hiawassee Inn, which has been under new ownership for precisely 6 days. Ron and his partner have been awesome, picking us up at the trailhead, and then allowing the 15 hikers staying here to TAKE the minivan and drive to the laundry, grocery and all-you-can-eat steakhouse for dinner. Thanks Guys!My knee is still acting up, but feeling a touch better. We¢ve got a few more days before the big ups and downs kick in around the Nahahtala River in North Carolina.We met a number of thru and section hikers tonight, including Brian, Chris, Emily, and Kim. Great Company- looking forward to taking and staying with some of them in the next few days and weeks!
Date: 2004-03-20
From: Hiawassee Inn

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: scattered clouds

3/20 SaturdayLocation: Bly Gap, North Carolina!Mileage: Daily 8.8, Total 75.6 milesTitle: North Carolina!I¢m tenting tonight within reach of the famous Bly Gap Oak. This gnarled specimen marks the Georgia/North Carolina Line and the feel of its roots on my left hand tell me we¢ve finished walking though our first state! Only 13 more to go, and North Carolina only has 300 miles of trail!We got an early start in Hiawassee this morning, collecting our mail drop; send home journals, picture card and unneeded supplies and replenishing the fuel for our stoves. Ken gave us a lift to the trailhead and we were walking before 11 AM.D & I had a good walking conversation with Eric and Paul ¢ Out for a 2-day hike; Eric¢s been hiking the area for 25 years and gave us some great advice. Paul's an MD and passed along a few days of anti-inflamitories to help with my slowly ¢improving knee. Thanks guys!There¢s a thunderstorm rolling in from the West right now. Lighting is flashing every few seconds and my tent is starting to flap in the rising wind! I¢m hoping I can stay dry because a cold snap is supposed to be following this storm.We¢re camped with Rob & Robin, Tumbling Joe (I thought it was Cumberland Joe, ¢til he explained the fall he took down Blood Mountain). Eric & Pack & most of last nights crew: Chris, Anna, Emily, Brian, Kim & Chris. Here comes the rain ¢ I¢m bunking down 6 AM, what a night! That rain came into my tent like water thrown by the hull of a fast boat. It took one minute for me to realize my main door was facing the torrent, so I reached out and knocked down the vestibule pole. The wind plastered the wet flap of sil-nylon over the leaking windows ¢ but not enough - there was still a tiny gap, pouring water into the tent.I spent an hour alternating between using my pack towel to bail and dump water outside the tent, then gathering my bag tight trying to stay on my Thermarest island and warm up and sleep. The stormed passed quickly - perhaps an hour or two at most, but I must have bailed a quart of water out of here! Once I was sure the rain was done, I took about 20 minutes to dry the tent out thoroughly (except for the bottom of the sleeping pad. That was soaked). My sleeping bag picked up a bit of water but hopefully the heavy winds that have continued until this morning will help it dry. 45 degrees and light is dawning, Wow!Hey ¢ what¢s for breakfast? I¢m hungry!
Date: 2004-03-21
From: Bly Gap

To: Beech Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

3/21 Location: Beech Gap Tent siteMileage: Daily 12.2, Trip: 87.8It¢s thru hiker bedtime here ¢ that¢s 7:15 PM for all of you semi-normal folks. We¢re tenting in a beautiful oak, rhododendron and moss glade and the temperature is now 19 degrees, oh, yes ¢ and the wind has decided to keep blowing, too! I had a great hike day - my knee pain has diminished a bit and I spent much of the hike retraining myself how to stride normally. We made good time over Standing Indian Mountains ¢ our highest peak at 5498 feet. I met a southbound thru hiker on the top by the name of Fooman. He and his hiking partner Bedpan are set to finish their 6-month winter thru hike in 4 or 5 days. They started in Maine last September with 60 lb. packs and hiked through the snow from southern Maine to Tennessee. Nice Job, guys!We¢re tenting with the same crew again ¢ Brian, Chris, Anna, Emily, Chris & Kim, and Anna¢s dog Bo ¢ He is a Siberian Husky Mutt. Enjoyable company this afternoon. Emily¢s doing this as a 2 week hike, part hike, part of a 3-year high school project ¢ she is only a sophomore! She is out here with her older cousin Chris and their friend Kim, all section hiking. Guys ¢ if you read this - sign my guest book and leave me your email addresses!
Date: 2004-03-22
From: Beech Gap

To: Rainbow Spring Campground
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

3/22MondayLocation: Rainbow Spring CampgroundMileage: Daily 15.9 miles, total: 103.7 milesToday was our longest day yet ¢ almost 16 miles to Wallace Gap. We¢d done 10 miles by lunchtime and decided to head for the heated bunkhouse where we¢re spending the night.We¢ve had a chance to meet many of the thrus ahead of us including: Dragonfly, Timber, and Tumbleweed, and many others. We hiked the last 8 miles of the day with Piphan- a slightly older hiker and made great time. Other thrus: Koi, Goldfish, Smokey Mountain Steve, Smokey, Trunks and Wolf Wind.Now it is time to try to get some sleep with a dozen of hikers in the room and then 5 days to Fontana Dam and the start of the Smokies!
Date: 2004-03-23
From: Rainbow Spring Campground

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

3/23TuesdayLocation Wayah BaldMileage: Daily 13.2, Total 116.9Phew! Quite a walk today following yesterdays 16! We were planning on doing 10 or so, heading for Fontana Dam on Monday, but we made great time and are thinking we might get there by Saturday. That will require a few more 14-mile days in a row, however.Rainbow Springs was a nice warm place to stay with 15 dollars buying a bunk and a wonderful shower, as well as 1-mile ride back to the trail this morning. We¢ve been gaining elevation the past few days, summiting the somewhat technical Mt. Albert yesterday and hovering a round 4,000- 5,000 feet much of today. Clingman¢s Dome is visible in the distance from the fire tower on the top on this bald.Still haven¢t seen any animals bigger than a rabbit! Tumbling Joe & Rob were taking & walking the other night and disturbed an owl that had just started feeding on a duck. The duck had a gray body, black head, and white beak markings and yellow/blue legs and feet. NO idea what kind of duck. Anybody?My knee continues to improve- now just fighting the little aches though my feet, legs & back, but loving walking almost normally again. My appetite is increasing steadily ¢ I¢m never full anymore/ we eat 400-calorie breakfast (preceded by a candy bar if it¢s cold enough). Snack in the morning, 500-calorie lunch, more trail mix & energy bars in the afternoon. Then 800-calorie dinners with more snacks. And I¢m losing weight as is D, The AT diet, anyone?Ok, beautiful sunset¢s fading I¢ll be woken around 2 AM by cold (Expecting 20 degrees) then again around 5:30 AM by hunger ¢ If this is like most mornings!
Date: 2004-03-24
From: Wayah Bald

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: few clouds

3/24WednesdayLocation: Tent @ Wesser Bald Shelter Mileage: Trip 128.4, Daily 11.5The cold snap appears to have broken! I woke up to 30 degrees temperature and was out of my tent in time to watch the cloud obscured sunrise. Camping isn¢t strictly legal atop of Wayah Bald, so I appeased my conscience by picking up whatever trash I could find before hitting the trail slightly after 7 AM.The trail in N.C. like that in Georgia often rolls along the sides of the mountains instead of over the summits. The produces constant new views as we weave in and out of valleys with the trees not yet leafed out unfortunately the trail has also been pretty muddy the last few days, so we've been slipping and sliding a bit. No falls yet, however! The frost fingers protruding from the ground alongside the trail have been beautiful in the cold weather.My knee started acting up again today ¢ perhaps because it is my first day off the anti-inflammatories still taking Advil regularly, stiff leg walking again and going to seek advice once we get to town. Unfortunately the morning starts with the 2000-foot drop into the Nanthala River! The good news hamburgers and fries!Thrus met today. Dogg, Jason, Mrs. Daisy, AKT, and Sectioners Heybobo & Joe. Also at the shelter Wolfwind (tied 1-1 in cribbage tonight ¢ found out he's Tufts E¢90) Rockhound, and Rob & Robin (The Jaybirds).We need to do 42 miles 2.5 days to get our Fontana Mail Drop between my knee and D¢s sore feet and fatigue combined with the terrain, not sure we¢ll make it by Saturday non. We¢ll see!There was a forest fire burning in the hills for a while today, smells like smoke in my tent.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 13.8

3/25 ThursdayLocation: Tent on Cheoah BaldMileage Daily 13.8 total 142.2The ruffled grouse ¢drums¢ producing a sound that you feel more than you hear. It sounds like your heart pounding in your head slowly accelerating from about 50 beets per minute to a pulsating 200+ beats per minute. I mentioned this for 2 reasons, first we¢ve hear many ruffled grouse in the past few days and secondly today we descended 2000+ feet before climbing more than 3000 feet. Much of the day was spent hiking with Rockhound a cool 28 y/o from PA. We also met Weebles and Tough-tied, walked and hung out with the Jaybirds and met and are tenting with Mongolian and Hawkeye. Lunch at the NOC (Rafting Place) was a pint of Ben and Jerry¢s since the restaurants were closed. A very nice lunch, but no replacement for the burgers & fries I¢d been dreaming about.Beautiful sunset tonight from Cheoah Bald ¢ the winds picked up (we¢re around 5000 feet) But the temps staying around 40 degrees, so the cold snap is well behind us.
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Cheoah Bald

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

3/26FridayLocation: Tenting @ Cable Gap ShelterMileage: Trip: 156.2 Daily 14.0We woke up in a complete fog, all view obscured for the first few miles, but by 8 AM. I¢d walked below the fog and into the sun the afternoon miles were tough. Temperatures in the 70¢s and the sun beat down everywhere since the trees are still leafless. Seven of us are tenting here in a tight group. We spent the last 3 hours sucking down water from the springs surrounding us and emptied our food bags. Rockhound produced the showstoppers with freeze-dried green beans and onions followed by apple cobbler. Put my rehydrated taboule couscous with eggs and gorp to shame. For those of you not used to backpacking the goal is to get rid of food so you don¢t have to carry it tomorrow. We¢re picking up a huge food drop in Fontana anyway. I am camped with my feet a good bit lower than my head, sure to slide to the bottom of the tent during the night.There¢s a different birdcall right now. Possible a sawhett owl if I remember the call correctly. Looking forward to being clean, low miles, good food and comfy bed tomorrow!
Date: 2004-03-27
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: The Hike Inn
Miles today: 0.0

3/27Location: The Hike Inn, Near Fontana DamMileage: Daily 5.5, Trip 161.7I¢m in bed. Yes - BED! I pigged out on Fajitas from the local Mexican restaurant, sucked down two Dove ice cream bars and am writing while nice and clean, reclining in linens. Tomorrow morning, I get to put on a 36 lb. pack and climb into the Smokies. But for tonight I¢m quite content.Jeff and Nancy Hoch run The Hike Inn as a service to hikers ¢ they are the only permitted guests. We got picked up from the post office, shuttled here, given a room & shower while the did our disgusting laundry (Ed. Note - I wouldn¢t even do that¢¦H.W.) Then shuttled to town for dinner and groceries. Tomorrow morning we¢ll be shuttled back to the trail. Heck of a deal ¢ wonderful people!Today was a quick 5.5 miles down to the highway, walking alone for the first three miles (I¢m usually first to break camp & hit the trail often around 7 AM) Once D & the Jaybirds caught up, I walked with them, Then Rock hound joined us as we contemplated food & showers.Tomorrow we¢ll start climbing into the Smokies, where we¢ll spend the next 5-7 days often above 5,000 feet. Should be good weather with a little rain. We saw our first trillium of the year today ¢ with perhaps some trout lily mixed in. The woods are waking up.