morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-03-29
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

COLD !!! night. Ice on tent INSIDE this time from condensation. Huddled from midnight on. 20* quilt my....nose. Had quilt and poncho liner over me, thermal tops and bottoms, down booties and down hood on. Glad I put my water filter in with my feet. Had my last foot warmer packet, but it was a dud. I was fairly warm, but as I have to turn every hour or two, cod air would rush in and I had to start the warming up process all over. Up at 0755, out at 0920. Decent pace and Trail - cold all day - BDU liner on and off, depending on if I was going up or down. 1/2 hour for a lunch and Standing Bear Hostel at 1640. Whoo-hoo !! Out of the Smokies and stealth camping from now on. Stealth only means camping along the Trail instead of at or near a shelter. I can now walk until 1800 or so, find a flat spot and tent. I am going to try for 10+ miles per day now. We'll see. Took a 10x12 "cabin" at SB instead of a tree house. Glad I did. Nice - double bed, small book shelf, small lamp, electric heater, that's it. I wanted to make sure I was warm tonight. Glass doors for one wall overlooking the brook and ridgeline. SB has changed in the last 4 years - seems to be more business oriented and less a "hippy" type place from 2012. Not as much re-supply as I expected and was told on the phone, but fair. Candy bars were a year PAST the expiration date, so no snacks for me. Got enough to make it to Hot Springs. 2 microwave BBQ rib sandwiches, sodas later, bed by 2200.
Date: 2016-03-30
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Mile 251
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Up at 0800. Decent night's sleep EXCEPT: at 0200, the moon came up over the ridgeline and it was like a spotlight into my eyes. Woke up - had to turn completely around. No prob. Out at 1000 - Snowbird Mt. and FAA tower at 1325 and lunch. 5 miles uphill in 3.5 hours with 2 breaks. Sunny - cool - few clouds. Uphill to Snowbird, but not too bad. Uphills still seem hard, but I'm doing 300+ paces (2 steps) before having to stop and hunt for oxygen. Doesn't seem to be much around at that point. Up past Forest Road 148A to old logging road. Found several flat places,but no way to put tent stakes into roadbed without hitting rocks. Finally found place and set up. Pretty good day - 10.5 miles - hope they keep coming.
Date: 2016-03-31
From: Mile 251

To: Kale Gap - mile 263.1
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: moderate rain

OK - somewhere, the miles have been messed up. I need to go back through all my entries and check the miles. Wind howling all night above me. Not too much where I was.Foot box of quilt still dampish, but warm. Had foot box in plastic bag to try and keep out of condensation, but NO condensation last night, so it has to be from my perspiration. Never again. Have to dry out again for tonight - supposedly rain again. Cool - wind makes a very low wind chill. Cloudy - bad storms allegedly to west. 5 (!) 150 yard+ steep ups inside of 1.5 miles to start today. Yeesh. Still, Roaring Fork shelter by 1145. Max Patch intensely windy and cold. Last time I was moved by actually making it - this time, I just moved on. Meh. Had told myself that if it started raining, I would go to ground for the day. Had phone coverage for a bit and the system looked pretty intense. Got to Lemon Gap about 1500. It started to rain lightly, then a brief moderate amount. There was a decent camp site, so I put my tent up. I looked at the tent, and had a realization: either I was a LASH (Long A** Section Hiker) or I was a THRU hiker. Took the tent down and kept going. Rain quit. Walnut Mt shelter was full, full, full. Tents above it. Got water at 1630 from the spring and moved on. Passed a LOT of hikers who had passed me earlier. Felt pretty good. Got to Kale Gap about 1730. Very windy, book says camping just past, so 250 yards past Kale Gap onto another old logging road. Took 3 tries again to find a flat place I could put stakes down without hitting rocks. At 1830 - SUNSHINE from the west, blue skies (dry line?) and warmth through the tent. Nice. Small supper - bed by 1900. 12.5 miles to Hot Springs.
Date: 2016-04-01
From: Kale Gap - mile 263.1

To: Hot Springs, NC - Laughing Heart Hostel
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Have gone back through most of entries - updated mileages - fudged some numbers down and yet I'm still 8 miles ahead of where I am. Sheesh. For the next few days, I'm going to subtract at least one mile to get to the right mileage. Can't figure out where I'm wrong. Heavy rain last night from 0100 to about 0330. Woke up, leaks! I'm gonna drown - I'm gonna wash away - I'm.......oh, just a few drops. Manageable. No prob. Back to sleep. Rain again at 0500 until about 0700. Up at 0740. Clear - partly cloudy already. Warmer. Out of camp at 0910.MUCH better Trail - almost all downhill - no rocks, steps or other types of obstructions for the most part. If my left foot hadn't been hurting, I would have done a LOT better. As it was, almost 2 mph overall to Hot Springs. Started calling at 1500 to find a room, only to find out the power was out in town for some reason. No rooms at the places I could reach. Had to settle for a tent spot at Laughing Heart Hostel, with a single tomorrow night after a zero day. Hot BBQ sammich, fries and a drink, shower, laundry and bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-04-02
From: Hot Springs, NC - Laughing Heart Hostel

To: Hostel - zero day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up until midnight. As soon as I would ask a group of talkers to stop, as it was after 2200 quiet hours, another drunken group would wander up and start yakking. Hobbled downtown for meals and resupply. Rested. Relaxed in single room. Took a couple of naps. Found Allegra allergy meds in hiker box. Decided to try. Seemed to work, so bought more downtown. 24 hour Allegra, plus 12 hour Claritin MAY, repeat, MAY help allergies. Mostly seem to be down in the valleys, where all the trees and flowers are blooming. Eyes quit itching and nose quit running, but remained stuffed all night. Mouth breathing time again. Bed at 2200.
Date: 2016-04-03
From: Hostel - zero day

To: Hostel - zero day #2
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Took another zero to continue to rest left foot. Is NOT getting better, but is NOT getting worse. Had good night of sleep. Good bed, dark room, quiet surroundings. Hobbled down, etc. etc. etc. Got a Philly cheese steak for supper with a HUGE salad as a side. Salad seemed to disappear in 4 bites while the sandwich was still there. May be a sign. Bought vitamins to start taking. Will take 2 a day until back on the Trail, then 1 per day. Started taking Allegra as it seems to help. Nose not stuffed at night. Bed at 2100.
Date: 2016-04-04
From: Hot Springs, NC - Laughing Heart Hostel

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Actual miles: 11. Will subtract 1 per day until actual mileage agrees with book. Another good night's sleep. Up at 0800, breakfast in room, out on Trail at 0910.Make 1.5 miles in about an hour - yeah! Did NOT seem like it, but there it was. First break at 1045 for 15 minutes. Had lunch at 1230. Left foot still hurts, but manageable. Younger brother yelling at me about NSAID usage. I'm going to cut back to 1-2 per day and Tylenol for pain. Stopped at or about 1700. Same as last time - Spring Mt Shelter - again, took the high ground to the south of the shelter. Shelter was full, tents on opposite slope, I had the high ground all to myself. Awesome! Good day - no clouds, cool, sunny, got more sun than needed. Sunburned a bit on the forearms and hands. Both really starting to get leathery looking and starting to peel. Trying to hydrate more, esp. on sunny days when I'm sweating a lot, even in 45-50* temps. Leapfrogged 4 other hikers out of Hot Springs - 1 couple and 2 older guys: one from Portugal. Bed by 1830.
Date: 2016-04-05
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Mile 296
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Actual miles: 11.3Up at 0700,out at 0850 ! Whoot ! Cooked coffee inside tent. Cold front last night - had spatters of rain between 2000 and 2200. Temp fell drastically at 0400 and continued to morning. Saw breath almost the entire day. Very cold and windy, as usual. NOW: started out and something did not seem right. Took a few steps to realize: my left foot is totally pain free. I firmly believe God has answered my and everyone else's prayers about it. It is unbelievable. THANK YOU, GOD !Pace was great today: over 5 miles in the first 3.5 hours. Got to Jones' Meadow about 1600 - didn't really like what was there, so moved on. Found a birch meadow further up - found fairly flat place, but messed around looking for at least 30 minutes or so. Hot supper - already very cold. Suited up for upcoming cold night: thermals, dry sox, booties, pants over thermal bottoms, fleece hood, 3 hand warmers: 2 at feet, one at back with water filter to keep from freezing. Wrapped in poncho liner with quilt over me. Bed at 1930.
Date: 2016-04-06
From: Mile 296

To: Mile 308
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Actual miles: 12COLD, COLD, COLD night, but I was fairly warm. Wind turned from the south at 0300 and it was howling ! Too windy to cook, so b-fast bars and water in tent, out by 0900. Wind still howling at 1010. Foot still pain free, thank You, God. Went past cross trail where I camped in the rain in 2012. Over Firescald Knob - 1.5 miles - in 45 minutes or so. Moving well. Decent speed over good trail. Cold air stings the skin - touching anything metal with bare hands hurts. Not sure what the actual temp or wind chill is, but it is down there. Glad I have the fleece hood and mitts. Made Flint Gap at 1535. 2 mph from shelter ! Another 1.5 miles to Flint Mt. Shelter. Watered there and continued. Found good location off the trail. Flat and easy to get to. Couple of super hikers (young pups) guy and a girl with blonde dreads passed my camp about 1830. Bed by 1930.
Date: 2016-04-07
From: Mile 308

To: Meadow - Mile 319.4
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Actual miles: 11.3Rain at midnight - on and off until 0500 or so. Lots of condensation in tent again, quilt damp again, etc. Up at 0735 - out at 0910. It seems 0910 is THE time to leave camp - not sure why. Stayed exactly here at the Meadow in 2012 - decided to push up and over ridge and do it again. Glad I did. Shivered a lot last night - NOT cold. Not sure why I shiver, but I am comfortably warm. Tried using poncho liner with quilt, but just sweated and shivered. Go figure. Cold today - high winds. 2 hour lunch to cook something warm at Hog Back Ridge shelter. Hot lunch and coffee. Nummy. Snow pellets started at Hog Back - had to grab quilt and tent off line I had strung to dry. Not looking good for tonight. 4 super hikers decided to stay there for the night. Saw Meadow on map and saw I-26 - let's stay there again ! Felt good going up last ridge, but slow as usual. At a gap at the top were two older guys. VERY strong wind up there. One guy trying to cook under a tarp that was almost flat from the wind. Wind chill had to be fierce. Told about Meadow about 1 mile away, didn't seem to care. Oh, well. Ready for cold night - snow already coming down and I hear thunder in the background. Haven't had thunder snow since North Dakota - should be interesting. I'm out of the wind and that is great. Cold supper - bed by 1900.
Date: 2016-04-08
From: Meadow - Mile 319.4

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Actual miles: 16.4 - a personal record to date !!!!!!!!!Snow and sleet last night - 1 inch or so. Cold this morning. No wind - YAY !Coffee and b'fast bars and out by 0845. Snow on Trail and over mountains. Lots must have come down. Good trail - made good time - foot is STILL pain free, thank You, God. Made Bald Mt Shelter by 1200 - 1.5 hours for hot lunch and coffee again, water and PRIVY !! Still very cold. Spirit (2012 thru) and another female showed up for snacks - slackpacking. Someone takes your pack forward and you hike with a day pack. Lots of those today. Big Bald was cold and windy - quick photo ops and gone. Covered with snow and ice. Got to Spivey Gap at 1600 or so - GREAT time for me. Decided to push on, since I stayed here last time and I want to make a few more miles. Found nothing for the next 3 hours but 2 bad campsites. Decided to push another 4 miles to the shelter - what the heck - I have batteries for my headlamp if I need them. Besides, it gets dark at or about 1930 now. Made the shelter by 1930. Several people already there, didn't even look. Took a right turn, Clyde, walked up the ridge 50+ meters, found a delightfully flat spot - quick bear bag tree, cold supper, bed by 2030. Holy cow - 16.4 miles !
Date: 2016-04-09
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: broken clouds

Cold, wind and snow/sleet again last night.Desperately wondering where spring is at this time. Up at 0745, in shelter eating at 0845 and hiking by 0900. Had 3 b'fast bars with hot coffee, then snack at 1100. Made Erwin at 1215, right before the shuttle to the ayce (all you can eat) pizza buffet. Staff at the pizza place assured me I was OK without a shower, that they got hikers all the time. Started with a large salad for some reason..............Stayed at the Mt Inn, as Uncle Johnny's and the Motel 6 were full. Resupply, clean up, out tomorrow.
Date: 2016-04-10
From: Erwin, TN

To: Unaka Mountain - Mile 356
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night was bad at the Inn. Let me start by saying the Inn was very nice, the front lady was exceptionally helpful and I really was looking forward to a good night's sleep. However, at 0300, someone tried to come through my door. I had the bar at the top closed, but not the deadbolt. The door hit the bar *CLUNK* and I was out of bed half way to the door with my knife to intercept the intruder when the door closed. I looked through the peephole and saw an unknown female trying doors. I called the front desk and was told "a new employee wanted to look at a room and thought yours was empty." Riiiiiiiiight. I kept jerking awake the rest of the night every 45 minutes or so. Up until then, I was sleeping fine. E-mail to the owners was unanswered. No refund, no apology, nuffin'. Anyhoo - on the Trail about 0900 from Uncle Johnny's. Had Trail magic at Indian Grave gap by "Hey everybody" and his family. Very nice. Up and over Unaka - 14 miles or so. Actually didn't seem too hard - just kept going and counting to 600 over and over. Camped with 3 other hikers over the top in the conifers. Pretty nice - not TOO cold or windy.
Date: 2016-04-11
From: Unaka Mountain - Mile 356

To: Mile 369.5 or so
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

cold and windy, wind through the tent. Need to figure out how to stop or at least slow it down. Hot breakfast and coffee helped quite a bit. Out at 0900ish. Sun finally came out and it was clear until about 1300 or so. Milked up, probably means it's going to rain again. Passed by Socket, Diesel and Cold Snap. Diesel and Cold Snap have been leapfrogging me for a few days. Socket had stayed at the base of Unaka the previous evening. Passed Bombadill and Goldberry (anyone know the characters?). I was looking at the Trail as usual to keep from tripping and bellowing Meat Loaf "Life is a Lemon". Sheesh. Embarrassing. Did NOT see them in time. First encountered them at Big Bald, slack packing. Nice clearings and park like areas to camp, but it's not quite time yet. Found nice, flattish spot under some conifers just off the Trail about 1800. Bed by 1945.
Date: 2016-04-12
From: Mile 369.5 or so

To: Overmountain Shelter +.5 mile
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

YIKES !!!!   15.3 miles !!!!!!!!!Rain at 0300 and continued until 0840 or so. Slow start. Making sure everything is put away dry and will continue to keep dry. B'fast was granola with blueberries, pre-cooked bacon and coffee. Not too cold last night. Out at 0930ish. Rained for most of the morning with fog and drippy trees. RAIN quit about 1130. Fog, wind and drippy trees, not so much. Up Roan Mt on the newish trail - MUCH better than the 2012 one. The new one has switchbacks, steps and is quite a bit easier. At lunch at the parking lot of Cloudland. Back to the bathroom doors (locked) and I watched the clouds come up and over the bathrooms. Pretty neat, as long as you are out of the wind. Met "Me Da" - Irish SOBO who started last Sep. He knew the other SOBOs I had met before. Allegedly there was magic at the Roan shelter, but I pushed past. Rocky Trail, but pretty easy. Music pulled me along very nicely and NO ONE around to hear me. Magic at Overmountain shelter, but all the burgers and hot dogs were gone. Nothing left but beer and soda, so I grabbed a soda and pushed past. LOTS of young pups getting rid of the beer, so I really didn't want to be around. Made it about .5 mile past the shelter on a ridge. The west view was spectacular, like and Ansel Adams picture of Yosemite with a mild west wind. I could see the shelter, which is an old converted barn. Started supper about 1915 after putting up wet tent, hoping tent would dry. At or about 1945, getting into tent, realized that the water on the tent had NOT dried, but had frozen. Oh, dear. As I got ready for bed, the condensation inside was already freezing, half-way up my tent walls. Oh, dear. In bed and worrying about freezing to death about 2100. Made sure everything was on, 3 hand warmers going, filter under quilt with me, etc. etc. etc.
Date: 2016-04-13
From: Overmountain Shelter +.5 mile

To: Mt Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

VERY cold last night. Hand warmers helped. Just not enough. Poncho liner helped. Just not enough. Thermals, booties, fleece hood, you get the idea. HIGH winds started from the west about 0300. Must have been at least 35+ mph. After that, no sleep. Ice chunks from frozen condensation kept hitting me in the face. Tent was shifting sideways. Wind under the tent was so bad I may as well have been outside in it. Not fun, but part of being a hiker, I suppose. Up before 0630 !!!At least the wind was pretty dry and had completely dried the inside and outside of the tent. No breakfast then - just up and out. A mile or two down the Trail, I found a place out of the wind and had my granola and some water. Up and over Little Hump Mt and Hump Mt in the cold, hard wind. Yeesh. Just like 2012 - sun burned, wind burned and frost bite. Took 45 hard minutes to get over Hump. Ground was frozen past noon which helped the walking. Lots of ridges from previous hikers for traction and no slush or mud to slip in. At Mt. Harbor by 1300!! I need to catch up on my lack of sleep the previous night and resupply. Splurged on a B&B room upstairs in the house. Was surprised at the fairly quick 9 miles to the hostel. Seemed much longer. Trail looks flatter to Damascus. Need to pick the pace up.
Date: 2016-04-14
From: Mt Harbor Hostel

To: Mile 408 (?)
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Great sleep - great breakfast - great hospitality. Room price worth every penny for last night. Diesel and Cold Snap showed up and stayed upstairs as well. Pierre and TJ (couple) and a few other familiar faces were in the barn hostel. Resupplied for 6 days - probably too much, but just in case. Second snake - 2 foot garter snake on the Trail. Refused to move until I poked it. Finally slithered up and off. Wild strawberries are blooming - 2 more months or so and maybe I can find some to eat. Do NOT remember the walk by the river here. Very nice, very pretty. Saw "Slider" at a road gap. Pulled muscle and has to get off. Had 11 miles by 1600. Leapfrogged Diesel and Cold Snap at the bench, swapped picture taking. Easy seeming Trail today. Not sure why. Maybe because of the great rest the previous night. Found GREAT camping spot - offered to Diesel and Cold Snap, but they were out of water and had to move on. Built small fire in existing fire ring to get rid of all the trash some idiots had left behind. Found CRKT knife - moving it forward for a while. Nice knife - someone has to be missing it. In camp at 1630 - bed by 2000.
Date: 2016-04-15
From: Mile 408 (?)

To: Hampton, TN - Braemer Castle Hostel
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Another cold night - tired of quilt not working no matter what I do or what I wear. A 20* quilt should NOT need booties, thermals and a hat to keep you ALMOST comfortable in the 30s. Up at 0715. On and off breaks, lunch, etc. Got on web - ordered new sleeping bag to be delivered to Damascus, along with a few other things I needed. Good trail, but I seemed to be in slow motion. 1.5 mph or so average. Got to Dennis Cove Road, JUST in time for the rangers to have put up a notice starting TODAY about bear activity. The next 8 miles were closed EXCEPT for hiking - no camping, picnicing, "lingering" (??), etc. Decided to walk an extra mile into Hampton to the Braemer Castle hostel, where I had stayed in 2012. Got the last single room - huzzah! 13 Trail miles and 1 to Hampton. Cold Snap and Diesel already here - they must think I'm stalking them. What a second - maybe THEY are stalking ME !!Saw TJ and Pierre. Gave TJ all my blister packs, since I don't need them and she is wearing NEW boots. Saw again above Laurel Falls before going into Hampton - not doing well in her new shoes. Speaking of which: the Laurel Falls portion of the Trail is the dumbest part so far. It should be an optional blue blaze for those people who like that kind of stuff. Very strenuous, very steep, very long and the falls are not that great. Tons of stone steps down and up. Did the math - seems if I do 13 miles per day, I can finish by 31 AUG. Whoot !
Date: 2016-04-16
From: Hampton, TN - Braemer Castle Hostel

To: Mile 437
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

16 MILES TODAY !!!!!!Up at 0700 - shuttled to start of blue blaze, 1 mile trail to AT. Decent but a hard 2.5 miles up and over the mountain. VERY nice 3.0 miles downhill. Had 10 miles done by 1420. Out of the no camping zone, back to stealth camping. 1st 10 seemed easy, last 6 seemed much harder, but really were a better Trail. Vandeventer Shelter came up and I went at least a mile past. Saw small herd of deer, squirrels, chipmunk. Camped on ridge (uh-oh - will he NEVER learn?!?!) Used the old "climb the ridge and look" method. Took a couple of times to find a flat place, but it works. Only spot open. Overlook of Watauga Lake. Light wind from valley. Put leaves against upwind side of the tent to block most of the wind. I need some to make sure condensation doesn't build up. Had back of tent into wind, front fly pulled down pretty far. Bed by 1930. Still only light wind. Need to get more endurance - need more of these 16 mile days, esp. since it is getting light at 0630 or so and staying light until about 1945 or so.