morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Devil Fork Gap

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: clear sky

Had an awesome and filling breakfast. I ate wayyyy too much! I think the hiker appetite may finally be kicking in. I seem to slowly be wanting more and more. Champ also got some breakfast meat mixed in with his kibble... yum! When I finally got to taking my tent down Superfeet's Uncle ended up showing up and surprising him. He came with a bag of Hardees sausage biscuits so I ate one of course. Can't say no to food! With a weather forecast of thunderstorms tomorrow Superfeet's family offered to let everyone stay at their house. We just had to make it to the gap in time! Today would have been like any other hiking day... except for the DONKEY we found on trail! That's right! First a monkey... and now a Donkey! And you were all worried about Bears. This Donkey was pretty freaking cool. It even followed Meticulous down the trail to Tuna. Even Champ liked the donkey- although he wasn't sure what to do with it!   Wish we could have taken it to carry our packs. Later that day when we got to Sams Gap to wait for Superfeet's aunt and uncle we found Jersey Girl and her husband were there! With more trail magic! What a magical kind of week! Thanks again!! So Superfeet's aunt Nancy and uncle Dennis are truly wonderful people. They picked us up and drove us to get food and some groceries before taking us to their beautiful home.This trail magic came at such a perfect time and I can't thank them enough for their patience when Champ ran into a bout of sickness. For some reason Champ started throwing up during the second half of the day. Nancy went out of her way to try to help me help him feeling better. Thankfully by the end of the night he was holding water down again.
Date: 2014-04-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today we zeroed at Dennis and Nancy's house. I even got to meet Superfeet's parents! Wow. I dont even know where to start to explain how far Superfeet's entire family went out of their way to make sure we were all fed and happy. I can't remember the last time I have had a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. with dessert! It was all so delicious! I didn't even need to snack in between meals. From eggs and bacon, to burgers, to pulled pork... yum!!Mamafeet drove us to Walmart to resupply and to see if I could get new glasses since the super glue was refusing to work. Unfortunately this walmart vision center was not owned by walmart... so they couldn't do anything about my broken frames. Later Dennis and Superfeet's father were hard at work, pretty much performing surgery on my glasses for several hours. They ended up macgyvering something out to fix them. And it worked ! Champ was even starting to feel better so I was able to start feeding him some rice and food. Great time for a zero for him too. Again, I cannot thank the entire Superfeet family enough for everything they went through to ensure all of us were taken care of. I am so very thankful for the hospitality you provided. It was fantastic!
Date: 2014-04-26
From: Sam's Gap

To: Big Stamp
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

Today Superfeet's family continued to go out of their way for us. We had an amazing waffle breakfast before they dropped us back off at Sam's Gap. Even better.. they slackpacked us and would later drop our packs off near Big Bald where we planned to camp! How awesome is that? I felt spoiled slackpacking.. especially after an awesome zero day. They even dropped off the rest of our beer and leftovers from last night's dinner so we could feast over the campfire tonight! Unfortunately they left before I got to Big Bald, but I definitely can't say thank you enough. When we got to Big Bald we had a great dinner complete with pulled pork, corn on the cob, and cookies!! It was a good night.. Even Blueberry Bear was here! I haven't seen him in forever! After dinner the group of us hiked back a short distance to a clearing just after Big Bald so we could watch the sunset. This has to be the best sunset we have seen yet. Better than Brown Fork Shelter! The color show just before the sun dipped below the mountains was incredible. It was absolutely mesmerizing. The pictures don't even do it justice. Champ update: Champ seemed to be slow today but was holding his own. He was definitely lagging.. but I'm sure slackpacking was a good start for him after being sick two days ago.
Date: 2014-04-27
From: Big Stamp

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Not much to say about today. It was a normal hiking day except my pack felt incredibly heavy... Probably because I've been slackpacked twice in the last week and zeroed more than I should be! Definitely feeling spoiled. The day wasn't bad- but the heat is finally starting to kick in !Made it to the shelter later in the day and decided to stay. Especially since there was no water between the spring before the shelter and Erwin so I was carrying a ton of extra weight. Tuna and Meticulous had pushed on but the rest of us decided it was not worth it. Champ was still lagging behind today but other than that he seemed fine.
Date: 2014-04-28
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Uncle Johnnys
Miles today: 5.8

Nero'd an easy 5.8 miles into Erwin today where we all (Superfeet, Barnicles, Tuna, Meticulous, Hooch and Dirtbag) decided to tent at Uncle Johnnys. Heard storms were supposed to roll into tomorrow so we were on the fence about whether or not we would zero yet. Hooch and I arrived in the early afternoon and the tent sites we chose were directly in the sun so we had decided to wait to set6 up... and then it started to downpoor! Ended up setting my tent up in the rain and bolting into the tent to wait out a wicked thunderstorm! My first thunderstorm on the trail so far.. and it wasn't disappointing! It was Champ's first storm in a tent too.. and he went to sleep! I sorted my mail drop out while I waited the storm out.. Dad had sent me a late chocolate easter!! Didnt last very long. The storm then stopped just in time for the dinner shuttle.. which ended up with some pretty disappointing Mexican food. And that's pretty bad if a hungry hiker is disappointed..
Date: 2014-04-29
From: Uncle Johnnys

To: Uncle Johnnys
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Decided to zero today because I had heard the weather was supposed to bring in some dangerous storms. Plus, it was going to be Taco Tuesday ($1 tacos and beer) in town at a different Mexican place... like I needed anymore motivation than that to stay?Tented again behind uncle johnnys.. and the rain never came. That's okay- the tacos and margaritas were awesome ! NomNomNom...
Date: 2014-04-30
From: Uncle Johnnys

To: Beauty Spot
Miles today: 12.7

Today was probably the first "easier" day I have had hiking out of a town! Normally the day I hike out of town I feel exhausted and miserable.. don't know why! Might have something to do with being lazy for an entire 24 hours.. and then carrying a full resupply of food! Not today though! Felt great!We were expecting rain today.. but no rain for most of the day. I ended up taking my pack cover off at the first shelter when I stopped for a break. I was feeling pretty optimistic about the weather. Annnddd... it at the end of the day it started to rain about a mile away from camp. I stopped and scrambled to get my pack cover back on and then it stopped raining! Just the way it works! Planned to meet the rest of the turtle crew at the campsite but they weren't here when Hooch and I arrived. Figured they must have pushed on. Anyway, with rain still threatening to start at anytime I decided against pushing on so I wouldn't have to set up a tent in the rain. It ended up being a great night.. again! I know I say that all of the time..but hey! The trail provides!   RunningBear, and a few others were zeroing here and managed to get into town for real food and beer thanks to the lovely Miss Janet! I had pork chop with potatoes and onions for dinner.. yum! I even got to meet Blue (or is it balou? Pronounced bah-loo but not sure how it's spelled) and his owner, Danny. Blue is a huge Irish wolf hound mix from Germany that I have been hearing about since Georgia! This dog's paw is as big as my hand!!Can't complain about how the day has been or how it ended. Just before dark the fog rolled in and it started to drizzle a bit.. nothing terrible! The fog looks so incredibly cool as it crept through the campsite. At night it was even cooler when the headlamps in each individual tent made it look like they were glowing. I wish I had gotten a photo!
Date: 2014-05-01
From: Beauty Spot

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 12.0

So I woke up and I was still in a cloud of thick fog. It was pretty surreal. After packing up and finally heading out in the morning I found the rest of the turtle crew was about 2 miles ahead.. I had stopped short of the campsite! Oops! The first climb of the day was easier than it looked. This mountain was unreal once you got up it. The dence, mossy, spruce forest was like something out of a dream. There were so many campsites up here. I would have loved to camp up here if I had known! The rest of the day was pretty tough... but it always feels betrer getting to your destination when you have to work for it. I finally saw the rest of the turtle crew at Greasy Creek Friendly when I arrived. I was instructed to remove my hiking shoes and wash my hands before talking to the owner, CC... CC is something of a germ freak. CC is an interesting character. That is the best way I can describe her. She runs a friendly because the name "hostel" is too close to hostile.. and her neighbor is the hostile one, so therefore she runs a friendly. Her neighbor really does have too much time on his hands to bother hikers- its terrible. He sits at his window and screams at hikers as they walk by and makes quite a bit of noise early in the morning. Good thing I can sleep through anything! Her neighbor has also been known to dump toxins in the creek upstream to try to get hikers sick. How terrible is that? Despite her neighbor I recommend going there if you are on an overnight hike in the area. CC is .. interesting but she truly puts her heart into this hostel. She's pretty unorganized but the hostel will be one of the cleanest since she is a worse germaphobe than I am! Not to mention the fact she sells food and soda. Greasy Creek Friendly is definitely an experience you need to have yourself.. it cant be easily described. Its weird!
Date: 2014-05-02
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Ash Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Could not get motivated to leave Greasy Creek today. Finally forced myself to leave in the afternoon and wasn't sure how far I would make it before dark.Trail volunteers have been hard at work putting switch backs into the climb up Roan Mountain.. so thankfully the climb was not nearly as bad as it could have been! Wasn't a big day but it was enjoyable! Champ update.. Champ seems to be back to his normal, hyperactive self!
Date: 2014-05-03
From: Ash Gap

To: Near Over Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

Hiking out of Ash Gap wasn't as bad as expected. Still looks as if trail maintainers have been hard at work placing more switchbacks onto Roan Mountain, which is totally awesome! Thanks guys! At the top there were remnants of the Cloudland Hotel that used to sit on top of the mountain. Apparently a very luxerious place to be back in the 1800s. Pretty cool history. Looks like some of the foundation was near the shelter, too! The bathrooms at the parking lot were closed so I pushed on for water and ended up at Roan High Knob shelter, the highest shelter on the Appalachian trail. It is a two story, fully enclosed shelter. Pretty depressing to see so many people dump their trash in there. Pack out what you pack in please!!! The day also included hiking through two incredible, grassy balds. Round bald and Jane bald. I am in love with these balds and their views! But they are windy! I passed Superfeet trying to fly his kite on Round Bald. To end a slow day I pushed it to Over mountain shelter, another cool shelter ! This shelter was an old barn that was converted to a shelter for hikers. You can sleep in the top loft or to the side on platforms where you are still protected from some weather. Only problem... it was a weekend and wow! This shelter was just packed with section or weekend campers all over the place! So when I got there Dirtbag was there to tell Hooch and I to push on.Dennis and Nancy (Superfeet's Uncle and Aunt) were going to meet him at Over Mountain Shelter to camp with him. Due to it being so crowded we camped down the gravel road. Unfortunately they couldn't camp with us overnight but they were able to hang out with us for some time. They were awesome enough to bring us cheeseburgers, potato salad, chips, soda, and plenty of beer! They know us well!   Thank you Dennis and Nancy! You have gone out of your way for us multiple times and it is definitely appreciated! I definitely needed that lift!
Date: 2014-05-04
From: Near Over Mountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor B&B
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

Woke up and got a very slow start to the day. The original plan was to rush into town to get burgers but I didn't leave camp until the afternoon. I was pretty content with the burgers we had received last night and didn't feel it was necessary to get to town for food. It was nice to move slow and explore. Today's hike was stunning. First we went over little hump. The beginning of the climb was extremely hot.. hotter than I had expected. I had to stop 2/3 of the way up to let Champ relax. He then crammed himself into a large, old tree stump for a mini dog siesta. After he had cooled off we continued up and the trail cleared out into another grassy bald. Little hump was beautiful and windy.. so refreshing after that heat we had climbed up in. I spent a lot of time messing around and taking pictures at Little Hump before pushing on. Next was Big Hump.. all I have to say is WOW! I thought Little Hump was windy.. but on Big Hump I thought I would need to put Champ on a leash before he ended up blowing away on me! The winds were constantly gusting in waves. I could barely keep myself on the narrow trail without stumbling off to the side each time a gust of wind would hit. When I finally got to the summit of Big Hump and started to descend the wind finally started to cut out. I found a beautiful place to sit and relax that was protected from the wind and had a snack. I ended up having my biggest emotional breakthrough yet on the trail. It came out of nowhere! I was sitting there, looking at the few when I became completely overwhelmed with how lucky I was and cried! I just cried out of complete happiness! I have never had that before.. but it felt totally amazing. The trail has done weird things to my body, mind, and emotions.. I love this transformation. I wouldn't have it any other way. I tented at Mountain Harbor B&B which is a beautiful little hostel. I loved it there. My only complaint is the caretaker who is constantly is constantly unhappy and sarcastic toward the hikers who are staying there. Other than that, the people were wonderful. I wish I hadn't passed up the legendary breakfast... having "nonbuyers" remorse now..By the way.. North Carolina is officially in the dust!!
Date: 2014-05-05
From: Mountain Harbor B&B

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

After getting a shuttle into town to resupply on dog food and snacks (can't seem to get this snack thing right..) it was time to hit the trail. The turtle crew originally planned to do a 13 mile day to camp near waterfalls. The heat has been giving Champ a difficult time. Today we had to stop every thirty minutes to stop in the shade to give him a breather. I decided to carry his pack since we had gotten a late start until it started to cool off. As we were hiking I ran into Hooch who was writing something in chalk at the road crossing. I laughed and walked over to the Church on the road to get some water. I ended up staying there for an hour. I doused Champ in water under the faucet and sat down to journal. When I finally returned to the trail I saw what Hooch had written. "HURRY UP KNAFFLES"... Oops! the complete opposite of what I had just done! At some point I ran into another message but this time it was written in sticks. The message stated "GO SEE ->" and pointed to a blue blazed trail. I followed the side trail to a beautiful waterfall named Jones Falls. The first real waterfall we've seen on trail! The Turtle Crew and Ganja Gang were here. Again.. I spent another hour just relaxing. The chances of a 13 mile day were slowly dwindling.. When I got to the shelter for one last break and sat down I was obvious I was not getting up. The hardest decisions for me these days are whether or not I am going to keep going for the day or if I have enough water. I wouldn't trade it for anything. At least I have hit the 400 mile mark! Wahooooo!
Date: 2014-05-06
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: broken clouds

Actually got an early start out to beat the heat. Caught up to the rest of the TC and found out that tenting had been difficult due to the site being so crowded the previous night.. so things worked out. I then pushed another couple of miles until noon where I hung out for over three hours at Hardcore Cascades... which were not very hardcore but still a nice place to chill. I cooked lunch and lounged around the rocks until the heat let up. I was originally going to push past the shelter since I felt so good but the majority of the TC crew were staying there so I also called it an early night. Tonight was the first night I decided to sleep without my rain fly on the tent. And so.. I fell asleep counting stars. What a serene night.
Date: 2014-05-07
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Rd Trailhead
Miles today: 6.3

Decided on an easy day today. Kind of a nero. Today was a relatively easy, and surprisingly quick, hike too. Superfeet remembered a waterfall from his previous thru hike that was off trail on a blue blazed trail. If he was correct the trail would either loop back to the A.T. or to Dennis Cove Rd, our destination. I decided to risk it.So the trail is the Coon Den Falls trail. The trail was becoming overgrown and because I was first I was waving my poles in front of me to catch all of the spiderwebs I was constantly eating. I now know how it feels to be either tall, or the unfortunate individual who wakes up before the other hikers and gets the morning webs. Finally about .8 down the trail were magnificent falls. The falls were tall, but I think I like the ones I saw the other day better. There was a spot where the water dropped down that you could stand under so Tuna and Meticulous decided to dip under it... Their reactions were hilarious but enough for me not to try it. After a snack we risked it and continued to follow the blue blaze.. which did in fact lead to Dennis Cove Rd! Right after the Black Bear Resort which is where I was considering staying anyway. So I guess we technically blue blazed today. While we were looking around Black Bear, the owner's daughter announced that she would offer work for stay for two hikers if they did her work for her... Meticulous and I jumped on it. All we had to do was rinse dusty dishes, organize the kitchen counter, and vacuum their dining hall. An hour and a half's work got us 15 bucks each instead of staying. So I showered, did laundry, got beer, and used the last bit for my shuttle into town.. which I got McDonald's for the first time since I have been on trail. Oh geez, cheap, greasy food heaven! I had asked the poor owner like five times if we were definitely going to McDonald's beforehand. I guess I was a little paranoid I wouldn't get it!I then used the hostel's computer and finally headed back to the trailhead where the TC camped.. for free. Deciding whether to zero or not tomorrow at the campsite.. only tomorrow will tell. For now, my sleeping bag and reading sounds like a wonderful way to pass the night. Not to mention the sound of a whip-poor-will, a nocturnal bird that calls its name throughout the night, who is adamant about making his presence known to all this very night. Whip-poor-will whip-poor-will whip-poor-will whip-poor-will.....
Date: 2014-05-08
From: Dennis Cove Rd Trailhead

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So today ended up being a zero day. It felt overdue. In the morning I headed back over to Black Bear Resort and hung out there the majority of the day with Champ. This place is awesome and very pet friendly. I got food, free coffee, use of the computer, and charged my phone. Also ended up getting another shuttle into town for more McDonald's.. again, totally worth it! Was a good zero day. The campsite we had near the road was prerty nice, too. Butterflies were everywhere!! The most I have seen yet!
Date: 2014-05-09
To: Watauga Lake area
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Had my gear packed up the minute I woke up so that I guaranteed to myself I would leave at a reasonable time. I walked back over to Black Bear Resort so that I could finish charging my phone and get some breakfast. Finally, after all of that was finally finished I left. The first mile of the hike was wide and flat to appeal to day hikers. It was a nice way to start the morning right before getting to Laurel Falls. We had a short day planned so I spent a good majority of the day hanging with the TC here. I took a small, rocky side trail to climb to the top of the falls. Swimming is dangerous at the bottom of the falls due to dangerous whirlpools so the top of the falls had a nice area to get in the water and cool off! Champ doesn't like water, so naturally he wasn't very happy to be up on the falls but he found a shady, dry patch of dirt to lounge around. The planned campsite for the night was a recreational area near Watauga Lake. When we got there signs were posted prohibiting camping so Champ and I were headed for the shelter. A sign stated the shelter wasn't very far... and after awhile of walking I was getting nervous that I had somehow missed the shelter! As I was beginning to scout some stealth sites I come across Superfeet and Tuna coming south on the trail! Apparently there was no available tentsites at the shelter so they were coming back to grab the last good campsite they saw. Tuna had a bass in his water bucket that he got from a local fisher!! The fish was later cooked up by Tuna.. it tasted delicious!!
Date: 2014-05-10
From: Watauga Lake area

To: Iron mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Not much to say about today except that Champ and I hit our highest mileage day yet! 14 miles! May not sound like much but it was an accomplishment to me. Felt good other than my feet and a new blister or two. Other than that, I wasn't even sore!