morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My all-up weight (at least according to the Oregon DOT).The last mail order item arrived. I take running shorts as swimming trunks, laundromat wear, etc. and mine were shot. I blythely skimmed Amazon until I found quality, light-weight shorts and pushed "buy". There was absolutely no indication I was buying them from Yorkshire, England. Amazon predicted they'd arrive the week after I leave, but the Royal Mail came through.I've had some involuntary time off and have not been doing any serious walking for a while, but today was able to knock off twelve miles. Not a lot (and flat) but I was carrying more than I expect to on the trail (40#) and did it straight thru, mostly on pavement. I will probably not do the miles I expected in the beginning, but I will be in "good enough" condition.
Date: 2013-03-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The tent is finally finished! Sewn and usable, at least. There are some "nice to haves" that can be done and the seams should be sealed, but what absolutely needs to be done, is. It turns out making a tent is a lot like making a wedding dress - there are all these picky details. The good news with a tent is, if it looks a little off, it still works.The fabric and stakes run two pounds (my hiking staff holds it up). I imagine seam dope will add an ounce or two and I'll make a stuff sack, but it still beats the lightest possible configuration of my Sierra Designs Lightning by more than a pound.About half of my "make this" list remains, but there is nothing on it at this point that I cannot buy or live without.
Date: 2013-03-14
To: Madly sewing . . .
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Constructing stuff sacks for everything. Why are cordlocks two for ~$3.50 at REI and 4 for $0.58 at Wally World? I hate going there, but I need a lot of cordlocks. And I can't help it if they are the only place in Central Oregon you can buy butter powder (at least the butter powder is not made in China).Spent four hours walking around Bend buying last minute stuff, while the car was in the shop having recall work done. In deferrence to the fugitting Tempus, I bought a down vest at Eddie Bauer. It weighs more than I'd like but I suspect I will not have time to turn ripstop and primaloft into a vest before I leave.The second car goes in tomorrow and, shopping complete, I may walk up Pilot Butte.Four full days left, which I am sure will disappear in a flash.
Date: 2013-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

If you get a wild hair and make your own hiking pants, think long and hard before you add cargo pockets (which are sewing hell).I leave tomorrow and there are still a lot of gaps. Nothing critical that can't be fixed with a credit card (assuming everything actually makes it into my bags before I go, including the credit card).I have a ticket, shuttle reservations, and GSMNP permit, and much assorted hiking crap. That makes me ready, right?
Date: 2013-03-21
To: From the hiker hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The Hiker Hostel is everthing one could ask for and more. I have nothing against the taxi industry, but this is a good option if you have the time to spend a night.I did better than I expected getting everything packed but electronics are taking a hit. The Kindle charger seems to have escaped from its cord and the cell phone charger broke a wire. I have a few weeks before anything should run flat, hopefully I won'tbe updating by postcard.The word is that it is bitterly cold on top and scattered rain/snow is expected. Why ease into things? There are about seven others at the hostel starting a thru tomorrow, and I imagine there will be many others. This weekend should be the peak for NOBO starts.
Date: 2013-03-22
From: From the hiker hostel

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Just a guess for now. but taking advantage of cell signal on Springer summit to upddate journal. Last shuttle drop off so not on trail until after eleven. Rain no longer forecast tonight so will keep walking and tent at whatever likely spot I get to. With four hours of daylight and nearly perfect hiking weather I wanted to get as many miles as I could after the Springer summit formalites. I stopped at the shelter to take advantage of indoor plumbing (sort of). Then I poked my head in the shelter to say hi and it sucked me in, for a whopping 0.2 miles for the first day.
Date: 2013-03-23
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

There was an enthusiastic shower after 11 and the sky opened at 4:30 so it was a good night to be in a shelter. It slowed to a drizzle and hiking was damp until late afternoon. People were in morning denial, before I got up at 7:30 no one had stirred. Wet, but a good day. High yesterday 56 low 35.
Date: 2013-03-24
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter 

To: Lance Creek campsite 
Miles today: 8.5

Not only did the sky open, there was an amazing thunderstorm before dawn. Nearly all the packs (including mine )are wet from rain blowing into front of shelter. Different atmosphere in the shelter. Yesterday only one experienced long distance hiker and the mood was tentative, today everyone seems like a pro (and early risers). Like yesterday damp hiking but all day long. Great overlooks but could only see fog and rain. Had three options today. The natural choice is a pair of shelters 12 and 15 miles out but there is a group of "gangster bears" about who have learned how to get food bags down from the bear wires. Technically I can stay there because I have a bear can but I don't relish the thought of a night alone with a gang of bears who want to know where my food bag is. A shelter with a loft would be fine but both are very small. The next choice is to hump sixteen miles over Blood Mountain to Neel's Gap and into town. I opted for a short day, stopping before the bear zone. It means tenting in the rain but I have to use my homemade tent eventually. People were trailing through for Neel's until late afternoon. One wonders if they know what they've committed to. I won't know until morning how the tent does in wind and rain but it is certainly roomy. Weather forecasts range from clearing and sun for a week to snow for four days . . . High 60 low 43
Date: 2013-03-25
From: Lance Creek

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: light snow

Rain through the evening and flurries all night and all day. Good hiking weather but mud, ice and steep steep rock made for slow going. Ran into some very well prepared folks and some not so much (gave half my water to a pair that had theirs freeze). Unusually large amount of stuff dropped onthe trail. With 7 miles to the next shelter and more snow forecast I punted again and got a space in a cabin. Shower, laundry, and a chance to dry everything out. High 57 low 29 Tent worked great. Would have stayed a lot drier if I had not emptied my water bottle inside not once but twice (cap sometimes cross threads).
Date: 2013-03-26
From: Neel's Gap

To: Chatahoochee Gap 
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light snow

Blood Mountain Cabins does laundry gratis and had (full size) frozen pizzas for six bucks. What's not to love? Everything was clean and dry and I was in a great mood right up until I could not find my poncho. This was a real problem since it is the core of my wet weather strategy and irreplaceable on the trail. Without it I'd have to get a jacket, pants, and pack cover and accept that these would not keep the pack dry in heavy rain. A little Jack Russell mix also staying in the cabin curled up with me all night long and commiserated. Apparently I dropped the poncho at the Mountain Crossings store while shuffling about over lodging the day before and they had it safe at the counter. In gratitude I dropped 90 bucks on a Montbiel wind shell (which I actually needed). This, friends is how a fifteen dollar hostel stay (the cabin was the same price) turns into a one hundred and twenty five dollar trail town splurge. Towns are expensive! They are also time sucks, I did not get on the trail until 9:30. My intended stop was Deep Gap but the shelter was full. I went on intending to stay at Blue Springs just up the trail but saw no trace of it. I ended up at Chatahoochee Gap at quarter to seven, a long day. Snow flurries all day, but great hiking and even a view or two. Quote of the day (pronounced by a hiker over a dubious pot at Deep Gap) "It tastes like s--- but it¢s hot!" High yesterday 45 low 27 (but hit 23 on climb out of Neel's)
Date: 2013-03-27
From: Chatahochee Gap 

To: Sassafras Gap 
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

Got an early start in the cold but not so many miles for a long day. Trail angels were at Unicoi Gap with hot chocolate, homemade sausage biscuits, and every kind of trail food you could ever want. After this, I am more sure about making Franklin for my first real resupply. From an overlook on the way up Rocky Mountain I couldn't help notice a forest of cell towers across the way. The ATT phone worked and the Kindle didn't. That meant no journal updates but I did manage text messages home, the first two way communication in a few days. The morning was cold but sunshine all day long. Trails were snow, ice, mud, or dry depending on the side of the mountain you are on. It is all much better than forty degree drizzle and it is nice to actually see the mountains for a change. Met and talked to a lot of hikers today, the section hikers seem to be thinning out. Reportedly the three guys dressed (and equipped) as characters from the Hobbit pulled out due to cold. It is only fifteenish miles to the North Carolina border, but I feel a short day coming on. High Yesterday 45 low 21
Date: 2013-03-28
From: Sassafras Gap 

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: few clouds

I am due an easy day, so slept late and let the tent dry before hitting the trail at 9:15. Nothing remarkable about the very pleasant walk. Mountains, gaps, creeks, view . . . the usual. It was the first sunscreen day of the trip. Gatorade and goodies at Dick's Gap, but no sausage biscuits. All trail magic is good trail magic. I stopped early at Plumorchard Gap, just over ten miles. A tragedy - one of my river/camp shoes broke it leash. I'm not sure I'll replace it. They are nice to have, but one more thing to carry. Today's camp excitement, I washed my socks (for no good reason, they only had three days on them). High yesterday 71 (sun probably involved) low last night 25
Date: 2013-03-29
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter 

To: Standing Indian Shelter 
Miles today: 12.1

Not a lot of miles but not a day off. At the North Carolina border the trail goes up smartly about 1000 feet. The gaps are the height of Georgia summits and the summits are well into the snow. I started at the crack of dawn (well, 8am) with the fantasy of getting over Standing Indian Mountain today. Steep trail soon disabused me of that notion. Good hiking but very painstaking. There is too much ice to fool around and where it has thawed it is an inch of mud over frozen mud, which is as bad as ice. Clouds rolled in about nine and the flurries started at noon, for the third snowy day of the trip. It is actually very cool to travel through, just not fast. Hi 73 yesterday, low this morning 33. Thirty four now (at about 4700 feet), someone's phone says it is in the fifties down in town.
Date: 2013-03-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter 

To: Rock Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: clear sky

The snow last night turned to rain which melted everything back to where it started. The trail over Standing Indian Mountain is very gently graded and quick and easy hiking. Met some section hikers on the other side who were desperate to lighten their load - they must have had ten pounds of canned meat. Chicken, corned beef, grits, rice sides, and trail mix later, I no longer need to stop in Franklin (which is ten miles off the trail). In fact, the bear can is still full. Weird. There is no good way up the south face of Albert Mountain so the trail takes the bad way, the first hand over hand climbing of the trip. Fairly simple and secure but still made for a very slow quarter mile. Views from the fire tower on top are worth the climb. I got the phone to send text messages but the kindle would not synch so journal updates will not happen until NOC or Fontana. I pushed a bit to try for a shelter (the forecast was bad) but Rock Gap was packed so it is tenting in the rain. Apparently the shelter is Franklin Trailfest Annex and the party was on. I poked my head in to say hi, and the minute I was in my tent the rain began. After the kindle deleted this entry twice I put off finishing it (again) till morning. The worst forecast I heard was not far off, there was one and three eighths of the one and a half inches of rain. The tent is a hacker, it is big enough not only to bring my pack in but to spread out as much as I need to get to stuff. I've put off getting going in rain as long as I should, time to get packed and gone. Hi yesterday 45 low last (friday) night 33
Date: 2013-03-31
From: Rock Gap Shelter 

To: Wayah Bald Shelter 
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

On the trail at a leisurely 9:30 in a drizzle then brief clearing then fog. Marshmallow bunnies and Easter eggs at Winding Stair Gap. The five or six folks I've been leapfrogging since Hiawasee are waiting for a ride to Franklin but I resist town suck and the trail beckons. I stop later than usual to air my feet (waiting for the fog to clear so I can at least pretend my socks might dry). I eat the last can from yesterday (corned beef), filter water, and as I put my pack on the rain starts in earnest. Too hard to ignore, out comes the poncho and it is officially a rainy day. Not a quarter mile up the trail a flock of local hikers have set up awnings, burners, and a picnic table and are serving Easter dinner to hikers. I did not even know there was a road near. Ham, mashed potatoes, the works. The trail passes Siler and Wayah Balds, which are a lot more interesting when there is not fog and rain. Something like two inches of rain does the trail no favors. Hiking goes "suck, squish" and occasional "squick" as one foot or another slides in the mud. To be avoided is the "sploosh" as you plant your face or butt in the mud. The shelter is long since full and I squeeze my tent into a not quite flat bit of ground. As soon as it is up, the wind and rain begin. I am not digging out a pot for a rain gage tonight, I'd rather not know. High yesterday 56 low Saturday night 51 in steady rain
Date: 2013-04-01
From: Wayah Bald Shelter 

To: NOC 
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

Oh yeah, about last night . . . There was quite the windstorm running and heavy rain until the wee hours. Dead clear at daybreak so I was packed and on the trail at 7:30, determined to hit the Nantahala Outdoor Center while everything was open. With the early start I was (for the third time so far) the very first person on my little section of trail. Actually, I did not see another soul until a hiker caught up with me at the end of my midday break. I passed when he stopped for lunch, so instead of being passed by 15-20 hikers I was on my own. The shelters looked pretty quiet too, perhaps when I hit the Smokies (which sets aside only four spaces per shelter for thru-hikers) later in the week I will be away from the big bulge of hikers who started the weekend after I did. Saw the first flowers of the trip, NOC is about a thousand feet lower than anywhere before, and spring is a touch earlier. I got in just after four, soon enough to get into the hostel, pick up a few niggles at the outfitter, and do laundry. Missed pizza though, the last restaurant closed at 7. Apparently whitewater enthusiasts are no more night people than through hikers. It almost seems futile to shower and do laundry (I put it off for a week), since by noon tomorrow I will smell like a thru hiker again. Couldn't I get away with just letting everything reach equilibrium? High yesterday 50ish, low last night 35
Date: 2013-04-02
From: Fontana Dam Shelter 

To: Locust Cove Gap camp 
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: few clouds

After a superb (and ginormous) breakfast that I didn't have to cook I hit the trail after 9:30. Late start, early finish, only ten miles, easy day, right? Except it began at seventeen hundred feet, climbed smartly to more than five thousand, and went from there. After passing a nearly empty shelter at seven miles (even at seven miles we were well past 'easy') I stopped at the last good camp for a stretch and called it a day. Popular idea, there were already six people in the gap and more came throughout the evening. Great views and good weather made the day a good one, but the latter runs out tomorrow, hopefully within easy range of Fontana. Snow flurries at dusk, so here's hoping . . . High yesterday 62 low - who cares? I was indoors.
Date: 2013-04-03
From: NOC 

To: Fontana Dam Shelter 
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

A great hiking day with challenging terrain and great views (same thing as every day, Pinky). I pushed a bit to Fontana as it is supposed to start raining in the morning. The excitement for the day was the bear. I startled it grubbing acorns (bumper crop last year, they are still thick on the ground) or whatever bears do. It exploded out of the trees, crossed the trail about 75 yards ahead, and made a mad dash for cover a couple hundred yards downhill and down trail. Like any self respecting bear, it wanted nothing to do with hikers. I got to Fontana just after six and wandered down to the floating marina. Unless you wanted pop from a machine or pump your own fuel, closed tighter than a drum. There was a large crowd at the shelter, at least twenty five. Hikers seem to be in clumps, and I am again in a crowd. High yesterday 71 low last night 34
Date: 2013-04-04
From: Fontana Dam Shelter 

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

With rain all day, I took my first zero day and went to town (in pouring rain) bright and early. The post office doesn't open until 11:45 so I had a couple hours to sit and be warm in the general store. I now have food for the Smokies and chargers for everything. When I got back to the shelter I found a couple of hikers unloading a years worth of groceries from a pickup and helped carry bags down the hill. It turns out they had thru'd a couple of years ago and wanted to return some of the trail magic they saw on their first hike. Fontana Shelter on a rainy day looked like a good place, so they organized a ride to a real town and came back with everything you can't get on the trail. Awesome. I spent the rest of the day eating, visiting, and mending gear. High 58 yesterday, low this morning 33
Date: 2013-04-05
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter 
Miles today: 14.8

Wonder of wonders, it was not raining this morning. Got up early, put everything on to charge, took pictures of the moonrise, and was hiking by 7:30. There was a cloud layer at about 2500 feet and clear air to about 4000, where I hit solid overcast. It made for cool, damp walking but burned off about noon, making for a terrific clear day. The deer certainly know where the park begins. Other than the bear a couple of days ago I have seen no sign of big game on the trail until the park. There were more deer prints than boot prints this morning and I came across a couple of whitetail who were remarkably casual about sharing the trail with hikers. A 3000 foot climb does make it pretty clear you just resupplied . . . High Yesterday 58 low last night 44 (but 40 on the mountain this morning)
Date: 2013-04-06
From: Russell Field Shelter 

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 16.4

What's to say? Great weather, remarkable views, good hiking .. . same stuff, another day. Well, there were a couple of things. Last night about the time everyone was in the sack, the bear paid a visit. Checked carefully to make sure we didn't drop anything. Oh, and gave my bear cannister a good look over. Apparently he stood on it just for good measure, to no avail. I realize I was supposed to get up and get video, but it was nearly dark and I was in the furthest corner from the door. Maybe next time. I did notice the last few miles that an unfortunate fraction of bear sign included plastic bags and bits of 550 cord, so the bears are scoring somewhere . . . High yesterday 65 low 38
Date: 2013-04-07
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter 

To: Coldwater Spring Shelter 
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

Not a huge number of miles but a long day. Just a few miles to the summit of Clingman's Dome which was absolutely deserted. Technically the rest of the trail is all downhill, since this is the high point of the route. The next three miles took more than three hours, much of it picking my way down steep ice. The trail N of Clingman's is extremely hazardous with steep ice. OK with crampons or serious spikes, but YakTrax may get you in more trouble than they get you out of. It is all passable with much care. In the three days I've been in the park I know of five people evacuated or awaiting evac for serious injuries. Be careful, prepared, and check conditions from Fontana and again at the summit of Clingman's (there is significantly more snow in the north of the park). Because trail conditions change so much navigating was strange. Parts of the trail were interminable but Newfound Gap crept up on me an hour sooner than I expected it (good thing, it is too early in the year to be hiking past seven). About fifteen people in the shelter, all thru hikers. I seem to have passed the gap, where few people started because of bad weather. Now I imagine people will be passing me again. High yesterday 71 low 37
Date: 2013-04-08
From: Coldwater Spring Shelter 

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Within the national park, you have to stay in (or at, if full) the shelters. That means you generally have to stop too soon or too late. Today was just right - I was ready for a not too long day. The trail went above 6400 and there was a lot of snow, but there seems to be enough less traffic that there was more snow than ice. On the other hand the trail was often a streambed for long stretches, a good place for waterproof boots. This afternoon marked one tenth of the trail, so I should be done in 180 days, right. We stepped over a lot of down trees today. The whole trip forests are, at best, stressed. The word is the forests in Georgia were pretty much clearcut by the 1930's. They are mostly red oak regrowth now and just don't have the feel of a mature mixed hardwood forest. There was a lot of down timber but nothing like here in the park. The elms are long gone, hemlocks are not far behind, firs are being absolutely laid waste. The poor air here (every coal fired utility in the east sends its emissions here to the park, and basically any drive-by insect that arrives here goes nuts. I mean, it is still a forest and all, and worth visiting but the trees are clearly struggling. There are 15 folks in the shelter and five tents, mostly thru-hikers. It seems like everyone is shooting for the Standing Bear Hostel tomorrow, a 20 mile run. Admirable goal, they have a laundry (which I could sorely use). We will see what happens. Hi yesterday 64 low 42