morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-11-15
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Yes, I am alive. Many have inquired regarding my whereabouts. Did I turn around and head south at Katahdin? or perhaps I grew fearful of civilization and decided to live off the land in the 100 mile wilderness of Maine or maybe I just got lost. Well, I am happy to say that I completed my Appalachian Trail hike on September 7 on a warm and sunny day just as I had started it on March 30 in Georgia. It was a fantastic journey. One that I will always remember. Everyone asks, "What was your best experience?" and it was the people I met on and off the trail. The trail community is one big family where age, income, profession and gender do not matter. We shared a dream and I will never forget the great people. I would like to thank all of you who followed along. The kind words of support throughout the hike certainly helped me on those days when my resolve was challenged. For those who are interested, I am planning to complete the trail journal, but no promises on when. As for the future, I have spent the last two months readjusting to civilized life and working on home projects. Now it's time to get back to work, so if anyone knows of an outdoor company or microbrewery in need of a sales rep, let me know. Take care and keep on keeping on!Beantown
Date: 2005-04-04
To: Inspiration
Miles today: 0.0

Three weeks ago my fiance and I were going along our merry way, working hard 9-5 and planning to save for a wedding next February, when he recieved a disturbing call from an old friend. 5 weeks prior to this call, his friend was a carefree 30 year old on a water skiing holiday. He started feeling pains in his stomach. These increased in severity so he had the stomach checked out by a doctor who had him sent in to have surgery for a burst appendix. Shane went into the surgery room, was opened up to find a stomach riddled with cancer. He was then told he did not have long to live. Anthony my fiance went into visit Shane on his death bed. Anthony returned to work the same day and resigned. Soon after, so did I.Thats where our appalachian inspiration was born.THE DASH BETWEEN THOSE YEARSI read of a man who stood to speak,at the funeral of a friendHe referred to the dates on his tombstoneFrom the beginning... to the end.He noted that first came his date of birthAnd spoke of the the following date with tears,But he said what mattered most of allWas the 'dash' between those years.For that 'dash' represents all the timethat he spent alive on earth...and now only those who loved himknow what that little line is worth.For it matters not, how much we own,The cars...the house...the cash,What matters is how we live and loveAnd how we spend our dashSo think about this long and hard...Are there things you'd like to change?For you never know how much time is left,That can still be rearranged.If we could just slow down enoughTo consider what's true and real,And always try to understandHow other people feel.To be less quick to anger,And show appreciation moreMostly to love the people in our livesLike we've never loved before.We treat each other with respect,And more often with a smile...Remembering that this special dashMight only last a little while.So, when your eulogy's being readWith your life's actions to rehash...Would you be proud of the things they sayAbout how you spent your 'dash'?
Date: 2005-04-20
To: Atlanta
Miles today: 0.0

Kenan picked us up from the airport. What a treat. We had a great couple of days exploring Atlanta with Kenans lovely girlfriend Leslie. We met a restaurant manager that had spent 1 day on the trail with 5 or so other people. They were heading up the approach trail to Springer mountain in a thunderstorm when 3 of them were hit by lightening. Luckily it wasn't a direct hit, so they escaped with only an unconscious moment, and minor burns. We spent one of our last days of city life in the Atlanta Sheraton with breakfast in bed and a morning massage.
Date: 2005-04-21
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: broken clouds

We decided to skip the approach trail. It was supposed to thunderstorm today, and after the lightening story, we weren't keen to repeat the restaurant managers fate. Besides, the trail is already 2,170 miles, who really wants to add another 8.8 miles on top of that. Plus, Kenan agreed to drop us there (thanks Kenan, we love you!) Strolled an easy 7.5 miles to Hawk Mountain Shelter. We met Tim there (later to be named Maple Leaf), a fellow through-hiker carrying 34 pounds. Melissa and Josh strolled in a little later. They started with 60 pounds each, shuffled their packs around, so now Josh has about 75, Melissa 55. They almost died on the approach trail. We spent a cosy night there with a nice fire to cook and warm ourselves on. We just missed the rain which was nice.
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day of hell. Walked 7ish miles to Gooch Mountain Shelter. It started pissing down and lightening for the last 2 1/2 miles. We were nearly running to get to the shelter. It soon cleared up so we decided to walk another 5 miles. Big mistake. We hit Woody Gap and both collapsed. We decided no more than 10 miles a day for a while. I immediately threw out my camp chair, our plates, knives and forks. Spoons work just fine. The bug spray went as well. I purchased the 1 ton version. Not necessary. Spike found his passport/wallet leather holder yesterday morning. Its heavy as hell. He's determined to send it home in 2 days time. I would have tossed it if I had to carry it... Spike passed out after a feed at 8pm ish. He just woke up now to ask me to bring the wood in and check if its ok. I think he's delerious because its midnight, we are at a tent site, there's no fire, and its raining and lightening outside. He went straight back to sleep.
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Picture from blood mountain on a clear day. We were warned last night that there were going to be severe thunderstorms, but we decided to camp out last night anyway. Woke up to mist and a bit of rain, and lots of clouds. Our plan for the day was to get up to Blood Mountain and camp at the top. We met a ranger on the way up who said he wouldn't advise we stay at the top of the mountain as there was forcasted snow. We stopped at Woods Hole shelter for lunch (about 1/2 mile from Blood Mountain) and it was FREEZING. We couldn't get our stove working so we ate a couple of granola bars each. There were a few men at the top planning on spending the night and I heard one of them saying that with the wind chill it was about 20 degrees F. We decided to move on after lunch to Neels Gap where we could get a hostel room, some warm food, and a shower. Just before the top of Blood Mountain, we ran into Tim/Maple Leaf. We went on as a group of three. It started snowing at the top of Blood Mountain, so we hastily started down. About 40 steps from Neels Gap Hostel, Spike twisted his ankle. If Beckham hadn't grabbed him, he would have fallen off the edge of the trail. We checked in, Maple Leaf went for some ice, and we all ordered Dominos pizza for dinner. We stayed at the shelter with Mystic, Lucky (an Irishman), Bill, and Maple Leaf.
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Maple Leaf surprised me this morning with a pink candle (I have no idea where he found one here) and a package of chocolate chip cookies for my birthday. it was very sweet. Zero day today as Spike needed to rest his ankle. We ate the rest of the 2 pizzas we ordered last night between us, as well as 2 containers of pringles. We slept probably 15 hours each. Spike watched a 30 minute video on Black bears. We met an AT volunteer named Tony who gave us great information on the trail. He told us how the volunteers weren't allowed to use chainsaws to clear fallen trees, they have to use axes or hand saws which are significantly harder.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Neels Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

Left Neels Gap and traveled to the Blue Mountain shelter which was 18.5 miles. Just beyond the Chatahootee gap we saw a 400ish pound black bear. 150 feet is as close as we wanted to be to that bear. Beckham was keen to make as little noise as possible so we could see more bears. Spike, on the other hand, was happy with the solo sighting at this stage. We were both on our toes for the rest of the trip to the shelter and jumped at every sound. We finally made it ot Blue Mountain shelter just before dusk. Maple Leaf arrived shortly after. We met a couple from Massachusetts with 2 dogs at the shelter and boy did the girl have some lungs on her. Didn't sleep much that night. At 6am Beckham pulled her thermarest and sleeping bag out to the middle of the woods so she could get some sleep. In the middle of the night Maple Leaf had dogs licking his face. He didn't sleep well either.
Date: 2005-04-26
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

The journey started early about 8am. The walk today started with a 1,000 ft descent to Unicoi Gap, followed by a 1,000 ft climb to the peak of Rocky Mountain. Tough climb with Tray Mountain to follow which rose sharply with a 1,500 ft climb. The wind was blowing a gale about 80 mile/hr, with mist so thick, you couldn't see more than 20 ft in front of you. It made for a VERY cold, wet day. We walked with Maple Leaf. We placed his tarp over the front of the shelter to protect us from the ferocious wind that was blowing straight in the shelter. Joining us that night was Josh from Ohio, Lauren (75 year old section hiker), Will from Alabama, and a father and son couple. The Ridge Runner joined us in the afternoon for a little while to give us some info on the trail. He is hired to look after the AT for all of Georgia. He showed us some cans and apparel that bears had tried to consume unsuccessfully. He told us that bears have olfactory senses 7 times that of a bloodhound. They can apparently smell a sealed jar of peanut butter under water.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Blueberry Patch, Dicks Creek

To: Plumorchard Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Gary and Lennie gave us the best breakfast ever. Pancakes (an Amish recipe that works well in this particular altitude. They were perfect!), with blueberry sauce and syrup, scrambled eggs, sausages, pumpkin biscuits, orange juice and coffee/tea. Yum!! Went into town again to do some e-mail and pay bills. Unfortunately we couldn't get on to the trailjournals site to update our journal. We then headed into Plumorchard shelter, Gary kindly offered us a ride. This was a tripple decker shelter that we had all to ourselves... besides the 5 families of mice that joined us after dusk.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

Beckham was not feeling the best today as Spike had tossed and turned all night due to all the mice activity. We planned to stop at the first shelter, but 2 hikers advised us not to go in there as there was an unusual character in there. We pushed on to Standing Indian. Tim/Maple Leaf had the same plans, but ended up joining us at standing Indian shelter as the "phantom menace" in the previous shelter seemed a bit sketchy. He didn't have a pack, he had a huge knife on the table, with his stuff spread out everywhere. He clearly was trying to turn people away from staying there as well. it was written in the journals that he may have been there for a week or so. We also heard stories that he was trying to bum food off people as they came through. As we were the first at the shelter, we managed to have a makeshift shower with soap (our camelback water bags worked well). We felt much better after a wash. We looked in the shelter journal and laughed as a previous hiker had written "No Pain, No Rain, No Maine". We seem to be hitting one day of rain, one day of OK weather so far.
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: moderate rain

It was thundering and pissing down from about 6am. At about 8am, a few people who were camping down the way came swiftly into the shelter. Among the ones to arrive early were Lucky dog from Florida (out for a month section hike), George (from Chicago out for 10 days as he needed to get back to family -boy could he talk), White Crow, Bubble Boy, and Fishn'game. We thought we would try to wait for the rain to clear, but at about 11am it was clear that it wasn't going to ease up. We sucked it up, and went for it. We officially made it to North Carolina today! One state down, 13 to go!! There was a sign to mark the momentous occasion. We did the "I'm in Georgia, I'm in North Carolina" thing, jumping over the line. We made it to Carter shelter for lunch. White Crow, George, and Marshmello were there when we arrived. It was still raining so we quickly pushed on so we wouldn't get cold. Albert Mountain was the big climb today, we had to use all fours to get up some of the rocks. Beckham loved it and was having fun. Spike didn't enjoy it so much. There was a good lookout at the top of the mountain, but there was no visibility unfortunately, so we didn't bother going up. At Big Spring Shelter there was a father and son couple who offered us granola bars (7 in total), margerine, a half box of raisins, cheese crackers and oatmeal. Yum. Trail angels. We were very happy.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Wine Spring Gap
Miles today: 17.3

Stopped at Silver Bald shelter for lunch. We met Laurence (from New York), and Cool Breeze (named by the split in his pants). We heard shortly after that Cool Breeze ended his hike from injury. It was a bad move to depart from the Shelter because the last 4 miles up to Wine Spring was uphill. Beckham nearly died. We heard shooting in the near distance, apparently there was a shooting camp nearby. We found a tent site near a pretty creek and camped for the night. 2 weekend hikers were out with us as well but we didn't catch their names.
Date: 2005-05-02
From: Wine Spring Gap

To: Wesser/Nantahala Outdoor Centre
Miles today: 19.1

Spike was driven today by the thought of a hamburger and chocolate milk. Beckham could have easily stayed up another night in a shelter rather than hiking nearly 20 miles. It was a very hard day. There were lots of rocks and fallen trees which made the hike even harder. When we arrived, Beckham could only think about a bed to collapse in. Spike on the other hand, had food, food, food as the overwhelming concern. Beckham was given directions from spike to go find a room, and after walking over a bridge, up a hill and up to several buildings, Beckham returned with her hed hung low. Spike sighted Beckham walking accross the bridge as he was finishing his last mouthful of hamburger and had realised Beckham had had no success. He turned to Slick Rock, and said "Please, you go talk to her because I'm in trouble!" Spike was not Beckham's favorite friend that day. Wesser/NOC was beautiful. NOC is known for white water rafting, canoeing, kyaking etc. There was the huge Nantahala River that ran right through the NOC which was gorgeous. The one restaurant went over the river which gave us a bit of vertigo as we ate. We stayed in a room with Slick Rock (section hiker) and her Border Collie Bonnie, for the night. We also met up again with Will, George, and I Be Hikin'. We met The pedestrians and Uhaul as well. Slick Rock brought us two bowls of spaghetti, 2 pieces of carrot cake, bread rolls with butter, and 2 pieces of corn. Apparently it was left over from the restaurant. As you can imagine, we loved her right away.
Date: 2005-05-03
From: Wesser/Nantahala Outdoor Centre

To: Wesser/NOC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

French toast for Spike, Eggs and 2 servings of bacon for Beckham. We weighed some items, and discovered that our tent was nearly 8 pounds. We purchased one that weighs 4 (MSR tarp tent that uses hiking poles instead of tent poles). Spike's thermarest also weighed in at 2.5 pounds, so we purchased one that weighs 13 oz. We also upgraded from using sticks to hiking poles. We used to think poles were for old people. We now know that they save your knees. We had a hamburger for lunch with lots of fries. We just can't stop eating! Went into town for some of beer. Met a few new faces including Kentucky and Lamby, and we met up again with Mike/Destiny's Child who we met briefly at the Blueberry Patch. In all the shelters there is a trail journal, where everyone leaves messages for the following hikers. It's great to finally meet the people in front of us as we have been reading their entries for days. Today and yesterday we were determined to meet Kentucky, as we knew we were right on his tail. The last few journals we saw, his entry was right before ours. We were asking people we met along the way whether they were Kentucky. It was great to finally meet him at NOC. We saw a weird movie called Napolean Dynamite. We thought it was an old 80's movie, and were surpised to know that it was a new release. It seems to be the American version of The Castle. (A typical everyday teenager trying to be accepted by their peers. We had a big dinner, a couple of beers then slept soundly in our own room.
Date: 2005-05-04
From: Wesser/NOC

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 8.1

Some of the mountains here have "Balds", which are grassy spots at the top of mountains. No trees, just grass. Nobody really knows why they are there, or how they got there. Wild boars are destroying them, as they dig up the earth. People are apparently hired to kill the boars as they are not native. Once killed, they have to leave the boars for the coyotes or bears. We camped at the top of one of these mountains tonight. Cheoah Bald was beautiful. From one side we could see the sunset over the mountains, from the other we could see the sunrise. Camping out with us tonight was Bobby D, Bigfoot, Cherokee and her dog Huntress, and Fishing Game. Bigfoot and Bobby D are notorious for their fires, and we had a good one going that night. We all had pictures of the best sunset any of us had seen to date. Cherokee had a 1/5th of Vodka and offered us all a swig. We were laughing over the firepit all night and went to bed late. It was a good group.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: Wesser Bald

To: Brown Fork Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Maple Leaf walked down the trail as we were packing up. We were wondering where he got to. We walked on to Brown fork shelter in the rain. We got there around 1:30 and ended up staying the night as we weren't in the mood to be in the rain. Cherokee and Kentucky stayed the night. They are both characters. We were joking around all afternoon and went to bed as soon as the sun fell. Huntress (Cherokee's dog) was supposed to be a mouse hunter (hence her name..) but she was absolutely useless. Mice ran around everywhere all night.
Date: 2005-05-06
From: Brown Fork Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Walked with Cherokee and Kentucky to Fontana Dam. We arrived around 5pm and organised a 2 bedroom cabin for the night. The people staying the night in Fontana were: Lucky Dog, Fishing Game, Bobby D, Bigfoot, Mike/Destiny's Child, White Crow, Maple Leaf, The Pedestrians, Ben, Uhaul, Lucky, Lamby, I B Hikin', Kentucky, Cruise Control, Slick Rock, Cherokee and The Tree Sisters. There was a barbeque which many had stayed around for. There was a thru-hiker from last year, Atlas, who was throwing a BBQ for all the hikers. When we got to the BBQ, there were hamburgers, hotdogs, cases and cases of beer, red and white wine, chocolate chip cookies, fried chicken, veggies and dip, chips of all sorts, and masses of Klondike bars. We were in heaven. He pulled out a potato gun, and we took turns shooting potatoes into the dam, there was a bear pinata full of candy. Kentucky thought it would be great if we all shotgunned a beer. They poked holes in about 30 beers, and after masses of food, we all shotgunned a beer. Spike and Beckham felt sich afterwards, but it was a lot of fun! I'm glad we got our own room because everyone in the shelter and hostel didn't get any sleep. We invited I B Hikin', Cherokee and Slick Rock back to our Room where we all got a great nights sleep.
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Fontana Dam

To: Birch Spring Gap
Miles today: 5.2

Didn't get on the trail till late. In the Smokies at last! We are told that for every square mile in Georgia, there is one bear. For every sqare mile in the Smokies, there are 2 bears. Comforting. About 2 miles up the trail we saw Lucky sitting down for a breather. He told us how nobody in the shelter had any sleep. Drinking went on to midninght, then on everyone kept talking. He told us that Uhaul got up at 3am to try to night hike as he couldn't sleep. he came back at 4am because it was so foggy he couldn't find the trail. Lucky's buddy Lamby just slept on a picnic table outside the shelter and was the only one who got any sleep. Once again, I'm glad we stayed in a cabin. We stopped at the first campground. From Fontana it was over a 2,000' climb in a short distance. We climbed a lookout tower, and it was a gorgeous view. The tower was a little rickety and we were scared out of our wits going up and down, but it was worth the view. You could see Fontana dam and it was marvelous. Supposedly the largest dam in the southern part of the US. Lamby and Lucky made it to the campsite, as well as Ben, Travis, the Tree Sisters and Cruise Control. We had a great fire going. There were a few college kids from Michigan, 7 of them, that had come up for a week. The 2 girls offered Lucky and Lamby cigarettes and they were thrilled. We kept joking that Lucky might get Lucky tonight, and we said we'd keep an eye on him... At dusk, a deer walked right through the campsite. She didn't care that there were people around, just walked right through.
Date: 2005-05-08
From: Birch Spring Gap

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The Smokies are Gorgeous. Since the afternoon yesterday we have climbed from Fontana around 2,300' to Spence Field at 4,915'. Not a bad climb. The old shelters used to all have bear fences in front of them, for safety. There have been stories that people used to feed bears through them, abuse bears, so the decision has been made that people need to be responsible for their own actions, and gradually the shelters are being upgraded with no fences. The shelters in the smokies are made out of stone. More homely than the wooden shelters of Georgia. The shelters all have fireplaces in them as well, which is nice on a cold night. Spence Field Shelter had a bear fence, and it didn't feel great to lock yourself up at night. The sign on the fence enclosing the shelter said "Don't feed the humans". We met Kentucky there early in the afternoon and we all sunned ourselves for a few hours. It was a little too hot to hike that extra 6 miles to the next shelter. We lit a fire and soon Lucky, lamby, The Three Sisters, Cruise Control, Rain & Dance, and a new girl Kaitlin (I think her name was), all came in.