morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-24
From: Icewater Spring Shelter 

To: Home 
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: clear sky

Last day! The bad storms that we're predicted to come throughout last night did not come! It rained a little before we started up to Charlies Bunion. But the fog lifted and we got a great view! Had a great time with the final group! The walk down went fast and Aunt Karen and Dad had started the hike up! Seeing them was exciting but also a little sad because I knew the trip was over. After changing, getting into the car, dropping off Minnie at her car, and going to the visitors center. We were on the road home. As excited as I am to see everyone, I am sad to be getting off. I started this trip because I felt like I had to go hike it. Getting off is hard. I still feel the need to finish it. So as I end my trip I want to thank everyone who has kept up with the entries! The people in my life who have supported me are the reason I was able to do this. I am thankful for all of you. My mother and father were great through all the months of planning and having gear spread throughout the floor. My Aunt for taking her time to come and pick us up. And all of my family for supporting my crazy idea. This may be my first trip but I know there will be more in my future.Until Next TimeTom
Date: 2018-03-07
From: Final packing before hitting the road!

To: At Home
Miles today: 0.0

Today all details are complete. Final packing and weighing the pack.Grif left his pack for me to bring since he is flying in.One way car rental all set to go!I have been asked if there are any concerns about hiking the AT again. It has been three years since my first hike... this one will be different. Will elaborate on that later.
Date: 2018-03-08
From: At Home

To: Amicalola Falls, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Well... Here I am about ready to start another AT thru-hike. I did not expect to do it again but the opportunity came along to do it with my friend, Griff (Old Guy), and so here I am! He flew in to Atlanta from Texas and rented a car to go the final leg to Amicalola Falls (North Georgia). And I did a one way car rental from Sarasota to Amicalola. It¢s funny, we both went long distances but arrived within minutes of each other.
Date: 2018-03-09
To: Checking out sights
Miles today: 0.0

Today, our final day before our AT hike tomorrow, we spent on final preparations. This afternoon we met the other half of our party, Colin and David, whom will be doing a thru-hike as well. This will be quite a different dynamic considering I did my first thru-hike alone. We expect cold and rain our first couple of days. Oh well...might as well jump right in!
Date: 2018-03-10
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today¢s the day! Griff and I got up about 5:30 in order to get breakfast and be ready for our shuttle we hired to get us to the trail head. We were meeting several other hikers who would be going along with us. There is D Square (David), Crazy Brit (Colin), Helo (helicopter pilot), Jay, Blue, Griff and I. I did my first AT thru/hike alone. It will be interesting to see how this ¢plays out¢.The forecast was rain and cold and it didn¢t disappoint. Even though the weather was crappy it felt good to be back in the woods. Even in the rain the mountains are beautiful. The group soon spread out as we all have our own pace. Our goal for the day was 14 miles to a camp site. I really didn¢t know if I could make that considering I only made 8 miles to Hawks Shelter on my previous 2015 hike. Surprisingly I made it although pretty tired. Everyone came in over the next hour or so except my hiking buddy Griff. It would be dark soon and without cell service I really started to be concerned. As tired as I was I began hiking back down the trail. Without a pack I could hike very fast which I needed to do to avoid being caught out in the dark. I hiked 2 to 3 miles and miraculously I regained cell service on a mountain summit. There was a text there from Griff and he said; he had taken a bad fall while crossing a log which spanned a stream. He had badly injured his back but had made it to Hawks Shelter another 6 miles from me at this time. He said, he would work his way down the mountain and he needed to get to a doctor. He said don¢t come back for him that he would be ok. Oh Shit! Here I was still an impossible distance from him in fading light and my extreme fatigue and still miles from my camp where food, warmth and shelter was. It was good to know where Griff was and I must trust him to be capable of getting out. I knew he was among other hikers at the shelter and would certainly get the help he needed from them. Hikers are like that. I tried to contact him but I got no response. I turned and hiked as fast as I could since the light was almost gone and I had a long way to go. When I returned, Colin made me the best cup of coffee I ever had. I explained to the guys Griff¢s misfortune. As I fixed myself a hot meal in my little tent it was so sad to think about Griff¢s bad luck. I really need some rest.
Date: 2018-03-11
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 10.0

It rained most of the night but luckily it stopped when it was time to get up and hike. It¢s always difficult to put on cold wet pants and socks in the mornings. I still was concerned about how Griff was making out. He was only 8 miles away but he might as well been a thousand miles away. Everyone was pretty tired from our long hike yesterday (long for the first day) so we decided to make a shorter day of it...only 10 miles. It rained intermittently throughout the day. The highlight of the day was getting cell service on a mountain summit and hearing from Griff. He was down off the mountain and had gotten to the ER. Nothing was broken but he had deep tissue bruises. He will be back on the trail after required rest. Thank goodness :) Our campsite is right on a stream. I look forward to some good sleep tonight. Nasty weather is coming.
Date: 2018-03-12
From: Lance Creek

To: Blood Moutain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0

Last night was so cold. But I was snug in my 0 degree sleeping bag. Some of the others were very cold and unfortunately Colin¢s tent collapsed in the high winds. This caused his gear to get really wet in the hard pour. Even David¢s gear got wet due to a leaky tent. Today¢s hike was really cold with gale force winds. Visibility was limited for most of the day. Even the water in my water bottle started to freeze. The rain of course had turned to snow and sleet and grew worse as we climbed Blood Mountain. This was the most difficult climb to date. The summit has a stone shelter but I only stayed there for a few minutes...my feet and hands were numb and I was anxious to get down in the gap where it would be warmer. Our destination was Neel Gap. We are checked into a small cabin (Blood Mountain Cabins) where hot showers and pizza saved the day. Tomorrow will be even colder but there shouldn¢t be any snow. Are we having fun yet! Ha!
Date: 2018-03-13
From: Blood Mountain

To: Sheep Rock Top
Miles today: 14.5

Well...we started in the dark in snow flurries. But it stopped early. Everything is frozen solid. Rocks are covered in ice which makes hiking very tough. We we¢re all so very cold. The highlight of the day was coming down off the mountain and finding ¢trail magic¢ at a road crossing. I couldn¢t believe those guys were set up in the freezing temperatures and wind. What a treat. Hot coffee and pastries and chocolate. They even had chairs for us with their van blocking the wind. The rest of the day was just hard, cold hiking. We hiked about 14.5 miles but had to tent near a mountaintop which was the only suitable place to stop unfortunately. The temps should go down to the teens tonight.
Date: 2018-03-14
From: Sheep Rock Top

To: Tray Mountain
Miles today: 16.0

We started in the dark, this morning. That seems to be David¢s preference. Start early, quit early. I personally prefer to hike during daylight. Less chance of losing the trail. We summited several tough mountains today. There was, Blue Mountain (4,000), Rocky Mountain (also 4,000) and Tray Mountain (4,500). These were all long, hard climbs. We are really suffering since we don¢t have our ¢hiker legs¢ yet. We camped near Tray Mountain Shelter...big mistake! Probably the coldest night of our lives. I¢m sure it must of hit single digits at that altitude and of course the wind was howling around us. And my tent does not stop wind. I have a zero degree sleeping bag and I had to put on every piece of clothing I had...even my rain jacket. We could hardly wait for morning to come. Hiking helps warm you up. Brrr....Only 2,132 miles to go.
Date: 2018-03-15
From: Tray Mountain

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.0

It was hard to regulate our clothes to remain somewhat comfortable today. Near the summits the cold and wind would freeze you but down in the valleys you would sweat...almost overheating. It was just more long hard climbs today. The good news was our destination is ¢Top of Georgia¢ hostel. Good food, a shower, clean clothes and a nice comfy mattress. It¢s a typical hostel with rooms full of bunk beds. We got a shuttle into town for some Mexican food and resupplied at ¢Ingles¢ for the next leg. The weather report says tomorrow it should finally warm up. Only 2,122 miles to go.
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Whitehall Stamp
Miles today: 12.0

Well ...the hostel stay didn¢t work for me. The shower, clean clothes and good food was good, but. The snoring was so loud that i virtually got no sleep. It was a long, long night. And on top of that, we had our toughest hike to date today on no sleep. We left Georgia and entered North Carolina this afternoon. It seemed like the mountains immediately got so much steeper. The climb up Couthouse Bald was brutal! We did a little over 12 miles, shorter than previous days but so much tougher. It was nice though hiking into another state. We found a nice little remote campsite with water at a place called Whitehall Stamp...must be something Southern.Tomorrow will be tough because there never is enough time for the body to recover before the next days beating begins. Whew! I need a day off. Only 2,109 miles to go.
Date: 2018-03-17
From: Whitehall Stamp

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.0

Last nights camp worked out pretty good. I finally got more than a couple hours sleep. I don¢t know why I can¢t sleep. You would think as tired as I am after consecutive hard days of hiking I would practically pass out but I don¢t. It started raining again just as we were getting out of our bunks. We started hiking in cold rain. It¢s impossible to dress in a way that is comfortable since the front of you as you hike is freezing and your back is sweating and overheating. Of course when you stop your sweat starts to evaporate and you get really chilled. Luckily it cleared up around noon time and I was able to take off a couple layers. It turned out to be a nice day. We hiked over Standing Indian Mountain. We did almost 16 miles...too much considering we don¢t have our ¢hiker legs but we were trying to make it into Franklin by the end of the next day. Colin has an app on his phone which counts the steps we take, the equivalent of how many flights of stairs we climb in a day and distance in miles. A typical day can be; 35,000 steps and more than 300 flights of stairs...that¢s a lot considering hiking in mud and rain and 30 pounds on your back. We stopped in a little secluded camp site called Betty Creek Gap...a little muddy but not bad. (About the picture... it is amazing what you find along the trail)Only 2,094 miles to go.
Date: 2018-03-19
From: Betty Creek Gap

To: "Lazy Hiker" Franklin, NC
Miles today: 12.0

During the night last night we experienced a severe thunder storm. The storm moved right over the top of us as the lightning and the thunder starting hitting simultaneously. Laying there in our little tents it was a little nerve racking...mostly worrying about a tree being struck and falling on you. We were up and off before daylight, as usual, making good time. We had one really tough climb of the day, Albert Mountain. It was extremely steep, perhaps the most vertical yet. When we reached the top we had hit the 100 mile mark. Not too bad considering. The view from there was spectacular. This is why we do this. We made it to the road crossing into Franklin by 1:30. We hitched into Franklin and stopped at the ¢Lazy Hiker¢, a bar in town.It was no problem getting a table because as bad as we smelled people gave us plenty of room :) We¢ll be staying at Jay¢s house tonight where his gracious wife is fixing us a gourmet meal. They are so nice to feed us and let us stay in their beautiful home in the mountains. We will be taking tomorrow off to rest up. Boy do we need that. Only 2,082 miles to go.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Slack Packing

To: Zero Days
Miles today: 0.0

Between extreme cold, wind and rain or snow, we took three days off while staying at David¢s House. It¢s unbelievable how gracious and accommodating David and Barbara have been. They have a very nice home on the mountain behind the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Colin has been having a really hard time with shin splints which requires much rest. We intended to do 4 sections of the trail based from David¢s house. Tomorrow we start the first of four minus Colin.
Date: 2018-03-23
From: "Lazy Hiker" Franklin, NC

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center area
Miles today: 13.0

I was a little worried about getting back on the trail myself because my left knee has slowly starting to give me trouble. I had a new pair of inserts in my shoes as well as a soft knee brace in place to see if that might help. Barbara dropped David, Blue and I at the trail head about 8:30 in the morning. It was 21 degrees and the snow was deep. This won¢t be easy over the many steep, slippery and icy descents of the day. It was hard to make good time. We had about 13 miles to hike. It was actually a beautiful hike with the clear blue sky¢s and the sun shining through the ice formations as we hiked. However I began to get very distracted by the fact that my knee was definitely not getting better. I had to favor it more and more as the pain became more intolerable. Wow this was becoming painful! What is wrong with my knee? In fact the right knee was starting the same thing only to a lesser extent, probably due to favoring. It turned out to be a very long day. I never stopped...not even to eat my lunch. All I could think about was getting off that mountain and off my feet! After about 7 hours of continuous hiking I finally reached my destination. David suggested I go to the walk-in clinic and have it checked out. The nurse assumed it was inflammation, gave me a shot and prescribed extra strong ¢ibuprofen like¢ pills. Not sure at this point if that¢s correct. I¢ll take a couple more days off to rest up and see what happens. Sheesh! I hate not being a kid anymore (physically).Picture left to right. Rhododendron Tunnel, Wessor Mountain, back at the ranch :)
Date: 2018-03-27
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center area

To: Florida
Miles today: 0.0

My knee is definitely injured in some way. After two more days of rest, it is only worse. We decided to go to the nearby town of Sylva and go to the emergency room there for a MRI and find out exactly what¢s wrong with my knee. We tried several ways to get some sort of treatment but only met with bureaucratic obstacles and promises of lengthy wait times to get any type of service. We finally gave up and went to a local craft beer brewery, sampling its goods, eating french fries and playing darts. It seems the fastest way to get this knee problem ¢looked at¢ is going to be, traveling back to Florida where I have some connections. Ugh!! I hate all these issues!! Dang it! David and Colin are going to get back on the trail without me. Now that Colin has gotten over his shin issues they are ready to go. I will have to jump up and meet them down the trail once I have my issues sorted out. I¢ll just have to come back at the end of the hike and complete what I have missed. I called my Doctor and made an appointment for the following Monday.¢Blue¢ had always planned on getting off the trail at this point and has offered to drive me back to Bradenton. He has a relative nearby that he wants to visit. That should work. Gosh I hope this doesn¢t take too long. We hit the road tomorrow morning.
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Irwin, TN

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I made my appointment at the Doc on Monday. He seemed to think there were no tears apparently. I had a MRI scheduled for later in the day. With all this rest my knee is definitely improving. By Wednesday I still hadn¢t received the MRI report so I reserved a one-way rental car to drive to Erwin Tennessee to meet up with Colin and David. I¢m tired of waiting around. I guess hiking will tell the story. I¢ll meet them at ¢Uncle Johnny¢s¢ once they come out of the woods in Erwin on Friday afternoon. It¢s going to be great to get back on the trail again. Snow is in the forecast for Saturday. Who ever thought being so miserable could be so much fun! Ha!
Date: 2018-04-07
From: Irwin, TN

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I got the worst news I could of received yesterday from the doctor. I was nearly to my destination to meet the guys in Erwin Tennessee when my cell phone rang. It was my Doc. He had received the MRI report (finally) and wanted to let me know what they found out about my problem knee. I have a torn meniscus and a stress fracture on my left knee. I really never expected that at all. I guess that explains the severe pain I had on my last hike. This is so disturbing. It was such a shock it felt like someone had just kicked me in the stomach. The thought of my friends hiking off without me was almost too much to accept. I did some research and it seems the fracture is the most troublesome part. It normally takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal so I am holding out hope that I can possibly meet them up the trail somewhere North of Harpers Ferry. It will kill me if I can¢t get back on the trail. Please keep your fingers crossed. Tomorrow I start a form of re-hab that promotes healing (a routine I learned about on the internet).
Date: 2018-06-04
To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0

June 4 (Monday) Well... it¢s time to pick this journal up again. I actually started hiking again about two weeks ago. The guys (Colin & David) met up with me in Blowing Rock NC. We planned on meeting there so we could go to ¢Trail Days¢ in Damascus VA which we did. We left there on May 21st to head back to the trail. My knee has been healing for about 7 weeks. It feels pretty good so it¢s time to test it out! The guys did about 500 miles while my knee was healing. We started at the James River bridge at mile marker 786 near Buena Vista, VA. I was experiencing more than a little trepidation. I really wanted to continue this hike. Starting May 22nd I hiked about a week, starting slow (thanks guys), and experienced very little pain...yeah! The trouble was...on Friday May 25th a got a text from my brother that my Mom had fallen and broken her hip! She was going in the next day for surgery and getting a complete new titanium hip installed! My poor Mom! The word was, she was really having a tough time of it. After agonizing over what to do I decided to head back to Florida. After only a week of hiking I was on a plane heading back to Bradenton. I set up a return flight one week later to re-rejoin the guys on the trail...if mom¢s condition allowed it. Well here I am...back on a plane...going North to Charlottesville, VA where I¢ll rent a car (one way) to drive to Front Royal, VA to rendezvous with the boys. I¢ll be hiking tomorrow. I think we will make Harpers Ferry, WV by the end of the day. Whew! This here has shore been a roller coaster durn yee!
Date: 2018-04-06
From: Amicalola Lodge

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

This entry is to record day 1, starting off from the lodge at Amicalola Falls State Park and hiking to the Stover Creek Shelter. The first 7.7 miles was uphill to the top of Springer Mountain. After taking some time to have a small meal, headed down the official start of the AT to Stover Creek Shelter. The day's mileage was 10.5.
Date: 2018-04-07
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

This entry is to record day 2, starting off from the Stover Creek Shelter and hiking to the Gooch Mountain Shelter. I went the greater distance today to ensure getting to a shelter. However, the shelter was full and I had to setup camp in the surrounding area. There was a good deal of hikers here, most of which used tents, and the night was bitter cold with plenty of wind and rain. The highlight of the day was my first encounter with trail magic. The day's mileage was 12.9
Date: 2018-04-08
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 8.2

This entry is to record day 3, starting off from the Gooch Mountain Shelter and hiking to Lance Creek. The morning brought wet, cold conditions. I packed up and left camp without eating breakfast. Stuffed a couple granola bars in pocket for quick access down the trail. Used socks as gloves for couple hours until hands warmed up. About 3 miles down the trail arrived at some awesome trail magic. This was a shorter day to stay with the recommendation of lower miles the first couple of weeks and to leave a comfortable distance for day 4 to arrive at Neel Gap. Was windy at campsite which allowed for drying out of gear. Unfortunately, this is the location I broke my molar with a complete vertical fracture while eating beef jerky. I did eat the camping meal gifted to me by friends at the Bank. The day's mileage was 8.2
Date: 2018-04-09
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 7.2

This entry covers four days of hiking beginning at Amicalola and ending at Neel Gap. Total distance over the 4 days is 38.8 miles. Day 1, was hoping to start at Springer Mountain but Mike U. couldn't find the forest service road so we circled back. That put an extra 7.7 miles to the hike, thanks Mike, ha ha! Day 1 totaled a tad over 10 miles. Stayed in a shelter since too tired to setup tent. Hiked most of day on my own. Day 2 was a surprise in that after 3 miles came to a support group for hikers. Had hot bowl soup and took a bar to go. This is called trail magic. Hike was in dreary weather but went almost 13 miles. Spent night at Gooch Mountain shelter in tent and froze as it rained all night. Day 3 was bad from the start. Packing up in cold and wet conditions. When hike began I wore socks as gloves and hiked in freezing rain with ice falling off trees. The ice was like dime size but not dangerous. Came across a sign saying trail magic ahead. Awesome! Another group there with free food for hikers. Had a hot tea, hot dog, tangerine and some raw broccoli with ranch. Rita gave me a knit cap for warmth. These people are great! Reached Lance Creek to setup camp. Another cold night but the worst of it was I cracked a molar on jerky at dinner. Had a panic attack being middle of nowhere with pain looming. Got through the night without tooth pain. Day 4 hiked just a bit over 7 miles and across Blood Mountain. May have been short in miles but major in height. Ate only 2 granola bars while hiking since worried about tooth. At top of Blood Mountain talked briefly with two hikers. One was 69 the other 60 and they moved like the wind. Mike U. helped setup trip where I ended at Neel Gap to small town Blairsville, GA where I'm at now in hotel awaiting dentist appointment tomorrow at 4:30. Thanks Mike! Had bowl of chili and two servings of mashed potatoes for dinner at the Huddle House. Drying out all my gear in hotel room and will do laundry tomorrow. Hoping for the best with tooth! Met hikers from Germany, Australia and France. But, will the sun ever come out in Georgia?