morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Albert Mountain

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We woke up on Albert Mountain this morning, just after sunrise. Plans were to get to Rainbow Springs today, for Duch's and Cliff Dancer's mail drops. The walk was great, but I was pretty tired and feeling a bit sick. I listened to public radio all day to take my mind off how I felt, and learned a great deal about the history of Mock Chunk, PA, which is now the town of Jim Thorpe. Interesting story. Interesting, but somewhat pointless story. It kept me entertained. Anyway, after a few good hours of walking, we made it over to Wallace Gap. As we stood there, deciding what to do, a short white bus pulled up, filled with hikers, and the driver offered us a ride to Rainbow Springs. As we drove by, he mentioned that he owned the Haven Motel in Franklin, and gave us the rates. A motel room sounded great to me, as I was just not feeling 100%, but I did not want to sway the vote on my own personal account. So, I let the boys hash it out, and it was decided that we were going to Franklin after the mail drop pick up. When we pulled up, we saw that there were quite a few other hikers in town; John, Wilson, Danny, Ryan, Patrick, Toby, Lumpy, and many more. After settling into our rooms, we decided to head to the Sizzler for the buffet. Big mistake for me. My stomach did not want food, or anything else for that matter, and I ended up losing everything I ate. I hate stomach bugs out here! After the feast that I could not partake in, we wandered back over to the motel. I crawled in bed, and pretty much laid there motionless, with the exception of a quick run to the bathroom here and there, for the rest of the evening. Hoping to feel better tomorrow, and get out of Franklin!
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Franlkin, NC

To: Wayah Bald Observation Tower
Miles today: 0.0

Naturally, we woke up today just in time to miss the early morning shuttle out of town, so we took our time packing up to get out. I started messing around with the bottle of HEET I picked up previously, trying to pry open the top. Well, sometimes people do stupid things, and today was certainly going to be no exception. I decided, after trying a few different things, that the best way to get this top off the bottle of HEET was to pry it open with my non-locking 2 inch swiss army blade. Of course, this did not work and I, instead, ended up slicing open my thumb and thumbnail. I sat there for a second, not believing what I just did, and then ran to the sink so I wouldn't bleed everywhere, and not knowing what else to do.Not too long afterward, Cliff Dancer came walking in the room and asked me what was wrong. I calmly (in my own opinion) answered that I had just sliced my thumb in half. At first, he didn't believe me...so I showed him the thumb. I then got this look that said 'what in the hell did you just do to yourself?' and we all commenced to figuring out what to do. Duch gave me a beer, which is what I probably needed the most at the time, and Cliff Dancer started taking out bandages. I wrapped the thumb and started digging through my own first aid kit, and eventually got it all wrapped up enough to where I could deal with it. I couldn't believe myself. What an idiot!! After the whole thumb ordeal had been taken care of, we decided to hit the buffet. So, we got a ride to Shoneys with a few other guys, and feasted. This time I could actually do some damage to the buffet without it doing any damage to me! We then got a ride back to the trail head, and started hiking around 1:30. An hour or so into it, we ran into a hiker named Moose, who was hanging out with some trail magic left by a weekend hiker he had run into previously. Apples, oranges, sodas and beer! Yes, I believe I will! So, we all chilled with him for a bit, and then eventually headed on our way. The plan was to get to Wine Springs for the night, but when we got there the boys wanted to keep going. I was pretty beat, but decided to keep heading on. We hiked the last hour or so in the dark, and made it up to the Wayah Bald Observation Tower. Being as how it was around 10, and no normal visitors would be at the Observation Tower at that time, we decided that it wouldn't be a priority to sneak around and be really quiet. So, we were checking things out, having a good time, and making our voices echo in the chamber beneath the Observation Tower for a bit, then headed on up to the top. Well, halfway up we heard a guy start speaking to us, and realized there was another hiker up there. It was Heesoo, and he was certainly glad to see that we were hikers and not locals. We apologized for the entrance, and then quickly decided to bed up and go to sleep. It was another great night! Hope they keep coming!
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Wayah Bald Observation Tower

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Started hiking at 10:15, a new record as of late! Today's mileage goal was approximately 17-18 to the NOC, or 16.5 to the Rufus Morgan Shelter - - depending on what time we got there. The day was lovely, once again, and we all took our time with the mileage, enjoying the day. When I arrived at Tellico Gap, I felt a few blisters and had to tape up the heels. Other than that, I still felt great. I stopped off at the Wesser Bald fire tower, where I was soon joined by Cliff Dancer. We hung out up there for a while, got some pictures in, and then decided to get moving. Duch came pulling up, and the 3 of us set off to get the last 6 miles done. I got 3 of the miles done before the sun set, and decided to stop and take a break until everyone else caught up. Soon after, Cliff Dancer came walking up, and we waited a bit for Duch. Of course, we did not know whether he was going to actually come to the last shelter (he stopped off at the previous one to hang out a bit) so we ended up hiking on. The night hike was great, though. The moon was bright, and shadows danced around everywhere. I love seeing the different shadows and colors of the night! Eventually, after an hour or two of cautious creeping around the ledges of the trail, we made it down to the shelter. Duch joined about half an hour later, and we ended up cowboy camping once again. Tomorrow, we hit the NOC and the Wesser Burger!!!!
Date: 2004-04-20
From: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafrass Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

HAPPY 420!!!!We started the day at approximately 9:30, and pulled into the NOC just in time to wait an hour for a burger. I am very sorry to report a few things...first off, we mentioned to the waiter that we would happily wait out the hour until they started serving lunch, so he completely ignored us and our drinks for almost an hour and a half. In fact, the only time he did start coming up to take our order was when I walked up to the hostess stand, around 11:20 (lunch starts at 11) to mention that we have not been waited on for lunch, and our waiter was nowhere to be seen. This led to the manager coming out to tell us stupid hikers that they had JUST started taking orders for lunch (as I see another table in the background being served lunch while she is standing there talking to us). Not only did we have the unpleasant experience of this, but I soon learned that the establishment had recently changed the menu, and that the blue ridge nachos were no longer on the menu. This absolutely broke my heart, so I settled for a burger. After this unpleasant experience, we checked out the Outfitter, then headed back out into the woods. The weather was nice, and we all just tooled around, enjoying the day. We even came up to a great stream source that served as a sort-of shower (very cold - and refreshing). We stopped at Sassafrass Gap Shelter with a group of people who I just did not bother to even deal with. Half of them were the ladies that selfishly took over the Muskrat Creek Shelter for 4 days, and the other half were their friends. Besides that, they went to sleep at 8, which left little talking time for them anyway. The 3 of us decided, instead, to spend the evening at an adjacent fire ring. I fear that our antics will soon have us alienated from some of the hiking community, but what can you do.
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Sassafrass Shelter

To: Fontana Village, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Today, we had such high ambitions for ourselves. We awoke when others started really stirring around, around 6:30. I half watched, in a daze, with the other half being an occasional drift back into sleep. It seemed as if we were all doing the same, so I didn't bother being the motivator. Finally, we started stirring around 8, but took our time. I don't think anyone had made a plan for where to be that day, and we were not in a hurry to do so. But, suddenly, around 10:30, someone (more likely a collective input) decided we should go for 22 today, and hike into Fontana that evening. Why not?? It seemed logical....To us..Which..anyway, we started along the way, one by one. I thought I was keeping a pretty good pace, at this point, but still knew it would be 10 before I would stop walking again, since we were on this ridiculous mission for no particular reason. So, after a few hours passed by, and I started thinking about a lunch break. A pattern that I have seemed to recently pick up is that of a small competitive nature out here, but only to myself. I'll start in the middle of whoever leaves that day, and cannot make myself stop to snack or eat until I run into someone else I'm hiking with. I'm not even sure if it's competitive, or even more to build up an endurance to keeping pace, but it's something that I cannot break, and that I've been unconsciously doing since the beginning of this hike. It's pretty funny, actually. This frame of mind keeps me from stopping until a road crossing with a little picnic table. I saw Heesoo and Cliff Dancer, stopped at the table, and decided that it was lunch time. I had some lunch, and we all talked about the day and it's intentions. It appeared that Heesoo was working on the same goal, and took off soon after I arrived. Me and Cliff Dancer decided to wait up for Duch, and see what was realistic. Soo....After hanging out for a bit, I start trying to come up with alternative plans for the day. One plan involved getting within a couple of miles, and camping. Then 20 minutes later it was, well, we could hitch in to Fontana, and slack pack south. After that, it turned into, It's Duch's call, then another plan. Eventually, after a lot of contemplation, I began to think of why it was so important for me to do this 14 mile section of what I knew would be 14 miles of up and down, with no views? I'm out here for 5-6 months, and my only goal is to finish the miles I neglected last year, but also to cover as much ground as I could. Well, that made my decision. I got into town, after a couple of rides, and made it over to the Fontana Inn, so I could start preparing for the Smokies!
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Russel Field Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We started off from the Fontana Hilton at about 10:30 this morning. Once again, as I recall from last year, the climb out was pretty tough. Pretty tough, and pretty HOT. No light breeze. No chill temps. Just hot and still. When we finally made it to the Fire Tower, I was ready for a break. Cliff Dancer and I got there about the same time, and decided to climb it. I remember being quite timid of this tower last year, but couldn't remember why....until I started climbing it again. Each step up creaked and shook, and there were nuts and bolts missing from all of them. And, as it usually works, the condition grew worse as we climbed, until it seemed as if a strong gust of wind would either knock us off or send the tower tumbling. Once we made it up to the top, we just hung out for a while until we noticed that Duch had made it, and was on his way up. I panicked a bit, and simply wanted out of there before too many people ended up in the tower, but he kept climbing up. Soon, all three of us were huddled inside the top, and all three of us were nervous and wanted back down. After a couple of minutes, the tower party broke up and we headed back down as quickly as possible. I will never climb that thing again. Anyway, we headed off, and reached Mollies Ridge in no time. Most of the people from the Hilton were there, including TABA and crew, but we decided to keep going to Russel Field. Along this walk from Mollies Ridge to Russel Field, the scenery just exploded into fields of flowers. It was gorgeous. I am so glad to be able to walk this section again, without the torrential downpours of last year! I can't believe I missed all of this last year! Cliff Dancer and I made it to Russel Field with daylight to spare, and found John, Back Draft, Dig Dug, Casey, Wilson, WAD, Ronnie, Thumper, and a few others. Most were tented out, so we had plenty of room inside the shelter. WAD left to go get water, and came back claiming that he had seen a chicken. All of our thoughts soon turned to, hmm...I wonder if that chicken has any eggs, and various discussions ensued about chicken and egg hunting. A few of us were actually tempted to go seek out the chicken and/or eggs, but eventually just retired to our boring old trail meals. Duch eventually wandered into the shelter after dark, and just cowboy camped by the fire after most of us were tucked away in bed. Once he got in and settled, I turned in to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we are looking at 15 miles, over some tough terrain. Hopefully we can get an early start!
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Russel Field Shelter

To: Siler's Bald Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow, it was hot today. HOT, hot, hot. I actually got up and moving before 9 this morning. Way to go, me! The terrain today was a hell of a lot more challenging than I remember from last year. I guess the heat and constant sun had quite a bearing on that, being as how the weather was frigid and rainy last year, and hypothermia was constantly nipping at our heels. But, jeez, I've never sweated so much.After hiking a while, I realized that I had lost the bandana I was using to keep the sweat off my brow and eyes. This sucked simply because sweat started pouring into my eyes, and that stings! I know it sounds silly to get really bummed about losing a bandana normally...but at this point, you need every bit of equipment that you have on the trail. So, this was a loss I was kind of bummed about. We decided to take a break at the shelter before Siler's Bald for a while, to snack and rest. Cliff and I got there around the same time, and met up with Backdraft, Dig Dug, Wilson, John, and WAD. Not only that, but John had rescued my bandana! I don't think I've ever been happier to see a bandana, but I was completely ecstatic! It was sad, really. Lunch break soon turned into nap time, and we all vegged in the sun for an hour or two. For some reason, we just didn't want to hike in the heat of the day. Finally, we decided to pack up and head out to the next shelter. Backdraft, Dig Dug, Wilson, WAD and John were planning on heading to the shelter after Siler's Bald, but I had my opinions on that shelter as well. Partly because it would have made for a longer day, but mostly because the skies started to cloud up and threaten us with rain. See, the shelter after Siler's Bald had been struck by lightening before, and the hikers inside perished. I just didn't want to take my chances, and didn't have a hard time convincing Cliff Dancer of it either. So, we opted to just shoot for Siler's Bald.We made it by about 6, and were greeted with a lot of unfamiliar faces. Wilson and WAD pulled in after us, and decided to stay there with us. After dinner, we decided to wind down with a game of rock stacking, or caveman jenga - - if you will, until the sun went down. We saw no sign of Duch, and figured that he decided to stay at the previous shelter. Later on, after most people were bedded down, Publix, NightRider, Heesoo and OnIt stopped by, but only momentarily. They were on a mission to night-hike into Clingman's Dome to stealth camp up there. Well, more power to them, and good luck with that!Tomorrow, rain is in the forecast, so tomorrow, we may have a short day. I'm hoping to actually get a view from Clingman's Dome this year...I guess we will know tomorrow if I will get one!
Date: 2004-04-25
From: Siler's Bald Shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning very tired and very cold. The sky had a gloomy look to it, which threw an air of uncertainty into today's plans. My original goal was to get to Icewater Springs, but I didn't want to walk along ridges in stormy weather. So, Cliff Dancer and I started up Clingman's Dome, and the weather became increasingly threatening. Once at the top, we met up with Backdraft, Dig Dug, Wilson, WAD and Jon. Wilson, WAD and Jon were planning on jumping into Gatlinburg for a few drinks, and started trying to recruit us. Both Cliff Dancer and myself were vehemently against stopping in this tourist trap town....at first. But, after a quick snack, more threatening weather developments, and a swift drop in temperature, we soon started warming up to the idea. After everyone else left, Cliff Dancer and I began discussing the possibility of going into town. We then started discussing the possibility of hitching into town from the top of the tower. We did not, though, and started moving on. A few miles into the decent from Clingman's Dome, I came across a path that led to a paved road that, coincidentally enough, headed into Gatlinburg. I stopped for a bit and waited for Cliff Dancer. As he came around the corner, I looked at him, then glanced over to the road, and looked at him again. That's really all I had to do, because both of our minds were focused on getting into town before the storms came. We stumbled out of the woods, onto the road, and commenced to hitching into town. A couple of hitches and hours later, we found ourselves at the Brewery Restaurant. A few minutes later, we were joined by NightRider, Heesoo and OnIt, along with some refreshing beverages and food. NightRider and Heesoo soon split, OnIt moved down to the bar, and Jon, Wilson and WAD appeared, very surprised to see us in town. It was at this point that we decided to get a couple of rooms and stay. We split a room with Jon, and Wilson and WAD split another room with Ronnie. Of course, we stayed at a motel with a heated pool, and tried it out that night, in the rain. I really hope it clears up tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-26
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today's summary:Woke up to rain. Decided on zero. Played in the heated pool in the drizzly rain, and wandered around the freak show that is Gatlinburg. Drank. Drank more. Napped. Drank even more. Some drank too much. Ended up with a ridiculous excess of beer that we will have to make disappear before tomorrow. Anyway, that pretty much sums it up. Please, sun, come out tomorrow!
Date: 2004-04-27
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today, we got back to the trail. It was sunny, but extremely windy and cold at Newfound Gap. The wind itself was icy. When we got out at Newfound Gap, there was a man sitting in his car with some fruit and other trail magic, just waiting for hikers. Unfortunately, we needed to get moving. Number 1, it was FREEZING, and number 2, we had just come out of town. We had all we needed, and it wasn't right for us to take all of his trail magic. It was actually the first time I've ever personally not been thrilled to have seen trail magic. Sad. Not to mention that we packed out an equivalent to a case of beer between a few of us, and had no extra room to take anything with us. ANYWAY...we got moving, basically just to warm up, which, for me, didn't so much happen for a while. I was, however, soon at a decent hiking pace. I met up with Cliff Dancer, Jon, and WAD (Wilson had continued on) at the first shelter, where we chilled for a bit, lightened our packs of a couple of beers, and filled up with water. We then moved on to Charlie's Bunyon. Well, just as last year, I lucked out with a great day to be on Charlie's Bunyon, with the exception of the still frigid winds. We all got our pictures taken individually, then had a few group shots, and noticed some daunting clouds rolling in around us. We soon decided it was time to move on, but before we actually started to move, it began to flurry! Once again, I was excited about the snow appearance on the trail, but, once again, it was cold and time to move again. We ended up at Peck's Corner for the evening, with a packed shelter. The walk was gorgeous, and quite easy going. After all the cooking and unpacking had been done, we noticed that pretty much everyone had turned in for the ... I want to say night, but the sun wasn't even down yet, day? Well, none of us really wanted to hit the sack yet, and took a few walks, looking for rocks to play caveman jenga, and experimenting with our new bear repellent devices (M 80's). After a few rounds of jenga, we all ended up turning in for the night. Great day.
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: COSBY KNOB
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today, Cliff Dancer and I split apart from Jon, Wilson, and WAD. The initial plan was to do 20 to the last shelter in the Smokies, but Cliff Dancer's heels and calves were really bothering him. So, I decided to stick w/ him and take it easy for the day. The day was really nice. The sun came out and never left us. The terrain was easy, scenery gorgeous, the plants, sounds, smells, and views were just incredible. It was a perfect day to be out where I was. We stopped off at the first shelter for lunch, and were soon joined by Trail Dawg, Thumper, and Moose. They had quite an experience the day before, by taking a wrong turn at one of the trailheads, and walking half the day, up this ridiculous climb, on an entirely different trail than the AT. They were behind schedule, and were trying to push as far as they could go today.After a few snacks and conversations, I took off...only to get to Old Black less than an hour later. I had to stop. This was a stopping point on last year's trip, probably the first really great day I had on last year's trip, and felt compelled to revisit. Besides, it was a gorgeous day, and we only had 13 miles to do. So, I took the shoes off and laid down for a nap. Cliff Dancer soon came upon me, and decided to chill for a while too. Not too long after that, Moose and Deeds came up to the spot and, although we were just an hour away from the shelter where we had all spent at least half an hour, they decided to hang out with us for a while. Trail Dawg and Thumper, who were clearly on a mission today, stopped to chat for a second, and were on their way. After vegging in the sun for a while, I got back up and continued on. The rest of the walk was more of the same that we'd experienced that day...beautiful, lovely, nice....whatever word you want to throw in there. After one more stop to snack at another nice overlook, we both made it down to Cosby Knob. As we got there, Trail Dawg and Thumper were just finishing their dinner, and started to pack up and head off to the last shelter. 27 mile day for the two of them...I salute them, and thought of joining them in order to make my 1st 20 miler, but eventually decided on staying. Another packed shelter, but we're almost out of the Smokies!