morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-02-17
From: Wesser, NC

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter, NC
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: broken clouds

I wake up to snow flurries out of the window. Man, this is how it is going to be until May?! Well, at least I woke up warm for once! I went to the indoor kitchen, pounded a pot of coffee, and ate several bowls of cornflakes with real whole milk...mmmm. Got going around 11 am and walked by the Wilderness First Responder Class and waved. This climb to Cheoah Bald is a classic AT climb. It is about 8 miles up; with a few dips; and some swithbacks added over the years; but still a classic. As I get close to Wright Gap the snow begins to fall with big heavy flakes. Here we go! At Wright Gap, I see my first female hiker that is alone. I did not get her name; but, she did thru-hike in 2000. She said that she did not get a trail name then. She said that the weather was really bad up high and she turned around and came back. I moved on as the snow continued to fall. Right before the big climb to The Nantahala Gorge lookout there is one of the best springs on the AT...ahhh.."mother's milk"..right from the ground. I rarely treat water; I just choose good sources. I made it to the shelter in pretty good time. I still had 3 or 4 hours of daylight to go to The next shelter, about 9.1 miles away. Too far in this weather. As I got to the shelter, It started sleeting little stars. They were white and the size of the stars in chicken & stars soup. I see why the nordic & Eskimo people have so many words for freezing precip. I had enough daylight to try to dry out my wet hiking clothes because there was no easy way to get a fire going in this weather. The wind was not blowing directly into the shelter; but, the snow was. I made a little trash bag shelter on the lower bunk in the shelter to keep the snow off. I made it with push pins. It worked pretty good. I tried something new and put my boots and semi-dry hiking clothes in my sleeping bags to keep them from freezing. Bad mistake, this was the coldest night of my hike yet! Many people say this works for them. I had to make several batches of green tea and two hot water bottles to make it through the night.
Date: 2007-02-20
From: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC

To: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I slept and slept and slept. When I did wake up to move. I was sore all over. I felt like I had played a football game last night. I had to get up to get some water and get my mail drops from Fontana Village. I did get up and stumbled down to the Fontana Dam Shower area. When I got there, I saw the two caretakers of the shelter and surrounding area(TVA guys). When I got there I called "Mr Happy" and got him to check my e-mail to see if Colin Gooder had e-mailed me & to put a post on Whiteblaze.com to let people know that I was alive. I then noticed that they showers were out of order too. Damn man, Im thirsty. I am usually not to aggressive with getting rides places; but, I saw a tourist and told him I was dieing of thirst and needed to get to the Village and get some water and my mail. He did not even blink, he said sure, get in the truck, and gave me half of his coffee! As we drove listening to the Oak Ridge Boys, I told him of my adventures. I got my packages then went to the outfitters and got some water. Saw I guy I had met in December, "Max Powers". I took a look to see how the Vanderbilt Commodores Men's basketball team was doing. They beat #1 Florida, awesome! Then Jim dropped me off at the shelter where I opened my packages. This was like Christmas. I knew what I had sent; but, I did not know what "tamborine" AT 07 had sent me. She sent me some good stuff. The best was a big chocolate hershey's valentine kiss. I ate it right there. It must have been a pound of chocolate. I had forgot about Valentine's Day. I was really touched by her gesture. She's married so it's nothing like that; just the thought got me. I spent the rest of ths day drying stuff out, I cleaned up the tarp, and ate 6 bagels that someone left in the shelter. I went to bed early as the rain began to fall.
Date: 2007-02-21
From: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC

To: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

OOOHHH, I am hurtin'....It is also raining; so, another zero. The clouds did leave later in the day and for the first time on the trip: I sunbathed. Oh, it was nice to just lay there and have the sun bake and sink all through my body. Ate six more bagels and got all my gear together so all I have to do is get up and go up to the Smokies! It is supposed to be clear and mild temperatures for about three days. Maybe Im hitting the smokies at the right time. Also today, I am looking out over the Fontana lake after a rain squall came through when a Bald Eagle flew right by me and the lake. We saw each other at the same time. At which time, he headed directly away from me and fished for about ten minutes. He was then joined by a smaller eagle and then they flew away to the east. And then I noticed a rainbow landing somewhere over by the Hazel Creek area in the park, just below Clingman's dome. I promise, Im not making this stuff up!
Date: 2007-02-22
From: Fontana Dam Shelter, NC

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

I wake up like it was my last day of school or something. I jump up, pound my coffee, eat some ramen for breakfeast & Im on my way. I start out walking really fast. Go down and drop my registation paperwork in the box behind the showers. I walk across this big old dam. It is clear as a bell and around 50 degrees. I am wearing shorts for the first time since leaving the Hawk Mtn(when I nearly froze to death). It is about a mile roadwalk to where the dirt trail picks up and goes up the mountain. I get there and head up the dreaded Shuckstack Mountain. It is about 3.7 miles up to the firetower with one or two dips. I want to climb this baby in one "fell swoop". On the way up, I meet SOBO, "Easy Feeling". I talk with him and his hiking buddy for awhile. I go about a half mile from the top where I know there is another spring that is just like "mother's milk". I eat a snack here as well. I get to Shuckstack and keep on moving. Im thinking that im the man!. The trail is not too bad from here to where the trail intersects with the Gregory Bald Trail. At the first of December, that whole bald was closed to hikers due to aggressive bear activity. Not now, it is too cold for them(I think?). I do start to get a little tired going up to Mollies ridge and my old friend the wind is back. It is roaring, too. So, I get to the shelter, get water from what looks like a glacier and quickly eat and get in my bags. I did notice today that my pack was way heavier. I think I could have gone farther if it would have been lighter. Had some wood; but, not the energy for a fire. Still no mice.....where are they?
Date: 2007-02-23
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter, NC/TN

To: Spence Field Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up real late, as I was so excited last night about starting the Smokies and feeling guilty about not writing in my journal on line. Right before I was to leave, in came my first thru-hiker in awhile, "Just Jim". I asked him about 5 questions in which he gave me one word answers and I stopped. He did not really want to talk. He left and said he would be at the Spence Field Shelter. I said that is where I was headed and would see him there. I wanted to get to at least Derrick Knob Shelter; but that would mean Rocky Top & Thunderhead in the dark. It was already around 2pm. I left and really had an easy stroll to the shelter, a little up, but not bad. I passed some local "fellers" from Maryville, Tn near Knoxville. Zipped by them and said I would see them at the shelter. I thought for the first time that I was in better hiking shape than someone else. I guess I was a little proud; but, not gloating. Got to the shelter and got some water and ate quick. Soon we had 12 section hikers and Jim and I. According to SMNP rules, they could have made Jim and I sleep outside. But two fathers of the second group of hikers from the Asheville, NC area volunteered to sleep outside because they snore so bad. They were actually being nice to Jim and I. OK, there were 6 from the Knoxville area("Twinkle Toes, Rambo, Shay, Sphincter boy{dont ask}, and two others) From the Asheville area were 3 older guys and 3 sons. The sons were tall, one around 6 ft 10 in & he carried an external frame pack. I would have liked to follow him in the snow. Well, it was quite a night. I got "Twinkle Toes" to let me use his hand saw and we went "to town" cutting big logs for the fire. By the time it was over we had a "rager" going. Then everyone started cutting up, except Jim who tried to go to sleep at dark. I learned a long time ago as a long distance hiker that when a shelter is full of this many "good ole boys"; just go ahead and enjoy it. You are not going to sleep anyway. This is these guys night. We have about 180 more as thru-hikers. Well about every noise you could imagine was being produced by many different men that night. One guy said that when he woke up in the middle of the night; it was like on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW when that family the Darlings slept. Everyone was snoring. I think I actually slept about 3 hours; but I enjoyed that night. One guy also said something that really struck me: he said, "you know, I really like camping, and I really like day hiking, but what I like the most is hiking all day and then camping. It feels different." I couldn't said it any better "sphincter boy" ! This comment also made me think what hiking the trail is about for me. It is not racing trying to get to the next town. Though, there have been and will be times that I do that. It is about "of the wilderness, not necessarily through the wilderness."(paraphrased from Benton Mackeye, father of the AT)
Date: 2007-02-25
From: Siler Bald Shelter, NC/TN

To: Siler Bald Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Slept like a rock once "Hawkeye" & I quit talking. I thought that maybe most of the storm missed us; but, once I looked outside I could see a lake in front of the shelter. It was also a fog bank with the winds still pretty extreme. I decided to not try to cross over Clingman's Dome in this weather. I had heard that a NOBO, Santa's Helper had to be rescued about 10 days before up there. I took the day to burn the rest of the wood that we gathered yesterday & get everything perfect for tomorrow's hike. I only saw three section hikers this day. They had come from Derrick Knob and said that they had a rough night with the wind & rain blowing into the shelter. They asked what the next shelter was like; this one or like Derrick Knob. I told them that it was like Derrick Knob. 2 of the 3 wanted to stay here; but, the leader said that they must press on the 1.7 miles. It was on their schedule. Before I went to bed the wind died down and I heard a pack of coyotes right outside the shelter. Kind of spooky; but, I slept well anyway.
Date: 2007-02-26
From: Siler Bald Shelter, NC/TN

To: Mt Collins Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 11am to a beautiful day! The sun was shining; the temperature around 45; and best of all: no wind. I left around noon and was moving in high gear up the 3-4 miles up to Clingman's dome. It was just stunning. The wind was so still that I could actually here The Forney Creek about 2,000 feet down the mountain. I also had moved out of the hardwood forest into the pines, spruces, and firs. All I could smell was the piney smell. I could see way back to Standing Indian Mtn where I had my bout of depression. And I thought, "this is why I started so early, right here!" Since the smog from the Tennessee Valley is very low in the winter the views were the furthest & clearest that I had ever seen(this is my 8th time through the park) I have been up here in July & August and not had this good of weather. Well, as I got about a 1/2 mile from Clingman's the easy day was over. The ice was back worse than I had seen. I literally had to hope from ice free area to ice free area. I then saw a section hiker going south. My only human contact of the day. He did not have good news. He said the ice was worse than this for the next 3 miles! I told him that he was about out of the ice now. Worse than it is now!? I went by the tower w/o stopping because of the laboriousness of getting there. I kept going and I found a bobsled run. This was the worst ice I have seen in my life. There is really no safe way to go. I basically head off bushwacking here and there to get one hand or foot hold. Every step is mind numbing concentraion. If I go to 2 points of contact on the ice/ground I have to jump for a tree and hold on for dear life. I did pretty well keeping 3 points of contact grounded. I did not take a spill. This hiking did take up so much effort and time(3 hours) that I had to stay at Mount Collins; instead of going to the Icewater Shelter. This kind of bummed me out. Will I ever have a big day? I get to Mount Collins and and walked seemingly forever to get water. The sign says .1 miles; but, it is more like .4. I dont like coming to this shelter because it is a 1/2 mile off the trail and I was snowed in here for 5 days one December and had to walk 23 miles to Gatlinburg because the roads were closed. I will write more later on this. Anyway, went to bed early and slept well. I also locked the gate on the shelter cage. All the shelters used to have chain link to keep the bears out; but, as they remodel the shelters, they take them down.
Date: 2007-02-28
From: Icewater Sprring Shelter, TN/NC

To: Tri Corner Shelter, TN/NC
Miles today: 13.0

Woke up to another beautiful day! How many can I have in the Smokies? I was going to try to go to Tri Corner Shelter. It was about 13 miles away; but, I had done it before and it is alot of ridge walking all above 5000 feet. This was going to be a classic walk! Ate good and got going around 10 am. I went high around the glacier. The problem was that it was even dangerously icey up here. Finally on my last icefall of about 20; I fell and slid about 10 feet down. I stopped about 10 feet from an ice flume that went down about 100 feet by grabbing a tree! This fall really hurt. I fell on both elbows and tail bone. I had my left arm get caught under me and bent it pretty bad. I laid there on the ice and moaned, until I could tell that I did not do any permanent damage to anything. I also prayed and thanked the lord that I did not slide down the mountain. Well, I pulled myself up and got going. There was not another area of ice as bad as this one; but; I still had to deal with big patches of it. My groin muscles are now strong and I am getting to where I can kind of ice skate. I use my poles for stability while I scoot/slide my feet. It is scarey and I did fall again. The ice I slipped on look just like water, it was so clear. Otherwise, this had to be one of my top 10 hiking days of all time. The views are so clear this time of year. All that toil and trouble through January & February to get here was worth it. I stopped and had lunch at Bradley's View. It is a big rock bench agout 15 foot long. I stretched out and looked back towards GA and thought of all those hikers back behind me and starting tomorrow. I got to the trail that went to the Peck's Corner Shelter and kept going. I did not want to pause. The next 5 miles were icy to The Tri Corner Shelter & it really slowed me down. Also the climbs of MT Sequoyah and Mt Chapman are long. It started to cloud up and get colder. Much of this last part is around 5500 to 6000 feet. Got to the shelter and put up a small tarp in front of the shelter that had been left in the shelter; to go with one that was already up. I left mine up at Siler's bald. I really sealed this place up tight because this is a very high elevation shelter. Did not want to get all wet. Quickly ate and went to sleep. I did not have the energy to start a fire.
Date: 2007-03-01
From: Tri Corner Shelter, TN/NC

To: Tri Corner Shelter, TN/NC
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up with my left knee feeling fatigued from all the "ice dancing". It was pouring outside. The storm was the worst rainstorm of the trip, so far. Im glad I am in a newly remodeled shelter again with tarps set up. I was kind of hoping this rain would be snow. I would have ventured out in the snow and walked all the way to The Standing Bear Farm. But as you have learned, I dont do the rain at this point. I picked up a book called THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by (Forgot first name) Adams. This was a weird book. It made interesting reading as it had alot of space travel involved. It was left by a section hiker named "Flying Monkey". I believe he is an ex-thru hiker and owns a hostel up north? I read in the journal that the young speedy thru hikers I met yesterday; had actually used their sleeping pads to slide down Clingman's Dome and over the Icewater Glacier. One guy nearly went down the 100 foot drop that I told you about. Now those guys are having an adventure. The rain lasts deep into the night and it is really foggy and warm when I go to bed.
Date: 2007-03-02
From: Tri Corner Shelter, TN/NC

To: Standing Bear Hostel, TN
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

OK, this is going to be my day..I need to go 18.3 miles before dark to get to The Standing Bear Hostel, TN. I am so fired up to get there to shower; wash my clothes; do my journal; see if Colin is going to print my stories; & see who is there! I meticulously planned the hike yesterday. I had my thermos full of soup; my 16 oz water bottle full of protein drink; "reached into my pack and pulled out my cleanest dirty socks" to change into at my breakstop; had extra Emergen-C's ready; put new batteries in my headlamp; etc. I took off around 9:30am, I think. My wrist watch has not worked since tumbling through the snow down to Fontana. It got so much snow on it that it fogged up and was broken. It was suppose to be good to 50 meters in the water? So all the times that I have been giving you are general. Im getting pretty good at it, I think? Anyway, it quit raining in the night and the temperature dropped like it usually does after one of these rainstorms. It was around 25 degrees when I started the climb up MT Guyot. All the rain run off has frozen into sheets of ice. Tough going in spots; but, I did not let this get me down as I knew that I-40 is about 1500 ft. Wow, Guyot is around 6300 where ill go over: 4800 foot drop. I skate over Guyot and not falling once. I stopped and the Guyot spring and drank out of the spring like a lapping dog would. Man, I feel good. The next 4 miles are nearly all down hil and the ice lets up. I climb over Cosby Knob w/o stopping. I get to the shelter, Cosby Knob, and see that it has been remodeled recently. I drink alot of water; change my socks; eat a dehydrated dinner of Thai Chicken(given to me by the Asheville boys); and get a moving. I move fast down to Low Gap, (yes another one) take some layers off, and climb the 2.1 miles to the Mt Cammerer Trail. I was proud that I did that w/o stopping. There are so many false summits in that stretch. I eat a snack and turn it on even more to the Davenport Gap Shelter, 4.3 miles. When I got to the shelter, it was starting to get dark. Darkness comes real slow. The sun is really just being blocked by the mountains. I move out pretty fast and do not stop but one more time till I get to Standing Bear. I stopped to pee & had to stop on these 20 rock steps that come up from Waterville Rd from I-40. But, other than that I just keep moving. I stroll into The Farm just a little after dusk. I met two guys staying here that are out section hiking from Conn & RI. One thru hiked in 97. I missed their names. I went and talk to the proprieter Curtis. It was nice and warm in his house. Later that night "Santa's Helper" showed up. He started at Springer on Jan 1 and had been here several days. Got online and saw that alot of journal readers and friends were worried about me. And Colin decided to print my journal.......What a day!
Date: 2007-03-03
From: Standing Bear Hostel, TN

To: Standing Bear Hostel, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Taking a Zero today to upddate my journal, e-mail, call, talk to Curtis, talk to "Santa's Helper", Talk to SOBO "Combat", and clean Curtis's 2,000 gallon pool. He is letting me do it for work for stay.Questions from my ask zero site http://2000miler.net/2007/02/ask-zero.htmlHey Zero, Do you plan on using at tent? Do the mice really run all over you at night in the Shelter?Please tell us the pros and cons ofstaying in shelters.1)yes, I have my Rei Roadster waiting in Harper's Ferry, WVA2)yes, the mice can be out of control. What you read in my journal is factual. At times they are not bad. If you see mice during daylight hours or you see their nests: it is going to be a wild night.3)Pro's of sleeping in a shelter: companionship, comraderie, shelter from the elements, everyone comes to you4)Con's of sleeping in a shelter: Farts, burps, snores, sleep talkers, coughs, sneezes, spiders, mice and their predators, dust, everyone comes to you`I like to put my tent up near a shelter. Far enough away where I am not where people use the restroom. Set up my tent w/o the rainfly. If it rains: run into the shelter with my tent in tact. The roadster is nearly freestanding. If I am in it, it stands on its own enough to sleep in. This way I keep the wildlife off me. If the shelter is full, I put the rainfly on.
Date: 2007-03-04
From: Standing Bear Hostel, TN

To: Standing Bear Hostel, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

taking another zero day as it is snowing and it is about 2 inches on the ground. Also, I have not finished my journal & answered all my e-mails.Another question from ask zero http://2000miler.net/2007/02/ask-zero.html If I send you a donation, how will you get it? The Pay-Pal system will inform me.