morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-01
From: Hogback Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

I had a Fitbit on and it was always showing a mile or two more than what the maps indicated. Guthook is an app many of the hikers have and it tells a different story of the mileage, as do the paper maps I carry, so I've concluded that each mile of the Appalachian trail is not only different in topography (the amounts of ups/downs/rocks/roots) but also mileage value:)Big Bald views were beautiful and I felt like I had really accomplished a number of goals. I had climbed to over 5500 ft, passed 300 AT miles back at Jerry Shelter, and I was one day away from completing the first of the 4 segments that I had broken my hike into. I felt great!!  Took picture with Wisco, DJ, and Dat Boi at Big Bald.At Sam's Gap, Trail Magic was occurring but I was a little early. A group of men were setting up to cook hot dogs and hamburgers. I can't hike on a full stomach so I thanked them for what they were doing and started to cross the road for the climb on the other side when a woman approached me. She was taking trail names and where hikers were from for her records. Her trail name was Elmo. Elmo had items for resupplying hikers in the back of her SUV for a small cost and as I looked at the array of choices, there slightly hidden by 3 bananas was an orange! OMG, I bought it and an apple and happily carried the weight up the hill.Today I learned about the different "Blazes": White Blazes mark the AT but there is also "yellow Blazing" that is when you use roads to skip parts of the trail. There are others that I'll have to look up: Red, Pink, Blue. I am also finding out I am not hungry for the food I brought- mainly soup. Pilot bread and peanut butter and honey sounds really good but I only have the pilot bread. Love the dried apples I made at my daughter's. Trail Magic has provided variety that is getting me through.
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Beautiful day, hot, ups and downs, not bad, I took frequent breaks. One was at Spivey Gap where there was this perfect oblong rock across a stream. I ate the orange I saved from Sam's Gap yesterday while sitting on the rock and soaking my feet. The climb up to High Rocks was brutal along with the downhill rocks but there were lots of waterfalls, birds, dwarf irises back in the landscape, MountainLaurel, Hemlock, and pines.  The water source was down a steep ravine and I had planned on filling up before I got to the Shelter but I didn't realize I was so close and arrived with what I had. 1 1/2 liters.I was relaxing, reviewing my hike so far and the people I've met. I was the only one at the shelter at 4pm. Then Mt. Goat (yes long white hair and beard) and Ariel (worked at REI in Spokane) came in. Everyone was chatting and setting up tents, when around 7pm this skinny guy wearing flag shorts and a black T with head phones and a head lamp dangling around his neck and broken in tennis shoes strides into camp from the direction of Erwin. He dropped a pack, pulled out two foot long pork loins, bottles of sauces, and a bottle of alcohol. His companion pulled out a pineapple!  They rapidly assembled firewood, made a fire, reshaped an old grill that was there and began cooking the pork loin over the coals they made. Everyone watched in awe. No utensils, just two wood sticks to move and rotate the meat. They rolled cigarettes and told us they were cooking for a group that was on their way. Chop Sticks and Shadow were their trail names. The group didn't show by the time the first loin was ready so he offered it up along with the pineapple to all of us. It was delicious! Chop Sticks, we were told, was legally blind and paddled the Mississippi River last year. By the time the second loin was done to perfection  his friends had arrived. That was an amazing piece of Shelter Magic: Impromptu Luau.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's
Miles today: 7.6

In the morning Mt. Goat said he was going down for water, and he noted that I was low, so he said he would bring me back some. The trail and wonderful fellow hikers will provide. With the water I received from him, I didn't have to stop until I got to Uncle Johnny's. The hike from No Business Knob Shelter to Uncle Johnny's was very nice and easy and there were some great views of the Nolichucky River. When I arrived there were tangerines sitting on the hiker table for the taking and I found size 7 Crocks in the hiker discard box just for me. I gratefully changed out of my hiking boots and slipped them on. Thank-you to whoever left them.  A free shuttle went into town at 2pm so I went in to get a few food supplies and 32 oz of orange juice. I thought I'd drink half today and half tomorrow........It was gone in 2 hours!I woke each day on the AT to the songs of birds, the hammering of the woodpeckers and the hoots of owls. I'd learned to hang my bear bag the PCT way and learned not to put too many bags from one line or I wouldn't be able to pull hard enough to get them down. Also learned the term  "in the economy" meaning those individuals not hiking the AT.
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Uncle Johnny's

To: Curley Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: few clouds

I was going to take a zero at Johnny's but I got to thinking about the 15 or so miles I was setting myself up  hike the next day. I decided not to zero and instead hike the short 5.6 miles to Curley Maple Gap Shelter. Many hikers stopped to have lunch and rest but continued on. There were at least 5 foot bridges over swift tumbling streams with waterfalls, moss covered rocks and over hanging vegetation tumbling their way down the steeply slopping hillsides. I almost walked over a rat snake making its way across the trail. I put my trekking pole right down by it's head before I realized what it was then, pulled back very rapidly! I was amazed at the number of hikers I'd seen smoking. My feet were still sore at the end of each day. I thought about those crocks I used at Johnny's and left behind. I changed food items at Johnny's adding tortillas, peanut butter, 2 tuna pkgs, 2 snickers, and 3 tangerines. I found I was only using my stove for hot chocolate or tea and not for cooking. There were no privies or bear cables at Curley Maple. Hanging my bear bag this time, I was able to get my limb in 3 tries! Note to self: the rock you tie your line to has to be heavy enough to actually bring the line down to you from the limb. I had to coax it down to a point where I could actually reach it!
Date: 2018-05-05
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Cherry Gap
Miles today: 12.2

Left Curley Maple by 7 am. The first part of the trail was undulating and pretty nice for longer strides and and making time. I hiked alone all day with only 3 hikers passing me. I found I liked it when I knew there were people behind me who would be passing me in case I found myself in need. It rained lightly as I ascended Unaka. I looked for the stand of Red Spruce at the top and was surprised to see a decorated Christmas tree. I found out later that it was a memorial put up by a father who lost his son. The day's hike was long and challenging, and I was so grateful that I had used my zero day to get ahead on today's mileage. It surprised me then to find all these hikers at the shelter when I arrived at 4pm. Tonight as I relaxed at the shelter, chatter was mostly about starting a blog about "what hikers eat" with suggestions of Spam & Mac & Cheese Tortilla wrap and the "AT Slide" which is Knorr noodles and sauce made with extra water, to which you add your favorite protein (tuna, spam), and mash potatoes. At 6:30 pm rain started in earnest. "Now is when we see who won the lottery," someone in the shelter yelled, meaning we would see if the shelter roof leaks.  Nobody won.
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Cherry Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

Rainy and cool today with the trail having moderate ups and downs; I must have been getting my hiker legs. Feet were still get sore and started to talk to me after about 7 miles. I knew I had to get water before the shelter because the water source at Clyde Smith was weak. I stopped at the "Plaque" figuring the shelter was near. Spacebear then passed me afterwards saying it was 2 miles away. What! I had 2 liters of H2O, and that was 4 pounds of water weight that I was carrying. I felt the weight difference. Being the person I am I trudged on. When I finally got to the shelter, someone just coming back from getting water stated, "That climb back from the water source is worse than Unaka!" (the steep uphill and down hill we had all done) I thought that despite the weight, I was glad I had my 2 liters. We were 5 in the shelter, dry, warm, and out of the rain which finally ended and allowed us to make a fire from a meager assortment of dry to damp wood. The evening slowly overtook the day, and we were all sleeping, when around 10:30 pm two guys came in with a dog. There was no room for two in the shelter and the space that was there was for those in the upper bunks to get down from. After a rapid exchange of words between them, one of the guys left and the other plus the dog took over the exit for the upper bunks right between me and Toast.  I have to say the dog was well mannered and the hiker was perceptive of the position and situation he had created.  All went well.Quotes noted: "Town group makes you weak. Trail group makes you slow" by Seniority Steve  " Living the Dirt Bag Life" by Van Go
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Over Mountain Shelter

To: Habour Mountain B & B
Miles today: 10.8

There are those who's presence at a shelter taint the atmosphere. Fortunately they are a rarity. Such was a couple that stayed at the Red Barn last night. It wasn't enough to hear the abusive, condescending language they used towards each other, but they seemed oblivious to the effect they were having on those around them. "I've always been an assertive woman and most people don't like that," she said aloud to the group, unaware that her full comments were being taken as aggression not assertiveness. There is a distinct difference, and while most hikers use earphones to listen to their music or favorite monologues, these two broadcasted their choices for all to hear.  The irritation was felt not only by me but, in comments made around the campfire late at night, after they had retired. They were the reason I packed up and left earlier than I would have. They had a toxic effect on me as well as the other hikers.   A morning sun's glow came through the mist-shrouded Balds that I viewed from my sleeping area. The birds woke me early with their songs, and hammering  and the duo mentioned above, with their electronics and verbal crassness, sent me quickly packing and on my way.  The Balds were partially clear, then became socked in, and the air temp was cool, making me hike fast to keep warm. I had a hat and gloves on but no jacket.  I met 2 older gentlemen along the way who were staying at the Harbor Mountain B & B. "Maybe we'll see you. Oh, just over that Bald it's a nice easy down hill trail." That knowledge lightened my step and outlook. One thing I have now learned is not to completely believe others who tell you their interpretation of the trail without thoroughly understanding how they came to that interpretation. Six miles later, after I negotiated rocks, roots, and braided trails with poor markings over the Balds, I arrived at the last 3 miles of the trail which were the "easy downhill" they had described.  Someone had also told me there were restrooms at Carver Gap. There aren't, unless you call a composting toilet a "restroom".I dug up a ramp along the way. They are very juicy with a garlic-onion flavor. I see why people around here collect them. I was also told there are ramp festivals.I arrived at Harbor Mountain B & B at 1pm. successfully having carried only 3/4 of a liter of water for this section. I had passed up a water source around 3 miles out and arrived thirsty. The B & B stood back from the road picturesque and welcoming, complete with a resident billy goat.  I ordered my first real meal from the food truck there, a California chicken sandwich with avocado, a side salad and a peach pear Lipton tea. I enjoyed every bite of the sandwich and saved the salad for evening.
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Habour Mountain B & B

To: A comfy bed
Miles today: 0.0

Took my first zero day at Harbour Mountain B & B and Hostel. Hikers raved about the breakfast served here, so my curiosity was high when I arrived for it at the food truck. They did not exaggerate. I should have taken a picture of the menu: scrambled eggs, egg casserole, blueberry pancakes, seasoned hash browns, bacon, sausage, fruit, danish and more.I had a room in the B & B which was located up a long steep set of stairs. The hostel portion was down by the driveway and it was beautiful and quaint inside, with lacquered pine. There was plenty of space outside to pitch tents. Mountain Goat came in during the afternoon. I had met him on the trail before Uncle Johnny's. He had been nursing a sore ankle when he got there, but here he was after a 25 mile day. His ankle was still swollen. By late afternoon the place was full, and tents were scattered around and along the stream that ran alongside the hostel. Evidently hikers had been held up by a fire just before Hot Springs. They were now back on the trail. That explained the lack of hikers I was noting since I started.I was feeling really good about what I had achieved so far. It hadn't been easy but here I was with only 75 or so miles left. While I hiked my mind wandered from family, to observations of the people i encounter, to events and conversations I'd had and how I could have said things better and in different ways. I thought about what really matters in the long run. It is never about what you have but who you are, what you learn, how you improve yourself, and what you do for others. I think about the beauty around me, simple yet complex pieces of nature. I analyze decisions I've made and how I got to this point, the challenges I've faced, the lessons I've learned just by living. Then I look up and see a white blaze on a tree and tap it with my trekking pole before moving forward. The past can't be changed, just learned from and move on.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Harbour Mountain B&B and Hostel

To: Mountaineer Falls Shelter
Miles today: 9.8

Breakfast was served at 8 am at the food truck in the parking area of Harbour Mountain B & B and Hostel. The menu was extensive. I drank as much orange juice as I could, had a little coffee and was first in line at the food truck. Shannon asked if I wanted the croissant we had talked about yesterday?  I said yes and received a large, piping hot,  croissant filled with eggs, cheddar cheese and ham. I asked for a piece of foil to wrap it in after I took a couple of savory tasting bites, then packed it away in my pack. It took me just under 6 hours to cover the 9.8 miles. I took the side trail to Joans Falls which cascaded over large boulders down the side of the mountain.  Had a few bites of my croissant for lunch there and visited with 3 other day hikers. Hardcore Cascade was the next tumbling, rushing stream, followed by Mountaineer Falls which dropped off a ledge and down over large rocks. The top of Mountaineer Falls was the water source for the shelter. There were large open meadows along the trail today, full of grasses, flowers and one white tailed deer.As the day wound down and familiar hikers arrived, conversation turned to the section of the trail through the Smokey's. This year there was a late snow and wind storm that affected and delayed many hikers. Cosmic related that Tree Beard had told a story one night while they were waiting out the weather, that entranced everyone there. He had hikers give him: the name of a character, a place and a situation and he would then make up an interactive story. The hikers came up with the name FroggyTog (after the rain gear- Frog Toggs), the place was Rock Candy Mountain and the situation was FroggyTog had run out of ice cream.  Tree Beard weaved a story about FroggyTog and his quest to find ice cream that included a visit to each hiker present, requiring them to become part of the quest. Cosmic wanted Tree Beard to continue the story. Tree Bread was willing but wanted to start with a different set of circumstances. Unfortunately we never got around to it, but it did remind me of the game we played around the campfire when my kids, Jennifer and Joshua, were little. One person would start a story, setting the situation and characters and then at a point suddenly hand it off to the person next to them. It could get pretty far fetching and funny.
Date: 2018-05-11
From: Mountaineer Falls Shelter

To: 2.3 miles past Moorland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.0

The disadvantage of sleeping in a shelter are the snorers, and so it was last night. Ear plugs are of little use with some. I left the shelter at 6:44 am. The early start allowed me to go past Moreland Shelter to a beautiful campsite at an open meadow near a grove of tree and a piped stream just over a small rise. I was alone at the campsite for about 1 1/2 hours. Tok came in after an 18+ mile day and was tired, he said his friends were behind him and he would wait to see if they wanted to camp here. After about a half an hour he said he was making the decision and he set up his tent and built a fire. By 7 pm,  five of us were sitting around a low fire, Funnion, Tok, El Chapo, Mouse King and I. This was a totally different group. They played their favorite music, fortunately low, smoked their weed, and the conversation between them was speckled with the F word, so much so I couldn't really follow some of their conversations. "Do you smoke Gouda Girl" El Chapo asked offering me his glass pipe in a friendly fashion.  I smiled and said "No thank you, El Chapo".I finally retreated to my tent, secure in the knowledge, that they were out there and I wasn't alone.
Date: 2018-05-12
From: 2.3 miles past Moorland Gap Shelter

To: Boots Off Hostel
Miles today: 13.3

Wonderful 80 degree day, with a very demanding, rocky up and down trail, scattered with a variety of budding and full blooming flowers in orange, pinks and white. A turtle greeted me as I started out on the early uphills. The trail was a bit confusing above Laurel Falls but it takes a tight turn then travels steeply down, relentlessly over rocks to the pool at the base of the falls. There were few white blazes along the way. Once at the rocky beach area there was a white blaze which indicated northbound and southbound.  The northbound trail curved along the river's edge around a rock faced cliff and then started up. The bright spot during all the climbing was seeing the flowers along the way. They took my mind off the torturous trail.I missed any sign for Laurel Falls Shelter and found myself at the base of Pond Mountain where I knew, from my map, I had four and a half miles of switchbacks and uphill ascents to tackle. On one steep climb I discovered two Lady Slipper Orchids standing proudly side-by-side. These flowers are not found very often. Pond Mountain was an absolute bear to climb, in the heat of the day, with a 25 pound pack! My feet really started to hurt from all the rock surfaces I was hitting with every step, and there were no spectacular views to enjoy despite the elevation gained.  I was passed by a number of hikers who slack packed Pond Mountain southbound so they had a shorter uphill segment then hiking it northbound.Three miles of downhill brought me to Shook Rd, where I took a left turn and found myself at the base of a steep uphill driveway to my destination: Boots Off Hostel. My maps said 12.7 miles but my Fitbit reported 14.3 and I felt like I hiked a 20 mile day.
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

I woke in my own "Blue Tiny House" at Boots Off. It was a very small cabin with a bunk over a double bed, so it can actually sleep three.  There was a small refrigerator with a corner table just inside the door and my gear was hanging on hooks all around me. It is Mother's Day and I called my stepmom. There are a lot of hikers at Boots Off. I was told that at times the owner, Jim, provides food and music. There was a fire in the fire pit area at night, which draws hikers together to chat and tell stories. Two shuttles into town allow hikers to pick up supplies and enjoy a Subway sandwich or pick up a salad at McDonalds. I walked over to Watauga Lake in the afternoon, with Teresa and Dawn, about .4 mile from Boots Off. Any talk of walking very far made me think of the impact on my feet, but I thought of the cold lake and how nice it would be to go and soak my feet while getting to know these two new hikers. The day had been hot, and when we returned to Boots Off I enjoyed washing up in the creatively constructed outdoor wash-tub shower. I visited with Dawn, Teresa, and Flag in the evening, around the fire pit, enjoying Jim's Mac & Cheese, Tater Tot casserole, fresh fruit, and cherry cheesecake. Reflections: I have been trying to focus on the experiences and opinions of other hikers and less on what I have done and may want to convey. It occurred to me while hiking along, that each day on the AT brings a new piece of environment,a new situation and unknowns. I don't know what is ahead when I leave my campsite each day, even though I can look at a map and see the names of places ahead, they are only letters on a page, a point in the future of the day.
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I had a problem, which hit me hard today. Since I rise early and don't like to hike on a full stomach I have a tendency to just nibble occasionally while I hike. During the day I graze on items like, string cheese, peanut butter with crackers or Fig Newtons. I arrive early at my destinations usually by 3 to 5 pm hungry. During the last few days I had eaten my big meal by 5 pm instead of waiting until 7. The result was I had a big calorie gap growing throughout the hike but especially these last couple days.  Today the high humidity, 80 degree temperatures, trail conditions, and low calories combined to make it a challenge to put one foot in front of another. My reserves were very low and I felt my energy waning in the heat.  In response, I focused on my tapping of the white blazes to tick off completed sections of the trail, took longer breaks, added electrolyte powder to my water and forced myself to eat more during my breaks. It was doubly important to pay attention to my situation because it was a 15 mile day.I got to road 91 and was rewarded by Trail Magic! I picked out an icy cold orange Crush and relaxed with Dawn and Teresa before continuing the 3 miles to Double Springs Shelter. Tendinitis, on the top of my left foot, slowed my gait, on this stretch of fairly flat trail. As it was, I averaged the lightning speed of 1.5 miles/hour. The shelter (capacity 6) held hikers who had started earlier from road 91. None of the occupiers moved to make room, despite one of them stating, "We can make room".  The nonverbal communication was obvious and a disappointment to me since this was not my usual experience of trail behavior.  I probably would have declined a spot, not wishing to crowd anyone, but it would have been nice to see, at least a gesture of goodwill and intention of more than just one hiker. I waited until the rain eased to quickly set up my tent.