morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-02-09
From: Gooch Gap Shelter (5-*****)

To: Wood's Hole Shelter (2**)
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night at the campfire, we had great conversations with each other. We call our campfire "Cowboy T.V." We heard the helicopters go by as a nearby army post is doing some training. We also heard wild coyotes. I have never heard coyotes before and I felt ecstatic. It reminds me of a time in Maine where I wanted to hear coyotes, but it never happened. I started making calls to the coyotes and they would hollar back. What a neat experience! The temp didn't get nearly as cold as it did the night before, and we were quite toasty in our 0 degree bags. Woke up in 31F weather and I could actually move around my fingers without them going numb. We left around 8:45 AM and started our journey along the white blazes. The AT is marked every 20 yds. or so and side trails are marked with blue and yellow blazes.My knee did much better today and we didn't struggle nearly as much as yesterday. Peanut is doing much better pacing herself and maintaining rhythm. We did the same miles in a lot faster time. We're learning not to anticipate the top of the mountain or the shelter, etc. and enjoy the hike for what it is. You can get easily get caught into trying to make miles and not enjoying the scenery. You can only enjoy it a little while before you get cold and keep moving. The walk to the shelter was about 1/2 mile and it reminded Peanut and I of paintings by Beverly Doolittle.We made it to the shelter and were greeted by the thru-hikers. It's cold up here. We are in a cloud and there's a little breeze going. OK, so let me tell you about the thru-hikers. There are quite impressive bowel movements made be these guys. One hiker dared us to wait until he gets on the Ramen Noodle diet. I'm a little worried.
Date: 2004-02-11
From: Walasiyi Inn Hostel 

To: Low Gap Shelter (1*)
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a fun time taling in the hostel last night to other thru-hikers. Then we headed to bed.Another thru-hiker named Luke has been hiking along with us for the past few days and he is studying math & physics out here so he can hike up to PA and graduate with honors. I'm very impressed that he is willing to do that and he studied a long time in the hostel last night.Today we were the first to leave. Peanut made one last call to her mom. Her mother and her have a real strong relationship and it is hard for her to leave for long amounts of time. We were hiking at a good pace in the morning and got to see the great views that we missed on Blood Mountain. We passed through Testnatee Gep where the famous John Muir crossed the mountains on his 1000 mile walk from the Ohio River to the Gulf of Mexico. Or at least that's what the book says.Then we hiked up this humungous hill where I started to have serious knee pain in my other knee. The cold weather is hard on the joints and I am having pain in my nerves. If feels sort of like a funny bone. I had trouble with it the rest of the 4.4 miles to the shelter.We are considering going to Helen if the pain gets worse. If not, then our next stop is Hiawassee. I'm hoping a good-night's rest will do wonders, but sort of doubtful. I need to get my pack weight down because that's why my knee hurts. Peanut is really worried about me, but I plan to get better and keep truckin'. I've had pain similar to this and it got better. We'll see . . .
Date: 2004-02-12
From: Low Gap Shelter (1*)

To: Helendorf Inn in Helen
Miles today: 9.4

Started the day with my knee hurting a little. The temp was around 36F. My knee was bothering me, but not too bad where I was limping. For the next few miles, the trail was flat -- Thank God! By the end, my knee was feeling much better and I was back at my normal pace. I'm not one who has knee trouble, but the cold weather will do some things to your knees. I would say that 80% of the thru-hikers at the moment are having knee trouble. Most of us are young, athletic hikers and we are still having problems.The day was very yucky. The temp was around 35F and there was a misty rain to walk through. We made it to the Blue Mtn Shelter where we were getting very cold. I read the guidebook a little, ate a few crackers, and asked Peanut if we wanted to stay or go? Peanut finally answered with "I want to go to Helen." Helen it is!The first car that drove by stopped to pick us up. What luck! We arrived at Helen at the Hofbrau Inn where the price was $35. We called a few other places and the price was almost identical, so we decided to stay here.When we tried to get a room, the woman at the counter kept recommending other hotels until we eventually got the point. So onto the Helendorf Inn. We talked to a very kind lady who dropped the price to $24. Not too shabby! Helen is an interesting little town. It's modeled as a Swiss Village to attract tourists. You can find things here like funnel cakes, hot pretzels, and pizza by the slice. It is sort of like Gatlinburg, TN, but better in my opinion.We set out all of our wet clothes to dry, did some laundry, and ate dinner. Peanut is having a hard time with hiking the AT and I think it is much harder than she anticipated. Winter camping is hard. I hiked a 1/4 of the AT about 2 1/2 years ago and didn't have nearly the trouble that I'm having now. You really have to be determined.We're going to let our joints rest tonight and see how we feel in the morning.
Date: 2004-02-13
From: Helendorf Inn in Helen

To: Helendorf Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Wow! Where do I start? I woke up this morning to Peanut saying that she's not going to continue. I spent the better part of the morning convincing her to keep truckin', but she wasn't budging with her decision.All of a sudden it hit me how much I want her to continue with me. I understand that the AT is not for everyone, but she hasn't even given it a good fight.I know we have knee trouble and it's cold, but it hasn't been that bad. We spent the rest of the day talking about the situation. She was determined to go home. The she called her sister and I don't know what she said that I didn't, but at the end of the conversation Peanut said she was going.Wow! This has been so exhausting that I got a headache and I want to put this day behind us. We're going to look at tomorrow as a new start!
Date: 2004-02-14
From: Helendorf Inn

To: Deep Gap Shelter (5*****)
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

We tried to make an early leave from Helen today. The room we were staying at was really dark and I called our room "the Dungeon." I was glad to get out since we've been there for two nights.Caught a quick ride with some very nice construction workers. This was quite an experience riding in the back of the Dodge Ram pickup because there was oil all over the bed of the truck and couldn't sit down. So for 10 miles back to the AT, we had to squat down. This was one of those roads where you see a sign indicating "curvy road ahead" and you think to yourself, "what's the point?" If people haven't figured that out by now, then they shouldn't be driving.We had fun balancing in the back. This was Peanut's first time riding in the back of a pickup. We made it back to the trail around 9am; the temp was 44F. We sent home 12 lbs of stuff in Helen and it made a vast difference today. Our knees did much better.On top of Tray Mtn, the views were stupendous, except we were expecting a big rock to sit on and walked right past the great views. Oh well.The rest of the way was fairly flat and we made great miles. The trail was muddy for several stretches which felt good with the knees. We made it to the shelter and guess who we see . . . Troop 500.Our first response was, "Please let there be room in the shelter," and there was. And what if there wasn't? They actuallyt are very nice and we even enjoy the company.3 other thru-hikers showed up tonight, which is cool because we didn't expect to see many this time of year (we're officially behind the ones we started with). Until next time . . .
Date: 2004-02-15
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Plum Orchard Shelter (5*****)
Miles today: 7.8

Last night was a crazy night, far from a romantic Valentine's evening. Woke up to Boy Scouts screaming about a rat (really a mouse) taking a dump on another boy scout. The boy scouts were on the second level and I was terrified that they were going to knock the rat on my face.Then something hit me on the face and I freaked out. All it was was the spout of Peanut's waterbag. This made me laugh. It's funny how your mind gets so worked up sometimes. As all of this excitement was going on, the boy scout's leader had the loudest, worst snore I've ever heard. It was so weird and different that it sounded like Darth Vader choking on a carrot. Despite the rumble, I slept fairly well. Got up early, the temp was around 43F. We made a great pace into Unicoi Gap where we were going to resupply in Hiawassee, GA. If you're wondering if we stop a lot, then you're right. But at least we don't have to carry too much weight with our knees.As we showed up to the Gap, we spotted a forest ranger. I thought right away that we would get a quick ride, but he drove off and waved at us standing in the rain.So hitching a ride at 8:30am on Sunday morning is much harder than usual, not because no one will pick us up, but because no on is out driving at that time. Finally a car with 3 people in in stopped. 2 hitchhikers, 3 locals, and 2 huge packs in a sedan is a tight squeeze. We could fit one pack in the trunk and the other went on our laps. They dropped us off at Hardee's where the local hangout of elders exists. Everyone kind of stopped and looked at us, so we sprinted to the corner. Peanut got stuck talking about the trail while I read the menu.We talked to a sweet couple who compared the AT experience with the husband's military experience, except he was carrying a gun and lots of ammunition. He continued to talk about killing a bear on his front porch and burying it away from his land so he doesn't get in trouble.He was amusing. He offered a ride back to the AT, but we had to resupply and wanted to eat another meal while in town. We called our moms and got our errands done.Mom explained that there's supposed to get 3 inches of snow tonight and cautioned us to be careful. We ate our last meal at Dairy Queen, put our thumbs in the air, and the first car stopped.Boo-yeah! We got picked up by a guy whose dad hiked the AT in 2002 and he drove out of his way to help us out. We hit the trail and Peanut's nose started bleeding out of the blue. Then came the snow that mom promised. It was OK, though and we continued hiking. Uphill, uphill, uphill we go . . . It's hard to be cold in the snowy weather when your sweating from the uphill. We made it to the 3-story shelter where we were greeted by Dan, a thru-hiker from Illinois. Looks like no boy scouts tonight.
Date: 2004-02-16
From: Plum Orchard Shelter (5*****)

To: Standing Indian Shelter (1*)
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Started hiking early. It was about 34.6 degrees F outside. I feel like we've hiked uphill all day. Today was a day of switching. We switched maps, we switched from Chatahoochee Nat. Forest to Nantahala Nat. Forest, and our biggest switch was from Georgia to North Carolina. People say Georgia is all up and downs the whole way, with little views. I didn't think it was that bad, but then again everyone I've met out here has knee problems.When we reached NC, we went straight uphill for miles. The elevation is much higher here. Didn't get to see the views because all day we've been in a cloud. I'm hoping it will clear up some tomorrow.The trail up here is full of fallen trees from the winter. I guess it is too early for the trail maintainers to cut the trees. Tonight's going to be a cold night. We're at our highest yet at 4,760 feet, and it is already 28 degrees F. Hopefully it will maintain that temp. We'll see . . .
Date: 2004-02-17
From: Standing Indian Shelter (1*)

To: Big Spring Shelter (4****)
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was cold. The shelter was poorly designed because it faced the wind and the mist outside continually blew in. We tried to fix the situation by throwing our tarp/tent over us. This worked well, except the condensation from our sleeping bags caused the tent and the outside of our bags to be soaked. But we were warm! The temp was 23.8F and our boots were frozen solid. It took about 45 minutes for them to thaw. The hiking today was great because we had easy terrain and 2 inches of snow to absorb the impact on our knees.Near the end of our hike, we topped Albert Mtn. which would be outstanding if we weren't in a cloud. This was Peanut's longest day EVER. She was very proud.When we got to the shelter, the register and a magazine were torn to shreds and scattered all over the ground. Our first make of this was we thought a bear had done it, but when we took a closer look, we say turkey tracks circled around the paper. Relieved! Dan showed up later and that made it better as well.
Date: 2004-02-18
From: Big Spring Shelter (4****)

To: Franklin Motel in Franklin, NC
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Woke up early and headed out. The sun was out and we were happy. Finally, we got to see views today. Made great timing to the highway where we were taken to Franklin, NC. We got a room and I went to the library to type up entries. Dan is splitting a room with us. We headed to McDonalds to eat when we ran into the group we were originally hiking with. They told us only 4 people are ahead of us. Cool!Sunny skies are ahead this week.
Date: 2004-02-19
From: Franklin Motel in Franklin, NC

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Had a great night's rest in Franklin. We got up early to get some errands done, had one last meal at McDonalds, and headed out again. A guy named Night Stalker picked us up and talked about hiking with Wingfoot (the guy who wrote our guide). He was very unique.Today was such a wonderful day. The temp got up to 60 degrees and we got to see views all day. Caught up to the original clan we were hiking with at Siler's Bald when they were staying the night.We pushed on to Wayah Bald where you can see 360 degree views of the scenery. Coolhand Luke will be staying with us as well. Saw an awesome sunset and hope to see a great sunrise tomorrow. This helps us to understand why we're out here.
Date: 2004-02-20
From: Wayah Bald

To: Wesser Bald Shelter (3***)
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We stayed the night at Wayah Bald, but didn't get too much sleep because the wind was blowing so hard. The day started off with a beautiful sunrise.We began the hike on an icy trail. Alot of the snow had melted, but refroze overnight. Pickle fell on the trail and I followed a few hours later by slipping on some mud--we're okay though!Today started out as a tough day for Pickle. I can see now that there will be days that you don't feel like hiking, but hopefully we can keep each other motivated. It's nice having each other our here and we're a good team.We are just hanging out in the shelter now and looking forward to a good night's rest and head to the Nantahala Outdoor Center tomorrow morning to meet up with my (Peanut's) dad.
Date: 2004-02-21
From: Wesser Bald Shelter (3***)

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter (5*****)
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

Got up and moving early in the morning. So early we saw the sunrise. We discovered that some things of ours were nibbled on by mice such as food and medicine. The mice probably had one hell of a time last night. We rushed to the Nantahala Ourdoor Center to see Peanut's dad and to shop around. We fixed a couple of cups of coffee and Peanut's dad showed up. He brought us lots of power bars and brownies, then he took us out to eat at Pizza Hut, and paid for our resupply of food. We are very appreciative of him and we want to thank him once again!We were going to stay at the hostel here, but the day was too pretty so we pushed on 7 more miles to the shelter. Our day started at 4200', down to 1700', back to 5000', and not at 4300'. It's been a great day and I'm more than happy with our progress!
Date: 2004-02-22
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter (5*****)

To: Cable Gap Shelter (3***)
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

Our longest day yet! Woke up early watching the sunrise from the shelter. We had a good breakfast and headed on. The hiking was good because the air was crisp and just warm enough where we didn't have to wear a jacket.I went along singing songs while Peanut put upFwith the unharmonized sounds. We stopped and had a hearty lunch. The day was around 60 degrees F and it was beautiful outside. We're preparing for the Smokies. It was a good hiking day, but our feet and muscles ache. Tomorrow is a short day to Fontana Dam to prepare and rest. We're picking up our first mail drop, one day behind schedule. Pretty good! PS-Thank you all for the support. It really has kept us motivated to keep pushing and more importantly, to have a good time. Thanks!
Date: 2004-02-23
From: Cable Gap Shelter (3***)

To: The Hike Inn @ Fontana Dam
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night Peanut claimed that she heard a monkey. What? I listened scared out of my mind to what is in the woods that makes monkey noises. I thought that she sheard a wild boar (which there is a large population of), or something. She woke up in the morning and said she dreamed that noise. Stuff like that happens a lot out here.We passed Dan in the morning to name him King Ramen because he eats 4 packs of Ramen everynight. Onto Fontana Dam. The hill downward killed Peanut's feet and she is talking of getting some trail shoes.At Hwy. 28, there was no traffic so we hiked 2 miles into Fontana Village where we picked up our mail drop. We called The Hike Inn where they picked us up and promised to take us into town to resupply and eat dinner. They are very nice and took good care of us, otherwise I don't know how we would have resupplied.
Date: 2004-02-24
From: The Hike Inn @ Fontana Dam

To: Spence Field Shelter (5*****)
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: light rain

I wanted to start by saying that 40% of thru-hikers drop out by Fontana Dam, so we are very proud of ourselves. The Hike Inn dropped us off early at the trailhead. Crossed over the dam and into the Smokies.We have been fearing the Smokies for quite some time now and we hear that lots of snow is to be dumped on us in the next few days. We're very worried. So today was a good day for hiking and we hiked to the first shelter.Then, we decided to hike to the next shelter and then once again to the next shelter. 17.8 miles today--Woohoo! Our goal is almost to get out of the Smokies. We have a shorter day tomorrow.
Date: 2004-02-25
From: Spence Field Shelter (5*****)

To: Double Springs Shelter (4****)
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

We packed a day's worth of extra food to prepare for the Smokies. It seems like we won't need it. You have to stay in the shelters here and most of the shelters are fenced up for prevention of bears.We were expecting snow all day, but got sunshine instead. We were above the clouds today, and it was outstanding. There is a lot of snow at the higher elevations, and we're at 5500'. We're staying at a shelter that we first stayed at when we started dating. Tomorrow's Clingman's Dome.
Date: 2004-02-26
From: Double Springs Shelter (4****)

To: Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: snow

Wow! What a crazy day. This had definitely been our toughest day yet. We awoke to snow-filled skies with a couple of inches on the ground already.Not only did we have to hike up Clingman's Dome-the highest point on the AT - we had to make it to Gatlinburg to resupply. As we approached Clingman's Dome on the ridge the wind was smacking us in the face and we were trudging through some snow that was 2 ft deep.There was a layer of ice under the snow - luckily we had our special traction shoes to help out. That didn't keep me from falling numerous times - needless to say I was very frustrated. At Newfound Gap we ran into some nice park rangers plowing the road who helped us out. The road had just opened and John, a cook from Asheville (College St. Bar&Grill) drove us to Gatlinburg out of the goodness of his own heart.We checked into the hotel and rushed to the PO to pick up my new sleeping bag. My original bag said it was a 0 degree bag, but didn't perform too well. Luckily, the nice folks at Campmor let me return my old one and they sent me a new one - Slumberjack Thunder 0 degree. It's the same bag that Pickle has - so we're twins now!PS- To: Rob GannonThis entry was written by Peanut, but we laughed a lot by your guestbook entry!We settled down to a meal of double cheeseburgers from McDonald's and got a good night's rest out of the snow.
Date: 2004-02-27
From: Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, TN

To: Peck's Corner Shelter (5*)
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up early to catch the all-you-can-eat buffet at Shoney's. I had 5 rounds! Then we packed up, laid around 'til 11am, and went to the KFC to stock up on calories. Then off to the Smokies again.Rode in the back of a pickup in freezing weather for 25 min while our noses were running off into the wind. I guess it beats walking. It was foggy in Gatlinburg, but on top of the mtn the sun was shining. We got to see great views of the Smoky Mountains.We were planning on just hiking 3 miles, but it was too nice out so we pushed on another 7 miles to the next shelter. The views today were spectacular.We stayed on the ridge that separates NC with TN so our left foot was in one state and our right foot in another. We were above the clouds and got to see views that even Ansel Adams would take pictures of.We had a good day. We're ready for the foot of snow to melt! My pants are frozen as we speak!
Date: 2004-02-28
From: Peck's Corner Shelter (5*)

To: Cosby Knob Shelter (5*)
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

It was very chilly last night - so we slept a little later in our warm sleeping bags.We bean our hike in the deep snow under a blue sky filled with sunshine. It's amazing how the sun can improve your mood. Luckily the snow started to as we approached Cosby Knob Shelter - Thank Goodness!We met two guys - Jim & John from Pennsylvania and Eric from Knoxville as well as our fellow thru-hiker pal Dan. It's nice to be in a full shelter tonight with a toasty fire in the fireplace. It's been a good day.
Date: 2004-02-29
From: Cosby Knob Shelter (5*)

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter (2*)
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night a section hiker came into the shelter and passed on the message that Mountain Mama's Kuntry Kitchen will be closed, our resupply. Right then another section hiker gave us a Backcountry Kitchen dehydrated food pack. This meant more than you could imagine to us! And this is a much nicer meal than Ramen Noodles, what we usually eat. Trail Magic is an amazing thing!Got up and was out of the shelter by 7am. Made it to the gap and called Standing Bear Hostel and they were open so we resupplied there. Such a relief!Ran into Stanimal, who started Jan. 27th. He has been lonely so he waited for people to catch up to him.The people at Standing Bear Hostel are awesome! It was hard to leave!Crossed a bald on the way to the shelter with views of other balds in the distance. We're hoping to hike onto them. It's been a long and productive day!