morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-27
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

After a night of drizzling rain, I pulled out the umbrella again and headed out on the trail. I have a GoLite ChromeDome umbrella that weighs 8oz...it has a reflective coating on the outside for when it's sunny (very helpful because I'm pretty fair-skinned and burn easily) and it does a great job keeping the rain off of me so I don't need to wear my rain jacket, as long as the rain is coming straight down and not blowing in. Not needing to wear a rain jacket is advantageous because I don't get hot and sweaty with condensation. It's been working great and I have it hooked on in such a way that I can still use my trekking poles. I know I look like a dork when I use my umbrella, and I know some people are laughing at me...I ALSO know many hikers who are envious of it or who say I'm the smartest one out there...Anyway...It's because I use an umbrella that I have been told on more than one occasion, "You know what your trail name should be? ...Mary Poppins!!" So that, friends, is now my trail name. I didn't really like it at first but it's grown on me, especially when I say, in a deep Clint Eastwood voice (for kicks), "The name's Poppins...Mary Poppins!" Cracks me up every time. So I'm going by Poppins...And it seems like word is spreading about the girl who hikes with an umbrella...Nearly every time I introduce myself to someone, they say, "Oh, I've heard about you!" (Thankfully, in a very positive-sounding tone-of-voice...though I do wonder about my reputation on the trail!!! ;-) I gotta tell you, someone should write an ethnography about the AT (I majored in Anthropology in college). The trail culture is fascinating!Back to the trail...Rain...Cold...Wind...You get the picture...After a few hours of hiking we came across...guess what?! TRAIL MAGIC!! But not just ANY trail magic--Pancakes! Sausage! Pineapple! Bananas! Hot Chocolate! What more could you want on a drizzly day?! Two scout leaders were cooking it up for us and I don't know that we could've been more grateful. I mean, does trail magic get any better that this? Doubtful!Stayed in a shelter for the first time tonight...There were 6 of us and EVERYBODY was snoring, including Eddie the dog (and even, apparently, myself--I think I was congested)...But with ear plugs it's not so bad...It was just really, really nice to have a dry place to sleep.
Date: 2013-04-28
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

According to some weather report for a nearby town, we received a record rainfall today (1.3"). And yet Weatherman and I still walked nearly 9 miles! It doesn't sound like fun, but I would rather do that than sit around a shelter for a whole day (which would make me very stiff, not to mention bored!).After my feet initially got wet I just started walking straight through the rivers and cascades of water filling the trail and it wasn't all that bad. Luckily the trail wasn't very steep, except for going up Albert Mountain (couldn't see a thing from the top), and we made good timing, getting into Long Branch Shelter around 2pm. Long Branch is a brand new shelter, probably just finished a month ago, if that. It's a *beautiful* timber-framed building with two sleeping platforms. After a hot lunch, I took a nice nap and hung out, snug in my quilt until dinner and then bedtime. I'm hoping to bump up the miles soon...I feel really strong except for my knee...I still have to stretch often and I'm on an ibuprofen regimen. But we'll see.
Date: 2013-04-29
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a beautiful morning hiking in the sunshine after the last two days of rain. Good conversations, nice contoured trail (not so many ups and downs like in Georgia...NC is much better in that respect!), nothing strenuous.When we got to the road where Weatherman hid the stash, he drew me a map and I went and found it! I love challenges like that. Hung out on the road there for an hour drying out our gear and hanging out with some other hikers, among which were the Israelis I'd heard about, Avi and Yoshi, who spent time in the Israeli military together. Fun guys. They brought hotdogs (hebrew national), buns and ketchup to the shelter so we got to enjoy some "real" food cooked over a fire. I'm feeling really discouraged about my knee. But on the flip-side, it seems every other hiker (literally) has a knee problem, probably from the damned up and down trail in Georgia, and that actually makes me feel better. I made a call to a friend of a friend who I was planning on staying with when I get to the NOC at mile 137 to get her to schedule me for another massage. I am not about to give up--I'm not ready to go home!!--and I need to hold on to hope that this too shall pass. Weatherman says he doesn't believe we should pray for ourselves, but I still do because I know my Father hears me when I pray and so I'm going to keep bugging him about this!! And I also recognize that no one is holding a gun to my head and forcing me down the trail, so I am willing to put up with this, even if I have to deal with it all the way to Maine. Trying hard not to complain. As they say, "No pain, no rain, no Maine!" :-)
Date: 2013-04-30
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite at mile 128
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was another good, long day. I started getting blisters on my feet for the first time, which is not too bad actually, considering I've been on the trail 2 weeks today. I'm loving wearing trail runners--Brooks Cascadia 7. Great shoes. I don't think I'll ever go back to hiking boots again. Oh, you know, I keep forgetting to mention my pack weight. It's the topic of too many conversations, really, but it's important. When I weighed my pack at Amicalola at the beginning of the trip, it weighed 30 lbs, 8 lbs of food and 1 liter of water included, with a base weight of about 20 lbs. Not too bad, but not as good as I had hoped for. Now it probably weighs more since I've added some more vitamins (magnesium and borage oil), castor oil for massaging my leg (at the recommendation of the MT last week), and more food. Maybe one day I'll fill in the "Gear" section of my TJ page but I don't have time for that right now. My pack feels really comfortable--I'm using my old Dana Design, and trying to get my money's worth as it cost me a fortune back in '05. I trimmed the pack itself down to 5 lbs 7 ounces by taking of the pack lid and cutting off the excess webbing and materials. It fits me like a glove and I'm soooo glad I'm using it, not the GoLite Jam I bought earlier.Weatherman and I didn't want to stay at Cold Spring shelter because there were dead mice and--more importantly--black flies biting so we moved on a few more miles to a campsite just off the trail that wasn't very flat. Yoshi and Avi joined us...they are so funny. After all that time in the military together they really do act like a married couple, yelling at each other in Hebrew.
Date: 2013-05-01
From: Stealth Campsite at mile 128

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC)
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked alone for the first glorious hour on a beautiful morning---left camp at 7:30 (I'm generally very slow getting out of camp so this is a record for me!) with burgers and beer calling me down the trail. The trail was a lot of downhill :-( But it was worth it to get to the NOC, which is a huge complex that offers whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Nantahala River ("Nanta HEY! la" as it's pronounced--I can't seem to pronounce anything correctly around here..I can do the Ojibwe back home but the Cherokee words here are pronounced differently). Apparently it was where they did the kayaking during the Atlanta Olympics. But we were there for the food :-) I met up with Alana and others whom I hadn't seen in a few days. It's getting to be a bit of a family here on the trail. People watch out for each other and most folks really seem to care about how you are doing especially if they know you've been struggling with pain or some other problems. Weatherman took Alana and me out for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river. Had a *delicious* half-pound cheeseburger, onion rings, salad and a brownie sundae. Gail came and picked me up and took me to my massage....Oh my goodness, it was the best massage EVER. That MT has a real gift. She is super strong, a former rock climber, and she didn't mind my BO and dirt, haha. She bent my body in ways I didn't know were possible. She taught me how to "strip" my muscles (massage them so the old blood gets flushed out) using my elbow. I think that will help. I might have to get a massage whenever I go into town...This might become an expensive habit. But whatever it takes, right???Gail took me back to her house and we had a late supper and I got my shower. Staying with her and her family is a real gift. Thanks, Gail! You rock! And what your husband told me about snakes in the area just might save my life! :-)
Date: 2013-05-02
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC)

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Gail's husband was kind enough to wait for me to go on a resupply shopping trip at Walmart before dropping me off at the NOC again. After going through my pack and making sure I had enough food for the next 7 days, Weatherman and I had lunch...mmm BBQ. He was going to take a zero day because of a muscle problem in his leg, but I wanted to get a bit of a head start so that I wouldn't feel rushed getting to Fontana Dam, so I said goodbye and took off, sad to not have my hiking partner with me. After 6 long, tiring uphill miles, I made it to Sassafras Gap. Paisley (Break) and her dog Eyre were there, new friends from the last week, which was nice. It was late when I arrived, I didn't feel like putting up the tarp, and it was cold out, so I stayed in the shelter again. I had a footlong sub for dinner (packing in a fresh meal is THE way to eat the first night on the trail, IMHO). Met some nice folks there, but still felt a bit like a ship lost at sea to not be hiking with familiar friends of the last two weeks.In the evening I checked my phone and found a very kind text message from Weatherman telling me he was pulling off the trail and going home, and how much he enjoyed hiking with me...and it nearly made me cry. Those who have never gone on any backpacking trips might not understand how quickly you can bond with complete strangers while on the trail, but those of you who backpack know what I'm talking about. I had a feeling he wouldn't keep hiking, and I was right. I felt bad, thinking I should've stayed back and waited for him. But as he said, this was just the first chapter of many that I will experience on my thru-hike....but I just don't think I'll meet a kinder, funnier, more generous person to hike with. I miss you!He left me a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that I want to share with y'all:"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who pints out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Weatherman said I should be proud because I'm in the arena.
Date: 2013-05-03
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I cried today because I missed hiking with Weatherman...I didn't quite realize how much his joking, good-natured bantering and having someone to talk to encouraged me until it was gone. Alana is 9 miles ahead and I probably can't catch up to her. I guess I'm on my own now...maybe that's the way it's meant to be for now?My knee was doing so well after that massage, but then as I was climbing up the mountains today it started collapsing a few times when I put weight on it, so I cut my day short and only did 9.1 to the shelter--also because it was supposed to really storm a lot at night so I wanted to sleep in a shelter instead of under the tarp. I was offered some pot tonight but politely declined, thanking them for offering :-) Met another lady hiker my age named Piper who has the most amazing light-blue eyes.
Date: 2013-05-04
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam 
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today went well though I think I might have pushed myself too much on the downhill into Fontana Dam, which is on the southern border to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I had to stop and stretch and massage my leg at times.I have failed to mention much about the forests that I've hiked through on this trip, but it's been a significant part of my experience. In Georgia and the first week or so in North Carolina, the forest looked "dead", very much still in it's winter state, with very little green at all, especially in higher elevations. Some flowers, but not many. It was quite nice to have some great views not blocked by thick foliage! In lower elevations we could see some flowers blooming and even some ramps (wild onions) popping up. As spring has pushed into the mountains, some of the trees have budded and more plants have sprouted up out of the forest floor. Every day it seems a bit more "alive".I saw a coyote today! And I had my first fall :-)When I hiked down into Fontana Dam today, it was noticeably green, lush, beautiful. I was shocked by the vibrancy of the color. It speaks a lot to the humidity and moisture of the Smokies, which I was about to enter. It got me excited!When I got to the shelter I realized why it was supposed to be such a great shelter! It is twice the size of a normal shelter, and it has a shower house!! The shelter was pretty full, I assume because of the rain. Saw some familiar faces- Bunny, Ron Burgundy, Bill38, and Slo-go'en (who I met the first night at Springer Shelter) were all there. Met some new hikers, like a couple named Honey and Mooner (on their honeymoon) and some people I hadn't seen in quite a while, including a lot of the guys I had met at Muskrat Creek Shelter, such as Mad Dog and Beamer. Found out that the weather in the Smokies was supposed to be very cold (freezing) and rainy the next day and that most people at the shelter were planning on doing a zero there. I might be tempted to stay if I can go get a nice hot breakfast!
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Fontana Dam 

To: Fontana Dam 
Miles today: 0.0

In the morning I woke up realizing I had my period for the second time in three weeks on the trail and that sealed the deal: I was taking a zero. I hate to bring up menstrual cycles on here, but let's all face the facts, boys and girls, its a part of life, get over it! (end of rant) That, and I found out there was an All You Can Eat (AYCE) breakfast buffet at the lodge, which I didn't want to miss.After the huge breakfast, we all lounged around the (gas) fireplace in the lodge and I iced my knee. Met some nice middle-aged hikers, a couple from South Africa named Ian and Leslie and a lady named "SIS" (Sliding in Sideways). It was a pretty restful day, all of us hanging out at the shelter. A lady named Chaos made me a hot water Platypus which helped my cramps. Met a mom and three of her children (LOL, Tutu and High-5) that go by the collective name "Crowd Control" who are hiking 200 days on the AT this year...Just goes to show people that hiking with children CAN be done, though I'm sure it's not easy :-)
Date: 2013-05-06
From: Fontana Dam 

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

Maw, my trail mentor, said to pray for sun but expect rain in the Smokies. So I was surprised that it wasn't raining when I woke up and even more surprised when the sun burst through the clouds while I was eating breakfast! So I had some delightful sunshine as I crossed Fontana Dam and started my hike into the Smokies. Yes!I have a cough/throat irritation that has been bothering me, wondering if I'm coming down with something. The weather turned overcast and cloudy by mid morning...Very cold. Hiked with Beamer and Piper for a while...Russell Field Shelter was pretty cold...Met a group of older men who were section hikers who turned out to be Methodist pastors from Ohio. Nice guys who put up with us and the hiker vulgarities (most hikers are quite vulgar) quite well. Without even trying, I somehow managed to "yogi" some chocolate which I had been craving from one of them!! I met two guys named Rooster and Fat Man Walking (yes, that's the trail name he picked for himself, though I prefer to call him Tom, his real name, when speaking to him).
Date: 2013-05-07
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Today was my longest day yet, both in terms of miles and hours. Felt winded more, possibly due to the higher elevation (over 5,000 ft). I hiked with SIS, Beamer, and two guys named Paul and Jason, but mostly I hiked alone. I struggle to know what to think about while I'm hiking. I wanted to have a thought for the day or something to meditate on while hiking but that's been lacking---so if anyone wants to help me out, send me a text or message with a scripture or a quote or something, that would be great!Been seeing lots of wildflowers that I recognize from home...Dutchmen's Britches, Trout Lily, Trillium...and SIS has been teaching me some new ones like Bluets. Been hiking through some Balds too which are grassy hilltops with some trees taking over.Ian and Leslie, the South African couple I met at Fontana Lodge, showed up at the shelter. Their trail names are Springbok and Kitty because they have hats with those animal faces on them, cute huh?! However, they seem to be going by their first names. Real nice couple.
Date: 2013-05-08
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to mist and rain today and it never left, but what can you expect? It's called the Smokies for a reason! It was a nice, fairly gradual, climb up to Clingman's Dome (highest point on the AT) but it was so overcast I didn't bother going up the (hideous, IMHO) tower. I did, however, go to the visitor center to get some chocolate!! Most of the people I've been hiking with went into Gatlinburg, which turned out to be a good thing, because by the time Piper, SIS and I made it to the shelter, it was PACKED--17 people! A fire was going which made it feel a bit warmer but it was quite cold up there. The throat irritation I had earlier has turned out to be a full-on cold, which isn't helped by the damp weather, I'm sure. The coughing and congestion has not been fun and I feel bad coughing in the shelter at night.
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tricorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: few clouds

The sun came out today! Made some good time, 8 miles by 12:15 so I took a more leisurely approach in the afternoon, stopping to sit on a log and read and be still for a while, which was something I hadn't done before on this trip but had intended to do...It was not something I did while I hiked with Weatherman and it's hard to find quiet in the shelters at the end of the day, so I think while I hike alone I will do this more.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Tricorner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: few clouds

Good Lord! I can't believe I hiked this far--especially with the miles of downhills coming out of the Smokies. But today was actually the most beautiful day in the Smokies so far, sunny and not so cold. Piper and I hiked some in the morning and we discovered that we both have worked at Signal Mountain Lodge in the Tetons! Crazy. I was planning on hiking 14.8 miles. After about 6 (painful) downhill miles, I got to Davenport Gap Shelter and Rooster and Fat Man Walking were there. They told me that Piper had pushed on to Standing Bear Farm Hostel, which was only 3.5 miles down the trail, and that's what they were planning on doing also. They didn't like the shelter, and neither did I, because it had this chain link fence covering the front, and while I wanted to push on, I was in a lot of pain and didn't think I could do any more miles. They convinced me to stop and rest and stretch for a bit, and after that we hiked on to the hostel...and it was worth it! This place is so quaint and cute...and it has hot pizza, cold beer, and showers! And HARRY is HERE!!!! (remember the 87 year old German I met on day 2?) I haven't seen him in a while. So awesome! I gave him a big hug!
Date: 2013-05-11
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was a challenging day (not sure if it was the pizza I ate last night or what) but had one highlight: Max Patch...And I got to be there with Harry! Max is a HUGE bald that is truly bald. It makes me think of the part in the Sound of Music where Maria is dancing and singing in that grassy field...."the hills are alive..." We could see the Smokies off in the distance. Beautiful.Let me just say, for the record, that I am tired of dealing with snorers! In the Smokies we had to stay in the shelters and every night this past week there has been a big snorer in the shelter. Wearing earplugs actually is starting to make my ears hurt. And even at the hostel I seemed to be surrounded by snorers. I'm looking forward to my tent again. But tonight at Roaring Fork it was QUIET. Ahhh.Tonight Harry told us some stories of his lifetime of adventures...In WWII, as a 17 year old, he was a runner doing repairs on the telephone lines and got hit with shrapnel 4 times, from the age of 14 he's climbed mountains all over the world, including Europe and Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has been to the Philippines and the Galapagos. He's amazing. Someone should interview him...someone who speaks German.
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

The morning was overcast as I hiked with Mad Dog...but in the afternoon it was so beautiful...one of the most beautiful afternoons of hiking on the whole trip so far, cool but so sunny! I called my mom on the top of Bluff Mountain because it was Mother's Day and then had a lovely hike down and hiked some with a guy named Spooky who sorta reminds me of Weatherman. Saw Harry at the end who said he decided to push on the last three miles into Hot Springs so he could have a beer :-) Yep, he's German alright! I slept under beautiful skies in my tarp and dreamed all night about food!