morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-23
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: moderate rain

I was one of the first ones up and out of the shelter (which would come to be a common occurrence). Everyone was standing around getting ready and I wanted to get out of that negative space so badly. Even though it was still raining a little bit and the trail was full of puddles, I was so happy to get fresh air and out of there.Dozer, joined me within a mile or two and Also expressed how about the night was and how he was having second thoughts. He is not technically a thru hiker, but will be going to Harpers Ferry which is about halfway. Which then joined two girls that had been the first to leave the shelter. They originally from Texas but actually now live not too far from Durham! I believe they are doing a long section as well. We got to the shelter pretty early, and stop for lunch but since it was bad weather again decided to stay the night.  The other young hikers from the first night - Banana Boy, Headbanger, and Amy, joined as well so we hung out for a while. I think everyone else from that shelter decided to stay again since it was have been so bad. There  was an ¢interesting¢ gentleman that was at Hawk Mountain when we got there doing a zero day (not going anywhere). He started snoring about 6pm even though we were all loudly talking and didn¢t stop until morning. About 6am Dozer was like Well, we might as well get up! So another early day. Really cemented our dislike for staying in shelters. Oh and I might have a trail name now¢¦  Half Full! Because when it was crappy weather I kept saying things like ¢beautiful day¢ like the glass is half full. We¢ll see if it sticks!
Date: 2018-04-24
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Dozer and I started together through gray and foggy weather. We had to cross a couple creeks that I think would normally be that bad because of all the rain were really high. I just walked through in my shoes, since they were soaked anyway but was glad I had my trekking poles for balance.  we stopped at the Gooch mountain shelter for lunch, and the two girls from North Carolina join shortly after. They were a few people that had stayed in the shelter print the previous night still waking up, so it was nice talking with them. Those are decided to press on ahead and not eat lunch, so once I I continued on my own and the craziest thing happened - Sun came out for about 10 minutes! Everyone cheered! I caught up to Dozer and  we reached Woody Gap. We had already gone 12 miles, and since it was still the first week didn¢t want to push too much further. One of the guys guides showed campsites there, but the only ones we saw were right by a major road and pretty exposed.  There was a guy that offered to take us to a town, but we didn¢t really want to stay in a hostile or end up somewhere random. We kind of stood around awkwardly debating what to do for a while, I think being dehydrated and hungry probably didn¢t help. Finally we decided to press on and just stop at the first good stuff camping site we saw. Not but 10 feet on the trail, there was a side trail to a small creek. There were a few spots good enough for stealth camping so we just decided to stop there. Stealth Camping means you set up in an area that has not been previously used and try to not leave a trace you¢ve been there. Unfortunately it was not the most level ground, and I decided to put my feet up words since that is good to do after hiking. Unfortunately, with the combination of the Therma rest sleeping pad, quilt,and my tent I kept sliding down. So another bad night. Headbanger, Banana Boy, and Fartender ended up at the same spot but just camped on that trail, since it was level and not official one.
Date: 2018-04-25
From: Woody Gap

To: Bull Gap
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The morning started foggy and rainy, but it cleared up later in the day. About 8 miles in, we hit blood mountain which was the steepest uphill yet. The view from the top was amazing and it had a cool stone shelter from the 1930s. We sat on a rock and had lunch, and in about 15 minutes there were five different groups of day hikers all up there. The views down were even more incredible. Since the trees haven¢t or leafed out yet, there are actually a lot more views than in the late spring/summer.The trail then crossed Neel Gap.  This is a well-known spot, because it is the first major highway the trail crosses so people that quit can get picked up there. It also crosses through a store/hostel called Mountain Crossings. They will give a free shakedown, Which basically means going through all your gear and telling you what to send home. People often leave there with bags 20 pounds lighter! They had a great hiker box, but when we got there the power was out and had to shop by headlamp. I needed to resupply food and also get a few gear items so I didn¢t do the shakedown but actually left with a higher pack weight! Still under 25 pounds for about 3 to 4 days of food so I¢m not worried. We actually spent a few hours there, and didn¢t want to spend the night in the hospital so he went on about a mile to a campsite.
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Bull Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

The beginning of the day wasn¢t very notable, I started alone and it was gray. I met up with a couple of hikers, Big Money and Wes.  Big money had actually already done harpers ferry to Katahdin so is now doing this half. Then it started to really downpour during some steep inclines and descents. Dozer And I rolled into the Lowgap shelter pretty early, but it seemed already full. The tent sites around there were flooded and it was really depressing to go on, so we weren¢t sure what to do.  But it turns out that not everyone there was staying so there was room for a couple more. Those are decided to press on and I just wasn¢t feeling it so I stayed there. I wasn¢t super excited for that as it was super crowded, but I just couldn¢t go back out in the rain. I was a little disappointed in myself, as I knew the weather was already a weakness for me and I would have to set up my tent in the rain at some point.  The other three came and eat lunch and also decided to press on that¢s none of them like shelters! There were two young guys that were really cool, one just ran the Boston Marathon and the other had never really liked in his life and with keeping up with him. They were doing like 15 to 20 mile pace already! I¢m not too worried though, trying to keep it slow early and can always increase. There were also a couple of cool people there, and a ridge runner which is either a volunteer or paid employee of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which manages the trail.Big surprise, I have a little room and couldn¢t sleep!
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

despite not the best night and being a little depressed about Not pushing myself to tent in the rain, I was up and out early. It was cold and foggy in the morning, but I decided not to put on warm clothes and push through it to go faster. I also took the rubber tips of my poles so got really good traction in the dirt.  The terrain was pretty flat, and I ended up passing both a group of three guys and dozer by 10am.  We all arrived at the Blue mountain shelter together which had great views and a lot of people packing up. Someone had even put out carrots and rehydrated hummus which was amazing to get ¢fresh¢ food.  The sun was finally out and it was beautiful views all day. Dozer rested at Unicoi Gap and I pressed on eating a beautiful lunch at top Rocky Mountain.  There must not have been more than one or two people that walk by in an hour. It¢s kind of funny too because since there are so few people out, I¢m starting to get to know everyone and will be surprise when I see a new face .  We ended up pushing all the way on to the tree mountain shelter which ended up being over 15 miles and three big up/downs for me. But to be honest I haven¢t felt sore yet. A little pain in my knees but that¢s it. Granted it¢s been less than a week, so there still lots of time and I will continue to take it relatively slow. The sunset on top of the tray was beautiful, as was the sunrise the next morning
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawassee Budget Inn
Miles today: 11.0

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise and started hiking alone. Met up with Fartender and Banana Boy for the rest of the way. We were only headed to Dicks Creek Gap to hitch a ride into Hiawassee. But those last few miles seemed to drag on. It had only been a week since real food and didn¢t have the hiker hunger yet, but still wanted something fresh. When we made it to the gap, we realized quickly hitching would not be very successful as it is around a blind curve with cars going 6mph. It was a popular place with a parking lot, so we figured eventually one of the cheap shuttle drivers would stop by. We started talking with a group of section hikers from Alabama and one of them was like ¢oh, towns only 10 miles away? We are waiting for the rest of our group, I can take you!¢ It was really the first ¢Trail magic¢ I experienced. Trail magic is basically when someone in the community does something really nice for a thru hiker. Usually it will involve handing out food on the trail, but since I¢m sort of later in the season haven¢t seen yet.Anyway, she dropped us off at the Budget motel where we all decided to get singles. It looked like crap from the outside so I didn¢t have high expectations, but wasn¢t bad. I still slept in my sleeping bag liner and wore shower shoes just in case!After checking in, I went to a beer/burger place next door where I met a couple of girls from Maryland who are also thru hikers. They were super cool couple who ended up being in the motel room next to me! And that now makes 3 female thru hikers I¢ve met out of 100!It was nice out and I was antsy, so decided to walk around the town (hadn¢t walked in a while!). It is not super hiker focused, more of a poor southern Appalachian town with some rich houses on a lake. But everyone was super nice. When I got back I hing up a bunch of stuff to dry out, did laundry, deep cleaned cook pot, etc. the fun chores. Since I didn¢t bring an extra change of clothes, I had to wear my jacket and rain skirt (yes what it sounds like) while doing laundry which was fun... Later all of us (the usual 4 other guys and now the female couple) went to the burger place again and I think closed the place down! To be honest I wasn¢t that hungry as had a late lunch and haven¢t been putting in big days yet.Spent the rest of the evening updating this blog/Facebook, which is not easy to do on a phone!
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Hiawassee Budget Inn

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

* note: photo actually from next dayI still woke up early of course because my body sucks. Made a run to Ingles (grocery store) where I realized I suck at shopping. Definitely got too much/stupid stuff. Fartender was like ¢it¢s not that hard, you count the miles to next resupply,figure out how many days, and get breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks for those days¢. But it is still hard for me, so overwhelmed. Maybe the smaller stores are better. None of us were ready for the motel¢s 11am shuttle to take us back to trailhead, so we called a private shuttle who was super nice. Turned it into an easy near-zero mile day, or ¢Nero¢ to camp at the next shelter. Headbanger and Banana Boy decided to stay an extra day and take a zero.Unfortunately, when we got there I realized I had left my filter on Banana Boy¢s room in town. That makes the following things I¢ve lost/left behind:- water filter-iPod Shuffle with headphones-collapsible spork that fits well I my potUgh. At least for the short termi can borrow others¢ filters until I can meet up with Banana at the NOC. Had a good campfire that night with some cool people - a couple from Maine with a dog, guy from Australia, etc
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter 

To: Standing Indian Mountain 
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: clear sky

The next section was interesting because I had done it before as a day hike. It is also notable because you cross the border into North Carolina! Georgia isn¢t a huge state, but it¢s nice to cross that off the list. There is just a small sign that is super easy to miss then a cool tree after that I didn¢t get a photo of. The otheir thing I didn¢t get a photo of was a side path called ¢chunky gal trail¢Stayed at a beautiful campsite around the summit of Standing Indian Mountain. The water source was a bit of a ways down, so I offered to fill their bags in exchange for letting me use filters. I took a blue blaze path that I thought it was the trail, and went down the mountain for about half a mile before giving up. After the long hot trek back in my warm sleeping clothes, I realize there were is another blue blaze trail that went right to water! I was done for the day...There were some other tents there, so we all hiked up to the actual summit and watched a beautiful sunset. We tried taking photos, but it was hard to capture how amazing it was¢¦ Probably that one of the best I¢ve ever seen. This southern Appalachians are nice because it is all national forest so you just see mountains for miles
Date: 2018-05-01
From: Standing Indian Mountain 

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

I mostly hiked with Dozer today as Fartender was way ahead. At one point we found a cool creek and soaked our feet.since the water was so cold it kind of shocked them.Overall my legs have been ok, but starting to get a bit of a nag in my right knee so may get a compression sleeve for it. Haven¢t gotten many blisters on my feet (knock on wood) either. There was a cool section hiker there that talk to us for a while. The first few days all of the older people were annoying, but the last few have met some really cool. Weird.At lunch we stopped at a shelter and I had to use the privy. Usually I just dig a cat hole but since it was there I used it. Privies are basically outhouses/composting toilets. When I was finishing up, I looked down and saw whoever was before me left the biggest s**t I have ever seen. Like I can¢t believe it was made by a human. I know our diet out here is weird but come on¢¦ Anyway, near the end of the day was Albert mountain, one of the steepest climbs yet but with a cool fire tower on top. There was a cool sign that show the different watersheds in the area and how they are being studied. We must have been up there in hour and so no one! Unfortunately the top of the fire tower is closed, but still a good view almost to the Smokies. Dozer Said he got a text that part of the trail is closed by Hot Springs due to wildfire. Apparently they shuttled thru hikers out.Camped at the Long Branch shelter, which is pretty new and kind of a random location on the side of a hill.  We didn¢t see any good 10 sites there so went way up to the top of the mountain but then learned there were ones just below . Oh well, give us some more space and an additional calf workout!I also hung my first bear bag PCT method without help... I¢ll get the hang of this shortly!
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Baltimore Jacks Hostel, Franklin NC
Miles today: 7.2

Started the day with Dozer and Fartender, the terrain was easy and we were booking it to get to town. When we got to Winding Stair Gap, Dozer¢s dad (who lives in Brevard about an hour away) has just pulled up. I think originally, dozer was just going to stay there a day and maybe even invite us, but his wife ended up coming and he was taking a few days off. His dad dropped us off in town(at a brewery of course) and we said bye. It¢s been great having Dozer as a hiking partner and will miss him. Hopefully can catch up later on.We were at Lazy Hiker brewery, which is pretty well-known on the trail. All of their beers are themed (I.e. slackpack IPA, Wesser evil porter). They had just opened for the day, so were talking a lot with the bartenders. We were hoping that had been started by through hikers, but unfortunately apparently owned by a bunch of corporate bigwigs. Oh well, I guess ignorance is bliss!Fartender¢s girlfriend was actually driving up to meet him, So I headed to the hostel on my own. It was actually owned by the same people as the budget hotel in Hiawassee, and as it was a cheap hostel I had low expectations. However, it wasn¢t bad at all. It was a 4 bunk room with a private bathroom and shower, and there was only one other guy in there.I didn¢t catch his name, but he was very nice.As soon as I walked in, they handed me a beer so mixed with the brewery earlier was feeling pretty happy :).  I walk to the local outfitter, which of course had a bar in the back. Then for some reason, I decided this would be a good time to go grocery shopping. There was actually a natural food store about a mile away, so I walked there and then a Mexican grocery, followed by Ingles. I only needed enough food for a few days to make it to the NOC, but ended up getting way too much food. Lesson learned: Don¢t go grocery shopping at multiple locations after a few beers while you¢re already hungry!I walked a while around their main St., Franklin is actually a really cool town. You could definitely see the difference between Hiawassee, which is a town that happens to be near the trail and Franklin which is super hiker friendly.I ended up getting dinner at the food truck next to the brewery, and ended up seeing people I knew that so of course had to join them. It was a good group, mostly people from the plumorchard shelter- couple from Maine with a dog, Torment and Wilson the Aussie, and an older mom from Boston.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Baltimore Jacks Hostel, Franklin NC

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Got up early of course, and realized I didn¢t have any quarters for laundry. So I went to the gas station around 6 AM and asked for four dollars in quarters¢¦ Got a lot of strange looks!Laundry only takes about an hour when you have such few clothes:). I also printed my backcountry permit for the smokies, which is basically good for 30 days so I have some flexibility.The shuttle back to the trailer wasn¢t even until 11, So I grabbed a big breakfast at roly-poly¢s restaurant. There are about four other guys on the shuttle, but were going to a different spot on the trail. The shuttle driver, Ron Havens, and is definitely a personality. He went from singing a Waylon Jennings song to talking about the local sheriff to I don¢t even know what!When I got off, there are a couple of other guys getting dropped off by a shuttle but they were super fast. So I spent the morning mostly by myself which was a new experience. Not but a mile after the gap, I saw my first snake! Luckily I don¢t think it was a rattler and scurried away quickly. I think that is the first wildlife I¢ve seen apart from birds, insects, and rodents. My pack was super heavy with all the food, but I still try to keep a good pace. The top of Siler bald was a nice meadow, and of course I did the quarter-mile extra uphill to the summit which probably wasn¢t worth it. I met a nice group from Florida that are doing a section hike and saw again a few times. Since I didn¢t have my water filter, I was using iodine tablets but I didn¢t  trust them because all they did was turn the water brown. Granted, it was from a spring so probably OK but I didn¢t wanna take my chances and probably got a little dehydrated. My plan was to stop after a few miles, but just kept on going. The top of Wayah Bald Was a paved parking lot you could drive to, and as soon as I got there a car pulled up and offered water, donuts, and Lazy Hiker beer. My first official trail magic, and it was delicious! They were a very nice couple from Arkansas, and the wife has done multiple sections of the trail even though she¢s in her seventies. There was a nice stone observation tower a talk with 360° views, I think I could see the Smokies. Camped at the Wayah bald shelter, the groups from the gap trailhead and Florida were there too but everyone went to bed early.  I think it was a bit of an older more serious crowd and didn¢t have a fire, which will probably happen more as I go on.
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

I left the shelter late (around 10), was one of the last ones out. One of the guys from the Florida group actually gave me his Sawyer mini, so I could filter water again! The morning I pretty much hiked alone, stopped at the Cold Spring shelter and met a cool mom and son with their dog. She is planning to through hike next year, starting at Harpers Ferry in the spring and doing a flip-flop so getting the best weather.I passed a group of about 15 older day hikers having lunch at an overlook, looked like they got bussed in from a senior center. I¢m glad most of them had stopped, because it was awkward passing the few stragglers. I saw the mom again later, and apparently she had accidentally knocked one over!Took a steep blue blazed side trail past a work crew up to Rocky Bald for lunch. It was buggy but beautiful and well worth the extra effort!At Wesser Bald, there was a cool observation tower where I saw the Florida group again.On the descent down to the Nantahala River, there is a rock called the ¢Jump off¢. It is pretty big jump down from it, and has a good view. Reminisced back on an amazing HIJ adventure here last year! The last few miles were rough as it was narrow, steep downhill, and my feet were getting bad blisters. I finally made it to the Rufus Morgan shelter, which is only a mile from the NOC, but I didn¢t really want to pay to stay somewhere so soon after Franklin. There was a nice spot by the creek and the shelter smelled like the privy, so I decided to tent. This would be my first time camping alone on this trip.After spending an hour and receiving countless thorn scratches, I successfully hung my bear bag line. I cooked, took care of chores and hung my bag. About an hour later, I realized I had a few wrappers inside my pocket plus my cook pot. I was NOT going to go all the way back to the bag for that in the dark. So I decided to take my chances and stuffed them in a tree away from me (sorry Ranger from orientation!) When I went to sleep, every time the leaves rustled or I heard a noise (remember I was next to a babbling brook so this was often) I would freak out.