morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-24
From: Newfound Gap

To: PeckÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Corner Shelter 
Miles today: 11.25

Good news! Only 1,972 miles to go to Maine!I dressed this morning and my clothes were clean and smelled so fresh after a day off for laundry and stuff. Within hours I was hiking in the cold rain again only this time there was no hard driving wind like there usually is up here in the Smoky¢s. There were plenty of clouds to block out what my guide book says are some incredible views worthy of photos and certainly worthy of wonder.Today I managed 11.25 miles in the steady rain and tonight I¢m in the shelter so I don¢t have to da with a wet tent in the morning. There is also no fire in the shelter tonight because all the wood in the Smoky Mountains is wet. ALL OF IT! Which basically means that everybody¢s wet clothing will be wet in the morning and there is nothing worse than putting on cold wet clothes from yesterday and hiking all day in another rainstorm. Yes, it¢s going to rain again tomorrow too. In fact, rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.More news from the middle of the night creature encounter from this last weekend...my friend Brad Googled black bear sounds and they matched what I heard. I also reported the incident to an AT ridge runner and she confirmed the sound as a bear just passing through doing bear stuff.
Date: 2018-04-25
From: PeckÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Corner Shelter 

To: Tri-Corner Shelter 
Miles today: 5.7

Today¢s rain was a continuation of yesterday¢s and last night¢s, it has not let up!  I¢m in a shelter again tonight with pretty much the same group as last night. We went just over 5 miles to make it here on trails that flowed with 2-3¢ of water in some places. The next Shelter is another 8 miles up the trail and will likely have as many as 30 people vying for a spot given that that¢s how many were at this shelter last night. It¢s 3 in the afternoon and everybody is tucked into their sleeping bags trying to get warm.  Although it¢s easy to complain about the weather, it is what it¢s supposed to be and who am I to judge it ¢bad¢? But I can say it¢s uncomfortable, REALLY uncomfortable. The attached photo was taken from a ridge that is supposed to be a spectacular view, and I¢m sure it is. Whatever is out there.
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Cosby Knob Shelter 

To: Davenport Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 7.2

Rumors and news travel up and down the trail at the speeds of the slowest and fastest hikers. Today I heard that at one point during the week, access to the AT in the Smoky¢s was closed due to all the rain. There were even reports of mudslides. Those of us already on the trail just kept moving along, blissfully ignorant.I woke up this morning to the same old noise, rain on the tin roof of the shelter, but at least it¢s a bit warmer. The forecast called for the rain to end today, around 1:00 this afternoon at the elevation where I awoke and 10:00 am down lower. I went lower.  It was still a trying hike as the run off of the rain continued to flood the trail making it like walking in a moving stream and the fog was still thick. Again, many of the promised views were obstructed by fog. Further, I stepped on a root in the trail, as I often do, slipped and face planted in a big pile of wet moss and dirt. I was so fortunate that there was no big rock or tree or root there that line so much of the trail.Well finally as I strolled downhill to Mt. Cammerer, the sun came out! And by 11:30 Moon Pie and dropped our packs at an amazing overlook and took the sun, the view and a snack! It was a great break and made the rest of the days hike much more enjoyable. It should be noted that that the trail conditions didn¢t really improve and I left my rain cover on my pack just in case.I pulled into Davenport Shelter around 1:30. This shelter had a fence from ground to ceiling across the the open side of the structure. Of course there was a gate that could be latched and even locked if someone had an evil thought...someone other than me. Apparently all shelters had these fences at one time but people would lock themselves in and leave food outside to attract bear and snap close up pictures. Why this one still has the fence, I¢m not sure.Finally, tonight the same Trail angel that picked us up at Newfound Gap and carted us around six days ago, hiked just over a mile uphill with a girlfriend, to bring those of us staying at the shelter that night, trail magic! They prepared hamburgers, veggie burgers, two HUGE tossed salads, fruit, chips, deserts, soft drinks, beers and condiments. In all, 14 people were fed at the expense of these kind ladies and then they carried all the trash out for us. Normally Trail magic occurs only where the trail may cross a road, like in a Gap. But in all my weeks of long distance hiking, I¢ve never seen the magic come to a shelter.  We all retired satisfied that night. And as we¢re about to exit the Smoky Mountains tomorrow morning, no one could have asked for a more perfect way to end the wettest, coldest, most difficult hiking weeks ever. And that¢s not just my opinion, but that of everyone that spent the last several days on this trail.God bless trail angels.
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Davenport Gap Shelter 

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 3.8

I¢m finally out of the Smoky Mountains National Park, though technically still in the Smoky¢s.Four miles brought me to a popular hostel known as Standing Bear Farm. There¢s a bunkhouse, a tree house and a couple of cottages. I chose to share a cottage with a gent from Australia whom I met previously named All Good. It seems that has been his term of choice, hence, his name. My plan is to stay over night, do laundry, dry out and post new journals to satisfy my dozens of fans. Too bad, there is no internet here so posting will have to wait until Hot Springs, NC.Standing Bear is a great idea. Along with the previously mentioned amenities, they offer a kitchen, a small store, showers and laundry; though it requires a washboard. It¢s set well off the beaten path on a lovely stream and while there are plenty of people about, it has a ¢stereotypical¢ deep south feeling about it that includes strong southern accents, a big four wheel drive truck on jacks right out by the front drive a broken down washing machine/flower pot and the remnants of a still. There¢s even talk amoungst the guests of a nearby moonshiner and a feral child that runs the property. Beer flows freely for a price from 8am to 9pm and the smell of ¢alternate tobacco¢ is present from time to time as well.  With all that said, the staff is very accommodating and offers willing hikers ¢Work for stay¢ opportunities and several young people I¢ve met have taken advantage of it. My clothes are clean, though I still smell, I¢m comfortable in my bed and ready for a good night sleep.BTW, my hiking crew are comfortable in a real house somewhere eating real food, doing laundry the modern way, sleeping in the beds of the children who live in that house. We will reconnect on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 7.8

I was and ready to go by 830 but for some reason I waited around until 1030. I sat out by the fire pit and talked with some of the people that were too drunk to deal with the night before. But a couple were well on their way to another drunken day by the time I left. That¢s sad, to me anyway but everybody is out here to hike their own hike. A handful of these guys have been here for 3 or 4 days doing the same thing.So today was the first full day out of the Smoky Mountains Park and it welcomed me with a 2,500¢ climb right out of the gate. I¢m not sure where the Smokys technically end, but being out of the park basically means that we hikers are no longer required to first fill up the shelters and can pitch our tents at stealth sites along the trail. On the way I was greeted by two good ol¢ boys doling out Trail magic at the top of Snowbird Mountain. While this is always welcome, it sometimes takes the wind out of my sails for hiking... I¢m like a baby and get distracted too easily. But i got back on track and went on to the Groundhog Shelter since that¢s where I agreed to meet up with my crew again. I arrived several hours before they did so was already settled into my site and preparing dinner. There were also a few new people on hand that lended some nice conversation...¢Decade¢, a lawyer from NJ and his partner ¢Rogue¢ a CPA from Seattle. Three years ago Decade said he would do a thru hike in 10 years and Rogue has black hair with a white stripe right in front like Rogue from the X-Men. ¢Wayward¢ made it through the Smoky¢s in three days, he¢s a marathoner in real life and ¢No Chill¢ just another youngster that eats junk, moves fast and is enjoying his time out here.The moon is full tonight, or nearly and the woodland creatures are out making some pretty loud racket, especially the owls that have scared the daylights out of me from a tree above my tent. But I also think I hear lunatic hikers out there hiking by the moonlight and headlamps doing their own bit of howling.
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter 

To: Max Patch Bald
Miles today: 6.6

Today I landed at the summit of Max Patch Bald, just over 4,600¢ up. A ¢bald¢ is a mountain top cleared of trees and such and was intended for cattle grazing years ago. The Bald is now a popular place for hikers to camp and locals to come and watch the sun rise and set. When I arrived, hikers were told about a portion of the trail 14 miles ahead closed due to a fire at or near one of the shelters. A few hikers went on tonight, some hitched rides into Hot Springs with locals after the sunset, but most pitched camp and enjoyed the displays of creation with a sunset and moonrise on absolutely cloudless night. The temps are expected to dip a bit and the wind kicked up as well when the sun retired. Right now, the moon is so bright it¢s like sleeping in a lit parking lot.Back to the fire, information is sketchy due to the lack of internet and phone signals. But every once in a while some will get through. But at this stage, it¢s bad. I will say that there was no sign of smoke or fire glowing on the adjacent mountain sides tonight, so that¢s good. There are probably 70 campers on the Bald for the night with NO fires, as no fires are permitted.
Date: 2018-05-01
To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0

By noon today the Bald was empty except for my crew and a half dozen day hikers. Pretty much everyone caught a ride into town. Parts of the trail had reopened up to the gap just before the fire, so some hiked another 14 miles to get a ride. Our plan was to spend another night up top and do two 7 miles days hoping the trail would open the final 7 by the time we got there. Text messages from my brother in law the Mayor, stated differently and the trail would not likely be open this week.Half way through the day the sun was beating down and there was no protection in the way of a tree or other natural cover and sitting in my tent was just too hot. I was feeling a little poorly, not to mention bored, so I started looking for a way off this bald. Before I started my search, I noticed a group of 9 senior citizens sporting small back packs out for a day hike. I approached the youngest member simply for the name of the main road at the end of the eight mile dirt road that lead to this place. Of course she didn¢t know but introduced me to the leader and driver of the van, claireece. I was doing my best to keep my inquiry hushed so as not to get the entire group of seniors involved, but that didn¢t work. If I were a more talented writer, I could turn this into some sort of sit-com dialogue as it just got more people involved with questions about me, how I got here in the first place, why my car was in Michigan and what kind of mother would name her son Lorax. At one point two women were discussing that if I was really a hiker, then I would smell! ¢Why don¢t you smell?¢ The other said I do smell, but I smell like coconut. In the end, the driver offered me a ride into Hot Springs after they finished there lunches. What I don¢t know know until we were on our way down the hill to the parking lot, was the argument that took place in my absence about not wanting to give a potential ¢axe murderer¢ a ride into town. Two and a half hours later and multiple opinions on the correct directions back to town, I was dropped off at the visitors center in downtown Hot Springs and all of the seniors were released unharmed an fully intact.The rest of the day was rather uneventful other than talking with Cathy for a good hour. I¢m not feeling all that great, a little nauseous, tired and chilled but I hoping a good nights sleep in a warm comfortable bed will be just what I need.The fire is still going with no certain timing for reopening the trail. I believe my best option is to indeed skip (for now) the burned potion of the trail and continue north from here and come back some time to finish up this 20 miles.
Date: 2018-05-02
To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve got something. I¢m still chilled, nauseous, tired and now congested in my throat and chest. I pretty much slept all day and don¢t feel like I¢ll have too much trouble sleeping tonight either. I did make it to the post office for a package from home, but that was the extent of my ventures outdoors. I¢ve got to get over whatever this is quick and get back to business. Plus, there¢s a music festival here this weekend and there¢s not a room to be rented within miles of here.The fires still going but apparently under control. No word on damage or cause yet, but with back burning and all, it¢s expected that burned acreage will be around 100.
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 10.5

I received several texts and emails concerned for my well being because my last journal entry left me feeling poorly and you as the reader, unsure if I pulled through or not.  Well I did.After talking things over with my bride, it was determined that I should take another day off and stay in Hot Springs and and to the recovery. Hot Springs today is pretty much the same as it was yesterday and probably the day before; hikers coming and going, eating and drinking, restocking food supplies and upgrading equipment at the local outfitters. Leaving town to the north and arriving from the south, but now those arrivals are still coming compliments of the locals shuttling the hikers in. Still now word as to when the trail will reopen due to the fire.I left town today at 10:00am. The climb out of Hot Springs hot, rocky and rapid but the view of the town was colorful and quite quaint. It took about an hour or so but I caught up ¢Orion¢ sitting in a Hemlock growth eating a Hostess pie, Pringles and sipping tea. After joining him for a break of my own, we continued the balance of our day and finished 11 miles out at Springwater Mountain Shelter. The end of the day couldn¢t have come sooner as I was totally spent and apparently still in need of some rest.
Date: 2018-05-05
From: Spring Mountain Shelter 

To: Hemlock Hollow Hostel
Miles today: 5.5

Well happy Cinco de Mayo! But just another day out here. The sun came up in a clear sky this morning after a quiet night with what¢s left of a full moon. I will say that that moon was still bright enough illuminate a blanketed hillside of white and pink Trilliums.Quickly the sky grew overcast with clouds of an expected rainstorm. Orion and I managed 6 of a planned 9 miles when we came upon a hostel just up the road a piece. Thirsty for a cold drink and lunch, we made our way. No sooner had we taken seats on the the large wooden porch overlooking a fast moving stream, the weather finally broke loose with a fury of thunder, lightning, rain, hail and winds. That made our decision easy to hunker down here for the night. The storm lasted for hours and one by one, drenched hikers made their way down the country mud road and joined us for the night. It finally quit raining around 7 and I¢m warm and dry on the bottom bunk with 10 others watching a Star Wars movie.More rain expected tomorrow and for most of the week...but at least it¢s no longer bone chillingly cold.
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Hemlock Hollow Hostel

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter 
Miles today: 10.5

The Hemlock Hollow Hostel is the nicest hostel at which I¢ve stayed so far. This hostel is far enough along the way that only committed hikers are checking in here. Others hostels earlier on in the hike, still may have people that aren¢t committed to the hike and are still feeling out the trail and might have a ¢party¢ attitude yet. In addition, the hosts are a married couple new to the business and go the extra hard to see that their guests are happy.Thunder, lighting and rain most of the night, right up until the time I left the bunkhouse. But when I hit the trail, it was nothing but rain and fog. The first 3.5 miles were up and wet. I stopped at the first shelter for a bite and to restock water. The shelter was packed with 12 other wet and cold hikers doing the same as me. And after half an hour, I was back at it.The day went on without incident and at one point around 2:00pm, I called my wife visiting her sister in Dallas and had a chance to FaceTime a good portion of her sisters family...sorry Chris and Alisha, Jay and Cammeron. It so happened that it had just stopped raining and I was on a pretty tricky rock climb, so they may have seen what I was up to at that moment. Within an hour of that call the sun broke through and the climbing got even rockier and more intense. The views were some of the absolute best that I¢ve seen yet; 360 degrees of tree covered mountains, patchy with varied brightness due to the scattered clouds. And when I finally got down off that ridge, I crossed the 300 mile mark on the Appalachian Trail!It was a good day on the trail with the weather turning in my favor, the views and the next milestone, just about 10.5 miles and now I¢m cozy in my tent listening to the winds rustling the new leaves of the trees surrounding my camp.
Date: 2018-05-07
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter 

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It was hard getting out of the gate this morning, nice sun rise, the promise of a great day, but I just couldn¢t get it in gear. So I was second to last out of camp and in no real hurry. Again, a good amount of rocky up hill but I was rewarded with more wonderful views. In fact at one point, Big Butt Mountain, I ended up leaving my pack on the trail¢s edge and climbing 30¢ with only water a protein bar. I spent the next 45 minutes enjoying the sun and my snacks. That break was followed up with 2 or 3 other breaks over the next few hours. My 7 mile hike ended up taking about 6 hours, a long day and short distance, but a good day.
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

I was out of the gate early this morning, by my standards anyway, 830am. I chose to listen to some tunes and selected The Glen Miller Orchestra...that really helped me establish a tempo. It¢s important that I be able to hear things around me like a bear or more likely, a rattle snake that may be laying in the middle of the trail sunning itself; there have been several sightings so far this this year.So while the day started out well it certainly slowed down, more big climbs; that basically means several hundred over a short distance. And while these altitudes may not seem too great to some of you, they¢re pretty high for me (I live at about 600¢) and I¢m having a difficult time getting my ¢mountain lungs¢.I rolled into the shelter today around 4pm, I was the second here so I wanted to secure a spot in the shelter. Since then several others have shown up, only two of which I know. This new group, like many other groups, has a couple of blowhards that must make known their opinions, on any subject, and will use any type of language necessary to get their point across. This truly is one of the low points of being out here, the language.So rain is expected tomorrow again and I¢d like to get out of here early and I don¢t need to carry a wet tent. My plan is to do 11 mile days Wednesday and Thursday then a 6 mile day on Friday. I¢ll take Saturday off for laundry and such.Please folks, if you¢re reading these journals, I would love to hear from you. I understand it seems like you¢re signing up for something because it requires you to register, well you¢re not. And though I may not respond to your comment, I love knowing that you¢re out there and supporting me. Huge thanks to those that continue to visit and comment.
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 10.6

It was a nice day right out of the gate. Started early, 845am, and started my daily climb. The fact that the shelter was still had the blowhards in it, motivated me to get out. Several passed me because they¢re ¢professional hikers¢ and now I¢ll never have to see or listen to them again. Of course every bubble of hikers has one or two of these people.The target of the day was to get to the top of Big Bald at 5516¢. The hike was quiet and uneventful but took me through what I was calling the Dead Forest. The entire climb was through a grassy field with large boulders, more toward the top, and thousands upon thousands of dead trees standing, leaning and laying, all in various stages of decay. If the day were dark, foggy and overcast, this would have made the perfect setting for a movie shoot. The top of the Bald provided 360 degrees of spectacular views and it¢s always interesting to try and figure out from which direction I came. I had considered spending the night on the Bald but arrived so early in the day I decided to push on a bit further and make my next couple of days a little shorter.So I¢m at the Big Bald Shelter with some young people that I¢ve met in the past. A total 7 people and two dogs. Dogs are nice to have on site as they tend to alert people and deter bear from hanging around. This shelter was situated in the middle of the Dead Forest, though on the other side of the mountain, so it was pretty creepy once the sun went down.