morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-20
From: Hot Springs

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 314/20/03 Sunday14.7 Miles on Trail.3 Miles off TrailThis will be a short entry because it's late. I took my time hiking today and ended up tented just after Allen Gap. We didn't find water at Deep Gap so we didn't stay there. By the time we got water and reached this tent site at Allen Gap it was 7:30. It is not the best. It's on a big slope. I'm here with Scubaman, Baby Steps, Wanderer and Pippi. It was a good weather day for walking, but walking with a fresh re-supply is tough, especially when it's a 6 day re-supply. It's forcast to rain tomorrow. We have all asked that it wait until after we break camp.There were some good, not great, views of Hot Springs early in the day but not too much after that. The forrest is so beautiful though and I did see 2 Pillicted(?) Woodpeckers in flight. Lets see what tomorrow brings. Possibly a big day mileage wise.
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Allen Gap

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: moderate rain

Day 324/21/03 Monday11.6 Miles on TrailI woke this morning to the sound of thunder, but not rain drops. I got my stuff together as fast as I could and dropped and packed my tent before the rain started to fall. That meant hiking to the first shelter without food. Hiking is hungry work. It's also hot with rain gear on. By the time I reached the shelter I was drenched on the outside by rain and on the inside by sweat. I don't wear rain pants so my pants were only damp. I ate a double breakfast and had some hot cocoa but didn't want to get my dry stuff wet, so I had to move on fast to warm back up. A great big hill obliged me. It stopped raining at about 10:30 or 11:00 and only drizzled a couple of more times. My companions wanted to call it a day at 3:30, so I capitulated. Wanderer wasn't having a good "hiking" day. It turned out to be a nice evening. Setting up camp in a relaxed manner was great. My feet are much better and I think the low mileage day is a benefit. I soaked my feet in the ice cold spring and that was great. All the blisters have healed up and the pinky toes "seem" to be better.I'm in my tent and writing by what's left of daylight and feeling great.I guess I should mention that in my haste to set up my tent last night the slope on my sleeping pad was pronounced so I'm glad to have had the time to do just a little better tonight. It's hard to find a level spot.
Date: 2003-04-22
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Day 334/22/03 Tuesday14.6 Miles on TrailWow, over 300 miles. There was a marker in stones that someone had spent a little time on. Last night shelter was Jerry Cabin Shelter that I tented by. Tonights is Hogback Ridge Shelter. Today started out with a drizzle. Then it got steadily colder. The sun may have peeked out once. It's about 39 degrees now. Cold nights are much harder in camp. Warm dry clothes are great, but they only go so far. Cooking isn't bad if you can get out of the wind, but clean-up gets cold. For some reason my boots started eating my little toe on my left foot today, so I did a little boot modification, sure hope it works. The trail was also very rocky with a lot of downed trees early in the day. That could have made my boot hungry. My right little toe, which wanderer named Eddy, seems to be doing much better. No views today because of the clouds. There were entire mountainsides covered with Trilium(?) (a very pretty 3 petaled flower), mostly white.This shelter / campsite is very crowded. People were walking in late saying "what's this, tent city?" Daylight is gone, I'm going to sleep.
Date: 2003-04-23
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Whistling Gap
Miles today: 13.5

Day 344/23/03 Wednesday13.5 Miles on TrailDaylight is fading fast. I'm tented at a campsite tonight with Pippi, Wanderer, Baby Steps, Jack (and his dog Mr. Spencer) and Spielburg.I got up early today, breaking camp in the cold is as hard or harder than setting up camp. The fingers don't want to cooperate. The sun did come out and warm things up a little, but there was a chill in the air all day that the long-sleeve coleman shirt I sent home from Neels Gap would have been ideal for.There was a great highlight view from the top of Big Bald. A bunch of us sat and dozed / chatted there for half an hour or so soaking up the view and the sunshine. Hidden from the wind. The view on one side however was down on a new subdivision. What an ugly sight. The other drag is that there is a road to the top. I think that you should have to work a little harder to get a view like that.Now for the subject of my feet. Wow have they changed shape. My little toes just don't have enough room. I'll get my back-ups sent as soon as possible. As a temporary fix I've changed from the heavy wool plus liners to 2 liners. It's much worse on the downhills, and tomorrow is mostly downhill, so we'll see how it works. Daylight is long over. Light's out.
Date: 2003-04-24
From: Whistling Gap

To: Erwin, Tennessee
Miles today: 13.5

Day 354/24/03 Thursday13.5 Miles on Trail2 Miles off TrailTonight I'm in a Super 8 Motel with Pippi, Wanderer and Baby Steps. We got in too late for Miss Janets. We lucked out that Miss Janets was full. We've gotten all the errands done. Eaten 2 dinners. All is well with the world. Earlier today my boots were eating my feet so bad I thought I would have to stay behind. I took the extra foot inserts out. That gave my feet enough room and I was able to finish the day. That's as bad as its gotten. I'm going to try the boots until Elk Park, NC. Tomorrows weather forcast is rain for 2 days, but we're headed out in spite of it.
Date: 2003-04-25
From: Erwin, Tennessee

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: moderate rain

Day 364/25/03 Friday12.1 Miles on TrailI'm in my tent at Deep Gap. Some people are just so great. The folks I've been traveling with. The people who give us rides. The section hikers at this gap tonight. Yesterday we got a ride into town on a hitch. We got our stuff done at the post office and went to Miss Janets house. Miss Janets is a local hostel. It was full, but she said come on in, use the laundry, take a shower, use the phone / internet, watch a movie and we'll see what we can do for you later. We ended up doing our laundry. The phone was busy with other folks, so that was out. I snuck a shower while it was empty. Then we went to the Super 8 because the rates were OK split 4 ways. A friend of Miss Janets drove us there. We were walking to the supermarket and he spotted us and said "I'll be back for you in about 20 minutes". We hit the store running. One kid said to his mom "are they all hikers?" What a rag tag band we must look. Then NEAN, thats the fellows trail name, picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel. He wouldn't even accept a pittance for gas. When we asked him if he had through-hiked northbound or southbound, he said yes!! This morning we went to breakfast and said to the folks next to us that we were headed to the trail (they were family of some hikers) they offered us a ride. The hike today was uphill and hard, but it didn't rain on us. Deep Gap is a small campsite with room for 4-5 tents comfortably. There were 10 tents here when I came in to write. At least 4 more came in while I've been writing. It's definately a go with the flow attitude out here. There is so much cooperation and thoughtfulness. Can't wait 'till tomorrow.
Date: 2003-04-26
From: Deep Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

Day 374/26/03 Saturday13 Miles on TrailTonight I'm tented behind Clyde Smith Shelter. It rained a little last night. Some more folks showed up after I was asleep. Everyone squeezed in. It wasn't raining when I got up so I made a hot breakfast. The tent and the foot of my sleeping bag were wet when I packed them. So they were damp tonight. There were moments when the sun shone through the clouds, but there were moments of drizzle and the sky was always threatening. Then about 20 minutes before I got to the shelter, it really started raining. Not a torrent, but soaking rain. The shelter was full so when the rain let up I put up my tent. There are 4 tents for me and my buddies. Plus 3 others that couldn't fit in the shelter. I cooked and ate under the cover of the shelter while it rained on and off. I was wet and cold for a while, but a guy named Goat with Dreadlocks made a great fire that made it through the periods of rain. That warmed me just before coming in.Today's highlight was a large spruce forrest at the top of Unaka Mountain. It was a large stand of spruce that covered the top of the mountain. What a great place to tent (in spite of needing to carry water about 1/2 mile). If I had known. Lots of soft, flat spots. Next time I'll know. The rest of today was up and down. Some of it very steep and some of it pointlessly up and down. There were hillsides covered with ramps (a pungent onion) and opther hilllsides covered with May Apples, and still others covered with bleeding hearts or bachelors britches. Too bad it wasn't sunny.The rain has subsided for the moment. I'm hoping for a clear day tomorrow. Tomorrow we climb the 2nd highest mountain on the trail, Roan Mountain. It sure would be great not to be in a cloud.
Date: 2003-04-27
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 384/27/03 Sunday12.8 Miles on TrailThe weather cooperated beautifully. It was cool and cloudless. Tonight we are staying at Overmountain Shelter. Actually, we are tented up the hill. The view from the shelter is incredible, but we had our tents set up before we walked down. It was a particularly hard trail day. The climb up Roan Mountain was steep, continuous and beautiful. The top is a spruce forrest until you break out of the trees. There were about 8 of us napping at the top after the long climb. The trail down was rocky and tough. Then we went up and over 2 balds with terrible treadways (the part of the trail you actually walk on). The trail was just a rut with stones in it. The walk here from the last shelter was some of the prettiest forrest I've walked through.Conversations about eating and food are becoming quite common. What an understatement!!! Anyway, tomnorrow I pick up a box at Elk Park, NC. It's going to be a busy day. Just saw a very large owl.
Date: 2003-04-28
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Spring
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 394/28/03 Monday10.2 Miles on TrailI'm in my tent with a tremendous view. In addition to the usuals are F-Stop, Dunky, Disco, Soul Train, and Glide. We did a blazing stop in Elk Park. I'm ahead of myself. Got up quite early to watch the sunrise at Over Mountain Shelter. Wow, what a spectacular setting. Then on the walk out we were treated to a lot more great vistas from Little Hump Mountain, Hump Mountain and Doll Flats. The six of us got a ride in in the back of a pick-up. No one else had a full food resupply, so it took me extra long at the post office. When I caught up with them at the Country Kitchen, Wanderer ordered his second entree. The food was good, cheap and my double bacon cheeseburger was huge. The payphone was broken. F-Stop and I didn't need to go to the store so we tried to hitch. Unsucessful. We walked to the next gas station where the other 4 were. There were another 2 hikers we didn't know already hithching. Pippi asked a guy in a pick-up for a ride. So all 6 of us piled in on top of a load of logs and got a ride. Then we walked a killer uphill with all that food in our bellies and our packs. We contemplated camping at a few spots before this one, but this one is so beautiful. It doesn't have a name and it isn't listed as a campsite, but it's great. Glad it wasn't further. My mileage isn't exact today, it's probably longer and tomorrow will probably be less, but it's because I'm not quite sure where we are. The weather was great today. The forcast is iffy for next few days. Oh well. I'll just take what comes. Hiking is so much better in good weather.Update on the feet. There doing better but still some problems. All managable for the moment.
Date: 2003-04-29
From: Spring

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

Day 404/29/03 Tuesday13.8 Miles on TrailI'm tented outside Moreland Gap Shelter. Today's hike was on a re-routed segment of the trail. Some of it was great, like Jan's Falls. A beautiful waterfall just off the trail. Some of it was ugly, like where there was garbage, tires and rusting appliances. I am apparently out of North Carolina for the duration. I've also crossed the 400 mile mark. Ther was no marker on the trail in stones like the 300 mile mark. Probably because the guide books didn't do too well with the trail relocations. So nobody knew where we were all day. Just followed the white blazes till we got here. It's an old shelter, so it's on the original trail and the rest of the relocations should be over tomorrow. The hillsides for the last few days have been covered with wildflowers. Today the trees were greener, but the forest floor was just dead leaves. The shelter is full tonight and there are a lot of tents up. Soy Nut is back with us for the moment. Jack and his dog (Mr. Spencer), Nothin' Decent, F-Stop, Glide, Disco, Soul Train, The Bob's (Bob and his brother Snack Machine) Dunky, and the usual 3 (Wanderer, Pippi, and Baby Steps) are all here in addition to a couple of section hikers. My feet aren't doing well today. I blistered on the heal of my left foot and under my big toe on my right foot. The good news is they don't ache from pounding. Timing when to get into Damascus to the next thing. We were going to push, but because of my feet and other folks motivation, we're going to settle for Sunday afternoon. Since the post office closes at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. We'll probably all take a zero day on Monday. I've got a lot of equipment problems to take care of. Water pump, water carrier, stove and boots. Plus I want to trim some weight out of my pack. I'll see what else can go. For some reason, my pack is 15 or more pounds heavier than the average.
Date: 2003-04-30
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Pond Flats
Miles today: 11.5

Day 414/30/03 Wednesday11.5 Miles on TrailToday started great. Clear day, didn't need to put on the fleece. I knew it was going to ba a short mileage day, so I took my time at breakfast. Started walking at an easy pace. Met up with Pippi and Baby Steps at second breakfast in a gorgeous clearing. Walked about an hour and a half and stopped for lunch in an even prettier clearing. Ate lunch. Wanderer showed up. The sky darkened. We could hear distant thunder. So pack covers on and away we went. The other 3 wanted to wait out the rain in a shelter that was .7 miles away. I went straight to Laurel Falls knowing that once you are wet, you are wet. The rain let up and I got to see the falls. Hung around waiting for a while, then moved on thinking that they had taken the blue blaze and gone on. There was a great swimming hole, but because there was no sun to dry out with, it went unused. Up and down and around some slippery rocks I came across some southbound slack packers that told me my friends had a half hour head start on me. Bad communication, but I came to the expected site, Pond Flats, and they weren't there, but Nothin' Decent was. He'd been waiting for us with his tarp up. Very nice of him. We waited around trying to decide to stay put or press on. Then we heard some people for a minute, then nothing. The other 3 had camped about .2 miles before we did. Anyway, we all got together and ate under Nothin' Decent's tarp. Wow was that handy. A really good day in spite of the rain.
Date: 2003-05-01
From: Pond Flats

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 425/1/03 Thursday11.8 Miles on TrailGood hiking day. Ther were some scattered thunderstorms, but we must have been lucky, because we walked between them and the other folks got soaked. Today was a minor resupply day. We stuck out our thumbs and got a ride in a couple of minutes from a couple who "didn't have nothin' planned. We was just out ridin' 'round. This here's my friend Steve, I'm Mable. You don't want to go to Brown's. They got no selection. I'm takin' you to Winn Dixie". I said, "that sound great, but it might be tricky getting back". She says "Oh, don't you worry, I'll bring you back. It's like I said, we didn't have nothin' planned. We was just ridin' round". They waited for us to do our shopping. I made a quick phone call home while the other folks were paying. Then a quick stop at Arby's for some take-out. Re-pack the packs with all the food in the parking lot and back to the trailhead where we ate our Arby's on a picknick table by Lake Watauga. The sun was shining bright, so Wanderer and I jumped in. Then we hiked all afternoon to Vanderventer Shelter. I'm in my tent behind the shelter. It's on a ridge overlooking the lake. Great view and the potential for an awesome sunrise. On the way up we spotted a pink lady slipper. What an interesting flower. The first of the May Apples that I saw bloom was on the way up too. A good resupply, great stuff on the trail and trail angels. What more could you ask? Oh, the feet are OK with some exceptions. I'm really looking forward to Damascus to change a few things and lighten my load a little.
Date: 2003-05-02
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 435/2/03 Sunday14.6 Miles on TrailTonight I am staying at Double Springs Shelter, in the shelter. There are 9 of in a shelter designed for 6. Soy Nut gets the picnic table. Disco, Soul Train, Glide, Wanderer, Baby Steps, Pippi and Boobla. It rained very hard about 1 1/2 hours before we got to the shelter. There were no good tent sites at the shelter area, so we've cozied up like in the smokies. The hiking wasn't hard today, but it was foggy and I didn't see much. Shelters are great in that they allow you to get food cooked under cover, but they are very cramped and everyone has a ton of clothes and equipment to hang out and arrange. Tenting is so much better. I haven't had any mouse encounters yet, but the stories are too numerous to repeat here. One should suffice. A few days ago at Overmountain Shelter, a mouse chewed through a bag to get at batteries. The group we have here tonight is great. Cooperative. Friendly people all. It's getting to be that time when people are settling into their bags. Daylight is nearly gone and it's very foggy with the trees dripping big drops on the shelters tin roof. Hope tomorow brings better weather.
Date: 2003-05-03
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: light rain

Day 445/3/03 Saturday8.3 Miles on TrailI'm tented just outside of Abingdon Gap Shelter. I got to the shelter just before the rain hit (hail too). Waited it out and it turned into a beautiful evening. There is no camping and only one water source between here and Damascus, VA. And since the post office closed at 11:00 a.m., I'm in no real hurry to get there. Knowing that is only 10 miles tomorrow is great. The usual gang is here (Pippi, Wanderer and Baby Steps). Since we had a little extra time, I lit a campfire in honor of Soy Nut who is leaving the trail in Damascus. Life and her fiancee have reasserted themselves on her, and she got what she wanted out of this experience. She knows that the trail will be here.A little bit more about the rain yesterday. At times it was flowing down the trail so deep it was up to my ankles. Everything on me got soaked. It was a foggy night. Nothing got dry. Putting on wet clothing, because you need to keep the mostly dry stuff dry, is really a treat. It's cold and clammy. The great part is that it dries out with body heat. So after hiking a few miles, whalla, dry clothing. It doesn't work well for boots. You see, water proofing works both ways. About my feet. They feel much better today in spite of the wet boots. The blister under my big toe is healing. The blister on my left heal has not gotten bigger.It's after 10:00 because of the good-bye campfire for our friend Soy Nut. We all wish her well and will miss her bouyant attitude and wonderful outlook. The owls outside are making quite a racket. Life is good.
Date: 2003-05-04
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 455/4/03 Sunday10 Miles on TrailWalked into Damascus, VA today. We found out that a lot of hikers got very sick upon arrival or on the way. We suspect that there is a mean little 12-24 hour bug that is going around. Because of that, we decided not to stay in "The Place". Instead, we are at a hostel for 4 called the "Hikers Inn". It has clean sheets and pillows, a bathroom, fridge, microwave and coffee maker. It's run by a nurse anesthetist and it's clean. It rained after we got in. The walk in was relatively easy and we crossed into Virginia a couple of miles before we got to town. Hooray! It's great to be done with Tennessee and North Carolina. It seemed like when we crossed into North Carolina we would get snow or rain. Although we probably crossed in and out of those states every step for days as we walked the ridge.Sleeping in a top bunk is something I haven't done in over 30 years. It makes the getting up in the middle of the night really fun! Especially since the feet don't wake up because they are swollen and sore from hiking.
Date: 2003-05-05
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 465/5/03 Monday0 Miles on TrailZero days hiking mean lots of work. Laundry, shopping, mail drops and phone calls fill all of the non-eating hours. Today I made an alcohol stove and changed out my cook set, in addition to the other chores. The outfitter here is great. He replaced both my broken water pump and my water bladdder no questions asked, free of charge. This town is even more hiker friendly than Hot Springs. The whole town seems to be geared towards the hikers and bikers (the creeper trail goes through here for cyclists). We plan on hitching back for "Trail Days". A sort of gathering of hikers. More when I'm back on the trail.
Date: 2003-05-06
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 4705/06/03 Tuesday15.8 Miles on Trail        472.7 Total.5 Miles off TrailWell I just got finished bandaging my latest blister, right heel. Heavy food load and a predominantly uphill day. It was raw before I knew it and the ¢fix¢ did more harm than good. My pack weighed 55 lbs. coming out of Damascus. That¢s with getting rid of the stove and stainless steel cook pot, and only carrying 2 liters of water. Food is heavy at about 18 lbs. for 5 days. I will see how much is left at Atkins.The day was drizzly until about 3:00, then it started to clear. The forest now has lots of green all over. I can¢t see through the trees the way I could a week ago in the high altitudes. The change is dramatic, especially when the sun is shining. Unfortunately, it hasn¢t much lately. The weather report called for showers all week, but diminishing % chance.Some of the Rhododendrons are blooming the most amazing purple blooms. I hope some of the thickets bloom all at once.Today¢s hike didn¢t get under way until 10:00 a.m. because I had one last stop to at the post office and the outfitter. The outfitter changed out my pack belt because I had gotten too small for it. I probably was all along. Anyway, it rode differently and hurt my hips some. Some adjustment is required. Between that and the blisters my hike could have been a lot more comfortable. Its 10:00 now and the plan calls for an even longer day tomorrow. Most of it uphill. Goodnight.