morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-08
From: NOC

To: Stecoah Gap
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

Started the morning with French toast and bacon at the NOC. I felt pretty lazy after having a Zero yesterday. I got a little sunburned from hanging out by the river and relaxing. Today's hike was a killer 3339 ft climb out of the river gorge up to Cheoah bald in 7.8 miles. Cheoah is one of my favorite places on the trail and the view is amazing! I hiked alone most of the day and was a bit down in the dumps. I didn't really know why but then I realized that I had never hiked up Cheoah without my dogs. I really miss them a lot! It was great seeing Ruby at the NOC but it hurt my heart at the same time. Once I got up to Cheoah I decided to push on to Stecoah gap and attempt to hitch into Fontanna to meet up with the other Warrior Hikers and watch the NCAA championship.And that's just what I did!. It took me 3 hitches and a little road walking but I got to the lodge about 6:45...just in time for dinner! The guys were surprised and we had a great visit, watched the game and hot the sack. A kind of melancholy day ended well.
Date: 2013-04-09
From: stecoah Gap

To: Fontanna 
Miles today: 13.9

Had a great time with everyone last night and was up and about by 6am this morning! I stayed in a room with Jeff, Chris and Rob and they were sweet enough to sing happy birthday via video for my sister "Kit" who is 48 today. I grabbed some coffee and an orange and took a shuttle back to Stecoah gap to slack pack into Fontana. I have a big abrasion on my back where my pack rubbed me raw so hiking with an almost empty pack was just the break I needed! Jacobs ladder was about 2 miles into my hike and WOW was it steep!!!! I only had the orange, which wasn't very smart, so I was feeling a bit weak. All of the climbs and the long descent down into Fontana whooped me pretty good especially since it was about 80 degrees! I finished the 13.9 miles in 6 hours and 15 minutes and took the shuttle back to Fontana. I had lunch with Jesse and Cooper and went back to the room for a nap. I had gotten an email earlier in the day from Crystal saying she might come to Fontana for a little trail magic. AT&T does not work down at the village and I didn't see her additional emails til this morning!!! She ended up coming down her and I missed her!!!!! I HATE AT&T for the trail. Everyone is having issues with it! Crystal, thank you for coming down and sharing trail magic with the other hikers! I am so sorry I missed you!!!!!!! I'm hoping to see you up the trail.Had my first "Bear" experience on the trail today. As I came up over the crest of a hill I heard a huge crashing as it ran out into the woods. Yes, I screamed like a little girl.... It all happened quick! I suppose I'll run into this more often as the bears wake up.... Yikes!!;0)
Date: 2013-04-10
From: Fontanna 

To: mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Today I hiked out of Fontana up to Mollies Ridge in the Smokies with Jesse and Cooper. Oh my goodness was it a butt kicker!!! The main reason why it was so difficult is that it was about 85 degrees and I had 5 days worth of food in my pack! Additionally , we had to carry plenty of extra water because we were ridge walking and water is scarce! Cooper got pretty hot and we tried to cool him off as much as we could. I love the smokies and the views are amazing but I truly was suffering a bit! We had originally planned to hike 15 miles to Russell field shelter but we opted for 12.2 to Mollies Ridge Shelter. On our way we Ran into Borders, Dooby, and their ~10 year old daughter. They were getting water at the water source. How cool that they are taking their daughter on a thru hike! She is loving it! Cooper laid in the water and mud to cool off while Jesse are some spam and I ate a moonpie;0)...then we were off.The last couple miles were never ending before the shelter but we finally got here! The shelter was full so we happily set up our tents! It's a relatively warm night. I made mashed potatoes while sitting in my tent and am now looking up at the star filled sky. It is so clear and vast...simply amazing! The wind is pretty strong up here on the ridge line but I am cozy in my tent and sleeping bag! Sooooo glad I get service! There is supposed to be a huge storm tomorrow afternoon with hail so we are going to wake up and hike 12 miles to Derrick knob shelter to get under cover and weather the storm. We had hoped to get through to Newfound gap in 2 days but that's just not going to happen. Actually I'm glad....I love the Smokies and want to savor these views and all if the beauty this awesome park has to offer!!!
Date: 2013-04-11
From: mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's 6:52 PM and we are all sitting here waiting for "the storm". I'm at Derricks knob shelter and it was full when I hiked up so I had to pitch my tent up along side of the shelter and out of the wind. It was threatening to storm at about 4:00 when I got here so I told Jesse that I was good with staying here. I was tired from the uphill and that abrasion on my lower back was killing me! I need to put more moleskin on it. :0(. Soulshine, coonsey and Pom are here so it was good to see them. We made a fire in the fireplace inside of the shelter and chatted for awhile but now I'm in my comfy little tent still waiting for the storm! Everyone stopped hiking early because they were concerned about the weather but it may just pass us which is just peachy with me!!The hike from Mollies ridge was beautiful! With no leaves on the trees the views from the ridge line are spectacular! We hiked up to Rocky top and I did my daily video. I could see all the way back to Fontana lake! It's amazing to think how far I've hiked in 15 days! Tomorrow I will hit the 200 mile mark just past cling mans dome which is the highest point on the entire AT. Jesse ate some Ramen up on Rocky top and I shared my Pringles with Giants Bane and Sassafras. They are really nice kids. The long rocky downhill was a bit tough on my left knee but it feels ok now. We are going to hike to Clingmans in the morning and hitch into Gatlinberg for Jesse to get new boots. His Keens are destroying his feet. We will stay the night there but hit the trail from Clingmans on Saturday so that we can finish the Smokies for our WarriorHike event in Waynesville on the 16th. I hope the weather is good tonight and tomorrow! The view from Clingmans is amazing! Gonna go read and get some sleep
Date: 2013-04-12
From: Derrick Knob shelter

To: Clingmans Dome
Miles today: 10.1

Well the storm did hit about 8pm last night and I hate to admit it but I let out several audible "EEEK's" with each lightening flash!!! Me in my tent in a raging storm screaming like a little girl.... It was comical! The rain fell hard and fast all night long and believe it or not I slept likes baby after my initial fear! I woke up at 7:20 which is late for me. My new tent faired well in the torrent! The only issue was that it rained so hard that some water splashed up under the fly and got the bottom of my sleeping bag and my down coat wet. I'm so glad I got the footprint too!!! It's so much easier to shake that put rather than the whole tent.I packed everything up, ate some pop tarts and had a via coffee and hit the trail. Jesse was running late so I hiked with Coonsy and Soulshine. We took lots of pictures and laughed a lot. The picture on this post was taken in the first mile of our hike. We made Coonsy get down In the tree... We were dying laughing!!! It was still misty when we started out but soon we were taking off our rain gear and enjoying the sun and incredible views that the Smokies have to offer. Soulshine and Coonsy really loved the part of the trail I adore... Just after double spring gap shelter up to Clingmans. It's like another world with all the Balsam, the bright green moss and Christmasy smells! I can't even explain the beauty of the views as we approached Clingmans on the ridge line! Once we got there we all hiked up the tower to take a look and take pictures. Then we headed down to the parking lot to try and hitch a ride. A very nice family took us down to Gatlinberg in the back of their pick up truck. Long gone hitched in with us too and we all got a room at the Grand Prix motel for 35.00. We headed to the brewery where Machine, jaba and Joelle (Warriorhikers) joined us for an insane amount of food for lunch! I had a Reuben but couldn't finish it so jaba are it! Hence... His trail name!   We all hung out in town and re-supplied at a couple stores. I hung my tent to dry and organized some things and hit the sack by 11. It was probably one of my favorite days on the hike so far!
Date: 2013-04-13
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We took a zero here in Gatlinberg today. Soulshine was throwing up all morning and I was scared that she had the neuro virus. Long Gone took off early but I gave him a Phenergan just in case he got sick.   I was up and out of the motel as soon as possible so I wouldn't get sick. I walked around Gatlinberg and got some coffee. Later I sat at a resteraunt and watched the masters and had a salad. This town is crazy! Commercialism on steroids!!!! Soulshine and Kunziu (Coonsy) met me for lunch.... Clearly it was something she ate or drank the night before! We all walked around and had fun laughing at the circus atmosphere of this town. I can see the draw for families with kids... Very entertaining.We headed back to the motel early and I watched the rest of the highlights for the masters and then went to bed. All in all it was a great zero day...great weather and great food!! And... No one is sick so we are set to hit the trail from Clingmans in the morning.
Date: 2013-04-14
From: Clingmans Dome

To: ice water Springs Shelter
Miles today: 10.9

Had a great nights sleep and woke up about 6:30 to pack up and get ready to take a trail angel shuttle to Clingmans. Kunziu and Soulshine were still packing up while I headed down to the general store for a BLT breakfast sammich and coffee.I got back and there were 23 people waiting for the shuttle...which consists of one truck...! Soon a white truck arrived and Godspeed and Mountain Mama hopped out to load us up.   They have been shuttling and feeding AT thru hikers for years!!! What a great couple and a great story they have! There son was diagnosed with brain cancer on his thru hike with his dad (Godspeed)...they prayed and he was able to come back to finish the hike and is still alive today! That was 11 years ago. They return their blessing every weekend by helping all of us! Truly an amazing couple! We were dropped off at Clingmans and had a wonderful 10.9 mile hike to ice water springs shelter. The elevation and terrain were very comfortable and the views were beautiful! It was getting pretty cold and windy and rain was supposed to be approaching so we nixed the idea of heading to Pecks corner. When we got to the shelter we really wanted to tent but a ridge runner was here and there was still room in the shelter so we had to stay in it. Boy am I glad we did cuz it is freezing cold rain outside with howling winds!!!!There are about 20 of us in here and machine, jaba, Joelle, and Gary from the WarriorHike showed up late and are tenting outside..... Brrrrrrr!There is a fireplace in here so we have had a great fire all night and the conversation had been lively! Ran into Jetlag again and he is here. So is Tex the Marine I met just prior to Neels gap.   They all helped me make my daily video that I post on my Facebook. It was hilarious!I had Mac and cheese for dinner and am all snuggled in to get a good nights sleep in the torrent that is whipping around outside of this shelter. We are going to try to hike 20 miles to Cosby knob shelter tomorrow. It's supposed to rain til 10 am but hopefully we can get the miles in. Night night
Date: 2013-04-15
From: ice water Springs Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 7am after a fairly good sleep. I had to slug the guy next to me in the arm so he would turn over and stop snoring so loud! Not really slug but nudge firmly! That's the problem with staying in shelters...it can be loud. It rained hard most of the night and was super windy so I'm glad we stayed inside though.Soulshine, Kunzai and I ate out breakfast and headed out. The WarriorHike peeps were still sleeping. It was foggy but wasn't raining while we headed up to Charlie's Bunion. When we got there the clouds cleared a bit and we were able to get some great pictures. I love that spot...the view is amazing! We took off from Charlie's bunion toward Cosby Knob Shelter 20.3 miles away. The terrain was gentle and pleasant and the sun was soon shining. The views from the ridge line were amazing! We hiked pretty fast so we would make it to the shelter at a decent time. There were lots of rocks on the trail today and my right Achilles started to hurt some on the up hills. I didn't take a second dose of vitamin I so that may have been why. We took a break just before Pecks corner and had a snack. Tex and Elf came along and took a little break too. We were sitting on the ledge of a landslide which made me a little nervous so I was happy to move on. We hiked on to Tricorner knob shelter where I ran into the other Warriorhikers Steve-O, Kevin, Cody,and Jesse. Liz and Kaci were with them too. We met Darkage and his friend Smalls there as well. We filtered water and took a little break before heading out after all if them.The trail was so beautiful with all of the green moss and dark wet trees. There were even patches of snow every now and then. Darkage gave us the news that he has heard on CNN via his phone...a bombing at Boston Marathon injuring many people. No other details. My prayers go out to all those who are suffering! I'll have to wait til tomorrow to read about it since I don't have 4G right now.I passed the area where the plane wreckage is on the side of the trail. I had never seen it before but have heard of it. I'm certain it was a military jet.   I picked up speed because I was hungry and wanted to set up camp. I rolled in here at 6:45 and my Achilles was barking at me. The shelter was full and tent spaces were minimal so I had to set up on some uneven ground .   I ate ramen noodles with mashed potatoes mixed in. I couldn't finish it so I gave it to Soulshine. All the late comers were still sitting outside the shelter and eating at 8:45. Definitely past hikers midnight. Now I'm in my tent and I took some Advil. I'll hike out in the morning and all the Warriorhikers will be picked up at 3:00pm at Davenport Gap (10miles) to attend a VFW event in Waynesville. This will be my first event with everyone since I caught up to them. It should be fun...I love Waynesville. Night!
Date: 2013-04-16
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: I-40 underpass
Miles today: 9.9

The hike from Cosby Knob to Davenport Gap was mostly downhill and FAST! I hiked with the Warrior hikers most of the day but started out on my own. About 20 min into my hike Jesse and Cooper came running down carrying an extra pack. A guy had hurt his knee and he was to be medivac'd out at Low gap. I stopped to help and the Warriorhikers showed up and I wrapped the guys knee so he could get to the gap. Looked like a meniscus tear.We All hiked on and climbed up Mt. Camerrer fire tower. What an awesome view!!!! Then we headed down to Davenport gap. Grape lightening, Steve O and Kaci followed me down the mountain at a sort fast pace which was fun! When we got to the gap 2 reporters from the Knoxville Sentinal were there to interview us and get some photos. When we got to the I-40 underpass the VFW was there with trail magic of sandwiches, chips and beer. We were super hungry and couldn't wait to put our feet in the Pigeon river to cool them.Several trucks transported us to Maggie Valley to get cleaned up for the VFW event in Waynesville. I headed to the nursing home where I worked and surprised Barb, Brandon, Kyle, Allen and Mel. It was so good to see all of them!   We all headed to the VFW for an awesome dinner and the presentation of a check to help WarriorHike. VFW post 5202 rocks! Headed back to the hotel after that for some much needed sleep. I will definitely miss the Smokies!!!
Date: 2013-04-17
From: I-40 underpass

To: Maxpatch
Miles today: 14.1

Wow! Today was quite a day! Got a ride back to the I-40 underpass and started hiking up the hill toward Max Patch. Several people opted to slack pack but I had my pack with me. It was up hill all day long! Then the rain hit...Steph was slack packing so I put her electronics in my pack and she ran on. I put my rain jacket on and enjoyed hiking in the downpour! I was literally singing in the rain! Lol!Soon the sun came out and It was getting warm again. I hiked up from brown Gap ...ughhh what a climb and just before Max Patch summit trail I ran into trail magic. Soulshine and Kunsai were with me and they enjoyed some grilled Chicken made by a fellow thru hiker from a pat year.There was a note on a tree inviting Warriorhikers to Kana'ti lodge for a steak dinner and a warm bed. We knew about the invite and were told to look for signs directing ud to the location. There was a map on the back of the invite so I took a look and headed up Max Patch to find the lodge.. This is where it gets interesting!!!!!!!!!!!I love MaxPatch! It's a beautiful grassy bald and the views are amazing!!!! The map directed us to the Max patch trailhead where we were supposed to go right.... Well, I picked the wrong trailhead and walked down a road about 4 miles looking for the orange blazes on trees that the directions spoke of. I was totally alone in the middle of no where and lost ;0(....and...scared! Believe it or not!!!Finally a white van came around the corner and I flagged it down...maybe not the best choice of vehicle to try and hitch a ride but hey I was desperate! The couple ended up being the band "peace arrow" and they were so awesome to give me a ride back to the Maxpatch trailhead that I left from. I was soooo thankful! I then headed back up to the AT and spent the next hour finding my way to this off the grid lodge. Finally I made it there and found out everyone else had problems finding it too. Turns out this is a bed and breakfast with the most amazing hosts, David and Jeannette. They cooked us steak and chicken and we had salad, potatoes, corn on the cob, cheese, hummus.....it was an absolute feast!!! A couple of the warrior hikers never made it because they were lost and they stayed out on the trail. Boy did they miss out! We had a fire and everyone retired to comfortable beds and cots and I slept on the couch in front of the fire :0). A 14.1 mile day that turned into a 20+ mile day for me full of adventure and that ended well!!!
Date: 2013-04-18
From: Maxpatch

To: maxpatch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We took a zero at the lodge today. Machine, Jesse and Cooper, Rob and I all did. Dave took us down to his farm where his volunteers do biodynamic farming. There are mushroom logs, chickens, apple trees and two beautiful rustic cabins. Dave handed me a chicken but I was too scared to hold it :-/. All the other hikers decided to head out but they were reluctant because the lodge is just so awesome!! Dave made us pancakes, bacon and potatoes for breakfast! Yum!!!! We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun and taking in the beautiful mountain view! Dave went for a hike with his dog Luna and Adam took a nap while I watched Jesse do some woodworking. Cooper has two sores on his paws so Jesse is thinking about taking him off the trail for a week. I definitely think that's a good idea. The trail can be really hard on dogs.Sometimes I just don't know what to do when I take a zero day... But I managed. The weather looks bad for Friday so Machine and I decided that we would step off at 6am in the morning and slack pack the 20 miles to Hotsprings so we could get there fast and get out of the rain. I went to bed early at 8:30 after a great nacho dinner
Date: 2013-04-19
From: maxpatch

To: Hotsprings
Miles today: 19.8

I woke up at 5:30 and started to get ready for our hike. I went downstairs and Dave had already made some French press coffee and scrambled eggs with crawfish! We also had sliced French bread with peppered pear jelly...omg delicious!!!!! It was the perfect energizer for the day!After reluctant goodbyes we finally stepped off at 7am. Machine was wearing a pack that only weighed about 22 lbs which was nothing for him and I didn't have a pack at all so my back could continue healing. Jesse and cooper got a ride into Hotsprings with Jeannette.The weather was cool and super windy! We hiked fast for the first hour and then decided to run. It was raining but no lightening yet.   I still wanted to hurry to beat the storm so we stepped up a notch! We had a blast running up and down the trails. We decided to try and make it to Hotsprings before noon which meant we would have to do 20 miles in less than 5 hours.We never stopped to eat and only stopped to drink 3 times. We came running down the trail and made it into HS just before noon. We had done it and I was beat!! We limped our way down to the hostel to drop off our packs and made our way down to the spring creek tavern for lunch. When we stepped inside the sky opened up and the rain came down hard!!!!!!! There was a poster in the window welcoming the warrior hikers and the owner asked is to sign it. We gladly did so. I had a buffalo chicken sandwich and felt pretty accomplished as an almost 47 yo who was able to keep up with a 27 yo Marine running that far that quick...and not dying!!! lol!!!Pretty soon all the other warrior hikers and to a of thru hikers descended on the town in preparation for the trail fest that was taking place the next day. We all had a blast listening to the blue grass band and hanging out all evening. We headed back to Laughing heart hostel for a good nights sleep! It's a super nice and clean hostel and Chuck Norris, Tigger and Glenda were amazing!!!!
Date: 2013-04-20
From: Hotsprings

To: hotsprings
Miles today: 0.0

We had several events to take part in on Saturday including the presentation of walking sticks with our names engraved in them and spirit feathers. Rebecca and Tom gave us an awesome welcome, blessing and presentation of these two wonderful things!!!   Then we had a complimentary soak in the hot spring mineral bathes. This was super nice!   An hour of complete relaxation!We all headed down to the trail fest after that. There were a few venders, music and food and of course tons of hikers coming in town! The warrior hikers got to lead the trail fest parade too. Glenda organized a dinner for us, several towns people and veterans at the lodge. It was incredible!!! Ham, chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, salad and plenty of other things! We then got to judge all the pies that people made! Strawberry, lemon me range, pecan, blueberry..... Omg!!! It was all so good! I personally loved the Strawberry pie!!!What a great day! The people of Hotsprings were just amazing!!!! I got 4 care packages too!!! My friend Joanna sent me some treats and a really cool bandana! My mama sent me 3 bandanas, a bunch of treats, some toiletries that I asked her to pick up and a sweet card! My Aunt Barb and Uncle Rog sent me a card that made me tearful and they included $20 which I appreciated so much!!!! My sister Kit sent me some trail clothes from my bounce box that I asked for and a payday bar!!!! Yummmmy!! This all made me feel very loved!!! Thank you all so very much!!!!!!