morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-06
From: Neel Gap

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up this morning to snow, no power, and fierce winds - around 60 mph. Not long after we decided to zero, it started hailing. Went and got some free fire wood. The heaters weren't working because the power was out but it took us most of the day to really get a good fire going because the wood was wet. Power was back on by 2 so it's all good. Do I need to say it? Trail magic again. The people who run the cabins gave us free beer! They keep whatever the hikers leave behind and hand it out to whoever asks for it.Brooke and Danielle got a pack shakedown. Danielle let go of some of her lotion/perfume/soap/wipes and maybe more time on the trail will convince her to get rid of more. They really need better sleep systems. I love how comfortable and easy the hammock is, but it's just too cold. I traded out for a tent. The money will be worth sleeping well. The girls are having a hard time spending that much money - and I get it because I do too, but I know being warmer will help me get to Katahdin. Danielle had to buy new shoes but what she really needs is time for her blisters to heal.The college group cooked dinner for us again. Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. It was so good, and nice to have veggies. We saw Silverfox and another man Trail Movin'. They'd taken 2 zeros to wait out the weather and rest up sore knees. I feel like my legs are getting stronger, which is ridiculous because I've hiked exactly 3.5 days. But hey, if my mind wants to tell me I'm stronger then I'm all for it. The ferret bit a hole in my bite valve. I hope the store has one I can buy tomorrow. I was irritated that I forgot to get a sheet of Tyvek for a footprint. We can't leave early tomorrow because we have to wait till the store opens but now that I need a bite valve I guess it doesn't really matter.
Date: 2013-03-07
From: Neel Gap

To: Former Rocky Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.9

We didn't get going unill about 9:30. The hike out of Neels was steep, but amazing. Like hiking through an ice forest. Molly likened it to Narnia. Absolutely incredible. I hiked alone most of the day. Going down one of the mountains was hell in the form of snow covered ice. Many step ups and downs. By 8 miles and I felt like I was dragging myself up and over the mountains. Made it the 12 miles to Low Gap Shelter by 3 and stopped for a break. Jesse came in about 15 minutes later and said he'd been trying to catch me all day. The girls were about 2 hours behind him. We decided to press on another mile to the campsite we originally planned to stop at. After about an hour we knew we'd passed it. We kept going and saw three or four more places that had fire rings but decided to keep going to a real camp site. We were losing daylight and getting so tired. It was nice easy hiking until it turned into a rock scramble. I didn't know if I was going to make it but eventually we got to the camp site. An 18 mile day. We had to walk about .4 just to get to a crappy water source. It was flowing but hard to get to. I purified the water but it still had lots of floaties in it. I'm considering getting a filter. By 8:30 it was pitch black and Jesse and I were going to sleep when a loud "Jesse!" came out of nowhere. Brooke and Danielle had hiked in the dark for well over an hour to catch up with us. The long day had given me blisters. They set up and we went to bed.
Date: 2013-03-08
From: Former Rocky Knob Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Campsite
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

I was cold last night. I hate being cold. I don't know what's wrong with my shoulder. It bothered me the first night we spent in the shelter. I thought I just couldn't sleep on my right side. Then I thought it was my pack making my shoulder store. But Mountain Crossings adjusted my pack and it feels great now. Last night was hell on my shoulder. Even when I slept on my back or left side I woke up to it burning like it was on fire. When I accidentally fell asleep on my right side it just about had me in tears. It feels okay by day, but I dread the nights. We laid around all morning because of our long day yesterday. I finally got up and doctored my blisters. Danielle's feet are still killing her and her new shoes are better, but have given her a few blisters in new places. She hiked all day today in crocs. We finally got going by 12. Steep ascents and descents again today. I think my blisters are no better or worse. Lots of people on the trail today. Was glad to see Snowman and Escargo. It would have been nice to do more miles today, but we are all hurting and the next 2 miles out of here is a pretty good climb. There was trail magic - sodas - at Unicoi Gap. There was only one Mountain Dew left so we shared it. Silverfox decided to head into Hiawasse because he's got a package there. The truck that stopped for him burnt quite a bit of rubber and sprayed gravel as it skidded to stop. There's a free hostel we might be able to stay at tomorrow. It's 53 miles to Franklin, NC where three of us have mail drops. That's three long days. We're shooting for two 20 mile days and one 13 mile day. That means an early start on tomorrow. Today was actually quite warm. Almost warm enough for shorts. I'm just ready for some warmer nights.
Date: 2013-03-09
From: Cheese Factory Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I was warmer! There's hope! And today was warm enough for shorts. My alarm didn't go off or didn't wake me up. We were ready to go by about 9. Jesse took off first thing, and about a mile in there was a boy scout troop cooking breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, fruit, oj, and gatorade! Yes! We were there too long, but it's just so nice to sit and eat and socialize. There was a doctor there and he helped Danielle bandage her feet and checked out Brooke's knee. At 11 we were on the road again. I hiked with Brooke and Danielle for a while and then took off. I met a fellow New Englander from CT, Mike, and we hiked together for a while. He's a nice guy. He smokes me on the uphill though. Caught Jesse at Deep Gap Shelter taking a break. Mike stopped at Dicks Creek Gap to stay the night at the free church hostel and Jesse and I pushed on to a random camp site. Brooke and Danielle didn't catch us for the night. We made a fire. I'd crawl into the fire and go to sleep if I could.
Date: 2013-03-10
From: Campsite

To: Muscrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.8

Another warm night! My alarm didn't go off...again. Unless I'm sleeping through it. We got out of camp by 8:30. It's been hell today. Up and up and up. So steep. We crossed into NC!! And seemingly just to play with us it was 3 STEEP uphill miles after that. Saw the twisted tree at the border. Sat on the tree for lunch. The boots are hurting my Achilles tendons pretty bad. Got to Muskrat Creek Shelter and decided to stay because Trail Movin' listened to the radio and said it's going to start raining tonight. We could make the next shelter at only 5 miles, but the people here say its full. There's a group of girls here from a SC college. They're all outdoor leadership majors. They had an amazing dinner of rice and beans with cheese on tortillas, and shared the leftovers. I'm sleeping in the shelter tonight and dreading tomorrow's rain. Especially because of today's steepness, we're not making the miles and it will be an extra day till we get to Franklin. We were trying to beat the rain because after shipping my hammock (and rain fly) home I don't have a rain jacket or pack cover. Mom said she put a surprise in my mail drop, and today I figured out it's probably Girl Scout cookies. Brooke made it to the shelter. Not sure if Danielle will make it also.
Date: 2013-03-11
From: Muscrat Creek Shelter

To: Betty Gap Campsite
Miles today: 16.2

It's been a long ass day. I was last to get going this morning of our group. Even still, we were some of the first out of the shelter around 8:30. It was very foggy and rained on and off. The terrain was easy, and I wish we had yesterday's weather. I put my rain fly over my backpack and sleeping bag last night because wind and rain was in the forecast. When I woke up, there was a layer of water in between my sleeping bag and the fly. I did not need my sleeping bag to be wet today. As soon as we got going, Jesse took off and Brooke fell behind. It was a long slow up and then a long slow down. Pushed for speed because of the rain. I only had trash bags to wear against the rain, and nothing for my pack. I looked absolutely ridiculous. Thank goodness I lined the inside of my pack with a trash bag. Wore my coat all day because it's cold. Got 100% soaked through. I met Helen and Joe and their dog. We hiked together for a while. They were very nice and both studying veterinary medicine. When we got to a gap they stopped to decide where they were going for the day. Before I could leave, Joe gave me a Mountain House meal because they weren't going to be out as long as they thought. My first! I broke my spork today on cold peanut butter.Stopped at the shelter. It was full. Jesse had left about 15 minutes before me and said he was shooting for Franklin (another 16 miles). I hung out for about 30 minutes waiting for Brooke but another guy showed up who said he'd passed her a long time ago and she was way behind. After agonizing over the decision I decided to go 4 more miles to cut off tomorrow's mileage to Franklin.About 15 minutes after I left, the rain really started coming down. I jogged a good bit of the way. When I got to the campsite I set up my tent as fast as I could, but it's pretty wet on the inside. Mopped up what I could. I'm worried because it's supposed to be low 20's tonight and all my stuff is varying degrees of wet. Possible thunderstorms tonight and the longer I'm here the harder the rain gets. My hands were pruny all day. The Mountain House meal was for two people but I ate the whole thing. All 800 calories of it. It was a bit hard to finish at the end, but it was so warm I just kept eating. Made some hot cocoa too. I'm warm now but still worried about tonight. It's supposed to stop at some point and be a decent day tomorrow, but I'm going to be miserable in all my wet gear. Can't wait for Franklin! And new shoes. These boots are killing me. Rain gear. Cookies. I might just get up at 5 am and start hiking if the weather is clear. Not sure how I'm going to hook up with Brooke or Jesse. I know Brooke's phone is dead. I might have to stay in a room by myself. I haven't had service for the past couple days. Hopeful for better service but with t-mobile...you never know.
Date: 2013-03-13
From: Franklin, NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Hung out all morning. Went to the larger outfitter on the shuttle but they didn't have any shoes that fit. Bought a new pair of socks because my shoes had worn holes in them, and a titanium spork. Went to Wal-Mart and bought way too much food. Also got hand warmers and a tarp to line my tent with because they didn't have a 0 degree sleeping bag. I was hoping to find one to use just for the Smokies because it's so cold. Jesse was weird all day. Kind of a jerk. He stayed in bed all day today. I hung out in Brooke and Danielle's room. The lady in the office was being weird about using the computer. There's a 30 minute time limit which is about the time it takes to type one journal entry. There's two computers and no one was using the other one or waiting for a turn but she kicked me off by shutting off the internet...before I could hit save. I came back later and retyped the same entry again but she kicked me off before the 30 minutes was up. Again, no one was waiting. They have wifi but it's not good. I couldn't upload anything. Later I went to McD's to eat and use their wifi. It takes forever to type on my phone. Went back to the room and to bed.
Date: 2013-03-14
From: Franklin, NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I was in and out of the bathroom all night. Ate something that didn't agree with me and felt miserable. Needless to say, I didn't get up and pack or get on the shuttle this morning. Decided to - unfortunately - double zero. I still needed shoes anyway. Felt better by the afternoon. Went to Outdoor 76 to look for shoes. If I couldn't find any there I was going to get some Wal-Mart sneakers to just get me by. The owner spent over two hours measuring my feet, watching me walk, and talking to me about feet shapes and shoe fit. We found the perfect pair of shoes...but the type is discontinued. They're literally called AT something. They were made for this trail. The problem is people bought and wore them as running shoes and didn't like them, so they got a bad rep. Found another style that I like and I can call the store and order them when I need new shoes. They'll ship them to me where ever I am. Took the shuttle to Wal-Mart again. Forgot band-aids for the second time. Got more food. I have way too much. Brooke was drunk and it was entertaining. Got subway for dinner and they had coke icees! I love those things. Haven't had one in forever. Jesse was more normal today. Still kind of an ass but to Brooke, not me. Tonight Brooke, Danielle, and Tori dragged me out of bed to go to Mixers - a bar/club. It's a country place where the locals hang out. Drunk Danielle volunteered me for karaoke. After that the DJ hit on me all night. A nice guy in his thirties. He sang quite a few songs. Had a very country voice. I sang a couple duets with him. We left by 12:30.
Date: 2013-03-15
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Silver Bald Shelter
Miles today: 4.2

Got up at 8 but wasn't packed by 9 for the shuttle. Jesse headed out. I think he's ready to be away from us. The girls and I went to the post office. Sent myself food to Fontana Dam. We wanted to get breakfast so we missed the shuttle at 11 back to the trail. After eating we hitched as we walked through town. A guy on the sidewalk said he'd be on lunch break in a while and would give us a ride back. Got out to the trail by 2. Met a woman whose trail name is, I believe, Homeward Bound. She's from northern NH. I hiked with her for a while. She's 50 and retired but goes very fast. She's only been out here 8 days so she's making good time. When we got to the first shelter she went on and I stopped to wait for the girls. I took a 45 minute nap but when I woke up they still weren't there. I didn't think they'd walk past me without waking me up. I wanted to do another 4 miles to a campsite, but needed to touch base with them first. I went to the shelter thinking they might be waiting there. They weren't, but showed up within 5 minutes. They'd stopped for an hour lunch break. It's too late to go on so we set up camp and had dinner. It was warm enough for shorts earlier but it's getting pretty chilly now. Still haven't gotten much of my book read. My pack is too heavy. Gotta work on that...
Date: 2013-03-16
From: Silver Bald Shelter

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was the best night's sleep on the trail so far! I was warm and pretty comfortable. So much so that I slept in. Left by 9:30. Today was fairly uneventful. Went up to a stone tower on Wayah Bald for a beautiful view. Went ahead of the girls to get to the first shelter. The trail was confusing because there was a sign to go to the shelter, but the trail wasn't blue blazed like side trails usually are, and it was also a left turn when the guidebook said the shelter was on the right. With no clear blazes of any color in sight, I wasn't sure which direction to go. The girls ended up ahead of me while I was trying to figure it out with two older guys. We'd gone a ways down the wrong trail and the girls slipped past. The guys stayed at the first shelter but I knew the girls were going to the second shelter, and had no idea they'd passed me. Had to hike pretty fast to catch up and met Smooth Sailing. Left him behind when he stopped take off his shoes but he caught me again. The last mile wasn't super hard, but it was uphill and not what I wanted to do at the end of the day. I did see two turkeys. We stuffed 7 into the 6 person shelter because of possible thunderstorms tonight. I'm cold already. Hoping the body heat will keep us warm. Planning 10 miles tomorrow to the shelter right outside of NOC so we can be in town Monday when it's supposed to rain.
Date: 2013-03-17
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept really well in the shelter. It's finally starting to warm up at night. The girls took forever to get ready, but we weren't in any rush today. The hiking was fairly easy except it got very steep going downhill. Had amazing 360 degree views at the Wesser Bald Observation Tower. My feet really started to hurt on the way down. I'm getting blisters under my calluses. When we got to the shelter, we learned the hostel closes at 5 and since it was already 5:05 we set up camp. I hate to zero tomorrow...again... Thunderstorms are coming in the afternoon and will last into the night and we don't have enough time to stop in town and still do the 8 miles uphill to the shelter. I hate getting wet. At camp, Brooke knocked over her stove and there was a pretty big fire. Another guy - Sweat - came over and was able to shut the propane off. She almost caught her shirt on fire. Going into the NOC tomorrow. We have to get our permits for the Smokies. Someone heard rain is supposed to start at 3 a.m. this morning. I hope not.
Date: 2013-03-18
From: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: NOC - Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained last night for maybe 30 minutes. Just enough to get my tent wet. I may sound bitter, but I'm not. It was dry coming into town. 1 easy downhill mile. It would be nice if it was like that everyday. But easy. Too easy. But oh no, it's 7 uphill miles out of here. Danielle left early because I was taking too long to get ready. As soon as Brooke and I got into town, we saw a couple that was getting done with their section hike. We've been leap-frogging them for a couple days. I wish I could remember their trail names. The woman's sister and brother-in-law were picking them up and offered us a ride to the grocery store. They drove us 15 miles in the opposite direction they were going, waited while we shopped, and drove us back. So incredibly nice. We checked out the sleeping situation. $20 for the hostel, but you have to pay for showers and Sarah, who had already checked in, likened it to a prison cell. There are cabins to stay in but they are $217 a night and our group isn't big enough to split up the cost. The people that own the cabins also own what they call a motel. Many bedrooms in a cabin with a shared living room/kitchen area. It's the same cost as the hostel because here we don't have to pay for showers. We went to the restaurant and shared a pizza. The thunderstorms are crazy today. That thunder and lightning would have been terrifying at 4,000 ft. It dumped buckets of rain. We ran into Gray Jay outside of the restaurant. Brooke and I went back in the restaurant to catch up with her, and she introduced us to Bear Charmer. They're just precious. I love them to bits! We sat there for hours and hours, laughing and talking and telling stories. We stayed until the restaurant shut down. We tried to get them to come sleep in our room but they refused. They swear they're fine camping out in their vans. I hope they're warm tonight. I noticed today that my ankles are very swollen. My Achilles tendons started creaking also. I looked it up, and apparently it's the beginnings of Achilles tendonitis. Oh no! I take Vitamin I (ibuprofen) every morning and night already, and I sleep with my feet elevated on my pack in my tent (for warmth and to keep my water from freezing). I'm not sure there's much else I can do for them. We've been doing low miles also. I have to keep reminding myself not to push for miles until Virginia. And obviously my body can't take it. Deep breath. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And it's not even that. Just a walk in the woods. Besides, I'm having fun - right? Ask me tomorrow when I see what my ankles look like.
Date: 2013-03-19
From: NOC - Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: clear sky

I had a hard time getting to sleep for some reason. The swelling on my ankles has gone down some. Ate a breakfast of champions - M&M's and jalape±o pretzels. Danielle got impatient and left. Brooke, Tori (trail name Heartburns), and I took our time getting ready. Got on the trail by 10:30. The miles really weren't that steep until the last couple. I wrapped up my ankles but they still bothered me a bit. Found a lizard midway through the day. We really had fun today despite the terrain. Laughing and talking and singing the whole way. That's the way it's supposed to be. I tried to hike in short sleeves, but it was just too cold. At 3 in the afternoon we could see our breath coming out as white clouds. Jesse texted Brooke last night. Apparently he'd gotten to Tellico Gap and was hurt from doing too many miles, so he walked back to Franklin to take a zero day. He also said he'd been through NOC today. Not sure how he did all those miles. He may be here tonight or catch us tomorrow. Ran into Silverfox on the trail. Met two guys from Jersey - Kyle and Nick. We've been with Sarah, Alpha Dog, Shaggy, and Flipper for a few days now. Shaggy and another guy - Sweat - pushed on to the next shelter. Donnie and Detour are here as well as Owl and Chickadee (an aunt and niece pair). Silverfox and Steady Pace (renamed Woodsman) are here also. Brooke came up with the name "Captain Hook" for Flipper. He's been out here for years doing most of the trail and going north or south as it suits his fancy. He did an official thru hike back in the 90s. I like the name Captain Hook as a trail name because he perfectly resembles the Disney character, but he prefers Flipper.Tonight is supposed to be very cold. Brooke and Danielle are trying to make arrangements for their friend to pick us up tomorrow so we can sleep inside. That makes for either a 6 or 14 mile day so we can be at a road crossing. I just want to get to Fontana. We had time to do more miles today but I'm trying to take it easy on the ankles. This is a nice new shelter that sleeps 16. I think we have 10 in it tonight. Hoping to be warm! As per usual.