morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-01-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's been more than a month since I had anything to report, but this weekend there were two exciting developments. If you think sleeping out in 13 degrees is exciting, that is.I had ordered and received my new down booties from Feathered Friends last week. They are toas-ty! So, naturally, I wanted to see if my feet were going to be warm enough now, without having to resort to buying a new sleeping bag.Saturday was a very cold day here, with night time temperatures predicted to be in the low teens. But it has been so cold here the past week that the ground was frozen pretty solid, and I knew there was no chance I'd be able to pound in the stakes that my Solplex tent requires. Old free-standing tent to the rescue! Amazingly, I even knew where it was and it was undamaged.When I went to bed, I thought everything was going to be just fine. I was nice and warm, and comfy on my NeoAir. But at some point I woke up and felt a little chilly. My feet were still fine, but my upper body was getting cool. I did fall back asleep though. The next time I woke up, my upper body was a little bit colder yet, and my feet were now cold as well. And, more disturbingly, my sleeping bag was wet at the top. I think it was just condensation from breathing. I didn¢t know what time it was, but since we were going to have friends over for dinner that night, I decided not to make a sleepless night out of it and went inside. It was 3:15, so I lasted about half the night. I cuddled up to Gary (who had woken up when I came in), sighing how nice and warm he was. Says Gary: ¢well, I was¢¦¢.The other exciting event was the Epic Camping Stove Cook-Off that was on the agenda for that evening. When I first told some of my friends about my hike, one of them immediately piped up that I should take a penny stove. I disagreed, saying I was going to take a Fancy Feast stove. So, the ECSCO was conceived. In the interim, I had already decided not to make a Fancy Feast stove, but we did do the test with my new, never before used Micro Rocket and the penny stove. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the penny stove, actually. It took about 5 minutes to get 2 cups of water simmering, versus about 2.5 minutes on the Micro Rocket. But the ease of use of the canister stove is what really does it for me. Plus of course it will be nice to get my hot tea asap. I am going to try and figure out a way to actually sleep in the Solplex when temperatures are down to the teens next, and wear more clothes this time too. I am still hoping not to buy a new bag! I could have lasted the whole night and I would have been ok, just not that comfortable. And I don¢t see any reason for the suffering to start ahead of the hike!
Date: 2015-02-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Ok, I threw in the towel and ordered a new sleeping bag. After reviewing my gear spreadsheet again, I noticed that the heaviest item, by a mile, was my bag at 3 lbs. 3 lbs is a lot for any single item. And the sleeping bags from zpacks would save me almost 2 lbs, so last night I pulled the trigger. It is really cold here in Northern VA right now, and Gary likened shopping for a sleeping bag while it¢s 8 degrees (Fahrenheit, -13 Celsius) to going to the grocery store when you¢re hungry. Even so, I got a 20 degree bag, and keep my fingers crossed that that was the right decision. A few weeks ago I had planned to sleep outside in my tent again, but I chickened out when there were frost bite warnings.I did go on a couple more hikes since the Stream Crossing Adventure from a few weeks ago. 2 weeks ago I went up to Signal Knob, near Front Royal. It was supposed to get into the 50s, which seemed to have brought out quite a few people. I was dismayed to see a big group of people in the parking lot when I pulled in. Another smaller group passed my car as I was putting on my shoes. Yikes.I passed the 6 or 7 people in the smaller group fairly early on, and then caught the tail end of the larger group, when two 14 or 15 year old guys in front of me stopped, took off their packs and THREW OUT A COUPLE OF SIZEABLE ROCKS. I was a bit flabbergasted and asked why they were hiking with rocks. They told me this big group was a boy scout troop and they were training for Philmont. Okay then! It was hard to pass them, but a little bit further on one of their leaders stopped and noticed there was a stranger among them. To his credit, he turned the situation into a learning experience for the scouts, explaining trail etiquette when somebody is behind you who might want to pass. The top of Signal Knob has a transformer station and cell tower, which is a bit jarring. But another hiker pointed me to a view point nearby from where you could pretend civilization was no nearer than the bottom of the valley. Aside from the crowds early on, it was an ok hike. Nothing I¢d love to repeat though.Other than that, it is mostly a waiting game at this point. I made a valiant attempt at sewing rain pants, but I was not well prepared and it became a bit of a mess. Then Cracker kindly sent me word of a big sale at Campor via my guest book, and I decided that sewing wasn¢t worth the trouble, so I ordered a pair online. I don¢t expect to use them a lot, only when it is rainy AND cold. Which I hope won¢t be too often, ha! I have one more week of work, reservations are made for Amicalola SP, I have gotten most of the Advil/Vaseline/powder/ type stuff and now I am just keeping my fingers crossed that this polar vortex business will be well gone before late March!I check this website daily for updates from the Class of 2015 and I don't envy those that are already on the trail. You guys are hard core!
Date: 2015-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Less than 2 weeks to go!I went on a couple more hikes. 2 weekends ago, I hiked a short section of the rollercoaster here in VA. The weather was beautiful, but we had had a fresh load of snow a few days earlier so the trail was an icy and later slushy mess. It was only a 5.5 mile hike but felt more like 8 or 9. Then last week I decided to go for one last overnight hike, and choose Three Ridges, just south of Charlottesville. It is a loop on the AT and mau-har trail, a little over 14 miles total. Spring definitely has sprung here now and the weather was, once again, gorgeous. Sunny, not a lot of wind and high fifties. But because it was a week day, I saw exactly 1 hiker the entire time. I hiked southbound on the AT, which means you have a very long descent towards Harpers Creek Shelter, about 7 miles in. I am not looking forward to that part when I go Northbound, but hopefully I'll have my trail legs by the time I get to central VA. Harpers Creek Shelter is pretty nice. It looks to have been spruced up recently, there was no evidence of mice and it is very nicely located next to the creek. With the snow of the last couple of months here, the creek was high and noisy. I had to cross it using a fortuitously positioned log (fun times!) but managed to keep my feet dry.I had the shelter to myself, which was nice in a way. I discovered that my 'pillow bag' (one side fleece, one side cuben fiber, it is the clothes stuff sack by day) is quite comfy but very noisy! It was cold as well, but I slept nice and warm with my booties, puffy, and old sleeping bag. The new bag is slated to arrive this week.The way back on the mau-har trail was hard! Lots of uphill hiking that kicked my ass, but it was still unexpectedly quick to get to the maupin field shelter. From there it is only a short stretch back to the parking area at Reed's Gap where my car was. Unfortunately, when I got back to my car, things weren't quite right. I had no phone signal and there is nothing else there except a parking area, so I decided to drive down the mountain and have it checked out somewhere back in civilization. The car drove normally, until all of a sudden all the electrical systems quit. Fortunately, this was right near an exit for Charlottesville and a few hours later I was on my way back home, albeit in a rental. It took a couple of tows and two different places to look at it, but my car will be fixed today (4 days later because of the weekend).Aside from trying out the sleeping bag in the yard once it arrives, this was probably the last trial hike. I did try out some mashed potatoes for dinner and they were quite palatable, so that's good. It is quite possible that I am a tiny bit spoiled when it comes to good food on a daily basis, so the trail is going to be a bit of a challenge there. But at least I do actually like Ramen noodles!
Date: 2015-03-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

All my gear, ready to go. It comes to 18 lbs, without food or water. The biggest category is clothing, and some of that will be sent home once the weather warms up. I don't think I have any extraneous items, but then, does anybody ever think that? We shall see how it goes.The next update will probably come from Amicalola SP!
Date: 2015-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We're here! And it is gorgeous! We drove from NoVA to Asheville NC yesterday and spent a fun evening there. Asheville Is such an excellent food town that we managed to squeeze in three different places, plus one for brunch this morning. After brunch we drove the 3.5 remaining hours to Amicalola Falls State Park and I am typing this entry from the panoramic deck at the lodge. It is was a beautiful drive mostly through Nantahala National Forest. We passed the NOC but I didn't see the trail. No matter, I'll see it in a few weeks. Our plan is to stay here two nights, with Gary joining me on the approach trail tomorrow. We scouted the USFS road today to make sure the car and my mom would be ok and it looks fine. I did talk to shuttler Ron Brown and he was very helpful but didn't think we'd need him and I think he was right. After one last night here at the park, they'll drop me off back at it USFS 42 on Tuesday and I will continue north. Rain in the forecast for tonight but it's supposed to end some time late morning and then it's sunny skies for a couple of days!
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center

To: USFS 42
Miles today: 1.0

While I was comfy in my bed in the cabin here at Amicalola falls SP, I could hear the rain and thunder coming through in the middle of the night. The forecast was for the rain to end around noon and the sun to come out for the rest of the day, and that was more or less what happened.After breakfast, we drove down to the visitor's center so I could register (number 863 for this year) and weigh my pack. Since we were coming back to the lodge, I only brought food and water for one day and that resulted in a pack weight of 17 lbs. I'll have to weigh it again tomorrow with 3-4 days of food and water and see what the difference is.The approach trail starts with 604 steps alongside amicalola falls and it is quite spectacular. These are the tallest falls I have seen in a while. And those steps sure get the heart rate up! Aside from the steps though, I didn't find the trail very hard. That doesn't mean that I didn't breathe hard on the ups but they weren't that long or steep and there were plenty of level-ish and downhills in between. We took the requisite pictures at Springer and had lunch before finishing with the final mile to USFS 42 where my mom would pick us up. Once we were on the AT, things definitely got a lot muddier and we saw a lot more thru-hikers too. We got to 42 in short order, where Mountain Squid was counting hikers and doing a meet and greet. Apparently I was the 41st thru-hiker for the day! Yikes, that's a lot of hikers.It's a little too windy to sit on the panoramic deck today, but I am writing this entry from the lodge lobby (same view from behind glass) while drinking a glass of wine. Roughing it befor I star tomorrow!Open map in new window
Date: 2015-03-31
From: USFS 42

To: Justus Creek
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: clear sky

3/31I am at Justus Creek camp site, which resembles a refugee camp. But first things first.We drove once more to USFS 42 and after some more pictures I was off for real this time! I started with Cherokee Dancer, a gentleman from southern Virginia, who we had given a ride from the lodge. I did check my pack weight and it came in at 25 lbs, which feels a heck of a lot heavier than 17!The morning was pretty easy hiking and the weather really couldn't be better. Cherokee Dancer and I both stopped at Stover Creek shelter, which still had a hiker there from last night. He did not seem perky....For lunch, I stopped at Hawk Mountain shelter, where I probably saw 10 or 15 people while I was there. Leftover ribs for lunch, mmmmmm!It was too early to stop, so I hiked on to this camp site, but unfortunately I was ready to call it a day a couple of miles before I got here. Sassafras Mountain was supposedly the big one of the day but I got through that fine. After that there was a smaller bump after which you were supposed to cross a dirt road. I never saw the road and kept thinking I was still at least a mile away from Justus Creek, when I got here. My feet are tired! Now I'm fed (I was not hungry after those ribs so I just snacked for dinner), my beat bag is hung and I am ready to get cleaned up. Oh, and the first thing I did after I set up my tent, was have a cup of tea. So civilized here in the woods. Now if the toddler in one the nearby tents could just stop crying, things would be pretty sweet!Open map in new window
Date: 2015-04-01
From: Justus Creek

To: Lance Creek camp site
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Last night was an exercise in temperature control. It started out really warm and I actually had to take off my socks and long johns. And I never even got into the sleeping bag, I just used it as a quilt. I did have to put on another top layer at some point though and when I got up, I used my puffy for a bit.I wasn't in any hurry to get going this morning because I knew it would be a short and relatively easy day. Camping restrictions (bear canister required) gave us two choices: camping at Lance Creek, or going all the way to Neel Gap. Neel Gap would be a 15 mile day AND it would have us climb Blood Mountain late in the day. Yeah, not so much.As expected, the hiking was fairly easy, with no major climbs. Still, there a bunch of ups that will make you breathe juuuuuust a little harder. Some even had views (the first since Springer).I met a lot of people last night at the camp site and all day on the hike. Among them a ukulele player, didgeridoo player and fiddler, in addition to yesterday's guitar player. The fiddler has my favorite trail name so far: Fiddler on the hoof. I also met fellow trail journalists Kansas and Jason (no trail name yet), two guys hiking barefoot and one in thong sandals and a whole bunch of others. Food-wise, I am slowly figuring things out. This morning I had grape nuts with cranberries, mixed into apple sauce. It was really good, so I think this or granola will be my go to breakfast for the next bit. Of course I have to replenish my apple sauce first, this one came in the MRE that my coworker had given me (thanks Richard!).Lunch was English muffin with pbj on one half and peanut butter studded with pieces of chocolate in the other. Not too shabby (though the Swiss Bakery it is not!). And dinner will Santa Fe black beans and rice. It smells good so I have high-ish hopes.I did bring way too much food for the first few days though. It seems to be a common problem.Tomorrow: Neel Gap, or as I have been calling it, 'the first point of civilization'! But first we are all excited about a nice night without crying babies. Open map in new window
Date: 2015-04-02
From: Lance Creek camp site

To: Blood Mountain Cabin
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

04/02Well, the perfect weather took a leave of absence today. But it is scheduled to come back tomorrow so I can't complain.Last night was lovely and peaceful at Lance Creek. It got a little chillier during the night and I actually zipped up my sleeping bag at some point. I also found that I don't like the liner I'm using, so I'll go back to the one I have at home. It's twice the weight but actually adds warm rather than making me a bit clammy so I'll deal with the extra 100 or so grams.Everyone was up earlier than the day before so we could try to pack up before the rain started and it worked like a charm . It was misting as soon as I started but I wasn't cold so I didn't put on my rain gear.I stopped at Woods Hole shelter to get something to eat (having only had chocolate for breakfast. Which I recommend, btw) and I actually had my first ramen of the trip. Even though Blood Mountain is the highest point on the AT in Georgia ( I think) it really wasn't bad. But the weather was steadily deteriorating so I didn't spend any time at the top. No views anyway. After an even rainier two mile descent it was really really nice to get to Neels Gap. I stopped at the store and ate my first ever hot pocket. It was gross and perfect at the same time. I am sharing a cabin with Cherokee, Slow Hand and Fiddler and we are all about ready to fall asleep at 8:15. It was nice to have unlimited battery life and decent connectivity. I do have mysterious problems getting my entries to post so bear with me, especially if it says it's updated and nothing new shows (hi there Jason's wife ). I am sure it's user error on my part but I haven't quite figured out the issue yet.Thank you to everyone signing my guest book too, it's great to read your comments!Tomorrow it is supposed to be 79 degrees with zero chance of rain. They never get his wrong so that's what I'm counting on!Open map in new window
Date: 2015-04-03
From: Blood Mountain Cabin

To: Poplar Stamp Gap Camp
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The weather people had it right: it probably did get close to 80 and we never even saw a hint of rain today. Though we are supposed to get some during the night. As long as it's not raining when I pack up, I don't really mind.After a leisurely morning of packing up, I spent some time at the rental office trying to post my last journal entry but I could not make it happen. I need remedial lessons and I am going to bribe Rockboat with starburst to help me. By the time you read this, I'll be in Hiawassee and hopefully will be posting more regularly. Amazingly, I have had a signal every day so far. The hiking was easy today, except for a short but steep hike over Wildcat. But since it was so short, I tried to hike it without stopping and I did! I had a nice leisurely lunch in he sun at Hogpen Gap with Bama, Hiking Shoes and Spot of Tea (formerly slow hand). They all stayed at Low Gap Shelter as did Fiddler and Cherokee but I hiked on to a camp site 1.4 miles further. There are 7 tents here and we have our first fire! Good thing too, as the gnats are ferocious and have been all day.I also think I may have some sunburn, which is just not right! Though better than snow, so I'll take it.There are a couple of guys here who started a day later than we did an we'll probably won't see them again. But, I am happy with my progress so far. I don't have too many aches and pains either though my left pinky toe is annoying me. We'll have to have a little talk.Tomorrow should be a good day for hiking and I aiming for the Cheese Factory tent site. Which holds neither cheese nor a factory but that is how things are on the trail!Open map in new window
Date: 2015-04-04
From: Poplar Stamp Gap Camp

To: Cheese Factory camp site
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It was the most unpleasant morning as of yet. It was dry when we all got up around 7, but it had rained hard during the night and everything was wet and very muddy. Add to that lowish temperatures and strong winds and it's a miracle I ever got out of the sleeping bag at all. And, to add insult to injury, my stove lighter didn't want to work, so I wasn't even able to make tea! Hmph.Things improved almost as soon as we got under way, with a nice easy and relatively wind free section to start out. All the same, I was wearing my rain pants and jacket over my regular hiking clothes, as well as hat, neck gaiter and mittens. The first stop was to be Blue Mountain shelter where I stopped briefly to eat. I had stripped to shorts and 1 hiking shirt on the leeward side of the mountain and the shelter was on the windward side, so I had to put layers back on. And so it went for most of the day.We are camped out at the Cheese factory site (sadly there is no cheese but it is a very nice camp site) which sets me up for an easy day tomorrow and a super easy 2 or 3 mile hike to Top of Georgia hostel for Monday. I happy to report that after losing all three of my cabin mates last night, Fiddler made it here already, with Cherokee not too far behind. Spot of Tea is having foot issues and is going into Hiawassee tomorrow to hopefully get that sorted.I do have one blister now, even though I taped the area this morning, so I'll give the blister band aid a try. I have had several compliments on my spiffy light tent and it and all my other gear is working fine. I may change out my sawyer mini filter for a regular down the road but that's not something I'm worried about one way or the other.One thing I have found that is a bummer is that I have no time to keep up with any of the trail journals I was following before I started now that I'm on the trail myself. Maybe I can do some catching up on my first zero day!Right now I working on this entry near the stream, away from the camp site, and things are pretty good.Open map in new window
Date: 2015-04-05
From: Cheese Factory camp site

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Saturday night was a ton of fun! There were ten or twelve tents there, and I was a little worried that it was going to be loud. But Fiddler, Goose, Moosehead and General Burnside built a fire and we all kept warm while Fiddler and Double Back played and sang. It was the coldest night yet, so I was grateful for that fire! Another bonus was that this was my best bear bagging attempt yet of the trip. Of course after a cold night (during which I tried several configurations of clothes to keep warm) it was really hard to get up. I was one the last ones to leave camp, but eventually did make my way down the trail. I was hiking with Fiddler for most of the morning, when we got word of Trail Magic at the next gap. And rumor had it that it involved bacon! The next mile was hiked a little faster than normal and the trail magic was spectacular! There was a huge amount of food: bacon (the best bacon in the history of bacon too), pancakes, fresh fruit, eggs, orange juice, turkey, ham, eggs, muffins, beer and probably more that I didn't see. And there were chairs to sit in while eating it all. Needless to say, we all stuffed ourselves silly. Sadly, as it turns out, bacon is not good hiking food. So far, I have found the hiking easier than I expected but this nothing-particular-knob after Addis Gap kicked my ass! I was either going to stop at Deep Gap shelter or the camp site a mile plus after that but after dragging myself over Kelly Knob I decided the shelter was as far as I would get that day. Nobody was there when I got there, which is bizarre this time of year in Georgia. I didn't last either, I think more than twenty people ended up staying the night there. Tomorrow is a very short day into Dick's Creek Gap. Fingers crossed the rain holds off until after I pack up!Open map in new window