morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-11-12
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: few clouds

Everyone raved about Max Patch. It's a bald with full 360-degree views of mountains and valleys all around. Some haybales on the north side of the bald only add to its quaint charm. I heard so many things about it, all of them wonderful. And yes, Max Patch is great. It's lovely. It's haunting, especially if you are southbound and looking into the Smokies.But, as Karma felt about Damascus, all the hype made me exaggerate the wonders to come. Had no one raved about Max Patch, or if their praise had been tempered instead of otherworldly, I would probably be raving about Max Patch right now. I wonder if the trail was better before guidebooks - when whatever was around the corner was a true surprise.Anyway, Max Patch was pretty. I'd rather be there than a lot of places. It didn't quite change my life.We made it to Groundhog Creek Shelter where we played with glow sticks that my friend Tom sent to us. We met up with Tiny Tim/PPP who we'd met just after Waynesboro briefly. He had passed us and we'd never heard of him again. He apparently took a month off and still managed to catch up. It was fun to see him again.Now when we see southbounders, there's a twinge of nostalgia in it already. Some of us have only ten days left. Even Karma and I, moving at a comfortable pace, will not be on the trail for more than a month more. We have probably two and a half weeks left. When we say goodbye to southbounders now, we know that we likely will never see them again. In a way, it's great, because we are all achieving this dream. But we are also leaving behind this way of life.Are we ready for it?
Date: 2010-11-13
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

Although this was a short-mileage day, it was strategic, and it involved a pizza for lunch. You need to have your priorities in order on the trail.We woke up to a beautiful day and climbed Snowbird Mountain. It felt like a long climb, through it was under 2,000 feet. From the top we could have zip-lined across into the Smokies, had there but been a zip line. The descent was long and taxing. It would have been a bitter climb if I were a northbounder who had just survived the Smokies. Instead, I trudged down, knees feeling a bit beat up, heart feeling a little gloomy that every single step down meant a step up on the other side of the gap.Sigh.At the gap we followed a road to Standing Bear Farm, a beautiful piece of what the AT is all about: nature, tradition, trust, friendly hostel owners, and shelter registers full of friends. Though pricey, the frozen pizza we bought made a much better lunch than bagels for the 80th day in a row. We enjoyed it immensely, checked the weather (we'd been hearing sketchy stuff about the weather), and went on our way.Davenport Gap Shelter is in the Smokies, but just barely. Yet again we were reminded that southbounders get no love (okay, we get love, just not as much): there was no sign to suggest that we had entered the most-visited national park in America. No "Hi! You're in the Smokies now!" sign. Nothin'.The shelter sits 1200 feet above the Pigeon River gap. It's only a fraction of the climb into the Smokies (the trail goes from 1400 ft to 5050 in about seven miles), but in the park NO STEALTH CAMPING IS ALLOWED. There's a huge hullabaloo every year during northbound season because the park simply can't accommodate that many people. Luckily for us southbounders, in exchange for the love we get solitude. The only people we saw that night were some horseback riders - the first time I've seen such a thing on the trail, as it is forbidden nearly everywhere.It was a nice night with a toasty fire inside and a chain-link fence locking us in, away from bears. Creepy, but fun.
Date: 2010-11-14
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: TriCorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light rain

Today we finished the initial huge climb into the Smokies. With that out of the way, the mountains that we summit, while having impressive height, will actually be small or normal climbs. The highest point on the whole trail is just ahead of us, and the climb there will be minimal. This was a perfect day in the mountains. Breathtaking climbing, breathtaking views. I felt like the effort I was putting into the trail was directly related to the quality of views I was getting. Don't get me wrong; I love views of trees and normal forest, but after thousands of feet of climbing . . . Everything about today was epic.Towards the end of the day I was tire and sore, having issues with my new boots, and the sky began to look menacing. I was following my guidebook pages and came to the conclusion that we hadn't passed a certain trail junction (Guyot Trail). This meant we were still miles from the shelter, and I was beginning to fret. No way would we make it before the clouds broke into rain (or worse). Karma consulted his GPS, which has coordinates for all the shelters but not the trail (I think sanity is saved quite often with this arrangement) and concluded that we were, in fact, mere tenths from the shelter. I gave him a big hug and was positively overjoyed. We made it just before it began to rain.Cold, drizzling, endless rain.But: nice, dry shelter, all to ourselves. Water source mere feet from the shelter. Decent privy. Bear pulleys.What a great day. I still don't think we ever crossed Guyot Trail.
Date: 2010-11-17
From: Gatlinburg

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

So nice to get an early start, thanks to the kind owner of Grand Prix hotel who shuttled us up to the trailhead. With fear, I stepped out of the van, only to be surprised by how mild it was. We were wise to take a day off in Gatlinburg, as apparently it precipitated most of yesterday up here in the higher elevations. The trail was crunchy and snow-covered, but it was drier snow than I'd hoped, and my feet didn't get wet in this. We were the first hikers on the new snow, though a cat did beat us.Karma went nuts taking pictures. I beat him to Clingman's Dome by at least an hour. In the interest of not freezing (mild, yes, but the wind did tend to pick up on the highest point on the entire Appalachian Trail), I took off and made it to the shelter.We met two very inept men who were attempting to be hikers and failing miserably at every social norm set down for hikers. They were friendly enough though. I was quite pleased to have the shelter to ourselves yet again.So nice to have fun and views and dry feet!
Date: 2010-11-19
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a day of adventures: crossing the Benton MacKaye Trail, almost climbing Shuckstack Mountain (it looked a wee too decrepit for this weenie, but Karma made it up), gummi worms for dessert, and one of the most famous spots on the trail: Fontana Dam and the Fontana Hilton (actually a shelter, just a nice one).It was a really fun day of hiking. As usual, northbounders got a big welcome sign for when they entered something, but I wouldn't trade all the signs and welcomes in the worlds for the blissful solitude that Karma and I were lucky enough to experience in the Smokies.Tonight's menu: Beef strrroganoff!
Date: 2010-11-20
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: broken clouds

Ohhh pointless 2,000 foot climbs, ohhh how I loathe you, loathe, loathe, loathe. . . After the drama and beauty of yesterday, today's ho-hum forest climb was lacking in excitement. The highlight of the day was laying in a grassy, leaf-covered spot with Karma and eating jelly beans that my sister mailed to me in Hot Springs. Mmm.We got to this shelter with some energy to spare and a long day tomorrow. We settled in and discovered that the shelter was rodent-infested to a degree I'd never experienced before. I mean, this place had some serious issues in the mouse department. I didn't see any rats, but if any were in the southern half, I'd suspect this shelter over all others. And it looked so quaint!Anyway, this was the night: we had to Make A Plan. Up until this night, we'd had the vague notion that we'd get to Springer someday. No telling when, exactly. I'd set out with the idea of making it by December 1, then when the massive rains hit in Virginia, along with reality, I decided that December 10 was a more reasonable date. It didn't matter, as neither of us had a way home anyway. But with November winding down, it was time to take out the tattered remains of the guidebook and Make A Plan.And so we Made A Plan.
Date: 2010-11-21
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Karma woke up at some ungodly hour this morning and decided to night hike. It was NOT a restful night due to rodents and grossness. I hate night hiking with a passion, but I learned that up north; Karma had never had to seriously night hike, and wanted the experience. Good for him, but no thanks for me. We agreed to meet at the NOC, where we were both getting maildrops with new shoes.It was an okay day. I fell down a lot. A LOT. My knees were exhausted after the 3,000 foot descent. Thank goodness there was Ben and Jerry's at the store.We stayed the night in a tiny room with bunk beds. I was ready to leave when I woke up.
Date: 2010-11-22
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Apple's Tent/Burningtown Gap
Miles today: 12.7

The climb out of Nantahala Gorge is the last big climb of the Appalachian Trail. I remember looking at my guidebook in Virginia and counting the remaining "scary" climbs and only coming up with a few. And today we climbed the last. Of course there is lots of climbing remaining, but nothing over 2000 feet. Today our elevation went from 1700 to over 5000. It felt never-ending. Luckily my mother sent me chocolate chips.We had planned a really short day to Cold Spring Shelter. I got there and saw a sign "TRAIL ANGEL 1 MILE AHEAD: FOOD, SHELTER" Sold! I gleefully waited for Mark to catch up, then we hurried downhill one mile to a tent where a man named Apple was set up.Apple gives the kind of trail magic that I would aspire to give. He sets up his tent for a week each fall to catch southbounders (he'd waited three days with no one between sobos), a week in late winter for northbounders, and also gives trail magic on the Florida Trail and Colorado Trail. Not only is his tent big enough to sleep 12, but it has a stove inside, coolers of refreshments, cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, radio, and good company. Apple is full of stories of people he's met and helped, how he evolved his gig into what he has now, and ideas for the trail. Like most hikers, he despises the pointless ups and downs that the AT sometimes insists on. He works to make it better.Apple's kindness is part of the reason I love the AT. It's not about getting stuff, it's about people who love the trail and want to help others enjoy it. It tickles me that Apple is out there, doing that, whether or not I get to enjoy it. But of course, I'm so glad I got to enjoy it!Apple, you truly bring joy to others!
Date: 2010-11-23
From: Apple's Tent/Burningtown Gap

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

At some point last night I realized how bizarre it was that I was more than willing to sleep in some stranger's tent that was set up randomly in the woods. Maybe that's what I love about the AT: you can generally assume that you're only going to meet good people. I think the real world is like that too, only we forget it.It was time to resupply, so we headed for Franklin today. It was cool and cloudy and later foggy, and we got drenched during the last 2 miles. However, I was grateful that the rain held off so long. We tried and tried to hitch a ride, but no one wanted to pick up two sopping wet hikers, even though we were clearly oodles of fun.Eventually a pickup pulled over and said they had room in the back. We hopped in. Nothing like cruising down a mountain in a rainstorm in the back of a pickup truck!We got dropped off at Haven's Budget Inn. We did laundry and went to get groceries. Alas, the supermarket was probably half a mile away, but at least we didn't have our packs on. We shopped and started walking back when a car pulled over. It was a young couple we'd met earlier that day who had been finishing up their section hike. Now they were in town and just happened to recognize us! Karma pointed out that that's one huge advantage to only having one outfit! They gave us a ride back to the hotel.Later we ordered Chinese food and watched Aladdin.
Date: 2010-11-24
From: Franklin, NC

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

There is one really good thing about today, one really annoying thing, and one simple observation.SOOPER DOOPER: We woke up to rain in Franklin. My little heart sank. Nevertheless, we got a shuttle up to the mountain gap and as we were heading up the mountain, we went through the clouds and eventually emerged over the clouds into a perfectly sunny day. I was stunned. It was the most beautiful thing I had experienced in ages. Hiking along the top of the mountains, I could look down and see islands of the mountain tops in the sea of clouds below us. Spectacular.STINKY: Although there is a trail that winds more-or-less south, the Appalachian Trail decides to make a huge N shape and go north for a bunch of miles before turning and continuing south. AAACCKKK! There are places where this is totally legitimate: the Presidentials, for example, would be missed if the AT went straight. But as lovely as the woods was today, there was nothing, absolutely nothing, to distinguish it from the last 800 miles. Sorry. So we slept tonight less than 1/2 kilometer from Georgia . . . but we have an entire day of hiking before we will reach Georgia. Cheers to all southbounders who looked at the map and decided that this route makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER and decided to take the blue-blaze trail straight south. Next time, I will too.HA: Although I generally don't appreciate vandalism, sometimes graffiti in the woods can be seriously hilarious.
Date: 2010-11-25
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

This was our last day in North Carolina. I feel overly ready if only because I hiked freakin' NORTH half the day.The North Carolina/Tennessee border was one of the highlights of the AT. My favorite parts of the southern half were here. Tennessee and North Carolina by themselves? Nothing too special. But together . . . together they were amazing.Today's highlight was passing the Chunky Gal Trail.
Date: 2010-11-26
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Hiawassee, GEORGIA!
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Nothing could be bad today because we hit GEORGIA. On top of that, my dear friend Katie Bovee drove forever and ever with her kidnapped coworkers to come and visit me. I love Hiawassee. I love Georgia. I love Bovee.
Date: 2010-11-27
From: Hiawassee, GEORGIA!

To: Cheese Factory Campsite
Miles today: 13.5

A continued celebration of leaving dear North Carolina and finally making it to Georgia.<--What a cold day! Leaving Hiawassee was a cinch thanks to a kind trail angel who agreed to shuttle us to the trail crossing. With our last resupply my pack was very heavy and I felt like a turtle. I wanted to move quickly, as the wind was so fierce that I was forced to use my bandana as a scarf and the only respite was when the trail would slip over to the sheltered side of the mountain. It was tempting to stay at Tray Mountain Shelter, but it was high and windy (brrrr!) and we wanted to make a few more miles.Remember: At this point we officially had A Plan. We could only deviate so much.On our way down Tray Mtn to Cheese Factory Site (where, alas, there is no longer a cheese factory) we met group after group of people headed to that shelter.Today at lunch, something special happened. After about seven months in the woods and 14 states, someone caught me peeing in the woods for the very first time. And it was spectacular, because it was not one man, but three! Three men! ah ah ah. Well, it had to happen once, didn't it? And I am now so close to the end that it had to be now. Figures.
Date: 2010-11-28
From: Cheese Factory Campsite

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

I didn't know it then, but this would be my last night in a shelter. I wouldn't have guessed.It was cold in my tent last night, but good to be in my tent. I hadn't used it in almost a month and I felt silly hauling around three pounds of uselessness. When I got up in the middle of the night to empty my bladder, I noticed the lights of a town far away. When we asked others what these lights could be, we got lots of answers: Helen, Gainesville, Atlanta. . . most likely Helen, I'd guess.It was a pleasant day of ups and downs. The shelter was rodent-free and section hiker Ed provided good company and enthusiasm about Minnesota.
Date: 2010-11-29
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

Cold, yucky rain. Cold, yucky mountains. Warm, happy, hostel.Maybe not as happy as it once was . . . but a hot meal and friendly cats.Sometimes on the AT I get a feeling that I am exactly where the magic is happening. It happened last year at Tom's in Dalton, at Eckville Shelter when almost ALL the southbounders I'd met gathered, and at the church hostel in Delaware Water Gap. This year it happened at Woods Hole Hostel with Flora's family and the herd of men, and earlier at the Buena Vista motel with GoFish, Ghost Pirate, and Quickstep. These are really amazing moments of synergy where I fall in love with the trail all over again.The hostel here at Neel's Gap has echoes of that, but it feels like those days are just reverberations of previous good times. Karma had a not-great feeling about the place, and I think I understand. Still, we were happy to receive the hospitality and the break from the rain.
Date: 2010-11-30
From: Neel's Gap

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We had enough wiggle room in our Plan to give ourselves one last zero day. Neither of us needed it, but we woke up to torrential rain, and even though we were ready to get out of the place, we didn't want one of our last hiking days to be miserable.This was the day I called and accepted a job offer at Camp McDowell Environmental Center in Alabama. It feels really nice to have the next adventure lined up so my mind isn't racing with what happens after Springer. The job in Alabama isn't forever, so I don't have to stress about changing my entire life; I just have to go down there and have fun and work for a few months while I figure out the next Plan.Today we met our 2nd and 3rd northbounders of the year. The first we met just north of Georgia, and he seemed vaguely out of his mind. These two northbounders leave at probably the worst time of the year, and although they tried the same plan last year and it didn't work, they're doing the same thing this year. Try, try, try again. I would hate to be heading north knowing that the weather would be getting nothing but worse. To each their own. I give them major credit for trying.
Date: 2010-12-01
From: Neel's Gap

To: Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We planned for a longer day today, but the bone-chilling cold made me dream of another night indoors. Luckily, we could easily rearrange The Plan without compromising our end date. Hiker Hostel, while having the most generic name imaginable, is one of the nicer places. I felt a bit soft, having spent three nights indoors. I came out here to hike, to live outside. But staying inside didn't feel like a compromise of my plans, probably because sleeping outside when it is below freezing is beyond miserable, and if there is any way to avoid it, I am all for it. As it was, we got to experience one of the most popular attractions of the trail. Because so many people hike northbound and so many people drop off before Maine, I wonder if this isn't the single most popular hostel of all. It deserves to be.Blood Mountain was our last real mountain, other than Springer, although Springer's kind of a piddly thing. Ever since we hit Georgia, day hikers and section hikers have warned us about blood mountain. They would laugh and shake their heads, making noises as if to say "Oh, good luck! You'll need it! You'll never make it up Blood Mountain!" When I reached the top of the mountain, I had to laugh. The only hard part of that was the ice covering the rocks and the total lack of white blazes at the top. Blood Mountain was nothing to write home about. Sorry guys.I fell asleep knowing that I had only one real day of hiking left, and I would be done.
Date: 2010-12-02
From: Hiker Hostel

To: Long Creek Falls
Miles today: 15.0

We ate a lovely breakfast at the hostel this morning and went back into the woods almost nostalgically. We planned to hike about 17 miles today, to one of the last shelters on the trail. But that was also the plan of a southbounder we'd met at Neel's Gap, and although he seemed fine, he definitely was more of a partier than us, and we weren't willing to spend our last night on the trail with someone who wasn't a friend (how's THAT for a run-on sentence?). We set up our tents near a spectacular waterfall on the Benton MacKaye Trail. It was an incredibly beautiful spot. Someone had carved "JO" into a tree.It was surreal to fall asleep in my sleeping bag, using up the last of my handwarmers, not caring if I ate all my snacks, cleaning my last liter of water. I fell asleep five miles from Springer Mountain.
Date: 2010-12-03
From: Long Creek Falls

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Often on the trail when I was about to faceplant into a mudhole, onto jagged rocks, or off a mountain, I would experience a strange sense of time slowing down. During my last week on the Appalachian Trail, my entire life was like that. I was living in a world of slow motion. I could move my hand in front of my face and be sure that my eyes were tricking me, or that I was moving at some uncommonly slow pace, even for me. (Maybe I was, but Karma didn't comment on it.)I would time my miles, and I was making average or better-than-average time, even though I felt like I was merely meandering through the woods. Each landmark in my guidebook took my breath away. Could I really be 4.3 miles away? Now was it really 2.8? This really was the last stream I was going to cross? I'd never see another shelter?Suddenly I was at Springer Mountain Shelter, a mere .2 from the summit of Springer Mountain. That means if I divided the trail up into 10,895 chunks, I'd have only one left. Karma waited for me there, and we read the trail journal. We were elated to see stickers on the cover that we'd given to Farm-A-Sea for his birthday back in Damascus.Then we hiked together for the last .2 mile. The trail was gentle, as it had been all day. And then we were there.It looked like the pictures, only I didn't realize the view would be so nice. I stepped on the last white blaze. We pulled the final register out of its box and smiled at the thought of all the wonderful people we'd met who had already had their victory: TurtleHawk and Silver, Flora, Abear, Aboo, and countless others. We had Springer to ourselves for an hour, taking photos and reflecting. Some dayhikers joined us and offered congratulations. Then we turned around and hiked north to a parking lot and all the places it would take us.
Date: 2009-12-27
To: HOME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello fellow trail enthusiasts...This is my opening journal entry for my AT adventure of 2010! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and glorious new year out there on the trail and wherever your heart takes you. Looking forward to meeting you on the trail or allowing you to enjoy the trail by reading trail journals by those of us that are out there experiencing it first hand.Lata,Southside