morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-02-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.6

WoW! today was pretty intense! It was 37 degrees out all day and pouring rain from when we left at 9 to about 5 o'clock. It is true that nothing is waterproof when you are hiking all day in the rain. In some of the higher elevations it was mainly sleet. I was soaked to the bone after about 5 miles in. We walked in snowy slush and mud all day so my boots got soaked too. It was still cool to think that i was hiking the appalachian trail and i knew i would be a tougher person at the end of the day. The terrain was again very strenuous and took alot out of us. We couldn't stop for lunch cause of the rain and also after stopping for about 5 minutes I started to freeze. I had a hard time keeping my hands warm today too. Our original plan was to stay on top of blood mountain in a little shelter but it was soaked and frozen when we arrived and we knew after the temps dropped that evening everything would freeze and the descent would be impossible. We then decided to push on a few miles and head to the walasi yi hostel and pay a few buck to be in a dry place. We got bunks, dry clothes and some leftover tacos. We will be picking up our mail drops with a resupply of food in the morning and heading to low gap tomorrow night. Hopefully snow and not rain, but as they say NO RAIN, NO PAIN, NO MAINE!!! I am very sore and dissapointed with the weather but i always say "pain is inevitable but misery is optional" and i can't wait to see what challenge tomorrow will bring me.Breakfast: pop tartsLunch: snickers/trail mix/cliff barDinner: tacos/ taco salad/ salad/ gummy bears/ granola bar.JB NOBO '10
Date: 2010-02-10
From: Neels Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.8

Woke up this a.m. at 8:30 packed and went next door to mountain crossings for our mail drop and a couple of things like some tyvek to put under the tent to keep out ground moisture and a patch to send home to dad. He is gonna be joining us in Hot Springs to hike about 130 miles with us and it can't come soon enough! We started hiking at about 11' o clock and it was 12 degrees out and snowing with about 30-40 mph winds which brought the temp below zero with the wind chill! It was freezing all day to say the least. The trail was pretty slow going due to all the ice and blow downs. Both of us had some nice spills where the other would holler out "DOWN GOES FRAZ(S)IER!!" in a very enthusiastic announcers voice. After a pretty difficult hike we hunkered down in Low Gap and set the tents up under the shelter roof for a little added warmth. We cooked right outside the tents halfway in our sleeping bags under the light of headlamps. All in all it was a great day on the trail. I'm off for some shuteye. hope to hitch a ride into helen for some real food and maybe a warm bed at a cheap motel.Dinner: spanish rice with mozarella cheese and pepperoninutri-grain bar and a snickers for dessert.JB NOBO '10
Date: 2010-02-11
From: Low Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.4

Last night was the first night i slept pretty well. Thanks to the the lack of snoring. We hiked hard from 9-1 and coverd 9.4 miles. The terrain was pretty easy except where the ice was really bad. At Unicoi Gap we caught up with another thru hiker and apparently we are going pretty fast for all the nasty weather and terrain we have been going through. Dave, myself and the other thru hiker all stayed in a cheap motel in helen. We did laundry and went out and had some hot wings and cold beer and boy was it good! After food and drinks dave and i stuck around and our new hiker friend went back. Dave and I stayed and enjoyed some karaoke with some of the locals where we quickly became the life of the party with our story and karaoke singing. Warm beds and plumbing are nice to have tonight!JB NOBO '10
Date: 2010-02-12
From: Unicoi Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 5.6

After alot of discouragement from other hikers we decided to attempt to make it to Tray Mtn. which we were told was completely impenetrable and impossibl to get to due to the ice and blow downs. We stopped at Betty's grocery store to grab a couple of items. At Betty's we we ran into a guy who offered us a ride to the trail head saving us 9 miles of uphill road walking which was huge. Initially we had a couple hard climbs. One was over 1000 feet up in just .7 miles. All the ice kept us at a snail's pace and it snowed pretty much all day. I'm tired of my hands hurting and being freezing all the time. my supposedly Gore Tex boots have gotten completely soaked everyday since we started and it is hard to hike the first few miles of each day with frozen boots. The trail wasn't to bad as we thought it would be.... or so we thought. The last mile of the trail before tray mtn was awful! I had to literally take my pack off and crawl hands and feet in the snow and climb frozen trees to get through the trail. It was too steep to on both sides to go up or down and around. All the ice on the trees made the trees fall down and completely block the trai. The last mile took over an hour! Finally on top, wet and with the temps in the teen already with the sun still out we had to get warm so we piled up some rocks and started a fire with alot of help getting it going from our canadian compadre. We were proud.   At about 6:00 an old rough looking vietnam vet came trudging in soaked and exhausted. I was a little nervous and sketched out by his statements of mental instability but as the night went on he was a real nice guy with some good stories and some good tips. The canadian guy who is a little younger than us and him hit it off all night and stayed up late. I have yet to get warm! This is the toughest night yet as i lay here with the temps in the single digits and snow falling and melting on my sleeping bag. I sure hope I'm not soaked in the morning of i might be in some serious trouble. I talked to MaKaylie for a bit which helped alot though! Dave's knee is hurting him pretty bad so it might be looking like we will be taking a zero day pretty soon.JB NOBO '10
Date: 2010-02-13
From: Tray Mtn. shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.5

I did not sleep well at all last night trying to stay warm and worrying about being soaked all night in such low temps. I wasn't soaked but i was pretty damp and the outside of my down bag was pretty wet. It really hurt getting out but when i poked my head out of the shelter and i saw the sun peeking up over the the mountain i quickly remembered again why i was out here. It was the best sunrise i had ever seen and i know there are many more to come. Dave's dad met us at the trail head and took us into town(Hiawasee) to get dry and eat and stay indoors for a bit while this crazy winter storm passes a little. I vividly remember the other day hoping for snow instead of rain. I take it back!! I have only been in snow a few times in my life, Well we had enough in one day for the next 24 years of my life!! These mountains are hard enough as they are to hike in but 11.5 miles in 1-2 feet in most places is nearly impossible, but i guess we better get used cause we are supposed to get a hell of alot more in the next week. It took almost all day (9-4) to travel 11.5 miles. Once in town Dave's dad took us to get some all you can eat ribs and put us up in a really nice hotel with a jacuzzi to lick our wounds. It has been by far one of the nicest things anyone has done for us on the trail and I will be eternally grateful for what he has done for us. We plan on taking a zero day tomorrow!JB NOBO '10
Date: 2010-02-14
From: dick's creek gap

To: muskrat shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Dave and I hiked into North Carolina yesterday only to be met by more snow! We hiked most of the day in shin to knee deep snow in the upper elevations and got lost many times because of the snow and hard to find blazes. We broke snow all day unable to find the trail which exhuasted us more than ever. About two miles from the shelter we were in a waist deep snow drift and continuing to get lost and realized at about 4:30 and temperatures quickly approaching single digits that we could not go any further and began to head back to plumorchard shelter. Knowing that the snow will not melt for a while and we have yet to reach the higher elevations of the smoky mountains where snowfall is even greater than here and often expected in April and we are very tired of the current weather conditions. We are tired of fighting the trail when we should be enjoying ourselves and hiking it which we have yet to do since gooch mountain shelter, we will take a few days off and wait for the snow to melt away before we continue. We are very frustrated and discouraged by this but we feel it is the best decision to make to save the trip. Sorry to the people following along but we will continue back on the trail very shortly. this winter weather and snowfall is absolutely rediculous!!!!! JB NOBO'10
Date: 2010-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.0

We started out this morning with the sun shining on our face and what seemed like a really warm 25 degrees. Our hike began at 9:30 a.m. In the lower elevations the sun had actually melted some of the snow and in parts you could actually see the leave on the ground! I am so happy to see leaves!! After about a mile of climbing we quickly shed our rain jackets and just wore the long sleeves. Temps got to about 30 by 11 or 12 and close to 40 in the sun around wayah bald. The trail after about the first two miles was really really hard on the knees and ankles. The snow was still about shin-knee deep most places but the previous tracks from the few in front of us were frozen making it very difficult to step in exactly the right footprints. It didn't matter though because the sun was shining on my face at certain points an although it was still cold it felt great. It made me think about playing volleyball with my buddies, MaKaylie layin out by the pool, grillin some steaks in the middle of the summer and all those thoughts made my steps a litte quicker and my pack load seem a little lighter. We stopped and ate lunch that we had prepared that morning which saved some time as far as preparation goes and it saved us some unecessary freezing time while we ate (when you stop at 30 degrees and you are sweaty you start getting cold very quickly!) There were some very nice vistas and also an observation tower on the top of Wayah bald. We pushed on a little further to stay at Wayah shelter. We shared some mashed potatoes w/bacon and some cheddar broccoli rice that had way too much hot sauce!! (not good for chapped lips!!), a candy bar, a heater for my sleeping bag (A Heater is made from heating up a liter of water on my stove and then put into my water bottle and stuffed down by my feet in my sleeping bag), and then off to a broken sleep. All in all a good day. We really needed it for our morale. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice too and we hope to do about 17 miles to get to the NOC for some real food.
Date: 2010-02-27
From: Wayah Shelter

To: N.O.C`
Miles today: 16.3

We planned on doing over 16 miles today so we started at 8:45. We wanted to hike hard and was hoping the snow wouldn't be that bad. It was very similar to yesterday with the frozen prints. At Burningtown Gap we were met by a gentleman named "Apple" who told us he was a trail angel (someone who helps hikers along the trail w/anything from a warm conversation to a warm place to stay or ride or food or anything) and we could stop by his campsite where we could get something warm to drink or just rest our legs. We decided to take a break and indulge. He had a nice dome tent set up wher inside he gave us hot chocolate and cooked us each two hot dogs. He explained that he got up everyday and went out there on the trail from 9-5 during February and March and then again a couple more months for the SOBO's (southbounders Maine to Georgia). He then goes out to Colorado Trail for a while too. Its very awesom to think about someone doing something like that. I was taken back a bit by that. He did not accept any offers to repay for the hospitality. We traveled on and on and on trudging through the snow. It was knee deep at some points and a tough hike. We arrived at Wesser Bald observation tower at an old fire tower that you can see forever in all directions. I have never seen anything more beautiful/Awesome/Awe-inspiring in my entire life and thought to myself that these are all mine for enjoyment and opportunity!. On top of the fire tower was a group of girls from Auburn doing a day hike. One of the girls was foreign and never heard of anyone doing what dave and I are doing and was amazed. She saw our packs at the bottom and made a funny comment in a broken english accent "Oh Wow! how such big bags!!". We began our mile descent already exhausted finally seeing leaves again in between some of the snow. It was great! There about 10 PUD's on the way down (pointless ups and down) as some say (I disagree. We knew what we were getting into before we started. If we didn't want to go up and down we would have walked on the beach to Maine!) The last miles were awful! Our feet hurt very bad but the thought of real food made us push on. When we finally reached the NOC just before dark everything was closed!!!!!!!!!!! I was a kick in the gut. Some people cleaning up the restaraunt told us about a heated dining/sitting room with heated showers on the bottom floor in between all the primitive cabins so we stayed on the floor there. The N.O.C. is a cool place and i have to pick up a package tomorrow so we might just hang around here tomorrow and rest our weary bones and take a zero and get that food! At the end of the night I read a little out of my pocket Bible and read something that caught my attention. It was Luke 10; 30-27 about the good samaritan and I thought of "Apple".
Date: 2010-02-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Taking a zero today. I picked up a package from Mom and Dad filled with some awesome stuff! Another under armor shirt, a new watch so i don't have to keep buggin Dave and also a really great gerber pocket knife for bears and crazy hippies. Had a good lunch and met another thru-hiker name Joe (sundial) from New Jersey. He is a nice guy who keeps to himself for the most part. We all three plan on another big 16 mile day tomorrow to Brown Fork Gap shelter and then on to Fontana only to be met by the treacherous Great Smokey Mountains who apparently have about 45 inches of snow and more to come soon!
Date: 2010-03-01
From: N.O.C

To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.0

Today was the longest day we have hiked for yet. We hiked from 8:15 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. with only a 30 minute break for lunch. the weather was pretty good and there were some really nice vistas. The first 7 miles were straight up and tough which was very draining. There were tons and tons of blow downs mostly mountain laurels, but there were also alot of huge trees just to show the fury of mother nature which was very humbling. We took a couple of breaks at some nice lookouts. the day was rather uneventful and we had to hike the last 30 minutes with our headlamps. Joe got to the shelter at about 7. We ate and made a few important calls to my Bebe and my Mama! and then off to sleep. On to Fontana tomorrow. It is supposed to snow alot tomorrow and the next day. Which will most likely delay our entry to the smokies.
Date: 2010-03-02
From: Brown Fork Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.0

After today I have decided that i will not admire nor appreciate the mountain laurels this spring. I don't care how beautiful they look I will pass them by with no comments of beauty nor any amdiration whatsoever. The trai the last few day has been littered with blow downs mainly consisting of mountain laurels. They have been a constant reminder of succumbing to mother nature which we will never do!!! They have made the trail next to impossible to walk. I might decide to enjoy them next year. Besides the laurel blowdowns and the soaking wet snow that fell hard most of the day the miles weren't too bad and we made great time. With about a mile to go I slipped on a root that was covered in snow and I slammed my knee right on that root that triggered my fall. My first thought was "dang, thats the end of my trip!" I was in a good deal of pain and sat there for about 5 minutes and then began to bend it back and forth with some pain but managed to hobble down to Fontana Dam. It hurt!! There was a number to call for a $3 dollar shuttle to the village which is a nice resort but due to it being the offseason we got a great room for really cheap. At the village we ran into all the hikers that had been in front of us all season. It was like a little hiker jam right before the smokies. Those that had began and turned back and some waiting for the weather to brea. It reminded me of the narrow window you have to climb Everest. We had dinner at the resort with Fahmah from Mass., Take this bread from Mass., and Old Man River from TX., River has offered us a ride into town which is awesome of him! We are trying to figure out what to do about the smokies. There are people going in with snow shoes and turning around. Its Rediculous! We have decided to give a couple of days but we are still gonna try them either Friday or Saturday! wish us luck and pray for us - We are gonna need it!
Date: 2010-03-03
From: fontana dam

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Got a ride into robbinsville by a hiker named "old man river" from texas to resupply. It was such a blessing being that robbinsville is 21 miles off the trail and the road isn't very well traveled. He was finishing up a section hike and he also planned on taking "famah" to hot springs. He said he thought of being an aspiring trail angel, I say he already is a great one! Thanks River!
Date: 2010-03-04
From: Blue Waters Mountain Lodge

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This is by far the best news in a while! Dad called while we were resting at the fontana shelter and told me that a lady I cut grass for for about ten years has a daughter who i have met once owns a bed and breakfast in Robbinsville and insisted that we stay there for a couple of day to lick our wounds. We hitched in the very next day and Mike who is Maury's husband picked us up and brought paradise (Blue Waters Mountain Lodge). It is by far the nicest place we will ever stay on the A.T. The hospitality given to dave and i by Mike and Maury is to be unsurpassed. They fed us, did our laundry, and gave us a phenomenal place to stay and we can't thank them enough!
Date: 2010-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Another day in paradise. We made Mike let us rake some leaves to help repay a little. If your looking for a nice getaway in the North Carolina Mountains stop by and pay them a visit. Thanks again to Mike and Maury and Maury's mother Margaretta Carr for making the past couple of days possible. Mike is taking us back to fontana dam tomorrow to hit the smokies! here we come!
Date: 2010-03-06
From: Fontana Dam

To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.5

Today was the day we decided to tackle the long awaited challenge of the smokies. We got a ride from Mike which was awesome because highway 28 is very hard to hitch from . We started with 11 hard miles in mind to get to Mollies ridge shelter which is named for an old cherokee woman who froze to death there while looking for a lost hunter. Her ghost is said to still haunt the shelter. After about an hour of hiking we were already in shorts and a t-shirt, but it was still only about 40 degrees out. About 2 or 3 miles in we saw our first bit of large wildlife. There was a very large deer only about 20 yards ahead of us and it didn't seem to be bothered by us much. We got to snap a couple of shots before it went off on its way. We went up most of the day from 1000 feet to about 4700 feet and ran back into the snow about 4 miles in. It got to about knee deep the rest of the way from there but got a little lower in the areas that the sun had been hitting for a few days. We arrived to mollies at about 3:00, had some lunch and decided to push on to the next shelter to give the ghost of old molly a break tonight. We arrived at Russell Field shelter at about 5:30 on fumes with my knees and ankles killing me. My pack probably weighs close to 50lbs with all the food we brought in case the miles were low and newfound gap road was closed. Tonight is cold but not too bad. It will probably get in the low to mid twenties. Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty bad. It is the part of the smokies where the 40"-50" snow drifts are supposed to be.JB
Date: 2010-03-07
From: Russel Field

To: Derrick Knob 
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Started late this morning after sleeping in a little after yesterday at 10:30. Nice and warm all night. There are 2 sets of Spring Breakers here. One group of them had a rough day yesterday and took a zero in the shelter and had a fire going which made me feel like hugging them. It was a easy decision to stay and not go another 6 miles. Two other thru hikers are staying here tonight coming in a little later on this evening. There are only 4 or 5 people we found out that are ahead of us going to Maine on the trail which was kind of surprising but understandable with the weather i guess. The spring breakers are from University of Tennessee so dave being the die hard Georgia Bulldogs fan he is joked around with them a little. The trail has been very hard and isn't for the faint hearted. We have a big 14 mile day tomorrow and we will be reaching the highest point of the A.T.!
Date: 2010-03-08
From: Derrick Knob

To: Mount Collins 
Miles today: 13.5

Not too much to say about today. The pictures will say it all. Clingman's Dome was very cool. It was a very very hard 10 miles to get to the top. We left early and still didn't get there till like 4:30. as Dave myself, and the two other thru hikers headed back into the trees for our last four miles, the other two turned back to stay up around clingman's or walk down the road to gatlinburg. The trail from there to the shelter was the worst we have seen yet. I was falling into snow close to my chest. Apparently most people ahead chose to take the road and we brok most of that part of the trail. We finally got to the shelter about 7:30 or so. There was a single spring breaker there. We were exhausted!!! We are out of TP, toothpaste, and we are low on food plus we REEK! I think we will decide to try to stop into Gatlinburg for a quick resupply tomorrow and head back out the next day.
Date: 2010-03-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Jesse and Dave made it to Gatlinburg in 4 days through the Smokies. Jesse said the trail is ridiculous and the rumors of the snow are TRUE! Leave the snow shoes at home, they've been beating the snow down so it's trudgable. They're heading out in the morning for Peck's Corner and four days of rain! Jesse will update his journal and pictures as soon as he can!
Date: 2010-03-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 4.5

Today was awful as well once again because of the deep snow. We fell every other step up to our waists or more making our body bend in ways that they shouldn't have. It took about 3 hours to go about two and a half miles. We walked from indian gap about a mile or more to newfound gap where we got a ride from an awesome day hiker lady named Bonnie who dreams of one day hiking the entire trail. She went out of her way to take us all the way into Gatlinburg. Once in G-burg we got room at the Lecont Inn for a $40 hiker rate. WE walked to the laundramat, did some laundry and picked up a pizza and some groceries for the next couple of days and off to a nice warm, dry bed.