morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-09-26
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Mon 09-26-05 I found out real quick today that my body was not in the shape needed to comfortably hike this section of trail. The climb out of Hot Springs was a killer. Tim from Ohio was in good shape and didn't hardly even breath hard. Myself on the other hand was huffing and puffing the whole time today, whether we were going up or down ! Stopped a bunch of times to catch my breath. Even had some leg cramps later in the day. Figure it was my body telling me just how displeased it was for me asking it to do what it was not really ready for. I expect I will pay a similar price each day for the next couple weeks till I can ge my body used to the physical abuse again.Also, the remnants of hurrican Rita blew thru today giving us light rain all day. Just stopped long enough for us to put up our tents, then started again. Hope it all blows thru tonight so tomorrow we can dry out. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-09-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: broken clouds

Tues 09-27-05 The morning started out humid from all of the rain yesterday, but it was pretty clear once the fog burned off.The trail was slippery as you might guess and the thing we had not forseen was to make it even worse were acorns. It is like walking on hundreds of marbles.....not too bad on the straight and level, but up and down the mountains it was down right hazardous and pretty comical at times as we would slip and slide. Just one more trail hazard to watch out for.We got to litle laurel shelter about 3pm and since most of our stuff was still wet from yesterday we stopped for the night. I used my bear rope to make a clothes line and we hung all of our wet stuff out to dry. By dinner time it was all dry again. We have noticed the last two days that most of the springs and steams have dried up. Have had to be careful about our water usage. After we leave here tomorrow there is no water till the next shelter 13 miles away. I will fill both of my water bags full so as to have enough to get there. Six quarts of water in my pack is going to be heavy but there does not seem to be an alternative. Another unanticipated small problem here at the shelter are hundreds of very noisy cicadas. What a racket ! Good thing I have ear plugs or I would get no sleep and end up even more crazy than I already am. The weather has been warm and humid which is miserable to hike in as you can imagine. My glasses steamed up so bad this morning I had to take them off for most of todays hike. Tomorrow will be another endurance test on the Appalachian Trail.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-09-28
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mountain
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: moderate rain

Wed 09-28-05 Since there was no usable water between Little Laurel and Flint Mountain we had to carry extra in order to have enough durring the day.I carried an extra gallon [ 8 pounds ] and used almost every drop. It was another warm and humid day which really zaps my strength. Took us a solid 10 hours to go 12.5 miles. It was the most physically hard day I have ever had in my life ! Long steep ups and long steep downs. Didn't look too bad on the map, but the reality was ugly. My whole body feels bruised. But I love being out here !!It may sound wierd to some, but then I've never been condsidered to be very normal in the things I do. A minor character flaw. Will write more tomorrow if I'm still alive. Have more tough trail ahead. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-09-29
From: Flint Mountain

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Thur 09-29-05 I think today was ' hump day ' for me physically. The hiking was still tough but not as bad as the last 3 days. the weather gods helped out by letting us get packed up and on the trail for an hour before the rain started. Then it was a steady rain till about 2pm. A nice cool refreshing rain as we did our first 1500 hundred foot climb up a steep, slick trail up toa place called ' frozen knob '. I could just see myself or Tim from Ohio doing the splits with a backpack on. Sort of chuckled to myself on and off all day thinking about it and wondering how we would handle a serious injury to one of us out in the middle of the back country. Since neither one of us could possibly carry the other more than about 10 feet, guess the unlucky one would have to lay in the middle of the muddy trail while the other went for help. { don't worry Susan, I would do better than that for Tim }We got into Hogback Ridge shelter early enough to set up our tents and mostly dry out our wet stuff. As we were fixing dinner the skies cleared and the sun came out. Looks likes the makings for a great hiking day tomorrow. We will be well over 5000ft at camp tomorrow night ! So far no blisters, just sore feet from so many steep ups and downs over sharp rocks. Will get up about 6:30am so as to be on the trail by 8am and yet another 8 hour endurance test. No worries at all, just put one foot in front of the other till you get to where you are going. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-09-30
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Fri 09-30-05 First let me congratulate Martha Paddock...aka Hareball. Heard from a trail maintainer late yesterday that she is set to summit Mount Katahdin tomorrow. Can't tell you how proud I am of her. We trained together a few times last winter and started out this spring together. She is one determined lady and it showed as she has now completed the entire Appalachian Trail, all 2175 miles.Congrats Martha on becoming a member of the very exclusive Thru Hiker club. You can now proudly say you are a ' 2000 miler '. As for Tim and I, we are just cruising along slow and steady. Lots of climbing today, so whats new right. We struggled up and over big Bald late today at 5516ft. Water continues to be scarse, with most streams and springs dried up this time of year. I try to drink at least a gallon a day in this warm humid weather, which means carrying very heavy extra water. No wonder my back is sore at the end of the day! We are having a great time seeing, hearing and smelling all mother earth has to offer this time of year. Seems quite different than it was in the spring. The owls have been hooting every night this week right up till almost daylight. Very cool. Tim is constantly trying to teach me about all of the flowers that are still in bloom and all the different seeds and nuts we walk by on the trail. I'm usually breathing too hard and to oxygen deprived to remember half of it. Sitting here at the shelter just before sunset, there is total quiet all around. Not one sound. But pretty ! soon the night critters will start their singing. This is just the best ! RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-01
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

Sat. 10-1-05 Today started out with a little adrenaline rush. Just as I finished packing up and was sitting next to a tree eating breakfast when Tim came over and stood next to me telling me something that I totally forget what it was, when he quietly said " bear ".He said he was looking face to face with a bear with a grey muzzle, that was about 20 yards away watching us. Well, I could only see if I stood up and turned around but knew if I did that, the bear would take off. Sooooo I very slowly stood up just in time to see the bears rear end hauling thru the woods and it was gone in 2 seconds. While Tim had a face to face encounter that lasted aabout 15 seconds, I had a face to butt encounter that lasted for less than 2 seconds. But it was enough to get some adrenalin flowing to start our day. As we walked along this morning we noticed a couple of flies following us for what seemed like hours along the trail. At first it seemed rather odd.... then it dawned on us, that neither of us has had a shower in 6 days and we were pretty ripe smelling. It is a wonder why every fly in the county wasn't following us. To put it mildly....we stank !! Could just picture us like the character ' Pig Pen ' in the Peanuts comic strip, walking along wi! thin a big cloud of stink following us down the trail. Well......real men who don't shower for 6 days stink, plain and simple. I don't apologize for it cause that is how the great spirit made us. Expect we will really be raunchy when we walk into town tomorrow after 7 days without bathing. Look for headlines on the nightly news about two very strange looking guys sighted in the mountains of Tennessee walking with a gasious fly infested cloud all around them. No wonder the bear was staring at us....he couldn't figure out what that strange smelling cloud was around those guys in the woods.Anyway, we stopped for lunch at a place called ' Whistling Gap '. I had just put my pack down when Tim, standing 10 feet away, picked up a perfect arrow head that had been laying there most likely for over 150 years...or maybe more. Only find original stuff like that out here on the trail. Pretty cool. Town is going to be pretty nice tomorrow....as soon as we wash up that is. We are planning dinner at Subway ! Should be great after a week of trail food and water.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-02
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

Slept late today for some reason. Didn't wake up till 7:15am. Must have something to do with the 8 to 10 hours of strenuous exersize a day for the last 6 days. Felt pretty nice actually and still got out of camp by 8:15am. Was a short day since we got into Erwin by about noon. Stopped at a place called Uncle Johnnys hostel right on the trail as you come to the edge of town, to see if they had a part for Tim's water filter that had broken. They didn't so he will use mine till we get into Damascus VA. in about 2 weeks. I called another hostel ' Miss Janets ', but there was no one there to come pick us up. Seems that Miss Janet went out hiking the day before and would not be back till later in the afternoon. So instead of walking another 3.5 miles to the other side of town, we just stayed at Uncle Johnnys. Shelley, the very nice lady that runs the place, set us up in the bunk house. They also have private cabins but since Tim and I were the only two in the whole place, we are s! taying in the bunk house. After a long hot and very needed shower, Shelly took us into town so Tim could shop for groceries, we could do our laundry ( got to watch the first half of the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans football game ) and pig out at Subway. A very productive afternoon. First thing in the morning ( Monday ) Shelley will take me to the post office to get the resupply package that I have sent to myself, with food, vitamain/mineral supplements and the all important toilet paper !We should be back on trail by 10am, not taking a whole rest day yet. Should be able to get in a few miles tomorrow befor we camp. Just how far we are not sure yet. Just as we were about to turn in for the night, Shelly came by with some freshly baked, still warm from the oven, banana nut muffins. Oh the hardships an AT hiker has to put up with. I think she likes me. Anyway, after the post office, its back on the trail tomorrow to sweat out all this good town stuff and get back to the business of being grungy AT hikers again. Wow, was that thunder I just heard, didn't think it was going to rain for a couple of days......... ......nope, just Tim snoring. Better dig out my ear plugs ! Actually, Tim says I snore as bad as he does. The adventure continues.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-03
From: Erwin, TN

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Oct. 3rd...day number 8 on the trail.Woke up early so I could take a long hot shower before we left for the trail again. Shelly showed up at 8:15 to take me to the post office to get my package. It was there waiting for me and we stopped for egg-N-cheese biscuits for breakfast. Got back to Uncle Johnnys by nine, packed up and paid our bill, then was back on the trail by 9:30am. Pretty efficient if I do say so myself. After a few miles we heard several dogs barking up ahead. About a half mile later we saw why. They had chased a bear up a tree. We saw the bear about 20 feet up just sitting there waiting for something to happen. There were 5 dogs, although we only saw 2, and every time the bear started down the tree, the dogs would bark up a storm. Then when the bear went back up the tree the dogs would quiet down. Didn't hear or see any other people and didn't see what we could doabout the situation so we hiked on, listening to the dogs bark on and off till we were out of range. The rest of the day was pretty une! ventful. It was hot and uncomfortable. We tried to drink alot so we wouldn't get too dehydrated. Finally stopped after 12 hard miles of climbing from 1700ft at Uncle Johnnys to over 4400 just a couple miles before we camped at Deep Gap. After we ate, hung our food bags and were just getting into our tents, Tim saw 2 more bears, sitting up the ridge from us about 30 yards, just watching. Once Tim said something to me, they took off at the sound of his voice. I never did see them. Glad we hung our food. Don't have enough to share with 2 hungry bears. Expect they will be back later tonight to get a closer look and to see if we left anything laying around for them to snack on, which we didn't, but I'm too tired to stay up and wait. Hope they don't make too much noise and wake me up. I would never get to experience this kind of stuff if I wasn't out on the trail. Now I have one more trail story to add to my list......and the adventure continues. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-04
From: Deep Gap

To: Greasy Creek
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Tues 10-4-05, An almost normal day on the A.T. No more signs of bear this morning when we got up. Think our dual snorring all night scared them off. We left camp about 8am, had not gone more than 50 feet up the trail when Tim says " bingo ". He found another perfectly shaped arrowhead. " Just have to know what to look for " he keeps telling me. Think that makes 5 for him this trip. He averages one every other day so far. A few miles farther after a tough climb to the top of a ridge, we are walking along and all of a sudden a voice out of nowhere says " hello ". I look around for a second seeing no one, then I finally look up....and here is this, 20 something, southbound thru hiker, up about 15 feet in a tree. He was trying to get a view thru the trees. He looked pretty malnourished, almost like a concentration camp serviver. Guess thats what happens after 4 1/2 months on the trail. We talked for a couple minutes about the poor water situation southbound and he said it was! n't much better northbound. Then off he went down the trail with only about 30 days left till he finishes down at Springer Mountain Georgia.A few more miles and alot of sweating later, I noticed the flies were back buzzing around my head like the last few days. I got to thinking that if Tim and I had Native Indian names, his would be something like ' Sees Many Bear ', and mine would be ' Walks With Flies '. Not exactly a name you would want to be stuck with. Luckily the flies went away after a little while, not to be seen again today thankfully. This afternoon we were off trail a few hundred feet at a remote spring that was still running just a little, filling up my empty water bag, when this rough looking young guy showed up out of nowhere. Think he had this spring staked out just waiting for someone to show up. Anyway he was one of those hobo types who live on the trail just about all year. The kind who don't want to or cannot participate in normal society. He had a couple of cloth bags with all of his stuff in, tied together and thrown over his shoulder. I was just finishing filling my water bag when he start! ed eyeing my pack a little to close. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I was ready for anything from this guy. There are a couple things you never do on the trail, if you want to continue with your life. One, you don't get between a mother bear and her cubs, the other is that you never try to take a hikers food. If this guy had made one false move towards my pack, he would have been taken out of the gene pool in a heartbeat. I had already thought of several ways to quickly and efficiently eliminate the threat.However, turned out he was a pretty nice fella. He offered us some of the stuff he was smoking, ( not real sure what it was ) asked about the water situation southbound, then we said sooooolong and got back on trail. We are hanging our food sacks where we can see them from out tents though. Just in case. Food has been stolen during the night before by 2 legged critters. The adventure continues. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-05
From: Greasy Creek

To: Roan High Knob
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Wed 10-5-05 Started out the day seeing 4 snorting white tail deer cross the trail in front of us just after we left camp. Had never heard a deer snort before, but these sure did.About 4 miles into the hike and just before we started climbing up Roan Mountain, Tim found two more arrow heads. Actually one was a spear point and the other was half of a broken knife or scraper. But both were pretty impressive. Like always, I walked right past them before Tim saw them. I just don't have the eye for finding them like Tim does. The climb up Roan Mountain was a killer. Took us 3 hours of steady climbing up steep trail to finally get to the top, at 6150ft. We are in the clouds up here. The Roan High Knob shelter where we are staying the night is at 6285ft, which is the highest shelter on the entire A.T. Pretty neat !Heard from another section hiker that there is a 30% chance of rain tomorrow, a 50% chance on Friday and a 70% chance on Saturday. Think we will be at the new hostel right near the trail on Friday afternoon and stay overnight there to dry out our wet stuff, since we will surely get rained on before we get there. About time I gave my feet a good rest since I am starting to get a few blister in my instep. Will try using two layers of socks to see if that helps. Expect the temps to drop down into the 40's tonight since we are up so high. will actually crawl into my sleeping bag for the first time this trip.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-06
From: Roan High Knob

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: moderate rain

Thur 10-6-05. A section hiker, Bill, from Alabama, who stayed with us at the Roan High Knob shelter had a very small radio that he was getting weather reports from. Well from the time we went to sleep about 8pm till we got up at 6:30am, the forcast had changed. Something to do with a tropical storm coming ashore down by Jacksonville Fl. and moving its way north up the east coast for a few days. Sooooo that explained the steady rain and wind that had started early in the morning and we were still getting. So much for the 30% chance of rain forcast that we went to sleep with. So on went the rain suits and pack covers. We started out at 7:45am and went downhill for about a mile, then started up hill to get up and over 3 balds. As we started over the first one, the wind and rain intensified and actually got stronger as we hiked. There were several times the wind was so strong that it actually pushed us off the trail a few steps. The rain was heavy and horizontal at this point and stinging your skin whenever it hit.Tim from Ohio and I looked like a couple of drunken sailors going up the trail as we were being blown around. Reminded me of those crazy reporters who try to give a report while standing in hurricane force winds. Anyway, we finally made it through that section, getting totally soaked in the process. Not too many more miles down the trail was our stop for the night at Overmountain shelter. The shelter is a converted old barn that the wind blows thru the sides, but the roof is in good shape and it is dry. Tim and I climbed up in the loft, set up our tents since it is so windy and spread all our stuff out to dry. It was a short day but our next stop is at a hostel tomorrow night near Roan Mountain TN. 9 miles farther up the trail. That was just too far to go in one day for this old bod. Will do the 9 wet miles tomorrow then get dry again and wait for this storm to pass us by, which it should do by Sunday. The adventure continues.   RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-10-07
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour B&B
Miles today: 9.3

The overmountain shelter is a converted old barn. It is real pretty overlooking a long valley. We left at 8am for some more climbing in the Roan Highlands area. It was real foggy as we climbed up Little Hump Mountain but when we got to the top only the valleys had fog. It was awsome looking at the dozens of little valleys below with each one having its own specially shaped little fog cloud. As we continued on to the highest vista, Hump Mountain, the clouds had moved in and we couldn't see much at all. Another little way down the trail is where you walk thru a pasture where they keep Texas Longhorn Steers and sure enough they were there laying right on the trail. Well, these were the biggest Longhorns I have ever seen. I personally think they were a cross between Texas Longhorns and Brahmas.The horns on these huge beasts turned straight up about two feet out from the head for another 1 1/2 foot. Plus they were huge. About the size of a big Bison. Anyway, not wanting them to know how intimidated I was, I walked right thru the bunch of them. OK, so I had to move off the trail a foot or two since they did not seem to want to move for us, plus they just kept staring at you right straight in the eye like they were daring me to poke with them my hiking pole so they would have a reason to skewer me with those huge horns. Well, we kept right on walking like we weren't scared at all. They must have bought it, cause they didn't follow/chase us and we left the pasture without incident. Seems like as soon as we left the pasture it started to rain pretty steady and it continued to rain for the next 3 hours untill we came to where the trail crosses highway 19E. Well, as luck would have it, there is a new B&B/hostel about a half mile from the road crossing. Called ' Mountain ! Harbour B&B '. The house is the B&B and the top of the horse barn has been finished off really nice into what they call a hostel, but what seems to be a nice 2 bedroom, one bath efficiency. Much nicer than any hostel I've ever been in before. Actually it is much nicer than a lot of peoples houses I've been in. It has a full size fridge, stove, microwave, phone, dishes, table with a nice tablecloth, ceiling fan, fully carpeted, full size beds with real matresses and linens, a wood stove/electric heaters etc. etc. etc.It is so nice that Tim and I are taking a zero day here tomorrow to let the rain system pass and get the rest of our stuff dried out. Then we will be back on trail Sunday morning heading north and if all goes well, we should be in Virginia in about a week. The adventure continues. RIC   aka...Vitaman