morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-15
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up this morning to a little bit of snow falling. That little bit snowballed (no pun intended) into a good snow shower. Didn't get my tent down in time to avoid getting it wet. Damn.Watched the snow come down for a bit and was out by 9:30. By then the snow had quit, and that was a good thing. It was overcast and cold, near 40 degrees for most the morning. Hit Dicks Creek Gap and found some trail angels with goodies. Can't remember the name of the church, but it was a Sunday School group project. Scored a lift down and back to Hiawassee to get some more Benadryl. I was grateful for their kindness. While we were at the Gap, one of the Angels was prognosticating gloom and doom for the next few days of weather. Some people got scared into Hiawassee for the night or two. I saw rain in the forecast in the paper while at the drugstore and tomorrow's temp for Clayton. It looked far enough above freezing to make me believe that we wouldn't get snowed in. Enough to go for me. I'm a bit anxious over it since I've got some tall mountains to go over from here till Franklin. I also have about 3-4 days to do it. So, it's time to do some bigger mileage days. That way I could still get caught in snow and have a little bit of food to spare. I was thinking about trying to make it to Bly Gap another 4 miles up the trail, but got sucked into Plumorchard. Rodeo was there and had a fire going. He also had a better idea of what the weather forecast really was...Rain, cold, rain, and then warmer. It'll be nasty the next few days, so I decided to stay dry tonight in the shelter even though it means 12-14 mile days for the next several. Se la vi.......
Date: 2005-03-16
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light snow

Rain all last night. Kept waking up in the night and listening for drops. Drops good, that means it ain't snowing. Woke up in another cloud again. Today it was a little colder though. Up and out before 9. The trail led uphill on what seemed to be a spur. Sharp drop to either side, plenty of wind and drizzle. Nasty day for a hike, had difficulty keeping warm while moving for a spell, but warmed up once the trail took me out of the wind. Crossed the state line into NC unceremoniously. Paused for a second at the sign and kept moving. Warmer that way. While I was impressed by the gnarly oak tree just past the state line, I was too wet and cold to get a picture like everyone else has. Shucks. I was, however, making great time. Amazing what a little cold can do. The rain held off for most of the day, thankfully. I'd have been pretty pissed off if there was a downpour too. By the way, North Carolina welcomes you to the state with two nasty little climbs. I sucked wind. Hard. Not much of a welcoming committee, lunch at a shelter, then onward. For some reason, I really lost all energy today in the 2nd half. Trail was muddy, steep, slick, and rocky. Did I mention it was a nasty day for a hike yet? Got to Standing Injun shelter and got into warm clothes. Still in the cloud. Temperature dropping. Hopefully we won't get spanked with foul weather for the big hike tomorrow.Side note #1: The thought of going into Franklin for a day has been wonderful motivation. A carrot in front of my pack mule for sure.Side note #2: When the clouds finally break, I'll have a good WTHAI (where the hell am I) moment as I haven't seen anything but the trail in a few days.
Date: 2005-03-17
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light snow

Got up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag this morning. It was a cold sleepless night, spent most of it waiting for the sun. When it did come up, we found ourselves still in the cloud and we had some snow. I was up and out early for the big day ahead. Climbed to the top of Standing Indian and man, what a view...nothing but pea soup. The terrain today was pretty smooth. Easy grades and contour walking. Stopped for lunch at the old Carter Gap shelter. Made a big dent in my food bag for the first time. My feet are still revolting, I limped a few miles there at the end.Today's surreal moment: So, there I was, slogging along minding my own business when I think I hear music. So I stop for a second and listen...Is it all in my imagination?...Nope, sure enough, it's music...that Edmund Fitzgerald song by that guy...What the?...So, I hiked on a little bit figuring things would reveal themselves in due time. Spotted a little sign on the side that said, "trail magic" and footprints in the snow headed off the trail. Curious, I went that way and came across a little camp. Big tarp strung overhead, a nice fire surrounded by folding chairs and an RV. It was a group of folks camping out along the trail. They offered up a place by the fire, coffee, and burritos. This was definitely a surprise. Huge surprise. I sat by the fire for about an hour, and that made the difference for me today. Went from not happy to feeling pretty good about the day. Completely random. Met a fellow who goes by Forever North and talked, or should I say listened, for a bit. He had a lot of advice and what not to dispense, it being his 4th time on the trail and all. Quite a character, of which I'm finding there are a great many of out here. Half the fun out here is just the people I've met and probably wouldn't meet otherwise. I've been comparing it to a three ring circus lately. Though, I wonder if I'm a ringmaster or just another act, like a juggling bear next to the cats jumping through flaming hoops....
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Up as soon as the sun was out. Temp was in the neighborhood of 25 degrees this morning. I gazed at the blue sky in disbelief. Haven't seen that in a few days. Found that my shoes were frozen solid. Feet just wouldn't go in, so I pounded the shoes on the shelter floor like some kind of angry monkey. After a little pain and suffering, I managed to jam my feet in anyway. Ah, the joys of winter camping. Tossed all the clothes into the pack and bounced out by 8. I finally stopped to take a few pictures of the wintery landscape. I tend to not take the camera out if it's wet out or I'm cold or both. I suppose when I look back on this thing, it'll be nothing but sunny days, right?The trail was mostly flat and level with a few ups and downs. Just a big hill to climb at the end. Hiking was quick, hit the road by noon. Stuck my thumbs out and tried to hitch into Franklin, 10 miles down the road. Ezra and Deborah eventually showed up and spotted the short bus. The short bus was a shuttle into Franklin, so I stuck my thumbs back in my pocket and got on the bus. That's right, I ride the short bus. It was run by Ron Haven, one of the motel owners in town and one of the friendliest people I've met so far. We went down into Franklin and checked into the Haven Budget Inn. I got a shower and headed off to the laundry. Ron happened to pass me on the street in his car and circled back around and gave me a lift. Saved me a mile or two. Did some laundry and spent the rest of the afternoon on the short bus as it shuttled the six or so hikers to various spots. Grocery store, Wal-Mart, and the Outfitters. I scored myself that fleece bag liner I've been seeing in my frozen dreams. I had resolved to get a different bag entirely, but they didn't have a great selection. They had a liner, though, so I'm giving it a shot. Picked up a little radio to catch the weather forecast every once in awhile as well. After all the errands, we all piled into the bus and headed off to grab some BBQ. Best part of the day was catching the Tech B-ball game on TV that night. We won. I hadn't expected to see any more of Tech basketball this year, so that was a treat. I'll be taking a zero day here to try and get this poison-something rash I'm covered in looked at.
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Zero in Franklin. Walked to the local hospital this morning and had the quickest ER visit ever. They gave me a shot of some steroid (not the kind Barry Bonds uses) and sent me on my way. They say I should improve in a couple of days. Hope so, this itching thing is getting old. Bummed around, watched basketball and shot the breeze with the other hikers here. Got shuttled to dinner in Ron's limousine. I suppose in any other town, five grungy, unshaven hikers popping out of a limo in front of the local pizza joint would draw some sort of suspicion or maybe at least a double-take from passers-by, but no. Not here.
Date: 2005-03-20
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Campsite near Wayah Bald
Miles today: 9.5

Started the morning at Haven Motel in Franklin, NC. Slept like a rock after watching B-ball all night. Hit the buffet for breakfast. Since I don't normally eat breakfast, this ended up not being money well spent. The folks I was with seemed to enjoy it though. Started gathering up my stuff after breakfast and missed the shuttle at 9 back to the trail. Actually, the shuttle missed me. I was making a last offering to the porcelain gods when I heard the short bus roll out. No matter, as I mailed off some journal pages and filled in some missing pieces as I waited for the second shuttle to blast off. Hopped in Ron Haven's pickup and headed up to the mountain. I thanked him for the hospitality and ambled on up the trail. The day off really helped to recharge the batteries. I zipped along at a pretty good clip without really thinking about it. My pack gained some weight while in Franklin in addition to the re-stocked food bag, but it didn't slow me down. Maybe I've found my trail legs. The next few days will tell. Wayah Bald was the big climb today. Had a great view at the top. There was a map at the overlook pointing out Albert Mtn. and Standing Indian, earlier points along the way. I spent about 45 minutes at the overlook and the old stone fire tower there. I got a feel for the views I missed while on those earlier mountains and headed on down the trail. Not too far down, a campsite appeared. Ezra, Deborah and Jim had beat me there and already had tents up. Nimblefoot came rolling in as the sun was setting. All present and accounted for. I whipped out my little radio and proceeded to try and find the Tech game on the air. I eventually stumbled upon the CBS radio feed, but not before going through 10 God stations to get there. Listened to every other game but the one I wanted to hear. About the time they should have been getting to my game, the sun went down. The station powered down and the channel I was listening to went to gospel music. Bummer. Gave up on it and checked the ESPN radio station later on. No good news, Jackets lose. One less thing to worry about, I guess.
Date: 2005-03-21
From: Campsite near Wayah Bald

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up begrudgingly. Slept like a rock with my new bag liner. Rolled out sometime after nine. Partly cloudy skies and not too cold. Considered trying to do a 16 mile day, but decided to wait and see how the day went. My toes thanked me for the day off and the liner socks I added to the wardrobe. I normally don't wear liners because at the end of the day the bottoms of my feet feel like I'm walking on a cheese grater. However, I'm going to weigh the tradeoffs as I continue walking northward. Not a lot of ups and downs today, everything was pretty well graded. Stopped for lunch at the Cold Spring Shelter and it was looking like I could have a big miles day. But, I dawdled a bit down the trail. Took a blue blazed side trail to the top of a hill and took in the view for a bit. Then I chatted with Nimblefoot for a bit. He's slower. Made it up to the top of the observation tower on Wesser Bald and hung out there for awhile looking at the 360 degree view. Couple of fires were burning nearby, filling the valley below with smoke. So, by the time I got down to the shelter, got water, and took care of some other pressing business, it was getting late. Now since the sun goes down around 6:30, by late I mean 4ish. I find I like to be in where I'm going with a little daylight left so I decided not to bother with the 5 miles of drop into Nantahala Gorge. Hell, I'm on vacation so everything is optional. I'll stay in the shelter, only 2 others here - Jim and Nimblefoot. Tomorrow I'll try and get in and out of the NOC without getting sucked in for the night. Rain is in our future for tomorrow, so we'll see what actually happens.
Date: 2005-03-22
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up and out earlier than yesterday, a slight improvement. Ate breakfast on the trail, which has become my habit as of late. I stop after about 20 minutes of hiking and fire down a pop tart or a couple granola bars. Was expecting rain this morning but had sun and wind. Rain must've been late which was just fine with me. Got a couple nice views of the world below before the trail descended some 2500 ft. down to the Nantahala River. Man, what a knee- buster that was. I was glad to have not done that at the end of the day yesterday. The knees thanked me. Dropped to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) and scarcely recognized the place. Last time I was there, many moons ago, no buildings occupied the space on river right. Now there's an outfitter and a restaurant and a couple more bridges going across the river. Stopped in to do some laundry and take a shower. It seems the wonder drug in the needle the fine Franklin Dr. stuck in my rear has had little effect. I couldn't be more thrilled. Paid a ton o'money for nothing. Meanwhile, my friend Josh from the ATL found me wandering around. He'll be hiking with me to Fontana, which is but two days from here. Did the laundry only after walking the path from the laundry/shower to the outfitter about 4 times. Ran out of quarters and no change to be found nearby. So once that business was finished, it was on to the job at hand - a merciless climb to Sassafrass Gap Shelter. 6 or so miles of uphill. Nothing but. Gained back most of the elevation I lost this morning. Rains came halfway up. Cold and wet the rest of the way. Hit the shelter after what seemed like forever and three days. Immediately stripped down out of the wet clothes and into the dry ones. The one thing I don't have is dry shoes. I'll consider grabbing some other pair of shoes/sandals later. I was in good spirits and joked around with some of the other folks at the shelter - which, by the way, is filled to the brim with choc-full-of hikers. Guess the rain does that. The only other time I've been at a full shelter was Day 1, and it was raining then too...Ran into Caroline again and we traded stories from the past week and a half. She says Caveman and Andrew (folks we started with) are up the trail somewhere still. Nice to know. Perhaps I'll run into them after the deck shuffles some more. Funny, she had heard about my poison oak rash from some other hikers. It's quite the show-and-tell item, it's consuming my side in a sea of red.
Date: 2005-03-23
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

One heck of a rainstorm went blowing through last night. Had some tarps strung across the front of the shelter courtesy of Forty-two, so we were pretty well sheltered from the wind. Kept waking up, listening to the storm and hoping it was going to blow through before morning. It did. Josh and I started out slow. We weren't the last to leave the shelter, but we were close. The highlight of the morning was putting on my wet clothes from yesterday. I was awake after that. Everything dried out about an hour into the hike except, of course, my socks. Those were wet pretty much all day. Went up and over Cheoah Bald first thing. Clouds were still clearing out of the valleys below. Snapped a few pictures, then back to hiking. The sun flirted with us pretty much all day and we had a small shower or two as well. As the day went on, we played jungle-gym with some of the recently fallen trees across the trail. Possibly from last night. We hit the first shelter around 2:30 and decided to push on to the next one since we had lots of daylight left. Seemed like a good idea at the time. By about mile 13, my dogs were barking. The parts of me from the knees down were definitely not pleased. But we made it. Full shelter so Josh and I pitched the tent. Little bit of drizzle tonight, hopefully clearing out for a few days. At least, that's what the forecast says.
Date: 2005-03-24
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 11.6

Didn't much feel like getting out of the tent today. Josh was up and out early. Motivated by the cold he was, but not I. When I finally rolled out, packed up and hit the trail, I still wasn't motivated. Figured I was dehydrated, so I drank lots o' water. No better. Got down to the marina, said see ya to Josh and caught a shuttle to Fontana Village. Got my package and a couple letters at the P.O. One from Becky, one of the starting crew that's off the trail now. Sat and moped around the P.O. for an hour or two. Made some phone calls, left messages and packed up my 7 days worth of food. I had planned on hiking more this day, but didn't have it in me. Today was one of those days. I knew I'd have days like this, but I didn't really expect one this soon. I was in a funk. Not a James Brown kind of funk either. I ended up checking into the Fontana Inn to weather my storm. Took a shower, did laundry, ate at the restaurant and made some phone calls. Caught up on the basketball tourney too. Thanks for the advice, Footslogger. This day was one I'd just as soon forget.
Date: 2005-03-25
From: Fontana Village

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

On with the show. Sun was out today and I hit the trail feeling much better. Hiked over the top of Fontana Dam and on into the Smokies. Now, had our esteemed National Security director looked into his crystal ball and pulled out the wrong colored M&M for our national terrorism alert level, I would have been heading a mile down river to a footbridge and back to get to the other side. This was better. Got to the uphill faster. The heater was on as I trudged up the hill. 1800 ft. back up to 4000 again. My knees weren't bothering me nearly as bad as they were yesterday. For the first time, I'd hit the Ibuprofin stash yesterday and this morning. So on I went. Stopped at the fire tower on Shuckstack to eat lunch and soak up the view. The sky was clear and the view was marvelous. Little windy on the tower though, had to keep reminding myself not to fall to my death here. Not gonna die in the Smokies...The shelter, Mollies Ridge, had such a descriptive name that every ridge I came to as I was heading uphill was "gonna be the one". Several "ones" later I finally got there. New faces at the shelter. The deck has again shuffled. Also, we had a ridgerunner and about five maintainers on horseback. The horse campers were definitely rolling in style. They were cooking up all kinds of good stuff pulled from numerous coolers. Drool. They were nice enough to share their "after-dinner punch" though. I stayed up for a bit and chatted around the fire with them as all the other hikers were hitting the sack. They were from a local riding club and volunteer to clear the trails of blow-downs and such. One of them has been doing it for 20 years or so. Their efforts are definitely appreciated. I wish some of the other sections were as well maintained...
Date: 2005-03-26
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

Beautiful day for hiking. Started out cloudy, but the sun came out. Most of the climbing was done yesterday, but there were plenty of ups and downs still today. Rocky Top and Thunderhead were the highlights of the day. Great views again from grassy knolls along the way, not to mention the tops. Gassed out at the end of the day; even though I was taking my time. Damn. Can't win. Seemed like an endless climb up to the shelter. Came across a motionless hiker, Kitty Litter, on the home stretch. He answered my question: "Are you dead?" with a groan. Not dead, just dead tired. Click. Lots of daylight left when I got to the shelter. BTW, shelter stays are required here in the GSMNP (Great Smoky Mountain National Park). Lower impact that way. Caught up on journaling and writing in the dark. I've found a good group of hikers. Everyone's got a sense of humor around here. We got Fraggle, Tony, Kitty Litter, Branded, Galloping Gourmet and Happy Wanderer. Some others wandered in after dark. Lots of hikers, about six weekenders, and a full house tonight. Sat around the fire for awhile. One of the weekenders was a SOBO thru from a few years back. His sister worked out at Philmont last summer. We knew some of the same people too. Small world.
Date: 2005-03-27
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Storm came in last night. Glad to be in the shelter. We woke up to the clouds again, and some nice wind ripping across the ridge. Not motivated to leave when the weather is like this. Popped the radio on and got the forecast. Rain. Happy Easter. Got out around 9ish, no rain falling. Mostly uphill today, felt pretty good along the way. Stopped at Silers Bald shelter after nearly getting blown off Silers Bald for some lunch. Still no rain. Decided to push on to the next shelter. Took a long break and decided to push up over Clingmans Dome while the weather was holding for us. Now, all along the way I've been running into Southbounders talking about how icy the trail on the back side of Clingmans is. By the time I began the assault on the summit, I'm hiking with Casey, Shaun and John. We all decide to go up and over and see what the trail looks like. If it's bad, we decided we'd road hike down the other side. There's lots of evergreen trees as we get higher up the mountain. A little bit o' ice and snow but nothing terrible. Once at the top, we started down the trail instead of the road. We didn't bother to stop at the observation tower as we never got out of that cloud. So, down we go. At first, the trail didn't look that bad. Passable. But, as we went along, the ice patches became larger and more unavoidable as the trail narrowed. Too late to turn back now. Lots of dicey spots, especially under the canopies of the fir trees lining the trail. Now, here was definitely a spot I was wishing I had my boots on. The trail runners aren't so much good for gripping on the ice. So, I slid my way down the hill. Every so often we'd hit a nice clear, muddy stretch. Never so happy to see flooded trail in my life. No ice. Only ended up on my rear once. Still glad I have the poles. Managed to finally get down Clingmans, then up Mt. Collins. More ice in the trail too. Damn. The path down to the shelter was also a skating rink, but I made it. Stepped into the cage as the rain started coming down. Lightnin' too. Fortunately, plenty of room in the shelter. All around the shelter is floodplain. Went down to get water. The trail was itself a creek, with all the rain and snow melting. I stopped at the first place I saw it coming out of the ground.Crawled in the bag, turned on the radio for some basketball. I've always thought of Easter as a spring holiday, full of sunshine, flowers and bunnies. So much for that.