morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We left home yesterday and are spending a couple of nights in a lodge to recoup from a full day of traveling. I get motion sickness and traveling by plane, train and an automobile was very rough on my stomach. So hiking is the perfect mode of transportation for me for the next 6 or so months.it seems no matter how old I get or how many times I¢ve been away from my family, the first few days I am so incredibly homesick. Even having my older son, Tony with me I still miss Sam, my husband, and Schuyler, my younger son so much I actually feel sick at my stomach. I also have two dogs, Trixie and Dandy and a cat named Martini that I miss. I am also a worrier, although I¢ve gotten a lot better. I know once we have the first week done, I¢ll feel a lot better, it¢s just getting started. First week in basic training was the worst, first week of each quarter of nursing school, first week off orientation as a Peds nurse we¢re nerve wracking. And then I can¢t count the times I¢ve moved from the time I was a kid to now, how stressful those times were. Funny thing is I hate staying in one place too long. I like to travel and move around and do adventurous things. When we visited Germany for a week, one day we went paragliding, which I had always wanted to do, but actually running along the mountain ridge, I was so nervous, but once we took flight it was awesome. We start out hike tomorrow and I can¢t wait but at the same time I¢m nervous. You would think this being the third time I wouldn¢t be. I just remembered I have the peace you gave me Melody and I will be carrying it with me everyday. Thank you friend, just remembering that makes me feel better.¢Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.¢ Robert Frost
Date: 2018-03-15
From: Amicalola State Park Lodge

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was an absolutely perfect and gorgeous day to begin our hike. We could not have asked for better weather. We did not meet very many people today. Only 5 people passed us and then we met another guy whom we leap froged most of the day. Only a handful of people are staying at this shelter including a Ridge Runner who is making sure people are following the leave no trace policy on the trail and who is available to help and give advice to any hiker who needs it. It is getting colder and I¢m exhausted so I am going to turn in, but will try to write more in the morning and add a picture.¢Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.¢ Robert Frost
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 8.0

We had another glorious day of hiking. We stopped at Long Creek Falls for about 30 minutes. I¢ll post a picture later. Tony lost steam the last half of the hike because he couldn¢t eat enough calories this morning because his stomach was upset due to nerves. I was through too by time we reached the shelter. My legs hurt so bad and I have a blister on my big toe and one on my little toe. We hiked most of the day with a guy from Ohio. He has nine kids and some grandkids.Others I have met are One Step, Okey180, from of course Oklahoma, Tom, and two girls that provided our first trail magic on the trail. by giving up their spots on the first floor of the shelter and moving to the second deck. Our actual first trail magic was when Donald and Mary shuttled us to the Amicalola lodge and gave us a canister of fuel and treated us to supper at Cracker Barrel.We are sleeping in the shelter tonight because they expect thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow.¢Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.¢ Robert Frost
Date: 2018-03-17
To: Gooch Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We hiked 7.6 mies today, up Sassafras Mountain, down to Coopers Gap, up Justus Mountain and Justus Creek and now we are at Gooch Shelter. Tony was not able to eat anything at all today and got sick after we reached the shelter. We reached the shelter at 430 and Tony rested until 530 when we ate Ramon noddles and I had a cup of lemon tea. We got rain last night and it rained of and on until about 1100. It rained really hard on us for about 30 minutes today, but we didnt get too wet. The sun came out and it got up to 70. We got a little sun burn.One step, Boston, and about 15 other people are here but I didnt get their name. Natalie and Audrey our trail angels from yesterday are her also.¢Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.¢ Robert Frost
Date: 2018-03-18
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter 

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: moderate rain

My itinerary had us camping at Lance Creek tonight, but Tony ended up throwing up 3 more times on the trail to Woody Gap and he looked really bad. If I could have carried his pack for him, I would have. Thankfully though trail magic and angels shined on us today. A church group that comes out once a year to provide trail magic at Woody Gap just happened to be there today. One of their members was hiking up to Gooch Mountain Shelter giving away free hotdogs. We met him about a mile from the Gap and he saw how bad Tony looked and carried his pack down to the Gap for him. Thank you Kyle. Glenloch Baptist Church was handing out hotdogs, chips, sodas, cookies, chili, brownies and ice cream to hungry hikers. I ate one of the hot dogs, some chips and had a coke. Tony only had a coke. I knew Tony could not hike anymore today or tomorrow, so I called one of the shuttle drivers from Suches and he brought Tony and I to Dahlonega to a motel. So the plan is to zero tomorrow and then slack pack Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. I¢ll see how Tony does Tuesday. We enjoyed some gorgeous views from Ramrock Mountain or at least I did. Thanks to all who have signed the guest book and the words of encouragement.P.S.  Trail magic - defined as an unexpected act of kindness, is a quintessential part of the Appalachian Trail experience for many long-distance hikers.A Trail Angel is defined as someone who provides help, transportation, lodging, or food to a hiker. Many times these random acts of kindness are what it takes for a hiker to pull through and continue on their journey when they feel like they have reached their breaking point.Zero day ¢ A zero-mileage day. These are important periodically for healing and recharging. If a zero day is taken in a town, it often includes resupplying food, eating, repairing gear, doing laundry, and more eating.¢Two roads diverged in a wood, and I¢I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.¢ Robert Frost
Date: 2018-03-19
Miles today: 0.0

It figures I could have slept as late as I wanted this morning, but I was awake at 645 and couldn¢t go back to sleep. So I did my morning prayers and read some, showered and then Tony and I went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then we walked just over half a mile to the Walmart to Resupply. We got back to the room around 1045 and just hung out watching the weather channel until about 1200. We went to Dairy Queen for lunch but we just got a small meal as neither one of us had our usual appetite. Rested more, cleaned some of the gear and took inventory of what we have and will try to send some stuff home. My pack is entirely too heavy, so I am really evaluating what I can live without. The biggest thing is for at least the next month or two we need to keep some of our heavier winter gear to be safe. Tony seems to be doing better today but we will find out for sure tomorrow when we hike around 11 miles. We are doing what is called slack packing.Slackpacking means we are basically leaving most of our gear at the hotel and having somebody drive us back to where we got off yesterday and then they  will pick us back up after we have hiked to our destination and bring us back to the hotel. Will will be carrying a small light weight pack with snacks, water bladder, water filtration system and some winter gear as snow is expected on the mountain we are hiking tomorrow.The person giving us a ride tomorrow asked if we we sure about hiking tomorrow. I¢m not really, but I said yes because if we only hike in good weather we will never reach Maine and we do have a nice warm motel room to come back to.No rain, or in this case snow and cold, no pain, no Maine.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 11.0

We were supposed to be on the trail by nine this morning, but our ride did not show up because of the bad weather forecast today and the fog. Another thru hiker was also at our hotel and was getting a ride back to Woody Gap, so we caught a ride with his shuttle driver and were on the trail by 945. The fog had completely lifted by then, and we had beautiful hiking weather, not too hot or cold and the rain held off for the most part. We hiked about a 2 a mile an hour pace without our packs. We saw some great views but we also saw a lot of damage created by Hurricane Irma, a lot of trees down. We didn¢t see very many people on the trail, only 6 other thru hikers. One of them also slack packed today as well. We stopped at Woods Hole Shelter for lunch but didn¢t hang out there very long because there were two guys sleeping in the shelter covered with their sleeping bags. One had a dog. It looked like they were living there. The gear they had did not look appropriate for a thru hike. I ate a peanut butter sandwich and Tony had a tangerine and some fruit bites. He couldn¢t eat anything else. Anyway we ate quickly and got out of there. Then we climbed Blood Mountain and had sunshine, some rain and sleet, but for the most part it was partly cloudy all day. The hike down hill, last 1.5 miles of Blood Mountain did me in. My glutes, thighs, hips, knees, calves and feet are killing me. But we hiked 11 miles in 7 hours. Our ride picked us up and we were back at the motel by 530. I took s shower and bath to help my sore muscles and then we went to McDonald¢s and Tony ate great and kept it down, 14 chicken nuggets, one plain cheese burger, large fries and half a McFlurry.We are going to do a 7 mike slack pack tomorrow to prevent from having to hike over 11 miles with our pack. I had not planned this but you do what you have to do to keep hiking and not get injured or run down too much.
Date: 2018-03-21
From: Neels Gap

To: Testnatee Gap
Miles today: 6.0

We woke up around 7 this morning. I slept straight through night. The hike yesterday really wore me out even without a pack. I laid in bed for half an hour then went and got us Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Our shuttle driver picked us up around 930 and we got to Neels Gap around 1000. I mailed some stuff home and we began hiking at 1030. The temperature was around 28 degrees when the wind wasn¢t blowing. The scene reminded me of a Christmas winter Wonderland. The pictures don¢t even begin to capture the beauty. However, going downhill was treacherous because the path is very rocky and the moisture made for a very slick surface. We took our time though and fortunately there were no falls.We were supposed to hike to Hogpen Gap and get picked up but when I called our shuttle driver about 2 miles from our destination he said that we would be stuck waiting for a while as he was shuttling someone else, but he said he would be driving my Testnatee Gap soon and we were only a mile away from it. So we got picked up there at 130 then spent the next 2 plus hours on winding roads because two of his passengers had to be dropped off at the Springer Mountain parking lot. I don¢t know how but I managed not to get motion sickness. Tony managed his motion sickness until after we got dropped off at Dairy Queen at about 4. He was still able to eat two cheese burgers and some fries. We got back to our room around 5 and I enjoyed a hot shower and then packed up our stuff and then relaxed. We had a snack from McDonald¢s around 7 and the came back and watched one of Back to the Future movies. Tony¢s never seen them before now and he said he wants to watch all of them from the beginning.So the purist AT thru hikers won¢t like this but we are going with our original plan of being dropped off at Hogpen Gap, but I¢m doing what I have to to keep up moral and Tony made the point he had already climbed Wildcat Mountain twice, so we will not be doing that 1 mile segment. I don¢t know the next location I will have a signal to update the journal but I will do it as soon as I¢m able.
Date: 2018-03-22
From: Hog Pen Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Our shuttle driver could not pick us up until 11, so we did not start hiking until just after 12 and it was so cold that we did not take a break before we got to the shelter. We ate snacks as we walked. There are a lot more people on the trail; at least 8 or 9 people passed us. A couple passed us that looked like they were ultralight hiking. The girl was wearing just a t shift and shorts and I do not know how she didn¢t freeze. Most of the people at the shelter tonight are young and hiked over 11 miles from Neels Gap. On guy, Patch, hiked 16 miles from Jarred Gap. I didn¢t really get anyone else name. I¢m sure we will not see this group of hikers again after tomorrow. We got to the shelter around 230 and had s peanut butter sandwich, pringles, and a tangerine. I had a cup of coffee. And then we ate our supper of Ramon noodles and had some got chocolate. We crawled in our tent around 639 on because it was getting colder. It was 48 degrees when we got to the shelter, but the wild made it feel colder. It is supposed to get down to 32 tonight, so I¢m sleeping with our electronics and water filter to hopefully keep them from freezing.Tony did well today but we did only hike 4.6 miles. We thought about going to the next shelter but it was 7 miles away and we probably wouldn¢t have reached it until 7 when it would have been colder. I think we made a good decision.
Date: 2018-03-23
From: Low Gap Shelter 

To: Blue Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 7.3

It was so cold last night, I could not wait to get up and start hiking. My feet were the coldest. I woke up shortly before 7 and started packing up my sleeping bag and sleeping pad and pillow and then I told Tony he needed to wake up. He was not happy, so I took the tent fly off and folded it and then went to get our food bags off the cables. When I got back he was awake, so then we got his stuff packed up and the rest of the tent taken down and packed. I hurried as fast as I could in order to start hiking to warm up. We did not eat breakfast and we both wore out thermal underwear. We finally set out at 820. I¢ve got to figure out how to break camp faster.I took some pictures of the icicles we saw. We hiked pretty fast for the first 3 miles to warm up. It warmed up enough around 11 so we could stop and eat lunch, Tony ate a honey sandwich and me a peanut butter sandwich. Then it got cold again. The last mile and a half was brutal with hiking over a bolder field and tree roots. We made it to the shelter around 1. It was early to stop but our next shelter was more than 8 miles away and there is no way my feet or back could tolerate a 15 mile day yet.There was a guy here already, who was taking a zero waiting for someone to catch up to him. He cleaned out the fire pit and had it already to go when more hikers rolled in, so I am standing by a nice warm fire as I type this. There are now about 15 people here. The only name I¢ve got so far is Po the character from King fu Panda.I¢m so happy Tony has an appetite now, he ate two things of Ramon noodles, a pop tart and some fruit snacks. We are sleeping in the shelter to prevent having to pack a wet tent tomorrow, as it is supposed to rain tonight.
Date: 2018-03-25
From: Deep Gap Shelter 

To: Dick Creeks Gap 
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: clear sky

Got up just before 7 and packed up everything I could inside the tent as I still heard rain drops falling on the tent, but when I got out of the tent I was pleasantly surprised to find it not raining. The drops were falling from the trees. Unfortunately I did have to pack up a soaking wet tent fly and very dirty ground cloth, but thankfully the tent itself was mostly dry, and we only had s short hike to catch a shuttle to a nice, dry, warm, hotel room waiting for us. We were packed up and ready to start hiking by 7:40. We reached Dick Creeks Gap by 9:50. Our shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at 10, so perfect timing. I was never so happy to see our driver arrive. My feet and legs were absolutely throbbing. I already knew we were going to take a zero day Monday to recover.We got to our hotel around 10:30 and I did not think we would be able to get our room until 2 or 3, but the staff was so friendly and told us we were free to hang out in the lobby and relax and have coffee. Music to my ears. At 11:30 the receptionist looked at me and said she could check us into our room, another very happy moment. If you are ever in Hiawassee, stay at the Holiday Inn Express, they are awesome and they have a hot tub.First order of business was to hang up our tent fly to dry and lay out the ground cloth and tent to also dry. Then we put on just our rain gear and I washed all our filthy clothes. Laundry area was right next to our room, another bonus. Then we just relaxed. After laundry was done, I called my husband and then we went and ate at McDonald¢s. Then we went in the hot tub which felt so good to sore muscles. Then I took a short nap before supper time. We at at Daniel¢s all you can eat steakhouse. I had a descent appetite, but Tony hardly had any. We returned to the hotel and went back in the hot tub. Four other hikers soon showed up ranging in age from 23 to 35, one was from Ireland, another from England, another from French Canada and the fourth was from Minnesota.We returned to our room and I spoke to Sam before going to bed.
Date: 2018-03-26
Miles today: 0.0

We just did the usual zero day stuff. Got up and had breakfast the hotel provided, Then we went to the grocery store to resupply and afterwards wards to mail some stuff home and to send a bounce box forward to our next destination. I separated out the food when we got back to the hotel and then we went in the hot tub. My legs are feeling better. We went to Taco Bell for lunch and Dairy Queen for ice cream. We returned to the room and relaxed and packed our bags for tomorrow and then had supper and are now just watching some TV.I don¢t know if I¢ll have service through this next section, but if I do I will keep posting daily.Thanks again to everyone following this journey and are rooting for us and have signed the guest book.The one thing I have failed to talk about is my feelings and that is probably because they are all over the place. I love being in the mountains and seeing the gorgeous views and have moments of feeling intensely blessed and other times the weather freaks me out which is what caused me to push too far Saturday. I feel like sometimes I need to hurry too to fit in everything I want to accomplish. The biggest thing I learned by pushing to do so many miles Saturday, is that I need to slow down, relax, take it easy, and most of all listen to my body when it is telling me we need to stop. I enjoy myself more when we start hiking around 9 and stop by 4:30 and when we can stop and enjoy our surroundings and take time to take pictures. I didn¢t get very many pictures Saturday because I was so worried about getting to our destination before dark. The last 6 miles of the hike were absolute misery for both of us. A book I read from another thru hiker said it is about the smiles not the miles. I think from here on out if I follow that policy, we will be much happier.
Date: 2018-03-27
From: Dick Creeks Gap 

To: Plumorchard Shelter 
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Our shuttle picked us up at 11 and we were on the trail by 11:30. It was a nice, short hike. We hiked through a fog the last 3 miles, kinda made me think of the Blair Witch Project. We got to the shelter just after 2 and were the only ones here until about 3:30. Nemo was the first one to show up. He served 22 years in the Air Force and worked 20 years in the corrections system. He lives half the year on his boat so that is how he got his name; he is a fish out of water. The two other people showed up who are only hiking for about another few weeks, until they have to return to work. They are boyfriend and girlfriend who hike with water bottles filled with wine taped to there hiking poles. Then 3 other guys showed up. The first one is 24 and hiked 17 miles. Then Ben, another young guy showed up and then and older guy walked in last. We ate lunch and supper and are sitting around a fire.This is a much better day! It is nice to get to camp and not have to set up and go straight to bed. It is very nice to get to socialize. A wonderful group of people.
Date: 2018-03-28
From: Plumorchard Shelter 

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light snow

We were up by 7:15 and out by 8:30. It was mostly cloudy and at times foggy today. The hike out of Georgia wasn¢t bad, but the start of North Carolina was not very nice. We had two long and steep climbs. There weren¢t very many views until the last 2 miles of the hike, then there were some gorgeous ones,We had lunch shortly after crossing the border and we definitely needed the fuel to tackle the NC mountains.Tony¢s shoulder is bothering him and the top of my left foot has been bothering me for the past several days. I¢m really tired; I think I¢m still feeling the effects of the 15 mile plus hike we did Saturday.
Date: 2018-03-29
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter 

To: Standing Indian Shelter 
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: overcast clouds

We had intended to hike to Carter Gap Shelter, but some weather was moving in and we were not sure when it would hit, so we decided the best thing and safest thing to do was to stay at Standing Indian Shelter. Nemo, Merlo and Winehouse were also at the shelter along with Joe, who also worked in the prison system like Nemo. It was a very cloudy and at times foggy day and the wind gusted at probably 30 mph at times. It definitely seemed like it was going to storm when we arrived at the shelter around noon, but the storm held off until 8 pm. It was still a very nasty, cold day. The day was good, though because we had good company and conversations. We have formed a temporary trail family. We are all staying at the same shelters the next two nights and the same hotel when we get to Franklin, NC. Nemo reminds me a little of my dad.I will add pictures when we get to town.
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter 

To: Carter Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Today was a great hike with Nemo and Joe. We arrived at the shelter around 1:30 and we got our stuff set up in the shelter and then soaked up some sun when it would peak out from behind the clouds. We snacked, had good conversation and then ate supper. The temperature started dropping rapidly, so we were in our sleeping bags by 7. The water was down a long steep hill, so I made sure we had enough water for the next morning.