morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-10-20
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

We started off the day around 8:15 AM. After 3 miles of hiking, we reached the North Carolina/Georgia border!!! I was very excited about finally reaching my home state!!! I carried a Dr. Pepper for the last two days and I finally drank it when I reached the border! It was a nice little treat! After the border, we continued on over Wheeler Knob and As Knob to reach Plumorchard Gap Shelter. It is a really big shelter and we took a nice break here. After the break, we continued on over Buzzard Knob and Little Bald Knob to reach Dick's Creek Gap. At Dick's Creek Gap, my cousin Bobby Babb and his friend Mr. J.D. Payne were waiting for us and drove us into Hiawassee to their home for a wonderful night's stay! Mrs. Laura Jean and Mrs. Elaine cooked up a WONDERFUL meal for us and we were stuffed by the time we got up from the table!!! Thank ya'll for letting us stay and we had a great time! Thank you! Only 66 more miles to Springer!!! It's sneaking up on us!
Date: 2003-10-21
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Blue Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning, Mrs. Laura Jean and Mr. Bobbie treated us to a nice breakfast and then they drove us back to the trail at Dick's Creek Gap. We started off the day climbing up Powell Mtn.(3850'). There was a really nice viewpoint from Powell Mtn. and the weather is beautiful today so we had some great views. We continued on over Kelly Knob and Round Top to reach Swag of the Blue Ridge. Swag of the Blue Ridge is the area where the Chattahoochee River starts. We took a snack break here and then continued on and had a steep climb up Tray Mountain(4430'). Tray Mtn. also provided beautiful views for us. After Tray Mtn., we descended down into the Cheese Factory Site. In the 1830's, a cheese factory used to be located on the top of the mountain at this spot, while there are no remnants of the factory, it is still called the Cheese Factory Spot. We decided to stop here for lunch. After eating, we climbed over Rocky Mountain and then descended down into Unicoi Gap(2950'). After the gap, we had another thousand foot climb up Blue Mtn.(4025') before arriving at Blue Mtn. Shelter, our home for the night. Blue Mtn. Shelter is a nice shelter and we are the only ones here tonight. It felt good to be here because I was tired out after today. Most of the day was up and down, no flat stretches and it was in the 80's, which drained me. The wind is really blowing tonight and it feels good cooling things off!
Date: 2003-10-22
From: Blue Mtn. Shelter

To: Walasi-Yi Center/Neels Gap
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: clear sky

We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise! The shelter is open towards the east, so we laid in our sleeping bags and watched the sun rise over the moutains. It was a great way to start the day! When we started hiking, we had about a 6 mile stretch of almost flat!!! It was a very nice treat from yesterday's ups and downs. Once we reach Low Gap, our flat stretch ended and we climbed up Sheep Rock Top and Poor Mtn. before descending into Hogpen Gap. We continued on over Wildcat Mtn. and Cowrock Mtn. before reaching Neels Gap. At Neels Gap, the Appalachian Trail passes through the breezeway of the Walasi-Yi Center. It is the only building the A.T. passes under on the entire trail. We decided to stay here for the night.
Date: 2003-10-23
From: Walasi-Yi Center/Neels Gap

To: Gooch Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

We left Neels Gap this morning and immediately had a 1300' climb to the top of Blood Mtn.(4461'). The climb up offered great views along the way and there is a rock at the top of the mountain to climb and it offers panoramic views! The sky is clear again today, so the views were awesome! We could even see Springer Mountain in the distance!!!! At the top, some dayhikers gave us a few boiled peanuts which were a nice little treat. Blood Mtn. got its name from two Indian tribes who had a huge battle on the top. They say that the battle was so bloody, it stained the top of the mountain red, therefore, they called it Blood Mountain. It's no longer red though! After Blood Mtn., we descended down into Slaughter Gap before climbing up Turkey Stamp Mtn.(3770'). We continued on over Granny Top Mtn. and Big Cedar Mtn. before descending to Woody Gap. After Woody Gap, we had another 5 miles to reach Gooch Mtn. Shelter, for our last night on our journey. The whole evening at the shelter was kind of sad and kind of exciting. We kept talking about our last supper, our last time pumping water, our last time in the sleeping bag, our last night, and last everything. It's kind of sad that after tomorrow, my trip is over. It's also very exciting too!
Date: 2003-10-24
From: Gooch Mtn. Shelter

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

We woke up pretty early this morning and packed our stuff up one last time before heading out. We hiked over Justus Mtn. and Sassafras Mtn. before reachign Hawk Mtn. We stopped for our only break of the day at Hawk Mtn. After taking the break, we continued on towards Springer Mountain. We walked by beautiful Stover Creek for about a mile and then began our ascent up Springer. As I walked up the mountain, a million things were racing through my mind. I thought of that day 5 months ago climbing Katahdin, and how much I've learned and experienced since that day. I also thought of all the wonderful people I've met and the beautiful things God has allowed me to see on this trip of a lifetime. I had thought about this day for a long time and I could not believe that it was actually here! I was filled with mixed emotions about finishing. As I was thinking all of this, Smokey, Cephas, and I made our way up Springer Mountain, and before I knew it, we were on top! After 2,172.6 miles, 150 days, 22 weeks, 1 trail, we had made it!!!! After all of the pop tarts, tuna, Ramen noodles, Snicker's bars, cold nights, we made it! I was filled with excitement and joy and my mama, daddy, two brothers, and friends were waiting on top to share in my excitement! I could not believe that I had run out of white blazes to follow and that the trail was actually over! Although finishing the trail is something I will never forget, the journey along the Appalachian Trail is what makes it special. All of the lifelong friends, experiences, wildlife, and beautiful scenery along the way is what makes this the trip of a lifetime. Smokey and Cephas's family and friends were on top also, and before we left to come down from the mountain, we circled up and had a prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise. It was a very special moment that I will never forget. God is so amazing! He kept me safe and healthy the entire way and it is by His grace that this trip was completed. I'm thankful that God allowed me to see His beautiful creation! After coming down from the mountain, I wanted to go HOME!
Date: 2003-10-25
To: HOME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

At long last, I have arrived home! I slept in my own bed last night and took a shower in my own shower! I had a wonderful reunion with my family and friends last night and granny fixed a wonderful supper! I didn't know how much I had missed home! It's a wonderful place and there's nowhere like it in the world! It was strange to wake up this morning and not get out of my sleeping bag and start hiking, the fact that the trip is over is starting to sink in. As I look back on the trip, I'm amazed! I'm amazed at how much generosity and kindness so many different people showed me. From picking me up at the trail and taking me to their home for a night, to just giving me a note of encouragement. I realize from this trip that the world is full of good people, a lot more good people than bad.   My journey down the Appalachian Trail is one that I will not forget. It has had a lasting impact on me in many different ways. The trail allowed me the opportunity to see and experience things that I never imagined! I did not think when I started at Mt. Katahdin on May 27 that the trail would be life-changing, but it was. When I was climbing Katahdin on the first day, I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myelf into?!" Now I know that I got myself into something great! The Appalachian Trail is like a community shut off from the "real world," I feel lucky to be a part of that community!    I want to say thank you to all of you who have left me notes of encouragement on my guestbook and who prayed for me on the journey. I really appreciate all of the support you gave me. I also want to say thank you to all of you who acted as trail angels to me. Everyone who gave me a place to stay, gave me a ride into town, or gave me a meal, thank you so much!    Mama, daddy; thank ya'll so much! This trip would not have been possible without your support, encouragement, and love!!! I can't thank ya'll enough!!!   Most importantly, I want to give the honor and glory to God! Through Christ, all things are possible! Without His love and grace, I would be nothing. He kept me safe and healthy the entire trip and brought me home safely. I'm very thankful for that!   Now it is time for me to transition back into the real world! God bless you all!Luke Carter(Dixiebound)
Date: 2003-04-10
From: Tray Gap, USFS 79

To:  Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: light rain

We are Terry and Cindy from Illinois. We love day hiking and the Appalachian Trail. We hope to get in 4 weeks of Appalachian Trail hiking this year. We left Belleville on April 9th at 9:27am, had supper at Ruby Tuesday on I-140 in Knoxville, going down toward the airport. We were killing time, trying to get to the airport and our enterprise car rental closer to our reservation time. We have decided to rent a second car when we go hiking and shuttle ourselves every day we hike. We are paying $140 per week for the rental car, and we get tremendous flexibility in our hiking schedule. After we picked up our rental car at 7:00pm, we drove down hwy 321 about 7 miles to the Princess motel in Maryville. It was raining and that¢s why we stopped early.April 10, 2003We dropped off the rental at Unicoi Gap and drive our minivan to Tray Mt. Gap. It¢s snowing like crazy. We¢re going to hike down from here to Unicoi Gap. Its only a 4.4 mile hike today because we are not ready, and its 12:25pm now. We¢re going to have some lunch first, enjoy the scenery, and get ourselves packed and get off. We left at 1:12pm and it¢s 1:41pm now. We just passed the USFS 79 road. We¢re doing 2 miles an hour. No snow down here at all. But raining instead. It¢s a beautiful downhill hike. Lots of clouds down below us. Can¢t see any of the views. We have all our rain gear on and are staying dry. At 2:00pm we crossed Indian Grave Gap. Then we started the up section. We had to take a lot of clothing off. We passed a single guy, then three older gentlemen. They were section hiking. We talked to them for a minute. We might see them again later in the week. We are not too far from the top of Rocky Mountain. Before we got to the top we ran into 2 young guys at 2:40pm. We talked to them awhile. They were Argon from Kentucky and Tom Kolwalic from Schaumburg, IL, trail name Short Term but he might change that. They are doing a thru hike but don¢t want to say that because it¢s a long way to go. Now we hope we are just about at the top. It¢s 2:45pm. It¢s very, very foggy on top of Rocky Mountain, just a tiny bit of snow and a light drizzle. Temperature around 40 makes it a nice day for hiking, but you can see only 100 feet. We¢re coming down. We can see the parking lot. It took us 2 12 hours to go about 4 12 miles. The down part from Rock Mountain was pretty steep in sections and I¢m glad we went the way we did; north to south. Then we drove into Helen, Ga. And stayed at the Haufbrau Hotel. We went to an Irish Pub that had a band playing. We only had one beer and left there to find supper. We suddenly remembered that Survivor was on in 10 minutes. We ran thru the Wendy¢s drive thru and took the food to our room.
Date: 2003-04-12
From: Bear pen trail, USFS 67

To: US Hwy 64 Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

We¢re here where the Bear Pen Trail takes off of the Appalachian Trail at 9:20am.We¢re going to start up the climb to Albert Mt. It¢s a beautiful, sunny day. Cold and windy. Snow on the ground. Just saw a couple of hikers heading southbound. Just said hi to them. Pretty, pretty, sunny day, wall to wall blue. Albert Mt. Tower at 10:00am. We¢re leaving it. We¢ve been up there 10 minutes enjoying beautiful views today. A little windy, Cindy didn¢t like it up there; she said she wouldn¢t camp in or under Albert Tower. We¢re leaving the tower, a nice place to visit but it¢s too soon to stop for a little snack.Its 11:30am; taking a pee break at a nice little turn in the trail. Very nice temperature now, 55 degrees or something, no wind. We¢re at about 3 miles. We¢re going to take a break at Glass Mine Gap at 3.8 miles. It¢s 11:34am right now. Pretty, pretty day on a really nice downhill trail.We had lunch at the Glass Mine Gap. A beautiful day, maybe 60 degrees now. We stayed there 52 minutes for lunch. We met Julie Ingle and her dad. She¢s doing a thru hike. Trail name Precious Jules, soon to change as soon as her dad leaves. They¢re from Mackinaw, MI. We¢re on the trail. Saw dozen boy scouts heading south with a dozen leaders, and the people from the motel last night, came hiking up to us and said they recognized us from the motel and saw Terry backing into the mailbox (not really, at least they never said anything). They¢re going up to Albert Mt., going to camp out for the night. But now it¢s just a warm, warm day. We¢re going to try to make some progress.Got into Rock Gap shelter at 2:00pm on this beautiful day and are still here at 2:25pm, resting our feet, reading the journal, reading the paper, reading our book, drinking a Dr. Pepper we found in the spring. All by ourselves, what a day. I wish all the hiking days were like this. Eventually we have to leave here and go to the car or it is going to turn out to be another 5 o¢clock day, at least. It¢s 3:50pm. And decided to stop to read why we were doing all this up again. It was there in the book. Hopefully, we have less than 2 miles to go. We went thru Wallace Gap and there were 5 or 6 people lying around I guess waiting for a ride. Two of them came up and we talked to them. One was named Loser and the other was the Big E which we just read about. Big E is from Mt. Home, AR but now from Lakeland, FL. He¢s an older gentlemen and the younger guy, Loser is planning on thru hiking. While we were stopped at the gap a bunch of hikers walked thru. Cindy says it took 7 hours and 20 minutes and we¢re at Winding Stair Gap. End of a nice hiking day; saw a lot of people hiking. Didn¢t take many pictures this afternoon. That was bad. Got passed by a lot of thru hikers. Smiles went by us. Four guys we think are section hikers went by us twice; Lion King was one of them maybe.
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Wayah Bald

To: Tellico Gap
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Day 4 of our third trip to the trail. We¢re on top of Wayah Bald. It¢s 10:00am. Getting ready to go. Another beautiful day. Sunshine, warm. Left a car at Tellico Gap. Spent the night in Franklin at the Microtel. Had a wonderful Mexican dinner. This is about a 9 miler today. We¢ll be gone in about 5 min.It¢s 11:19am. We just had a very long chat with a couple from SC. Her trail name is Gutsy. She thru hiked in 1996. She¢s getting herself ready to do the Pacific Crest Trail. That¢s her next goal. They also like to do the highest points in each state when they get a chance. They also love to do the 6,000 feet peaks in the south, about 40 of them. So we had a long conversation with them about hiking in general, and how great it is and how big fans we are of hiking. They live in SC, like Table Rock Park. They do a lot of climbing there. We might be at Burning Town Gap but who would know. I don¢t think so. Terry left the book in the car. We¢re at a gap that has 6 paths leading out of it. It¢s 12:30pm. We¢re going to have lunch. We may be only 3 miles into the hike but it¢s a very nice place for lunch. We¢re having a good time, beautiful day, sunny skies, not hot yet. We expect to see people on the trail, but we¢re having lunch now.It¢s 1:04pm. We¢re leaving our gap. Had a nice lunch. Half hour break. Need to get down the trail.It¢s 1:27pm and we get to Burning Town Gap. A car is sitting there. Beautiful, sunny, warm day. Obviously car access to Burning Town Gap. Now we¢re climbing out of there to the next mountain.Now it¢s 2:57pm. We stopped at 2:00pm at the Cold Spring Shelter. Used the privy. Met Ken Lewis, i.e. Easy Street. A 65 year old gentleman who is thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. He¢s kind of new to hiking but is a super experienced canoeist. We heard lots of canoeing stories. He knows everywhere you can canoe around where he lives, Chicago, IL, the Mississippi, Canada, He¢s done it all. Been to Quatico. He¢s taken tour groups there for 20 years. He knows Tom and Woods. He knows the ranger stations. He¢s quite the character. We had a very nice time talking to him, way too long. Now we¢re back on the trail at 3:00pm.It¢s 4:00pm. We¢re on the trail, maybe a mile to go. We¢re listening for a woodpecker. Cindy is trying to take his picture. He¢s way off but Cindy wants to record the sound. Listen. (very faint pecking) That was him. It¢s 4:49pm. We¢re standing at the car at Tellico Gap. Still another beautiful day. We¢ve had 2 fantastic weather days. A little bit warm, maybe 72 degrees. A very nice, easy walk from Wayah Bald. Cindy¢s wants to go more. She¢s ready. But now we have to discuss the future, figure what we are going to do next. But first, we need to get back to our other car. That¢s it for today.After hiking we drove around to Cherokee, NC. Stayed at the Carolina Motel. We drove all around town before stopping to eat at Ponderosa. We are going to hike one day in the Smokies and then move north.
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Clingmans Dome

To: Newfound Gap, US 441
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: few clouds

It¢s 10:12am. We¢re here at the tower at Clingman¢s Dome in our favorite National Park.We¢re just getting on the Appalachian Trail. It¢s a beautiful day. Very sunny, cool. Looks like another beautiful hiking day. We¢re doing 7.9 miles to Newfound Gap. We hiked 12 mile to the tower from the parking lot but that doesn¢t count. We¢re off.It¢s 11:27am. We¢re on the trail. We¢ve gone thru a section on the trail that is right next to the road. Heard some traffic. Beautiful, sunny day, nice temperatures, maybe 55 to 60, real pleasant, blue skies. Just a real nice time to do this trail. We¢re heading towards Mt. Collins shelter for a break. It¢s 12:10pm. We¢re stopped for lunch at the Fork Ridge trail intersection. We passed the turnoff to Mt. Collins shelter. It was 12 mile back to the shelter so we¢re stopping on the trail to have lunch, at a nice, sunny spot. Got all our stuff spread out, shoes off, working on the sandwiches, having a coke. The road is not to far off from here. We expect some thru hikers to pass us in the next 10 minutes. It¢s 12:23pm. Sticks and Smiley, a couple of thru hikers coming thru. They¢re from Colorado. They¢re impressed by the fallen trees. Big. They¢re 14 or 15 days out of Springer. They look like they¢re real happy to be here.We¢re leaving after lunch, 12:52pm, from the Fork Ridge trail junction. Going to head on down for an hour and take a nice break somewhere nice if we can find it.It¢s 1:30pm. We¢ve been slogging thru the mud for 40 minutes. Trail really wet today, all the snow they had here last week is melting. It¢s wet and muddy. The bugs are out but still a beautiful day for hiking.We just left Indian Grave Gap at 2:41pm. Where the Road Prong Trail goes off there. Some trail angels there, sitting there all day giving out food to thru hikers. Caught up with Sticks and Smiley. They were just about to leave. Then right before we left a group came up, Straw Hat and Peppermint Patty, his mother. Then Kiwi from New Zealand came along. He¢s with a group of four hiking. The rest are behind him. The trail angels had said they were waiting for the 4 Geezers they had heard were on the trail, and should be passing by. Kiwi said, "I'm with the Geezers". We¢re off now at 3:22pm. We walk out at 3:28pm to Newfound Gap. 5 hours, 50 minutes. Still a beautiful day. Lots and lots of tourists here, real crowded in the parking lot. We¢re off to get our other car and then who knows what. We shuttled the 4 Geezers down to a Gatlinburg motel. We drove to Cosby Tenn., and took showers at the Laundromat outside Cosby Campground in GSMNP. We tried to camp at Big Creek Campground in the park, but it was full. We heated up canned Chinese at the picnic area for supper. We had a picnic table on the creek which made for a nice supper. We drove into Newport, Tn. that night and stayed at the motel 6. We are leaving the Smokies tomorrow, but have a plan to backpack the remainder of the Smokies in 2004.
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Brown Gap

To: Lemon Gap, NC 1182
Miles today: 8.9

Day 7, 9:30AM, Leaving Brown Gap. Got up here, parked the car, and found 4 thru hikers camping at the gap. The hikers were the 4 we saw yesterday, on the trail up from davenport Gap. One was named I¢m Allright, don¢t know his friends names. Another guy came hiking up that we also saw yesterday. We gave them water, oranges, soda from the car, and went on our way. Straight up! 3.5 miles to Max Patch. Later. Ok, its 10:25 and we are on the trail to Max Patch. We got passed by the group that was camping at Brown Gap, Erin(from Maryland), I¢m Allright(from Penn.), Flash(from S Car), a guy with them the last few days, and the other gal was Hover(from N Car). We talked quickly about flowers with the group as they sped by, on there way to Max Patch for lunch, which is also our plan. A tremendous amount of Spring Beauties are out on the trail today, a lot of Blood Root, May apples are just starting to come out, some Violets, and again it is a warm sunny beautiful day. 60 degrees now but warming. We are enjoying the hike because it has leveled out now. It¢s not straight up. Bye. It¢s now 11:00 AM, hopefully only a half hour from Max Patch. It¢s an awesome wildflower day. This trail has a lot of Spring Beauties on display. Millions.It¢s a breezy day, which is also nice for hiking. It¢s now 11:36 and we are on top of Max Patch with a few thru hikers having lunch. We left Max Patch at 12:30, headed down the Mt. Its 4 miles to Roaring Fork Shelter and then .4 miles to Lemon Gap and our car. We are having a great hike and enjoyed meeting the 4 thru hikers and having lunch with them. We discussed flowers, animals, birds, hiking and had lots of fun talking. Flash got his name because he wears a kilt with no underwear. Hover said to look for her journal on livetrail. It¢s now 1:53 and we have taken a nice break, talked to Hoopola who has moved on down the trail.Had my shoes and socks off and we are probably behind schedule. We just passed Salina (because she has peanut allergy) at 1:59 who was on Max patch for lunch, and we saw yesterday. I¢m trying a single sock strategy now as Cindy makes a good pace thru the wilderness. It remains cool today for pleasant hiking, a little cloudy, a good trail allows us to make good time, and we need too. Its 2:41 PM and we mosey down the trail, hopefully it¢s only a mile to the shelter, and 1.5 miles to the car. Its 3:08 and we are at the shelter turnoff. Guess we will run down there for a few minutes, for a final drink of water, and then get out of here. It¢s now 3:42 and we are coming out to Lemon Gap where our car awaits. Still just a beautiful sunny day, a great hiking day. Stopped at the shelter, saw all the hikers from today. They are all going to different shelters and places tomorrow. Talked to Hoopla about his plans, and Sourmash, and Romeo and Juliet. Not many were staying the night since it was only 3:30. We are driving back home to Illinois tonight, but will be returning to the Trail soon.