morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-05
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn -- Hot Springs, NC

To: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn -- Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It's raining in town right now (Hot Springs, NC), a good day to be inside! There's lots of things to do to get ready for hiking tomorrow - laundry, groceries, gear fixing, etc, but we're trying to find some time to relax as well. Elmer, the owner of Sunnybank Inn, put Eric and I to work as Innkeepers for the day while he goes to the doctor by checking people in, orienting them to their rooms, and answering questions. Elmer was a chef in another life, and the breakfast he served this morning of veggie omelet, toast with apple butter and granola was fabulous.The AT goes directly through Hot Springs, so we've seen some of our 'hiking friends' from days past that are coming into town today. We catch up a little bit, share washing machines and food, and go our separate ways (hoping to meet up again at a later time). You never really know when you'll see anyone again, or if you'll see them every day. It should be at least 5 days before another update (maybe more if we're moving slowly - I might need to take it easy on the ol ankle). Thanks for checking in!LaurenAlso, we're finding it difficult and time consuming to add photos to this website so we started a flickr page which is slightly easier: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76874496@N05/sets/72157629748095459We'll see how that works for a while but it can be a pain trying to upload photos in town on slow connections
Date: 2012-04-06
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night we had a full house at Elmer's. Guests showed up until 6 and included: Brian, Camel, Beowolf, Kittens, Mr. and Mrs. Hotfeet, Rayo and Doc. When Doc showed up I remembered meeting him in Hiawassee, GA 2 weeks ago. He is a recently retired physician and so I kicked off my shoes and asked him what was wrong with my foot. It was very swollen and bruised. He patted a stool and told me to take a seat. He said it looked like a high ankle sprain and that walking on it could be just as good than not, but to let pain "be my guide" as far as knowing when to push it. He also taught me how to wrap it properly. So I've been icing it, but I feel good to go for a hike tomorrow. This morning all of us guests ate a nice breakfast prepared by Elmer himself of biscuits and gravy, eggs, cheesy grits and cantaloupe.On our way out of Hot Springs I noticed my trekking pole wasn't locking properly, so I went into the outfitter hoping they could help me out. Luckily, my poles are made by Leki, and they have an awesome warranty program. Leki has parts sent to outfitters and the guy working replaced the lower half of my pole for free! Eric and I also weighed our packs. Mine comes in at 27lbs 17 oz, it's heaviest yet with 5 days of food and 2 L of water. Eric's is a full pound lighter. He traded his heavy long johns for silk and sent home gloves.I'd like to say our hike today was an easy 11 miles, but I don't know if it was the grits in my stomach or the day off that had me slow-goin up the hills. After leaving Hot Springs, we turned east to follow the French Broad River before we rose above it and walked into the hills. It was a cloudy morning, but it's turned into a sunny day with a cold wind. Everything is leafing out at this point, especially in the low elevations.We've pitched out tent (for the first time in about a week) near Spring Mountain Shelter. We have a tent city tonight. Lots of people showed up: Nutter Butter, Indiana, Kittens, Beowolf, Rayo, Doc, Couch, Shanti, plus some new faces: Catfish, Fatherman, French Toast, GunRunner, and Rook. A fun, loud crew! Fatherman got a fire going and Indiana used his skill of recounting entire scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to good use.
Date: 2012-04-07
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: FAL and Hercules' house
Miles today: 9.9

Our plan for the day was a 15 mile hike to Jerry Cabin Shelter, but our plans changed quickly when we reached Allen Gap, 4 miles into the day. Today's amazing trail magic came out of the blue, although I heard some rumors last night. I told myself not to expect anything, but a small sign was posted at Allen Gap, telling hikers to walk 350 yards down the road, to the home of Hercules and FAL (1999 thru-hikers) for trail magic. Yes! Our eyes lit up and we picked up the pace. At their beautiful country house, each hiker received a belgian waffle, bowl of stew, and a desert of their choice (brownie sundae, apple crisp or bread pudding). It was amazing. That's not all, though. Hercules and FAL (stands for Free At Last) offered us a slack pack we couldn't refuse. We left our packs at his house while he drove us 6 miles up the trail. We hiked southbound, back down to his house where sodas and snickerdoodles awaited us. Tonight there will be dinner and we can all sleep at their house with showers and laundry included. Tomorrow church, breakfast and lunch before hitting the trail again. All free! 9.9 miles for today and we feel pretty good. Nutter Butter, Catfish, Fatherman, Kittens, Ducky and some new faces: Bootstrap, Blue, Fruit Loop and MAINE-iac. Everyone is is good spirits as we relax on the porch and take in this beautiful day.
Date: 2012-04-08
From: FAL and Hercules' house

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Easter! This morning 20 of us hungry hikers (who were all strewn throughout FAL and Hercules' house last night) set off for a baptist bible study and service, but were also offered to partake in their Easter Sunday buffet. After church, and with our stomachs still partially full of food, we were taken to Ryan's Buffet in Greenville, NC. We all ate again, of course, but we all bee-lined it for the fruit and salad section. After eating like kings for the 4th time in 24 hours, we were shuttled back to the trailhead. We said our goodbyes. There will be more trail magic along the way, but it will be hard to beat what we just received. Eric and I hiked just 2 hours today, but it was a good day, and we're glad to be back on the trail.
Date: 2012-04-09
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: clear sky

We woke up to a cold morning, and got moving just before 8AM. We passed a few gravestones today. One was a stone marking where ashes were spread, and later we passed a small plot where a family was buried.As usual, there were lots of ups and downs. We hiked down to Sam's Gap at 3800 feet and then we went up to 5500 feet. Not planning to go almost 25 miles today, we just kept moving. At about mile 21 all of a sudden I got very tired and my legs didn't want to work. When I saw Big Bald from 2 miles away, it looked so daunting and I told Eric immediately that I couldn't do it, but we had to hit the next campsite with water so there was little choice at that point. We got up to Big Bald at 6:30 and it was a sunny, blue-sky day, but with high, cold winds. Once we started our descent to camp I felt much better with the thought of food coming soon. It's April and this is the coldest it's been on the AT since we started in mid-March. It will be in the mid-30s tonight, which is just about the right temperature to be comfy in our sleeping bags. We're in the shelter tonight with Backbone, Nutter Butter, Bootstrap, Long Skirt, Indy and Rook. We got here about 7 and there's enough time to take off our boots and eat before climbing in our bags for the night.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel -- Erwin, TN
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We all woke up to a cold, clear and windy morning. Eric's (Snag's) thermometer read 40 degrees, but we think it was colder. Eric and I got up about 6:30, we're usually the first ones to get up. Nutter Butter sat up in her sleeping bag in the shelter for a few moments, but deciding against getting out of her warmth, laid back down. After a quick breakfast of pemmican bars, we left our shelter friends behind, sure to see them at the end of the day at Uncle Johnny's hostel in Erwin. We had camped at 5100 feet and Erwin is at 1700 feet, but true to the AT, it was up and down in elevation until the last 2 miles to the hostel. (On a side note, it's fun the night before a hike to guess how difficult the next day will be. In a group discussion, there will inevitably be someone that says "it's all downhill from here". I tell you never listen to this person! There's always an uphill, and it's never "easy".) We went down from the shelter and back up the the High Rocks Trail with some beautiful rock outcroppings. After crossing Hwy 19 Spivey Gap, we rose to Ogelsby Branch, where we crossed a beautiful fast-flowing stream many times by rock hopping and crossing nicely built bridges.At the hostel tonight we met Hungry Bear and Amber Kat (a cute young couple from Germany), and ran into friends Indiana, Rainbow, No Trace, Unbreakable and Doc. There is a bath-house where everyone showers (very rustic), tenting, bunkhouse and single rooms available. Eric and I sprung for our own room rather than a bunk, equipped with linens and a t.v. with many old VHS tapes. The hostel gave us a shuttle into town for dinner, and we at at Pizza Hut with Indiana, Hungry Bear and Amber Kat, and then resupplied at the grocery. The hostel sells Snicker's bars for 40 cents a piece, so we picked some of those up (lots of calories and delicious!). Now it's pack-up and movie time before bed.Update on my ankle: It seems better (no swelling), but I trip over roots all day, and after about 10 miles it hurts some. Ibuprofen helps, and I hope time will, too.
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

With a good night's sleep, Snag and I set off at 9AM after each having a breakfast of a banana-nut muffin, greek yogurt and a banana that we bought yesterday in town. We crossed the Nolichuky River over a bridge and started making our ascent into the mountains. We were feeling pretty good, albeit cold. The temperature dropped more overnight, but it was sunny. At lunch we ran into a group eating at "The Beauty Spot" on a sunny bald and so we sat and chatted for maybe 1 1/2 hours with Indiana, Blue, MAINE-iac and Bootstrap - we don't usually take such long breaks! At 2 or so we all decided to make our way to the final destination for tonight: Cherry Gap Shelter, but we had to make one last climb of the day up to Unaka Mountain from 4100ft - 5100ft before coming down on the other side. We're camping at 3900ft with lots of other people, most of whom we've never seen before - section hikers. But everyone from lunch is here, too, and we had a fire because it's in the 30s already and the sun just set. We're in for a cold night ahead - good thing we're prepared! Most people were in their tents by 7:00.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Hughes Gap cabin
Miles today: 12.3

Most people took their time getting out of their warm sleeping bags this morning - it was in the lower 20s we're guessing. Most reported that they were fine, but a bit chilly or uncomfortable in their bags during the night. Yesterday, MAINE-iac, an 18-year old thru-hiker from Maine, invited a bunch of us to spend the night with her and her parents at a rented cabin and each fish tacos. Heck yes! All we had to do was hike 12 miles to Hughes Gap at 5pm, where her dad would pick us all up - so we had a lazy morning and took lots of breaks. Blue, Fruit Loop, Bootstrap, Bookworm, Nutter Butter, Snag and I couldn't turn it down. We had a few ups and downs today, one was up to Little Rock Knob where we got a great view of some of the ridge we've been walking on for the past 3 days, all the way back to Big Bald. The last 2 miles was an easy downhill. We met MAINE-iac's family (mom, dad and little brother), and they invited us in their beautiful rented cabin, fed us fish tacos, fresh fruit and root beer floats. These are great people! We're watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as it has become a popular topic on the trail for this particular group. It becomes obvious at times how young everyone is in this group (18-24) except me and Snag - but they are all very good, adventurous and funny people. Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to Virginia. We've been hopping between North Carolina and Tennessee for a while now. Popular topics of discussion tonight: our chronic heat rashes, blisters and how we deal with them, foods we crave, our ravenous appetites, the weather, and then we went around the room and told each other our real names. It's strange not to know them for so long. Nutter Butter's real name is Kristin. I thought it might tell me something else about her and make me understand her a little better, but it doesn't really, and so I still call her Nutter Butter.
Date: 2012-04-13
From: Hughes Gap rental cabin

To: Bradley Gap Camp
Miles today: 12.9

This morning 8 hungry hikers awoke to MAINE-iac's parents cooking up some eggs, homefries and bacon. We ate a big breakfast, along with snacks, candy and oreos before leaving the house. MAINE-iac's mom drove us back to Hughes Gap (but sending us along with chicken and veggie wraps for lunch). I told her that my parents would be glad to know how well everyone takes care of us out here! Thanks MAINE-iac and family for having all of us over! We started our climb up to Roan Mountain (which would have been difficult if we hadn't had an awesome breakfast). In 2 hours were found ourselves at 6200 feet. We won't be at that elevation again until New Hampshire I don't think. Turns out we met up with just the trail to Roan High Bluffs, and we would have to hike off the AT for 1 mile to get to the very top of Roan at 6275 feet. We opted to not go there and continued down the other side. It was cold this morning! There was ice on the trail and our hands were freezing. We ate our wraps at Carver's Gap in a sunny spot and chatted with some section-hikers. At 3:00 we made it to Overmountain Shelter, which is unique because it is a converted barn that sleeps 20 (a lot for a shelter). Snag and I moved on and made one last climb of the day over Little Hump Mountain. In our AT Companion Guide, it says there are many balds between Roan Mountain and Hump Mountain, which we will cross tomorrow. Balds are a grassy area with little to no trees that often give 360 degree views of the area. If it's sunny, it's a great place to relax for a bit.We met 2 nice day-hikers, Pops and Gweem, who roam this particular section of the trail handing out goodies for thru-hikers. It included a baggie with a clementine, hard candy, a milky way, twinkie, peanut butter crackers, hard boiled egg and cheesy crackers. Awesome! Pops told us he could tell we will make it to Katahdin (I'm sure he doesn't tell everyone that...) and he wrote our names down so they can check on us later. They are celebrating 53 years of marriage!Tonight we found a nice, flat camp with a fire ring and lots of ramps in the area. Ramps are a wild onion that we have notice many locals collecting. We hear they are very healthy (and even have healing powers...) so we gathered some and cooked it up in our cheesy rice and broccoli dinner tonight. Yum.
Date: 2012-04-14
From: Bradley Gap Camp

To: Streamside stealth camp
Miles today: 16.3

A chilly morning, but it's definitely warming up a bit. First thing we did was hike up Hump Mountain this morning. A section-hiker we met yesterday said his dad's ashes were spread there at the top, and it had been 15 years since he had visited this spot. His dad had said Hump Mountain was the prettiest place he had ever seen and so I took an extra moment to appreciate it. It was a beautiful morning, cloudy and cool.We had a gradual descent to Hwy 19E, where Snag and I got a hitch to the Dollar General near the town Roan Mountain. We needed a bit of food to make it to the next town. As we were standing outside, Snag using the phone, a local offered to take us to a better grocery store and to give us a lift back to the trail afterward. We obliged.We managed to not spend any more time or money in town and by 12:30 we were heading north again. We had 10 miles left to reach our goal for the day. At 2:30 we were walking along a small river and ran into Rook, Indiana and Bootstrap taking along break. They were talking about how lazy they feel because they haven't done any big mile days (20+ miles) in a while, since Hot springs really. Hiking the trail is a big mental game. Sometimes you can feel like you have to keep going or keep ramping up the miles, or you feel behind. Truthfully, only we are making these expectation for ourselves - there are no rules. We started hiking again as a group until we got closer to the water. Bootstrap, Snag and I decided it was hot enough outside to go for a "swim" in the river. We learned quickly that the water was too cold and it wasn't quite hot enough yet to warrant a swim, but we dunked in anyway, and invigorated, we hiked the remaining 3 miles to camp.Snag and I are camping with a section-hiker named Lannie and her dog, Amber. Lannie is a young girl from New York that works in the manufacturing business. She does big sections of the trail when she can and hopes to make it to New Hampshire by June.
Date: 2012-04-15
From: Streamside stealth camp

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 14.8

An easy morning, we hiked along Laurel Fork, but then climbed up on the ridge early in the afternoon. It was very warm. We ran into Blue and Bootstrap and took a break at Moreland Shleter. 6 miles later we made it to Kincora Hostel, which is a popular place to stay along the AT. It's run by Bob Peoples, a trail legend of sorts. He has done a lot of trail maintenance along the AT over the years and recruits of volunteers to help him, too. His hostel is pretty simple. It has a kitchen, shower and some bunks with minimal extras, but he only asks a $5 donation. Reading the hostel register he sounds like an inspiring and encouraging person, too. There are pictures placed all over the walls and ceiling like a wallpaper, of past hikers with Katahdin pictures and letters of thanks for his support and facilities. It gives you and idea of how many people have been on this same journey.We got here at 230 with plenty of time to relax for today. Rook, Indy, Bootstrap and Blue are ina hurry to push on - they had already resupplied soon after we rolled into the hostel. Snag and I decided to relax here for tonight. We are talking about meetig up with them in Damascus (50 miles away) in 2 days. That means some big miles, but we think we can do it.
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.5
Weather: clear sky

Happy Birthday, Snag!We got up early in hopes for a big day. From the hostel, we went directly down to Laurel Falls, which was really beautiful. I'm still amazed sometimes at how much water flows through this region. I feel like we haven't gotten enough rain, but the falls were really flowing. The AT followed the river very closely on rock outcroppings for less than a mile before ascending sharply to Pond Flats (which is neither flat nor is there a pond). It was absolutely draining to me, and just 3 hours into the day I felt as if I had used up all my energy. We had so many miles left to go! It was getting hotter to top it off.After the big climb of the morning, the rest of the day was filled with smaller, but still exhausting ups and downs. We came across Watauga Lake at noon, where the Trail Angel, Shanango, was handing out goodies. Snag and I each had some strawberries, Mountain Dew, and Nutty Butty Bars. I don't usually like sodas and had never had a Mountain Dew before, but I guzzled this one down so fast I surprised myself. The afternoon was hot and water was more scarce than usual. We came across Rook, Indiana, Blue and Bootstrap and some other hikers we stayed at the hostel with last night. Today's hike really exhausted me and caused me some new blisters. We got to the shelter at 7:15pm, 12 hours after we started. We had time to pitch a tent and make dinner. Doc, Walking Home, and Frenchy are here, along with the rest of the crew. Most are going into Damascus tomorrow, but it will be a long day to get there.
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Ruby's Rest -- Damascus, VA
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Snag and I have never ran a marathon, but we hiked one today, all the way into Virginia!Since we all knew it was to be a long day, Rook, Blue, Indiana, Bootstrap, Fruit Loop, Snag and I got up real early, about 5am, and by 6 we were hiking. It was a cool morning and foggy, but our eyes were adjusted enough to not even need our headlamps when starting out. Most people, even when hiking in groups, usually hike solo during the day and meet up later on, which is what we did today. The terrain was easier than any other day so far, but hiking 26 miles of it wasn't exactly easy. It didn't get really hot and no one ran out of water like yesterday. Usually Snag and I (or maybe it's just me) move pretty quickly in the morning, and by the afternoon, really lost that spunk that we had hours earlier. By noon, Snag and I had hiked 16 miles! We had just 10 to go, but it took us 3 more hours. At 4pm, the whole group made it to the Tennessee/Virginia state line, which is a big milestone for us. It's home for Fruit Loop, but we have also hiked about 470 miles of the trail. If you look at a map of the AT, it's finally starting to look like we've made some progress! After arriving in Damascus, VA 3.5 miles later, some hikers were giving high-fives as congratulations. The pizza place, Quincy's was a popular eatery tonight.Snag and I happened across what I think is the best place to stay in town - and the best deal. If you're ever in Damascus, VA stay at Ruby's Rest! It's a small cottage that a family of 4 rents out behind their house. It only holds up to 4 people, but Snag and I have it to ourselves. TV, shower, laundry, and a family-feel for $40. The husband and father, Jeff, runs it and introduces us to his family, allows use of his washer& dryer, and picked up a growler of beer for us at the Abington brewery! He is a brewer like Snag, a craftsman, gardener, chicken-owner, and all around good guy. We're zero-ing here tomorrow in hopes that we rest our feet enough to continue on the next day.
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Ruby's Rest -- Damascus, VA

To: Ruby's Rest -- Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Finally made it to Damascus, VA and to a reliable computer to update the trail journals! Snag and I are sore today and with new blisters. Both of our keen shoes are starting to fall apart (Snag's are delaminating, my heel frame is starting to break down and the seams coming apart). After reading reviews on Keens, however, I am surprised they lasted this long. It seems that although Keens are generally regarded as very comfortable, they tend not to last much longer than 350 miles.Where my ankle sprain is feeling so much better, Snag's left ankle was bothering him yesterday. There are so many pains that we go through, though, that just go away the next day. It's hard to know what is a problem unless you wait a few days. I would say most pain comes and goes, except the general soreness in the feet. Our stay last night at Ruby's Rest was great and it's raining in town today, so a good day to be off the trail. I feel for the hikers out there right now!I so appreciate the comments every time I read something new in the guestbook. I like knowing that people are actually reading these entries and it makes me more motivated to keep up on it. Snag spend some time this morning putting pictures up in the Flickr album, so you should check those out! http://www.flickr.com/photos/76874496@N05/sets/72157629748095459