morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-29
From: Low Gap, TN

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

We got up to what we had heard was the best breakfast in town and we believe it must be the best breakfast in the state of VA and probably TN, too. Miss Ginny served so many great things we're were very happy that we were hungry hikers that could do that breakfast justice!We were off to "slack-pack" from Low Gap, TN, about 15 miles south of town back into Damascus. So, now we've crossed into another state and we're half-way to Springer from our starting point - woo hoo!We got our laundry done and had some great Mexican food at the Baja Cafe.The other guests at the inn, Blue Bell and Tree hope to be off hiking again after being laid-up for a few days due to a bum foot. We hope to see them up the trail.
Date: 2007-04-30
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We spent a wonderful zero today in Damascus. As usual, the town days go incredibly fast. With the laundry out of the way yesterday, we thought we'd have a lot of free time today, but by the time we visited the outfitter, food shopped, went to the post office, packed up for tomorrow, and made a few phone calls, the day was almost over. It was such a beautiful day though, that we enjoyed every minute of it.Physically, we're feeling pretty good these days. Last week we averaged 15 miles per day, and although we were beat at the end of the day, its a pace we think we can maintain on average terrain. We both suffer from slight numbness on the tips of our toes, which is a very common hiking ailment. Other than that, we both get pains somewhere most days, but they eventually pass. I'm hoping that with the pack adjustments that the outfitter helped me with that the bruises at the top of my tail bone will disappear. Bonnie's pack should feel better as well with the re-adjustments and belt replacement. We both got on a scale today, and I lost 5 pounds and Bonnie lost 10 pounds since we started. And we get to eat like pigs all the time in town!We're also continuing to work on lowering our pack weight. We ordered down inner jackets today to replace our fleeces, which will save another 1/2 a pound each. It may not sound like much, but you can feel every ounce. We did break down and buy a miniture set of backpacker playing cards today which we thought we could afford at 1.5 ounces! Tonight it's off to a good dinner, then a great B&B breakfast in the morning, and hiking in TN!
Date: 2007-05-01
From: Low Gap, VA

To: Turkeypen Gap, TN
Miles today: 15.0

We left the Lazy Fox stuffed with another great breakfast from Miss Jenny. We had company at breakfast with a retired farmer who is section hiking the AT and is working on running a marathon every month in a different state. He is up to about 10 so far. The other hikers at breakfast included Tom B. from Pittsburgh whose wife met him for the day in Damascus, and a nutritionist who just shakes her head at what the hikers eat! The hiking today was easy on a "postcard" like section of the trail. It was mostly on top of a flat ridge with long unobstructed views down the trail. We ran into a very nice northbound woman named Baby Steps who worked as a traveling nurse for a year in Alaska. She takes jobs for a while to make some money, and then heads out a new adventure. She suggested we move to Homer, Alaska for our next adventure.We found a beautiful campsite and were joined by a retired pastor from Washington state. She is 66 years old and has a goal to hike the entire A.T. and the Pacific Crest Trail by the time she turns 70. She¢s currently working on a 400 mile section of the A.T. We continue to be fascinated by the people we meet out here!P.S. Happy Birthday Jo!
Date: 2007-05-02
From: Turkeypen Gap, TN

To: Pond Flats, TN
Miles today: 16.0

It was hot today! We were sweating in t-shirts and shorts and just dying in the heat. And then we heard it from a north bounder ¢ trail magic at Watauga Lake! We did the next mile in a time that would have made Roger Banister proud, and came up on the couple set up by the beach on the lake with food and drinks for hikers. It was good stuff too ¢ Starbucks iced coffee, cold snickers, lemonade, tuna packets, Lipton sides and more. There were about 10 hikers sitting in the sun enjoying a nice break by the lake. We had some great food and drinks, enjoyable conversation with other hikers, and then jumped in the freezing water for a quick swim. Talk about a great pick-me-up on a hard day!The couple doing the trail magic was doing their thru hike and the husband got injured. He worked in IT for a number of years, got sick of it, and is now working on his doctorate at a seminary. Right now in place of their thru hike they¢re setting up at places along the trail with donations from several local churches for hikers.
Date: 2007-05-03
From: Pond Flats, TN

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After a long descent, our morning consisted of a beautiful section of hiking along a stream with an incredible waterfall at the end. The Azaleas are just starting to bloom and were unbelievable. So much of the A.T. just takes your breath away. We stopped in a hostel for lunch run by Bob and Pat Peoples who are sort of legends on the A.T. for the all the trail work they do and for the things they do for hikers. They are very nice and told us to eat whatever we want out of the hostel fridge since it¢s just leftovers from previous hikers. We had a huge salad and a pepperoni and sausage frozen pizza.We left the hostel, headed up about a 1,700 foot climb, and then the thunderstorms hit. It was lightening so bad that we stayed down the mountain a bit to wait it out. We were hot in t-shirts and shorts at the bottom of the climb, but by the top we were both shivering in rain gear. It¢s amazing what altitude and rain can do to your body temperature. It poured all the way to the shelter, and the only two spots left in the shelter were under a leak. Bonnie suggested we plug it with gum, so she chewed a piece (thanks for the gum Craig and Cathy!) and I climbed up on the roof stuffed it in the hole! It was still leaking, so I chewed some more and we plugged it from the bottom. Finally we had a dry place to sleep!
Date: 2007-05-04
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 18.0

The rain continued on and off all day, but was fairly light. Since we shortened up yesterday¢s hike, we had to make up a bit today in order to still make it to Erwin, TN, by Monday. We were really beat by the end even though the climbs and descents were fairly minor.We made it to the hostel by about 5:00 and got the last two spots. Mountain Harbor is a B&B and a Hostel. The B&B is a beautiful place up on a hill overlooking a farm. The hostel is a converted area above the barn and is very nice. We ended up in the overflow area which is a large RV trailer. It was really quite nice; we got one end of it with two bunks, and a guy by the name of G-Force had the front. The B&B owner ran us up to King of the Road restaurant for a steak dinner, and then we came back and watched part of the Charlie¢s Angels DVD in the trailer. Is that ever a dumb movie! We had a pint of Chunky Monkey B&J¢s ice cream of which Bonnie ate two spoonfuls and I ate the rest. It was quite good!
Date: 2007-05-05
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

We hiked over a number of balds which have awesome views that we mostly missed because of the rain and fog. It was like hiking in a cloud all day. In addition, probably from all the rain and moisture, our UV water purifier stopped working. We switched to our micro-pure pills for purifying water which aren¢t bad, but do leave a slight chlorine after taste in the water.The shelter had two floors, but was packed with hikers. We¢re hitting the hoards of people that started from GA now, many of them younger people. Some of the conversations we overheard were quite interesting!We met a wonderful Canadian woman at the shelter that gave us some great places to hike in Canada. She¢s on a 1 year leave-of-absence from work and is doing the A.T. and then some hiking in New Zealand.
Date: 2007-05-06
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We started out in day number four of rain! In all the previous storms, we kept saying, ¢I wonder what it will be like when we have multiple days of rain.¢ We now know!Fortunately it cleared by late morning and we started to dry out. We met a real nice couple from Alaska on the trail with their dog Matsu. They gave us a couple more places to consider living during our Alaska adventure.We left the shelter quickly and stopped about an hour later to have breakfast on a grassy spot where we watched the sun come out. It was a beautiful view to see the clouds break up and the sun finally come into view.In the afternoon, the hike continued with wonderful views of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains. We hiked for a while with a guy that kept leaving his camera and had to run back for it. He and his girlfriend Sandy were just day hiking and they were a riot. They gave us a bunch of snacks they didn¢t eat.Speaking of snacks, we¢ve been loving the rice crispy treats and breakfast bars in our care package from Sister Joanne. We also loved the awesome food from Craig and Cathy a couple of weeks ago. That was the best biscotti ever!
Date: 2007-05-07
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Erwin, Tn
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

We woke up to 40 degree weather in the tent. What happened to our warm spring in the south!We headed out to a 1,300 foot climb which warmed us up quickly. The rest of the day was a gradual descent into Erwin, TN, where we couldn¢t wait to get for two nights in a Holiday Inn and a zero day. I¢m in the lobby on the hotel PC writing this, and since there¢s a Rolling Rock waiting for me in the room, I¢m going to end this entry NOW!
Date: 2007-05-08
From: Erwin, Tn

To: Erwin, Tn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We had a relaxing zero day. We got the laundry done and updated our journal last night so today we just had to hit the post office and resupply...and FEED Rob. We received our nifty new down sweaters and sent our heavy fleeces and extra long-sleeve shirt to Bill. The switch will save up each a whole pound out of our packs so that we can carry more food for Rob.We'll be back on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2007-05-09
From: Erwin, Tn

To: Whistling Gap 
Miles today: 14.0

We headed out from Erwin with full stomachs from the Holiday Inn breakfast buffet and felt it up the 800 foot climb from town. I was also feeling the two Snickers Ice Cream Bars and all the other food Bonnie was force feeding me like a goose in town. Don't let anyone fool you -- putting on weight is kind of gross!The mountain was beautiful with lots of purple Irises blooming. It was so warm and dry that our UV water sterilizer was working again. It's nice to not have to taste the chlorine taste that the micropure pills leave. We had a second big climb later in the day, but overall it was a pretty easy day, especially with all that town food in us.
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Whistling Gap 

To: Rice Gap 
Miles today: 16.0

Today was like a fantasy day of hiking the A.T. We startrd with a 1300 foot climb and then came into a forest covered in acres and acres of white flowers called White Fringed Phacelia. Interspersed with the white flowers were Purple Trillium and Trout Lilly flowers. We felt like we walked into "The Land of Oz."From there we walked up a bald with spectacular 360 degree views of the TN/NC mountains. Then we walked back into the flowered forest and came up on trail magic --a hot thermos of coffee and home-made cupcakes. It doesn't get any better than that on the A.T.!
Date: 2007-05-11
From: Rice Gap 

To: Camp Creek Bald 
Miles today: 18.0

We think we're beginning to get through the bulk of northbounders that started at Springer. We're running into about 8-10 per day verses about 15 per day a few days ago. We also suspect that the drop out rate will be a bit higher in the more recent people we're running into. Yesterday we met a guy hiking in flip-flops because his boots hurt his feet so bad. Another guy just wanted to make it to Damascus. Today we gave a guy our ace bandage for his swollen ankle. And we could hear in a couple of people that they just are't real enthused! It's a big change compared to the psyched up people we hit earlier. Fortunately, we're still psyched. We find there is something awesome to look forward to every day out here.The guy with the ankle problem had a hysterical golden retriever with him. The dog would hold onto your arm with his mouth while you pet him so you wouldn't stop! He was such a sweet dog -- he got a lot of treats from us! No wonder we're loosing weight. And the guy had all real light equipment except for this ancient brass stove that belonged to his father in Scotland. It burns diesel fuel and sounds like a train.With the exception of one 1,300 foot climb, the hiking was fairly easy today. Then after 16 miles, we hit a rock scramble at the top of a ridge that lasted for about a mile. Did that ever kick our butts! The views we're beautiful, but we we're drenched in sweat by the end and just stumbled into camp. Like the say on the trail: No pain, no rain, no Maine!
Date: 2007-05-12
From: Camp Creek Bald 

To: Pump Gap 
Miles today: 16.0

We got light rain today just to complete the "No pain, no rain, no Maine" saying. It ended fairly quickly, but we wish it hadn't because the water sources are starting to get a bit dry. We had to get water from a fairly stagnent pond at the end of the day. We treated it with our UV light and aquamira tablets just to be doubly safe. At dinner we kept saying, "pass the PSW please" (pond scum water).The hiking today wen through a forest covered in White, Pink, and Purple Trillium, which are large 3 petal flowers. It was beautiful, but some of the current flowers are getting a little passed peak already.
Date: 2007-05-13
From: Camp Creek Bald 

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a quick 5 miles into Hot Springs, NC, and town food! The blooming Mountain Laurel on the descent into town smelled and looked beautiful.We decided to splurge and stay at a nice B&B to celebrate Bonnie's birthday. It's a week early, but we'll be into the Smokies next week. We got most of our town chores done this afternoon, so we can have a day to relax tomorrow - our massages are scheduled for 4:00 in the afternoon! Dinner at the B&B was wonderful.
Date: 2007-05-14
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We hd a lovely day in Hot Springs, NC, today. It's a very hiker friendly little town where the trail comes down from the mountains from one side, goes down the main street, and exits back up into the mountains on the other side. With most of our chores out of the way yesterday, today felt like a real day off. I called the company that makes our intermittantly working SteriPen UV light water purifier, and since we bought a new one (thanks Bill!), they are sending us a 100 percent refund check. It's so nice to run into a company with great customer service. Apparently if you're a thru hiker on the A.T. and you have a problem with gear, most companies are real nice about helping you. They know how fast word travels up and down the trail.We both just finished our hour long massages at the Mountain Magnolia B&B where we're staying. Did that ever feel wonderful! Now we're off to a nice dinner and back to the trail tomorrow. We've covered over 600 miles and are looking forward to getting into the Smokies on Wednesday. We're now more than 25 percent complete!
Date: 2007-05-15
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Kale Gap 
Miles today: 12.0

We hiked up out of Hot Springs through beautiful blooming Mountain Laurel.   The total climbing for the day was about 3,300 feet and we went over Bluff Mountain which had some nice views. We camped in a nice spot called Kale Gap with the "Bodily Function Family" from Alabama. We had to come out of the tent just to see how these guys were making all those sounds around the fire! Actually they were a father and two sons out for a section hike and they were really nice guys. It was nice to see a father out hiking and having a great time with his college age sons.
Date: 2007-05-16
From: Kale Gap 

To: Snowbird Mountain 
Miles today: 16.0

We made to the famous Max Patch today which is a bald with spectacular views. The visibility was only fair, but the view was still quite impressive. It's so cool to look out at mountains for as far as you can see. We never thought the Appalachians would have such beautiful views.Every once in a while there was a beautiful bright orange Flaming Azalea in the woods. The flowers are pretty impressive. We got about a mile up the final 1,300 foot climb for the day and the rain hit. We would have stayed in a shelter at the bottom of the climb, but it didn't look like rain back there! We got excellent practice in setting up the tent in the rain (that skill still needs some work!).
Date: 2007-05-17
From: Snowbird Mountain 

To: Cosby Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

The rain cleared by morning and we descended 2,300 feet to Standing Bear Hostel for a shower and a light lunch. I had 5 pieces of pizza, 2 muffins, a snickers, 2 cokes, and some oreos. Bonnie had 3 pieces of pizza, cookies, and 2 cokes. That was 2 hours after having breakfast!We then climbed for about the next 10 miles to over 5,000 feet into The Great Smokey Mountains. Near the top of the climb we ran into a section hiker that had a black bear "false charge" him. It was female with cubs and it stopped about 25 yards away from him (sound familiar Sandy Gallagher!). The kid was pretty shaken up to say the least! It happened several miles of the trail and we never saw the bear. Most likely he startled it.   We stayed in a full shelter with about 12 other people and just had a great time. Everyone was just laughing and having a great time all night. All were section hikers except one. It's so nice to be with a group of people who are all happy to be out hiking and enjoying what they're doing. We really got a kick out of a woman we later named "Piss the Bears Off Woman" who slept with a pile of rocks next to her to throw at the bears.
Date: 2007-05-18
From: Cosby Knob Shelter 

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The Smoky Mountains lived up to their name today ¢ they were smoky. We saw very little in the fog that remained after the rain last night. The hiking was more difficult that we expected. In some places the trail was a bit of a ditch filled with rocks. Our thoughts of going another 7 miles at the end of the day disappeared around 2:00. You are somewhat limited on where to stay in the Smoky¢s since you must stay in shelters and cannot camp by the trail. Fortunately, there is a lot of trail maintenance scheduled for this area this summer.We finally ran into a group of grumpy hikers! We headed down to a shelter for some lunch, and there was a group of seven 50-something year old men who appeared to be on a guided hike. What a bunch of whiners! In addition, they were a bit rude. Normally, when people come in to a shelter, you make room for them and act at least a little friendly. These guys just ignored you and continued bitching about the trail. It¢s hard to understand how you can do that while you¢re in the Smoky Mountains, with some of the most spectacular scenery and wilderness in the world. On the good side, at least they provided material for a lot of the jokes between other hikers the next few days.We spent the night at Pecks Shelter with 4 of the section hikers we met at the last shelter. They were a great bunch of guys, who shared their Starbucks Coffee and other snacks with us.
Date: 2007-05-19
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

We finally hiked in the Smoky Mountains we were looking forward to! The views were spectacular, as we hiked along at about 6,000 feet. The hiking was mostly along a narrow ridge line with great views off both sides. We had lunch on a rock called Charlies Bunion and the view was just breath taking.We hit loads of day hikers coming up from Newfound Gap, which is about 15 miles from Gatlinburg. It was like hiking in the Delaware Water Gap in NJ on a weekend.We got a ride into Gatlinburg from a nice day hiker we met in the parking lot at Newfound Gap. Gatlinburg was quite a culture shock after being on the trail for 8 weeks! It¢s like the boardwalk at the NJ shore without the ocean. The main drag is full of food places, games, etc. As soon as we got into town, we headed to the Smoky Mountain Brew Pub for a couple of beers and a burger. Did that ever taste good! Because it was so hard to get around on the "trolley" system (buses that look like trolleys), Bonnie and I split up to do the laundry and food re-supply. It took about 3 12 hours due to the slow trolley system. We spent the night in a Microtel Hotel which cost $35 per night. You gotta love the south!
Date: 2007-05-20
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Another day in our 40¢s, another day of hitchhiking and riding in the back of a pick up truck!Gatlinburg is not much of a hiking town, so it took a while to hitch a ride back to the trail. As usual, I made Bonnie stand in front and we got picked up by a nice young couple in a Ford Pickup after about 15 minutes. We rode the 15 miles back to the trail in the back of their truck. We decide that if that if we got into an accident, we'd start running in the air, so when we hit the ground, we won¢t fall (it¢s like jumping up just before a run away elevator crashes to the ground).After about 8 miles, we made it to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the A.T. at 6,643 feet. There is an observation tower with great views. You can drive there, so it was full of people on a Sunday afternoon. We got surrounded by people asking us about the trail. I think it was our 15 minutes of fame.We then hiked on to Silers Bald Shelter, where we stayed with a North Carolina freshman called Tar. He started the trail late because of school, but is still trying to make it to Maine by the end of August. He hiked 28 miles today! We¢ll cover that distance in the next two days.
Date: 2007-05-21
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

We were attacked by a wild animal! Okay, it was only a grouse. It did scare the heck out of us though.We were headed up a hill, and heard something charging at us from the side. All you could see was leaves flying and the under brush moving. We just froze, and the thing turned and crossed the trail about 20 feet in front of us. At that point we saw it was a grouse, puffed up and looking as big as she could. She turned around, "unpuffed" and crossed back over and escorted her baby up the side of the hill away from us. That got our adrenaline going for the morning!We had some great views again from Rocky Top and Thunderhead mountains. The climbing was tough today with a lot of ups and downs.We stayed at Mollies Ridge Shelter, named after our dog, who we really miss (Thanks again Terry for watching her!) It was an interesting group in the shelter. One guy, who just finished his architecture degree, is working in New Orleans on reconstruction, and is then going to Sidney Australia to get his masters.