morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Gooch Gap Shelter

To: Walasi-Yi Center
Miles today: 16.0

Well, the weather forecast did not lie. The winds picked-up at about 10 pm which was nice, then at 12:40 am the first crack of lightening sounded it's arrival. But we were all tucked in snug at a great shelter called Gooch Gap. At one point during the hardest rain I sat up to look out towards the inky night. That's when a big bolt of 100,000 degree light hit, giving me that wonderful after image of all the trees. And in true form, by morning it was still raining then pouring then raining then misting then cats and dog deluge. At one point as I climbed Big Cedar Mountain it was raining so hard that cats and dogs were joined by monkeys, buffalo and giraffe. Naturally when it rains that hard your shoes and socks yell "uncle.¢ The crazy thing is despite the gully washer, when you come upon another hiker, you stop and chat! As I mentioned earlier, I was planning to only hike 10 miles to the next shelter, but I was feeling strong so I decided to take on Blood Mountain (the highest mountain on the AT in Georgia) and try to make it here to hikers paradise. It's called Mountain Crossings at the Walasi-Yi Center and it has everything a thru-hiker can dream of having. I'm bunking tonight here in the hostel and joined in the group that headed into town for AYCE (All You Can Eat) dinner . . . Gee, all I had visions for was a sandwich, but tonight I had turkey and stuffing and fried chicken and a strawberry sundae for desert. Yep, an unplanned culinary extravagance.The added benefit of pushing on today -- aside from dinner, a shower and laundry was I'm a day ahead of my plan and I finally saw a wonderful view coming over the far side of Blood Mountain. It was my first view in three days of fain, fog and clouds. With all my necessary re-supply packing of my first mail drop done, I'll be ready to head out early in the morning to yet another forecast of . . . (wait for it) . . . RAIN!!!
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Walasi-Yi Center Hostel

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

No rain today. That deserves repeating, NO RAIN!! I headed out of Neels Gap at nine this morning, it was 36 degrees. Burrrrrrrrrrr. The colder temperatures seem to really be cutting through me which was puzzling until I remembered that only a hand full of days ago, I was in 80 degree Miami. I've yet to have a good nights rest. Sleep deprivation had definitely put a shadow over me. I was yawning so frequently in the first two hours of hiking that once I reached this spectacular vista on Cowrock Mountain; I plopped down, leaned against my pack and took a 30-minute nap in the sunshine. Now I have to admit that a problem or maybe I should refer to it as an oddity is developing. I seem to be talking out loud to myself. Yea, crazy . . . I know it . . . and with so much life left. Well, I suppose one never knows when one loses their mind. What? Who said that? Me! You? Who are you? It's going to be a bit crowded in this mummy bag tonight. I think I'll get in first and hope the other ¢me¢ goes away. Wish me luck.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Here at Tray Mountain Shelter for the night. Since it was a long day with some really difficult miles, there was plenty of time to think about that bear that took the hikers boots last week. How exactly do you think it's going to wear them? Figure A - clearly suggest that it would be anatomically impossible. I don't believe there's a shoehorn made that could assist the furry individual. Of course, there's always the possibility that the bear could do some customizing, say tear the boot apart and lay the sides over and hope, Oh hope, the laces will still reach. I suppose the bear would need to cross its paws on that . . . if bears think of the concept of luck? Maybe it's considering wearing them over its ears? But, I'm sure the other bears would make ridiculing remarks. Not let it join in any of their Black Bear games. Gee, almost makes you feel sorry for it. It's all quite puzzling. The best reason I could come up with was the most obvious one. The reason the bear took the shoes is because it was most likely a sow. A she bear. After all, everyone knows how much females love shoes. Well, another wilderness riddle solved. Tomorrow I'll try to solve that whole Bumble Bee - impossible to fly thingy. And of course, it's on to the next mountain!
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

We had a really exhausting day due to a nasty climb called Bly Gap! With a later than normal start and then countless ups, we made it here to this high mountain shelter by six. The altimeter on my watch says we're at 4600 feet above sea level. But what's more important than that is to say ¢Hello from North Carolina.¢ Yep, I crossed my first Stateline this afternoon. Georgia is behind me and a big smile is within me.The unscheduled detour into the town of Hiawassee and the hiker friendly Hiawassee Inn turned out to be just what this hiker needed! Yesterday, the 5th of May, my day six, had me feeling low. Why or how the loneliness throws this fog over you out here I cannot figure out, but it seems to happen frequently to me around the fifth or sixth day. It's happen to me more than once. So yesterday just when I was hitting bottom emotionally, I ran into Derek and Yaicha with their Border collie named Willow. Our connection was instant and our chemistry effortless. They were out of food and heading into town for supplies. As soon as they said Hiawassee . . . I was in! When we got to the road I pulled out my handmade ¢Hiker to Town¢ bandana and attached the Velcro corners to the Velcro pads I placed on my hiking poles. Stretched out like a mini-billboard, this was its maiden usage. Well, in no more than a minute a load of cars came along and much to my amazement . . . they drove by! Hmm, maybe the sun was in their eyes? It wasn't but another minute and the van that had driven by turned around to come back and pick us all up. He said he saw my sign and couldn't resist. Score!Ron and Sam are the proprietors of the Hiawassee Inn and are really turning up the hospitality - A definite recommendation from we three.We all hit the Dairy Queen next door first; A banana split for them and a double bacon cheeseburger for me. Then we took showers, did laundry and went grocery shopping before dinner. Naturally we ran all our errands on foot, it was the first town stop of what will be many over the next many months.What a blessing to find two wonderful hikers with equally wonderful dispositions. Anyway, this morning Ron took us back out to the trailhead where we hitch-hiked in from and we continued heading north.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

My two new friends have gotten their trail names today. Derek and Yaicha have become Dharma and Greg. Seems for some time they've referred to themselves to others as Dharma and Greg from TV fame in explaining their contrasts. Of course, I didn't know this, but today at lunch on Standing Indian Mountain, I suggested the new trail names since I was picking up on the similarities to the TV show. It stuck! Everyone has turned in and I've been listening to the distant calls of Coyote's by the campfire. Joining the Coyote's in this wilderness experience are Whitetail Deer, Eastern Screech Owls, Barred Owls and one hauling-ass whitetail bunny rabbit I scared a day ago. The sky is an inky black canvas and the stars are bright. The big dipper is high overhead and a slight mountain breeze is freshening the chill. Our hike today was much easier than yesterdays, which we were all thankful for! I've been doing a lot of thinking about confidence, over-confidence and arrogance as they pertain to the AT. So often I meet another hiker and they'll ask, ¢Where you headed?¢ Most times early on I'd say, ¢Maine, I'm Thru-hiking.¢ The question is, does saying that imply an arrogance or lack of respect to the enormity of this endeavor? Does saying I'm hiking to Maine trivialize this colossal physical and emotional challenge? In some ways I think it most certainly does, while in other ways it acts as a positive commitment to completing the journey. Confidence would most likely have me saying¢¦ ¢The plan is to hike to Maine¢¢¦and over-confidence would push me to, ¢I'm Thru-hiking.¢ Each is valid, but now that I'm once again truly in touch with the bigness of the land and it's demands, I'm taking the confident approach. Additionally, an amazing change is starting to take place within me. No longer is Mt. Katahdin important to me or it's distance to get there, but rather the idea of hiking for many months in the wilderness. Yes, I'll be moving north, but this new mindset is helping me to stay in the moment as well as helping me to ¢let go.¢ It's this letting go that I sense to be the most important change that will indeed get me to Katahdin. Somehow, it releases me from the go go go city mentality that casts doubt and makes us vulnerable by giving me the false feeling that I'm in control. Control is something, which most seek and we would like to believe we have out here. But you can't control a mountains elevation or the power of the weather. You can only walk with each and try to enjoy the journey.
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Winding Star Gap
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

I hiked solo today since Dharma and Greg were moving kinda slow at the junction. The older you get the easier it seems to be to get going early. That and the fact I can hear John Wayne as a cowboy in those cattle drive movies bellowing out at the top of his lungs ¢We're burning daylight.¢ I climbed Albert Mountain and got my picture taken. I pushed on to the next shelter and that's when I met the angel of the AT. She walked around a corner of the shelter and I said ¢Hi, I'm Postcard¢ and she just started laughing. She, is Barbara, and mentioned that she was waiting for her son who was doing a section (A big 23 mile section!). I mentioned that I was thinking of either going into Franklin or on to the next shelter. ¢I have a car¢ Barbara replied. Well a gift from Heaven. While we waited for her son and husband, she brought out apples, sandwiches and homemade, super-delicious ¢Trail Magic¢ chocolate chip cookies! Naturally, I had to eat some¢¦ it would be impolite not too. I then met Dave, Barbara's husband, and we all chatted and waited for Steve, their son, to show. When I realized that Franklin had an outfitter, the prospect of getting a new backpack emerged. (Side bar - both of my shoulder straps on my backpack broke away from the pack two days ago. I ¢McGuyvered¢ a rig that was holding up, but it forced me to use my hip belt as a stomach belt. Not terribly comfortable, but the rig worked and I got out of the woods, so to speak.)So we all headed to town with the arrival of Steve with them insisting on swinging by the outfitters before they closed. While in route, Steve was shocked and yet puzzled at his mom picking up a complete stranger. Me. We then went to their motel where I got a room and a shower. Yee Haa! That's two in under a week! They of course asked the homeless hiker to dinner where the conversation was wonderful. Upon returning from dinner Barbara forced more of her awesome cookies into my hands, I couldn't stop her, really. I tried, sort of! Moving around all that cookie dough has given her some mighty stout arms. This morning we all went to breakfast and then headed back out to the trailhead. Their names are Barbara and Dave Fishback and they are humanity at it's finest!! Thank you both,..as well as to their son, Steve. You filled my heart with joy and it carried me the sixteen miles to Cold Springs Shelter and beyond!
Date: 2004-05-09
From: Winding Star Gap 

To: Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Despite the many ups today, my continuous motion with few, if any breaks, had me the first to arrive at this older, tiny shelter. Others would straggle in before dark and everyone had the same thing on their minds. Tomorrow, it was 12 miles, mostly all down hill, to the Nantahala Outdoor Center and their mighty restaurant. How the heck am I going to get to sleep with visions of cheeseburgers dancing in my head? Three Tylenol PM's of course.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Cold Springs Shelter

To: Nantahala 
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Saigon. Still in Saigon... Oh wait, that was Martin Sheen. Nantahala, still in Nantahala. Arrived yesterday late morning and decided to get a room and kick back with a ¢zero day¢. That's a day with no miles accrued on the A.T. It's been eleven straight hiking days and even though I'm blister and pain-free, I thought it would be nice to give the body the extra rest before I push them over the Great Smokey Mountains some two days away. Known as the N.O.C., the Nantahala Outdoor Center is a white water Mecca. The A.T. crosses right through the complex over their bridge. They also cater to thru-hikers with lots of services and large portion meals. Tomorrow when I leave, we all face an uphill climb of eight miles and 3500 feet of ascent. The last time I did a hike like that was climbing out of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I couldn't walk the next day. I had no idea we had that many muscles in our ass to make sore! But I'm much more fit and the big leg muscles are powering up these climbs. In some cases, I climbed some of these same mountains I did last year, a whole hour faster. Things that pounded me other times are but a bump now. I don't want to sound cocky, but all the gym training is paying dividends. Some of the earlier hiker faces I met have reappeared with this zero. Belle showed up, hadn't seen her since day three, unfortunately, she lost her bell. No ringy dingy as she walks now. I don't know where Dharma and Greg and Willow are? And with my pace, I've met many new faces and ate a few meals with them yesterday. About five days ago my backpack self-destructed under the weight and terrain, seems the shoulder harness straps completely tore loose from the main pack. I had to do some fancy ¢McGuyvering¢ with some Velcro straps I had and it got me here. So I bought a new, hopefully tougher backpack for all that awaits me and this adventure. My outlook is really positive. I'm here to have fun and see the trail and all that surrounds it. If I have fun tomorrow I'll see another day, and so on. Everything is getting easy. Walking, laundry, unpacking, packing . . . it's all falling into a rhythm of simplicity. I'm guessing I've dropped ten pounds while building up a lot more leg strength too. The journey is becoming the activity. Everything that was different and new is becoming the familiar. As a result, I'm settling into a new way of life. Just going and hearing and seeing, it's very interesting and profound. However, this bed is still awfully nice and realizing that every night doesn't have to be spent in the woods seems to agree with me. If the town presents itself, great, but no bother if not. All is good and I hope you all are finding this adventure fun to read. I picked up the book ¢The Tao of Pooh¢ yesterday which was fun to read. I'll most likely read it again on the trail. Nothing like Winnie the Pooh philosophy to help you capture purity. Enjoy your day everyone, that's what it's for!
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Nantahala 

To: Nantahala
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

We hikers have rituals out here. There's the unpacking every night and the packing every morning ritual. There's the hanging of the wet shirt or other clothes to dry at the end of the day and slipping into the dry stuff at camp.For me, there's the unlacing of the boots and sock strip-off at the end of the day. That's then followed by me smearing the old dogs with Bag Balm to soften and sooth, and then it's on with the camp shoes. Camp shoes are lightweight sandal-like slip-ons which are highly breathable¢¦the feet need some airing out after 16 miles.But I'm forming a plan that involves two new rituals that may catch on, particularly the one involving sandwiches. From now on when I've been in town or have access to a restaurant, I've ordered a sandwich-to-go with my order. I pack it out on the first day and have it for lunch. Or in some cases, as Pippin and Mary from Lord of the Rings would say, have half for second breakfast and possibly the other half for the second lunch or first dinner. Either way, it's a nice and easy way to stretch out ¢normal¢ food from town to the trail. Others are picking up on my doing this and are starting to think of doing it themselves. Hikers cook a lot of Ramen noodles out here because they weigh so little to carry. The draw back is that's what you eat¢¦how completely under-whelming to my taste buds.The other new ritual, when in town with a motel room is to clean the equipment that spends its entire day in the dirt. The hiking pole tips! I mean heck, I'm cleaning the clothes. I'm cleaning myself. And by simply taking the poles and standing them in the ¢john,¢ there's no fuss, no muss and in no time all is clean and shiny. It's the least I can do for the equipment that has twice already prevented me from crashing down onto the trail. As the old adage says ¢take care of your gear and it will take care of you.¢Frankly, I think they rather like it? It's sort of their own private pool.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: Hwy. 28 - Fontana Dam

To: Spence Field
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

My first day in The Smoky's and I was greeted by many individuals much shorter than I. First, There are the countless centipedes of various colors. Every morning since starting on The Approach Trail I've eyed them. They're mostly black with yellow dashes and legs. I've seen them with yellow and black alternating horizontal stripes with yellow legs too . . . which number about 50 (I'm guessing?) The most beautiful centipedes I've seen were white and black horizontally striped with Hot Pink legs. Very graphic! I've only seen them three times where the others I've seen in the hundreds.Now the new critters I've spotted are the dull burgundy millipedes. They're about six to seven inches long with about a gazillion legs. They're so cool! I find them fascinating, especially their dull, chalk-like finish.The Smoky's are unique for having many little creatures that can only be found here. The snails are even unique... their shells are not vertically oriented, but rather angled on a diagonal. Much more interesting to my eye, and they're quite long. I spend most of the day doing the creepy crawly two-step to avoid hurting any of them. It seems that I'm visiting their home and I should do my best to tread lightly. But inevitably, one step might miss... or should I say mooshhh!#*! Oops.With their incredible lack of speed, I couldn't help imagining one of the slimy sloth's might react to my passing as an old man yelling. . "Slow down, you're moving like a bat-out-of-hell. Damn hikers".The Smoky's A.T. section rises pretty steep out of the dam area and then evolves into mild inclines - just perfect for me to climb without a great deal of effort. They're smooth and flat, mostly, and feel much better than the many miles of trail behind me. I believe it was yesterday in preparation for entering this part that I became aware of the oddest thing. The Smoky's is spelled without the letter "e"! At first I thought... Oops, misspelling on the maps - but sure enough, no "e". Anyway, it was a lot of miles today and a cold front has moved in with a roaring wind. The result is the mummy will be fully zipped tonight. Say goodnight Postcard . . . OK, goodnight from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Date: 2004-05-15
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silars Bald Shelter in Smoky's
Miles today: 16.2

Ain't it always the case? You say something nice about the gentleness of the trail in the Smoky's and Baam! The next day turns nasty, steep, narrow, angled, pitched, contoured, rutted, lumpy, rocky and all together unpleasant! Then add the fog, drizzle and 30 mph winds and you have the perfect recipe for a turned ankle. But, no whining. Three extra-strength Excedrin and some lunch and I became a transformed hiker.This morning in camp a buck strolled in and at lunch, in a different spot, three doe's wandered around. They almost seemed tame, although I wasn't going to try petting them. I've seen those Animals Gone Mad videos. Later on I almost planted my hiking stick on a woodchuck, or at least I think it was a woodchuck? As you can imagine I started vocalizing . . . how much wood can a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.A red squirrel was also part of the fauna today as well as a beautiful butterfly. It had black edges with an unusual sea-foam green color with red spots at the rear¢¦saw two of them. Aren't I the sensitive one!At one point when I was pushing hard up a hill, my legs were pumping and mouth was open pulling in deep breaths, I inadvertently hoovered in an annoying knat. The sucker hit the back of my gullet with such force, I'm sure it thought it was hitting the Singularity of a Black Hole. One swallow later, I had some extra protein and I'm almost sure my pace picked up a bit! All in all, another great day here on the trail.
Date: 2004-05-17
From: Ice Water Springs Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today I hiked the Appalachian River. But before I go into that and rock hopping over the Appalachian rapids, I want to discuss my disappointment with some of our feathered friends.Knowing it was to be a long day, I headed out early just behind Belle. I caught her about 20 minutes out and we talked and hiked together for some time. I've been feeling amazingly strong, so after Belle took a breather, I pushed on and cranked it up a gear. I reached 13 miles by lunch and had a snack at the Tri-Corner Knob Shelter. It was a glorious day with lots of sun and blue up above. But I had 7.3 more miles to go before camp and I was unaware of the dark looming cloud formations just over the ridgeline.As I climbed up to another summit the rumble of thunder said ¢Hello hiker.¢ Despite the gathering storm and disappearing sunlight, I continued up into the darkening mess¢¦Why? Because all the birds were singing their happy birdsong - Chirps and tweets and warbling and who-who's.For some idiotic reason, I was under the impression that if the wrath of the heavens were going to unload, our feathered friends would be silent! Boy did I figure that one wrong. Crack went the lightening 1000 feet over my head. Down came the rain and sleet like water pouring from a bucket!! It was at this moment I knew I had been duped by those evil birds. I believe what they were doing was signaling each other to sing me right into harms way. ¢Here comes another one of those humpback wingless knuckleheads.¢¢¦Anyway, back to our hero who is up on a ridgeline in the middle of a thunderstorm. As I crested the summit and started down, where do you suppose all that rainwater went? Why, down the Appalachian Trench, of course. I started hiking down the shoulders of the trench or should I say river, moving from one side to the other as momentum and turns and bends required. At one point my stride was left then right then rock hop then left side and right side and so on. I'm glad there wasn't another hiker behind me; my spread-eagle style of striding could have been confused for a severe case of rash. But on I went and on it rained.By 4:30, my first twenty mile day (20.3 to be exact) was behind me and I was well poised for the short 8 miles in the morning which will take me out of The Great Foggy, Rainy, Windy Smoky Mountains National Park. I am Thru-hiker, hear me Roar!