morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Davenport Gap, TN 32, (Susie's Place)

To: Davenport Gap, TN 32, NC 284 (Susie's Place)
Miles today: 0.0

This morning when I awoke I looked out the window and saw a tiny patch of blue sky. I thought maybe the rain system had passed through. But, not to be. 90% chance of rain. Our gracious hosts offered for us to stay and we took advantage and decided to take a zero. We went to a local restaurant and had brunch. Everything was homemade and tasted delicious. I cleaned my plate!In the afternoon we were treated to an impromptu jam practice session by Susie and her friend Steve. They are paid performers as a duet and play old time music. It was fun to listen to them and they are great! Their stage names are Pearl and Earl. I took video that I will post when I have WIFI. Also in the afternoon the skies cleared for a while and Barb and I were looking at each other with itchy feet. :-) Then the rain started again. It's also supposed to rain tonight as well. We had a relaxing evening and watched the weather channel. Things are looking less wet tomorrow. :-)Treasure Hunter
Date: 2003-08-27
From: Race Brook Falls Campsite

To: Great Barrington Mass.
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

start Race Brook Falls Campsitedestination Great Barrington Mass.Today I summitted Mt .Everest! Now that I have your attention!! I woke up this morning, dazed and confused. I was not sure what had happened, but I had fell asleep at around 10:00pm and had slept all night long. This was a first for me since I have been on the trail. I thought for a minute I had died and went to heaven. Carnethy Bob offered to fix me a cup of tea and join him for breakfast. He said he was delighted to finally find another civilized hiker! We enjoyed the beauty of the woods with the sunlight streaming through from above. This is Carnethy Bob's last day on the trail, and he wasn't in a hurry for it to end. It seemed that at every vista, and at every stream, he stopped and just tried to drink in the surroundings. We had a pretty easy day hiking wise, only one big climb right off the bat. That was enough to remind us of the terrain ahead of us when we get to the White Mountains. The temperature on Mt.Washington was 25 degrees last week. We have some pretty cold weather ahead of us. I don't think I have had such a varied day on this trip. First the trail went straight up, over rocks and ridges, then we had a swampish area where the trail was lined with boards that kept our boots dry. Then we hiked through open fields where wildflowers grow abundantly. There were fields of corn, bursting with it's kernals, the tassels brown and dried, ripe for picking. It was hard for me to resist pulling off an ear and shucking it right on the trail for a snack. We did come upon an old homesight wherean apple tree still grew. Though the fruit was small and deformed, the apples were bright red. We picked a couple of them off of the ground and stood around munching on them. They were juicy and tart, filling our mouths with bursts of flavor. More trail magic! The trail dumped us out on Highway 7. We stuck our thumbs out and before long had a ride into Great Barrington. Crissie had stopped and picked us up. She was on her way to a volleyball game. Another trail angel rescueing us from a long walk into town. After we got cleaned up, we set out to find some supper. Since I am not hiking tomorrow, I really wanted some steak. Railroad Street Pub came highly recommended, so we set off down the street. It is a well kept secret,and we almost didn't find it, but stubborness prevailed. We soon found ourselves stuffed to the gills. But just had to get dessert to finish us off. We waddled back to the motel and collapsed on our beds. Feeling refreshed and well fed, we fell asleep. Mudbutt flys into New York City tomorrow and will join me tomorrow night here. I have sure missed her. I think our plan is to skip Vermont and tackle the White Mountains head on.total miles 9.8
Date: 2013-05-06
To: Jenny
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

(Guest Entry by Jenny) Treasure Hunter and Catskill made it back onto the trail this morning (Monday), according to Susie, who called me to let me know they were on their way. Susie and Cyndie hosted them Saturday and Sunday nights, so they could get out of the weather. Treasure Hunter said in yesterday's journal that today's weather looked a little less wet. Well, I don't know what they're hiking and camping through, but NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) shows that it's pretty heavy rain and going down into the mid forties. I haven't heard from them today, but I was expecting long periods of non-communication while they travel through the Smokies, so I'm telling myself not to worry too much. I know they had bad cell coverage even when they got off trail Saturday. So, not to worry, dear readers. They are very prepared with all of their well-thought-out equipment. I'm just extremely eager to hear from them and see how they are faring through this weather. We love you guys!! Thanks, also, to all who have been writing Guest Book entries. I know they love to read them. Ray can't respond to them via his BlackBerry, but he can (and does) read and appreciate every one. Click on the picture of the map to read the full description. Take care, Jenny
Date: 2013-05-07
From: Green Corner Rd (Standing Bear Farm)

To: Campsite just to the north of Max Patch 
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

[See 6 pictures from 05/07, especially you dog lovers!] It was a nice hiking day with a couple nice views for sure. The sun was playing hide and seek most of the morning. We kept seeing it on other mountains but not ours. :-) The picture I took from Snowbird Mountain gives an example. During the climb up to Max Patch we had some of the little crickets again. Also, there were a lot of very silvery colored rocks reflecting in the sun. I got a picture of one. We ran into some day hikers that were coming back from Max Patch. One of them had a little dog in his old fashioned frame pack. Be sure to check out the picture. Max Patch was 360 degree spectacular. It was chilly and breezy up there so we didn't stay long. :-)We came down off Max Patch and found a nice tent spot near a stream. We set up our tents and crawled inside. When the sprinkles started we stayed inside our tents for the night - warm and dry. Treasure Hunter
Date: 2003-09-01
From: Mt. Lafayette

To: Garfield Shelter Campsite
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: overcast clouds

start Mt.Lafayettedestination Garfield Shelter/campsiteTalk about COLD!!!!the wind howled all night long. When I got up in the middle of the night, I had icicles hanging from my tush before I was finished. Well, that might be an exageration a little bit. But trust me, it was COLD. I fixed us a hot drink, and we ate breakfast bars in our tent. Finally, we had to get going. It was not going to get any warmer with us laying here. It didn't take long for us to pack up and start hiking. I ended up taking my rain suit off just after I started hiking. As long as you keep moving, you can stay pretty warm. When I finally got out of the wind and into the forest, it was warmer. The trail was nothing short of a rock scramble today. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, with fantastic views from both sides of the ridges. Our milage was slow again today, but the terrain was rough. There was a stream just before the campsite, so I filtered enough water for dinner and for breakfast. When Papermaker and Mudbutt got there, I greeted them with hot drinks. They were so very appreciative. I fixed some supper and we sat and ate under the open sky. It figures that the first time we have an open sky and the wind is not biting cold, it would be overcast. At least it is not raining, although the forecast calls for rain maybe tomorow. Hopefully, it won't happen. With a little bit of ingenuity, I managed to set my tent up on platform. It took a little bit of figuring, but it is up and hopefully it will stay up. I am grateful that there is no wind blowing tonight. It tends to rate on my nerves, and makes sitting outside at night hard and unpleasent. Tomorrow is another day, another day of hiking, rock climbing, and scrambling. My ankles are sore tonight, it is definately a tylenol pm night.total miles 3.9
Date: 2013-05-10
From: NC 208, TN 70, Allen Gap

To: NC 209 + US 25/70 (Hot Springs)
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light rain

Last night at dinner a decision was made - we would do another SOBO slack pack and have a shower, town food and a soft bed for a second night. Heck yeah!We teamed up with two nice ladies, Blue Tortoise and Nightingale. They had a shuttle all set up and invited us to come along and split the price - for today and again for tomorrow morning. [Jenny's note: This means that they take a shuttle to drop them off further north on the trail, then they hike the trail southbound, back to where they started. They leave some of their gear at the hostel, for a lighter "slackpack", then staye at the same hostel for a 2nd night. The next day, they take the shuttle again, back to where they began this day's hike, and continue their trek northbound.]We had a great hike. Most of the day it was sunny and beautiful with low humidity. We did pass a few hikers we saw in town and explain what we were doing. At the end of our hike was the mountain cliff switchbacks leading down to the French Broad River. It was really neat with nice views of the river. The river is running very high due to all of the recent rain. The AT runs along the edge for a while. Up until about a week ago hikers had to use a bypass trail because the river rose above the AT and it was impassable. After we crossed the river there is a nice deli on the outskirts of town. We each had a sandwich for $4 each - and all the lemonade or ice tea we could drink - ahhhhhhhh. Life is good :-)A couple of our hiker friends stayed in town for a zero so we got together again for dinner. (Seven photos added!)Treasure Hunter
Date: 2013-05-11
From: NC 208, TN 70, Allen Gap

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

What a great dinner I had last night. It was outdoor seating at a restaurant that wasn't fully open yet. Two things were on the menu - BBQ ribs or brisket. I chose the brisket. For $8 it came with a heaping helping of brisket, coleslaw, potato salad and a large bun - all served in a big cardboard "to go" box and plastic ware! They served bottled water to go along with it....or....you could bring in your own drinks! Barb and I stopped at a little store and got two beers each for 75 cents each! Cool! [Note from Jenny: What did you do, time-travel back to 1980 for those 75 cent beers?]Our shuttle driver was delayed but we still made it out to the gap and started on the trail at 8:45. Shortly up the trail we were surprised to see a turtle. The little guy was patient enough for a picture without poking his head in too much. :-) I wondered how a turtle can live on the side of a mountain. We also had an incredible rock climb that culminated along a ridge line. We had some rain before the climb that made things pretty wet and slippery for the climb over. The sprinkles continued also so our cameras were stored away. The skies cleared for a few seconds at a time - neat short views but no pics. :-(About a 1/2 hour before our arrival at the next shelter the sky opened up with buckets of water. We were pretty soaked. We opted for a stay in the shelter. After the rain stopped we were lulled to sleep by tree frogs. (Two photos for 05/11)*****300 Miles!!!*****Treasure Hunter
Date: 2003-09-08
From: Gloucester, Mass.

To: Great Barrington Mass.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

start Boston,Mass.destination Great Barrington,Mass.Last night when we checked into our room it was 8:30pm. We laid down on the bed for just a little while and woke up this morning, still dressed in our hiking clothes! I guess being on the water tires you out rather quickly. It was rather quiet at breakfast this morning. Goodbyes are always hard to say. I rode the shuttle to the airport with Papermaker, then rode back to the motel where Mudbutt was waiting for me. Back on the road and headed to Great Barrington, where we will pick up the trail and hike north for a few days. We pass under a foot bridge that goes across the trail. One day this week, we will be up there, walking over the roadway on this foot bridge. To drown my sorrow in Papermaker's leaving, we stop at a Friendly's to eat. I get a plate of nachoes, followed by a three scoop sundae. I feel somewhat better, and we continue to once again drive across the state. By evening we are once again in Great Barrington. After checking into the motel, we had down town for supper. We intended to eat at the Mexican place, but it is closed so we go farther into town and park. We choose to eat at the Glory of India. I have never eaten Indian food, but I am willing to try anything once. I cannot say that I liked the food. For sure it was different. It was okay, but not great, although Mudbutt said it was awesome food. I will trust her on this one. Maybe I was just to full from my ice cream lunch. Tomorrow it is back on the trail for us. I am leaving my car parked in town here and hopefully in a few days we can catch a ride to come get it. This is like having a expensively huge bounce box!!
Date: 2013-05-17
From: Indian Grave Gap, TN 395 (Erwin,TN) 

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

My ankles are "okay" at this point. There is no pain and no swelling. However, there is still a bit of stiffness when I flex my feet back and forth. Walk slower - stop frequently - lower miles. That's the plan for the next couple days. Well, I wrote the above thoughts this morning in the hotel. But, the day didn't work so well. :-( It is 6pm now - my feet are elevated and a cold water Platypus is draped across my ankles. I have already taken ibuprofen. When I flex my feet to and fro I have considerable pain. On trail toward the end of the hiking day I had pain all the way up my right leg and my ankle for some reason...frustrating. There was still beauty to the hiking day, though. :-) We crossed over Beauty Spot Gap and had a great view of the surrounding mountains. I got a picture but it doesn't do it justice of course. Our next endeavor was climbing Unaka Mountain. At the top of the mountain there was a beautiful evergreen forest. That was so different. On the way down Unaka in the afternoon we heard thunder in the distance. There were even enough drops at one point that we stopped and prepared rain gear. Barb covered her pack too. We arrived at the shelter and Barb got water from the spring. As soon as Barb got back and we got our stuff under cover - the rain began. There was one other hiker here named "Little Bird." She is hiking with a beautiful dark colored Sheltie dog. A little while later a girl named "Stich" showed up - Barb asked her about her trail name - and sure enough - she is a quilter like Barb!!! They enjoyed a nice conversation. Another older gentleman with a German accent arrived too. He thru hiked back in 2009. Now he's out for a section hike. He and one other late arrival hiker set up their tents when the rain stopped at about dusk. I was still awake with my thoughts at about 10:30pm. I heard some coyotes howling in a distance. Then several owls had a conversation that lulled me to sleep. Treasure Hunter
Date: 2013-05-18
To: Jenny
Miles today: 0.0

[Guest entry by Jenny] I was texting with Ray yesterday, Friday, 05/17, in the morning, and he told me they were getting a shuttle up the mountain, to get back on trail. He had told me the night before that they would be flexible in their mileage goals for their first day back after taking two nights off for Ray's ankles to heel. However, he said their minimum number of miles to get to the next destination would be about 8 miles. I don't know about you, but if I had tendinitis and took a couple of days to rest and heel, my first day back on my feet wouldn't consist of hiking 8 miles. But this is Barb's and Ray's hike, not mine, so I ask questions, encourage, and help where I'm able, by getting information for them, sending supplies, and inputting this journal. Ray did send this picture on Friday at about 1 pm, but I haven't gotten a new journal entry yet. They may have bad cell coverage. I looked it up in the AT Guide Book by AWOL, and learned that this picture was taken about 3 miles up trail from where they started. I was waiting till I got the journal to load the photo, but decided to go ahead and post it today. I will update as soon as I hear more from them. With many thanks to all of you who are so encouraging and interested, and following along. Jenny
Date: 2003-09-11
From: East Mountain Retreat

To: Hanover, H.N.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

start Great Barrington,Mass.destination Hanover,Nh.We were up and on the road early thanks to the retreats rule of being out by 8:30. Tortoise had joined us last night late and he needed to go into the town of Salisbury for a mail drop, so we offered to take him into town on our way out. Well, it really wasn't on our way out, we went south to go north. So, here we are, once again, headed north for me to do the White Mountains, while Mudbutt hikes some less strenuous terrain. We tooled down the road, listening to Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, and the 2001 National Quartet Convention. What a diverse selection. We got a motel room not too far from where she will drop me off tomorrow. Supper is pizza in our room. I am much disappointed that the two hot tubs here are luke warm. I was hoing for a long soak. Instead I fill the tub with hot water and soak in it until I resemble a shriveled prune!
Date: 2013-05-18
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Dawn brought steady rain again to Cherry Gap Shelter. No one moved from their comfy dry spots with any speed. :-)By mid morning all the other hikers had gone on and it was just Barb and me at the shelter. The rain stopped but the skies still looked pretty dark. At about 10:30 or so a momma deer trotted softly by the shelter. Neat. A little before lunch the rain started in earnest again. It was nice to be under cover and dry.Most of the afternoon it sprinkled off and on and was overcast. A couple of section hikers stopped by to dry off a bit. It was nice talking with them. More toward evening four other hikers had arrived. Oddly enough and very surprising three guys riding horses came down the trail to the shelter! They were quite a hit and fun to talk to. Two of the hikers, young girls, even sat on the horses and went for a short ride. Too funny!Two more hikers arrived at dusk to tent. One was hiking with a mix breed friendly dog named Stella. :-)Treasure Hunter
Date: 2013-05-19
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Iron Gap (Home to Tampa)
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: light rain

This is a hard entry to write. Right now I am on a Greyhound Bus and headed home to Tampa. There are two reasons for my depart from the trail. One is my ankles. I know that rest and medication would have taken care of that. So, that is not the main reason. The fact is, I miss my family, and I'd rather be with them. As compelling and wonderful as the trail can be, I want to be in Tampa instead. I will have no regrets. I always had complete 100% unwavering support from my family to do this and I am grateful for that. This is my call. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. Barb headed home as well. She would not have gone home if I had stayed. That, I am sad about. Barb and I completed 362.1 miles of the AT. That is a little over 16% of the trail. It was short, but a magical journey. Treasure Hunter, signing off
Date: 2013-05-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Haley and I are heading to Georgia today! We just got off the cruise, and it was one of the best times I've ever had - just to have so many good friends together at once was amazing! I'll be hitting the trail tomorrow, and the forecast is calling for steady rain all day. Might as well start the trip with a good test (plus maybe some cold rain will soothe this freshly burned body!). I can't believe how quickly the time has come - I'm sad to leave everyone, but let's do this thing!
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 2 - gooch mountain shelterToday's fun fact - did you know that northern georgia is actually a rainforest? I didn't until i got out here-it was chilly and it rained steadily again all day, which made the measly 7.7 miles seem like a lot more. The good news is that I'm getting to see what the bad days on trail look like right away, which means that when the sun is shining i'll feel like a rock star! Today's hike included two creek crossings which apparently, under normal conditions, can be easily crossed by rock jumping. However, since we are not under normal conditions, it was a bit more entertaining. For the first, i took the time to take my shoes/gaiters/socks off, get out my crocs and ford across in the knee deep water. This ordeal probably took 10 minutes. By the time I got to the second creek, my feet were already so wet that i said "screw it" and trudged right through. Then i squish squish squished my way a couple more miles to the shelter. I again considered moving on to another campsite, but then decided to just hang out here for the night in hopes that the rain will let up by tomorrow. So far there are two other people here (i made it here first), and they were both at Hawk Mountain shelter last night as well. It's only a matter of time before the big group from Wisconsin makes it in as well. In terms of my condition: I feel really good, and can't wait to increase my mileage in the coming days (almost as much as I dan't wait for it to stop raining!).
Date: 2003-09-20
From: Nashua, N.H.

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

start Nashua,NHdestination Pinkham NotchWe bade goodby to Steve and Karen and headed up the road to meet another internet friend. This is Trisha, who has been emailing Mudbutt and we have arranged to met for breakfast. When we get to the restaurant,(where else dowomen meet?)we discover a delightfully sweet woman. Within minutes, we are all laughing and sharing stories. It seems like we have known each other for years instead of just minutes. Our breakfast lasts three hours!! We say goodby with plans for Trisha to join us at Pinkham Notch in the morning to do trail magic for us. I am driving which means Mudbutt is navigating. She tells me to turn right and off we go down the road. She is writing her pocketmail and I am singing along with one of my favorite Christian singers. Mudbutt looks up just in time to see a sign saying Boston so many miles ahead. She asks me if we are headed north. I tell her I have no idea, I just turned when she told me to. Yep, we were headed north when we should be headed south,or something like that. I take the next exit and get going in the right direction. Then we spy it...a theater...we are not lost anymore...we get in just in time to see Secondhand Lions. A show we have been waiting to come out for months. So, we sit and eat popcorn and drink colas, enjoying this unexpected turn of events! The movie proves to be as delightful as we thought it would be. We head down the road again and pretty soon we are at Pinkham Notch where we have a room reserved. There are not any other thru hikers here, so we sit in the great room, by a roaring fire, toasty warm. Hiking is such hard work!!!