morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

Today was a MUCH easier day than the hike up the approach trail. I started out late (the last one to leave the shelter), after a brief talk with Gizmo, a trail maintainer who meets up with all the hikers at Springer Mountain to brief us on what is to come, and what is expected from us as hikers and campers. He was especially interested in talking to me and a few other hikers who had encountered the bear from the night before, and gave us a story about how important it is to leave no trace. This bear had apparently not been hibernating for the past few years, as he/she was used to being fed by the various scraps and leftovers in the area of Springer Mountain. It is kind of sad to think about how negatively we can impact certain areas of nature, and disrupt the natural process of an animal as such. The bear will eventually have to be relocated, and may have to be put down, if it keeps being a "nuisance" to hikers and campers. This is why we have to practice leave no trace ethics while out in the wilderness.Anyway, I made it to Hawk Mountain Shelter in the early afternoon, and had plenty of time to sit and reflect on what is to come. Most of the hikers from the previous night were there, as were a few new ones. We were joined, at sun-down, by a father and son from Wisconsin, who were out for a couple of weeks. We were able to make room in the shelter for the boy, but not for the father..which was not a problem for him. He felt comfortable sleeping out in the open, anyway, as we had been blessed with some beautiful weather. Unfortunately, he decided to throw down his sleeping bag UNDERNEATH the bear cables. In the middle of the night, I awoke to sounds of something scuffling around and hitting the bear cables, again...and then started hearing a man's voice, saying "go away, shooo! Get out of here!" It suddenly donned on me that this man was being disturbed by another bear! The bear eventually took off, but not until he was able to knock down and take off with a person's rain gear that was hanging up on the bear cables. It was quite an experience, but one, thankfully, that we can look back and laugh on, as nobody was hurt. On to Gooch Mountain Shelter tomorrow!
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was a bit more challenging than the previous day. It was a long haul up to Sassafras Mountain, and the first time we were without a water source for a good stretch (6 miles being a good stretch...keep in mind that this was the second official day on the trail). After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the top of Sassafras, and over Justus Mountain, to the beautiful water source just below. A few other hikers, including Tipperary, an Irish Priest, had stopped at the watering hole to refresh themselves. I got some water, rested a bit, and hiked on to Gooch Mountain, where I ran into another almost full shelter. This is where I first ran into a retired couple, John and Charlotte, who were out doing sections, and whom I would be camping with for a few more days. My blisters are really bothering me right now, and I may take a zero tomorrow, depending on what they look like, and how they feel in the morning.
Date: 2013-01-14
To: Pre-AT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

Cindi: It is approximately eight weeks before we fly to ATL. We don't have a date yet nor the airline tickets purchased but we should know by end of January. We hope to start by March 15. There are still a few things that we need to do yet. One is we still do not have a "trail name" yet. For myself, I am looking at Cholla, Desert Dog or Monkey on my Back. I would like something to do with the desert so the first two fall in that category. I like the name Cholla because to me it sounds joyous however the cactus itself is far from being joyous if you step on it. I may choose Desert Dog mostly because I have two desert dogs who are incredible hikers and backpackers themselves. Monkey on my Back goes back ten years ago when I was training for my first half marathon. Early in my training, I found a little messed up monkey on the side of the road. I took it home, cleaned and stitched it up and off it went with me for the remainder of my training happily perched on the back of my camelback pack. Later in years, it accompanied me in my training for my first marathon and triathlon. However, I am not sure if I want to be responsible for this little monkey to go 2,185 miles. Another name I thought of is Monarch. One of our favorite places to hike is on the Mongollon Rim in AZ. There are a bunch of different butterflies and in this one section and they like to hop on your backpack and hike with you. The one on this picture was with me well over a couple of miles. There was also one on Alex's backpack as well as Bentley's (the dog) backpack. Anyway, I am open for any trail name suggestions from family and friends. The other prep work is getting physically fit. Since recently being retired on June 1, 2012, I have been able to hike almost every other day. I felt I needed more leg work with weights. So since December, I joined a gym and have been going 4-5 times per week. Already, I can tell a positive difference when I hike. I know that the AT will get you fit but I can't imagine not preparing physically prior to the start. I am so hoping that this will help me and most importantly, I do not want to slow up Alex!
Date: 2003-04-18
From: Cow Rock Mountain

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

Well, I woke up, wringing myself out this morning, after last night's little adventure in funky weather conditions. I was tired and completely drained from the experience, and knew I was not going to get far today. I packed up and started taking off, and ran into Andy, one of the smart people that decided to stay at Neel's Gap last night, instead of hiking out. We walked together for a bit, through a thick, eerie fog - - somewhat reminisce of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman - - very creepy, but also serene. I separated from him at Testnatee Gap, and started on a slower pace. I didn't have much water, and the stream sources looked pretty grim. I came up upon Whitley Gap Shelter and, seeing that it was 1.2 miles off the trail, decided to skip it and trudge ahead. I made it as far as Low Gap Shelter, a mere 6 miles from the start of the day, and ran into a few people I had been hiking with previously. The shelter was packed, unfortunately, but I arrived with enough daytime to spare so that I could hang up all my wet clothing and sleeping gear, in hopes of it drying out. A futile effort, I may add, with the enormous amount of moisture in the air. So, I pitched tent, set up my camp for the night, ate a huge meal (since I had skipped it last night, and was simply starving), and drifted off to sleep in my still-wet sleeping bag. It wasn't the easiest of sleeps, but I got some shut-eye in. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I am getting close to my first mail drop, in Helen, Ga. I may have to go into town and wait it out. We'll see.
Date: 2013-03-11
To: Dahlonega, GA
Miles today: 0.0

I met my first trail Angel, Alex, who just got done from his southbound AT thru-hike. My best friend Michelle and her friend, Maggie, and I drove from South Carolina to Savannah, Ga to meet Alex (trail name is Silly Sobo). I was pretty nervous to meet someone who I have only spoken with over the internet for the past few months. Our plan was for him to pick me up and then we would stay at his grandparents and make our long six hour trip to Dahlonega, GA in the morning. Everything went according to plan. Silly Sobo was a very nice southern guy who loved to share his story's about his most recent thru hike. We went back to his grandparents home and he went through my backpack separating stuff that I need and stuff to get rid of. The one thing that I could not depart with was my deoderant.At the same time, my mom is being picked up by her first trail angel, Ed and Sherry who lives just south of Dahlonega, GA. She used to work with Ed for many years before he retired. She spent the night with them and then Ed took her to Dahlonega,GA the next day. Thank you Ed and Sherry so much for your hospitality. Alex
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Helen, GA

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

It's time to leave the scary town of Helen, GA. I got here Saturday night, and had all day Sunday to explore the town, while waiting for the Post Office to open up (on Monday). So, I get all my stuff done...laundry, airing out all my wet gear, calls home...etc. This is done within a couple of hours, so that left me with a lot of time to go explore the town of Helen. Well, if you've never been to the town of Helen, I'll give you a little descriptive picture of it. It's a small alpine (tourist) town, in Northern Georgia (of all places), with little German Alpine buildings all over the place, and German-esque mall-shops and eateries at every corner. I believe there were horse-drawn carriage rides, as well (if memory correctly serves). All of this, and, additionally, German music blasting out of almost every shop. With every corner you turn, there's a new song being played. Not only this, but it was on a Sunday...and Georgia laws do not allow pubs to be open, apparently, and do not allow drinking, unless accompanied by a certain percentage of food. Hello! It's a German Town! A scary German Town at that...how can you not expect us to drink???Anyway, I wandered around this town for a few hours, and finally had enough of it. It was freaking me out a bit. So I went to the solace of my motel room, and made a few more calls. Later on that evening, after the sun had gone down, I went out to the ice machine and heard this eerie-music box-type music playing. Apparently, there's a little miniature golf course on the edge of town, and right next door to the place I was staying in. Well, that did it. I finally had the fear. It was time to get the hell out of here. So, the next morning, bright and early, I packed up, went to the post office, picked up my mail drop, found a ride back to the trail, and went on to Tray Mountain Shelter...with not-so-fond memories of Helen, GA following behind me.
Date: 2013-03-14
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

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

Day 2: Our first night was soooo cold. It was 19 degrees with a 7 degree wind chill. We heard helicopters for most of the night as there was two Ranger squadrons practicing rescuing a down pilot. The wind was so loud all night long, it sounded like a 747 going through our camp. We went to bed at 7:30 and for two hours, we tried to figured out how to stop from shivering. Once we figured that you wear the least amount under our sleeping bag and don't let anything touch your bag on the outside, we finally begun to get warm. Actually, I had a good ten hour sleep. There were 30+ people at the shelters. Silly and Seth (Pyro) started a nice fire. Lots of nice folks there like, Bob, Dylan, Wild Willie, Slider, Sidewinder, Michelle, Jeanette, Sary, Darwin, Jack (Cinnamon) and Barbosa.Ok that was last night, so we got up late and started on the trail at 10:30am. The previous day was beautiful, small hills, near creeks, etc. Today was a little more up and down. It was beautiful out and getting into the mid-50's. Alex and I are still bundled up and people are noticing that we are always cold. Silly is starting to call us the crazy desert people. The day ended great in a neat shelter called Gooch Shelter. No aches or pains from hiking today....yeah! Cindi
Date: 2003-04-22
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Well, after a slow start (somehow I missed the turn back on the AT and ended up hiking right back up Tray Mountain), I found my way to Deep Gap shelter. It was still early in the day (well, the sun was still out), and I could have moved on a little further, so I sat down to make my dinner, and contemplate on what to do. My decision was soon made. Not too long after I started settling in on eating my food, a rowdy boy scout group showed up. They were planning on trying to camp out in the shelter, which wasn't a big deal - - the shelter was a 2 story shelter with plenty of room for the both of us, but I wanted to get some shut-eye. So, I talked w/ the scout leaders for a bit, packed up and moved on.I reached Dicks Creek Gap, and was about to walk on, but saw a group of people camping not too far from it, on the south side. I thought it would be a few fellow hikers, so I decided to walk over and investigate. Well, it was another group of scouts, but a more subdued group. They invited me to camp with them and, not wanting to be rude, I agreed. All the little boys had all kinds of questions about a thru-hike, which I was abliged to answer, and I soon realized that they were mainly impressed with a girl trying to thru-hike. It was sweet. So, I set up camp soon after, and had a nice, peaceful rest. Next stop...who knows! I guess I'll stop when I no longer feel like hiking!
Date: 2013-03-15
From: Gooch Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 3: Ok this is our third day. We wanted to get started on the trail (7:30am) so we could get to Woods Hole Shelter which was 12.7 miles away. It was a little warmer today hitting 58 degrees or warmer. It was lots of up and down and some ridge work. The new water drops are working out great. Both of us are forcing to eat more as we are not real fans of all the trail foods like Snickers, Pop Tarts, etc. Our evening dinners have been awesome like mash potatoes, pasta dinners, etc. So we started and about one hour into our hike, we come across our first trail magic on the trail. In the woods there were eggs and spam sandwiches along with pop. It was glorious and to top it off, we met the very famous Miss Janet. She is well known in the AT hiker community. She takes care of all the hikers by giving them rides, slackpacking, feeding, answering questions, etc. She gave us her number and if we need anything during our hike, we are to call her and she can hook us up with anyone anywhere on the AT trail. Back to eating, I have been craving Taco Bell and salads. We are using only a part of our stove so we have half of it going home soon. We finally got to Woods Hole Shelter with Silly, Pyro, Cinnamon, Chris and Isaac around 6:30pm. Started setting up camp when the Forest Ranger stopped by and told us we need bear cannister in order to stay. So she gave us a warning (we could have received a $50 ticket for each of us) so we began to pick up to head up over Blood Mountain on to Neels Ga in the dark. Blood Mountain is the largest mountain in Georgia (4461 elevation). We got up Blood Mountain at the end of sunset and then hiked down with our headlamps. It took us about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Unfortunately, Pyro hurt his leg six miles back so it was a little rough going actually for all of us BUT it was so much fun. It all worked out good with going 16 miles our third day. No sore muscles to report, just tired. After we got down off the mountain, we drove into town for pizza. I asked for salsa for my pizza and I guess that sounded funny to them so now my name is Salsa. We got back at camp and into bed at 1:30am.These last three days have been a real confident booster as we now know we can hike longer miles if we have to, sleep through really cold nights and go night hiking. It was so much fun especially being with some very experience hikers. On another note, we have learned so much from Silly and Pyro. It has been a fabulous day.Cindi
Date: 2003-04-23
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

No incidents last night, after being camped out less than 200 feet from a road. I guess when you're with a big group, the incident likelihood falls.Anyway, today is a big day, as I am crossing my first state line!! It's crazy, because I crossed into North Carolina, and only went a mile or so into it, and fell in love with it! Right now, I'm camping out at Bly Gap with Fall-Back Dan, Monty, and Koop! I was going to continue on to Muskrat Creek Shelter, but I sat down to cook my dinner, started enjoying the nature around me, and just never packed back up to move on. I just had 3 miles to go, and plenty of daylight to do so...but, I didn't want to move from the spot. It also gave me the opportunity to run back over the border, to GA, to do my bathroom "duties!" Not that I disliked GA, but I did not yet want to taint NC, because I had a good feeling from this state. Even so, as I was setting up my tent, my sleeping bag (or the Mother Of All Bags, as I like to call it) started rolling. This made me nervous, because our particular campsite was on a cliff overlook. So, I started chasing after it, and, luckily, it was stopped by a cluster of twigs, right before the cliff drop-off. We all kinda laughed and joked about how difficult that would have been to retrieve that. I think I would have had to get a new sleeping bag, personally. Anyway, off to dream more peaceful dreams out here on the AT!
Date: 2013-03-16
To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 4: Today we are taking a zero (no miles) day at Neels Gap. This place has an outfitter store, grocery store, gift store, etc. Alex and I exchanged some camping equipment as they were too heavy. We also took showers and did laundry. We could stay in the hostel for $15 but we decided to camp in the back for free and especially we were already set up from last night after our night hike over Blood Mountain. Since we got here last night, all the other hikers that we have met previously, are rolling in. Tomorrow - hike on.Cindi
Date: 2003-04-24
From: Bly Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So far, North Carolina gets an astounding 2 thumbs up! A lot of people complained about the climb coming right into the state, just after Bly Gap, but I didn't find it so difficult. So far, I'm loving the scenery.I ran into Tenderfoot and Todd at Deep Gap, just before going up to the Standing Indian Shelter. Tenderfoot is walking for a cure for cancer right now, fyi. They heard that it is supposed to storm pretty heavily this evening, and are taking the blue blaze to Standing Indian Campground. While this sounds tempting, I decided to hoof it on up to the shelter, even though my blisters are really giving me some problems today. As I got to the shelter, I saw that it was packed. There were quite a few people in the shelter (I'm thinking 10, if I can recall correctly), and quite a few tenters. Of course, it was cold, and was starting to drizzle, so some of us tenters really didn't want to be tenting. But, it didn't seem like the people in the shelter wanted to squeeze in further to allow for more room. Two hikers, Yoni and Trauma (with their dog), decided to sleep under the shelter opening, as they only had a tarp, and, by this time, the storm was in full force - - and the wind was blowing quite heartily. They were the smart ones. The rest of us "tenters" decided to stay up, and keep the shelter people up, as long as we could by reading previous passages in the journal about how many people were able to fit in the shelter on certain incliment weather days. The highest number we found was 21. However, this did not convince them to make more room. So, us "tenters" sadly staggered out to our tents, to brave the fierce storm. Tomorrow, come hell or high water, I'm getting a spot in a shelter, because it looks like the weather will be an exact repeat of what we had tonight!
Date: 2013-03-17
From: Neel Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 5: Oh, I also want to mention, that after our second shake down of our packs (yesterday), my pack is now weighing 22 lbs and Alex's is weighing 25 lbs. We are so happy, happy, happy! Lots of things were sent home like a few luxury items such as my comfy Thermarest pillow. I bought a Big Agnes pillow you blow up and can be folded down to a size of a dollar bill. Surprisingly enough, it is very comfortable. We also sent our tea supplies home. We are really going to miss our teas so Holly from the best tea store in Phoenix (Dragon Fly Tea Company), no need to stock up on my favorite tea; Upside Down Pineapple Tea. Last night at Neels Gap, we had amazing Trail Magic from a local Baptist Church group who were college students. They cooked us all hamburgs, salads, and dessert. We ate at the hostel that is located in the basement of this historical building in Neels Gap. We had an amazing conversation with a hiker called Aristotle. I am guessing he is in his 60's and used to be a monk. It sounded like he has had many travels to countries like India, etc. and provided many philosophical and historical views. He reminded me of my Grandpa Braunz i.e. the way he talked, his knowledge and he couldn't hear very good either. He thru-hiked in 2007 but ended up Maine-less I think due to running out of funds. So after a "zero" day in Neels Gap, we woke up around 7:30am. We had several other tents around us who eventually we spent the next three days hiking off and on with and made camp at the same places. They were Risk It from New York, James I think from PA, and Salad Days from LA. It was another beautiful day in the 60. Around 11am, we met up with SourDough 2007 and his dog Jackson (also a thru-hiker in 2007). He stopped us to provide us motivational quotes. It wasn't five minutes later when we met up with some teenagers who indicated about two miles up the trail are some hotdogs. Now that really gave us the motivation to get going! Yes indeed, at Hogpen Gap there was the Glenloch Baptist Church who provided all the hotdogs, drinks and snacks we wanted. It was great to sit in some chairs while eating and talking to some very nice people. After a group prayer, we were off again. The trails were really rocky today. It was very slow going downhill as you had to be very careful where you stepped. We decided to go past Low Gap Shelter that night and camp half way up a mountain. It was an awesome place where our four tents were. Had a nice fire and got to know our new friends. At 4:08am, it started to rain. Around 7:30am, it stopped long enough to break camp and start the trail. It rained the rest of the day and into the next morning. We have been sleeping so good at night. We heard several owls that morning and once in a while a few unknown footsteps. I forgot to mention. In our nigh escapade going down Blood Mountain a couple of nights ago, I got hot spots on top of both my big toes. Going down hill today was really painful. All other parts of the body is feeling amazingly good.Salsa