morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-02-27
To: Hats off to our Trail Bosses
Miles today: 0.0

Today the weather was beautiful, sunny with blue skies and the temps got into the 40¢s. We left Huntsville before noon and the roads were clear all the way to Blue Ridge, GA. We stopped at Engles grocery and stocked up on food for lunch and snacks for the trail tomorrow. Tonight we¢re staying with Ranger, our hiking partner in 2014. He¢s going to shuttle us to and from the AT for several days here in Georgia, so we¢ll be coming back each evening.I¢m not sure what our route will be tomorrow. The long, winding driveway up to Ranger¢s house will be icy tomorrow morning, and a lot depends on how long it takes before the sun manages to make it passable. We hoped to start early at Springer Mountain. But if our start is delayed by a couple of hours, we¢ll likely do a shorter section further up the trail so that we can finish before it gets too late.We had a great dinner here in Blue Ridge this evening at a new place called ¢Chesters¢ with Tammy & Dwayne, friends of Ranger & Gay. The trout was delicious and we sampled from a wide range of draft beers. Downtown Blue Ridge is a happening place. We plan to spend several more evenings here and try out several more spots before we move on up the trail.I¢ve posted a picture today of our trail bosses. Alan, Lorraine, Donna and her husband Amos. I actually posted this same picture last year since they all helped us get through our 2014 AT hike. (But they haven¢t aged a bit since then.) Alan has shouldered a large part of the load. He mailed most of our drop boxes last year -- there were 22 drops with one or two heavy boxes each time. He also sorted through all our mail for 5 1/2 months and kept an eye on our condo. His only respite was a short hiatus for some surgery. Lorraine helped as well, she cooked some of our meals that Princess then dehydrated. She makes a good white chili. And Donna & Amos backed us up too. Amos carted the drop boxes to Pak-Mail while Alan was recuperating. Things should be different this year, we hope that we won¢t be such a burden on our friends back home. This year our mail drops are primarily maps and a few miscellaneous items, mostly envelopes rather than boxes. But we will still rely on Alan for triage on our mail, and that¢s a large job. We hope that Alan will be able to join us along the trail as well. Donna and Amos will only be available for a couple of months since they are relocating to Spain, so if Alan needs backup help - we hope that Lorraine can step in. Step carefully that is, since she slipped on the ice last week and ruined her wrist. Trail bosses are really important on the AT. We learned that hikers can find a lot in trail towns along the AT, but often it¢s not exactly what you want or even what you need. We¢re doing more of that this year, but it¢s still reassuring to have someone back home available to send you what you need and to watch over the home front while you¢re away.Hats off to our trail bosses!!!
Date: 2015-02-28
To: All dressed up, but we decided not to go.
Miles today: 0.0

We decided late last night to hike a different section of the AT, going south from Woody Gap. Ranger was concerned about the condition of the roads leading to Springer Mountain. The weather this morning was cloudy, but above freezing as we took off. As we headed for the gap, the roads were remarkably clear and dry and the drive up to the gap took about 45 minutes. Along the way, we passed the side road leading up to our planned pickup point (at the end of the day¢s hike) and Ranger decided to check it out. The first two miles were clear, but as we headed farther up the hill to the pickup point there was more ice and the temperature dropped to near freezing. Eventually we turned back to the main road. Then we continued up to the starting point and the AT crossing, but after discussion we decided not to hike. Ranger felt that he could drive to the pickup point in his Expedition later in the afternoon, but we were concerned that conditions might get worse and the trail might be more icy than we expected.   As we headed back to Blue Ridge we started considering alternative hiking plans for the next several days. We¢re staying with Ranger, and we don¢t really care if we hike NoBo or SoBo, so we¢re pretty flexible. The warming trend should continue, but the probability of rain is increasing and rain seems certain for Wednesday. The remainder of today was partly cloudy, so there was some sun to help with melting and we¢re optimistic that we can cover some miles tomorrow.We spent the rest of the day catching up on rest, trail journals, and relaxing. Today was good exercise for packing our slack packs. Since we¢re not camping, we just carry a day¢s worth of supplies in lightweight day packs. We include food for lunch, snacks, water, some extra clothing & gloves, some emergency supplies, and we also have an SOS function built into our GPS tracker. Probably the hardest part is deciding what clothes to wear. The temp can be cold at the outset, but I warm up quickly after a short climb. If I wear too much clothing and sweat, I¢ll get cold later. So we choose our clothes carefully and carry some dry clothes in case we overexert. So tomorrow, we¢ve decided to revisit today¢s plan and hike southbound from Woody Gap. The revised forecast suggests that we will have rain. It should be interesting.
Date: 2015-03-01
From: Woody Gap

To: Horse Gap
Miles today: 10.3

Finally, our 2015 AT thru-hike is underway! A day¢s worth of warmth and sunshine improved road conditions and we had no problem getting to Woody Gap, our starting point. The biggest concern yesterday was the road to our end point, but Ranger was confident today that he could navigate our exit route so we set out from Woody Gap at 8 in the morning. Today we headed SoBo toward either Cooper¢s Gap or Horse Gap. Ranger suggested that we use our YakTrax and it turned out to be great advice. The trail was hard-packed snow and ice from the initial wave of thru-hikers. This was our first experience using YakTrax and they worked out well. This section of the trail is relatively flat except for Mount Justus and Mount Sassafras. Both have moderately steep ascents & descents and we were extremely cautious. The temperatures have been warm for several days and much of the snow has melted on the sunny sides of the hills, but on the shady sides the snow ranged up to 6 inches. There was a mist and occasional drizzle for much of the hike that made the trail very slippery in places and slushy in others. Fortunately the temperature climbed into the high 40¢s and climbing kept us warm.We reached Cooper¢s Gap in decent time and decided to press on another two miles across Mt. Sassafras to our second pickup point. We were able to text Ranger to fetch us at Horse Gap and headed up the hill. Last year, we hiked Sassafras from south to north and we remember that it was very long and tough. This time it seemed easier, possibly because we were headed southbound rather than northbound.We made it to the pickup point early and talked for a few minutes to a trio of thru-hikers resting there. Eventually we started hiking along the road to meet Ranger. The access road to Horse and Cooper¢s Gap turned out to be much more difficult than any of us realized. It was snow covered, icy and treacherous most of the way down the mountain. We were fortunate that we didn¢t meet any oncoming traffic since the cleared road wasn¢t wide enough. Slack-packing is not easy this early in the season. We hope to be able to slack-pack most of the trail this year, and we don¢t care if it¢s NoBo or SoBo. While Ranger is shuttling us, we pick a direction based on road conditions. However, we learned last year that an advantage of SoBo is that we meet many more hikers, since most are heading northward from Springer. Today we encountered 42 northbound hikers and had a chance to talk briefly with most of them. We try to remember trail names, but typically we have to meet folks a couple of times before the names stick. We heard from them that the shelter crowds have been large - 15 to 20 - so it appears that the March 1 bubble is large this year. Tomorrow we plan to hike SoBo again, from Neel Gap south to Woody Gap, so we should meet many of them again.
Date: 2015-03-05
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: snow

My apologies, but this entry will be short. We did our longest hike so far today, and we¢re scheduled for the same distance tomorrow. We climbed some tough hills today - Blue Mountain, Tray Mountain, Poor Mountain and Rocky Mountain, so we¢re tired. But we also had to pack our gear tonight for the remainder of our thru-hike. It¢s our last night staying with Ranger and Gay. Tomorrow Gay will drive us north to Dick¢s Creek Gap and we¢ll head NoBo from there. The good news is that Ranger is joining us for a little while. We expect to camp tomorrow night at Standing Indian shelter and we have to prepare for a very cold night. So we¢ve ben spending the evening cramming everything we will need into backpacks (instead of slack-packs). We hope we only have to do this a few times this year (backpack rather than slack-pack), but tomorrow is one of them.Otherwise, our hike today had it¢s ups & downs. We started SoBo from Dick¢s Creek Gap at 7:00. We were upbeat with balmy morning temps (mid to high 50¢s) in tee-shirts and high spirits. And the first 3 or 4 miles were very pleasant. But we knew that a big change in weather was coming, and several hours into the hike the temperature started dropping and the rain started falling. We were prepared with our ponchos, but the rain was relentless and the wind picked up. By late morning the trail was getting soggy and the rain was sneaking under our ponchos. We stayed warm enough on the uphills, but got cold on the downhills. I tried several varieties of gloves to keep my fingers warm. Around noon the rain started tapering off, but the wind increased and really howled on the ridges, especially on Tray Mountain. We finished at Unicoi Gap (where we left our car early in the morning) in a light drizzle and temperatures in the mid-30¢s. By the time we returned to Blue Ridge, snow flurries were dancing around and weathermen were warning of black ice. So we¢re getting up bright and early tomorrow AM to continue the trek northward. We met some familiar faces on our SoBo hike today and a few new ones as well. I¢ve included more hiker photos today, since the views today were generally obscured by mist, clouds and rain. We still learning names, so there are blank spots in the titles - perhaps someone can help fill those in.Also, BTW, we found a cell phone on the trail yesterday and picked it up. We had just passed Karaoke who was NoBo (we were doing a SoBo) and we suspected it was his. We picked it up and carried it today hoping that we would see him along the way since we were against the flow again today. And we did, and the phone was his.
Date: 2015-03-06
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: broken clouds

I'm in our tent and buttoned down for the night, warmest I've been all day. I'm typing this on my iPhone with one finger. Because that's all that I want exposed. It's really, really cold - below freezing before sundown. Had a long hike today, crossed the GA state line into NC, and climbed some really tough mountains. Ranger joined us for the hike and wants to offer his greetings and regards. Started cold in the AM, warmed to just above freezing with some afternoon sun, but cold tonight, maybe even single digits. Met a few new faces on the trail, and learned more about some we knew. The Standing Indian shelter here is full, but we planned to tent because it's warmer. Everything is fine, I'll report more tomorrow. Goodnight.
Date: 2015-03-08
From: Wayah Gap

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 9.6

Our first night in the cabin near Franklin was great. Shower, laundry, warm bed, kitchen and WiFi, a considerable upgrade from the tent. We¢ll be here for 3 days, and we¢ll enjoy it while it lasts.Today was the first day of daylight savings time. Many folks just turn their clocks ahead and lose an hour, but I hoped to sleep an hour extra, especially since we have a short hike today. No luck, Princess is a tough task master and we got another early start. We had 9.6 miles on the schedule today, and we started SoBo with our slack-packs.It was cold at the start, the rhododendron leaves were curled (indicates freezing or below). But daybreak was well under way and as we neared the top of the first hill, we popped into warm sunlight. Before we made it to the top, we shed jackets & buffs. The trick for me is to have enough clothing to stay warm, but not so much that I sweat. Once I¢m damp, it¢s really hard to stay warm. It can be a tough balancing act. I mentioned my cold fingers a few days ago and (Lady) Grasshopper 2014 sent me some suggestions (thank you). I¢ve been carrying a variety of gloves along, but it¢s about time to get rid of a few. I haven¢t found the down ski gloves she described, but so far a combination of wool liners inside a pair of heavier knit wool mittens seems to work best for me. The mittens are actually convertible, with a flap that pulls the mitten back to expose the fingertips. The combination is pretty flexible and it¢s still easy to use my hiking poles. I talked with Giuseppe at the Standing Indian Shelter the night before last and he described the same problem I have with cold fingers. It was very cold that night and his fingers were turning white. He and Grasshopper both say that once that happens it can be hours before he can warm them up, so the morale is: don¢t let them get that cold. My problem seems similar, but not so severe. Cold rain is a complication, so I also carry a pair of Zpacks cuben waterproof shells that fit over my wool liners. This keeps the liners dry, but it would be good to have a larger pair that would fit over my mittens. Anyway, the hike today was beautiful, but pretty easy. The sun was out all the way, the temps got to 60 maybe and the views were great. It was a great day for a hike and we saw a number of day hikers. We saw Furball again, she is still in her clogs and may get a new pair of boots soon. We saw Code Red and met Princess Little Elf for the first time (I¢m not certain of her trailname).We met Ranger and Gay at the end point, Rock Gap. They brought their 2 dogs (Tootsie & Sadie) with them and got there early enough to take a short hike up the trail and back with the dogs. After we shed our gators & boots, Ranger drove us into Franklin and we had lunch at the Motor Company Grill. It was warm enough that we saw outside, so the dogs could join us. They have good burgers, I had a Green Man IPA, and we enjoyed the afternoon sun. (They also have a Doggie Menu.)   We¢ll hike from here again tomorrow (Monday) and then leave here on Tuesday morning. The long-range forecast predicts rain all week long, but mild temperatures.
Date: 2015-03-10
From: Tellico Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 8.1

Seems like we just got here, but this morning was time to leave the cabin in Franklin. It has been a great place to stay and close to the trail. We were packed and ready, and about 8 AM we set off with Ranger driving to the trailhead at Tellico Gap. This was also our starting point yesterday, but today we were going in the other direction, NoBo, and we had a short 8.1 miles to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Ranger dropped us off at the trail, and then headed back to the cabin so that he and Gay could pack up their gear and the dogs and meet us later at the NOC.We knew that it rained overnight and there was light rain when Ranger walked the dogs before we left. Based on the forecast, we expected rain during most of the hike today. We wore our ponchos all the way and they got wet, but it primarily dripped from the trees and bushes along the trail. The trail was wet and slick in spots, but overall it was in much better condition than we expected. Essentially we had only one major climb today, immediately up Wesser Bald. The AT Guide advertised panoramic views from the observation tower at the top, but the mist and clouds precluded any chance of that. After a short descent we followed a ridge to another feature called the Jumpoff. The mist had cleared somewhat and the views down into the gorge were misty, but quite dramatic from this vantage point. At the Jumpoff, the trail makes a tricky turn that involves carefully scaling down a series of rocks and I took a photo looking down at Princess as she navigated the rocks below me. From the Jumpoff, the trail was all down through a variety of environments, rhododendron groves, open forest hillsides, across ridges, and down a lot of log steps. We passed a shelter and some great campsites only about a mile from the NOC. We actually made good time (for us) through the flatter sections and reached the NOC in a little over 3 hours. Ranger and Gay were waiting on us in the restaurant and we had a great lunch while we watched the activity on the Nantahala River rapids right outside the window. Later we headed to Bryson City where Ranger has arranged for another cabin. Since we were heading NoBo today, we saw only one other hiker, City Slicker, who was hiking southbound from the NOC for a couple of days. We¢re planning to do a SoBo section tomorrow, into the NOC from the other side, so we should see more hikers.
Date: 2015-03-13
From: Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

We packed our bags and cleared out of the cabin in Bryson City early this morning. Ranger drove us to our starting point at Fontana Dam and we set out at 7:20 am. After dropping us off, Rangers wife, Gay, drove back to their home in Blue Ridge and will rejoin us at the Standing Bear Hostel on the north side of the Smokeys. The sky was overcast and it was high 40s and dry as we set out. We hiked across the dam and up the road and then dropped our GSMNP permits ($20 each) in the entrance box as we started up the trail. The rain set in not long after. There really isn't much to say about the trail today except that the weather was unpleasant. The rain came in waves, but the wind was the worst part of it. Whenever we were on a ridge or the windy side of the hill it was ferocious. And it drove the rain into our ponchos through the arm holes. Then the temp started dropping and my hands got really cold. The wind chill was the problem and I never found a good solution. Plus I didn't remember how long the uphills were. After a couple hours of continuous climbing, my legs felt like rubber. Otherwise the hike was fine. Our end point for the day was the Russell Field shelter. The rain finally slowed down and we were able to score space in the shelter so we didn't have to tent in the wind and rain. The GSM shelters are generally spacious with a fireplace at one end and a tarp covering the open side. Two section hikers from Michigan were in the shelter when we arrived. They arrived from Detroit this morning and and will head back to school next week. One is studying environmental science and the other audio engineering. Later 2 other section hikers came in and settled in, Steve and Jonathan. Steve will be on the trail for several days, but Jon can only stay one night. Steve works with a radioactive medical diagnostics company and is prepping to hike in Patagonia on a photographic outing. Jon has a large young family and has to head back home tomorrow.Late in the afternoon, Ranger built a fire from some dry branches generously left inside the shelter by a previous hiker. His base was hot enough to dry out some wet wood collected around the shelter and it kept us toasty for hours and helped dry our wet clothes. Other hikers came in later and kept the fire going well into the evening. We expect the rain to continue into the morning, but the temp should rise tomorrow.
Date: 2015-03-14
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Starting was a real treat this morning (not). The rain pounded on the roof all last night. Several hikers came in late, but the shelter never filled. It's been a while since we stayed in a shelter, and I had a hard time preparing for the morning. We are virtually always the first ones up, so we try to have everything we need for breakfast and packing-up close at hand to minimize disturbing other sleeping hikers. It seemed that I didn't have anything in the right place when I needed it and it took us ( mostly me) two and a half hours to get on the trail.The rain today never quit and it's still raining even now as I'm in my sleeping bag. Today's hike was about 16 miles, not long by most standards, but harder in the Smokeys and in rain. The good news is that it was warmer than yesterday and I didn't suffer from cold fingers. The climbs today seemed hard, a lot of straight up the hill without switchbacks. I tried singing songs to myself to distract me from the climbs but they still seemed endless (the climbs, not the songs). We all seemed to be struggling on the last few hills. I took some pics at the starting and ending shelters, but once again the mist, fog and rain interfered and we only took a couple of shots atop Rocky Top Mountain. The shelter where we're staying tonight is close to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the AT. There was only one occupant (Whistler) when we arrived, but the shelter filled up with college students who bought a hiking package for the weekend. They're from Purdue and seem like a good group of kids. They tried to start a fire, but all the wood around here is wet - no luck. Ranger got some bad news from his wife this evening. A water faucet in their kitchen failed and flooded the kitchen, then seeped down into the basement where his son lives and made a mess. So, when Gay meets us at Newfound Gap tomorrow Ranger will have to return with her to Blue Rudge to assess the damage and start repairs. We planned to zero in Gatlinburg after tomorrow's hike, and there is a skinny chance that he might come back to finish the Smokeys with us. But he and Gay have supported us all the way so far and we are extremely appreciative of their generosity. So now it's just after 9:00 and everyone is settled in for the night. We will probably be the first ones up, but the kids say they want an early start too. We'll see. We're beat and I need sleep for a big climb tomorrow. I'll see if I can speed up the getaway from the shelter process tomorrow morning.