morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-22
From: Bald Mtn Brook

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night I had the entire shelter and campsite tomyself. No one showed up to join me. It was peacefuland quiet. I was in my tent before 7:00 listening toRed Sox Baseball. It was chilly outside my bag lastnight but I wasn't bothered. Now getting up andstarting the day is a different story. I don't cook awarm breakfast, and there is no reason to start a firejust to warm up only myself so I simply dress and packup quickly. I got started at 7:30 and went looking forthe sun. After a half hour of walking I was warm andtoasty. I took my time all day today. Going just slowenough to stay warm. The sun was shining but there wasa breeze that made it chilly at times. I found a sunnyplace near a stream and ate my cheeze and crackers.Back on the trail by 1:00, I came to ohe Piscataquisriver that I had to ford. It was about 20 yards wideand was about knee deep. There was a current but itwasn't much. I switched to my camp shoes and wadedacross with no problem. The trail then followed alongside the river for the last 3 miles of my day. Therewere some very good rapids and falls to look at as Istrolled along. I reached the shelter here at 3:15.Again no one here and still at 5:30 no one is here andI doubt there will be. I am staying in the sheltertonight. There are no tent sites here. It shouldn't beas cold tonight. I will try to start early tomorrow. Ihave 9 miles into town of Monsoon. This is the lasttown stop before I summit. I will need to by suppliesfor about 7 days. It may be a heavy load!Time for dinner.Clay
Date: 2006-09-23
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to

To: Monsoon, ME
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Stayed alone again at the Lean-to. I was up by 5:20and on the trail by 6:20. I had 9 easy miles intotown. Rain was predicted for this afternoon and allday tomorrow. I got to the road by 10:30. I hadthoughts of just resupplying and going on Northward,but with rain in the forecast I chose to stay todayand zero tomorrow as well. Only 114.5 to go!Clay
Date: 2006-09-25
From: Monsoon, ME

To: Long Pond Stream 
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

The day started with a nice breakfast at the hostel. I got on the trail at 8:0. It really is fall up here now. Cool and crisp for sure. The day was a struggle all day. I am always a bit sluggish after a zero day, but added to that was my heavy pack. I have 6 days worth of food. More than I have ever carried. I guess I am getting near 40 pounds. I am now entering the 100 mile wilderness. There are few roads in the area, and what roads that do exist are only dirt logging roads. It is remote and isolated. My first chance at any re-supply is at least 5 days or 70 miles. So I never made it to my usual 2 miles an hour pace. The trail was mostly flat but with the added weight even small ups or downs were a bit more strain. My footing as well as my balance were less sure too. And that added to my dunking. It was on the first fording of the day. It was shallow and not real wide. No more than 10 yards wide and just over ankle deep. I should have taken my boots off and just waded, but I didn¢t want to take the time so I found a path over the exposed rocks to hop my way across. But the last one was wet and just a bit slanted so it was mostly a combination slip, fall, splits; splash on to my butt and the bottom half of my pack. I learned it is quite a task to try to stand up quickly in rushing water with a pack on. I probably floundered there for 8 to 10 seconds trying to get up and out of the water. I made it to shore and luckily the sun was shining and no real wind. I emptied my pack quickly, worried that my down sleeping bag and clothes had gotten wet. Luckily the trash bags I stuff them in prevented a catastrophe. But the clothes I was wearing were wet and so were my boots. I decided it was time for lunch so I stripped down, put on dry clothes, then spread out everything on the rocks to dry a bit. It helped my clothes but the boots were still squishy. I put them back on a moved up the trail. My slow pace and swim now have me late.I walk until 5:15 then decide to stop short of the shelter I was headed for. I am tired, and my feet are getting sore and cold. I stop at a very pretty stream with waterfall and a small camping site. I do the usual chores then start a fire to begin drying my boots a bit. I stay busy between cooking, gathering wood and other chores. A new small problem arises. My headlamp batteries are beginning to dim, and I have no replacements. I had wondered if I needed to buy backups when I was in Monsoon, but decided to save weight and not add them to my pack. Oh well one more challenge. It is now 7:42. The boots are mostly dry and I am headed for bed. Welcome to the wilderness Good night.Clay
Date: 2006-09-26
From: Long Pond Stream 

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept great last night. For once the temperature outside matched the rating of my sleeping bag. However, it rained last night. Not heavily but enough to make mud puddles and slippery rocks and roots again. And partly because of this and my pack weight, and me being just tired I managed only 11.7 miles today. Started at 7:40 and stopped at 4:15. I even skipped lunch and still didn¢t make many miles, never more than maybe 1.5 miles an hour. I had some mountains to climb. They weren¢t tall. Maybe 2600 feet, but the descents were like the White Mountains again, very steep and slippery. For the first time in the entire trip I feel most alone and isolated. An accident here and I am likely on my own for at least a few hours before any other hiker comes by and an evacuation if necessary would be a major ordeal. So this makes me more cautious and slower. I actually am on the schedule I have planned. But tomorrow may be a challenge. Originally I planned on a 17 mile day. Unless the terrain changes dramatically I doubt that I will accomplish that. I stopped early today because there is no other camping area nearby to go to anyway. I will spend some time tonight studying the guidebook to see if there are any alternatives. I will let you know tomorrow. Time to cook dinner,Clay
Date: 2006-09-27
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

Well I did it. My feet are bruised and sore but I made it. Actually it took less time than I expected. I started at an early 6:45. Actually it was after 7:00. I spent 15 minutes looking for the trail leaving the lean-to. I struggled to get my old faster pace going, but eventually warmed up and was making pretty good time. Around 10:30 I ran into a South bounder. I asked him what the trail was like coming down White Cap Mtn. He said steep but with lots of steps. I asked him if it was feasible for me to get to Logan Brook on the other side of White Cap before dark. His advice was to not attempt it. The trail from here to there was mostly more roots and rocks. He recommended that I stay at Sidney Tappan Campsite on this side of White Cap then go over the top in the morning. I thanked him for his advice. I was relieved that I had someone else¢s opinion and I decided to slow down and stay at the campsite tonight as he recommended.At noon I passed Carl Newball Lean-to. I planned to eat lunch there, but there was no sunny spot to sit. I climbed Gulf Hagas Mtn but found no good spot to eat lunch there either. At 1:30 I arrived at Sidney Tappan Campsite. It was a terrible, small spot on the trail. No level pad for a tent and water over 200 yards away down a steep hill. I thought it over then said time to go. At 1:45 I set off for the last 5.4 miles of my day over and down   White Cap Mtn. I figured even at my slow pace I could get it done by 5:30. I reached the lean-to at 4:45. It wasn¢t too difficult after all. I did fall one time flat on my face. I put both feet on a wet root and fell forward. I put my hands in front of me to catch my fall. My hiking poles were still in my hands. The palms of my hands took the worst damage, bruised by the handles of my hiking poles. The added weight of my pack on my back made the fall more quick and harsh than I expected. When I was laying on the ground looking at the dirt, checking to see if anything was hurt I realized I couldn¢t get up. My hands were still in the wrist straps of the poles. The poles were pinned under me and my pack so I couldn¢t press up with my hands. I waddled and wiggled a while until I was able to roll over, and then stand. No major damage. I pushed on to finish my long day. Again I had the campsite all to myself.Just 71.4 miles to go.Clay
Date: 2006-09-28
From: Logan Brook Lean-to

To: Cooper Brook Falls
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

A short easy day. Rain is planned for tonight and I don¢t want to tent. I fear a heavy rain will result in a leak. After 3 nights of sleeping alone it looks like a full house tonight. The F-DOM, (Four Dirty Old Men) are here. They are; Veto, Handlebar, Grey Goose and Big Foot. Pepperoni and Jambalaya they are newlyweds honeymooning on the trail. And Three Dollar, a young speedster pushing hard to finish by Oct.1. This camp area is nice, with a waterfall and swimming hole. I took a brief skinny dip before anyone else arrived. Brisk, very brisk! Tomorrow into a hostel for shower, food, re-supply and hopefully laundry, I stink.Clay
Date: 2006-09-29
From: Cooper Brook Falls

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 13.8

The rain predicted last night never arrived. I packed up and was on the trail by 7:10 and the rain started by about 7:20. It was a cold rain. The temp was in the low 50s. Luckily there was no wind. The trail in the beginning was very good, smooth and slightly downhill reminiscent of early Georgia trail days. I right away set a fast pace with plans of getting out of the rain as soon as possible. The destination was a hostel 13.8 trail miles plus 1.2 miles off trail. I knew they served lunch until 1:00. I decided to give it my best try to get there in time to eat. The rain came down hard at times, but never really stopped completely. I did not put on my rain jacket as it makes me too hot. I wore my shorts, a long sleeve Patagonia shirt, my wool hat and light gloves. At times I got chilled, but never too much to concern me. When I got warm I took off my hat and or gloves. They act as dampers to control my body temperature. Most of the time the terrain allowed me to keep up the 3+ mile an hour pace, only when I came to the bog logs did I slow down. They were of course slippery. I came near falling only once. I reached the boat dock across the lake from the camp / hostel at 12:40. I blew the air horn and the proprietor came across the lake in his boat to get me. I made it in time to have the 1 pound cheese burger! I finished that up and then got a nice warm shower and have been working on drying clothes the rest of the day. I have only 45.9 miles to go. Tomorrow is supposed to be better weather but only for a day. I could be just 4 days away from summiting, but it depends on the weather. I am ready to finish, but will miss the trail and this experience. I have many thoughts on my mind, in the next few days I will work on putting then down in my journal. For now it is goodnight.Clay
Date: 2006-09-30
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The rain ended during the night. In the morning the sun was shining over the lake. I took a few pictures, and then ate breakfast in the lodge. By 9:15 I was ferried over to the other side of the lake and got started by 9:30. It was 1.2 miles back to the Appalachian Trail. From there on the day was stepping on, over or around mud, rocks or roots. Certainly not the nice terrain I had had the day before. Soon into the morning the shining sun went away, and the day was cloudy and windy. Rain was forecast for later in the day so I pushed it to get to the shelter. I arrived at 6:15 dead tired. My feet were wet, cold and sore. Even with all the calluses I have developed, when my feet are wet all day, blisters still develop. The shelter was to be full with me and Handlebar, Veto, Grey Goose, Big Foot and a section hiker named Strider. We all busied ourselves with cooking and preparing for bed. I put some moleskin on the blisters of my feet then zipped up in my bag. Only 30.1 miles to go.Clay
Date: 2006-10-01
From: Katadhin

To: Abol Bridge Campground
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Once again the forecast rain for the night did not materialize, but that is fine with me. The morning was cool. Today I had 15 miles left of the 100 mile wilderness to finish. For the past 85 miles there have been no paved roads to cross. No re-supply other than at the White House Landing where I stayed Friday night. Even they are isolated. They have a dirt logging road to use a few months out of the year, and after that it is boat, plane or snowmobile. The views atop the mountains have been nice. Rarely could I see any man made structures. It is impressive to see that there is still this much wilderness in the lower 48 states. Once again rain is predicted for late this afternoon and tonight so I pushed along to get to my destination. I will be in camp with the Four Dirty Old Men, Handlebar, Veto, Grey Goose and Big Foot. We are traveling at the same pace so I see then often during the day and usually camp at the same place as they. I finally saw a Maine Moose, a cow. She seemed annoyed that interrupted her eating and ran off into the woods when she spotted me. I still haven¢t seen a bull. Time is running out. I have 2 more hiking days left. I will summit Tuesday October 3 unless the weather upsets the plans. Tomorrow will be 10 miles to a campground at the base of the mountain. It is hard to believe this may be ending soon. I can say I have not regretted this adventure at any time. I am tired and ready for a break and to see family and friends. I will miss the trail and the life that goes with it. I am truly glad to have this journal to relive the trip again whenever I want from luxury of my recliner. For now it is rest time I have 15.1 miles to go to the top of Katadhin Mountain. Good night.Clay
Date: 2006-10-02
From: Abol Bridge Campground

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

The rain arrived last night. Never very hard so no leaks in the tent. I went to the little store and got some breakfast and snack foods then started on the trail by 8:00. Since I had only 10 miles to go today there was no need to rush. I took an easy pace along with the Four Dirty Old Men. The trail was mostly nice. We have one stream to ford. It is a choice between crossing on a thin, wet shaky log, or taking shoes off and wading. The current is fairly swift, but the depth is only of to my knees. I choose to wade. I would hate to walk all this way then take a tumble 10 miles short of my goal. The trees were in great color. It was a happy and sad day combined. I arrived at the campground and registered with the ranger to make my summit climb tomorrow. The weather is recommended to be good. Low 50¢s little wind, no rain and clear skies. Tonight all there is to do is eat snacks and dinner then turn in for the night. I am in the shelter with the Four Dirty Old Men. We are talking about laughs experiences we have enjoyed on the trail in the past 6 months. I hope I can sleep. Tomorrow, wow! Clay
Date: 2006-08-20
To: East Fork Trail Dayhike
Miles today: 0.0

Two weeks to go until I start my appalachian trail adventure!I am not in backpacking shape yet, but did a beautiful hike today paralelling the East Fork of the Dolores River in the Lizard Head Wilderness Area. This was a new trail for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Blue gentians, harebells, and my favorite wildflower, orange agoseris, were abundant. So were the mushrooms - too many types to count. My dog Grouper handled his new blaze orange pack just fine, but it didnt have much weight in it yet. He stayed closeby on the trail, even when a fat marmot was tempting him with calls from the rocks below. This is good because I dont want him to be scaring away wildlife, but also dont want him to have to always be leashed. Cocoa was more prone to re-inacting "The Hills Are Alive" by bounding through the grass with her tongue flopped to one side in a look of pure happiness. She's not coming on the trail, but would love it.Will I love it? Do I have the will power to hike day in and day out, mostly by myself? Will my knees get strong enough quickly enough? I'll find out soon enough.
Date: 2006-09-03
To: Springer Mountain, GA
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Finally hit the trail!I picked my parents up last night at the Atlanta airport and we drove to Dahlonega, GA. After some last minute gear buying and packing, we arranged a ride to the closest Springer Mountain access point, USFS road 42, and started hiking the 0.9 miles to the summit late in the afternoon. We took photos at the official southern terminus of the AT, and Dad signed the trail register. Then we re-traced our first 0.9 miles, and kept going to a campsite along Stover Creek, 3.6 miles in. Great to finally be hiking, and to have my parents with me!- Mallory
Date: 2006-09-04
From: Stover Creek

To: Justus Creek
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Broke camp and went 1.3 miles to Long Creek Falls, a beautiful waterfall just off the trail, for our first pack-off break. Soon after we resumed hiking, Grouper and I were both stung by yellowjackets that came up from a hole in the ground. I yelled back from Mom and Dad to go around to avoid the nest. As we hiked in the vicinity of Hawk Mountain, we heard a lot of gunfire in the distance from the army rangers training at Camp Merrill. We were planning to get water on the north side of Hawk mtn from a stream there, but it was dry. Luckily the army guys parked at Hightower Gap had water, and gave us some purple Gatorade. We went all the way to Justus Creek before we reached water agin, and camped there. Finding water is a problem since it has been a dry summer, and we have now made it a priority to fill up wherever it is available! Hot and steamy hiking in high humidity.
Date: 2006-09-05
From: Justus Creek

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

Awoke to rain, which is much needed but not that fun to pack up in and get going. Holed up in our tents waiting for it to pass, but it just got harder. Mom and Dad's tent was soon in a puddle, see the photos. Intermittent rain all day prevented any good views from Ramrock Mtn. As everything was wet, we debated going into town when we got to Woody Gap and a highway crossing. A local from Suches, GA was up at the gap using her cell phone, the only place it got reception, and offered us a ride. Her daughter Willow handed Mom her pet rat, and I was briefly afraid that Grouper might try to eat it, but he was too tired to care. We stayed at a biker resort called Two Wheels Only which is an honor system with self registratrion as the owner shows up only once a day. We were hoping for cold beer, but it turned out to be a dry county. We did laundry to dry all our stuff and re-supplied, and fell asleep happy to be dry.
Date: 2006-09-06
From: Woody Gap

To: Blood Mountain
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: few clouds

Went to breakfast at the BP station in Suches. Not Kidding. They had a hot breakfast buffet and it was the place to be in the morning, as everyone from Suches comes by. We got a ride back to the trailhead easily, and started hiking up and over Big Cedar Mtn. Dad and I went a long way down to a water source below Jarrard Gap that was just trickling, but enough to use the filter. Started up the side of blood mtn, which was steep but doable. We reached the top and had the shelter, built in the 1930's by the CCC, to ourselves. Made an excellent onion soup dinner on the large rocks at the summit facing a beautiful sunset, then spent the night in the shelter. I felt very strong today and not too tired, but Mom and Dad are exhausted.
Date: 2006-09-07
From: Blood Mountain

To: Tesnatee Gap
Miles today: 7.9

Decended Blood Mtn to Neels Gap and the Mountain Crossings Store, where we borrowed the owner's car to get to our car at nearby Vogel State Park. All of us wanted to leave some things at the car to reduce our pack weight, and we did a quick re-supply of Grouper food, etc from the car and store. Just as we were ready to start hiking again, it started raining. The afternoon was spent hiking in the clouds, at times getting very dark then raining again. We got to our planned campsite at Baggs Creek Gap pretty early, and didnt want to set up camp in the rain, so kept hiking. We didnt find a good place to camp before we got to Tesnatee Gap at a road crossing, so we decided to give ourselves 15 minutes to try to hitch a ride into town, or else we would start ascending again to find a camping spot. The very first vehicle that came alonmg on this scenic byway happened to be a short bus, and it immediately pulled over and told us to get in. The bus was from Bellevue Baptist Church in Paducah, KY, and we must have looked so miserable standing there in the rain that they thought it was their christian duty to pick us up. They drove the 3 of us, smelly and wet and traveling with a wet dog, into Helen GA where we found a hotel, took hot showers, and washed and dried our clothes. We ate at the Hoffbrau House, and learned about the transformation of Helen from a sawmill town into a German mountain themed resort from our waitress.
Date: 2006-09-08
From: Tesnatee Gap

To: Poplar Stamp Gap
Miles today: 6.7

Didnt get going until late by the time we got a ride back to the trailhead. We passed a lot of people today, including a guy from Atlanta whose trailname is Bookburner, and a group of teenage guys on an alternative youth program for substance abuse. It started raining again in the afternoon, and we walked til it stopped and set up camp at a small gap. Mom and I hiked down an old overgrown road built by the CCC to a small stream for water, and then the sky cleared for a pretty sunset and full moon rise. I adopted the trailname "web walker" since I usually go ahead and get all the spiderwebs in my face. Grouper is named "bee snapper" since he tries to catch bees and bugs in his mouth, but luckily isnt too successful. Bookburner told us that there were to two girls right behind us headed to Damascus, VA, so it might be nice to meet up and hike with them.
Date: 2006-09-09
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Gentle hiking this morning on a nice roadbed. We crossed paths with the two girls, Amy and Tine, who have an ambitious schedule to get to Damascus. They told us of their plans to stay in Hiawassee tonight and "slackpack" the 16 miles from Unicoi Gap to Dicks Creek Gap tomorrow. We decided to join them, and go to Hiawassee instead of Helen for the night.We took a side trail from Chattahoochee Gap to a spring that is the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. I stayed back to hike with Mom today, since it was her last day on the trail for awhile. More difficult hiking around the side of Rocky Knob, lunch at Blue Mtn shelter, and arrived at Unicoi by 3:00 pm. Ron from the Hiawasseee Inn loaded us into his van, and we went into town for hot showers, laundry, and dinner out. Genevieve and her boyfriend Nate and their friend Dave joined us for diiner which was fun.
Date: 2006-09-10
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up early and began slackpack day ~ 7am. Nice and cool hiking and a dry day. On the first descent to Indian Grave Gap, Dad, Grouper, and I were all stung by yellowjackets. I got 9 stings! Amy and Tina came along later and also each got stung. It put me in a bad mmod for a time, but I kept going. The rest of the day was nice, and we finished by 5 pm. It was a long day, but really nice not to have a pack on! Went back in to town, had Mexican food for dinner, and went to the grocery store, then bed. Great to have completed 75 miles so far!