morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-28
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Lodge
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Thursday morning, March 28 2013, found me with no breakfasts, so I saved a couple of minutes on my departure time! I was second to leave, behind a hard-charger named Rock, but had to move slowly over icy trails: The sun had done some melting, but where hikers had walked the snow was hard-packed and had even become ice. I removed my poles¢ rubber tips. Tallulah and Thunderfoot soon passed me, as (eventually) did everyone else! But, still, I never fell. Around 12:15 PM I joined a few young thru-hikers having lunch at Cable Gap Shelter, and took a couple of photos. We then began, with Werdigo bringing up the rear of course, the 5.5 mile trek down to Fontana.        Mercy, but that trail was maddening! I¢d lost my GA-line-to-Fontana map and related guidebook pages somewhere south of Sassafras Gap, so I had to rely on the blazes. Apparently the trail makes long switchbacks descending the west side of a high ridge down to the level of the lake. So... this supposedly northbound descending walker often found himself walking uphill and south! I often wondered if I¢d missed a turn and was backtracking over trail I¢d already walked! ¢Believe your compass¢ is generally a good rule, but I had a feeling about those switchbacks, and eventually came to a sharp turn with a professional, official sign: ¢AT North,¢ it read, pointing compass South, and its ¢AT South¢ arrow pointed compass North! I gratefully continued to walk northbound on the trail (south, by my compass!) and finally, about 3:45 PM, wound up at the shuttle call phone at a rest-room building just off Route 28.         In less than 10 minutes I was enjoying the chance to sit down, riding in the Lodge¢s Subaru SUV! By 4:15 PM, I was in my room, 246 in Garden Building A. I looked forward to two ¢zero¢ days, having added a third night to my stay, and immediately telephoned my wife, begging her to get my Microspikes to the Post Office before 5:00 PM for overnight shipping to me at the Lodge. There was no cell coverage at Fontana, so I had to use the Lodge¢s in-room telephone for which a charge was levied. There was also no restaurant except that of the Lodge, so any meal not pulled out of one¢s pack or cobbled together from the grocery store had to be purchased there. The meals, and my stay overall, were fine, but my final bill was about twice what the room itself cost. I have no notes about Thursday¢s dinner; I believe it was a quiet meal, eaten alone in the restaurant.
Date: 2013-03-29
From: Fontana Lodge

To: Fontana Lodge
Miles today: 0.0

After a pleasant first night at Fontana Lodge, Friday morning (March 29, 2013) I walked over to the main building for breakfast (a nice cheese omelet) and returned to the room. At 9:00 AM, when his office opened, I telephoned my doctor to ask for help with my right knee. Lodge personnel had already informed me how to obtain medicine from the nearest pharmacy, Kerr¢s in Robbinsville, so I called Jeff Hoch of Hikers¢ Inn. For $50 he picked up the prescribed steroid pack, and it was waiting for me at the desk at 2:00 PM when I returned from the laundromat and General Store. Also waiting for me was a nice new Olympus digital audio recorder from my wife, my own mail-drop box, and a ¢care package¢ from my daughter and her husband with additional food and foil-packaged hand and foot warmers! I must have told them about the 13 degree nights, snowy trails, and warnings about snow and ice in the Smokies!        One reason for the extra ¢zero¢ at Fontana was to rest my right knee. Besides starting on my home doctor¢s prescribed steroid (anti-inflammatory) treatment, I tried to RICE it as much as possible (rest, ice, compression, elevation). It would have been better not to have to walk uphill to another building to obtain ice and soft drinks, but the machines in Garden Building A were not functional, and the public computer, restaurant, and main desk were also in the main building. The Lodge provided no in-room coffee, so I ¢brewed¢ instant on the Pocket Rocket. Some time during the day, as I was waiting to use the public computer up in the lobby, I met Tenderfoot. He was staying a couple of nights at the Lodge, to visit with his brother who worked at the Dam.        As I was finishing dinner Friday night, I noticed some of my hiking friends at a large circular table: Backtrack, Blackhawk Bob, Herb (now ¢Two Sticks¢), and Turtletracks. There were a couple of other thru-hikers whom I did not know. They invited me to join them and I did, for an enthusiastic toast to ¢Fontana!¢ I sure wish I¢d had my camera with me.
Date: 2013-03-30
From: Fontana Dam

To: Route 28
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: clear sky

        Saturday, March 30 2013, was not quite a ¢zero,¢ but almost; at 112 miles, I¢d barely call it even a ¢nero¢ (near-zero)! After breakfast in the restaurant (another nice cheese omelet), some work on the pack, and starting to crawl up the learning curve of the new Olympus recorder, I arranged for a shuttle ride ($3) to Fontana Dam ¢ the actual dam, I mean ¢ arriving there about 11:00 AM. Wanting to start the next stage of my hike there, I needed to pick off the 112 mile or so between it and Route 28. It was also a test of my knee, a smooth trail on a beautiful day with no pack. I stopped to see the ¢Fontana Hilton,¢ a great 20-person shelter, where I chatted briefly with Flipper; an aspiring farmer who I¢d met before (he firmly believes machinery makes us poorer by throwing people out of work) and is leaving the trail soon. Farther toward 28 I met Camel (a pleasant young man who I¢ve met before; he knew my name) and Pumpkin King, heading north with their full packs. At the Rt. 28 parking lot the shuttle (for another $3) promptly returned me to the Lodge.        At the Lodge that afternoon I was thrilled to find the overnighted Microspikes; the past weeks' winter weather explained why the General Store had none, and I'd heard there were none for many miles around. I obtained the Great Smoky Mountain National Park backcountry-camping pass, using the public computer, grateful to Blackhawk Bob for pointing out the difference between the receipt for payment and the actual pass itself. Tenderfoot was using the machine too, so we chatted a bit. It was a delight to meet Slow But Sure and Because Of Her at the Lodge; it had probably been a week since we¢d first met on the trail. I must have mentioned my concern about my food supply being inadequate for the Smokies, because she said they had too much and offered me their extras! I was touched by Slow¢s kind offer, but a more careful inventory of my own drop box, my daughter¢s supplement, and a couple of bags from the fine, well-stocked General Store, indicated I was in good shape. I spent some of the day RICE¢ing, using a black neoprene knee brace that had been given to me by a man at breakfast Friday. (Hearing him talk of airports, I¢d asked about them, worried I¢d have to bail due to my knee. He said Knoxville was closest, but offered to give me one of his knee braces, summarily rejecting my offer of modest payment.)        Sunday morning I met Slow and Because at breakfast in the restaurant. They were considering another zero at the Lodge ¢ I believe they¢d arrived after me. They very kindly invited me to join them, but I wanted to plan my day¢s hike, studying the map and guidebook, so I begged off in what I hope was an inoffensive manner. They were so kind I¢d feel bad if I hurt their feelings. I don¢t think I did, because Slow came over a short time later and asked if she could take my photograph! I wish I had one of her and Because.
Date: 2013-03-31
From: Fontana Dam

To: Mollie Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0

Sunday, March 31 2013, I was dropped off at the dam at 8:50 AM (another $3!), carrying about 9 days of food for probably a 42 lb pack. In cool pleasant weather I walked across the impressive dam and up a road, picking up the forest trail and the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest permit box at 9:26 AM. I wore the black neoprene sleeve on my right knee, but have no way of knowing if it helped. The sign at the permit box said 9.9 miles to the Mollie Ridge Shelter.        The long ascent from the dam to the ridge was in warm, muggy weather; I considered shorts and T-shirt but anticipated cooler weather at higher elevations. It was a nice day for hiking. Shortly after 10:00 AM I snapped a self-photo with Fontana Lake below, and about 11:30 was passed by a friendly young man named Hammer. (He complimented my steady pace; we were to see each other several times later.) Shortly before noon I passed the Shuckstack fire tower, and at noon stopped for lunch at an intersection with the Benton McKay Trail. It was about 6 miles to the shelter, I figured.        The afternoon trail was generally pleasant, smooth and covered with leaf duff. Shortly after 1:00 PM, as another young man overtook me, a southbound ¢Ridgerunner,¢ some kind of ranger I guess, asked about our permits ¢ just whether we¢d had any trouble getting them, whether we¢d deposited the bottom sections in the box, and our home states. (The young man¢s was Pennsylvania.) He said Mollie and the next two shelters were empty, and that the next two (beyond Mollie) were easy to walk to ¢ he seemed to be encouraging us to go on beyond Mollie.        The day brightened a bit, and at 2:00 PM I could see my shadow on the ground. There were a few patches of snow in the woods, just a few square feet each, and at 2:20 PM I photographed the trail ahead. But light rain began, and continued until I rolled in to the Mollie Ridge Shelter at 3:45 PM. Backtrack, Turtletracks, and Two Sticks (Herb) were also there that night, which was warm and pleasant. I actually removed my bag liner, unnecessary in the relative warmth. This shelter is known for its exposure to wind; for protection, its open face was covered by large tarpaulins. In my home territory, the Adirondacks, this is forbidden, but it seemed to be common in the Smokies.
Date: 2013-04-01
From: Mollie Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

April Fools¢ Day, Monday April 1 2013, began with my 8:15 AM departure from the Mollie Ridge Shelter. We were warned by a SOBO to expect snow everywhere north of Mollie, but the day was bright and sunny and cool, perhaps about 50°F. A 9:20 AM photo shows the trail. Russell Field Shelter arrived at 10:05 (not much longer than the Ridgerunner¢s 1:30 estimate from Mollie... I was proud!), and Spence Field at 11:48. I stopped at Spence for water and lunch, sent a SPOT message to my family, and pulled out at 12:25 PM. (The ¢fields¢ were open areas with long grasses of some kind ¢ brownish-yellow at this time of year. I later took a photo of such an area.)        After lunch the dominant task was the ascent of Thunderhead Mountain. I thought I¢d reached its summit, trudging up one slow step at a time, at 1:30, but later decided that rise was not even noted in my trail guide! At 1:45 I noted that I was descending down off the mountain, but that was just the guidebook¢s ¢rocky outcropping¢; at 1:56 I finally reached and photographed the Geodesic Survey brass bolt (elevation 5527¢) at Thunderhead¢s summit. At 2:35 PM I encountered another bolt, this one at 5,040¢ elevation. The trail turned a bit less rocky, welcome because those rocky ascents were tough on my right knee.        I knew the Derrick Knob Shelter was just over a peak, after ascending from a gap, so at every little gap and its subsequent rise I¢d anticipated the shelter. This gap/rise combo seemed to occur time after time ¢ it was rather discouraging. Finally at 4:24 PM I met a ¢Sugartree Gap 4435¢ ¢ sign; my map showed one more mile and 500¢ elevation gain to the shelter. I chugged in shortly after 5:00 PM; Backtrack was there, but Turtletracks and Two Sticks were still behinds us, on the trail.        It was colder that night, but water bottles inside the tarp-enclosed shelter did not freeze, though there was ice on the path down to the water source in the morning. Some shelter-mates, including Backtrack and Two Sticks, were planning a 13.5 mile day, over Clingman¢s Dome, but not me! The woman beside whom I¢d slept, a 62-year-old retiree named Tina, had come only from Spence Field yesterday and, like me, was headed only the 6.2 miles to the Double Spring Gap Shelter, the last shelter before we NOBOs reached Clingman¢s.
Date: 2013-04-02
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

Tuesday, March 2 2013, was to be a short day so I left Derrick Knob late, at 10:05 AM, finding the trail pleasant but the weather a bit cool. At noon I stopped for lunch (and to send a SPOT message) at what I think was Buckeye Gap, and snapped a couple of photos of this pleasant area; I sure hope the azure blue sky is evident! From 2:00 to 2:10 I had a quick snack at the Silers Bald Shelter; Tina and Pop-pop (another name assigned by a grandchild) were relaxing there in the sun. Around 2:45 I crested a ridge and took South and North landscape shots. The northbound photo seemed to show scattered fir trees on otherwise bare slopes, looking very strange; eventually I realized they were simply fir trees in a dense deciduous woods that, at this time, bore no leaves. A closer look revealed some of those leafless deciduous trees.        It was only 3:15 PM when I pulled into Double Spring Gap Shelter. The AT is on the NC/TN state line for many miles along here, and at this shelter there is a NC spring in front of the shelter and a TN spring behind it! Tina and Pop-pop rolled in a bit later, but ¢ incredibly, to me ¢ Backtrack and Two Sticks, who were here about 2:00 PM, chose to continue another 7 miles, over Clingman¢s to the next shelter! They were eager to reach Gatlinburg, I think. Tina and I were neighbors again in the shelter that night; with my thin Z-Rest and 32° bag, I envied her air mattress and thick puffy bag.
Date: 2013-04-07
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

I enjoyed three ¢zeroes¢ and a ¢nero¢ in Gatlinburg ¢ zeroes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 5-7 2013 and most of Thursday, after the morning¢s tense 5-mile dash to Newfound Gap. The luxury was enjoyable (shelter, plumbing, bed, television, restaurant food), but of course these days raison d¢etre was the knee problem, and that created considerable anxiety. I loved the ¢herbivore¢s¢ vegetarian pizza at Big Daddy¢s, a five-minute walk from the motel, but the Gatlinburg Subway restaurant wasn¢t worth the trouble. One woman was handling a busy lunch crowd alone and I was unable to persuade her to make what was, in effect, a cheese sub; she added just a few slices of cheese to a pile of lettuce and tomato, and the price (Veggie with the charge for extra cheese) was more than a roast beef¢s.        The Motel 6 (nee Red Roof Inn) was really nice. The price (before taxes, etc.) was only $40 per night and the service was excellent. The housekeeping crew cleaned the room and made the bed every day, and the front-desk people were friendly and helpful. Most hikers were staying next door at the Gran Prix, and I don¢t remember what its rooms cost; fortunately, at my age, it was unnecessary to pinch pennies (or even double sawbucks). It certainly was, when I was the age of many of my fellow thru-hikers!         It was great to meet Slow But Sure and Because Of Her in the Walgreen¢s one day, and to chat with DB Cooper in front of his Gran Prix Motel as I was returning ¢home¢ one afternoon. DB told me of a young man with heel blisters so severe that they had become infected and caused blood poisoning ¢ ¢septic,¢ I think is the word. He received professional medical treatment just in time to avoid amputation... and, of course, was planning (against the doctor¢s advice) to return to the trail. I stopped in at the NOC a couple of times, buying an Eno hammock and the recommended strap system; I met Backtrack there Friday, much to my delight, as he waited for their Newfound Gap shuttle. Later that day I wrote up my trek from Fontana to Gatlinburg and mailed it to my wife.         Much of the time was caring for the knee, alternating icing it with the Walgreen¢s flexible pack and resting and elevating it using the new brace. As my call to Discount Taxi Service ($80 to Knoxville Airport) shows, I was still quite concerned about my right knee. My memories and notes of the stay in Gatlinburg are a bit vague ¢ mostly, resting the knee while watching television! I walked the main street a few times, amused at the hillbilly attractions but not succumbing to any of them.        Sunday I made my decision: NO AIRPORT! I worked on my pack, ate the food I didn¢t want to carry with me, and, with the usual excitement, prepared to hit the trail again tomorrow morning.
Date: 2013-04-08
From: Gatlinburg

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

Monday, April 8 2013, it was back to business after 312 zeroes in Gatlinburg, and despite concern about my right knee was eager to be on the trail again as I donned my hiking clothes. I checked out of the Motel 6 at 9:30 and trundled down the hill to the Nantahala Outdoor Center for its ~10:00 AM shuttle to Newfound Gap. Seven others filled the van.        After a couple of photos I left the large Newfound Gap parking area, walking cautiously and tentatively, at 10:50 AM. This was to be a 3-mile trial, just to the first shelter (Icewater Spring). If the knee didn¢t feel right, I¢d backtrack Tuesday for the morning NOC shuttle back to Gatlinburg and a taxi to the Knoxville Airport.        The walk was a bit rocky and hilly, but seemed to go fairly well, and I arrived at Icewater at 1:10 PM ¢ 2 hours for 3 miles is my normal 40-minute-mile pace. Several people were already there, but I snagged a spot beside an effusive young woman named (she explained, with some chagrin) Candypants, after the candy-cane design on her pajama pants. She had started March 11 also, and was with me our first night at the Stover Creek Shelter!        The Icewater register showed Wild Rain ¢passing through¢ on March 31, Triple Step, Camel, and Pumpkin King on April 2, and Mallette on April 4. Pop-pop, Great Legs, Blackhawk Bob, and Turtletracks were at Icewater April 5, and DB Cooper April 6. Candypants told me that Fun Size and Bottle Cap pulled off for a week due to her grandmother¢s death.        One young woman at Icewater had an excellent tarp setup; her name was Wooden Spoon, and I was to meet her often in the next few days. An older grandmotherly woman, a small woman with tightly pulled-back gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses, was tenting on the hill above the shelter. I was to meet her often, too: Tracy McG, named by her husband after Dick Tracy and MacGyver. It was impressive to see Tracy move strongly with a pack probably as heavy as mine (~40 lbs.)! I do not publicly guess women¢s ages, but privately put Tracy¢s somewhere around my own 68. I couldn¢t help but think of Granny Clampett, on The Beverly Hillbillies, and the Beach Boys¢ song with the refrain ¢Go Granny, Go Granny, Go Granny Go!¢ (¢The Little Old Lady from Pasadena¢?) It must have tickled the young folks to see Tracy and me together ¢ I know it would have me, when I was 20!        It was a long, relaxing afternoon at Icewater ¢ not that I really needed that, after 312 zeroes and a 3-mile day! Several of us slackers enjoyed the warm, bright sun in the field at the front of the shelter, caught up on our trail notes and snacking, and chatted pleasantly. I was pleased with my knee, and was confident I could go on: the option of returning tomorrow morning for an ignominious shuttle back to Gatlinburg was solidly rejected that fine afternoon!
Date: 2013-04-13
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Saturday, April 13 2013, I was up at 6 and out of my Walnut Mountain tarp site at 7:53AM, encountering a delightful camping area (level, with a fire ring, amid pines) half an hour later! I wished I¢d implemented my idea of wild-camping beyond the shelter! Dyno-DNA passed ¢ everyone seemed to be hustling to get to Hot Springs today, but not me! With a short 10-mile day planned, I was relaxed and comfortable, enjoying the delightful trail. About 10:30 I came to an area with no understory, just tall deciduous trees through the woods in all directions, like a park. It was cool, with a clear blue sky. I filled one Platypus bag at a marked spring, and enjoyed the slow relaxed walk. I came to an area with green ground cover on both sides of the trail ¢ low, needle-like leafed plants covering the ground between the trees. Around noon I began to encounter some pines, and then balsam firs ¢ most welcome! I reached Garenflo Gap at 12:22 (Deer Park Shelter 3.4 mi, Hot Springs 6.6 mi), just after chatting with two pleasant men clearing blowdowns with a chain saw. Only 2 hours later, at 2:27 PM, I depacked in a delightful pine-needle laden flat camping area behind Deer Park Shelter.        With the tarp erected, I also set up the Eno hammock between two trees immediately beside the tarp, and was enjoying coffee (brewed on the ground beside the hammock, without getting up!) when Salsa and Twix arrived. Salsa again expressed concern for my knee, asked my age (I was too chivalrous to ask hers), and we talked a little about each other. (She just retired from a 36-year career with State Farm Insurance, some kind of systems or claims analyst, I think.) I hoped to see Tracy McG, but she never showed at Walnut Mountain either. Twix, at my request, snapped a photo of me drinking (supposedly) coffee in my hammock. (Since I¢d already had 2 cups, this photo¢s prop was just water!) Twix was amused. Nice girl.        It was a beautiful starry night at Deer Park, but cool enough that I used my sleeping-bag liner.
Date: 2013-04-14
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Hot Springs NC
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: clear sky

At our delightful Deer Park Shelter campsite, Salsa and Twix, and I, started to move about 6:00 AM, Sunday April 14 2013, but they were out way before me. (They had no reservations in Hot Springs, and were a little concerned about accommodations.) I reached the AT at 7:52, and was passed 10 minutes later by Wooden Spoon, whose great tarp setup was near mine (I photographed it before she got up), and her dog Guya. At 9:40 I left Pisgah National Forest and was photographed at a plaque by a nice young woman. After a brief false start down Serpentine Avenue, I found the AT, and at 9:57 AM was seated for breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner!        Half an hour later, I found nobody at the Iron Horse reception desk, so I walked across the street to do laundry at The Wash Tub. Returning while the machines were doing their work ¢ Moonshiner was there, too ¢ I met Beverly, the outgoing and helpful Iron Horse hostess, and was smoothly checked in. After a little bit of confusion about rooms, I landed in 201, a large airy room with double-hung windows that opened, and a nice king-sized bed, bathroom with tub and shower... but no in-room TV! That night, though, I had the adjacent TV lounge all to myself, and enjoyed ¢The Amazing Race¢ and ¢The Good Wife,¢ darting next door to my bathroom during commercials just as I would have at home! Salsa, who I met at The Wash Tub, had chosen Alpine Court because it had TVs in rooms.        With a two-night reservation, I relaxed and looked forward to a full zero tomorrow.        Monday, April 15 2013, I strolled down to the Smoky Mountain Diner for breakfast. Sunday and Monday, though, I had lunch and dinner right at the Iron Horse. It was nice to find a Dollar General store, near the diner, and I shopped there twice. An outfitter had a public-use computer, so I was able to send email messages to my family. On Monday my drop box arrived, and when I picked it up at the Post Office I mailed home my Microspikes and various papers that I¢ll no longer need. It was tempting to hang around for yet another zero day, enjoying the luxuries of towns, but Tuesday it¢s back to business!