morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-11
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Almost Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.9

Climbing and ChafingToday we got up early and did 6 miles into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). There we went to the outfitter to resupply for 2 days(pop tarts, crackers, ramen) and spent a total of $12. then we went to the restaurant for 1 lunch with big Un' and Pogue and spent $33. this is why towns are bad news. except if they are on the trail, like the NOC. after a relaxing afternoon by the water reading survivor and just chillin', we went upward and onward. The ascent out of the NOC is notoriously difficult. it is much more difficult than Georgia. more difficult than the "welcome to north carolina" climb out of bly gap. somehow, the trail takes up up 2000 feet in 7 miles. and its uphill the entire 7 miles. how this is possible, i don't know. it involves a lot of false summits. i lost count around 13. in other news, i have some serious chafing issues. these pants suck. i want a skirt. i also need a shower. and we are going to be in the smokies very soon!ATE: kudos, 1/2 snickers with almonds (yum), fig newton bar, cheddar and swiss and bacon burger, a salad and a big taco, 1/2 packet of ramen with 3 crumbled crackers.
Date: 2006-03-13
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 0.0

My First 0 Day This morning we woke up and got to see the sun rise over fontana lake. kerry drove us over to fontana village for a yummy breakfast at this bizarre resort town that has more construction workers than tenants. nugget was at breakfast too and we got to catch up with him. kerry had to get going, and we were all ready to pick up our mail drops and hit the trail when we ran into pogue and big un' who had mysteriously gotten ahead of us without passing us....then d rock and cayenne steve walked by and it was basically decided that hiking was not an option today. This is what is called a 0 day. 0 miles accomplished. my foot was still hurting, so that was the excuse. nugget told me how to treat it and i set out to get a room in fontana village. krispie got a new wood burning zip ztove from sierra stoves. it is really cool. first of all, it's titanium and weighs 8 ounces. there is a fan built into the stove that creates a convection current. you don't need to carry any fuel with you as long as you have something to burn (wood, pine cones, etc...). about a handful of twigs should cook dinner for 2. so gone is the whisper lite! We had a fancy dinner tonight with Nugget, Pogue and Big Un'. Fontana Village got their liquor license, so i got to have a gin and tonic. man that tasted good. the food is super pricy, but it's really good. ask for extra rolls. Here is a great story from Cayenne Steve and Drock: Steve and Drock are doing some early morning hiking in order to get to Fontana Dam early. They leave the shelter around 3 or 4 in the morning. As they are walking, Cayenne comes across a small glowing green thing about 1 foot off the ground behind a bush. it's definitely a cat's eye. he looks at it, and it looks at him. it's a one-eyed bob cat. Drock comes up and finds Cayenne spellbound. They need to pass the cat, who is not moving. They see the eye lower to the ground and know it's about to pounce. After some consultation, they decide to jump it. Did i mention that these guys are from baltimore? They get their knives out, hold their hiking poles like spears, and run towards the bush, ready to attack. On the other side of the bush is some hiker's tent! one guide line was reflecting off their headlamps and looked like a glowing eye! Now imagine what that poor hiker must have been thinking when he wakes in the middle of the night to hear, "you got your knife? Let's jump this thing."!! Looks like we'll hit the smokies tomorrow with clear skies and positive attitudes.
Date: 2006-03-14
From: Fontana VIllage

To: Russel Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Welcome To The Great Smokies National ParkIt's cold and clear today; the perfect day to start our journey into the smokies. We weren't able to hitch from fontana village back to the trail, so we had to walk. for some reason, a 2 mile walk to the trail head is a terrible way to start a day. i think it follows the same logic as driving a car to a park for your morning jog. the first four miles in the smokies take you to The Shuckstack where there is a tower with 360 degree views. the climb is notoriously steep and difficult. compared to the climb out of the NOC or out of Stocoah Gap, it was a breeze. Pirate, a thru-hiker who somehow always beats us into a town, told me that hikers who take the side trail to the tower and leave their packs on the AT have come back to find their packs ripped open by a "mama bear" who likes hiker food. then they have to hike back down to fontana dam to get more food and probably a new pack. i have unfortunately not had any encounters with bears. like on the rest of the trail, there is plenty of bear scat but no sightings. Some of the shelters in the smokies have metal fences across the front of them to prevent bears from coming in. the fences give you a sense of entrapment and lead many hikers to act carelessly because they know the bears can't come in. there are stories of bears walking up to the shelters and the hikers inside taunting them by banging pots and pans and throwing food around. its a terrible system that the Park is luckily removing.   there are quite a few college students and father-son groups out for spring break. we call them "breakers". a group of about 10 breakers had completely taken over the first shelter we came to today. they had laid all of their tents, sleeping bags, and clothes on the lawn on front of the shelter to dry, which is fine, but a bit of an eyesore. however, they had strewn the remainder of their belongings all around the shelter so that we didn't know how much room was left for thru-hikers. after hiking a couple hundred miles and living in the woods for 2 weeks, thru-hikers have a sense of ownership to the trail and the shelters. it is downright irritating to have some breakers taking up all the space on your trail. you must have a permit in order to camp in the smokies. you cannot travel in groups larger than 8. and you must use the shelters or campsites provided. the Park then saves 2 spots in each shelter for thru-hikers. if i am sleeping in a full shelter and a group comes up at 9pm, i would have to give up my spot and set up a tent. the smokies are amazingly pristine considering how many people hike them every year. the policies in place help contain the impact to very small areas. i agree completely with the policies and sometimes wished that other parts of the AT had fewer campsites, litter, toilet paper, fire rings, etc...or access to the trail could be limited to people that know how to minimize their impact on the wilderness, not taunt bears, and clean up after themselves. but that wouldn't be fair, would it?
Date: 2006-03-15
From: Russel Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: clear sky

Every well marked and poorly measured mile of the smokies is beautiful.we only hiked 10 miles today. not even. but it seemed like 15. Pogue even took a nap in the middle of the day. The forests are like upstate new york. they are dense, filled with pine trees, dark mosses and big trees. it has been clear, with few signs of bears. the shelter is full tonight, so we set up our tent along with big un' and some breakers. i like our tent so much more than a shelter filled with snoring hikers. at least in my tent, when i snore, i'm only bothering 1 person. pogue, big un', krispie and i are going to take a pilgrimage to gatlinburg tomorrow morning. we thought we could hitch from clingman's dome, but the road is closed for the winter. it looks like we'll have to walk down to newfound gap in order to hitch in. i want to get my capilene shirt airbrushed. gatlinburg may be one of a handful of places left in the world to get airbrushed stuff.
Date: 2006-03-16
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Grand Prix Motel
Miles today: 18.0

Pogue, Big Un', Krispie and i got an early start this morning. Big Un' set his watch alarm for 3am and we started hiking around 3:45. although it was cold when we went to sleep (at 6pm!), it was actually a lot warmer when we woke up. and cloudy. the full moon made night hiking pretty easy, but we all had head lamps too. the further we got, the colder it was. by the time we got to clingman's dome around 9:30am, there were flurries and it was really windy. the dome is the highest point in tennessee and the highest point on the appalachian trail. there is a huge concrete observation tower on the top of it, with a even bigger ramp to the top. there is also a secret room in the base of the ramp, where we snacked and built a fire in krispie's new wood burning stove. unfortunately, we had another 7 miles to walk on to newfound gap and into gatlinburg. we walked on clingman's dome road instead of the trail down to the gap (same mileage, less ups and downs). when we got about 100 feet below the dome, the skies were clear and it turned out to be a beautiful day. we all got a ride with a very nice lady that waits at newfound gap just to give hikers a ride to gatlinburg. she also had snacks and carrot juice for us! thanks for everything ms. demorest!
Date: 2006-03-17
From: Grand Prix Motel

To: Grand Prix Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Steak, Pancakes, and Funnel CakesHappy St. Patricks Day!after 3 days in the smokies, i decided it was time to take a break from all the pristine wilderness and enter the wildness of gatlinburg. now it seems i can't get out. since it's St. Patricks Day, we decided to live it up in Gatlinburg one more day. D rock and Cayenne Steve came into town today. Cayenne is leaving the trail and going back to Baltimore. it seems that there is a town ordinance requiring all restaurants to display large ads for steaks, pancakes, or funnel cakes. at one funnel cake place, i found a fresh hand-battered footlong corn dog and ate it in front of the smoky mountain aquarium (think about that). it was so big that people walking by carrying 64oz Big Gulp sodas, cotton candy, and 10 shopping bags stopped and said, "oh my gawd, would you look at the size of that corn dog!" and "get a load of that dog!"Krispie got his capiline shirt airbrushed. then we went to another airbrush place to get mine done, and the artist said that the paint would come right out of any shirt that's not at least 50% cotton. so i didn't get mine done. we'll have to wait and see if krispie's airbrush work comes out.
Date: 2006-03-18
From: Grand Prix Motel

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

krispie and i left d rock, pogue, and big un' at the grand prix, ate some breakfast, and began to hitchhike. After a hard time hitching back to newfound gap and a late start, we began hiking around 1pm. the terrain was a lot easier than the previous smoky miles, but still seemed to drag on forever. We hiked up to Charlie's Bunion, a stunning rock outcropping that gives breathtaking views of the endlessly deep green forest that defines the smokies. the smokies are awesome. and i mean that not like most people say it, but like they mean it in the bible. awesome.now i am sleeping in the shelter next to d-rock, who snores so loud and so strangely it is endearing. the inhale is a regular snore, but the exhale is a loud, long, high pitched "sshhhhhoooooooooooooooooo." adorable. it's pretty cold, but i've got a hot water bottle and 2 warm sleeping bags.tomorrow we will be out of the smokies and i will miss it. most people are not fortunate to get such clear weather in the smokies. it either rains or snows. its one of the wettest areas on the east coast.
Date: 2006-03-19
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Mountain Momas
Miles today: 21.2

The Janetor's First 20 Mile Day20 miles in the smokies seems like 25. 1 mile is 1.5 7.4 miles is 9. it's not the terrain that makes it tough; we've had cruising terrain the last 2 days. but when you know you are going at least 3 mph (i have a very keen personal odometer) and it takes you 5 hours to 10 miles, it doesn't make any sense. some old hikers told us a nice blue blaze to mtn. momas, where i am right now. 1 mile south of davenport gap, take the trail on the right. it goes straight down to the ranger station. follow the river to mtn. momas. you'll save the 1.5 mile road walk. you deserve it. you just finished the smokies.Mountain Momas is an old schoolhouse converted to a shop and grill. chicken strips and french fries were all we could get since we got there after closing hours, but the cheeseburgers are notoriously good. For $15.00, Krispie and I got to set up our tent, do laundry and take showers. Space in a bunk room is also available for $15.00/night per person. It is at least 20 degrees warmer down out of the mountains. or there is a storm coming. either way, i am warm and content.
Date: 2006-03-21
From: Ground Hog Creek Shelter

To: Elmer's
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

When Blue Blazing Goes Wrong. or, Get A MapThis morning looked dreary. we decided to go into town via a blue blaze to the road. bad move, janetor. last night we had heard many cars driving by and figured the groundhog creek trail went to the road. we were wrong. the trail goes 2 miles to I-40. more specifically, a fence next to I-40. it is a delightful trail, smooth, with a few creek crossings. from I-40 we followed the Rube Rock Trail along I-40 in the direction of the AT, until it unexpectedly took a turn back the way we came. the whole day we watched the mountains we had climbed the day before from another ridge. we finally got to a forest service road, which dead ended, then went back and found another road. we followed the road down a mountain to a sign that said "exit." really. it was absurd. and the exit to a parking lot in a state park. the park had a map that showed us we had gone roughly 10 miles to get 3 miles on the AT. yes. we had gone to Brown Gap, just 2.9 miles from Groundhog Creek Shelter.We stopped the next car we saw and these nice fellows took us 45 minutes out of the way to Hot Springs. We got into Hot Springs around 4:30, got a place at Elmer's, and got some food at the Paddler's Pub with grizzly, cruze, applesauce, and salsa. Good cheeseburgers. better wings. don't get bacon, it comes in bits.Lessons Learned: Not All Trails Lead to Hot Springs.
Date: 2006-03-22
From: Elmer's

To: Elmer's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zero DayOur things are still not dry and elmer's is so warm, even in the basement. so i'm taking a zero day and doing a work for stay. i gathered leaves from the garden and piled them in the truck bed, then went to dump them off at elmer's farm outside of town. this might have been the most rediculous thing i have done. but i got free room and board for the night.I ate breakfast at the diner across from elmers. get the griddle plate. it is huge. and good. the paddler's pub keeps stealing my money.
Date: 2006-03-23
From: Elmer's

To: Rich Mountain Fire Tower
Miles today: 6.5

Chance EncountersAfter a decent breakfast at Elmer's consisting of soy biscuits, healthy cinnamon rolls without icing or real butter, and lots of muesli, krispie and i were kinda ready to get back to hiking. but first, a delightfully small world story:Yesterday while working in the garden, i realized that one of the workers at elmers was mattthew mcguire, an old friend from birmingham that i hadn't seen in at least 10 years. we lived about 1 mile from each other and had gone to elementary school together. at the mediocre breakfast (there wasn't even yogurt. or pancakes. or real butter.) i was talking to a guest that was not a hiker. i told her i was from birmingham, and she said, "i knew you looked familiar! i'm erin cook. we played softball together." and so it was. i told her that matt was here as well, and she looks across the table at him and says, "i didn't even recognize you. i used to change your diapers!" how likely is it to find three avondale/forest park kids in hot springs, nc? i don't know. krispie and i walked out of town, across the french broad, and up to lover's leap. we took out our new map and worked on some map and compass skills. then we decided to go back down to hot springs via another trail and up to the rich fire tower on a faster, more direct route. see, maps are handy. the trail we took happened to be the old AT. of course it was much more direct. and had a better grade. we got to the tower and found it had been vandalized since krispie had been there 4 years ago. all the windows were busted out and covered in plywood. shards of glass covered the floor, but we managed to find a place to sleep. as we went to bed, i looked at the sky and commented on the very brooding clouds and lack of wind. a storm was a-brewing. sure enough, snow soon began to fall.my motivation for hiking the AT is completely gone. i am perfectly happy going 6.5 miles to sleep in a trashed fire tower. maybe we'll zero here tomorrow...
Date: 2006-03-24
From: Rich Mountain Fire Tower

To: Seven Devils
Miles today: 4.5

Good Old OttoIt was a storm. 6 inches of snow. and not sierra snow. appalachian snow. which is decidely not motivating. this isn't even my trail. we were going to zero at the tower, but realized we would have to get water in order to eat, which was .5 miles down the trail. we might as well call otto and get him to pick us up in hot springs. and shoot, why hike the full 8 miles on the AT when we can take the blue blaze back to hot springs in 4.5? so off to Hot Springs in the slushy snow.Otto picked us up and we went out to pizza in Asheville, which was cheap compared to the inflated restaurants that rob AT hikers. then it was off to Boone and Kimmie's house, who was going out of town for the weekend and needed someone to watch her dogs anyway. and while we're in boone, why not go to banff film festival Sunday?
Date: 2006-03-26
From: Boone

To: John Robert's Apartment
Miles today: 0.0

Today we hung out in Boone, got up way too early, put some mouse traps in our storage unit (lesson learned: don't leave food in a storage unit), got our film developed, and went to Banff Film Festival. Banff was really cool. i saw a film of a 10 year old climber doing a v10 route. that's really difficult. she has set a few world records. and she is 10. her name is cicadia. i saw a film about some french guys who tried to climb all peaks in the alps above 400 meters (13000 feet) and one died in the process. and a kayaking film, and a few more. i was overwhelmed by the huge screen and masses of people.it is incredible how unused to the "real world" you can become after just a month of hiking. what will i think after 5 months?? what will i act like? it reminds me of the part in a walk in the woods where katz is killing mice in the shelter with his nalgene bottle and not thinking anything of it. looking at the mice remains on the bottle the following morning, bryson comments on just how uncivilized they had become.it's too late to get to miss janet's tonight, so we're staying at John's place and heading back to the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Miss Janet's
Miles today: 8.3

Today we drove from boone to Miss Janet's Hostel in Erwin, TN. after hanging out for a little bit, Miss Janet drove us up to Indian Grave Gap and we hiked down to the Nolichucky River. there are quite a few hikers here who have been somewhat stranded here, doing slack packs and avoiding too much snow. Jolly Green Giant went out this morning to go up roan mountain. he was stopped by tar heel, the man who wrote the first guide to the AT, Beer and Ice Cream Lover's Guide to the AT, who had gone up Roan and told Jolly there was too much snow on the other side to get to the shelter before dark. after walking 1 mile in 1 1/2 hours, jolly was ready to accept a ride back to miss janet's.i ran into zama and lug, who had been walking through snow drifts up to zama's waist. i was glad we had gotten off the trail.
Date: 2006-03-28
From: Miss Janets

To: Miss Janet's
Miles today: 4.0

Today Feral, Megan, Brutus the dog, Krispie and I took a short trip to find the ghost town Lost Cove. Lost Cove used to be a mining town and then came on hard times and was deserted. The AT used to run through it and there are a few charcoaled pictures of hikers from the '70s. Kripsie had been there before but had come from Spivey Gap north. This time we started at the Nolichucky River and followed the railroad tracks south to a trail off the tracks and up to the town. After hiking on the tracks about 1 mile and dodging 2 trains (well, getting off the tracks as very slow moving freight trains rolled by), we followed a trail up a small tributary to find another type of lost cove. The trail did not lead us to the abandonded mining town, but it did lead us to a delightful cove with 2 small waterfalls and many sticks for Brutus.At miss janet's, i got to do some sudoku puzzles with Wayferer, a master chess player and puzzler. Very late in the evening, he played a game of chess against Krispie and Ron without looking at the board. i would call out where they moved (using the ranks and files he had taught me) and he would then tell me where to move. He did this almost the whole game, which was rediculously long. i was very impressed to say the least.I am becoming more and more satisfied with our decision to bail out of the snow after hot springs. jolly green giant said it took him an hour to do just over a mile up roan mountain. i just don't have the want to do that. unfortunately i have come to the realization that if i do 20 miles tomorrow, i will still have 2700 miles left on the PCT. if i do 5 miles, still 2700 left. and 0 miles? 2700 miles left. so why hike?? i enjoy it tremendously. i also like beign able to do 20 mile dayhikes. what a great feeling!
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Miss Janet's

To: Kincora
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a nothing day. i picked up some sock liners at Mahoney's Outfitter in Johnson City. They are Bridgedale Coolmax and they ROCK! they contain a lot more lycra than most sock liners so they stay in place and don't bunch up. i'm sold!then it was over to dennis cove and bob people's kincora hostel. kincora is right off the trail and known by many as the best hostel on the trail. the hostel is a cabin with bunks, a kitchen, a microwave!, couches, a wood stove, washer and dryer, bathrooms and a shower. They ask for a $4 donation per night. it is worth much much more. bob and pat are wonderful people that give a lot back to the trail. bob is a trail maintainer with the tennessee eastman hiking club and head of HARDCORE. hardcore is a time for hikers to give back to the AT by doing some trail maintanance. this year, they will be building a new shelter! if you are planning on being at trail days, do hardcore with bob on sunday and monday. it's fun and you get to have some yummy food at the end. in the evening, dragonslayer, a trail angel for the week, brought yahtzee and woody crow up from 19E. messenger and braveheart also stayed the night. it was good to meet people that we had been reading about (in registers and online) for so long. we went to Hampton, got some ice cream, soda, and fixins for chili, and went to sleep.
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Kincora

To: Kincora
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

YES! 24 miles today! what a great day for hiking. cool morning, sparse clouds. a great day. krispie, woody crow, yahtzee and i took a 24 mile slack pack from 19E back to Kincora in about 6 hours. we met jolly green giant along the way and bluebird and abandon came to the shelter a bit later. we cooked a big pot of chili for everyone and hung out listening to Bob's stories.and hey superman-call your dad!