morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-01
From: Hiawassee

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Fitbit: 10,086 steps.We spent most of our first day off walking around town to different stores to resupply. We hit the Dollar General, Fred's, the $2 store, Ingles (a grocery store chain) and the local outfitter for fuel. It was fun to go to different stores, talk with people and see what we could find. For lunch, we ate at a local favorite, Georgia Mountain Restaurant, where we were served very generous portions that we could not finish, even with a hiker appetite! For dinner, we decided to "eat in" and picked-up a nice bottle of wine from Bacchus and some snacks from the grocery store. Nice way to end our day off!
Date: 2015-04-02
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 9.0

We are ready to head back on the trail after our first zero day! This morning, while waiting for our shuttle in the hotel lobby, we met Katwalk and Bonbon, two ladies whose blogs I had read online before we left. It is nice and a little funny to meet "trail celebrities" in person! They were in town with a friend and their son, so we chatted for a little while. Getting back to Dicks Creek Gap, we bumped into Gary, a trail angel from earlier, and Eric, our shuttle driver from TOG. It is interesting how we bump into the same people every few days!
Date: 2015-04-15
From: Fontana Village

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 0.0

We spent our third zero day to date near the Fontana Dam in NC. I had all these plans to catch-up on the blog today, but here we are at 8:15pm and the day is almost over... Yes, hiker bed time is kind of early I uploaded pictures and added captions, so you can see what we have been up to since last time. All is going well! Below are some highlights of the past week and, when I have a chance, I will back-fill the other entries from the handwritten journal I keep while we are on the trail.- I have a trail name! Justin proposed Stretch since I like to stretch before we leave, during breaks, when we get to camp, etc. He still has to get a trail name. People have proposed a few but nothing has stuck yet...- We have been fortunate to get more trail magic from very kind people (see pictures). - We have met many hikers including Enoch, Mosy, Splinter, Stabby Eyes, Song Byrd, Buddha, Too Loud!!, Clover and M&M (known together as the 8-paws hikers), Miles, Corey, Micro, Big Foot,Short Legs, Bald Eagle, Tank, Wing Nut & Foxy, Beverly, Harley, Two Bad Dogs, Faster Dad, Spider Monkey, Whoopi Cat, Stripes, Shades, Tic and Pocahontas. - We often end-up hiking around the same group for a few days at a time, so it has been nice to get to know some of the people I listed above a little better. The hiking community is a great one! More to come on that later.- For our last two camping nights, we have tried a new pattern. Instead of making dinner where we will be sleeping, we stop at a shelter to make an early dinner (around 4-5 pm), take a break, talk with people and then keep on going for 1-3 miles to our camping site. Getting a big meal and taking an extended break gives us a lot of energy and it is nice to split-up the camp chores. When we get to our campsite, we have a snack, set-up the tent and wind-down for the night.- Spring has arrived! It has been great to see trees and flowers bloom over the past week. The way down to Fontana was really colorful with triliums, violets and other flowers (see pictures).- The warm weather has also brought more wildlife on the trail. In the past days, we have seen small lizards, snails and even snakes!We will next be hiking through the Smokies and very much looking forward to it!
Date: 2015-04-16
From: Rte 28 (@ Fontana Dam Road)

To: Birch Spring tent site (GSMNP)
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We left Fontana Village today, got back on the trail, walked around the Fontana Hilton (a famous shelter on the trail) and over the Fontana Dam. On the way to the Dam museum, we met Boda, a thru-hiker from GA.After walking over the Dam, we entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP or Smokies). Shortly after we entered the Smokies, we got caught in a rain storm. Because of park regulations, we have to camp in designated tent sites or shelters, so we had to continue hiking for about 4 miles before we got to the Birch Spring tent site. By the time we got there, we had puddles of water in our shoes/boots and could wring all the clothes we were wearing... Thankfully, we had dry clothes in our bag. Changing felt so good!
Date: 2015-04-17
From: Birch Spring tent site (GSMNP)

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

It had stopped raining when we got up this morning but we had to put our wet clothes back on as camp clothes need to stay dry. It made for a cold start, but we warmed-up quickly and our clothes eventually dried out (but not our shoes). The day was foggy and we were continually harassed by gnats. These vicious creatures can bite! During lunch, Justin even broke out his head net.Our goal for the day was to reach the 3rd shelter from the campsite. Another rule in the GSMNP is that you have to sleep in the shelter if there is room. However, rodents love to roam around the shelters and I am allergic to them (a severe reaction can also trigger an asthma attack and I really don't want to deal with that in the woods!). So our strategy was to arrive to our destination late in the day, with the hope the shelter would already be full and we would be allowed to set-up our tent. We took a long break at the 2nd shelter, tried to dry our tent and cooked our hot meal for the day. By the time we got to Spence Field Shelter, it was full so we were able to tent. The rain picked-up again just after we set-up the tent.
Date: 2015-04-18
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

We had to hike our longest day to date to reach the 2nd shelter today (they are really not spread evenly along the trail!). The hike to the first shelter was a challenging climb but we were rewarded by our first real views since entering the Smokies. It was the first day we have had clear skies (no rain, no fog) for a few hours. We had lunch inside the Derrick Knob Shelter (1st shelter) to get a break from the flies. There we met Pippi and Winston, two hikers from Florida, and chatted with them for a while. We left around 4pm to hike the remaining 5.8 miles to the Silers Bald Shelter, where we were able to set-up the tent again (2 for 2, yay!). We had a few sprinkles on our way to the shelter and it started raining heavily again around 8pm. This time though, the rain is supposed to last for most of the next 24h.
Date: 2015-04-19
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Clingman's Dome
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: moderate rain

We hiked to Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT, in the pouring rain. The trails were either 4" of mud or mini rivers, and we were soaked (including boot puddles) within the first 30 mins of hiking. How fun! We were supposed to continue hiking for another day, but with this weather, we decided to get out today for a zero.With the fog and the rain, we had no views from Clingman's Dome, so we headed to the parking lot where we hopped to get a ride into Gatlinburg, TN. On the way down, we crossed path with a couple who was going up to the tower. At least, we were not the only crazy people out there! Once we got to the visitor center, we tried to get a shuttle, but no luck. I decided to ask the couple we saw going up if they would give us a ride to town (my first time asking strangers for a ride...) and they said yes! We hurried-up to change in dry clothes in the parking lot bathroom and got into Brian and Emily's SUV. We had a nice chat with them and they dropped us off at our hotel in Gatlinburg. Driving into Gatlinburg was very interesting as it looks a little bit like a mini Las Vegas (without the casinos). We did not expect this at all!As we were walking in the hotel lobby, I realized that we had forgotten BOTH PAIRS of hiking poles near the bathroom at the park when we were hurrying to change before getting our ride. Hiking poles are essential to help us keep our balance, spare our joints and put-up our tent (yes, they work double duty as tent poles). We tried to call the park services but it was Sunday and they were already closed. Oh well. We will dry off, enjoy town food and look for our poles again tomorrow.
Date: 2015-04-20
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0

After breakfast, we spent some time trying to locate our poles with the help of the folks at the NOC, the local outfitter, and filed a lost item report with the park services. Since we need poles to set-up our tent, we bought one pair and hope our poles will show-up in the next few days...We shopped for the other supplies we will need for the next few days and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city. Gatlinburg has many good restaurants, including the Smoky Mountain Brewery (their original wings are delicious!), several wineries and moonshine distilleries (with tastings ) and various tourist shops. The weather was generally nice today, except for a few quick passing showers, so it was a good day to be out and about.
Date: 2015-04-21
From: Clingman's Dome

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We got an early start today as we shared a 7am ride with Harley and Pippi back to Clingman's Dome. The day started cold and foggy but it felt so good to have dry boots! Unfortunately, we did not get any views on top of the tower because of the fog.As the day went by, the temperature climbed-up. We had lunch at Indian Road Gap with Winston and then continued on to Newfound Gap, a parking lot and viewpoint off of the highway that crosses the GSMNP. We spent a couple hours there enjoying the views and chatting with other hikers and strangers. We also received some trail magic (sodas and fresh apples, yum!). Towards the late afternoon, we left to hike the remaining 3 miles to the shelter. When we got there, not only was the shelter full, but it was almost tent city! We found a spot big enough for our tent, set-up and made dinner before going to bed.
Date: 2015-04-22
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning was cold but clear. We mostly hiked through the day with a few short breaks for snacks. We got to the (full) shelter a little after 5pm and set-up the tent just in time to get out of a passing storm. We made dinner at the table by the shelter and chatted with other hikers. As we were eating, we got more rain and, once we got back to the tent, some hail. Looks like the weather is turning again!
Date: 2015-04-23
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Mile 239 (stealth camping)
Miles today: 16.1

It was another cold, but sunny morning. We had breakfast, packed-up and left around 10:30 am. Today was another one of these oddly spaced shelter days. We hiked 7.7 miles to the Cosby Knob Shelter and, since we were still feeling good, decided to hike another 7.1 miles to the Davenport Gap shelter, the last shelter in the Smokies on the AT. Once we got there, the shelter was pretty full, but there was no space to set-up a tent due to the sloping terrain. In addition, the shelter had a chain-linked fence gate blocking the entry due to a bear problem (it looked like a hiker jail!), so I wasn't too excited to tent outside the fence... We were only 0.9 mile from the park border, so we decided to push again to get out of the park and find a nice tent spot. We ended-up hiking another 1.5 mile until we found a suitable spot around 7pm. We set-up the tent and, to avoid any bear issues, cooked dinner and hung our food very far from the tent. Between the so-so weather and tenting restriction, I am glad to be out of the Smokies...
Date: 2015-04-24
From: Mile 239 (stealth camping)

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 2.3

After yesterday's 16 miles, our legs needed a break! We packed-up and left camp around 9 am for a short hike to Standing Bear Farm (SBF). On our way, we met-up with Boda and all arrived there around 10:30 after some tricky navigation around the highway. At SBF, we were greeted by Lumpy who showed us around (resupply room, kitchen, laundry, beer, ...). Many hikers were already there including Faster Dad. After doing some shopping, we spent most of the day talking with other hikers, having a few beers and, of course, eating . Around 3pm, we got a ride to Newport, TN with Faster Dad and his son Will, who lives a few hours away and came to visit for the day. It was very nice of them to make room for us to get to town! After getting to our hotel and cleaning-up, we headed to Monterrey, a local Mexican restaurant, for dinner. Justin had a margarita as big as his head (he did finish it!) and we had plenty of food. After dinner, we stopped by WalMart to get another set of hiking poles (our old ones did not turn-up...) and finish our resupply. The weather for tomorrow looks pretty stormy so we may stay in Newport for another day.
Date: 2015-04-25
From: Newport, TN

To: Newport, TN
Miles today: 0.0

The weather forecast this morning called for 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms in the late afternoon or early evening. We are still waiting for them...Given the forecast, we decided to stay in Newport for the day. Since we had finished all our errands yesterday, we had a pretty relaxing day. We walked to a local favorite for lunch and got to see a little bit more of the town (and how it is not really pedestrian friendly...). Our legs and joints really appreciate the extra day off! We will be back on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2015-04-26
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Max Patch Road
Miles today: 12.5

This morning, we got a ride back to Standing Bear Farm with Faster Dad and his partner. It was great to meet her and so nice of them to give us a ride! Today's weather forecast called for 20% chance of rain in the morning. It started raining around 10:30 am and it is still raining... We hiked about 7 miles to Deep Gap and headed to Groundhog Creek Shelter for a break from the rain. We then headed to Brown Gap where we ran into super trail magic provided by Ox and Rat. We had met Ox at the Fontana Lodge a little while back and it was fun to see him here again. Rat started doing trail magic in 1991, the year after his thru-hike and has been doing it for 25 years! Ox joined him a few years later after his hike and it is now an annual tradition for them. They had quite a set-up! (Pictures to be posted a little later). After leaving Brown Gap, we hiked another 2.8 miles until we got to our campsite for the night. We did quite a bit of climbing today (~4500 ft) and most of it in the rain, so we were ready to set-up the tent, change into some dry clothes and call it a night!
Date: 2015-04-27
From: Max Patch Road

To: Catpen Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

We woke-up to a cold but clear day and headed to Max Patch, a grassy bald in NC. The views were spectacular! As we continued on hiking, we crossed many grassy areas that looked like old farming land. We stopped in a sunny spot around 11:30 am to dry our tent and have a sack. After an hour or so, we got back on the trail, stopping for short snack breaks every once in a while. We made dinner at the Walnut Mountain Shelter where we met Ma'am, a women spending her non-compete time on the AT. What a great idea! After dinner, we pack-ed up and headed to Catpen Gap, where we found another beautiful grassy hill to set-up our camp. Along with Cheoah Bald a few weeks ago, this is one of the most beautiful places where we camped so far...
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Catpen Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

We are headed to Hot Springs today, a town that is literally on the AT (i.e., the trail goes right down the main street!). Our hike was mainly downhill, which is hard on the knees, but filled with pretty spring flowers. On our way to town, we made a reservation to a B&B, the Mountain Magnolia Inn. What a wonderful place to stay!! The Victorian house is beautiful and rooms are elegant. We feel very lucky to have found this place! After cleaning-up, we headed to the tavern and had dinner with Turtle. We were going to stay in Hot Springs only for one night, but I think we may change our mind...
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We started our day with the B&B's delicious breakfast, which we shared with Harley who is also staying at the inn. We decided to extend our stay so we could finish our errands and enjoy the town. At lunch, we met one of our trail friends at the diner. Unfortunately, she has to get off the trail for a month due to an illness. When she comes back, she will jump ahead in order to finish in ME on time, so hopefully we see her again soon!After finishing our errands and getting a mid-afternoon snack, we decided to enjoy the mineral springs Hot Springs is named after, so we headed to the spa and soaked for an hour. How nice! We ended the day with a good (and very large) dinner, ready to head back on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2015-05-21
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It has been a while since we updated the journal. We did not have access to a computer and I got lazy about doing updates on my phone... I am really coming to appreciate keyboards!We arrived in Damascus, VA yesterday and spent today walking around town and running errands. Damascus is another trail town where the AT goes right though the main street (like Hot Springs, NC). In addition to being a hiker town, it is also a cyclist town as it is located on the TransAmerica trail, a bike route that goes across the country, from VA to OR. We are staying at the Dancing Bear, a really cute B&B, and have been having a great time here!Here are some updates from the past two weeks:- The weather is still pretty hot and muggy. Talking with locals, this seems to be unusual for this time of year. With the heat also comes afternoon showers. They have been mostly refreshing showers, except for the one time we got caught hiking in a thunderstorm on 5/11. The lightning hit very close to us and we hunkered down for about 25 mins while the storm passed. It was a scary experience which I hope we don't have to deal with again!- We got some spectacular views from the Round Bald and Jane Bald near Carver Gap and from the Roan Highlands. In addition, we hiked near two pretty large waterfalls (see pictures).- We have passed the 400 mile mark and are now in Virginia, our 4th state on the trail. About 1/4 of the AT is in VA, so we will be here for a while...- We decided to skip Trail Days, a hiking festival in Damascus. We continued hiking instead and got to visit the town a few days after the festival had ended and the town was back to its normal size (about 5000-6000 people come to this small town of 1000 people for the festival).- We are still having a great time chatting with hikers I mentioned before and meeting new ones! Some new people we met include: BT (trail angel), JR, High Life, Wisconsin, Spy Glass, Tin Man, Campfire, Young Guns, Butcher, Professor (a 71-year old section hiker), Kayle, Slo, Timber, Rocket, Jillian, Happy, Kat, Sunshine, Poet, Vice and Gigi.If you want to see where we have hiked so far, check-out Chug's website, which is linked in the guest book (see box on the left side of the page).
Date: 2015-06-02
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: US 52 (North Scenic Hwy)
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

We are now in Bland, VA for the night and tomorrow will be a nero (aka nearly zero or low mileage day) as we run our errands before leaving town. Here are the updates since Damascus:- We have hiked over 1/4 of the trail! Our pace is slower than we would have expected by this point on the trail, but we are still having a great experience.- While on the section of the trail that goes through the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area, we saw several groups of "wild" ponies. They are actually quite used to people and generally very friendly. One of them even gave me a complete body lick (sweaty hiker = salty hiker = pony treat)!- The weather is still hot and humid and, for the past few days, we have had afternoon showers and thunderstorms. We managed to stay out of the thunderstorms this time, but had to cut one of our hiking days short because of the weather. This weather also makes us glad we sent back our winter gear and switched to summer sleeping bags in Damascus!- We have been very lucky to receive trail magic from generous people and church groups. See pictures to meet some of our trail angels.- We took our first double zero in Marion, VA to celebrate my birthday. In addition to eating a lot and running our usual errands, I went to get a massage. What a treat after over two months of hiking!- Some of the hikers we met in this section: Grizz, Recalc (for "recalculating route" because he often gets off trail...), Geppetto (section hiker), Jackson, Slowski & Who (section hikers), Scientist, Ron Jeremy, Gemini, Rocket, Captain America and Chief.
Date: 2015-06-24
From: Lexington, VA

To: Lexington, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I am writing this post from the library in Lexington, VA where we are taking a zero. Lexington is a cute college town loaded with history, so we have been enjoying our day off Since we left Daleville, we passed the 800 mile mark and are now more than half way through VA. Over 1/4 of the AT is in VA, so it feels good to keep track of what we have accomplished. This last section included another landmark, the James River footbridge, which is the longest footbridge on the AT. On that day, we had the opportunity to follow two AT traditions: jumping from the bridge into the river and doing so naked in honor of the summer solstice, which is also known as "hike naked day". However, we opted for walking across the bridge fully clothed... We're lame, I know.After crossing the bridge, we got a ride from a nice couple into Glasgow, VA to resupply and spend the night. The town's motto is "The town that time as forgotten" and they even have a giant dinosaur on the main street (see photos). It is a pretty sleepy little town, but the restaurant was good, the lady at the market was very nice and, since there is no hotel, the town built a shelter with a HOT SHOWER and OUTLETS for hikers. In the morning, we got a ride back to the trailhead from a retired town resident. In our simplified hiker world, Glasgow had everything we needed! This last week was filled with wildlife sightings, including a bear and our first two venomous snakes, a rattle snake and a copperhead. Bugs of all kinds are also out in full force. A customer at the laundromat in Lexington even asked me where I had been to get so many bites... It is still hot and humid, and we have enjoyed a few swimming holes along the way. However, this weather does make me extra grumpy on some days and wishing for snow. As you can tell by my complaints on the heat in the last several posts, I much prefer hiking in cool weather. It must be my Canadian blood coming out We have been lucky to met some great people again since leaving Daleville, including fellow thru-hikers, section hikers, day hikers and locals. Some of the hikers we met included Thor, Sketch, Billy Goat, Secret Squirrel, Sky, Olaf, Old Dog, South Pole, Waldo.That's it for now. On to Waynesboro and the Shenandoah National Park!