morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-17
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

We were picked up by Lee from the Hiker Hostel at about 8:00am and she brought us to Woody Gap to pick up right where we had left off. Brad was thankfully feeling and sounding much better, although he still was having a little trouble breathing. The terrain today was nice and mellow for the most part. The big push up Blood Mountain wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It got my heart pumping, but it didn't make me mad or miserably uncomfortable. The shelter on top of Blood was made of stone and despite being cold and dark and scary, it was rather beautiful. Although it wasn't a place I would want to spend the night.It was a pretty hike today. Volunteers must have spent a lot of time out here doing some hard work. It was evidenced by all the stone stairways leading up the mountains. Those stairways make the big pushes a little easier, a bit more delicate. It gives me something to focus on..."if I can just make it to the next step..."We arrived at Neels Gap and had assistance from Squarl with a pack shake-down. We took every single item out of our backpacks and layed it on the floor. Squarl then went through it with us and told us exactly what was essential and what was just plain not needed (maybe even foolish). He was rather kind about it, and when I told him I felt retarded for having so many non-essentials, he let me know it was cool. Apparently this is a quite common at the beginning.   It definately made for a very funny experience. But really, you start this hike and you pack every single item you think you may possibly need in six months. Brad calls it the "what if's" stuff. And honestly, when you have to carry everything on your freakin' back, you realize you don't give a damn if you have the "what if's"!!!So, I lost 13 pounds of weight I didn't need. (From my pack that is; it's a little too early to be hoping for body weight loss!) Brad lost about 18 pounds of non-essential gear. I am a bit anxious about sending home so much stuff. Okay, I'm REALLY anxious about it. But, I'm just going to trust that this kid knows what he's doing. If not, I'll be cursing his name when something we need is missing...We spent the night at the Walasi-Yi Center and also picked up our first mail drop there. We are still working out the whole food thing. It's hard to guess what our appetite will be, so needless to say we ended up sending home a lot of food too. Food and maildrops is just another one of the kinks only time and experience can work out. We'll get it right eventually.*Sorry for no photos for the following entries. The hotel we are now at hasblocked the USB something or other, and although Brad made a valiant attempt to hot-wire it, we were unsuccessful. So, we will upload them the next time we are able.
Date: 2008-03-18
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept pretty well at the hostel last night and enjoyed a hot breakfast of french toast cooked by Pirate, the hiker who mans the place. He has 20 thru hikes under his belt. His advice to us was to remember it wasn't a race, to have fun and to take lots of pictures.We hiked in our winter hats and gloves all day. It was a cold, cloudy and windy day. Very foggy too, so we missed out on seeing all the views. Kind of disappointing, but that's just how it goes some days. There were some rugged climbs (Testnatee Gap kicked our asses!) and my feet are screaming! The blisters feel okay but the pads of my feet are sore, sore, sore. I hope that this dreadfully painful feeling will go away once my feet toughen up.We met up with Corkscrew, Wandering Mike and Frank at the shelter. We had a campfire and stayed up for quite a bit talking and laughing. It was the amount of laughing that makes your belly hurt. It was a fun night.
Date: 2008-03-19
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: moderate rain

We awoke to a wall of solid fog but were not deterred. We put on our all our rain gear and headed out. I love walking through the woods when the fog is that thick; it's beautiful. You can't see anything but the massive trees that are right in front of you. Everything else is hidden and it has this magical feel to it.It rained lightly and after a couple of hours it was pouring. Either way, water was falling from the sky all day long and again we missed a lot of the views. So, we have been hiking for seven days and three of them have been in the rain! I thought Georgia was in a drought??? I hope that we are just getting this out of the way. Or perhaps our dedication is being tried and tested. So far, so good.We cranked out 7.2 miles in 3 1/4 hours. Woohoo! We got to the shelter and took cover. Apparently my rain jacket is a piece of crap. I don't think the armpit vents are seam-sealed properly therefore water gets in and runs down the backs of my arms, totally soaking me. Grrr! Changes will be made when we hit the next outfitter.We changed into dry clothes, which by the way, is one of the greatest feelings in the whole world! I don't mind being wet and I don't mind being cold but I DO mind being wet and cold. We try to wait the rain out, but it just didn't stop. The shelter keeps filling up with others that resemble drowned rats. This is apparently the worst shelter ever, as the wind wips right up the mountain directly INTO the shelter. It was freezing!!! With the help of Corkscrew, Big Mike and Top Knot (the last two are a father/son duo out for a spring break hike) we are able to hang up tarps to cover the openings. We then hung up clothesline across the whole shelter and everyone hung up their soaked clothes. It looked like a gypsie camp and we all got a good laugh at the predicament we found ourselves in.
Date: 2008-03-21
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

So I have to say theres something to be said for walking downstairs after crawling out of a warm SOFT bed, taking a hot shower and putting on clean clothes to get a cup of coffee that someone else made. Not really sure what that something is but it sure feels good.So Aggie and I have come up with this process for the trail journals where she, as soon as we hit town is off to the hotel lobby to start updating. I, on the other hand enjoy a few simple pleasures or rewards if you will, LIKE A SHOWER!!!!!! So, we've decided that the best way for this to work is she will do the daily entries and I will do the last one before we leave town. So back to Friday 3/21-We had a short day of hiking by design so that we could get into town to resupply. We met Shilo, a fellow hiker headed the same direction at the shelter the night before and decided we would get a ride into town together. We said our goodbyes to the Alabama duo, Big Mike and Top Knot(who I still think we should have changed his nime to BAMA) who were section hiking. We hiked over a few nice peaks and into Dicks Creek where Frank from Cloud 9 hiker hostel picked us up.When we got to Cloud 9 to resupply our depleted food source which really is nothing more than an orange dry sack, our mail drop full of our favorites- dehydrated vegetables, meats, fruits. You name it, if it was good, they've taken every precious drop of water that makes it so deliscious and appetizing from the start right out of it!!!! Aggie says don't worry we'll soak it in water. So our food drop was not at the hostel so we decided to go into town and get a hotel room and resupply at a grocery store. Now remember, you dont just go out and buy dehydrated broccoli and TVP (textured vedgetable protein YUM YUM) so, its looking like easy mac, peanut butter & jelly, and snickers for the next 4 days until we reach Franklin N.C. Who wouldn't like easy mac and PB & J ( or fluff ,adam, paul & ben?) for the next 6 months. Regardless we resupplied with the essentails, washed our soiled clothes, which i didn't realize were so bad until I sat on the couch at the hostel when the lady asked me "hey, how hiker dirty are you?", I stood. So we are headed out this morning with well rested legs, full bellies, clean clothes and lots of hydrated foods to get us, yea thats right, into North Carolina!!!!!!!!!! One state down, how many to go? Shit, thats right we have 14 more maps to go!!! Oh well, they keep saying its all about the journey and Maines only a geographic point, a name, a destination. We saw a sign that said "Its not all about the miles, it'a all about the smiles"
Date: 2008-03-22
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

We were picked up at the hotel at 9:00am sharp by a very upbeat woman, Sally. She brought us along, with Shiloh, to Dicks Creek Gap. We hiked mostly uphill for about two straight hours. I couldn't seem to get my legs under me all day today and I moved at a very ho-hum speed. My whole body felt dead tired, like I had no energy at all. I just poked along, far behind Brad, wandering in the depths of my own la-la land. The weather was great: sunny with blue skies, temps in the 60's, at least. Pants and t-shirt weather!The blisters on my heels are doing well. No more duct tape though. Although it stays on my sweaty little feet, when it comes time to take it off, it actually RIPS all my skin off! A painful lesson learned. So, what I've been doing is using the blister bandaids Phoebe gave me, and they are doing the trick! (Thanks for the product!)   I'm debating whether or not to pop the blisters on my second toes, as they are rather uncomfortable. I'll keep you posted. Is that sad? Blisters are news-worthy?Big news, for real...We crossed the Georgia/North Carolina border!!! It was marked by a very small plaque, and if you weren't paying attention, you could have walked right by. No fireworks. No balloons. And no cheeseburgers (Brad was really hoping!) None the less, it was a VERY exciting moment for us!We hiked a few more feet and crashed at the next Gap. My feet couldn't go three more miles to the next shelter. We got to use our tent for the first time on this trip, though!Oh...we forgot our wallet in Sally's car this morning...all our debit cards and ID's. Woops! She left us a message. Now we have to figure out how to get it back???
Date: 2008-03-23
From: Bly Gap

To: Beech Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

North Carolina was not very welcoming this morning. We started our day off with a one mile, at least, steep stair climb. I thought my heart was going to burst at the wee hours of 9:00am! After that we hit various inclines, some that seemed to last forever. Switchback after switchback after switchback...I decided to pop the blisters on my toes, and it was the right choice. (I wanted to let you all know, in case you had been losing sleep wondering about my nasty hiker feet.) There is no news to share about Brad's feet, as he is lucky enough to never get blisters!We had heard there was something to look forward to in Deep Gap and we arrived there and were met with trail magic!!! Former thru-hikers Pappy, Numb Toe, and Shadow had quite the set-up: sandwiches, hotdogs, soda, candy, cookies, little debbie's-it was awesome! We ate and hung out listening to stories and asking advice. Apparently Pappy does trail magic along the whole trail, so we may just see him again. I can't believe it, but even this Easter in the middle of the woods in N.C. I had a Reese's peanut butter cup Easter egg!!!   I had said earlier in the day that I hoped the trail angels would have them, and, the sure did!!! I was so excited to have a little taste of home, it made my heart smile!When we re-supplied the other day we bought two blocks of cheese. It is SOOO good. We ate an entire block in one sitting (talk about a cheese coma). So, I haven't pooped in several days...but it is a blessing because we sort of mis-judged our toilet paper ration...Oh the dilemas of the woods...haha
Date: 2008-03-24
From: Beech Gap

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

It was absolutely freezing last night. Hard to get warm, and stay asleep, lots of tossing and turning. It was absolute torture to get out of bed. It was painful. For the first time on this trip I hiked in long johns, pants, winter jacket, hat and gloves. I had on nearly all my clothes. On and off throughout the day it SNOWED! We took out the video camera, so there is proof. The sun would poke through the clouds once in a while, but it was, by far, the coldest day yet. It was probably the easiest hiking day, though. The terrain was nearly flat and if anything a few gentle rolls to it. It was really nice, mellow and calm. We walked through a lot of mountain laurel tunnels, and I think it is one of my favorite landscapes, so far. We did have a beast of a climb up Albert Mountain. It was seriously straight up in some spots; and got pretty gnarly in others. The views from the top were awesome, though!!! We started to climb the fire tower, but a snow squall blew in, the wind picked up something fierce, and to be honest, I was a bit scared. So we got half-way up and turned around. It was gorgeous up there, when I was relaxed with my feet on the ground.We made it to Rock Gap Shelter, which meant we put in a 15 mile day, but due to the terrain, my feet were in decent shape. We met up with Blythe again, the girl from Vermont who know some of "our people". There is a tiny bit of toilet paper left for the morning pee. That's it. I have never used so little toilet paper to wipe myself in all my life as I did tonight. I know this is a bit much in the way of details, but I figure these details are what our life is about know. And really, if I could talk to you all in person, I would probably be telling you all of this anyway. So here it: our life in dirty details. Enjoy!
Date: 2008-03-25
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: clear sky

An even colder night. We learn later that it was a record low. I didn't sleep well, just kept waking oup cold. Plus, Brad stole my pillow and gave me his. And his just sucks. Also, I have a hard time falling asleep because I bundle all up with just a tiny hole at the top of my sleeping bag and my breathing makes everything all hot and sweaty and I can't really relax cause it's getting all steamy and all I hear is my loud breathing. It's just awkward...as is lots on this trip.I realized this morning that Brad claims to be very busy in the morning preparing breakfast while I stay in the tent and pack everything up. He brings me hot chocolate and then we will usually eat oatmeal when it's all done. So, I realized that his busy-ness is really only boiling water. And, he drags the process out until I'm done cleaning. I do believe our duties need to be re-evaluated. I should mention though, that Brad has cooked, err, boiled the water, for every meal we have had. He has also gotten the water for all the meals. He is a bit protective of the JetBoil. Maybe he'll teach me how to boil water some day...   We had a short, mellow hike today. We did pass a stream that had capri-sun sitting in it. A pleasant surprise of trail magic. We were met at Winding Stair Gap with more trail magic. Bill and Eileen were there with drinks and snacks. They are from a local church and come out for the whole hiker season.We were picked up by Sally and Joyce in their beautiful 1970 VW bus! And we got our wallet back. They then brought us to Sapphire Inn in Franklin.We met up with Tuna Bag, a thru-hiker last year who was out for a day hike. At thai with him (not nearly as good as Thai Garden) and stopped by Three Eagle Outfitters for more JetBoil fuel. Then, a long, hot shower. Yipee!!! The guy who own the hotel, Ron Haven, has a bus, a short bus, that he shuttles hikers around town on. We got on, along with, 16 other hikers, and hit the post office, the outfitters again (Brad finally got crocs, and I got warm acorn socks to sleep in) and then to the grocery store. We re-supplied with tuna, cheese, wraps, fruit snacks, lipton sides and candy bars. Probably too much stuff, but it all looked so good. Excited to enjoy a WARM night's sleep.
Date: 2008-03-26
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

We were picked up by Ron Haven, but not in the bus unfortunately as it had blown a wheel bearing. Instead we packed into a conversion van with 7 other hikers and got dropped off at Winding Stair Gap. It was weird starting the day off in such a big group. We had a mostly uphill day but it was gradual so it wasn't that bad. We sat atop Siler Bald in the middle of a big field and enjoyed the sunshine while we snacked. We relaxed and chatted with 3 Cats and Sharky, both former thru-hikers. We hiked on to Wayah Bald where there was a neat old observation tower. The best part was the magnificent views! It was amazing! You could actually look out over the mountains and see where you had just been hiking. (There was a map there to help us identify the mountains) We could see the field where we had just eaten lunch, we could see Standing Indian Mountain and even Albert Mountain with the little bitty fire tower on top. It was incredible and absolutely amazing to see just how far our legs had carried us! We couldn't help but be overflowing with pride. We videotaped and took lots of photos.We hiked on to a new shelter, and set up our tent. I attempted to use the JetBoil to make our dinner but boiled over the cheddar broccoli noodles and made a terrible mess! I couldn't see which way to turn the gas down when it started boiling so I ended up cranking it up...it was a bad scene. Brad has banished me from cooking. Understandable.It was a warm day hiking, t-shirt kinda warm. We even cooked and ate without all our winter gear on. That's a first! Oh yeah-we have plenty of toilet paper with us now
Date: 2008-03-27
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: scattered clouds

It was so warm and cozy last night; very comfortable sleeping. We had pop-tarts for breakfast and I can't remember the last time that I ate those. It seems so wrong that they are a breakfast item. They are so sugary and sweet, they are more like a candy. But, without my mom around to tell me otherwise, I believe they make for a delicious breakfast!We got a pretty good start, hiking downhill, then some long, gradual uphills, but nothing too terrible. We ate lunch at an old dilapidated shelter but it was nice to just sit in the sunshine. We also stopped at Tellico Gap, took off our boots and layed in the sunshine. Brad was actually asleep and snoring in about 30 seconds flat, no joking. But, he works hard growing his beard all day, so he gets tired early We then hiked on to Wessar Bald and climbed the fire tower where we had 360 degree views. Georgeous! We videotaped and took group photos. It was a nice day. Warm when the sun poked through the clouds, a bit chilly when it was hiding.We hiked most of the day with and arrived at the shelter with Busdriver, Sunbeam, AquaMaria and Eric. We ate dinner then hung out around the campfire talking and laughing. We were joined by Moss who told crazy stories of bear fighting and mountain lion attacks. We heard and saw a barred owl. Sunbeam told us that their call sounds like "who cooks for you". Interesting.The shelters and privies thus far in North Carolina are not that nice. Not that I expect a lot, but compared to Georgia, they are going downhill in quality.
Date: 2008-03-28
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Another warm, cozy night snuggled in my sleeping bag in the shelter. Brad always takes the wall and makes me sleep next to the stranger. In this case, Sunbeam, so no big deal at all. There was one night, however, that I neglected to tell you about. One night in a shelter, in the middle of the night, I felt two hands gently push me away, or rather back onto my sleeping pad as I had been WAY off of it. I guess I had sort of invaded the personal space of the guy next to me. I fell right back to sleep but I felt funny in the morning. It was one of those incidents that you just don't talk about, though, so it was like it never happened.So we had a treacherous hike downhill today. Seriously, ALL DOWN HILL! My feet were screaming by the end of it. It is so painful to continuously pound all your body weight, plus pack weight, onto the soft, delicate pads of your feet. A couple times I got pretty angry cause I thought it was never going to end and the next 2,100 miles to Maine were going to be all downhill! But alas, we reached the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). We got ourselves a room in one of the cabins. Of course it was the one furthest away, uphill. Perfect. We ate lunch with some other hikers, showered, and lounged around. We opted to not do laundry as we'll be doing it in a couple days. (You see what's happening here? Not even a month into it and our hygiene level is diminishing rapidly!)We hung out in the common area and met Sunkist and Kyanite. She just cut all her hair off before this trip too. It's grown out a bit and looks really cute so I hope mine does too. I'm still getting used to this no hair thing...Ate dinner with Sunbeam, Busdriver, Sunkist, Kyanite and Woolly Mammoth. It is a good group that we really like hiking with. I hope we can stay with them but Maine is a long ways away...
Date: 2008-03-29
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: moderate rain

By the time we ate a large breakfast and packed up all our stuff we headed out at about 11. Brad's ankle has really been bothering him so he finally bought an ace bandage and wrapped it. We hiked up and up and up. Almost 7 miles entirely uphill. Really and truly it was 99% incline. It actually wasn't too bad, it was just really long. We had heard horror stories about the climb out of the NOC but we found out for ourselves that it wasn't that bad. The beginning of the day was incredibly hot and humid. Wore shorts and a t-shirt and sweat to death. We ended at Sassafras Gap Shelter right as it was beginning to rain. Excellent timing! We felt bad stopping so early (4ish) but we didn't feel like hiking in the rain and being cold and wet. Apparently the fun of that has already worn off. We spent the night at the shelter with Sunbeam, Busdriver, Sunkist, Kyanite, Itrod, Berf, Mango and Canuk. It was a full house. Sunkist went to use the privy and came running out screaming that there was a rodent or something moving around in the shit. "The Giant Mutant Shit Rat" took on a life of it's own and became our entertainment for the rest of the evening. It was one of those incidents where you just had to be there, but trust me when I say it was hysterical!