morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-09-02
From: Logan Brook Lean-to

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

A long but pretty easy day today. Most of the hiking was on level terrain. We really enjoyed this. Bootz is still wearing his tevas and carting his boots. He is trying to air them out so they dry and he can then try a final repair. We'll see what happens but he'll either be wearing the boots on the final day or carrying them because one way or another they've earned a trip to the top of Katahdin.Our campsite tonight was beautiful. It was on Mary Jo lake and we had great views for sunset and sunrise the next morning. We're getting excited as things near the end. WE are ahead of the rest of the group now so we are hoping they still make up the miles to summit the same day.
Date: 2005-09-03
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: clear sky

Much to our surprise this morning, we ran into an old trail buddy from miles back named Mr. Clean Jr. We had hiked with him through most of the beginning of the trip up until Damascus and then saw him briefly in northern VA but have not seen him since. We pulled ahead of our early trail buddies when we did the 20/20 challenge. He had jumped ahead due to a scheduling need and was now trying to finish on the same day we are!! Yeah, another great friend to hike to the end with. We enjoyed catching up and sharing stories. WE all pushed a long day today in order to get miles behind us and be able to have shorter days ahead. The weather has turned beautiful. A slight cold front came in and it brought cool breezes and a bit of a drop in temp. It really feels like fall and the hiking is great in this weather. We had 2 sightings of Katahdin today. The first one it was covered by clouds but the second one it was free from them. What a beautiful mountain. Breathtaking! And we walked here.....
Date: 2005-09-04
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

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

15 miles today! We also finished the 100 mile wilderness. Before we got to that point though we had another great veiw of Katahdin from Rainbow Ledges. I'm in awe as a view it. Not only am I proud that Bootz and I have walked so far to reach this goal, but to have such a beautiful was to finish this journey. IT really is beginning to feel like we're done. Although we have a few miles left to walk, the journey is almost over. WE are so excited to reach the end but we are sad to see it come. WE have met so many amazing people and to think in a few days we'll all be back to our 'normal' lives. WE arrived at Abol bridge around 1pm. The views from the bridge of Katahdin are awesome. There is a campstore there where we can get much need supplies. WE finished off our food this morning and are starving. We streched out our supplies a bit further then we had thought when we left Monson. We had planned to resupply a few miles back at the White House Landing but decided we couldn't lose the time it would take to do so. So now that we can get food, we're excited!We bought lunch and sat by the stream to eat. We camped across the street at a public camp ground on the Penobscot river. We decided it would be fun to roast hotdogs and have a picnic with our friends for dinner. The campstore sells anything we could want including beer!! So we spent a relaxing day waiting for our friends to file in. Still walking and Gel arrived but the rest didn't quite make it to abol. So Mr Clean, Still walking, Gel, Bootz and I roasted hotdogs and marshmellows for our final night in a campsite outside of Baxter State park. Pure heaven!!
Date: 2005-09-05
From: Abol Bridge Campsite

To: The Birtches
Miles today: 9.9

We met at the campstore this morning to get breakfast before our 10mile hike to our final campsite, the Birtches. We got to the sign up sheet for the 12 thru-hiker spots they set aside for us and got our name on the list. I had been worried for days about getting on this list and what would happen if it was full. Bootz laughed at me for worrying so much. We called Mom and Bull the night before and learned that they had decided to fly to Maine and would meet us today to take us into Millinocket for lunch. I can't wait to see them!! It has been since Springer since I've seen Bull and since Bland since I've seen Mom. I sprinted out ahead in order to get to the campsite in time. We set up to meet them at noon.I hiked a bunch with Gel today, chatting away. Such a nice time and I really enjoyed our conversation. Boots was behind a little bit, taking pictures. Still hiking in his tevas. About .5 miles from the campsite I stopped to let Bootz catch up so we could arrive together. We were happy to find that Mom and Bull had made it to the park early and were there to greet us. I cried lots of tears of joy to see them and it felt so real that we're almost done. We got registered at the ranger station and got our things settled at the campsite. The rest of our group will be arriving today. We got word that everyone will make it to summit on the same day!! Mr Clean came with us into Millinocket. We went to a pizza place for lunch and then to their hotel to shower. It had been 8 days since we last showered!!! The longest so far. We still have dirty clothes but that's okay. We learned from Mom that we will be flying back to NC on Wed. morning. WOW, in less than 2 days we'll be home. We have mixed feelings about leaving so quickly but that was the best decision she could have made with the time contraints she had. At least we won't have to worry about driving!We decided to buy 2 pizza's and some soda and candy to share with the others back at the shelter. We got back around 6pm and were glad to find everyone had arrived. WE spent some time hanging out and getting ready for the big final day.
Date: 2005-02-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, we have all weighed in and the results were astonishing!Boston Bruin's pack without water weighed in at 28 pounds.Cubtrax's pack without water weighed in at 23 pounds! Sandman's pack without water weighed in at 29 pounds.We are planning on flying to Atlanta on Thursday or Friday and staying in Dahlonega at the Hiker Hostel. They will shuttle us to Springer Mountain Monday morning.Crampy (Rick) will be joining us for the start. He will hike Springer Mountain to Blood Mountain, the highest peak in Georgia, 30 miles. From Neel's Gap he will take a shuttle back to Atlanta.
Date: 2005-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are going back and forth on trail names, and haven't come up with anything that really sticks.We continue to pack and repack, trying to figure out the best way. Also, we are wavering on what shoes to wear at the beginning of our hike. First we plan on wearing our boots, but then they seem too heavy and we switch to our lightweight trail shoes. Then we are not sure again.
Date: 2005-03-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We made it to the Hiker Hostel yesterday. The place is great and the people that run it, Profile and Almanac, are great also. We are going to go into Dahlonega today and pan for some gold. If we hit it rich, maybe we will hire some Sherpas to carry our loads! But then again, maybe not. This is for the adventure and that includes carrying our own weight.
Date: 2005-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We registered today at Amicalola Falls State Park for our hike. They took our picture at the Archway and gave us each a postcard to send back to them when we are done so they know how we made out. Saw a few hikers getting started and it is making us antsy to get started. After seeing those hikers' packs, it makes us feel good that our packs are weighing in at under 35 lbs. Just waiting for Crampy to arrive and off we go.
Date: 2005-03-06
To: Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega
Miles today: 0.0

Well, tonight is the last night we can change our minds on our gear. The three of us had a shake down and each dropped another 1-1.5 pounds from our pack. I am not sure where the weight is coming off of, but I hope it isn't from my snacks. Actually it was some clothes. So now we only have one extra shirt and one extra pair of socks instead of two.Crampy arrived today around 3pm. He is psyched and ready to go. We gave his pack a little shake down and he lost over 4.5 pounds. So he will be right around 30 for pack weight. We went into Dahlonega for dinner with all the other hikers staying at the Hiker Hostel. They (Profile and Almanac) bring all the hikers into town each night for dinner, it is usually a great time.The plan is that we wake up around 6:45am for breakfast (belgium waffles and grits) made by Profile at the Hiker Hostel. We highly recommend this Hostel for both NoBo's and SoBo's later on. They are great people and the place is great. Then Josh will bring us up to Springer and the day begins. We have a few options for the day, the first one is to get to Horse's Gap, but that is if we are all doing well and feel up to 'dry camping', if not we will stop at Hawk Mountain Shelter with all the other hikers that start tomorrow. The third option is only emergency if one of us isn't doing well. We could always call Profile to come and pick us up. We could stay at the Hostile another night and be dropped off in the morning at the same place we got picked up.So here goes nothing...We will check in again when we can.Boston, Cubtrax, Sandman and Crampy
Date: 2005-03-07
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: Horse Gap
Miles today: 10.0

This morning was a cool but beautiful morning. What a great day to start the rest of our lives. We had the big pack weigh-in with 2 liters of water before we left. Boston's pack weighed 29 pounds, Cubtrax's 23, Sandman's 33, and Crampy's 31.We got our ride up to Springer Mountain with another hiker, Lonetrail. All five of us started up to Springer Mountain. We signed the trail register and each picked up two rocks (small ones), one to drop off at Katahdin and one for keepsake. The day was great for hiking. It was sunny and cool, we hiked the 7.6 to Hawk Mountain and got some water to dry camp at Horse Gap. At Hawk Mountain it began to rain and continued until we got to Horse Gap. The hike wasn't too bad and everyone did really well. Sandman was sweltering before Hawk Mountain, he was confused as to why no one else was so hot. It wasn't until later that he recognized that none of us were wearing our long-john bottoms! The night went something like this...we set up camp in the rain and got into our tents to get out of the rain. We were talking back and forth about dinner in the rain and all opted for our breakfast so we didn't have to cook, figuring in the morning we could cook dinner. Cubtrax and Boston got out of the tent to hang our food. Although I am not sure that any bears in their right mind would have been out in that weather. The wind picked up over night and was blowing the rain into our tents getting some of our gear wet. Around 3am, Crampy's tent stakes come up and he had to get out to restake. The rain didn't stop all night. Around 4:30am, the rain apparently stopped. Yes, the rain stopped and the temperature dropped, the wind was howling and the snow started. The wind was so loud that it sounded like a 747 doing a fly-by.
Date: 2005-03-08
From: Horse Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

When we woke up this morning, the ground was white, our tents were sagging and our shoes laces were frozen. The wind continued to howl and Crampy was a little concerned and wanted OUT. The group decision was made and when a group decides on something, it is never good. We got up around 7:30am and broke camp. We went to put our shoes on and our shoe-laces were frozen, along with everything else. Sandman and Crampy started hiking out on the road to hitch a ride. Boston and Cubtrax took a look at the REAL map and saw that it would be just as fast to hike the trail. We caught up to them and talked some more. Crampy wanted to continue on the road, Sandman decided to walk back to Horse Gap with Boston and Cubtrax. The whole excursion took 1 hour and 10 minutes. We had camped just shy of Horse Gap so Boston and Cubtrax walked back up to there and went on the trail to catch up to Sandman. The trail did not have any ice or snow on it, it was just wet. We saw Lonetrail on the hike and he had seen Crampy in Profile's car, so that relieved a bit of stress from Boston's hike (Crampy is her Dad).Boston and Cubtrax caught up to Sandman at Cooper Gap. Profile's SUV and Crampy were there. The car was full, so no rides for us. We told Profile to catch up with us at Woody Gap tonight. He thought we would be there by 3:30 or so. Not so...we got into Woody Gap at 5:15pm. The hike from Horse Gap to Woody was pretty good, except we were a bit tired. Sassafras (Kick My Ass) Moutain wasn't too tough, but the terrain after that until we reached the top of Ramrock Mountain wasn't too forgiving. We took a lunch break and filled our water up at Gooch Mountain Shelter. We met up with a few other hikers, but did not catch their names.While waiting for Profile to pick us up at 6pm, we put all our clothes back on because the wind was blowing so fiercely, it was draining our body heat. It was so cold we were trying to find cover. We found that the sign at Woody Gap welcoming people was the only wind break. Profile arrived right on cue and brought us back to his Hiker Hostel. Crampy was waiting for us to arrive and was relieved to see us. We went out to dinner with the rest of the hostel (hostile) hikers. There was Chim Chim and Creeky Bones, Chernobyl and Bill and many more that I do not know names for. The hostel was so full with others hikers seeking refuge from the weather that we ended up on the floor in the basement, but it was out of the cold and wind. Oh, it is nice to be warm again.
Date: 2005-03-09
From: Woody Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It was a zero day for us. We came back to the Hiker Hostel yesterday from Woody Gap to meet up with Crampy and see him off. He had big plans to make the 20% of hikers who make it to Neel's Gap, but as it turned out the weather had other plans. In other words, he bailed and didn't even uphold the statistics. Another casualty of the trail.We got to celebrate Chernobyl and Bill Bellatty's last evening at the Hiker Hostel. Cindy provided the champagne for a toast to Bill's solo departure and Cindy's trip home to Maine.We started to make plans for slack packing Georgia. Looking forward to getting our trail legs and starting from Woody Gap to reach Neel's Gap so we can at least become part of the 20% who make it this far before they bail. No intention of bailing for the three of us!
Date: 2005-03-10
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

After a lovely breakfast of French toast, scrambled eggs and grits, we headed out to Woody Gap. As we drove up to Woody, there were vehicles driving down from there with snow on them. The temps were in the 30's in the morning, but the sky was sunny. We were slack packing today, so our packs weighed in at 13 pounds. Sandman was very happy to shed 20 pounds from his pack. Almanac dropped us off with J.R. and Nimblefoot had been dropped off by Profile an hour before us.The weather was perfect for hiking. Cool, no wind and sunny. We climbed steadily upward passing Big Cedar Mountain, Jarrad Gap, passed Chernobyl (the site of the meltdown). Just before we got to the top of Blood Mountain, the highest point on the AT in Georgia, there was a geographical marker in a rock. It was here that we stopped to have a snowball fight and make a Snowman. As we were making the Snowman, another hiker, Ian Stover, passed us on the trail up to Blood. He gave us a nod and a smile as he passed. When we arrived at Blood Mountain Shelter, there was a family enjoying a picnic. We enjoyed our first yogi-ing. They gave us some oranges and fruit snacks, and we shared buffalo jerky with them. At the top, Nimblefoot was there enjoying the view and shortly after we arrived, J.R. joined us. The hike down Blood Mtn. was not as bad as we had anticipated, the snow had melted off by the time we got there. We got to Neels Gap and bought 3 pair of Croc's for camp shoes. We also had some Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and pop. Almanac picked all five of us up at Neels Gap to come back to the Hiker Hostel. Nimblefoot has now decided to slack pack through Georgia. J.R. heads off in the morning to hopefully make it to Poplar Stomp Gap. We wish him the best.Cubtrax has been having some irritation on her left foot and we are waiting for a new pair of shoes to arrive Saturday from Supply Guy. Then we will start out again. We are going to keep hiking some, but shorter distances so we don't erase our first three days of conditioning. The hike today felt good and we are looking foward to more. We are trying to stick to our plan of starting out slow and picking up the pace as we go.
Date: 2005-03-12
From: Neels Gap

To: Hog Pen Gap
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

We started the morning with pancakes, eggs and grits. We spent the morning doing some projects and awaiting Cubtrax's new shoes, which never arrived. Caught a shuttle to Neels Gap, signed the trail register and hit the trail by 11:30am.As we trudged over the hills, we warmed up very quickly and shed clothes immediately, ending up in shorts and t-shirts. Cubtrax was thinking back to Neels Gap and wishing she had got the Fritos in the grocery store. We had a nice lunch at the top of Rock Spring Top. We ate the last of our Buffalo jerky, cheese, pringles and shared a snickers bar.The weather could not have been better for a day on the trail. It was almost hot, it was sunny with a cool breeze blowing. Cubtrax got sunburned. But who is complaining after Monday night's experience. The views from atop the mountains were spectacular. The skies were clear blue and you could see as far as you wanted to. We saw quite a few hikers going in both directions on the trial today. Before we realized it, we had reached Hog Pen Gap. We waited only about 20 minutes for Profile to pick us up and bring us back to the Hiker Hostel.We opted out of going out to dinner tonight with the Hostel (hostile) crowd and made our own dinner at the Hostel. It has been a quiet night so far and we continue to enjoy our decision to slack pack Georgia! Nimblefoot continues to slackpack Georgia, a day ahead of us. Good luck to all the hikers and enjoy your journey.
Date: 2005-03-14
From: Hog Pen Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Thanks to everyone who has been writing to us in the guestbook. Your thoughts and words of encouragement are nice to read after a long day hiking. We have not seen much wildlife up to this point. We figure as soon as spring hits, the woods will come to life.Yesterday was a day of work. No not on the trail. We have been helping Josh and Leigh finish the basement of the hostel. We figure we don't have a deadline/schedule since we are retired, so why not take things as they come and enjoy ourselves?This morning Sandman and Boston awoke early to get to the Post Office by 6:15am and pick up a package with new shoes for Cubtrax. You ask why Cubtrax did not go to get the package? Well, for those of you who don't know her, she is not what you would call a morning person! She says morning lasts until 11:59am, so if she wakes up anytime before noon, it is still considered morning.We took Pittsburg's shuttle to Hog Pen Gap from the hostel at 7:30am. We got on the trail by 8:20am. We hiked in the clouds for most of the day, all the way to Blue Mountain Shelter. Then the sun made it's first appearance for the day. It was nice to feel the warm rays. But walking in the fog where you can't see more than 20 yards, was different and rewarding. Rewarding because we managed to knock off the 13.6 miles in 7 hours. No lolly-gagging for scenic views. The hike was probably one of the easier days we will encounter on the trail. Mostly level, and we walked about 5 miles on an old logging road. We only saw 4 hikers on the day and only one of them was heading north, the other three heading South on a section hike.The one hiker heading north, had weighed in at Amicolola with a pack weight of 60 pounds. Wow! (That is more than double Sandman's pack.) He said he has since jettisoned over 20 pounds. Still it is hard to imagine carrying that much weight when Cubtrax's pack is half that with water.At Blue Mountain Shelter, we ate lunch, read graffiti, and signed the register. We saw that Creaky Bonze was still heading North, and we hope that we will be seeing her up the trail.Looking forward to the next section, however this was the end of our slack-packing. We will be back in the tents on Wednesday and will soon be saying good-bye to Georgia.We got our digital camera sent to us in the mail, so we will soon be able to post some pictures. We just don't know when.Until our next entry, happy trails.
Date: 2005-03-17
From: Unicoi Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We took a REAL zero day today. We had been working hard on our days in between hiking, so we decided to take a real zero day and prepare for North Carolina!We should be there in three days, and we plan on resupplying in Franklin, NC. That will be in 5 days. So you won't hear from us for a while.The weather was not good the past 3 days, so we were happy with our decision to stay at the hostel.Talk to you all soon. Happy Trails!
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday to Navigator at Hiker Hostel.Our starting pack weights today were: 22 for Cubtrax, 27 for Boston and 29.5 for Sandman. That is with five days of food and 1 liter of water a piece.Started from Unicoi at 9:15am being dropped off by Pittsburg's Shuttle. Thanks for the tour of Helen, GA. The hike was long, but good. The temps were in the 50's and sunny. The ice from the night before was 2-3 inches deep and pelting us as it fell off of the trees. The wind must have been fierce because the ice on the limbs was frozen sideways. The climb up Kelly Knob was long and hard, but worth the view.We stayed at Deep Gap Gap shelter with 6 guys. This was our first try with our alcohol pop can stove and it worked like a champ. We are no longer filtering our water, it takes too long and too much weight and hassle. We are using bleach to treat our water, 1 drop per liter. The guys at the shelter already had a fire started, which was nice to sit around.Sandman does not like his pack much. He is planning on getting a new one in Franklin, NC.We went to bed just after dark, about 7:30pm, and waited for the attack of the mice. Cubtrax has a past childhood history of mice and was snugged into her sleeping bag so tight and praying they wouldn't get in. She probably should have gotten mouse-therapy prior to the trip. The mice did come, we could hear them scamper across the floor and drop nuts from the loft above us. I think the guys in the loft above, had it worse than we did. The mice liked it better up there. One of the guys had shredded paper and nuts in his boots when he woke up. Sandman had nuts and mouse "wet-spot" in his boot in the morning.
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Rich Cove
Miles today: 10.1

We woke up at Deep Gap Shelter having survived the mouse attacks. The sun rose about 6:20am, and we got up and moving. Got our gear together, had breakfast and hit the trail about 8:30.The sun was up and hit 58 degrees today. As we came closer to Dicks Creek we could hear some children running around. We crossed the highway at Dicks Creek and were greeted by Trail Angels from the local Baptist Church. They fed us donuts, soda, cheetos, gum, and pretty much anything we could ask for. They had fuel, first aid and toilet paper for anyone needing more supplies. It was nice to receive food that we did not have to carry. We met Tater, who was one of the Trail Angels. He had met Almanac and Profile during their thru-hike.It took us 7 hours to hike today, we did have lots of breaks. The camp site at Rich Cove was up on a knob with a nice fire ring. We had it all to ourselves. We had a great fire going and beautiful evening weather. All in all it was a great evening.