morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-10-30
From: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

To: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a forced zero as the weather at elevation continues to deteriorate. My parents are saints as they decided to stay an extra day in Gatlinburg with me as I deal with this unusual situation. The day was spent enjoying the fruits of town. I had breakfast at McDonald's followed by a trip to the library to check e-mail, Facebook, and get some internet intel concerning the weather. The news was not encouraging. Mt. LeConte, which is just a few miles from Newfound Gap and has a guest lodge, was reporting 17" of snow and accumulating this morning. Of course, it kept snowing all day at elevation. It was frustrating driving around in heavy rain knowing that it was all snow at Newfound Gap and Clingman's Dome. I nevertheless prepared to get back on the trail by doing my laundry and resupplying at WalMart. And, since Golden Corral was on the way...(they went into the red on my meal for sure). The good news is that the rain here / snow at elevation is drawing to a close. Kentucky Blue and I exchanged texts all afternoon, and, crazy or not, we are going to try to get back out there tomorrow after she does some vehicle shuttling. My friend Will texted me saying, "You're a madman," but maybe we can get through, especially since we only have to make it about 15 miles to get out of the really heavy snow.
Date: 2012-10-31
From: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

To: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Miles today: 0.1
Weather: clear sky

Happy Halloween! The day started out early as I agreed to meet Kentucky Blue at 8:00 AM across town. She has a work commitment this weekend, so she shuttled her vehicle to the main NOC near Wesser, North Carolina. Ironically, since the very road we want to access, US Rte. 441, is closed through Newfound Gap, we had to drive all the way around using Interstate 40. Dinosaur and Artie, two of the ATC crew members who were part of the crew that initially warned me of the bad weather, happen to be friends with Kentucky Blue, so we met again. We actually had a fun time driving and stopped to see the "most photographed view in the Smokies" -- an old iron tower near Soco, North Carolina.After dropping Kentucky Blue's truck at the NOC and Dinosaur insisted on treating me to some trail magic in the form of a Whopper meal at Burger King in Bryson City, we approached the gate to US Rte. 441 at Oconaluftee. The gate was still closed, so we drove back to the Visitors Center. The plan was for Dinosaur to leave us there in hopes that we could hitch up the mountain once the gate reopened. But, almost as a miracle, just as we were about to part company, I asked the ranger for an expected time for the road to re-open, and he said that he had just gotten the word three minutes earlier that the road had re-opened. Sure enough, we cruised right up the mountain, and the snow depth went from zero, to noteworthy, to unbelievable in minutes.We had come to hike, so doggone it, we were going to hit the AT! It was another madhouse scene as tourists flocked to see the record snow, which by then had jumped in the record books to 34"! Cars were getting stuck in the parking lot as we lunged our way over the snow bank and onto the AT, or at least walked three feet above what is usually the AT. We made it all of about 100 yards fighting with drifts up to my stomach and probably around chest-deep for Kentucky Blue. Tree limbs that would normally be several feet above the trail became obstacles as they were being pulled down and the "trail" was elevated. I gave Kentucky Blue a look that said it all -- there was no way we were going anywhere in such conditions. I rode with Dinosaur and Artie to Gatlinburg, while Kentucky Blue hitched back toward Cherokee and later opted to put her hike on hold until next week. I checked back into the Motel 6 and spent the evening enjoying Halloween in redneck heaven.
Date: 2012-11-01
From: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

To: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

This All Saints' Day finds me quite stir crazy as I live the dream -- a Motel 6 in Gatlinburg. Even though I am enjoying poking fun at Gatlinburg, I realized today that, if I had to be stuck, I got lucky being stuck in probably the biggest trail town there is. Even though I have little interest in going to the "Christ in the Smokies Museum," panning for gold in a storefront, or buying legal "moonshine" (doesn't that make it just...liquor?), I do have my choice of restaurants and have some entertainment beyond a television screen.After first lunch, I was walking down the street when I happened to notice someone familiar. Catch Up, my old hiking partner, made it to Gatlinburg the night before after a harrowing three days holed-up at Cosby Knob Shelter. He eventually relayed a call for help to the NPS, and rangers came to assist him in getting down the mountain [Catch Up was not the one rescued by helicopter. That was a MEGA I never met named Solo]. He told me the story over second lunch, and I have never seen anyone order that many sides from KFC before in my life.   And, as we were eating (or rather as I stared in amazement as Catch Up plowed through a cake after having downed every side on the menu), we saw Easy Wind. He had walked off the trail the same day I had, though much later when the road had closed. He had gotten a ride in one of the snow plows after reaching Newfound Gap. After dinner with Catch Up at Calhoun's, I have been watching TV movies all night. I am excited as I am going to wait-out the snow this weekend by going camping with Will in a lower elevation of the Smokies. I also am feeling good about Kentucky Blue's and my decision to turn back yesterday as the news reported that the crew at Mt. LeConte tried to make it out of the lodge and only made it a quarter-mile.
Date: 2012-11-02
From: Motel 6, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

To: Cataloochee Valley, GSMNP
Miles today: 0.0

I had to laugh at myself this morning as I struggled to get ready in time to check-out by 11 AM. I am usually chiding myself for not getting on the trail by 8:30 AM! Will picked me up from the NOC at 12:30 PM. Will had been talking about a restaurant frequented by "in-the-know" locals called the Wild Plum Tea Room. Upon arrival, I found it funny that Will liked the place so much since we were the only men there and probably brought the mean age down substantially without affecting the median age. One taste of the food, however, let me know he knew what he was doing. We then traveled all the way back to the very eastern extent of the park (again on I-40) for camping with his hiking club, the Southern Highlanders of Knoxville. We had a pleasant 4.5-mile hike along the Caldwell Fork Trail to a nice campsite [apparently all of the official campsites in the park are numbered, this one being # 41] beside a fork of the stream. I met several of the hiking club members including Jerky Mike. Jerky Mike loved giving me a hard time about being a through-hiker, about being an attorney, and anything else that came to mind. He had everyone convinced I was an undercover park ranger or some sort of law enforcement agent making a list of park rule infractions. I think some people left convinced that I was doing just that...thanks, Mike! (You just made the list, by the way...)I did hear one distressing bit of news from some late arrivals -- a through-hiker had to be rescued from somewhere around Tri-Corner Knob this afternoon because of the impassable snow. I have no idea who it might be, so naturally I am worried about some of my friends and acquaintances. I hope that the person is safe! [It turned out to be Solo, a through-hiker I haven't met, and, from what I have read, he was safe and even got back on the trail.] I am wondering if I will even be able to hit the trail again on Sunday as planned.
Date: 2012-11-03
From: Cataloochee Valley, GSMNP

To: Cataloochee Valley, GSMNP
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a great day to be outside. It was also cool to be out in the wilderness without having to worry about my schedule or getting in big miles. Will, Jenny, and I did a great 10-mile loop that gave a varied view of the park. We hiked up to Double Gap, out-and-back to Hemphill Bald, passed and visited the luxury resort known as "the Swag," and then back down into this valley along the McKee Branch Trail. I had a great time going straight up Thunderbolt Bald (just above Double Gap), and we had lunch at the exceptional viewpoint at Hemphill Bald, which is technically on a private reserve that has been opened to the public. A tablet had been carved showing just about every mountain from Mount Mitchell to Standing Indian. Dirty Wayne met us as he did his hike (he is trying to hit every trail in the park), and the four of us hiked the rest of the way together. We enjoyed stopping at the Swag, where they were quite hospitable despite our non-guest status. They sold us Coke at cost and told us to enjoy looking around. As to my trip update, there was only spotty snow at Hemphill Bald, an elevation of 5,400', so my prospects of a return to the AT tomorrow are better.We've had another nice night around the campfire. I really appreciate the Southern Highlanders not only allowing me to be here with them, but really taking me in and showing me hospitality. And boy, they know how to eat on a camping trip!
Date: 2012-11-04
From: Cataloochee Valley, GSMNP

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: overcast clouds

For the first time, I was happy to hear rain on my tent last night. Yes, rain and not additional snow! Then again, we were low enough there that the rain might have been more snow up high.Being a hiker himself, Will wanted to get me back to Newfound Gap at a reasonable time. So, we got moving this morning. It was an easy 4.5 miles back to the road and I enjoyed crossing the stream so many times on the log bridges. Will says that the AT really gives through-hikers a narrow view of the park as the park offers more than just mountaintops, and he is right. The Southern Highlanders are a great group of people, and I hope to see them again. Even Jerky Mike, who gave me a good-natured hard time all weekend, showed his true teddy bear colors when he offered to let me borrow his micro-spikes when he heard I was heading over Clingman's Dome tomorrow. Maybe I'll take his name off of the list.Will, Jenny, and I had a breakfast-food lunch at Peter's in Cherokee, I grabbed some fast food to carry with me, and we headed up to Newfound Gap. The snow still looked impressive, though I would say almost half of the snow I had seen Wednesday had melted. It still wasn't ideal conditions, and I knew I would have my struggles, but I deemed it tolerable. Will and Jenny hiked with me to the first major trail junction. I can't thank them enough for watching out for me this weekend!The difficulty of the trail depended a lot on whether or not I was post-holing. It was actually almost normal hiking where I was following in others' footprints. It was another story when I was post-holing through high drifts or negotiating through / around blow-downs. Believe it or not, I even passed a trail maintainer who was out trying to get his section of responsibility back in order -- what dedication!Not surprisingly, I am alone tonight. The temperature is already probably around freezing and plunging. Fortunately, I am toasty in the sleeping bag on loan from Fast Packer.
Date: 2012-11-05
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: few clouds

Today was a difficult day, both physically and mentally. The 19 or so miles that I did may not seem like an impressive number, but I probably never worked harder for mileage than I did today since much of the day was spent trudging through high snow. It was also hard mentally as I feel that my forced break in Gatlinburg / the eastern Smokies has broken my momentum. I know it was just superficial pride, but I was really jazzed about the prospect of finishing my through-hike in four months or less. That's not possible now.I started off slow. I knew it was going to happen, but since I didn't want to put my shoes in or under my sleeping bag, they froze overnight. Fortunately, I was able to get them on and tied in only a few minutes. I finally got out of camp only to find that the footprints I had been following ended at the AT / Sugarloaf Mountain Trail junction. It was a slow-go and tough-slug every step over Clingman's Dome. On the upside, the micro-spikes on loan from Jerky Mike helped substantially and I had a great view from Clingman's -- my first in the GSMNP! Just prior to Clingman's, I ran into my old friend Shambo (if two weeks counts as an "old friend" -- it does on the AT). His mother had picked him up at Interstate 40 and he had been section-hiking / slack-packing all the way down to Neels Gap. Despite having only gone 6.3 miles, I had lunch at Double Spring Gap Shelter. The rest of the day featured a lot of substantial ups and downs, which were made harder by the fact that my energy felt drained. I began feeling a cold coming on pretty strong -- just what I needed! Late in the day, I crossed Thunderhead and Rocky Top Mountains. I felt like I was going to pass out going uphill. Nevertheless, the views from both were remarkable. I arrived here right at sunset and made my way directly to the spring knowing that I would not want to move once I sat down. My appetite was low, which is very odd for me. I had to force feed myself the bottom half of my tuna melt, a meal which I usually inhale. I am now hacking up a lung as I write. It's not all doom and gloom, though. I hit the high point of the AT today and officially became a 2,000-miler someplace south of Rocky Top.By the way, happy Guy Fawkes Day! Remember, remember the 5th of November. I was bad, however, since I did not build a bonfire.
Date: 2012-11-06
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter (Fontana Hilton)
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started off with a surprise in the weather department -- I awoke to about 2-3" of fresh snow. That's beans compared to the Sandy snow, but still a surprise. The worst part was that my gaiter straps kept collecting snow balls under them, and I was continually having to knock them off. The snow continued most of the morning, and it was highly dependent on elevation as to whether it melted instantly on ground contact (below about 4,200'), stuck only to vegetation (4,200-say 4,600'), or accumulated (above 4,600'). The hiking had a lot of rolling ridges this morning. I crossed over Doe Mountain, which is completely unremarkable other than the fact that it is the last spot where the AT runs along the North Carolina / Tennessee border. It's all North Carolina and Georgia from there. I eventually began the long descent toward Fontana Dam and Fontana Lake. The snow stopped only to be replaced by fog. Once at lower elevation, it was just a clear but dreary day. I saw two bears in the hollows leading to Fontana -- they are smart to know right where that national park boundary falls.Fontana Dam is a very impressive structure. On the lake side, the dam is about 40' above the water. On the gorge side, the dam is like a giant skateboard ramp ending at the river. The Visitors Center is just south of the dam, but, other than the bathroom, was completely locked-down for the season. I pressed on to here for a late lunch thinking I was going to keep going to Cable Gap Shelter, but then laziness set in. Around 4:00 PM, Fiber One, a flip-hiker I had stayed with in Shenandoah, showed up. It was hard understanding all of the pieces of his flip hike, but I did understand the part about him having a car. I wasn't shy to accept his offer of a ride to Fontana Village for dinner. Unfortunately, the pizza oven at the convenience store was broken, so we headed to the dining room of the resort area. I made a run for it when I saw the prices. So, we went back to the convenience store (right beside the resort) where I got three hot dogs and some Coke. Not a bad meal at all! Even so, between the cold and my cold, I am feeling miserable tonight (I'm probably not supposed to admit that as a toughened through-hiker).
Date: 2012-11-07
From: Fontana Dam Shelter (Fontana Hilton)

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: light rain

I slept fitfully last night, mainly because of my constant coughing and sneezing. A trail angel had left a few cans of beer in the shelter, and I initially decided against having any due to the big sign saying, "No alcohol." I figured I would respect the TVA rules so that they don't end up closing the Fontana Hilton one day. Nevertheless, I went and got one in the middle of the night, and it did the trick, or at least helped substantially. The hiking was hard today. Right away, there were a couple of hills even before North Carolina Rte. 28. The climb after the highway was significant and long. After that, the trail became standard with ups and downs, though this section of the trail seems to have a high number of unnecessarily steep PUDs. Case in point was the steep, short climb to Brown Fork Gap Shelter just prior to my late lunch. The real challenge of the day started after the steep descent to Stecoah Gap. The initial climb out of the gap to Locust Cove Gap was more of the same -- steep PUDs. From there to the top of Cheoah Bald was intense climbing with multiple false summits. The fog settled in as I made it higher, then I began walking through accumulated snow. Yet, just when I began thinking the climb was endless, I reached the Bartram Trail and then the summit. Unfortunately, it was another fogged-in view, though the snow was beautiful.I am here tonight with two section hikers. They've been hiking together for years, so it's funny listening to them jokingly squabble and pick on each other. Also, since they are going off-trail tomorrow and are nice, they've been loading me up on all of their food and drink mixes.
Date: 2012-11-08
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

My cold, while not entirely gone, seems to be on the mend. I didn't hack my way through another night. My two section-hiking friends bid me farewell after loading me down with even more food, all of it useful. I got off to a good, fast start as it was downhill all the way to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). I came to a cove about three miles into my trip and heard a lot of barking. I thought some dogs might be on an active bear chase, but it turns out they were dogs that had been lost overnight after a bear hunt the previous day. A bear hunter was corralling his dogs right along the trail in a spot that was convenient for him, but that was not convenient for avoiding his dogs due to the vegetation. Feeling I didn't have much of a choice, I moved ahead trying to give the dogs as much leeway as possible. Sure enough, I made it about halfway past the group of dogs when two of them lunged at me. I am not sure if one dog bit me twice or if two dogs got me, but I do know that I found myself face down on the ground after having heaved myself out of reach of the dogs. For a couple of minutes, I couldn't move my leg, and I thought my hike was over. Once the shock wore off, though, I regained movement in my leg. That's when I noticed that my hiking pants were stained red. I rolled them up (surprisingly the pants were not punctured) to find a few surface scratches and a major puncture wound. The hunter came up and assured me that the dogs all had proper rabies shots and the like, but, when I asked him for his contact information, he back-peddled and made it clear I wasn't going to get any further information out of him. I hobbled down to the NOC where the staff gave me some first aid items to at least stop the bleeding. My knee is still very sore, so I will be going to a patient first center tomorrow.The grade was tough from the NOC to Wesser Bald and then from Tellico Gap to Rocky Bald / Copper Ridge. There was a nice view from Wesser Bald from the 60' tower complete with a platform and again from the 0.1 mile side trail to the top of Rocky Bald. I was in the snow again from before Rocky Bald to here.This shelter is tiny -- one of the smallest I have seen on the trail. It is nice that the spring is, at most, 25 feet from the shelter. I am here with four section hikers (Kathy, David, Gatorade, and Barker) and, ironically enough, a dog (Charlie). Today must be dog day on the trail.
Date: 2012-11-09
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Microtel, Franklin, North Carolina
Miles today: 15.8

Last night was tough with the tight accommodations, my returning cold, and pain from my dog bite. But, poor sleep makes for early starts.It was an easy down and up to Wayah Bald where there is a beautiful stone tower built. The view from the top was exceptional. I could see the last 5,000-footer of the trail, Standing Indian, off in the distance. I yelled out that I was coming for it. The steep PUDs that had become standard fare just north of here were thankfully absent in this section. I got to Siler Bald for lunch. The AT actually avoids the summit, but I couldn't resist. It was a steep 0.1 miles to a sort of landing, a 90-degree turn, then another steep 0.1 miles to the summit. The view was stunning. I met a nice couple who came up toward the end of my lunch, the husband of which grew up in Roanoke. They are from Oregon now, but in the area for a business conference. I also met a trail maintainer, Jim, who offered me a ride if I was still at Winding Stair Gap when he got there.Following Jim's advice, I stood and thumbed for a ride right beside the truck lane so that I could be seen from a long way off and the cars would have an easy pull-off. It took a long while (I was seeing how many different state license plates I could count), but a physical therapist from Franklin who works on the opposite side of the mountain stopped and delivered me right to the urgent care clinic. The urgent care center took good care of me and even had the animal control officer in to take a report about the dog (I think it's required under North Carolina law). After getting a shot and a prescription, I headed here. The motel quoted me a standard rate, but, when I told them I was willing even if not wanting to walk to other motels in town, the clerk called her manager and cut me a break. I still paid more than other motels in town, but this room also is very new and includes breakfast. I basically took it easy tonight with TV, Mountain Dew, and Pizza Hut. That leaves me with a lot of errands tomorrow, but so be it! For the first time, the end finally feels like it is in sight! Franklin is basically the southbounder's Monson, and the rest of North Carolina and Georgia feels like a victory lap.