morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-06
From: Campsite past Hogpen Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was nuts! Within about 2 minutes of putting down my pen the first soft raindrops fell. An hour later it was a full blown thunderstorm. A little while later another one came overhead, and then another one . . . and another one . . . They came one after another all night long. Aside from all the splatter from the outside, the tarp held up fine. In the morning things were damp, but not enough to make me cold. The hike today was pretty uneventful. Not many people out. When I got to the shelter two of the people already have said they saw a guy at Chatahoochie Gap with an external frame pack with a live chicken in a makeshift coop on top. Don¢t know if I believe it, but crazy stuff can happen out here. Looks like it¢s going to be a cold night, but at least dry.
Date: 2003-03-07
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Another long day today, but it was a good one. The weather was beautiful all day, and we had great views from Tray Mountain. I had tons of energy this morning. The climb up from Unicoi Gap to Tray Mountain seemed to fly by, and I was up there in no time. All that fast hiking gave me a heck of an appetite by lunchtime. Joe and Erin had picked up an unopened jar of peanut butter somebody had left on the side of the trail, and the three of us ended up almost finishing it off. The hiking was easier after lunch, but I didn¢t have the energy I had in the morning (probably all the peanut butter in my stomach). My legs are pretty tired now, but my knees don¢t hurt nearly as much as they have the past few days.I finally got to meet some of the folks off the hikers-R-us yahoo internet group today. It was a group of aspiring 2003 thru-hikers that I was a part of from time to time. It was nice to finally be able to put some faces to the names I got to know online.The stars are absolutely gorgeous tonight. A guy here was trying to light a campfire earlier, but had no luck with all the wet wood. I can¢t figure out why somebody would want a fire on a night like tonight. Just look up and you¢ll find something much more hypnotic.Tomorrow is going to be a short 3.5 mile hike into Dicks Creek Gap, and then a hitch to the Blueberry Patch to pick up my maildrop. Right now I¢m thinking I¢ll stay the night there and fuel up for a big hike into North Carolina on Sunday.
Date: 2003-03-08
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Blueberry Patch
Miles today: 3.5

Part of this hike is dealing with changes, and it looks like it¢s about to change. Erin, Joe and I got down to Dicks Creek Gap around 10 or 11 today. They were a little bit ahead of me, and when they got there they found Gary, the owner of the Blueberry Patch, dropping off some hikers that stayed with him last night. They told Gary I was coming, so I didn¢t even have to ask for a ride today. So I left Erin and Joe pretty quick expecting to see them again soon somewhere down the trail. Later in the day when I hitched into town I ran into Slowride whom I¢ve camped with for the past two nights. He said Erin and Joe got a message, something about a car being repossessed, and now they¢re on their way back to Maine. Just like that! They were digging the hike just as much as I am, and now it seems they¢re gone. I probably won¢t completely believe it until I don¢t find them on the trail again. So, anyway, I¢m now at the Blueberry Patch outside of Hiawassee with Wench, Bearkat, Red, and others. This place is sweet! I got a hot shower, my maildrop, a bed, a warm room, breakfast tomorrow morning, my laundry done, and nobody¢s asking me for money! Of course, I¢m going to give them a nice donation tomorrow when I leave. Gary and Lennie are just about he nicest people you¢ll ever meet. Like I said, us hikers hitched into town this afternoon. We went to an AYCE buffet that was fantastic, then to the grocery store, then to another restaurant while carrying the groceries with us and sat down to have a beer. All in all, a good day.I still plan on crossing the NC border tomorrow, but now some of my motivation for a big day is gone with Erin and Joe gone. I¢ll see how I feel tomorrow.
Date: 2003-03-09
From: Blueberry Patch

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

Today was the longest day yet, over probably the toughest terrain yet, and my legs are feeling pretty good. Tired, of course, but otherwise good. It¢s great to be able to hike as far as you want in a day and not have to worry about how the legs are feeling in the morning.And the perfect way to start out a long day is with a huge breakfast at the Blueberry Patch. The seven of us that stayed there last night and had all we could eat of sausage, cheese biscuits, orange juice, and pancakes with maple or blueberry syrup. The whole time we were stuffing our faces Gary and Lennie were there waiting on us and talking with us. They are just about the nicest, most generous people I think I have ever met. Afterwards Gary made two trips back to the trail to drop us off. And so with a full stomach and a heavy pack from resupplying, I began to tick off the last miles in Georgia. Even though it was almost all uphill, I did the 8+ miles to the North Carolina border by early afternoon. Once a hiker crosses the state line on the AT, North Carolina greets you with a punch I the gut. The first couple of climbs over Sharp Top and Courthouse Bald are extremely steep, and I thought the hardest climbs so far. After those first couple of miles though, the terrain gets easier and I started cruising again.One thing I forgot to mention about this morning that still has me kind of pissed off is that my camera got screwed up, and now all my pictures so far are ruined. I can¢t figure out what the problem is. It¢s like the thing forgets that there is film in it. I¢m still trying to figure out what to do about that.To end on a more positive note, after today¢s miles, this is now the longest distance that I have ever continuously hiked. Several years ago a few friends from Virginia Tech and I went backpacking on the AT in Virginia over Spring Break. We covered about 70 miles in six days, and it was on that trip that I decided one day I will try to thru-hike this trail.
Date: 2003-03-10
From: Deep Gap

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

It¢s good to be back with people again. Yesterday I felt like I was between two big groups of people, and I didn¢t really see anybody all day. Today at lunch I caught the group that was ahead of me. Joe was there! Erin had to go home, but the report I heard that Joe went with him was wrong. I also caught up with Ray again, who I haven¢t seen for several days. So here¢s the group now: Ray (now Flick), Joe (Hot Poles), A-train, Mike (Grunt), Dimples, Red, Subman, Red Streak, Ales, Space Monkey (also from Nashville), Squirts, and Jeff (maybe start calling him Java). We¢ve been sitting around the campfire till the late hour of 8:30 telling stories and jokes and having a good ole time.The terrain today was pretty easy until the last mile over Albert Mountain. The climb to the top there was extremely steep, but it was fun since there was a lot of rock scrambling. There was a fire tower on top that we could go up, and the view was absolutely spectacular. The sky was completely clear, and we could see miles off into the distance. I wish my freakin¢ camera worked!Tonight I¢m in what is, according to the Thru-Hikers Handbook, the highest shelter between Springer and the Smokies. We¢re at almost 5,000 ft. With the clear skies, the temperature has dipped pretty quick since the sun went down. Tonight might be the first real test of my sleeping bag.
Date: 2003-03-11
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Last week thirteen miles would¢ve been a big day for me. Today it felt like a stroll. I got up before almost everyone else this morning, but took my sweet time getting ready to go and was the last one out. It didn¢t feel like I was hiking fast, but the first 5 12 miles to Rock Gap were over before I knew it. From there a 12 mile side trail went down to the Wasalik Poplar, which is said to be the second largest yellow-poplar tree in the world. I like trees, so I decided it would be worth my time to go check it out. That was a big ole tree! Makes me wander what these forests would really look like if they hadn¢t been clear-cut the early part of the last century. From there I cruised on for a few more miles, and somewhere between Wallace and Winding Stair Gaps I ate lunch and took a nap right on the trail under the midday sun. I¢m going to have to do that more often. I woke up feeling super relaxed and ready to go again. And so I cruised again and the miles dropped quickly. When I got to the shelter trail, I decided to go on to the top of the mountain first, which was between 12 mile and a mile further on. I got to the top and had it all to myself. There were no trees up there, so it was a 360-degree view. I honestly don¢t know how long I was up there. Could¢ve been an hour, could¢ve been 10 minutes, but that was my favorite moment on the trail so far. There was hardly any wind except for an occasional soft breeze that rustled the old leaves on a thicket of low beech tree shrubs. The late afternoon sunlight was dispersed and softened by some high thin clouds. It¢s really hard to describe the feeling of peace that it gave me. It was a moment that makes you glad to be alive, but at the same time you could die happy right there. I could see the Great Smoky Mountains off in the distance where I will be hiking next week. A lot of the hikers including me at times, worry about what the terrain and the weather will be like through the Smokies, but from the mountaintop they seemed quite docile. Eventually I headed down to the shelter. The group has changed a bit from last night. Some of the folks went into Franklin for a bed and resupply, and some people who I¢ve not before caught up to us are here. But that¢s how it is on the trail. For all the routine we have, things are always changing.
Date: 2003-03-13
From: ??????

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

I¢ve been living the sweet life for the past 24 hours. Big dinner last night, big breakfast this morning, big lunch and big dinner today. I got into NOC early in the afternoon after hiking straight down for several miles. My feet and legs were hurting big time during that hike, but after spending the whole afternoon chilling in front of the outfitter store here my legs are feeling good again. This afternoon Grunt, Java and I caught a ride about a mile down the road to a gas station/convenience store and bought some oven bake pizzas and sandwich stuff and brought it back here for everyone to eat. I¢m really impressed with how all the hikers always look out for each other. I might make a trip to get them some dinner one night, but I¢ll get paid back somehow, they¢ll loan me a towel for a shower or do my laundry for me or something. It all eventually works out. I wish this could carry over into everyday life. Everyone would just be generous to everyone else and not expect anything for it, but it would always balance out anyways. I guess it does carry over to some extent, but on the trail the best side of people seems to stand out.Tomorrow I¢m going to take some time to get my food and gear in order again, and then take off around midday on the long climb out of the NOC. Quite honestly I think I prefer steep climbs to steep descents. I¢ll be more tired, but ascents don¢t hurt nearly as much.
Date: 2003-03-14
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I¢ve read the journals of thru-hikers over the past couple of years, and they often talk about being drawn into town and not wanting to leave. I now understand the feeling. This morning I spent about two hours reorganizing my food and gear, which should have taken about 20 minutes. Then I waited around for a while for the restaurant to open at eleven and get another big lunch. Then I hung out for a while in front of the outfitter talking to other hikers, watching people come and go and just chillin¢. I finally got going around 1:00 on the hike up out of the NOC. It was often steep and long, but I really enjoyed the hike. Uphill is much more fun than downhill. That might be hard to understand for someone who doesn¢t backpack, but it¢s very true. It was only about seven miles to the shelter, and when I got here I had plenty of energy to go on, but this is a nice place and I¢m not in a hurry. There¢s almost 14 people in the shelter tonight, most of whom I¢ve mentioned sometime before. This group is really getting to know each other well, and we¢re all having a blast.There was a large group of people staying at the NOC last night that were doing trail maintenance. This morning I was talking to an older guy that was part of the group over breakfast. We were just talking about trail stuff and generally just shooting the breeze. After a while he mentioned his son, and I find out to my amazement that this guy was Alex Lowe¢s father. Alex Lowe was a really famous high altitude mountaineer that was killed in the Himalayas in 1999 by an avalanche. I had read about a number of his climbs before and was quite excited to meet his father.The second very cool thing that happened this morning was my camera started working again. I just took the film out and put it back in, did the same with the batter, and it started working. So I was able to take what I hope will be good pictures of the Nantahala Gorge and the surrounding mountains today. It was a spectacular view, so I hope the pictures turn out.I weighed my pack today after sending a few more gear items home. I¢m down to 35 pounds with water and 3 days of food.
Date: 2003-03-15
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We had really the first crappy hiking weather today since I started, but since the weather has been so good up till now I can¢t complain. And really it wasn¢t that bad today. Last night it rained while I was in the shelter, and this morning we woke up in a cloud. It was chilly and drizzling all morning, but eventually cleared a little during the afternoon.Then we got to the shelter and Pop Tart went down to the stream in front of the shelter and found four fresh Coors Lite beers. We have no idea where they came from, but boy were they great. Pop Tart didn¢t want one, so the four guys here (Subman, Grunt, Java and Me ¢ everyone else from last night stopped at the shelter 6 miles back) each had one. It was perfect. Four beers for four people. Now that¢s trail magic.Going into Fontana tomorrow to pick up my next maildrop. Then on to the Smokies.
Date: 2003-03-16
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 6.5

I¢ve said it many times, but I don¢t think that I¢ve written it yet. The one thing I miss most from ¢the real world¢ is, without a doubt, listening to music. All the other things like showers, clean clothes, real food, etc., they don¢t even come close. Right now I¢m sitting in the Fontana Resort Hotel ground floor lobby listening to a couple of section hikers who brought a guitar, flute, and drum with them in their car. We¢re kinda having a sing-a-long/jam session with everyone, and it¢s marvelous. I¢ve gotten to play a bit of guitar myself, and it felt wonderful to have one in my hands again after so long. I feel so complete right now, I can hardly describe it. It¢s hard to imagine how people lived before sound recording was invented.
Date: 2003-03-17
From: Fontana Village

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: broken clouds

Getting out of the Fontana Village this morning was the polar opposite experience from getting out of the NOC. At the NOC I was perfectly content to hang around, talk with everybody, and eat decent food. I almost had to force my legs to take me out of there. This morning at Fontana Village, however, I wanted to leave as soon as I could, but was held there for a while due to the circumstances. I had to get my resupply maildrop, which was at the Hike Inn (where I originally intended to stay), about 10 miles away form the Village. There was only one guy at the Village doing shuttles for a large crowd of hikers in the area, and in the confusion of people trying to get to and from the trail and to and from town, it was difficult to get a hold of this guy. On top of everything, this one guy was also the guy in charge of the backpacking store of the Village, which was where I needed to go to get my fuel bottle topped off with stove alcohol. For a while I also thought I would have to get a ride into town since I needed cash and a strangely enough there wasn¢t a single ATM in the Village. Thankfully, though, I was able to get some cash at the Post Office there. Eventually I was able to get the guy who owns the Hike Inn to bring my package to the Village when he came over to pick up some other hikers. All in all, it was a very confusing and seemingly suffocating experience. I finally got out of there and back to the trail by mid-afternoon with Java and Grunt. We had decided to only hike the mile or so to the Fontana Hilton (a very large and very nice trail shelter near the Fontana Dam) since we got out so late and the weather was pretty crappy. Tomorrow I finally get to enter the Smokies.Rumors have been circulating on the trail for the past few days about the dam being closed. The most recent rumor was that the dam would be closed off if President Bush declared war on Iraq. Since he was supposed to hold a press conference tonight, we were very concerned that we would not be able to get across the dam tomorrow. There is an alternate route to cross the river, but it is a couple miles out of the way and the dam is a fairly well known landmark on the trail. Java, Grunt and I left our packs at the shelter and walked across the dam and back just to be sure we could say we crossed the dam on our thru-hikes (silly, I know). On the way back we talked to a policeman, and he said he hadn¢t heard any word on the dam closing, so now it seems the rumors may all be false. Up until now all of the trail I¢ve hiked has been new to me. Starting here, I¢ve previously done a significant portion of the next few hundred miles of AT. I¢m a bit curious to see how much of it looks and feels familiar.
Date: 2003-03-18
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Java, Grunt and I were out of the Fontana Shelter by 7:30 this morning, which is by far the earliest I¢ve started hiking yet. And it was a good thing, too, because as we were about to cross the dam, the policeman we talked to yesterday told us that he was waiting on a phone call to close the dam off. He also told us about Bush¢s 48-hour deadline. It¢s almost hard to comprehend going to war when you¢re hiking the trail. Everything out here seems so peaceful, and everybody seems to get along with everybody beautifully. Anyway, hopefully the guys who stayed in town last night got to the dam early enough to get across.Getting out early allowed us to put in some big miles today over some difficult terrain. We were originally planning to stop at Russel Field Shelter 3 miles back, but we got there early in the afternoon and the weather was holding (but barely), so we decided to go on. There¢s a group of boy scouts here, so thankfully I got here early enough to get a spot in the shelter.Tomorrow we plan to get to a shelter about 13 miles from here. That will put us just a few miles shy of Clingman¢s Dome. It seems all of the thru-hikers, including me, are trying to zoom through the park since it is so crowded and the weather isn¢t very good and all the regulations are kind of a hassle.
Date: 2003-03-19
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

The big story of the day has been the weather. It rained all last night, including some far off thunderstorms, and this morning it was raining hard off and on while we were getting ready to go. Then, a few minutes before I left, the rain stopped for good. It was really cloudy and windy all day long, but it never rained more than a few drops at a time while I was hiking. The wind was really ferocious coming over the bald ridges of Rocky Top and Thunderhead, easily 40 mph gusts and maybe more. It actually made the hiking really difficult at times, and it seemed that Grunt, Java and I were all really dragging for the first 1/2 of the hike. Occasionally the ridge we were on would drop below the clouds and we could see sunlight only a few miles to the north over Tennessee. It made for a really gorgeous sight, but I never stopped to take a picture because I was damp (from the clouds) and the wind was cold. As long as I was moving I was fine, but if I stopped for any length of time I had to put extra layers on to keep warm. This evening, a while after everyone had made it to the shelter, we had a thunderstorm come overhead. So I feel really lucky as far as not having to hike in torrential rain. Just a few moments ago we could actually see some stars, but another cloud quickly settled in and it is pitch black outside. I hope it will clear up tomorrow, at least for a short while, for the hike over Clingman¢s Dome.
Date: 2003-03-20
From: Double Sping Gap Shelter

To: Icewater Springs Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

Today went from a good day, to a crappy day, back to a good day, and ended a great day. I started out taking my time getting out of the shelter, while Grunt, Squirts, and Redstreak rushed so they could get into Gatlinburg and back to the trail by the end of the day. That left Pop-Tart, Java, and me to talk with Sarah and Ingrid, two girls on Spring Break from Yale that stayed the night in the shelter with us. Despite the fact that they drove all the down from Connecticut and the weather was crappy with no views, they seemed to be having a great time. It¢s great to find people that can still enjoy the outdoors even when the weather doesn¢t cooperate. They even got my ¢Pile Up¢ knock knock joke on the first try, which hasn¢t happened often and I¢m getting frustrated about that). So I left the shelter filled with their positive energy, and despite the constant, cold light rain, I was in a good mood. Java and I made it to Clingman¢s Dome together about mid-morning. I could see as far as Mt. Leconte and I was pretty lucky to see that, but it was mostly just clouds. We started hiking again and before long I was by myself ahead of Java. After about an hour of hiking the rain and clouds and cold and super muddy trail really started to work on me. I really needed to stop and take a good break, but there was nowhere to stop that wasn¢t really wet and muddy. I finally made it to Newfound Gap early in the afternoon in a bad mood. There I met Pop Tart talking to a few people, and I sat down to have some lunch. The guys Pop Tart was talking to then offered me some hot dogs they were cooking on a Coleman stove. I had three and they were the best hot dogs I¢ve ever had. My spirits almost immediately lifted, and then Flick and Subman showed up from hitching back to Gatlinburg. The rain pretty much stopped at that point, and the four of us made the next 3 miles to the shelter with me in a good mood again. The best part of the day occurred when I got to the shelter and looked around at the people already here. The last face I saw I knew immediately. It was Ridgerunner James, who worked the section directly south of me last summer in Pennsylvania. I haven¢t talked to him since ridgerunner recap at the end of the season last year. He¢s working the Smokies this year, and I was quite happy to get to run into him. We talked a bit, and I went through my evening dinner routine. Before the sun set, the clouds cleared for a while, and we could actually see blue sky above us for the first time in a couple days. The forecast seems to be clearing up for the next few days, so my hopes are up for some quality hiking for the rest of the Smokies.