morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-04-18
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Blueberry Patch Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

We were picked up around 10 am by Garry (the owner of the hostel), who gave us a ride back to his place. They live in a small house on 2 or 3 acres with a garage that has been turned into a bunk room for the hostel. They have lots of blueberry bushes and a pretty large garden along with some goats and donkeys. We were the first ones there, and after Garry washed our clothes and we showered up, he gave us a ride into town. By this time we were pretty hungry, so he dropped us off at the local steakhouse buffet... it was amazing. After a week in the woods, we finally got to stuff our faces with sub-par buffet food. It was probably the only time in the last week we have actually been full. Afterward, we went to the library for internet, and then to Ingles to resupply our food. This was only a few hours after lunch, but we decided to go ahead and get a rotisserie chicken for dinner. Garry just happened to be dropping off some more hikers at Ingles as we were walking out, so he gave us a ride back to the hostel. We promptly cleaned every bit of meat off the skeleton of our chicken, and hid the evidence before any of the other hikers could take advantage of us. We met some new friends, one of which has been carrying an electric cello and a battery powered amp on the trail with him (no joke). Later that night, he set up next to the garden and started playing. Everyone in the hostel (about 12 people at this point) was simply captivated by the quality and originality of his playing. We had an awesome evening just hanging out and making new friends. I am constantly amazed by the friendliness and generosity of people on the trail. I am hoping that the sense of community we feel now will exist for the duration of our journey. Some hikers called Garry from town around 10pm asking for a ride, but he was getting ready for bed, so he gave me the keys to his jeep and asked me to pick them up. He and his wife are both very kind people. They are a Christian couple, and have been running the hostel since Garry and his son completed a thru-hike in 91'. Random fact: This hostel was just a couple of miles down the road from the cabin that Adult 1 rented for the 2008 fall retreat. It was the one with the trout farm and the tree house.
Date: 2011-04-19
From: Blueberry Patch Hostel

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We were provided with an amazing breakfast this morning cooked by Lennie (Garry's wife). They made pancakes, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, sausage, eggs, and homemade blueberry syrup. Shortly afterward, Garry shuttled us back to the trail to continue our journey. It felt like a tough day, but we made relatively good time. My blister is bothering me a little, but my left quad was in some pretty intense pain today. I'm hoping that it is just a strained muscle, but I guess I'll find out in the next couple of days. Just before our shelter, there was a side trail for Raven Rock outlook, so we cooked dinner at the shelter and then hiked down the trail for sunset. The view from Raven Rock was better than Blood Mountain, and it was the first time we noticed that we could actually see spring moving up the mountain from the valley. It was a really relaxing evening.
Date: 2011-04-20
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to rain around 7:30, so we slept late and then just sate and talked with our fellow hikers until around 10:30 when the rain let up. Right in the middle of the downpour, this guy came hiking up to the shelter wearing just board shorts and a backpack. He is kind of crazy looking with three samurai-like ponytails, and walked in with a big smile and said, "you can't get to Maine without walking in the rain!". Everyone just laughed, and after he dried off a little, he set off hiking in the rain again. We later found out that his name is Bear Sweat and he has been doing 20 mile days. My leg felt much better today, and we made good time, getting to the shelter around 4:30. I had a dinner of four cheese bow-tie and summer sausage. We made a couple of new friends and were bluntly offered some "mushroom chocolates"... we politely declined. The drug culture on the trail reminds me a lot of what I have experienced in Colorado.
Date: 2011-04-21
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Tough hike to the top of Albert Mountain, but there was a tower at the top with a gorgeous, 360 degree view. After Albert Mtn., the trail was pretty easy. The shelter is kind of gross and the log book tells stories of mice, but we are going to risk it. Dylan and I salvaged some carabiners and paracord from a bad bear line (a cable used to hang food away from the reach of bears). We are the only ones here not stopping in Franklin, NC tomorrow, but we are trying to stretch our stops a little further to save money. It seems like every time we go in town, we spend more than we should. We passed the 100 mile mark today, so were are all feeling accomplished. Statistically, by this point, more than 25% of attempted thru-hikers have quit.
Date: 2011-04-22
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We hiked down into the gap that lead to Franklin, and spent some time with our fellow hikers before heading up the trail. My legs felt really good today. I think we are finally starting to get our trail legs under us, so hopefully that will roll into tomorrow as we are going to push into the NOC and stay at the hostel there. Since most of our buddies went into Franklin, we are camping with a new set of hikers tonight. One of which is Dave, a French Canadian hiking with his 8 month old husky. Vista showed up late tonight after making a wrong turn and putting in a 20 mile day. It was good to see a familiar face.
Date: 2011-04-23
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: clear sky

We got up early this morning to give us time to get to the NOC, but to our dismay, we found that Micah (Dave's dog) had either eaten or buried both of our socks. Fortunately we both had a spare pair, and Dave offered to buy us new ones. We set off and had a great hike to the Wesser Bald observation tower, which has a gorgeous view. We spotted what we think was Clingman's Dome, and then set off on a 2900' descent over the course of about 6 miles down into the NOC. If you have every hiked a brutal downhill like that, you can appreciate the pain that both of our knees were in by the end of the day. We checked into the hostel, and took our first shower is 5 days... it was pretty amazing. We both got BBQ sandwiches from the local grill and then bought some snacks for tonight. I was surprised to find that the blister on the ball of my right foot is now 3 blisters, but I guess that's part of the adventure too.
Date: 2011-04-24
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: clear sky

We had a lazy Sunday morning at the NOC for Easter. We checked out of the hostel, and then sat by the river for a couple of hours and had some quiet time. I opened my mom's note this morning for some Easter encouragement. We restocked at the local convenience store and bought some new socks (with our own money...). We started up the mountain around noon and it was by far the most difficult climb that we have had yet. We pretty much climbed uphill for 7 miles straight. The shelter is nice, but it's crowded with hikers and a family of about 10 who are weekend hiking. Tomorrows hike should be a bit easier since we are pretty much over the mountain now.
Date: 2011-04-25
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

So, apparently nobody in the NC division of the ATC knows what a switch back is, because the trail pretty much goes straight up the mountain at a 45 degree angle. It was a long day, but we made it to the shelter around 5:00. The terrain has been difficult, but as a result the views have become increasingly amazing. It makes the hard climbs worth hiking. We shared the site with 6 weekend hikers from Chicago, who thought it was necessary to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to make a 17 mile day!!!! On top of that they took about an hour and a half to break camp, while talking loudly amongst themselves. So, from 2:30 to 4:00 am, I got no sleep.
Date: 2011-04-26
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: "Fontanna Hilton" Shelter
Miles today: 6.6

We had an easy day into Fontanna today and met up with Driftwood and our new friend Emily. We hitched into town for the first time today, which was fun. It was only after we got out of the back of the truck that we realized our driver had been pounding tall-boys en route. We restocked our food supply and then swam and took showers at the resort pool, which had mushroom kiddie fountains and a lazy river. We hitched back to the trail (with a sober driver), and put in our registration forms to enter the Smoky Mountain National Park. The shelter we stayed at is supposedly the nicest one on the trail and has been deemed the "Fontanna Hilton". It sleeps 24 people and has a nice picnic area with a fire ring as well as showers and bathrooms just up the hill. We feasted on roasted hot dogs, chips, and marshmallows. After dinner we took a brief swim in the lake, which was frigid.
Date: 2011-04-27
To: Mollies Ridge SHelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We started our day by hiking down to the Fontanna Dam visitors center to take a free shower. Just as we got out of the shower and were drying off, it started to rain. The hike up from Fontanna Dam is a pretty strenuous uphill, so the rain was actually quite refreshing, and it had stopped by the time the trail leveled out. We passed an ex-marine who thought he was going to hike through the smokies in 4 days with a 60+lb. pack on. He was pretty discouraged at just a few miles in, but we gave him some advice, and he shared some of the leftover Easter ham that he was carrying in a soft cooler. It reminded me of when we went backpacking with Kyle on his R&R from Iraq... The rest of the day went smoothly, but the shelter was packed. We got 2 of the last 3 spots, and the late comers tarped off the porch area after warnings of a bad storm. There are rumors of "large hail" and thunderstorms. The wind is already blowing at 30mph or so. The shelter is loud, but fortunately I packed my ear plugs...
Date: 2011-04-28
From: Mollies Ridge SHelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

Got up after everyone else this morning and talked to Almost There (an appropriately assigned trail name) for about an hour. She gave me a jolly rancher for giving her some water on a dry stretch of trail yesterday. She also lost her bandanna, so I gave her one that I found on the trail a couple of days back. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek in return. She is a very sweet older lady, but as the name suggests, she suffers from brain damage of some sort. We were only planning on hiking 12 miles today, but the shelter was going to be very busy and we were both feeling energetic, so we decided to push to the next one to free up some room. We saw a wild turkey and made it to the next shelter shortly before dark. It is cold, but the shelters in the Smokies are nice shelters with 3 rock walls and tarps on the open side. They also have a fireplace, which we kept burning for most of the night to help fend off the cold.
Date: 2011-04-29
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Mount Collins Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: few clouds

When we woke up this morning, there were two deer grazing within 20 feet of the shelter. They are apparently used to people because they just ate grass nonchalantly as about 10 of us watched. We got on the trail late and climbed up to Clingman's Dome (the highest elevation on the A.T.) around noon. We walked down the .5 mile asphalt path to the gift shop at the promise of fudge, but disappointed when all they had was local chocolate bars (at 3.25 a piece) and homemade granola. We fixed a hot lunch in front of the gift shop and were part of the attraction for a lot of the tourists. One person would ask a question, and everyone within earshot would stop and wait for a reply. People just had no concept of what we are doing. The .5 mile walking trail from the top had about 5 benches, which were all laden with wheezing, overweight Americans, so the idea that we would choose to hike 2200 miles was a foreign concept to most of them. After lunch we headed back up the to top and continued down the A.T. to our shelter. We got to the shelter to find some of the friends that we had left in Franklin, and also met some new ones. We started another fire in the shelter's fireplace and after catching up on the stories of Franklin, went to bed. Tonight is the first night in the Smokies that everyone in the shelter has been a thru-hiker. We were going to skip Gatlinburg, but a local outfitter has offered free shuttles and showers, so we are going in for a shower and lunch tomorrow...
Date: 2011-04-30
From: Mount Collins Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

We started a little earlier than normal so that we could make it to Newfound Gap for the free shuttle, but the shuttle was running late, so we hitched a ride into Gatlinburg with one of our buddies. The shower was free, but the outfitter's hot water heater had broken the day before, so it was freezing cold. We cleaned up anyway, and headed down the street for a Shoney's buffet. We experienced some major culture shock walking down the streets of Gatlinburg. We were surrounded by the most obese families and trashy high schoolers that I have seen since the SC state fair. We walked into Shoneys just in time to get the breakfast price, and were able to stay long enough for the lunch buffet. I have literally never eaten so much in my life. I haven't found a scale yet, but I'm certain that I have lost weight, and my appetite just keeps getting bigger. After relaxing a little at the outfitter and restocking our food, we caught a ride back up the mountain and continued our journey, happy to leave Gatlinburg behind. At the trail head was our first mile marker for Katahdin, which read 1972 miles...not exactly encouraging. After everyone was settled in at the shelter, our new friend, Grimey, opened up a case of Fat Tire that he had hiked up from Gatlinburg to share with everyone. He made many friends tonight.
Date: 2011-05-01
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

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

As usual, we were the last ones to leave the shelter this morning. We have gained a reputation of being the ones who "sleep in" until 8:30 or 9:00. We hiked less than and mile and took a short detour to Charlies Bunion. It is a beautiful rock outcropping with an amazing view. We were told that the rock was cleared some years back by a fire, and has not become a very popular place for day hikers because of the uninhibited scenery. We caught up with Driftwood and Tabitha for lunch, and met some new friends, Winnie and Mowgli. Most of our hike today was on a ridge line, which provided breath taking views all day. The smokies really some of the most beautiful and more remote mountains that I have visited. We are in a newly rebuilt shelter with a privy tonight (a rare luxury for a shelter in the smokies). Tabitha opened up a bag of jumbo roasting mallows that she had hiked in from Gatlinburg, and everyone enjoyed them profusely. They were the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen. Only one person in the group was able to eat one in a single bite, though everyone tried. When you've been hiking for 3 weeks, you start to get creative with food, so everyone was stuffing the mallows with chocolate, peanut butter, nutella, and anything else that sounded interesting. It was the craziest marshmallow roasting session I have ever had. We passed our 10% mark today! That is an encouraging thought considering about 25-30% of hikers have quit by this point. I finally decided on Romans 12 as a place to start for my scripture memory on the trail, so I made some note cards and should be starting on that tomorrow.
Date: 2011-05-02
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today's hike was basically 15 miles downhill, so we moved pretty quickly, but my knees are hurting a bit. We climbed up to 6400' this morning, and dropped down to 1400' at I-40. We saw a couple of deer on the trail today, and like the previous ones, they seemed quite used to people. About three miles from the end of our day, we met a couple who had just seen a mother bear with 3 cubs. Naturally, I went and looked for them, but was unable to find any sign of them. Unfortunately, this meant that we will leave the smokies today without having seen a bear. The Bonesteeles, Dylan's friends from CIU agreed to let us take a zero day at their house, and Caitlin picked us up around 7:30 after our longest day yet. Chad picked up Pizza Hut for dinner and Dylan and I both had a large meat lovers along with some bread sticks. Even after eating so much, I weighed in at 186 lbs., which means I have already lost more than 10 lbs... I weighed more my junior year of high school. I guess that's a good thing, but I'm just hoping that I don't continue to loose weight that fast. We have both upgraded to two food bags and are eating constantly, but our futile attempts to consume energy don't seem to be working. It's always nice to take a shower after a few days, and sleeping on an air mattress will be heavenly...
Date: 2011-05-03
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel

To: The Bonesteele's House
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a true zero day. We woke up around 10 and occupied ourselves with eating and updating journals. It feels somewhat strange to be inside of a house with clean, white walls and carpet after being in the woods so long. I fixed the first cup of real coffee that I have had in 3 weeks today and it was amazing. Instant crystals just don't cut it. I read some notes from my grandparents this morning, which were very encouraging. I wrote out some memory note cards, and put Ender's Game on the Kindle for some light reading. Caitlin got home around 3:30 and took us to Ingles and REI for resupply. She found our shopping methods quite humorous as we would weight two items, trying to decide which one has the highest calorie to weight ratio. I have never had so many nutrition facts memorized as I do now. The crazy part is, we are trying to buy the ones with the HIGHER calorie value. So far Snickers and Baby Ruth are the winners.
Date: 2011-05-04
From: The Bonesteele's House

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

We woke up at 5:45 this morning (the earliest we've risen since leaving in April) so Caitlin could drive us back to the trail before work. Not only is it hard not getting as much sleep, but it's cold in the morning! I'm quite certain that today was actually the coldest day that we have had. After putting in about 7 miles before lunch, we felt like we deserved a nap... so, we pulled out the sleeping bags to warm up, and took a solid 3 hour nap before eating a late lunch and plugging along up the mountain. We came across yet another breath taking view from Max Patch, a bald peak that allows for 360 degrees of mountain views. It was one of the most amazing sites we have seen, but it was 38 degrees, and with the 30-40 mph wind, it felt much colder than that. So, we only stayed a few minutes and then descended to our shelter for the night. We usually sleep in the shelter when there is room, but it's so cold tonight that we set up the tent to try and stay a little warmer.
Date: 2011-05-05
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

There was frost on the tents this morning for the first time since we've been out here, but we slept late enough for the sun to melt away the ice. Today was a relatively easy hike compared to the previous 30 miles, so we set out late and made it to the shelter around 6. We shared camp with a cool group of Methodists from Florida and stayed up late around the camp fire. While we were staying with the Bonesteeles, we came across an Easter candy sale, so I opened up the peeps that I had bought for 25cents and we proceeded to roast them over the fire. I can't say that they were as good as jumbo mallows, but it was certainly different. Our Floridian friends gave us most of their leftover food, and we went to bed looking forward to Hot Springs in the morning.
Date: 2011-05-06
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: light rain

We woke up early this morning and were in Hot Springs around 10. We resupplied and both ate a box of Reese's Puffs cereal for lunch along with a half gallon of milk. We went to the Library, and then had a lazy day around town. Ran into a lot of trail friends and wasted some time. We were planning on hiking out another 5 miles, but we got sucked in and decided to stay just up the trail from Hot Springs on the French Broad.
Date: 2011-05-07
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up late and decided that we couldn't leave Hot Springs until we had soaked in the famous natural spring water. I was expecting some natural pool by the river, but instead, the local spa has pretty much commercialized the hot springs. Basically, they just have a bunch of hot tubs that the pipe the hot mineral water into from across the river. It was not as cool as I had expected, but it was still refreshing and relaxing. We had been hearing that the hike out of Hot Springs was tough, so I finially broke down and bought some cheap hiking poles at the local outfitter. We finially left Hot Springs around 2, and the hike was indeed difficult. The hike out of town is always the worst, though, because towns are where you resupply (so your pack is always heaviest leaving town), and towns are always in a gap (so, it's uphill no matter which direction you are heading). We got into camp just before the sun went down, and set up our tent. This is by far the busiest shelter we have stayed at. There must be at least 30 people here. I guess everyone decided to leave Hot Springs on the same day.
Date: 2011-05-08
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: light rain

Today was our fist 20 mile day on the trail. We picked a difficult section of trail for our first 20 miler, but we had to make up for our 3 mile day into Hot Springs because my friend, Stew, is going to meet us down the trail in a couple of days. We also thought it would be nice to get away from the large crowd that we camped with last night. We met a new hiker from Israel as we got the the shelter. He just started and is hiking a little slower, but he offered us coffee as soon as we got to the shelter. He also pulled out some battery powered speakers and an mp3 player. It was kind of strange listening to DJ dance mixes while sitting at a shelter on the A.T., but it was nice to have some music for a change.
Date: 2011-05-09
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: few clouds

Today was really tough. There was a lot of elevation change, and after our long day yesterday, we were both struggling. 9 miles into our hike, we stopped and cooked a hot lunch to get a little more energy. We have found that if nothing else, and hot lunch is at least a morale booster. We finished lunch around 3, and pushed hard for the next several hours onto Big Bald. Big Bald is a beautiful bald with a 360 degree view of the mountains. It was less than 2 miles from our shelter, so we decided to eat dinner there and watch the sun set before hiking into camp. The sunset was amazing and after dinner and a little rest, we enjoyed our first nighttime hike down to the shelter.