morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-28
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

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

A hiker train!Sundown, The Fire-Man, Sampson, Epcot and I rolled out early this morning on the hiker train. Sampson, a thru hiker from NC, normally is what we call "a strong camper" but even he was ready before 8:30. We had some big climbs early and I solidly declared myself the caboose. It was beatiful for hiking, cool with on and off light showers, and we made great time. We ran banker's hours, and rolled into shelter by a bit after four. My dogs were barking! I had lots of time today to sing out loud and whistle some great tune on the ridges. Funny how I keep expecting to see familiar faces around corners and at road crossings -- Rich Glor and Charile Allen -- I expect to see you two soon. At night we eat and talk about food, then we say how full we are but continue to discuss what we will eat when we get to town. Tomorrow is a "town day" then up up UP into elevation and the Smokies. Epcot smells like doritos and my socks smell like funions. Life is good, and I am happy.
Date: 2008-03-29
From: Cable Gap

To: Fontana dam
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: light rain

Pain in the RainUp and at 'em! An early start with a need to be in Fontana village before the post office closed at high noon. A bit under six miles in mixed terrain and the rain this morning added to the thumping tempo of a time clock - and me with a surprise wounded limb. It was not until I started hiking this morning that I realized my left hip flexor must of been wounded on the trail yesterday. Your hip flexor is the communicating structure between your quadriceps and your pelvis. Frankly you need it to pick up and swing your leg. I had swing but no pick up. Makes for tricky climbing and difficult manuveuring of a rocky trail. I may have cursed a time or two at the mountainside, and the rain may have aggravated the situation, but I still would not have wanted to be anywhere else. The time pressure may have weighed more heavily then I realized. A day of rest and relaxation may be all I need (cross your fingers) in Fontana village.The Fireman, Sundown and Epcot all are leaving the trail this weekend but sampson and I will press on.Pending a leg that lifts tomorrow...
Date: 2008-03-30
From: Fontana dam

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Battling the boss.Sampson and I continued on this am and made it out of Fontana. We were joined by beatbox and rock steady, two guys from Maine who are hiking for school credit (clearly they are geniusous)Rocksteady noted that if the AT was a nintendo game there would need to be trail "bosses" we would have to beat. For example, an enraged smokey the bear. I thought getting in and out of town was like beating a "boss". You need to get to town, ingest and collect enough calories, spend as little money as possible and then finally, get out of town . Getting out if town involes leaving comfort, maybe some friends, and always a big climb with a pack well replentished with food.We beat the Fontana boss and now are in the thick of the smokies. There is a big crowd at the shelter tonight (in the smokies you have to stay at/in the shelter) about twenty or so. I have heard of a lot of the people here tonight even though we have never met(do I dare say or crossed paths) from the registers at each shelter that people sign and leave messages and because this is such a liniear community. Person A walks past person B sees person C tells a tale about B and now C knows B even before they meet.Tomorrow more smokies, it calls for rain but I am hoping for some views.Until then
Date: 2008-03-31
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Marched out marchA good day today with beautiful shelters here in the smokies. I hiked alone but sampson, rocksteady and I lunched together. We found beatbox at our destination but he was nursing some shin splints.Today I saw some of the first signs of spring. So far the forest has looked to be embraced entirely by a permanent fall. Bare trees, leaves caking the path, and other then rhododendron, very little green to be seen. Until today. I saw bits of green pushing their way up through the leaves, friendly green, greeting and guiding me down the path. It was lovely really.I often feel a bit like a hobbit. Lots of walking, clanking pots, your life on your back, and frequent meals during the day! But at times I realize I am no frodo. I have no ring, katadin does not loom like mordor and going up hills I could go no faster, Nazgools or not. Motor butt had said at one point that I should not say I wouldn't be a good hobbit, just not one with an epic quest.Today I climbed thunderhead and rockytop. No mt Washington but pretty windy none the less.Tomorrow plans for a long day, I hope my bones and tendons hold up.Also sampson notes that when sausage covered in peanut butter falls into the dirt just cut your losses, nothing should be crunchy in that mouthful.Until April-
Date: 2008-04-01
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Alphabet monthA is for: Abby, apex, approximately, April and adjustmentsAbby: now officially "lady cluck". There was even a ceremony of sorts. I am lady cluck because of the stuffed chicken I carry and my habit of bringing up disney's robin hood time and time again. Oooh dah lally!Apex: clingmans dome at 6643 ft elevation it is the highest point on the AT though not a difficult climb. Cameron and I hit a weather window and had beautiful views that are becoming rarer and rarer in the smokies. I got off the mountain just two hours before thunder and lightning!Approximately: I have gone approximately two hundred miles today. I also slid approximately two feet before falling onto my left butt and side. Sampson knew I had fell, he saw the skid marks on the trail. No one was hurt.April: happy April and to all you school teachers aren't you glad the first is over? The only trick for me today was after walking 13.5 miles I had to walk an extra .5 miles (that doesn't count) just to get to the shelter. Cameron, a thru hiker from PA was there and he showed me a can that had been chewed by a bear, no joke!Adjustments: being on the trail there is a need for constant clothing adjustments. One day I will count how many time I push up or down my sleeves, open or close my zipper or shift my bandana up down or back. Sheesh and that doesn't even enclude the two mile strip down that happens dailyAlphabet soup for the month of April. Tomorrow a short day into gaitlinburg for some much desired B'sGoodnight and with bears and lightning outside and mice inside until then-
Date: 2008-04-02
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Newfound gap/Gaitlinburg TN
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

The letter B stands for- Bathing, Batteries, Begging and Bad MiceA beautiful sunny morning greeted me after falling asleep to the pounding rain and thunder. Thru hikers, including myself, often carry and utilize ear plugs to block out, well... unwanted sounds. Rustling sleeping bags, people up earlier than you, snoring, and MICE.Bad Mice: I wore my ear plugs last night because I knew there were mice in this shelter, and I did not want to spend all night wondering, in the dark, where they were. It worked, I slept well, but I found out where they were anyway - in my pack!They used all my toilet paper to build a nest, they ate a hole in my rain mittens as well as my rain gloves. They destroyed a stuffsack and made my pack liner more useful as a pasta strainer. It was time to go into town.Begging: I climbed up to Newfound gap to find a parking lot full of shiny clean sightseers. I smiled boldly at some and asked which way to Gaitlinburg. They only pointed. So I did the next thing a bold, grubby grubby girl could do. Beg with her thumb. I went to the appropriate side of the road and stuck up my thumb. I got a lot of weird looks but finally a wonderful woman from South Africa picked me up. She asked me if it was dangerous to hitch hike in America, I told her apparently not today. Bathing and Batteries- I was glad to get into a hotel room, promptly take two showers and survey my town needs. I charged my mental and peripheral batteries by walking around town and doing laundry, eating fresh vegetables (and some ice cream) and going grocery shopping, also taking another shower. Gaitlinburg is fairly spread out and difficult to manage if you are too impatient to wait for the trolley (ahem, me) but I found wonderful townspeople who would just pull over and pick me up! At food city I loaded up at the per pound salad bar and ate things that cruched with moisture to all my hearts content (these are rare finds in the woods). I thought the styrofoam was going to buckle! YUMClean, fed and re-charged I head back for another hitch tomorrow (cross your fingers for a ride for me as I stick out my thumb) and back to the trail. Big rainstorms are forecasted.A word to the wise, do not drink caffeine in the afternoon as a hiker, that stuff just sticks with you!Back to the smokies, and tomorrow C!
Date: 2008-04-03
From: Newfound gap/Gaitlinburg TN

To: Peck Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

C is for cold, cat holes, clucks and caloriesI managed two easy hitched rides out of gaitlinburg. It was raining so sympathy was high for a "little girl in a skirt with such a big pack". I was hiking by noon.C is for cold. It was raining, not hard, but persistent, all day today. It was windy and near freezing at elevation and on the ridges. I reached a point where my hands were cold enough that I stopped and pulled my pack apart to get out mittens in a down pour. I try and hike in the rain in minimal clothing so that at the end of the day I have some warm clothing to wear and less wet clothing to deal with.C is for Cat holes - when toileting in the woods there are a number of rules. One is to dig a "cat hole". A cat hole is supposed to be six inches deep, is to be toileted in then covered. I tripped in a shallow hole the other day off the trail and I was more concerned about stool on my shoes than spraining my ankle. Careful of shallow holes.C is for clucks- I carry a stuffed chicken. She is a mascot, a friend, and a pillow. She also photographs well. The chick is not what you would call water-proof. Any moisture in my pack and zap! She sucks it up. I love her company and people delight in seeing her climb out of my bag.C is for calories- they say we are burning 4000-7000 calories a day! I could eat that in granola, cliff bars, cashews and ramen no sweat. I have not turned to snickers like so many of my colleagues...yet."Torrential rain" tomorrow notes the weather man. Tonight there are thirteen of us in a full shelter. The chicken and I are the only girls.My feet felt pretty good today but the pack was heavy. I will have to eat all my snacks soon (so I don't have to carry them, you see).
Date: 2008-04-04
From: Peck Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

D is for dirt, downhill and drenched.After a cacophony of snoring last night I woke late and headed out on the trail. My heels seem to be mending, there has been little in the way of steep terrain in the smokies, which I think is of great benefit to the "heeling" process. We had a long (1.5hour) lunch then sampson, beatbox, rocksteady and I headed into the rain. A few stayed behind to keep dry.Drenched: We got drenched. The rains weren't particularly driving, there was no lightning but eight miles of rain is eight miles of rain. Drenched but happy I hiked up to the shelter only to find it full of weekend hikers. Here in the smokies weekenders get first dibs, no matter what time they arrive. The four or us were turned out to set up our tents in the rain.Dirt: You are never clean, there is dirt and mud and dust everywhere. Your body sweats, your clothing wicks it away and there it sits. Dirty clothes, dirty skin, even dirty teeth (sometimes you hang the bear bag and you forgot... So you decide it can wait) and dirty nails and hair. There is dirt but there are no mirrors and no one is any cleaner, so somehow it is all okay. Sampson and rocksteady hitched a ride and reportedly the little girl in the backseat with them covered her nose the whole time.Downhill: downhill can be as hard as up hill. If you go down, you will have to go up. Your knees hate downhills, at the end of the day the balls of your feet hate downhills. My lungs like downhills and I whistle to distract from the noise the rest of my body is making.Here is to hoping this tent holds up because it is pouring. Tomorrow to standing bear hostel for a sandwich and who knows what else... we will play it by ear.
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Green Corner Road (Standing Bear Hostel)
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

E is for explicit language, energy, eyeball, and enthusiasmI have yet to perfect the tent pitching. I got rained on a bit but slept well despite it. We had quite a leisurely departure, trying to wait for the rain to break. It did not so we pressed out at eleven or so. It was a spirited downhill of ten miles into Standing Bear Hostel. Today Sampson, Beatbox, Rocksteady and I finished the Smokies together, seven days after we started as a group.Explicit language: some people used quite a bit of explicit language to share their level of affection for the Smokies, the constant rain, mud ridden trails and lack of views. I did say a fart-a-tart or two when I found shelters full and when the rain persisted but mainly I enjoyed the ridge running, the gentle climbs, and the views (when available) were spectacular. But yeah, I could go for a little better sun-to-rain ratio.Energy: my energy levels vary from day to day, mile to mile, minute to minute. Sometimes I feel like I am flying and could fly on my booted feet for hours on end. Other times it is as if I was hobbled and the sheer act of moving forward seems impossible. I don't know or understand all the variables and I certainly don¢t know how to control them. Sometimes a snack will help, or music. Knowing a shelter is near, or better yet town seems to always help, but some days a mile seems like a minute, and others it feels like ninety (it typically takes thirty minutes to hike a mile!). I love the days and minutes that I feel so good, I hope for many more.Eyeball: I caught a raindrop right in the eyeball today. It reminded me I needed to change my contacts soon. I typically sleep in my contacts, but here on the trail I take them out quite infrequently (I would hate to lose one, tear it or make it dirtier (quite possible). In Hot Springs I pledge to clean them again.Enthusiasm: I am ready for the next leg. Damascus VA is as far away as I have traveled and I set that as my next goal. I am ready; slow and steady.The rain continues (six hours now of constant rain) outside and I can hear the swollen creek and the chatter of happy rested hikers from my bed. I am ready for bed. Take me dear sweet (dry) sleep. Tomorrow I will hike again.
Date: 2008-04-06
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

F is for fire, feet, and food.Standing Bear Hostel is a wonderful oasis just 0.1 miles off the AT. It is rudimentary but a dream. It's all you could want and need as you leave the smokies. The fantastic four (beatbox, rocksteady, sampson and I) left standing bear with a renewed self of hiker joy. The sun was shining, and without the restrictions of the smokies, we could hike until we saw a dreamy camping spot and set up for the night and dry out our tents. We made it a short day full of frequent rests and giggle fests with plans to continue to play it by ear.Fire: nights of camping early, often means fire. There is nothing that a hiker needs at the end of the day then a single mindless task that ends with staring at an orange haze. Good story telling, planning and basic blank stares all are perfect for the fire.Feet- don't fail me now. They ache in the balls (metatarsal pads) going downhill and burn in the heels on the ups. Blisters in various stages of healing and destruction lay waste to the back of my left heel, and my toes run hot and tingling but everyday they work and carry me like faithful donkeys. I hope soon they turn to stallions as they buck up.Food- I am eating things I have never eaten before, and foods I have been avoiding for years. They say women don't lose much weight and I believe them. All the boys have lost pounds and inches and the few ladies lay at about par. But ramen noodles, cheese, poptarts, mayonasise and pizza all are pretty good and stave off a hikers hunger. Let's not even talk about the nutritional content of cliff bars and how quickly and often we put those away. Last night for dinner beatbox ate a can of Vienna sausages, three cheeseburgers, a jimmydean breakfast sandwich, some pizza and pringles. That is food. All you can eat buffets should be scared. We have been talking Chinese food.Off to stare at the fire and...
Date: 2008-04-07
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 13.1

G is for Gary, Gear, and GratefulToday was the most beautiful hiking day yet. I woke early and started hiking before the gentlemen had even risen from their tents. Today¢s notable summit was Max Patch Bald. I lunched, hung out my damp things to dry (condensation and dew can do a number on your tent and bag) and soaked in the sunshine. The terrain was pretty benign today, which helps to speed the feet forward.Gary- Gary plans to hike the AT next year as the little drummer boy. I feel like he has it in him. He became the biggest trail angel yesterday when he drove all night to give such a generous gift. Bronco and I met up with him and he gave us enough food to re-supply a dozen hikers, and new insoles for my boots. Everyone was overwhelmed by his generosity and appreciative of his kindness! Three cheers for Gary. The food is great and the feet are happier.Gear- it is key. Too much is bad, too little can be worse. It can be costly, or homemade. It can work, or fail. Gear is key. Some people are real "gearheads". Every item meticulously studied, tested, compared and weighed. People (some of the finest ones) even make spread sheets! Once you are hiking all that matters is that you can carry it and does it work. I am not overwhelmingly delighted with my gear, but I can carry it and it functions well enough. I have not had to make any dramatic changes or had to delve deeper into any financial commitment. For that I am thankful. In Hot Springs I plan to make some changes.Grateful- am I ever! I love this. I am so grateful to have such a fantastic experience. The crew I am hiking with now are all so appreciative.Thanks for hiking with me, on to Hot Springs. Everything is going to be coming up Milhouse in Hot Springs!
Date: 2008-04-08
From: Walnut Mt. Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

H is for hiking poles, heels, and Hot SpringsAnother fantastic day, everyone was exclaiming and boasting about how good they felt. We did the miles (mostly downhill besides Bluff Mt.) at breakneck speed and rolled into town forty minutes ahead of typical speed even with a generous break. Butters, who hails from Chicago, pulled his biggest day yet with an eighteen miler. We all wanted to be in Hot Springs where "all the answers were". The fantastic four (one half Maine Attraction, one half Casual Heat) all planned a zero in town too (which is like hiker Christmas).Hiking poles- My savior and saints. I use a pair of remarkably heavy cork handled Leki poles with shock absorbers. They have saved my neck, my ankles, my pride, my face and my femurs countless times. I will never hike without them. Uphill and down they are aides but on the flat they make fot great color guard practice.Heels- if you don't have blisters, your life it seems to me, would be a dream. I am off the aleve, and the tendon seems to have improved but on the left the blister development is intense. Rocksteady has two "open sores" that look like the eye of Sauron from lord of the rings! We will all heal.Hot Springs- the town of my current dreams. More on that tomorrow. Hiker Christmas!
Date: 2008-04-09
From: Hot Springs

To: Elmer's Sunny Bank Inn (Hot Springs)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I is for ipod, ideal, and inconceivableA warm and sunny hiker Christmas it was today in Hot Springs, NC. When hikers hit towns as small as this you have more hikers waving at hikers than local to locals. I love the sense of community.ipod- may as well be under ideal too. Handy, light, great battery power, entertaining, and thanks to Leslie Lewis, loaded with This American Life (I for Ira Glass!). It is the perfect trail accessory (and successory) for me. I use it sparingly, in rations, and never around others. I use it to motivate, and escape (especially the pain and the rain) but also to focus. I keep the volume quite low so I am still aware of my surroundings. I tell you - a real trail treat!Ideal- Elmer¢s Sunny Bank Inn/Hot Springs. Living like a trail yuppie (see photo) soaking in a hot tub, being feed organic vegetarian meals and sleeping in an old Victorian boarding house! Oh yeah the hiking and camping for six+ months is good too (see how tricky those town "bosses" are, I nearly forgot). Really I feel like I am living an ideal life. Your only task is to walk, carry your life and be in beauty. Not too shabby.Inconceivable- (from "The Princess Bride") Katahdin is an inconceivable distance from here. I will see it but for now I think only of Damascus, VA. The fantastic four talk of the weeks to come, I fear that we will come undone due to injury or ideals (speed, miles, needs) but I won't say our daydreams are inconceivable.Tomorrow I hike again, the day after Christmas is still awesome, with a sore knee and tore up feet but a happy heart.Oh and Julie, Rocksteady makes me laugh constantly!
Date: 2008-04-10
From: Hot Springs

To: Hurricane Gap
Miles today: 8.2

J is for Justification, Jerks, and "Just Do It"We made it out of Hot Springs! Yup, we left at noon! Even when lazing we run like clockwork. It was beautiful and warm today, which made for a sluggish, er, rather a leisurely climb up and out. Six days of food plus "town tummies" added to the tempered pace. We called off early and were joined by Toez (he paints his toenails) for camping on a timely ridge. Cold weather is coming, you can tell by the wind.By the way, those heels the other day, those are Rocksteady's blisters! (although not unusual for the trail).Justification- Why are we out here? Why aren't we contributing to society? Better yet, why do we hike when we do, eat when we do, sleep when we do??? It is all a matter of justification and hikers are the pros. Miles hiked today we don¢t have to hike tomorrow, but at the same time we could do those miles tomorrow when we feel rated. Justification- it is what we run on. Eat the heavy food now so you don't have to carry it. The more peanut butter I eat tonight- the lighter the jar! Genius or justifying- is there a difference?Jerks- The number of jerks on the trail is staggeringly low. They may show up next to the trillium as a rare and endangered species. Lucky for us, a full recovery of standard population levels is unlikely, and funding/support is sparse.Just Do It- sorry to be clich© but sometimes, corporate heads are okay. The trail is hard; it is a lot of hard, sometimes painful work. In those times you may need to drop you head, stare at the trail (blister, skinned knee, false summit etc) and Just Do It. So far the prize has always been worth the fight.Tomorrow back up to speed before the cold and snow come!Big hugs (I love hugs)