morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-17
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

I had been expecting rain last night, but I didn't notice any. Got packed up this morning and on the trail. It started raining shortly after I had hiked to the next water source (a little over a mile away) and only got wetter throughout the day. I met Tunnel Vision, a really cool guy who wasn't expected to walk again after a massive car wreck. He's now thru-hiking the AT and loving it! I accidentally dropped a green skittle near a big rock that usually marks a really amazing vista, but was merely a gap into the trees for staring into the cloud. That skittle would later cause me to get my trailname, but that's another story. Anyhow, we arrived at Low gap and I camped near the shelter (used the shelter to eat and keep stuff out of the rain, camped to avoid mice and snores.) It's been a long, wet day and this is still fun
Date: 2003-03-18
From: Low Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It's still 100% humidity, everything's soaked and lots of stuff is covered in mud. It took me a while to get packed up and moving, but eventually I hit the trail. Lots of interesting terrain today, massive trees and lots of (slippery) rock piles. The thick fog (we're inside clouds) and very green moss makes it look like a scene out of a movie sometimes. I accidentally broke one of my walking sticks (it was a weak stick anyhow) climbing up from a water source around lunchtime. Ran into Dave and Carole, who I've been hiking with for most of the trip, and found that Carole has a hurt knee. I told them that I could get them a ride into Helen if they wanted and they decided to get off the trail for a recuperation day. I met dad as planned (actually a bit early) and we went into Helen to the outfitters (Dave needed a couple items and fuel) and then we all ended up coming over to dad's house for pizza. Good food and conversation, and a shower! I'm going to take a 0 day tomorrow to catch up on this journal and go buy enough food to make a maildrop for Fontana Dam and get me to Franklin, NC
Date: 2003-03-21
From: Sautee, GA

To: Steeltrap Gap?
Miles today: 7.2

Well, I arrived safely at Unicoi Gap March 18, had a great hike so far. I arranged to meet my dad here while at Neels gap on the 16th. We ended up bring Dave and Carole Shelby to the house for a 0 day to clean up, eat some pizza, and recuperate. I ended up staying home another day to watch the beginning of the war and wait out some more nasty weather. It looks like I'll have much nicer weather at least for the next several days! The current plan is to hike to Franklin, NC for resupply, then pick up a maildrop at Fontana Dam before the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (GSMNP.) After the GSMNP, I'll resupply at Mountain Momma's and head to Hot Springs, NC and meet dad there again (he likes the hot tubs...) Anyhow, that's all for now, got to hit the trail.Update from Hot Springs, NC.Dad and I picked up Woody when we were going through Helen, GA on the way to Unicoi gap. He's a pretty cool guy who came to the US from England to hike the AT. We hiked up Tray Mountain and he decided to stay at the shelter there, but I continued on a couple more miles and camped in what I think is called Steeltrap Gap. Met several hikers on top of Tray; Paranoid, Kneepad, Librarian, and 4 friends of Kneepad and Librarian who are going to be hiking for a while longer. Great weather and views all day, much nicer than the clouds that we had been hiking through. It's sure nice to be back on the trail!
Date: 2003-03-22
From: Steeltrap Gap?

To: Plumorchard Gap
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: broken clouds

Broke Camp about sunup and headed North (that's been the usual routine.) Walked past several water sources that aren't listed in the book today. Most notable is a decent size stream just before Dick's Creek Gap (mile 66.8 from Springer.) Some looked like seasonal springs, but some seemed permanent. I debated going to the Blueberry Patch for a while, but decided to continue on. I've heard that the Blueberry Patch is a really nice place to stay (serves blueberry pancakes for breakfast) but I'm trying to hike the AT on a pretty tight budget and have plenty of food to continue on. Ended up sleeping at Plumorchard Gap shelter, it's a really nice triple decker with a privy. Only two other occupants; Lemming and David. Lemming is attempting a thru-hike and David is doing a section of the trail. Had an interesting conversation about how many hikers are in the tech industry back in the real world (both David and Lemming are.) No mouse problems during the night, but I did hear one running back and forth across the third level.
Date: 2003-03-23
From: Plumorchard Gap

To: Beech Gap
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

Finally got the first state done! Walked across the GA-NC border around lunchtime. Right after the border was a long STEEP uphill section, but there were some nice views at the top that made it nicer. My knee is feeling much better (it had been a little sore over the last couple days.) The climb up Standing Indian Mountain was really nice. It looked pretty nasty based on the guidebook, but the whole walk up was a nice even grade, and the summit was really nice. Ran into Kneepad, Librarian, and their friends on the summit. Cooked dinner about halfway down the mountain, then continued on to Beech Gap where I camped in a Rhodadendron (sp?) thicket, nice soft ground...
Date: 2003-03-24
From: Beech Gap

To: Some Mountaintop in NC
Miles today: 17.3

Fun Day! Hiked up Albert Mountain, some of the trail up was more like mountain climbing though. A hiker going by Butch Cassidy left trail magic all along the trail in the form of canned veggies (thanks!) Great views from the top of Albert Mountain where I had lunch with several other hikers. Lots of nice trail on the way to Rock Gap Shelter where I intended to stay. Passed a troop of boy scouts that didn't look like they were having a very good time. They all had packs that looked twice as heavy as mine! Each scout had a walkie-talkie that they were using to talk to each other even though they were within earshot it sounded pretty funny to hear one voice coming from 7 different places at once. Rock Gap shelter looked like it was pretty mouse-infested, so I continued on a couple more miles to be closer to Franklin, NC tomorrow. Ended up camping on the top of a mountain that I don't know the name of. I picked up an old AT right-of-way boundary sign that was lying face down in the leaves to keep as a souvenir. It hadn't been doing any good for quite a while as it was under a branch that had also been there for a while (rotting.) Tomorrow I'm going into Franklin for resupply and a shower!
Date: 2003-03-25
From: Some Mountaintop in NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: clear sky

Watched a nice sunrise and packed up early this morning. There wasn't a water source near my campsite, so I continued down the trail a little ways to a stream crossing to make breakfast and freshen up before hitching into Franklin. No success getting a ride for a few minutes, but soon three other hikers showed up (Ahab, Filth, and Paranoid) and we got a ride in a couple minutes. Hint to potential hitch-hikers: Girls get rides quicker. Nice lady gave all 4 of us (and our packs) a ride to the Shoney's in Franklin where we hit the buffet breakfast. We checked a couple hotels and decided to stay at the Franklin Motel, which happened to be on the other side of town from Shoneys. No problem for 4 people who have been hiking for a while in the woods. We decided to split a room between the four of us, total came to about $13 each! It turns out that Paranoid and Ahab have thru-hiked both the AT and PCT and Filth has Thru-hiked the AT. We took turns getting showers and washing clothes, and then went to Ingles supermarket to pick up supplies. We ran into a couple pretty strange people on the way back (conspiracy-throry types) that talked for several minutes about how jet contrails are really chem-trails that contain aluminum powder and other nasty stuff that the government wants to spray on it's population. Also, the government is building an electrical grid in Alaska that's capable of melting cities across the globe. We did pick up a really good line though: "I'm not just a nobody, I'm apsychotherapist!" After several minutes, I said that I was carrying ice cream, so had to get back to the hotel room before it melted (not entirely true...) I ended up buying more food than would fit in my pack at once, so I had to pack up the extra and mail it ahead of myself to Franklin, NC. Note to potential AT hikers: If you want to get to the post office from the Franklin Motel, start before 4:30! Had to run halfway to the post office to get there before closing time, but did get the package mailed. Ran into Paranoid and Ahab on the way back--turns out Paranoid locked the key in the room, so I had to go get the manager to unlock it. We ordered pizza and had a nice big dinner then wrote some postcards and went to bed.
Date: 2003-03-26
From: Franklin, NC

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

We got a free shuttle to Winding Stair Gap (where we hitched into Franklin from) from the motel. Lots of hills, and a few nice views as usual. A trail angel named Apple had set up an impressive camp where he was giving out hot dogs, hot drinks, hot cinnamon rolls, and candy. Awesome guy, thanks!! Filth decided to stay at Apple's camp for the night, he's going slow to NOC so that he can be there for the gear sale/swap on Saturday. Ahab, Paranoid, and I continued on to Cold Spring Shelter. Lots of hills today, and they seemed even harder since we were all hiking with overfilled stomachs. Had a big campfire at the shelter and Ahab made some no-bake cheescake (awesome stuff to have out in the woods.) The shelter was full with Kneepad, Librarian, and their friends from college, so Paranoid, Ahab, and I camped out a little up the trail. Fun evening!
Date: 2003-03-27
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: scattered clouds

According to trail rumor (TM) the trail I walked today was all downhill. Those people have a strange idea about what downhill means. Several decent climbs, and a great view from the Jumpup. Made it into NOC in time to get a Wesser Burger (big cheesburger, highly recommended.) We all just hung around staring at the river for a while. Tomorrow is the NOC's big season opener, so there's a good bit of activity around here. Paranoid talked me into backtracking and camping out by the A. Rufus Morgan Shelter with the rest of the crowd tonight. I bought a new Aqua Mira kit and consolidated the fluids in front of the outfitter. Accidentally spilled some phosphoric acid on the pavement and it made a nice clean spot on the concrete. OOPS! A couple guys hitched into town and came back with packs loaded with supplies including two fresh pineapples. We made another campfire and sat around eating dinner with very good pineapple for desert. Another fun evening.
Date: 2003-03-28
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

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

Actually walked more than 7 miles today, just put in 7 to keep the total mileage from being really confusing. We (10 hungry hikers) had planned to rush the buffet breakfast at 9:00 when the restaurant opened, but a few had to leave early and mess things up ;) It turned out that the restaurnat opened at 8:00 and nobody bothered to come back and tell the rest of us. Some friends they are! Had way too much to eat. Felt pretty sick for a few hours, so I didn't start hiking until around noon. The section of trail heading north out of NOC is notorious for being steep, and it was (though not as bad as people make it sound.) I ended up camping above the Sassafras Gap shelter to avoid having to mouse-proof my stuff. Noticed that there is a lot of stuff along the trail with Sassafras in the name (more than one Sassafras Gap even.) Maybe when I'm bored sometime, I'll look through the book and count how many places have duplicate names. Rumor has it that there's rain moving in tomorrow...Happy Birthday Grandad!
Date: 2003-03-29
From: Near Sassafras Gap Shelter

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

Got breakfast made and camp broken before the rain hit, but just barely. Rain is one of the biggest motivators to go fast out here. I hiked with a pack of several hikers for most of the day, no conversation to speak of, just hauling it through the hills at about 3 miles an hour (pretty fast pace on this terrain.) No views because of the humidity and precipitation. Stopped into Brown Fork Gap Shelter with Digger to have lunch and dry off a little bit, nice break from the rain. Ended up stopping at Cable Gap Shelter to make dinner and sleep. Dunkey, Charlie, and Tom are here as well. Dunkey and I heard a small dog rummaging through the fire pit about dark after Charlie and Tom had gone to sleep, it looked hungry so I cut off a couple inches of summer sausage for it to eat (the only meat we had.) The dog ran away as soon as I got up, but it came back after a while and ate the sausage, then dissapeared again.Happy Birthday Graham! (my younger brother)
Date: 2003-03-30
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: broken clouds

We got 2-3" of snow last night, first I've seen on the trail. Dunkey and I described the dog to Charlie and Tom this morning, they are both convinced it was a fox even though they didn't see it last night. It wasn't a fox. We're all going to stay at the Fontana Inn tonight, Dunkey and I will split a room to save some cash (usual hiker tactic) Charlie and Tom made it out first, then I got all my stuff together and headed out. Very fun walk through the fresh snow. Charlie and Tom Missed a blaze and went the wrong way around a rockpile, so I had to backtrack and find the real trail. Hiking in the snow wasn't that bad, the AT is so well traveled that you can see a dent in the snow where the trail is even without the footprints in it. Had a good time making little snowmen and writing in the snow on the way to Fontana Dam. When we got to the lower elevations, the snow hadn't stuck so the trail was mush which has been the usual condition lately with all the precipitation. The rooms at the inn are really nice, they usually cost about $80 per night, but are only $25 now + $5 per additional person since it's the off-season. Had an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) spaghetti dinner with a bunch of other hikers who are staying here. Met up with some people that I haven't seen since the first couple days out on the trial. We all sat around chatting in the lobby by the real fireplace for a while and called home. Another awesome day on the trail!
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Fontana Dam

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

Dunkey and I hit the PO this morning to mail off a few letters and check out the hiker box before everyone else did. It turned out to be pretty empty, but soon filled up as hikers got their oversized maildrops. I got my maildrop of food and other supplies and headed back to the room to sort things out. Also went down to the outfitters to top off my fuel bottle before the Great Smokey Mountain National Park (GSMNP.) Made a few more trips to the post office and ended up meeting Paranoid, Kneepad, and Librarian. A few hikers got (big) boxes of brownies and cookies that ended up getting split between a big crowd of us, very good. I didn't get started until the evening, so only went to the Fontana Dam Shelter (aka Fontana Hilton) since hikers are required to stay in shelters in the GSMNP and the next shelter is farther than I can get before dark. Met Lumberjack and worked on building a figure four deadfall (a kind of trap) with him, but we never could get it to work right.
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

April Fools Day!With a lot of hikers out here doing little more than eating, sleeping, and hiking, we had a LOT of pranks today. A few of the more notable ones:*One hiker's hipbelt buckle was stolen and given to some other hikers.*Another guy carried two other people's peanut butter up the shuckstack (adecent sized mountain)*Someone else found a Lexan fork and a couple rocks in their pack at the end of the dayFortunately, I had to repack my pack in the morning so I didn't have to carry anything extra anywhere, just a LOT of food since I want to get to the other side of the GSMNP without going into Gatlinburg. The Shuckstack was pretty cool, great views of the mountains. The day was like a big game of leapfrog since so many hikers started out this morning. Mollie's Ridge Shelter was full, so I got to camp outside fortunately. The rules of the GSMNP dictate that you can only camp if you camp directly outside a shelter that it full. I prefer camping because it's more comfortable and you don't have to worry about mice or people snoring. There's still plenty of snow on the ground and the trail is nothing but mush, but we're still having a great time. According to a park ranger, there's over a foot up the trail, sounds interesting.
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

Fun day in the Smokeys, but nothing in particular to talk about except the views. My boots are soaked from the slush and mud that we've been hiking through, but it's all good. Goldberry's mom is supposed to do some trail magic up on Clingman's Dome tomorrow, so I think that I'll try to be up there around when they are, only problem is that I don't remember what time that is....
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Awesome walk up to Clingmans Dome, had to stop for three lunch breaks because I kept on finding better and better places to eat lunch ;) Clingmans Dome is swarming with tourists! Decent view from the top, but there was a bit of haze so it wasn't as good as expected. I ended up having a(nother) picnic lunch with the Geldien family and a Russian exchange student who is living with them. Awesome balogna sandwich and cold Pepsi, Thanks!!! I decided to make tomorrow a huge day so that I can get my average daily miles up a bit and meet my dad and stepmom in Hot Springs next Sunday. The walk to Icewater Spring Shelter was interesting, almost like walking through a jungle at times. Had some fun conversation and a good dinner before going to bed, another awesome day on the AT!!
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Mountain Momma's
Miles today: 28.2

Watch alarm woke me up at 3:30 AM, exactly when it was supposed to. I got packed up as quietly as I could in the dark, hope I didn't wake anyone up! Was on the trail a little after 4 walking by the light of my little LED keychain light. It's bright enough to hike by, but not enough light to walk fast. I was neat to see Gatlinburg's lights from the trail. I had breakfast a little after sunrise on a really cool rock outcropping. Kept walking and eating all day until about 6:00PM when I got to Davenport Gap, the north end of the Smokeys. I was expecting a regular road crossing so that I could hitch into Mountain Momma's, which is over a mile off the trail. It turned out to be a little country dirt road, so I had to walk all the way to the store (didn't count the walk to the store in the daily mileage to keep things from getting confusing.) According to my guide, it should have been opened, but the store was closed. I ran into a couple other hikers who were staying there (Nag and Dag) and they convinced me that Mountain Momma was a really nice and friendly lady and she wouldn't mind if I stayed over for the night and payed in the morning, so that's what I ended up doing. Had a nice long, hot shower then hit the bed...
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Mountain Momma's

To: Near Max Patch
Miles today: 16.5

Woke up to a big thunderstorm this morning and got packed up. When the store opened, I went inside and payed for my stay last night, it turned out to be no problem at all. I ordered 6 pancakes and a big blueberry muffin for breakfast and quickly ate it. Dave and Carole (now known as Splash and Cobra respectively) showed up about halfway through the meal, I hadn't seen them since they stayed at my dad's house several days ago. We were all sitting around the table and then a few friends of mine from Berea, KY showed up! It turns out that they were out on spring break hiking in the smokeys and just happened to stop into the same place where I was eating breakfast. What a weird coincidence! It's even more amazing since they didn't know if I was still on the trail or not (I hadn't updated my online journal since I was at my dad's house.) We visited for a while and then they left and I hopped in the shuttle back up to the trailhead. It turned out to be my hardest day on the trail yet, lots of hills and I was really tired from yesterday. All I wanted to do was get to a good camping spot, eat, and sleep. I made myself continue on to Max Patch so I wouldn't have to do a 20+ miler the next day to get into Hot Springs by Sunday. If you're into RC airplanes, Max Patch looks like an AWESOME place to go flying, no trees or powerlines and an awesome updraft when there's wind. Anyhow, I made a big dinner and went to bed on the other side of the patch exactly as planned.
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Near Max Patch

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Slept like a log last night. Woke up and had my first cold breakfast of the trip so far-three packs of s'mores poptarts because I wanted to get on the trail in a hurry. Got packed up and hit the trail feeling much better than yesterday. Nice sections of trail with only a couple big climbs. On the long downhill into Hot Springs, my left knee started hurting a little bit and got worse as the day continued on. I met Dad and Bobbi (my stepmom) coming the opposite direction on the AT out of town. They had already gotten a motel room and we all headed for it. I took another nice, long, hot shower and then we went down to the Paddler's Pub for dinner. I had a nice big burger and cheese sticks, very good. We went back to the motel room, watched some TV, then I went to bed and dad and Bobbi went off on a short night rock dig (they are really into rocks.)
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I decided to take a 0 day today to catch up on my journal and recover a bit. My knee's still hurting thit morning, but not as bad as yesterday. Got my clothes washed and had breakfast at a local diner. Looked around for a new battery for my watch, but couldn't find one in town. We killed some time looking around town and bought some ice cream at the outfitters for lunch. Dad and Bobbi dropped me off at the local library to do some typing and then headed back home. I've been sitting at a computer typing up emails and journal entries for a few hours and am just about done! I'm planng on sleeping at one of the hiker hostels in town, but haven't gotten a bunk yet. Well, that's all for now!Thanks to everybody who has signed my guestbook, it's nice to hear from you guys!Update 4/11/3Well, I ended up staying at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn (one of 2 hostels in town.) Really neat building, but I realized later that I should have stayed at the other hostel because the rate was the same and it offered kitchen access (something I'd been thinking about for a while in the woods.) Anyhow, the service at Elmer's was great and the bed was really comfy, so it's all good. I had another dinner at the Paddler's Pub and watched a little TV before going to bed. Hot Springs is a really cool little town, or maybe it's just the hordes of hikers that have invaded ;) That's all for now!