morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-14
From: Amicalola Lodge

To: near Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Approach TrailI had planned to start my trip last Sunday, but a 'rain event', as they say, moved in and I postponed so I could start in good weather. A wise decision in retrospect. So the launch date was today. The last detail was to buzz off my hair off for my low-maintenance trail do. Picture a cue ball with eyes.On the drive over I was congratulating myself for waiting for such a fine day. We took the Appalachian Foothills Parkway east from Dalton, GA, and the first vehicle I met was a pickup trailing a plume from the 2" of snow on the hood and roof. JoJo NoGo said "Oh, no." But the ground was clear at Amicalola. Laveda dropped me off near the lodge about 2:30pm and the adventure began.I met a couple of hikers returning to Amicalola, and passed two families out for an overnight campout. The kids did not look happy. Otherwise I had the trail to myself. I got pushed along by a northwest wind under sunny skies all afternoon, so I'm guessing that it will be cold tomorrow morning. But spring is in the air. A few scraps of snow are hanging on by their fingernails to the north side of tree trunks. Green shoots are up everywhere in the woods (some drooping from frostbite) and the trail is edged with a frieze of green grass. I'm hoping (with fingers crossed) that this little cold snap is the last coattail of winter.I stopped near sundown just past the Black Gap shelter, still on the approach trail, and am using my tarp instead of the hammock because of the cold wind that is roaring through the trees. On to Springer Mt tomorrow, where I can start counting down the miles.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: near Black Gap Shelter, Approach Trail

To: near Hawk Mt Shelter
Miles today: 7.5

It was a cold night, near freezing and windy. I was up to the Springer Mt summit about 10am. Signed the register, met Chad from AZ at the southern terminus marker. After taking the start-of-hike pictures, I motored over to the Springer shelter where I cooked up a feast of tortellini and took a short nap in the warm sun. Then off to Maine.I ran into a problem right away - couldn't locate the trail for a minute among the maze of trails on Springer. But using elementary intelligence techniques (Behold, I see many hoofprints going in but none coming out) I bowled away down Springer through the big woods under sunny skies with temps in the 70's. Took a short nap by the river at Three Forks, then made the long haul up Hawk Mountain, stopping to cool my overheated radiator a couple of times. I stopped for the night just south of the Hawk Mt shelter, set up camp, and took a cold hiker shower, which felt great after the whooping and dancing were over. Another hiker came in just at dark, but he missed the show. An excellent night's sleep in the hammock, punctuated by the hooting of owls.
Date: 2004-04-16
From: near Hawk Mt Shelter

To: near Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

I was on the trail earlier today, about 9am. Met another Joe from PA, Pastor Jay and her daughter from WA, and Jennifer and two others on a thru-hike. I hopscotched most of the day with a gentleman and three teen boys from VA, on a three-week hike hoping to make it through the Smokies. We had lunch together at Justus Creek. One of the boys had the largest backpack I have ever seen, carrying about 70lbs. Oh to be a teenager again! Not that I would want to carry 70lbs, but I would be able to.This was not the walk in the woods of yesterday. A much tougher trail, with three hard ups and downs before Justus Creek, including Sassafras and Justus Mts. I deserve a T-shirt that says "I hauled my *ss over Sassafras." I ran out of water, trying to save weight by carrying only one liter, lulled by the numerous streams of yesterday. From now on it's two liters regardless of the weight.I stopped at the Gooch Mt Shelter at 3:00pm for a break. Pastor Jay and her daughter were there, a threesome from MN, and thruhiker Lint, who had come from Springer today. He is flying. He also has a fine collection of tatoos. I then pushed on toward Woody Gap, stopping for dinner on Ramrock Mt, overlooking a beautiful valley with red-roofed white farmhouses, watching a hawk soar on the late evening breeze. I stopped just before Woody Gap. Dave and his son Jeremy came in later. They're helping maintain the AT, and came out tonight for an early start with a crew tomorrow. Dave offered use of his cellphone, which was much appreciated, since mine was unable to connect with Verizon. Thanks, Dave! And thanks also to all the volunteers that keep the trail in shape.
Date: 2004-04-17
From: near Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Up and away for Woody Gap by 8am. Last night was warm and clear, and I slept in the hammock without the fly, so I could see the stars. There were numerous hikers today, mostly day hikers out on a beautiful spring Saturday. I got briefly trapped in a slow file of about 15 at one point. I talked for a while with a gentleman and his wife out for her first overnighter since her Girl Scout days. He had planned a thruhike this year, but a physical revealed some cardiovascular problems, and he had to get the plumbing fixed. Maybe next year after his retirement.I flushed a deer that disappeared down the mountain in a flash of white flag. Then came upon a 4-ft blacksnake easing across the trail. A good reminder to watch your step.Over Big Cedar, Burnett Field and Granny Top Mts, and through the gaps between. I've decided that GAP is an AT acronym for Generously Applied Pain, given on the inevitable next up.I took a long break and a short nap at the stream before Blood Mt. Talked for a while with Nisha from Moulton, AL, which is near home. She and her boyfriend were visiting friends who live nearby. She's living in Tuscaloosa, completing her dissertation for a PhD in special education. Lint caught me there, then sped on. A boy scout troop stopped and spent at least an hour rewatering, with the Scoutmaster pumping the whole time. Dedication! Lint hopped in line and got his bottle filled too.Then I was off for the climb up Blood Mt, the bogeyman of this section of the AT. I conquered it about 5pm, then had just as hard a climb down the steep descent to Neels Gap. I got to the Walasi-Yi Center just after it closed and the shuttle to the restaurant left. So I called the Goose Creek Cabins and got a cabin for the night, and a shuttle to the Pig Out restaurant, where I tried to live up to the name with a big combo plate of ribs, BBQ beef and chicken, followed by ice cream. It was so good that I got a sandwich to go for breakfast tomorrow. It sometimes takes a while for appetites to catch up long distance hikers, but mine arrived with me. Then back to the cabin for a quick laundry, a hot shower, and a soft mattress.
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Neels Gap

To: Hogpen Gap
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

Checked out of Goose Creek Cabins and was taken back up to Neel's Gap by 9am. There I took time to catch up on my journals and send them to Dan, and to resupply. I shed a couple of pounds of weight by ditching some 'essentials' that weren't worth their weight after all. Beautiful day today, with lots of people out enjoying it. There was a roar of activity around the store, with bikers coming and going, and hikers clumping around comparing gear, pack weights and experiences. I talked to Inchworm while waiting for the phone. She's on a 100-day furlough from work, hoping to make it to Harper's Ferry. I gave her the slogan "Inch by inch, life's a cinch" to go with her trailname. Called home and talked to myself on the answering machine. I got back on the trail about 12:30pm, under a bright (and hot) sun. Shortly after starting I flushed a grouse. Do you know the wingbeat of a flushd grouse? Approximately my heart rate one second after the bird exploded out of the brush.I met Mike from Boston who apologized for his funk. He had been out just hiking for 5 days, headed back to Neel's Gap today, and was saved by the spring after running out of water in the heat. Further down the trail I met Dave from PA, who had called it a day at 3pm. He was toasted by the sun, having forgotten to bring any sunscreen. Then on to Cowrock Mt. I didn't see any cowlike resemblance, unless the large cow-pie shaped rock at the summit led to the name. Down to Hogpen Gap where I washed off the grime and climbed to the next ridgetop, spread the sleeping pad and bag under the stars, and crashed. Drifted off to sleep listening to the owl chatterboxes who cranked up at dark.
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Hogpen Gap

To: past Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I was up and gone by 7am today. I spotted a doe on Sheep Rock Top and stalked it for 15 minutes trying to get a good picture, but it disappeared before I could get a good shot. I was within 25 yards at one point, but too much brush was in the way. Stopped at the Low Gap Shelter for water where I met Jill from Dallas and Daybreak.Daybreak is a serial thru-hiker, having already done the AT and the Pacific Coast Trail. He started three weeks ago on the Pinhoti Trail in AL, connected to the AT in GA, and plans to hike though Maine and continue on the International AT to its end in Canada. He's another rocket, doing 20+ mile days and planning to catch up with Link. He was recharging on peanut butter straight from the jar. He was hiking along and found a bottle of Chivas Regal by the trail, sadly abandoned by its owner who apparently had second thoughts about the pleasures of a good drink at night after a stimulating day of hiking. The weight of a backpack, a hot sun and a series of mountains on the trail make for a brutal calculus that cuts out the frills without mercy. He put the little fellow out of its misery by dumping the contents and packing the bottle out to the next trash container.Jill is originally from Korea, but has lived in Dallas for over 20 years. She's amazingly intelligent, having bought several gear items exactly like mine (backpack, cookset, camera).After yesterday's midday heat, I decided to lay up in the middle of the day, which any Southerner worth their raising knows is the proper way to beat the heat. I stopped for water, a hot lunch and a midday nap at the Chattahoochee Gap. The spring is the headwaters of the Chatahoochee River, which supplies Atlanta with much of its drinking water. The water is clean, evidenced by the tiny salamanders crawling around in the spring. Dave from PA caught up there, as well as several others. I caught up with Pastor Jay and her daughter before the Blue Mt Shelter. We debated on whether the nicely piped spring was the nearest one to the shelter, decided it was, and then discovered that the shelter was a rocky uphill half mile away, with a spring in sight of it. Did you know that water weighs over 2# per liter? I never thought about it much either, before I started hiking.Dave says Pastor Jay and daughter are good to be around at mealtime. They have soup, a well-rounded meal and dessert, sometimes with leftovers for the drooling audience who have been existing on oatmeal and ramen noodles.After a short break at the shelter, I pushed on to the Unicoi Gap (temptingly near Helen, GA). There was my first Trail Magic. Some anonymous trail angel had left two six-packs of cokes in the woods near the road. I didn't have a pen to leave my thanks on the note, but the drink was much appreciated and most refeshing. I climbed partway up Rocky Mt for a cloudy and windy night in the hammock. It's amazing how irritating the rustle of nylon in the wind can be when you're tired.
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: 2 miles S. of Bly Gap (GA-NC State Line)
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: broken clouds

Slept till 7am, then went down to make a dent in the continental breakfast and update my journal entries. The section hiker buddies from VT and MT came in, as did Jeff and Josh, whom I had met at the Blue Mt Shelter. They are in the software business, and are finishing a section hike here. Completed my journal update about noon, in no hurry to hike in the heat. Breakfast led directly into lunch when Jeff and Josh came back with leftover pizza for me.I got an email from my shakedown hiking buddy Naps, saying that he won't be able to start his thru-hike after all because of important family business. His leadoff quote was "Life is what happens while you're making plans."I walked down to the post office and mailed my trekking poles, a shirt and my rain pants ahead. To use or not to use trekking poles is one of the great unending debates of hiking. I found myself just carrying mine most of the time, and it seemed that I got careless with my foot placement when using them. It also seemed that using them altered my normal gait, and the arm action burned calories for sure. And they do weigh something. I'll try it without them for a week and see if I miss them. Then bought and packed food, and Jeff and Josh gave me a lift back to the trail. Thanks a bunch to the two of you!Paparazzi from Worchester, MA was at the gap looking for a ride to town. His trail name is because he takes lots of pictures. He claims that he hasn't yet succumbed to a Poptart. Only a matter of time, I maintain. As we talked, a hiker came out and walked over to his truck and presto, there was Paparazzi's ride.I finished off the rest of the pizza and took off about 4:30pm, hiking in the cool. Not far up the trail I met a gentleman who was hiking with his friend at the truck. They are thru-hiking, and both have vehicles, which they spot 4-5 days apart. Always a set of wheels for town. His feet must have been very much on his mind because, without any prompting, he told me that his size 10 boots were causing blisters, so his buddy loaned him his size 12s. Now his feet were sliding around in them, causing new blisters. I had noticed that his friend at the truck was hobbling a bit, so I guess those size 10s were pinching just a little. Too funny!Blisters seemed to be contagious today. I then met an older couple out for a short hike, and she was hobbling badly. She was in good spirits, though, and was wearing smiley face shorts to match her disposition.Late in the day I was passed by Tom, the Green Mt Boy from VT. We watered up at Plumorchard Gap and Tom disappeared, section hiking to Fontana Dam. I moved on to a campsite 2 miles south of the GA-NC state line and set up in the dark. The hammock was too cool without the sleeping pad, and to warm with the pad and sleeping bag. Not much sleep.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: 2 miles S. of Bly Gap (GA-NC State Line)

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

I got up late, washed out some clothes, hung them on the clothes dryer (backpack) and left about 10am. I am sporting a rakish new headgear today. A short way up the trail I came upon a new straw hat hanging on a branch. I think it belongs to the Green Mt Boy, who must have taken it off on this uphill last night and forgotten it. I'll take it to him if I catch him - in the meantime the only way to carry it without havin it crushed is on my head, eh? Alan's old Nike cap is in the backpack, to be brought out for special occasions like a nap, when nothing is better than a cap pulled down over your face. The trail led up from there.I passed out of GA into NC a short time later - first state down! Then up to Bly Gap for water. Normally you descend into a gap, but in this case there was merely a break in the grade, and the trail led up from there.Up the trail from Bly Gap was Sharp Knob, with a grade of at least 30% If the AT follows old animal trails, then mountain goats were indigenous to these parts at one time. My pace up the trail was what Abraham Lincoln had in mind when he said of one of his Civil War generals "He has got the slows." After the trail dipped slightly, it led up from there.I swore at the trail for the first time today. Out loud and at length, in between great ragged gasping breaths, hands on my knees, straining for oxygen. The trail led up from there.I finally made it to the Muskrat Creek shelter in the early afternon, after an endless ascent. What a welcome to NC! There I met Jason, just out of the Army, and his mom Judy. They're from upstate NY, section hiking from Springer to Franklin, NC. Libby and Dorothy came in for a break. They are competitive skiiers from Salt Lake City, just out of high school, planning to complete their thruhike before college starts. That gives them 4 months, or an average of 18 miles per day. They are awesome hikers. Then Dave from PA came in, all the way from Dick's Creek Gap today, blisters and all. We shamed him into another 5 miles to Standing Indian Shelter, making it there about 7:30pm. Sleeping under the tarp tonight.
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light rain

The bookends to my day today were Standing Indian Mt and Albert Mt. Out with Dave at 8am, and on top of Standing Indian Mt by 8:45am. A cool and cloudy day. I took the short side trail to the summit, and there got the best picture to date of the inside of a cloud.Shortly afterwards we met Frenchy, southbound from Harper's Ferry since early Mar. He plans to hike to Springer, then flip back to Harper's Ferry and hike the northern half to Maine. Then come back down through the snow to a job starting in Oct. His diet is a Poptart for breakfast and a Lipton Noodle Sides meal for dinner. He looked amazingly well-fed for such mileage and thin diet; ah, the power of Poptarts! He filled us in on what to expect in the Smokies - tough terrain and a requirement to stay at the shelters. He said the tourists are great, however. If they discover that you're a thruhiker, they'll load you up with food. I guess if you can't find a bear to feed in the Smokies a thruhiker is the next best thing. Frenchy was wearing a sock hat with the top cut out - the fringe protected his sunburned scalp along the hairline. Topknot passed while we were talking to Frenchy.On to Carter Gap Shelter for lunch, where we met Kevin and Andy, who are out for a few days practicing their ultralight backpacking techniques. We had a fun talk, talking about hiking and telling jokes. Andy had a pack light enough to carry on one shoulder. Dave moved on ahead, and Doc came in all the way from Muskrat Creek already.After a short nap I left for Big Spring Shelter about 3pm. Easy walking to Albert Mt. Doc had camped at the base. The easy life ended at Albert. The rocks near the base were clawed by hiking poles, but these disappeared a short ways later where both hands were needed to scramble up over the rocks. One of those tipovers onto your back on Albert and you would be AT roadkill. (By the way, that fall onto your back under a heavy pack is called "beetling.") The tree bark was worn slick along the path up Albert.The views from the fire tower on top were magnificent. Then on to Big Spring Shelter for a night out under the stars. Into Franklin, NC tomorrow for a new pair of shoes for Dave.
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: broken clouds

I slept in the open last night, near the shelter, waking to a good dewfall on my sleeping bag. Humidity is increasing. My bag is just a blanket with sewn-in footbox, and when I crawled in last night I managed to have it inside-out. After I paid extra for a better water-resistant fabric for the shell! To dry the damp bag, I put the foot box over my hat, let the rest of the bag flow down over my pack like a black cape, and strolled away down the trail. I must have looked like a backwoods mystic, rolling along munching on my Powerbar breakfast. Sort of a cross between Darth Vader and Johnny Appleseed.A quick 5.5 miles down to Rock Gap at 10am. Kevin and Andy had promised a ride to Franklin, and I didn' want to miss it. We made a quick stop at the Standing Indian Campground, where I bought a large container of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, which I finished before we got to town.SuperDave and I checked into the Microtel and he went shopping for new shoes. I went over to Wendy's for a chicken sandwich and a hamburger, chased by two large root beers. Then a quick stop at the outfitter for a couple if items and on to the library for a look at email.I caught up on my email at the free terminals at the library, and read all the guest book entries in my trail journal. Thanks to all for your encouragement and advice! I won't have time to respond to all the entries, but I do appreciate them. Hello to the 4th grade class in Monticello, MS, taught by my sister-in-law Robin, who is tracking my progress. When you're in the fifth grade, I'll still be walking!After that were the routine chores of buying food, washing clothes and packing. I hit the Shoney' buffet for fried catfish and other goodies, then to bed. Back on the trail tomorrow.Thanks again to Kevin and Andy for the 10-mile lift to town. Hope to see you later for some hiking in VA, Andy.
Date: 2004-04-25
From: Rock Gap

To: Licklog Gap
Miles today: 16.0

We decided to call a taxi for a ride back to the trail, but couldn't get an answer early on a Sunday morning. The pace of things is just a little slower off the main route. For instance, back at Goose Creek Cabins a few days ago, the van driver was taking me down to the nearest restaurant and was rocketing down the mountain. The seat belt didn't work, and I was about to ask why the hurry when he explained. Seems that the restaurant is normally open till 9pm, but if business is slow he will close at 8pm. It was 5 minutes till 8. I was torn between asking him to slow down and to speed up.With no taxi available we did the next best thing and started walking. After about a mile the shuttle from the Hiker Haven Motel picked us up and took us all the way back to Rocky Gap without charge (and refusal of a tip). The driver sees such service as payback for the money spent by hikers in the community. And at a time when gas prices are through the roof! If I had it to do over, I would stay at the Hiker Haven. Thanks a million for the lift!We hiked all day trading places with Fred from VA, 2C from Texas, and four ladies who had finished a section hike at Rocky Gap and were now on a day hike to Wayah Bald. Several people were camping at a campsite near the Wayah Bald, but we pushed on to Licklog Gap where we set up camp. As I was finishing my delicious mashed potato and vienna sausage dinner the rain started, the first of the hike.