morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Near High Top

To: Birch Spring Tent Sites
Miles today: 10.0

I wake up due to awkwardness and look at my watch. It is only 2 am. i am like, crap.. i fall asleep again until 5 am and just decide to get up. There will be light in an hour anyway. so i get up and am ready to hike for the day at 6:30 am. Then at 7:15 am the sun is out good enough that i am baking in my leggings and jacket. i have to stop and take clothes off and pack them away. i fly down the trail for the next 4 miles down to Fontana by 8:45ish am. It was fun going down hill to get to Fontana. I Spent too much time here but it was a good upgrade at least.From Fontana i only made it another 5.6 to birch spring tent sites. Kyle
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Birch Spring Tent Sites

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: few clouds

Next day I went over thunderhead to Derrick knob shelter and have no regrets. I spend a full evening on the trail since the views were so Amazing, plus the sun was setting and that added beauty. I wanted to stay and take pictures, but i knew i had to get to the shelter. On the way to shelter i saw 3 boar. They were big black pigs, too similar to a bear for my liking. I heard about 6 of them and one of them stopped my heart nearly because i heard rustling off to my left. Then, when i got closer, within like 25 yards to the left it lets out a deep noise and i am like, oh shit it is bear, for a half a second. Then i recognize it as a snorting grunt.Later, down a hill, I came upon 2 bears on the trail. they pretty much immediately ran off without a noise. I continued making noise for a 20 minutes, pretty much until my voice started to get too dry. But it was funny how i went from "Yo Bear!", to noises, to explaining to situation loudly to myself and the bears. I finally got to the shelter. There was only 1 thru hiker in there luckily, even though i did scared him. But he was happy to have someone talk to finally even though it was 10 pm. I made some oatmeal as we talked. Since it is super saturated food, I find it doubly refreshing. I past his friend earlier in day. He had hurt his knee trying to keep up with Willace and Nancy. These two are a pair that are trying to hike the AT by the end of August. They have a blazing pace and go 25ish miles a day. I have crossed paths with them 3 times. So we talked gear, people and life. He gave me a little more info on Willace and Nancy. I was a little confused why I saw them more then once! The guy, Dan was his name, said it is because they have taken a zero or 2. (editor's note: A "zero" is a day without walking any miles on the AT or staying 2 nights in the same place.) Dan recently bought trekking poles in NOC. He paid a pretty penny but he feels they help just barely enough to be dropping that amount of money on them. I don't think i can be convinced now that i know the price of them. Still, I don't quite know if my backpacking style is down pat. With the Smoky's beauty and trail, i think i am going to learn my style a lot faster. Kyle
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Newfound Gap, Gatlinburg, NC

To: Ice Water Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept until 9 am. My pack weighs just under 35 lb and I have a bag of food hanging outside my pack because inside it is full. Oh, and i asked the guy what to eat in town and he said a calzone from The Best Italian and boy was he right it was the best i had i think. That was lunch today before typing this. I have a bit left to finish before i hit the trail. AT started finally!! Woo! Fun! On to Standing Bear Farm Hostel. KylePS More to come next time.
Date: 2009-06-04
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light rain

The Smoky Mountains continued to be beautiful. The only flaw was the horse crap all over the trail and that it rained this day and flooded the last 7 miles on the way out of the Smokys, but even the clouds and rain couldn't tame the beauty. Still awesome views!
Date: 2009-06-05
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: a mile before Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

I was on my way and I will probably go to the medical clinic in hot spring to make sure it is healthy because around here the people at Standing Bear say there are no near-by good doctors. The arm didn't really affect my hiking. Well this is enough for now I have to get on the trail before I run out time for the day even though this place is nice, but I want to get up the trail. I have pictures of the stages.I got the packages, steripen quick and easy to find. The cable was quite hidden yet in the wide open but the owners couldn't think to check 1/2 way because different size packages in different places and changing people searching for it. But I got it.I didn't know how to return the steripen, but I got taken the post office and explained the situation to the guy there quickly. He said I will take care of it no charge.
Date: 2009-06-10
From: Rich Mountain

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

 I even manage to endure the morning leaving of the people and I sleep more. I have another lazy day and no events really until I get to the shelter where I see the journal. A guy ahead of me writes, keep going Kyle New Jersey, with a list of like 5 other guys. That was cool, revitalizing, and shocking that I made that big an effect on a guy in one day. I also make a weird creation for the next day in the form of a burito full of cereal bar(raspberry), cereal(honey nut cherios), crasins, and peanut butter (i do believe). I hung a bear bag and had a good night sleep alone in Little Laurel Shelter.
Date: 2009-06-22
From: Random campsite past Iron Mtn Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

(picked up parasite day before, steripen's batteries dead)READERS - Go back to 6/9 to get caught up. Posted 7/1/9, editor.Check out this photo Mumbles took of Kyle at Clingmans Dome.Kyle at Clingmans Dome
Date: 2009-06-24
From: Damascus, Va

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Kyle helping out Dad and Uncle Scott to make me a good and accurate journal:day 1 Justus Creek (1.3 mile before Gooch shelter)day 2 Neels Gap Hostelday 3 Low Gap Shelter (clean mac & cheese out of pot recklessly and get parasite)day 4 Blue Mtn Shelter (first day sick)day 5 Cheese Factory Site (Went into Helen: laundry,resupply,relax and back to AT)day 6 Steeltrap Gapday 7 Campsite(hitch Hiawassee: try to cure illness a bit more the back to trail)day 8 Plumorchard Gap Shelterday 9 Stealth camp past Muskrat Creek Shelter (got more meds from weekend hikers)day 10 Franklin Budget Inn(get ride to town with help of weekend hikers:deep gap) day 11 Siler Bald Shelter(after getting healthy in Franklin and going to doc)day 12 Cold Spring Shelterday 13 Sassafras Gap Shelter(by accident go past campsite and hike into nigh)day 14 Stealth camp just past Cable Gap Shelterday 15 Camp 113/birch spring tent site (go through Fontana Dam)Day 16 Derrick Shelter(trail finally feels as though it has a purpose & beauty)day 17 Gatlinburg, TN Grand Prix Motelday 18 Icewater Spring Shelter (journaling and best calzone eaten and slow day)day 19 Tri-Corner Knob Shelter (fall just before and get scrapes and a gash)day 20 Davenport Gap Shelterday 21 random campsite just before Snowbird Mtn (messing around Standing Bear)day 22 Walnut Shelterday 23 Hot Springs x2day 25 Rich Mtn campsiteday 26 Little Laurel Shelterday 27 Flint Mtn Shelterday 28 Bald Mtn Shelterday 29 Erwin, TN Uncle Johnny's hostelday 30 Curley Maple Gap Shelterday 31 Cherry Gap Shelterday 32 Carvers Gap (hiked past Roan shelter into rainy night)day 33 Overmountian Shelter (Rainy all day)Day 34 Apple House Shelter (rain early evening and my feet were dry so stay)Day 35 Moreland Gap shelterDay 36 Warauga Lake Shelterday 37 Random campsite past Iron Mtn ShelterDay 38-? Damascus (picked up parasite day before, steripen's batteries dead)
Date: 2009-03-02
To: Just Waiting to GO!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I guess we are really going to do this; I am making my first journal entry! I have followed many hikers through trail journals. I laughed and cried with them as they made their way along the trail and it is finally my turn!Italian and I started hiking the trail ten years ago. He called me at work one day and said he'd seen a feature on TV about the Appalachian Trail and wondered if I wanted to give it a try? Sure. We drove up to the Bear Mtn trailhead to check things out and ran into Can Do, sitting on the side of the road waiting for his parents. Can Do had already hiked to Katahdin and had decided to hike back to Springer! Wow! After talking to him for about 20 minutes I was hooked.So... we planned to try a 3-day hike in our home state of CT. I purchased a few books, which became my modus operandi over the next 10 years, and started studying. Despite many cautions about miles per day and pack weight, we still planned to do about 50 miles in 3 days with enough clothes for three days of normal travel (jeans, extra shirts, toiletries, change of undies, etc.).   Not to mention an insane amount of food. I don't know how much that first pack weighed, but when I hefted it onto my back to put it into the car, I said "I'm going to die!" We planned to hike from Salisbury to a motel in Kent, staying there two nights, and hike to the NY line and back, then back to Salisbury!!!! Dreamers!!! To make a long story short we did hike 18 miles that first day, then hitched a ride back to our car. We did stay at the Fife and Drum though. There was no way I was going home after all that effort! Anyway, as you can see, we decided to stick with it. Since that fatal weekend we have hiked from Saddleback, Maine to Waynesboro, VA as weekend warriors. We are now both retired and ready to pursue our dream of hiking the trail as thru-hikers. We've got our gear down to a reasonable weight, have dehydrated LOTS of home cookin' and mapped out an insane number of mail drops. We're looking good to go in just 29 days!!! It's a dream coming true.
Date: 2009-03-03
To: Still Home
Miles today: 0.0

Well, it's about time I made another entry so here goes... Today I'll explain how we came up with our trail names.Italian's is obvious although he went through a whole bunch before he managed to come up with it! Hmmm? Mine also took awhile and then suddenly one day it became clear. You see I have developed a pretty good sense of where a trail is going even when blazes are not so frequent as hoped for. Hiking with Italian this comes in very handy as he is not so good with navigation. Anyway, we were hiking a blue trail in CT which was pretty badly marked but I kept managing to find it. Al responded by asking, "Who are you? Lord Baltimore? (For those of you less schooled in cinema or the wild West, Lord Baltimore was the famous tracker who followed Butch and Sundance many moons ago.) I told him "No, I'm a woman." The next thing I knew I was Lady Baltimore and eventually Lady B!So there we are. And now Italian and Lady B have just under three more weeks to go. Excuse me as I get back to counting sheets of TP and vitamin capsules. Talk again soon.
Date: 2009-03-30
From: Jekyll Island

To: We leave tomorrow!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Hello Everyone: Well, it is the eve of our drive to Amicalola Falls. Since my last entry we have been packing up our gear, getting haircuts, teeth cleanings, forwarding our mail to our new PO boxes, assembling and labelling all 48 mail drops, instructing our helpers on their duties for the next six months(Tuesday Girl, Scooby Doo and JV), and in general GOING NUTS!!!! (Could have saved money on my haircut by just tearing my hair out over all these last minute preparations!)Today we relax so we do not hit the trail and collapse! It sure is nice to be in a warm climate for a change; it was 78 degrees here yesterday. Although I know it will not be as warm on the trail, it will at least be Spring! Tomorrow we drive about 6-7 hours to the intersection of USFS 42 and the Trail so we can hike the first .9 miles which is a backtrack to the summit of Springer. We'll be hiking with JV and Bido who can take our picture at the first white blaze. By doing this, when JV drops us off on Wednesday morning we can head North right away. Supposed to be a chance of rain on Wednesday but you know what they say, "You can't get to Maine if you don't walk in the rain!" We'll be in touch with all of you again soon.
Date: 2009-03-31
From: We leave tomorrow!!!!

To: USFS 42
Miles today: 0.9

March 31, 2009we left jekyll island bright and early (6:30 am) for our road trip to USFS 42and the .9 mile mark of the trail. After registering at the visitor center andviewing the falls, we arrived and took our first steps on the AT, southbound.It took about 20 minutes for Italian, Lady B, Bido and JV to reach the firstwhite blaze on the summit of Springer. We were greeted by the ridge runner,Many Sleeps, who made note of our official start in his register. Then it wasback to the car and off to the Comfort Inn for our last shower and a big dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Now for a good night's sleep so we can hit the trail by 7:30. Rain expected in the morning but sun by noon. More later.Sent on the go from my Peek
Date: 2009-04-02
From: Springer MT

To: Justus Creek, then Lance Creek
Miles today: 22.8

4/1 - Well, it started out as a rainy misty day as we pulled out of the Comfort Inn but by the time we reached USFS 42 it was fairly warm and barely misting. We donned rain hats and gear and set off after a photo session in front of the trail sign. The trail sucked us right in as we made good time hiking through rhododendron forests along a stream¢¦ The pathway, for the most part, was wide and gently rolling. It was misting and foggy. Perfect setting for a ghost story. We stopped for lunch at Hawk Mountain, @ 7 miles in 3 hours. The afternoon was another story, lots of steep ups and downs for 7 more miles. Of particular note was Sassafras Mtn. I came upon Italian at the base, sitting on a log soaked with sweat. "I'm too old for this s---", said he. "And so are you!" We made it to Justus Creek around 3:30 and here we stay. We were invited to join the campfire with our neighbors, two women, a boy and a dog from North and South Carolina. To our amazement and surprise, they too had struggled up Sassafras, even the 14 year old! Age, no! Shape, probably¢¦4/2 - It started raining sometime in the middle of the night. We arose at 7 and decided to break camp without breakfast which we could have along the way: Mmmmmmm - Snickers¢¦!   Zooman, the shammy cloth worked wonderfully, even for removing the condensation inside the tent! Rain continued most of the day as we hiked along a rollercoaster. Even the younger hikers were having a tough time of it¢¦ Hardly anyone passed us until we called it quits at Lance Creek. Glad we did too as about 1 hour after setting up the tent and eating some oatmeal, the rains came back full force! We are currently warm and cozy in the tent at 4:30 pm!
Date: 2009-04-03
From: Lance Creek

To: Goose Creek cabins 
Miles today: 7.0

Last night i dreamt the tent was moving and turning, ready to fly away to Oz!!!! it rained torrents all night!! It finally stopped about an hour before sunrise so we were at least able to get a somewhat dry, cleaned up and start. My rainpants are getting a lot of use. In fact, they are the main piece of my daily wardrobe. (Those of you who know me well may find this hard to fathom!) Most of the day a cold cloudy mist shrouded the trail. One could only see a few feet in front of one's face most of the way up Blood Mtn. But that's all one needed to see for the climb was 1100', no turns, no views, no errors. (compliments of Italian) Of course Lady B's climb was highlighted by a chance cell phone call from Scoobydoo which granted her a few minutes reprieve from this eerie climb! The two mile climb down was both squishy and hard. Mud provided the squish. Rock provided the hard. (again Italian) Neels Gap supplied us with our first Coke in days. We finished 7 miles today, retrieved our first drop box and headed for Goose Creek cabins where we have spent the last few hours showering, drying out our packs, sleeping bags and tent in front of the heater which i have cranked up to 80! Guess i am trying to warm us up too! The cabin owner did our laundry and treated us to microwave popcorn. Life is good.
Date: 2009-04-04
From: Neels Gap

To: Poplar Stamp Gap?
Miles today: 13.7

Oh what a gorgeous morning! A LITTLE chilly but the sun is out! As we all started climbing that first hill out of Neels Gap, we began peeling off jackets, gloves, fleece and even the bottoms of our convertible pants. Soon we were seeing all that beautiful scenery we had missed in the shrouded mists of the prior few days. Wow!!!! The northern GA mountains are tall and awesome. Several thru-hikers stopped at an overlook for lunch that made me feel like I was somewhere in NH. Italian had kept on going so I did too, only I went down the wrong trail! By the time I realized I had not seen a blaze in awhile, I'd gone about .2 miles. Oh well. It was a nice cliff walk with great views. I managed to find my way back to the trail and a few minutes later I met him coming back to find me. I am in danger of having to forfeit losing my trail name if this happens many more times.We had lunch at Tesnatee Gap, then climbed the very steep Wildcat Mtn. At Whitley Gap trail angels greeted us with burgers, dogs, soda and beer. We were full from lunch but Mountain Dew did the trick. Amazing how thirsty you get. It has also been very warm so we are sweaty hikers all! We continued up and down the rest of the afternoon, hiking mostly with Bark and Berry, all the way past Low Gap Shelter for about 3 miles, along what must have once been a railroad bed, until we found a campsite about .1 mile from a waterfall. After much leaves, wet tinder, blowing and a little fuel we lit a campfire. We were joined soon by Otter and Stewball who camped with us for the night. TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Cheese Factory Campsite
Miles today: 9.8

A long hot day! Lots of ups and downs. We are hearing reports of thunderstorms tonight and cold wind and possible snow by Tuesday! However, we continue along. Today is Bark and Berry's 1 year anniversary. Poor Berry has been suffering from a blister on her little toe for days so they are starting to slow down; almost to my speed!!! Again today we have beautiful views of teh mountains we have climbed and those yet to come. We have learned one thing: don't eat lunch if you are approaching a gap, when it is the weekend, which means a good chance for trail magic! We were rewarded at Unicoi Gap with hot dogs, soda, and fruit. Also good company as we were soon joined by Gypsy and Stewball. Again lots of chatting about the weather. One of the trail angels is shuttling hikers to the Blueberry Patch Hostel but despite our best efforts we could not seem to convince Bark to dump out just yet! Up Rocky Mtn. we went. About 1 mile up there was a mountain stream so we got water and I dunked my head as well to cool off. That helped make climbing the rest of the way, which was A WAYS, a lot easier.We dropped into Indian Grave Gap and Italian and I decided we would camp at the Cheese Factory rather than climb Tray Mtn.with all the youngsters. We were getting worried about the impending weather and wanted to keep our options open. There are three road crossings before heading up Tray, then none for the next 13 miles. Italian found a primo campsite just above the Cheese Factory site so we set up there. Went to sleep about 7:30. At 9:00 I heard someone say, " All right!" Then lots of shuffling and headlamp light through the tent, then all was quiet. When we got up this morning we were surrounded by 4 tents and a hammock! (Poor guy,, he set up right under our bear bag! Bet he gets the name "Bear Bait"!)It rained about half the night, then the wind started. Thank heaven we had put our sleeping bag liners in our bags! Don't ever go camping without one! When we got out of the tent at 7, it was 40 WITHOUT the windchill!!! We got a cell signal and called the Hiawassee Inn. They had a room for us three nights so we can ride out the storm and referred us to a shuttle service who picked us up right on the forest service road about 45 minutes later. I must say the words "southern hospitality" do not even go near describing how you get treated around here. Oops! I guess this is getting to tomorrow's entry...   TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Cheese Factory Campsite

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is a Nero Day. That's when you do negligible mileage then stop somewhere for a day off the trail. As you know, we got a shuttle to Hiawassee this morning and are staying at the Hiawassee Inn. Turned out to be a great decision as it has been COLD (about 25 degrees on the ridges) and flurries much of the day. Bark and Berry showed up around 1:30 looking just about frozen after having hiking the remaining mileage from Tray Mtn. We headed out to see about a newspaper (The Local Sentinel), some breakfast (Corner Cafe with biscuits to die for) and several outfitters to find they did not have the type of stuff hikers need. (The shuttle driver had warned us these stores cater to "Bubbas" or wealthy vacationers!) Ended up here at the library to catch up on emails and journal entries. JV has been posting these and doing a great job!!!! Thanks JV!The rest of the day was vegging out in the room watching movies and the Yankee game. Then off to an AYCE (all you can eat) at Daniel's steakhouse.
Date: 2009-04-07
From: Hiawassee

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I am a little loopy for today's entry. Just got back from a trip to the Chatuge Emergency Center where I was treated for some sort of reaction, could be sun, could be bug bites, could be???? (There is a neverending supply of gnat-like bugs on hot days that swarm you and bite!!) Got some pills and a shot, filled my prescription at Rite Aid and headed to the Corner Cafe for another hearty breakfast.Today is a zero day; like a nero day but no hiking at all. There are a lot of hikers in town (seems like everyone came off the trail) due to the cold weather and snow. There are only two hotels and a hostel in town so they are all full! Speaking of hotels, the two places we have stayed in so far have been wonderful. The owners of both have gone out of their way to assist us with anything and everything we might need. Thank you Alan and Ron.Found out what power a thru-hiker has with gear companies. Our Steripen which is used to purify water started acting up a few days ago. I contacted the company and they are sending us a new one today or tomorrow FREE OF CHARGE! Wow! I had heard about this but it is amazing when it actually happens. (REI in West Hartford CT on the other hand would not help us as they claimed they had to have my signature in order to send me anything, even if I paid for it! The supervisor did supply the number for Steripen though.)We have one person asking a lot of questions about food. We dehydrated most of our dinners (spaghetti sauce, Cuban beef, chili) or used recipes from backpackers books (burritos, tamales, brunswick stew and cornchowder). We supplement these with pasta, instant potatoes, rice and stuffing mix. Breakfast is Poptarts or oatmeal mixed with nuts, berries and instant breakfast. Lunch is either pepperoni and cheese (Velveeta) or peanut butter, honey and bacon on a tortilla. We also carry gorp and Snickers. I carry packets of Emergen-C which is a great pick-me-up in the middle of the day (Thanks K-man!)Well, the drugs are starting to make me a little sleepy so I'll sign off now. Tomorrow we slackpack the section from the cheese factory to Dick's Creek. PS We are gradually updating our gear as we go along on the attached list, if y9u are interested. TO BE CONTINUED