morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-01
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Rest Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hikers greet each other in one of 2 ways. They either bump knuckles or bump elbows. They do NOT shake hands. The reason for this is that all hikers fear getting sick from something called Noro-virus, which spreads very rapidly from person to person if one or more people fail to wash their hands. On March 31, I had a "Nero" (i.e. near zero) day ( I only did 6.7 miles that day, as I planned to spend the evening, and take a rest day the next day at a hikers hostel named Cabin In the Woods, As I got into the van to take me to the hostel, I was greeted by some "Trail Magic" consisting of a trail angel giving away free apples to hikers. I am guessing that the apple was held by someone who forgot to wash their hands, because I got sick. I felt like I was going to vomit, and I had to frequently use the bathroom. Fortunately, my illness lasted just 24 hours. I took a second rest day on April 2, and resumed my hike.
Date: 2016-04-02
From: Rest Day

To: Rest Day/ Cabin in the Woods
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I had a funny thing happen to me the nite I spent in Sasafras Gap (. Usually, I pitch my tent near the shelter. However, as I arrived late in the afternoon, all of the nearly level spots near the shelter were taken. ( When camping on a mountainside, it is very hard to find a level spot to pitch a tent.) So, I found a nearly level spot on top of the ridge, and pitched my tent there. The problem with pitching a tent away from the wind protected area of the shelter is that wind can be very strong on top of the ridge, and shortly after it got dark, the wind picked up a great deal. There were reports that rain would begin shortly after midnight. I was afraid my tent might blow over, and then myself & all of my belongings would be soaked. To avoid that, I decided to be proactive & move my tent in the dark to the safety of being near the shelter. So in the dark, I took down my tent, and carried it down to the shelter. To my horror, when I got down to the shelter, I discovered that I had somehow lost my tent groundcloth. I feared it blew away in the strong wind. To my relief, I found the groundcloth. I then began setting up my tent in the dark, and I staked the 4 corners of my tent down. Unfortunately, because it was dark, I staked out my tent upside down. After I finally got my tent all set up correctly, I congratulated myself on being smart enough to move my tent before tragedy struck. However, the rain never materialized, and had I left my tent where it was, I would have been just fine!
Date: 2016-04-03
From: Rest Day/ Cabin in the Woods

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Today, I learned a WONDERFUL new word: Slackpacking. Slackpacking means to hike carrying nothing more than drinking water & lunch. A person carries all of your other belongings in a car to your final destination for the day. There is a fellow named Warren Doyle who for a fee will help people to slackpack the entire AT. Donna, the proprietor of the Cabin in the Woods hiker hostel, ferried my pack to Fontana Dan Shelter. I hiked 15.2 miles that day, my longest day so far, and carrying almost no weight, I covered the distance very quickly and effortlessly. The Fontana Dan Shelter is nicknamed "The Hilton" because it has a HOT shower, flush toilets, and a HEATED bathroom, with a sink with hot & cold running water. At first, I thought this shelter was a myth, but it is indeed real. Regrettably, there are no other shelters like it on the AT
Date: 2016-04-04
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Mollie's Ridge
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today, the turtle reluctantly regained his shell (i,e. my HEAVY backpack) The first day after resupplying, the pack is always heaviest, due to resupplying with food. And to sweeten the treat, I climbed 3000 feet that day. Today, I entered Great Smoky Mountain National Park. At the end of my grueling climb, I was rewarded with a firetower at the top of the mountain. Climbing to the top of the firetower, I was rewarded with SPECTACULAR views in all directions. That nite, the sunset was the most magnificent I have ever seen. I did not know the sun could be that spectacular color of red.
Date: 2016-04-05
From: Mollie's Ridge

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

When I got to Neels Gap, a few weeks ago, there was an outfitter (a person who sells everything you need to do a hike such as the AT). His store was LITERALLY on the AT. . At that point, I had hiked 31 miles of the AT. There are expert backpackers who for a fee will go thru all of the contents of your backpack, and tell you everything you need to get rid of, and everything you don't have with you, but need to get in order to avoid problems. The outfitter was providing this service free of charge (of course, he makes money selling you the gear you need to acquire.) I sent home 8 pounds of unnecessary gear. One of the things I did was to get rid of my Jetboil stove, which I replaced with an alcohol stove. The alcohol stove burns denatured alcohol, and every time I resupply in town I have to buy more denatured alcohol.
Date: 2016-04-06
From: Derrick Knob

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I reached 2 milestones today. The first was reaching Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT at 6,667 feet. At the top of the mountain, there is a concrete tower (Clingman's Dome) that I climbed for some stunning views. It took my breath away, in the most literal sense of the word. At the top, it was BRUTALLY cold. I stayed long enough for a picture, and I took in the views, then I quickly descended, shaking violently from the cold. I felt like I was inside a freezer in a t-shirt and shorts. It was a brutally tough climb, followed by an equally brutal descent. And as almost all AT hikers will tell you, a steep descent is even WORSE (on your knees) than a steep climb. Last night, my unbelievably good luck with WONDERFUL weather ran out. It got very cold last night, and a half inch of snow fell. I put on almost every stitch of clothing I had, and it was enough to keep me warm. My second milestone reached is that I have now hiked over 200 miles, which means that in a measly 2,000 miles, I will reach the end of the AT
Date: 2016-04-07
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Newfound Gap/Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 5.0

Today was a nero (near zero)day. I hiked 5 miles, and as luck would have it, I was just in time to catch the one and only free shuttle into town (Gatlinburg, TN). I promised myself that when I got to town, I would treat myself to a steak dinner. I honored that promise with a visit to Texas Roadhouse. I ordered the largest steak they had (smothered with grilled onions & mushrooms, of course) a baked potato, (smothered with cheese, bacon bits & sour cream) and a green salad. I had plans for a pie & ice cream dessert, but I was so full, I couldn't do it. I took a dogie bag home, and that will be my supper. Nero days are VERY busy for me, because I need to write in my trail journal, resupply with food,do laundry, etc. Tomorrow, it's back on the AT. The weather for the next few days will be cold, with some snow. Rats! In two and a half days, I'll be out of Smoky Mt. Natl. Park, and the elevations will be lower, so hopefully, the weather will warm up a little.
Date: 2016-04-08
From: Newfound Gap/Gatlinburg, TN

To: Unanticipated Rest Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Nero (near zero) days are always a bit frantic for me, as I hike for part of that day, then I have many chores to complete, prior to resuming my hike the next morning. Gatlinburg TN is a tourist trap just outside Smoky Mt. Natl. Park (the most visited park in the US)Usually, I have enough time to do all of my chores on a nero day, but in Gatlinburg, the grocery store is a few miles out of town, and I needed to take 4 different trolleys to get to & from the store, and the trolleys come infrequently, so I burned up several hours doing my shopping. Nevertheless, the next morning, at 10:00 A.M, I was all set to take the free shuttle back to the AT. However, a brutal cold snap blew in, and park rangers were warning of a wind chill index of below zero for the next 2 days, so I booked 2 more days at the hotel. I was glad I did this, because the hotel (one of only 2 cheap hotels in town) very quickly booked out, with frantic hikers coming off the AT. There are 2 groups of people hiking the AT: 1) young people in their late teens to early 20's, and old fogeys (such as myself) in their late 50's -60's. Surprisingly, these 2 groups get along very well together, as we have a common goal (hiking the AT) If you want to know the latest info as to where trail magic can be found, best places to resupply, upcoming events, etc., ask a young person.) So last nite, while buying a 6 pack of hard cider, I ran into a young person who invited me to a party. I accepted his invitation, but with a little misgiving, because I felt a little out of place at a young person's party. So I invited an old fogey AT hiking friend (his trail name is Marmalade) He is a retired construction worker from England. It was an interesting party. There were 6 guys renting a room, and they were all excited by an upcoming music festival in a week in the town of Hot Springs, which is a resupply town on the AT. Hot Springs is renowned for its natural thermal springs, so I will take a rest day there. I stayed at the party until 10:30 PM, and then went to bed. There is one other big difference between the old fogeys & the kids. The old fogeys go to bed shortly after it gets dark, while the kids tend to stay up later, visiting around the campfire. The old fogeys get up at dawn, and leave as soon as they get packed up. The kids sleep in for a few hours, leaving camp as late as 11:00 AM, several hours after the old fogeys. A few hours later, the kids breeze past the old fogeys, and arrive at camp well before the old folks. I totter very slowly up and down the steep inclines, breathing & snorting like a freight train. The young folks scamper up and down the steep ascents/descents like mountain goats, chattering happily as they breeze past this wheezing old man. (sigh) The sad thing is, I can remember when I was a young person breezing past all those old fogeys.
Date: 2016-04-09
From: Unanticipated Rest Day

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Tomorrow, it will be back to hiking on the AT. When I am hiking the AT, I eagerly anticipate these zero/nero days. However, after 1 rest day, I am eager to get back on the trail again. Today, I am a bit bored. I weighed my pack yesterday. Fully loaded with 3 days food & 2 quarts of water, my pack weighs 35 pounds. Two common mistakes people make when hiking the AT is to 1) forget their hiking poles 2) hiking the wrong way on the AT. So far, I have only once nearly forgotten my hiking poles, and that was a day when I got out of a hiker hostel van, and nearly forgot my hiking poles. Hiking poles are not cheap, so I don't want to lose mine. (Hiking without hiking poles is extremely hard on the knees.) The AT is marked by rectangular white paint markings (blazes) painted on trees/rocks. The AT runs north to south, or south to north. When a person arrives at a camping shelter for the nite, it is very important to note whether he/she needs to go left or right the next morning when resuming the hike. Otherwise, you may find yourself hiking the same terrain you hiked the day before. Many years ago, a blind man named Bill Irwin hiked the entire AT. One day, a young college student, feeling sorry for poor blind Bill Irwin, volunteered to hike with Bill for the day. After they had hiked for a short distance, Bill Irwin gently told his benefactor that they were heading in the wrong direction. Mr. Irwin knew this because he could feel the sun shining on the wrong side of his face! Mr. Irwin said he felt a secret triumph in being able to tell his sighted friend of his (the young man's) error. I am hiking far too long a distance to repeat parts of the trail, and so far, I have not hiked in the wrong direction.
Date: 2016-04-10
From: Gatlinburg

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

There were 2 consecutive days of horrible weather on the AT, which caused hordes of hikers to wait it out in Gatlinburg. On Sunday, the weather cleared for 2 days. I needed 3 days to get out of Smoky Mt. Natl. P:ark, so I joined the hordes of hikers jumping back on the AT. Gatlinburg is at elevation 2000 feet. The AT is at 5000 feet. In Gatlinburg, there was no snow. As we climbed up in the mountains, (after first spotting a HUGE wild turkey), I noticed more & more snow, the higher up into the mountains we got. The snow had partially melted, then refrozen into a sheet of ice covering the AT, making hiking with a 35 pound backpack on my back incredibly scary & dangerous. Hiking uphill was slightly less tricky. I discovered that by stepping on any exposed rock or root made the footing slightly less dangerous. Hiking downhill was an absolute NIGHTMARE. I nearly fell several times. I don't mind falling down, as long as I do not hurt myself. A broken bone could end my hike, A sprain could sideline me for several days. My progress was EXTREMELY slow and tortured. By one PM, thev sun had softened the ice into slush, which was much easier to navigate. and my progress increased a great deal. Given the fact that a very large number of hikers rejoined the trail that day, the campsite was completely filled up by the time I reached camp. We are camping on the side of a mountain, so level places to p[itch a tent were tough to come by. I found a level camping place. Unfortunately, it was very close to the latrine. As more and more people arrived in camp, there were soon many tents pitched near the latrine. Do you remember the tv show from the 1960s called "Green Acres?" We named our tent subdivision "Latrine Acres," in tribute to Eddie Albert and Zsa Zsa Gabor!
Date: 2016-04-11
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was even WORSE than yesterday. Overnite, the slush refroze back into a shield of solid ice, and there was LOTS of downhill walking. My eyes were on the ice on the trail at all times. Occasionally, a tree blows down across the AT. Volunteers come by with chain saws and clear these trees off the trail. However, there are always a few trees lying across the AT that the volunteers have not gotten to yet. Usually, these trees arte lying on the ground, and easy to spot. However, one tree was lying across the trail, at forehead height. As a result of looking at the ground at the ice, I did not see this tree. CONK. I hit my forehead on that tree.Fortunately, because I was moving very slowly, I did not hit my head very hard. All of us old folks moved very slowly and carefully down the treacherous icy path. The young people scampered quickly and happily down the trail, and they never slipped as we old fogeys did. They thought it was great fun, and we old folks hated them for that Today I think that hitting my head was funny. When it happened, I said a few things that I would not have said had I been in church. At lunch (many of us stop in a camping spot to have lunch and to socialize) I told my fellow old fogeys that I had hit my forehead on a tree, and one by one all of the old folks said the same thing had happened to them too. There was one young kid eating lunch with us. He said nothing at all, and we did not ask him if he had also hit his forehead on the tree. We did not have to. The poor kid had a HUGE knot on his forehead. He was scampering happily down the icy mountainside at full speed when his forehead met the tree! After the kid left, one of my old fart buddies suggested that we call the kid the unicorn in recognition of the huge knot on his forehead. I know it is not nice to rejoice in another persons misfortune, and we old folks really do like the young kids a lot, but we are so jealous of their ability to move so much more quickly and agilely than us that we can not help but take some secret guilty pleasure when fate occasionally hands them the short end of the stick!
Date: 2016-04-12
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hikerv Hostel 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

There is an AT expression that says "no rain. no Maine," which means that if you think you can hike all the way from Georgia to Maine without getting rained on, you arte in for a surprise. It rained for most of the day. As long as I kept moving, I did not get cold. Also, IK descended far enough that I was out of the ice and snow zone. I came to a section of the AT that was nothing but a pile of boulders & roots. I used to think this was a very treacherous section of the trail but after the ice & snow. I thought this section was a breeze! Today, I exited Great Smoky Mt. Natl. Park. It contains some of the highest mountains on the AT, and consequently, some of the worst weather on the AT. Also, the terrain is some of the worst on the AT. Most of the hikers said they were as excited to leave the park as they were to enter it. My destination for the night was Standing Bear Hiker hostel. It is run by a man named Lumpy. Do you remember the comedy duo from the 1970s called Cheech & Chong? Well, if you saw a picture of Lumpy, you would swear you were looking at Tommy Chong. If I showed you a video of Lumpy in conversation, you would SWEAR it was Tommy Chong. Lumpy has had either one beer or one pointy cigarette too many, and he is permanently slightly befuddled, and very, very funny. Lumpy has a small grocery store where hikers can resupply. There is no one in the store, so you simply take whatever food you need, write down your purchases on a piece of paper, add up your figures, and pay Lumpy that amount of money. The store operates on the honor system
Date: 2016-04-13
From: Standing Bear Hikerv Hostel 

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

I had just started todays hike when I saw a small sign on the trail that said "Go back to Standing Bear Hostel." Seeing that I had a 5 mile 2400 foot mountain to climb, that seemed like pretty good advice to me, but I continued onward. (Following my climb, I then had a 1400 foot descent, so even though I only hiked 7.5 miles, it was a very tough day. So much for the thought of easier hiking once I got out of the Smokies! Anyway, todays title is Olie Olson. I was a Boy Scout when I was a kid. The most revered and respected man in the Boy Scouts where I grew up (the suburbs of Chicago) was an elderly Norwegian man named Olie Olson. Olie was greatly admired because he knew the name of damn near every plant, bush, or tree that grew in the forest. There were many miles of horse trails that went through the woods near my house. As a kid, I was on my high school cross country & track teams and me and some of my friends used to jog for miles through those horse trails through the woods. Every spring, for just a few weeks, the floor of the woods would erupt into the most beautiful wild flowers in every color of the rainbow. It was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen. The Boy Scouts have awards called merit badges for almost any subject you can think of. I wanted to get the botany merit badge, but I needed to identify a minimum of 50 plants in order to get this merit badge, far more plants than I knew. The man who could award this merit badge was Olie Olson. I was so in awe of him that I almost did not phone him, but finally I got up[ my courage and called him and said that I wanted to earn this merit badge, but I needed him to take me through the woods and first teach me to identify these flowers. There was a long silence at the other end of the phone, and then Olie said he would be delighted to do this for me. So for the next few weeks, Olie and I strolled for miles through the woods, with him teaching me to identify far, far more than 50 plants. I have never met anyone like Olie Olson. He told me a great deal about his life, and he had suffered far more misfortune than most people, yet he had somehow found a way to be at peace with the world, and deeply grateful for every blessing in his life. Well, the appointed day came, and Olie and I strolled through the forest, and I identified far more than 50 plants, and Olie Olson said I was qualified to earn the botany merit badge. He then announced that although he (Olie) had been the botany merit badge counselor for 20 years, I was only the second person to qualify for it. The first person was Olies son, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver. The reason I am talking about Olie Olson is because it is now mid-April in the North Carolina forest, and the forest floor is an absolute RIOT of wildflowers of every size and color in the rainbow, and I can not help but think of my teacher, Olie Olson
Date: 2016-04-14
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

For years, the headlines from those supermarket tabloids would occasionally announce that Amelia Earhart had been found, alive. I always scoffed at that sensationalism, but I am now a believer, because I have personally met and spoken to Amelia Earhart. Not only is Amelia still alive, she is actually a few years younger than she was when her plane disappeared several decades ago! And yes, Amelia does indeed have red hair. I stopped niking briefly to take a picture with my camera when I was overtaken by an attractive female hiker (with red hair.) We chatted and I asked her what her trail name was. Amelia Earhart, she replied, Amelia is a retired first sargent (27 years) in the air force. She was deployed to Afghanistan, and the war has left many mental scars on her. Several years ago, an ex-Marine captain whose first name is Sean walked the entire AT in a successful attempt to alleviate some of the effects of PTSD that he was suffering due to his deployments to Iraq/Afghanistan. It worked so well for him that he founded a nonprofit organization called "Warrior Hikers." This is the fourth year of the organization. There are 10 ex-servicemen/women doing the AT through this organization this year. The organization gets no govt, funding. They give members $300 a month for food, and outfitters have donated backpacking equipment. The AT passes near several small towns, and if those towns have a VFW or American Legion chapter, these hikers pay them a visit and are feted with dinner, drinks and a hotel for the night. Warrior Hikers are now also hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and several other shorter hikes, plus doing the Trans-America Bicycle Trail. Amelia Earhart is one of the 10 hikers doing the At this year. I am a (peacetime) veteran myself, and I salute Sean and everyone else who is helping vets suffering from PTSD to readjust. From what I have read about PTSD, I would not wish it on my worst enemy. And now, if I may be permitted to climb on my soapbox for just a minute, I have always felt that the slogan "Support our Troops" has been perverted. In my mind, the BEST way we can support our troops is to not deploy them to foreign countries where even a decent military victory is a long shot at best, especially when those foreign countries pose no threat to the security of the US. (Not to mention that these costly boondoggles have bankrupted the US)