morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Dennis Cove (Laurel Fork Campground)
Miles today: 6.1

Rain, rain, today there was rain. I cannot believe how many people were at this shelter last night. The night before there were a ton of people back at Buck's Place and I never would have thought that many people would have all made it to Moreland Gap. So when this morning came, the masses were all preparing to head out to Kincora Hostel. By 6:30 A.M. almost everyone was awake and preparing to head out. With the group I have been hiking with 8:00 seems a little bit early, but 6:30, thats almost unheard of. I was out of the shelter by 7:00 sharp. The rain was just pouring down. Nothing on the face of the earth could have kept us dry today. As I walked, I soon passed Cuppa Joe and soon after that, found myself at Dennis Cove Road. The walk this morning felt so short. I made the short road walk over to Kincora where Spruce and Moose were left over from the night before(They did a 24 yesterday). Pretty soon, Piker came running in to drop his pack and left out for Mileage. He said something about here knee hurting. He returned with the infamous Burn soon thereafter. Burn said he had reserved a cabin for a select group of us back at Laurel Fork Campground. So sadly, I accepted the fact that I would not be staying at Kincora. So we all piled into Burn's truck and headed over to the campground. Along the way, we picked up Squid Jerky.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Dennis Cove (Laurel Fork Campground)

To: Watagua Lake / Home
Miles today: 9.7

Today was a day of reflection. I would like to introduce to all who read my journal, a new thought. Where do you finish a journey? Is it on Katahdin following a six month trek? Is it Springer Mountain following a six month trek? Or does the journey ever end? To the break of day, my pack is packed. The sun rises slowly yet paces a new step to my adventure. My feet follow a path of many before me, yet I lead my own steps to a new pace. As the morning awoken from a peaceful sleep, my mind began to wander. I retraced my steps from March 17th to the present day. I retraced the memories, the good outweighing the bad. As I peaked my final peak for the day, Pond Flats Mountain, I realized something about myself. Today is and end to a beginning and a beginning for a new tomorrow. My trip is all but over. I do not think that it will ever be over. Yes, my plans of a thru-hike are but a shadow to my boots. Yet, my journey is the matter of topic. I am pressing forward to continue my journey.This coming June, I am going to take a job in Maine at a summer camp. Following this camp, I am going to continue forth upon my journey. Mt. Katahdin is the place of beginning for this new tomorrow. I will walk a man's walk. Yet, I will make no bonds of this journey. No destination, no limits, no plan. I just want to walk to the beat of my own drum. I am all but done. I seek new horizons. I will continue a walk to remember. My God bless all of you who have supported me. My sincere appreciation goes out to you. Now, my friends, may our journey continue.
Date: 2005-06-14
From: Watagua Lake / Home

To: Camp Cedar, Casco Maine
Miles today: 0.0

Hey guys. All is well with the crazy Chaos. I have arrived at my new job and love it. I tried to find people on the trail on my way up but it seems I only found a few in Harper's Ferry. Sorry if I didnt see you. Well, I just thought I would update everyone so ya'll know I haven't fallen of the earth.
Date: 2005-04-01
To: Getting Ready
Miles today: 0.0

It is now two weeks untill I leave for the trail so i figured it was about time to get this journal started. I will keep a hand written journal with me on the trail, and update the daily entries here as often as possible. I really dont know how often that will be, but my best guess is about once a week. This is primarily for myself but I have chosen to put it on this site for those who are interested.The last several months I have spent a lot of time researching and getting things ready to hit the trail. A lot of time has been spent looking around this website as well as others. I picked up several books about the trail, the most helpful being Long Distance Hiking by Roland Mueser. I have also recieved lots of help from the people at Backwoods here in Tulsa, including a presentation by Demetri "Coup" Coupounas of Golite. I had always planned on going light but Coup talked me into another pack that dropped my weight by 4 pounds.Most everything I have been buying is geared at keeping my pack weight down. I now have just about everything I need on the trail. The few things left are small and cheap. My pack is at just under 15 pounds dry (no food,water,or fuel). After I add everything else I should never carry more than 30 pounds, most of the time much less. Because of the light weight I have decided not to wear hiking boots, instead i will use trail runners. They are essentially a running shoe with more traction. I am getting very excited about going, especially since my friend Brock has decided to come with me. However I am not exactly ready to leave friends and family for 6 months. I will be able to have some good times with everyone before I head out though. My friends at work are throwing me a going away party on Tuesday the 5th. Friday they 8th will be my last day at work. Then I have two 21st birthdays to attend. On the 10th in Norman, and the 12th in Stillwater. I will be coming back home the 13th, spend two nights at home, and fly out at 6 AM on the 15th.
Date: 2005-04-14
To: Ready
Miles today: 0.0

Spent the day picking up last minute things, and probably forgot some others. But I'll figure that out in a few days. My flight leaves at 6am tommorow, Brock's plain leaves an hour after that. It is finally hitting me that I leave tommorrow, for 6 months. Time for me to finish some things up at home, my next post will either be from the hostel, or down the trail a few days.
Date: 2005-04-15
To: Getting to the trail
Miles today: 0.0

My flight arrived in Atlanta at 10:20. Had to wait at the baggage claim until 12:30 for Brock. Then we took the train North through Atlanta where we had someone to pick us up. When our ride didnt show up we wound up taking a cab to Amacalola State Park.At the park we registered and got our pictures taken. While doing so we met some other thru hikers, Baltimore Jack and Mountain Dew. I immediatly recognized the name Baltimore Jack. I have read a few aricles from him on the trail. I then found out that he is stating his 9th thru hike. Whe he offered us a ride to the start of the trail we gladly accepted.After driving through the mountains and past more Confederete flags than I have ever seen we arrived at a small parking lot. From there it was a short hike to Springer mountain shelter. There I met another thru hiker named moonshine. He has a mullet and wears a kilt. He is also sponsored by the moonpie compny and gives out plenty of them. There were several others there, mostly weekenders.The weather is great. Temperature right now around 70. I set up my hamock because there is no room left in the shelter.   I think I will be setting up my hammock more often than not.
Date: 2005-04-16
From: Springer Mountain

To: Justice Creek
Miles today: 13.6

Woke up this morning COLD. The temperature dropped to 35 overnight. I woke up periodically during the night due to high winds as well. Brock and I climbed the short distance to Springer Mountain not long after the sun came up. Baltimore Jack and Mountain Dew were there. They took a few pictures for us and then headed out. We spent a few more minutes on top and then headed down the mountain.After it warmed up some it was a really nice day out. Later in the day it was almost too hot. makes me wonder what July will be like.Met a thru hike named Janis at hawk mountain whelter this afternoon. She is from California. She is camping near us along with several others at Justice creek.We wound up hiking farther than planned today. Maybe too far for the first day. We got to Hawk Mountain shelter at about Noon, so it was too early to stop. But the next water source was 7 miles away. We decided to go ahead and hike to Justice Creek. I felt good all day today. Should be another good day tommorow.
Date: 2005-04-17
From: Justice Creek

To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.5

Woke up cold again. Sleeping by a stream probably didnt help. We left camp around 9:00 and hiked to Goodch mountain shelter for breakfast. Ate there and filled up on water. We made it to Woody gap someting in the afternoon. Ate lunch at a picnic table and hen had to hike Big Ceder mountain. Not bery fun at the end of the day. We wanted to get past it though because tommorow weill be a long day uphill. My legs felt good at the end of the day. I think we will be taking some shorter days in the future. We have set up camp near a small stream at the low point beween Big Ceder and Blood Mountain. Big day tommorow, lots of uphill, then we finally reach some civilization.
Date: 2005-04-18
To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

I was no where near as cold when I woke up today, made getting out of the sleeping bag much easier. Started with about a 2 mile hike before breakfast. Most people eat at camp but I like to get the blood flowing a little before sitting down to eat. It was all uphill for the first 5 miles today. It didnt turn out to be as bad as I thought though. We got to the summit of Blood mountain a little after noon. At the summit we took some pictures and then went to eat. This is when I realized that I am a moron. Everything in my pack is light. But somehow I managed to overlook a 28oz container of peanut butter. Thats nearly 2 pounds. So now I realized that I have 25 servings of peanut butter for 4 days. I dont even like peanut butter. So thats what I made myself eat for lunch. Thats all I ate.After my terrible lunch we hiked down Blood Mountain into Neels Gap. The only thing here is an outfitter and a hostel, well they are actually the same building. Was able to call home. As soon as I hung up Brock says, "hey you wanna hike six miles." I was horrified until I heard what had to say. We were going to "slackpack." That means someone drove us 6 miles up the trail without packs and we hike back. In the morning we get a ride to the 6 mile point agian. So se wont miss any of the trail we just hike some of it backwards. I agreed, and we hiked another 6 miles.This made for quite a long day. I feel like I'm about to die. Well more like my legs dont work anymore. When we got back we did score a ride to town and back to eat at a Buffet. It was awesome. I need to sleep. Should be an easy day tommorow.
Date: 2005-04-19
From: Hogs Pen Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

It was definitly not an easy day as planned today. I was very sore to start out with, then it just got worse as the day went on. I have ben forgetting to mention the weather. It has been great, every day its around 75 and no clouds. However, I forgot sunscreen. I had a fairly nasty sunburn yesterday but was ging to pick up sunscreen at Neels Gap. They didnt have any.Had lunch at Lowe Gap Shelter. There was about 10 of us there. It was a good time except I only ate peanut butter for lunch. Oh well.Towards the end of the day I began to crave Ramen. Not something I would normally want that bad but I am starting to get very hungry, a lot. We arrived at Blue Mountain Shelter at about 5:30. Set up the hammock and went to cook. But I couldnt find my cook set. I quickly discovered that I left it back at the other shelter. I wasnt worried about the stove as it was homemade, but the pot cost $40. There is no way that I am walking back there though. Brock (different Brock) let me borrow his stove and pot tonight.The plan is to Limp in to Hiawassee without a stove. Then Mountain Dew has and extra one waiting at the post office. For a pot I will be heading to the dollar store. So much for light weight.Tommorow will not be easy, most likely it will be the toughest day yet. Several very tough climbs in a row. I have to do big miles to get to Hiawassee on Thursday so I can get my stove. 18.3 miles away, on the roughest terrain yet.Aside from my stove and pot misplacement it has been a good night at the shelter. About 14 of us here. Lots of good bear stories, plus news of recent bear activity at the shelter. Should make for a good nights sleep.
Date: 2005-04-20
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

We had quite a long day today. It was about 15 miles, but it was 15 miles over 3 tough mountains. Rocky Mountain, Tray Mountain, and Kelly Knob. I am pretty well exausted. Several of the people we camped with last night made it here. Blaze, Bearcan (Janis), Mountain Dew, and the Honeymooners.We had a deer run about 20 feet in front of us today. First big wildlife we have seen.Stopped for lunch(peanut butter) at Tray Mountain Shelter. Brock had a really nasty blister break on his heel. I took a picture.I still dont have sunscreen but I havent noticed my sunburn getting worse. The back of my neck is blistered up. Started wearing my hat backwards today.Weather is still great, lots of sun. Word is that rain is coming soon. Put my rain cover on my pack for the night.We are only 4 miles out of Hiawassee. Since we are so close Brock, Bearcan, Blaze and I are going to do an in and out. That way we save money on a room. We here there is a good buffet there. Cant wait.Tonight someone at the shelter gave me an MRE, I ate that and 2 packs of Ramen in about 10 minutes.
Date: 2005-04-21
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

Fun Day today. We had a group of 8 hike in to Hiawassee together. Didnt take long to hitch a ride. We packed all 8 of us and 8 packs in one pickup bed. I'm sure it was pretty funny to look at. My legs fell asleep by the time we got to town.We went by the Hiawassee Inn first. Took a shower there which was amazing. Went to the Library for internet access next. Also we were able to do laundry, it feels great to have clean clothes on. Mountain Dew gave me a new stove today. Also Emily decided she didnt want her pot and gave it to me. So I got hooked up today. It feels good to have my own stuff again.We are staying at plumorchard shelter tonight. My first night in a shelter, not so sure about dealing with the mice.Weather channel said rain, but that was supposed to start at 3:00 and its almost dark with clear skies. It is starting to get colder though, possibly snow north of here.Time for sleep. Not sure how far we are going tommorow, 7 or 12 we'll see what the weather is doing.
Date: 2005-04-22
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Made it across my first state line today. Am now in North Carolina. We got realy lucky with the weather and made it out of Georgia without any rain. But it didnt take NC long to fix that problem. It started raining about 15 minutes after we crossed the state line. Didnt rain that hard at first though.I made it to Muskrat Creek Shelter a little after noon. About 30 seconds after I got in it started to pour. The wind picked up and it started to hail. I was glad to make it, worried about the people that were an hour and a half behind me though. We ate some food and then had to crawl in our sleeping bags to stay warm. It rained for about and hour, maybe longer, not really sure. Then we hiked another 5 miles to Standing Indian Shelter.It is getting dark and cold now, cant see more than 15 feet because of the fog. We are at a pretty high elevation, should make for a cold night. Blaze, Bock and I are thinking about a 20 mile day tommorow. Depends on teh weatehr.I have a sore and swollen achilis tendon. A girl last night had the same problem. She read that it comes from "carrying heavy loads uphill," oh really? Not bothering me too bad, took some Ibuprofen (known as Vitamin I here) to finish the last 5 miles today.
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Didnt sleep too well last night. Heavy storms came through. It was fun being in a shelter with a metal roof and lightning poping all around. The rain was heavy enough that it blew in teh shelter.Woke up and it was very cold out. The only way to stay warm is to kike or be in your bag. The time in between is cold, really cold. So I started to go over everything that I needed to do to start hiking in my head. Thats when I realized I didnt know where my rain jacket was. It didnt take long to realize that I left it in the last shelter. I decided to go back and get it early so I could accomplish something later on. It was 5 miles there so I got a 10 mile warm up lapI got back around noon. It was changing from rain to sleet. I layed in the sleeping bag for a while and we left at about 1:00. It was in between sleet and snow the rest of the day.Now it is changing to snow. I doubt it will stick because it was 80 degrees 2 days ago. But it is cold. There is nothing to do but lay down and sleep.
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap - Franklin NC
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The snow did manage to stick. But the problem was the bitter cold. It was 25 degrees when we woke up. Cold enought that all of our water had frozen.We got up and out of the shelter by 7:30. It was cold but if you keep moving you stay warm.We made the decision to get a room in Franklin. It didnt turn out to be that breat of a room, but It doesnt take much to bwe breat when you have been in the woods for a week.The hiking was easy for the most part. Albert Mountain did however involve some actual hand over hand climbing. We got a ride into town from a day hiker we saw at rock gap, she met us at Winding Stair gap. Was nice knowing we didnt have to wait for a hitch in the cold.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Winding Stair Gap - Franklin NC

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

We got back on the trail at about 9:30. A little chili but nothing like yesterday. It was pretty uphill all day long. Had lunch near Siler Bald Shelter. Didnt go all the way to the shelter because it was .5 off the trail.It was quite a tough climb up Wayah Bald. When we got there it was time for lunch number two. Not long after that some people showed up. You can drive up to the top and it was obvious they had. The were amazed that we had walked up the mountain. And were really amzed when they found out how far we came from. It was pretty funny to watch them with their video cameras, talking about how the drive was worth it. Then they asked if they could video us. One of the other hikers said, "sure but we arent going to do anything interesting." We all laughed as the old man panned across us talking abo ut how we were hiking the trail.We made it to old Spring Shelter at about 7:00 Another hiker named Rob is here. He is an interesting guy. The kind that subcribes to every conspiracy theory you've ever heard of. He is gettting off the trail tommorow, glad we met him though, will make for a lot of laughs.
Date: 2005-04-26
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Said goodbye to Rob this morning. Then headed up Wesser BAld. Long climb but we got a great view from an old fire tower on top.After Wesser Bald it was some serious downhill for the rest of the day. My feet and knee are angry with me, oh well they should get over it.Made it to the NOC around 4:00. Took a shower, did laundry and got some real food. Got a big cheeseburger and fries. Then a brownie and Ice Cream. I think thats the first time Ive ordered dessert for myself in, well, ever.We decided to hike back .9 to a shelter instead of hammocking in the rain, or spending money on a room. We have the shelter to our selves. It is old though, hope mice are not a problem.
Date: 2005-04-27
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Low miles today, but they were all uphill. We started the day at around 1,500 feet and ended around 4,500. It wasnt ever terribly steep, but the constant uphill was a bit painful.We are at Sassafras Gap Shelter right now. There are nine of us here. We thought it was just going to be the honeymooners, Brock and I, but people kept showing up. One guy named Dave hiked the AT in 1980, and the PCT in 1981. He seems very happy to be back, althought he has to get off after the Smokies.We got here at about 3 for lunch. I had 2 peanut butter and honey burritos, 2 packs of Ramen, 1 can of sardines and a pack of Tuna. It started to sleet not long after we got here so we decided to call it an early day. I've been in my sleeping bag ever since. Can't really do anything else because it is cold. It is sleeting hard right now, I hope it doesnt change to snow.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

First 20 mile day today. Feeling pretty good about it. I am sore but not in a bad way. The weather was great this morning but right after luch it started to rain. It rained on us for about 6 hours straight. We didnt plan on coming this far but it just worked out this way. Cable Gap Shelter was going to be way overcrowded, and we both felt like we could go on after the 15 miles to get there. Also someone mentioned they had a hot shower here, that was all the motivation I needed.Now that I am here I am way to tired to take a showere though, its .5 down the road. We are at a great shelter known as the Fontana Hitlon. It has room for 25 people, restrooms nearby, and of course hot showeres, but thats a ways away.Tommorow we are going to hit up the breakfast bufet. I cant wait. I'm down to pop tarts as far as food goes. Get my maildrop tommorow morning, after breakfast. Heard there is a heated swimmiing pool as well, might check that out.Not sure if we are hiking tommorow or not, depends how the legs feel.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Birch Springs Campsite
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: moderate rain

Spent too much time at the Fontana Village Resort today. It took an hour just to get our shuttle to get there. Luckily they left teh breakfast buffet out for Brock and I. Breakfast was really good. Then we got our mail drops. Way too much stuff in each one. It took us a while to try and loose some weight.We finally got out of there at about 2:30. Crossed the dam and headed in to the smokies. We got to the first water source around 5:00 and decided to camp because the next shelter is 6 miles away.
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Birch Springs Campsite

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

Had something very large walk up near my tent last night. It was at about 9:45. I said something to let it know I was there. Brock said "What?" and then it went crashing through the woods. Thought it could have been a deer but they arent scared of people here. So it was either a hog or a bear. Guess Ill never know.Woke up in the rain today. It never stopped raining all day. Foggy as well. didnt get a single view. On top of that the trail was very muddy. Sloppy, Nasty mud. My feet are soaked. My shoes, socks, and legs are all muddy. And its coldAll in all today sucked pretty bad. Did have some day hikers give us some candy bars. That was the highlight today. Couldnt figure out why anyone would want to hike on a day like today, but I didnt complain.At the shelter now with some section hikers Brock and another thru hiker named Josh.