morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-25
From: deer park shelter

To: hot springs NC
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

1 hour, 25 minutesPoor sleep last night since Sawyer & Packman were snoring in stereo. On top of that, it began to rain on the metal roof, plus the scurrying feet of mice in the rafters. On the easy down you can hear the train at a distance. Further down you parallel the river for a while before getting down to Laughing Heart Lodge. Walked into town following white blazes and AT symbols embedded in the sidewalk, past diner, past historic Elmer's Sunnybank inn to the outfitter. Hawk & Roadrunner continue to laundry. Hot Pants is doing laundry also. Germans Sawyer and girlfriend get dropped off there also. Road runner & BMW converse with them in German. I head back the other direction towards the dollar general and see Slick, Coon, & Sea Biscuit sitting on the creek bridge waiting for the pub across the street to open and later for their ride home. Further down the street across from the library are Big Spoon, Pink Lady & Chicklet coming towards me. They just walked into town and tell me of their last couple days on the trail. I'm happy to chat with them same as every occasion we've crossed paths. Across the street I see my shelter mates from last night, Sawyer (not the German one) and Packman near the Christian services center.Hot Springs, NC is a quaint little mountain town. Its main street is flat and stretches less than a mile. There is the Smokey Mountain Diner on one end, servers there were super friendly, they make a Carolina burger (burger with chili, coleslaw, mustard, onions) that is filling, my 1st time having it, loved it. The grocery in town is literally called the Hillbilly grocery. A Church and small post office is in the center. On the far end is a pub, the Hot Springs spa, and then the French Broad river. The surrounding area is hills & mountains. Hot Springs is rated high for best place to live / quality of life in the U.S. I head to Alpine Courts to clean out my pack. Later in the afternoon, my brother-in-laws good friend Heather and bf comes to pick me up for a zero day in Asheville, NC. That night they show me around the downtown area & tell me all about the city. we had dinner @ the Wicked Weed micro brew pub, food there was awesome, the chef is great with ingredients and flavors, checkout their menu, I had carrot ginger soup & club sandwich, excellent.Beers were equally impressive, I had double ipa and porter. Asheville named Beer City USA: most micro breweries per capita, several established breweries expanding production into this area, and some big name brew masters moved here already or are on the way there.
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Ashville, NC

To: Ashville, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Zero Day in Ashville, NC. My zero day lunch is at 12 Bones bbq, best! Pulled pork, collard greens and jalapeno cheddar grits with Asheville Brew Co. Stuntman Brown ale. Ribs very popular here but no more room in my tank, will have to try them when I return in the future. Long line out the door. Was told Obama ate here when in town. Off to Biltmore estate, home of rail & shipping baron George Vanderbilt. Beautiful huge palatial estate & garden. Very interesting guided tour of home. gardens outside are perfect to stroll through this time of year. What a hidden gem this has been for me. Dinner at Barleys downtown with Heather & Brad, tried the Foothills Jade IPA and French Broad IPA, both local, liked both. Asheville summary: young and hip liberal, cool artsy city, very vegan friendly, great food spots, home of minor league baseball team, Biltmore Estate and beer town USA. Did i forget anything? Thanks Heather for being awesome ambassador and host! What a pleasant surprise Asheville is. Cool people & places off the trail too, what a perfect way to spend a valuable zero day!
Date: 2013-04-28
From: Log Cabin Drive

To: Hemlock Hollow
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day. Slept in. Dwight, the kennel owner allows us to stay one additional night since the hostel will likely be full again. He takes us back to Hemlock Hollows to have breakfast at the diner, there we see some familiar faces at the tables around us. Spend the morning eating, talking and hanging out around the hostel grounds, in the store, dining room, porch outside. We see the bunkhouse and it is full of hikers and wet gear everywhere. Good deal for the four of us, we have the wide open space of the show room to our selves. Lucked out I guess. Dwight drives us back to his house where we organize are our gear, packing stuff that has dried overnight, rotating the stuff that is still wet. We take turns showering next door. It is a tiled room with a hand shower sprayer at the end of a metal hose, this is actually where they wash the dogs at the kennel. Normally I'd find this strange but it really didn't bother me as i was able to take a nice hot shower. Kind of humorous and memorable for sure. Later in the afternoon, we pack into the truck with Dwight and his wife and drive off to Greenville, TN to the Chinese buffet. Nice to have dinner and talk with Dwight and his wife Kat, who I learned is originally also from Illinois, about an hour away from where i live. On the way back they take us the scenic route past the old abandoned industrial area of long ago to the town of Greenville, home of 17th president Andrew Johnson. As we drove by an old courthouse, he points to a hole in the brick wall up high and explains it is the remnant of a cannon ball fired into it. He talks of the history of the Tennesse Volunteers during the civil war, and how it divided communities, sometimes families with one son fighting for the north, the other for the south. Back at the house, we settle in, get ready for tomorrow then go to sleep.
Date: 2013-04-30
From: Flint Mountain Camp

To: Sams Gap
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Sunny morning, down to Devil Fork Gap and NC route 212. A painted wood sign points to Laurel Trading Post and Grocery off to the right 1.5 miles. Wooden steps lead over barbed wire fence onto grassy hill of a cattle farm and into the woods. long gradual uphill through yellow, purple and pink trillium flowers lining both sides of the trail and extending all over the forest floor and up and down the slanted hill slopes. Seeing these colors is a real welcome, for me it feels like a transition into spring. We hike along cascading stream up to summit of Lick Rock, then up to Hogback ridge Shelter. A paper sign indicates that hikers with Norovirus were here so we move on quickly. Back in Hot Springs, NC we were warned that from there to Irwin, TN hikers were frequently getting sick and spreading of the virus was common. So down to High Rock, skies are blue puffy white clouds, sun shines onto the forested hills and valley below. Down to Sams Gap, under the overpass and rested in the nice warm sun of the open parking lot. We meet Mama Goose aka Hiker Gurl with the Warrior Hike group. She was on the phone when we arrived and will be going to Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Irwin via the road. It is still early in the afternoon and have only gone 10 miles, after looking at the guide book, we decide to stop for the day and join her at the hostel. Tomorrow morning we will return here and slack pack ahead to Irwin. Shuttle arrives, brings us on winding mountain road, driver points off in the distance to the ridge we will be hiking tomorrow. At Johnny's, hikers are sitting at the picnic tables out front. We check in at the camp store counter, it is Uncle Johnny himself, and opt for the cheaper tent space in the back. Code Walker and Danger Dave who I met at Springer Mountain arrive, we talk a bit then they return to the trail. Early dinner on the picnic tables, Rolling R gives me a Yuenling he bought earlier. Pink Lady arrives, pulled ahead of her trail mates, said she did two twenty plus mile days and will be bunking here. Early to bed for early start tomorrow.
Date: 2013-05-02
From: Erwin, TN

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

Leftover pizza and soda for breakfast. Hawk borrows a bike and rides into town for groceries. Pink Lady starts off on the trail. Dorothy not feeling well, may not hike today. Hiker Just arrives on the shuttle, holding his new dog, found it abandoned tied to a bridge, plans to hike with it. Mama Goose taking zero day, tending to some sick members in her group. Bear Bait arrives. Hawk returns with grocery bag and my yogurt then we head back to the trail with Road Runner. Just as we cross the street onto the bridge over the Nolichucky river, Miss Janet drives by, asking if we seen a different hiker, nope. Over the bridge, right turn, over the train tracks and back into the forest. Late start, already early afternoon, sunny, nice weather as we follow above the river over many streams and footbridges. Slight climb most of the day, Indy passes us on the way up. Snack and water break at Curley Maple Gap Shelter. Later in afternoon, we reach Indian Grave Gap on TN route 395, our planned end point. Road Runner was not here, must have pushed on ahead. Right turn onto the road, down the hill to the water source, fast moving spring. Back up the hill to the campsite. Clouds have rolled in, temperature dropping. As we are setting up, we meet Danger Pants and Ocho who will stay at this site also. They set up hammocks near our tents. Put on sleeping clothes, layer jacket and winter hat as now it is near freezing and windy. No cell coverage here. Listen to music to block out howling wind as i go to sleep.
Date: 2013-05-03
From: Indian grave gap camp

To: greasy creek gap
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

9 hours 40 minutesUp Unaka mountain to dense lush spruce forest. Many 50 foot trees but also ones 6 feet tall. Floor is soft carpet of pine needles. Lunch at Cherry Gap shelter, where we reunite with Road Runner. He crossed the road not knowing that was the stopping point and stayed a few miles ahead last night. Here we meet an Austrian couple who are moving remarkably fast. They wake up super early and usually have 18 miles done by noon, wow. Ocho and Danger Pants arrive as we are leaving. Down to Greasy Creek Gap. An unmarked trail to the right leads over half a mile down to the Greasy Creek Friendly (didn't want the word hostile ("hostel") in the name. Her and her feuding neighbor were made famous by AWOL's account in his book. Run by miss Connie who is very particular about clean hands and other rules that are simple enough to follow & make sense, which all are to read upon entrance. She was helpful, attentive & friendly. For observance of the Sabbath, she does not do work or drive on Saturday. She is definitely an eclectic character and devout religious follower. A hard worker but could use some more help maintaining the property besides the work for stay she allows. Bunkhouse is full, we set up tents across the stream next to the tool shed. She drove into town and picked up fast food from Burger King and Little Ceasars for our dinner. One group ordered one too many pizzas and donated it for us tenters to share. We signed her register book, saw some familiar names stayed here last night. I've seen her & her iconic Ford Bronco later on the trail in Elk Park & Damascus shuttling hikers to & from the friendly. Great trail resource for hikers.
Date: 2013-05-04
From: Greasy Creek Gap

To: Overmountain shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

8 hoursWoke up after good night sleep. Breakfast of pop tarts, grits, some cookies and herbal tea. Climb up & down little rock knob into Hughes gap, rest & snacks for climb up Roan mountain, slow gradual climb up, someone left a pair of black leather boots facing forward in the center of the trail. Ran into Dorothy on the way up, about half way up we hiked into a cloud, Dorothy stopped to put on pack cover, I did the same as we knew the air and trees would be dripping. More rocks and spruce trees near top. A large group of boy scouts are approaching in opposite direction, we pull aside and wait as caravan passes. Roadrunner catches up to me at top, Hawk is there too. Way high up, over 6100 feet. Rainy and cold mist. No views here. We decide to pass up the shelter near the summit and drop into Carvers gap for lunch. We find a low spot in the trees where there is not as much wind. Hawk, Roadrunner, Dorothy grab a seat on wet rocks & logs, I eat while standing & moving to keep warm. I leave first, cross the road where cannot see oncoming traffic either direction, around the turn style, up to round bald and then Jane bald. Both are foggy, windy & rainy. Just keep moving forward. Guide shows all sorts of marked viewpoints in this area, however today zero visibility. Will have to come back at a later date to appreciate it. I put poles under armpits and grasp hands together to keep fingers warm. Wind blows strongly all day. Leaned into the wind to keep from getting blown over. Climb longer than i thought. On descent, roadrunner & I stuck together and moved down muddy trail rather quickly. Passed a handful people without full boots who were slipping often. Super slippery at times, lots of mud, glad to have knee gaiters. Blue blaze trail off to the right, then another right. We arrive @ Overmountain shelter, famous converted red barn with open side for great view into valley through colorful trees. Kurt Russel and girl from Top Gun starred in a movie filmed here. Water source is long walk away. Privy walls cover only knees up to neck as you are seated so people can see your face and vice versa, awkward. 24 or so hikers settle into 2ND floor for the night. B line, billy jack, prayer hiker, Joanne, frodo, danger pants, pink Lady, Ocho, Jackalope, crash, uncle buck, Dorothy & a bunch others lay side by side in sleeping bags zipped up so only noses or less can be seen. Floor space is at a premium, jam packed by nightfall, people sleeping side by side no aisles to walk around, must tightrope between people in bags. Dark, hard to tell who is all here. Drafty through cracks in the wall, wind rustles tarp covered opening. Lots of sniffling noses and coughing. Cold windy uncomfortable night but we are under dry barn roof fortunately.
Date: 2013-05-06
From: TN 19E

To: TN 19E
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zero day today in Newland NC, just over the border with TN. So much rain trail muddy and flooded. Even the stream here in town backed up and flooded the river walk and some driveways. Gear not dry yet. Laundry & resupply today. Lunch@ Mason Jar again, this time blue plate special is country fried steak, potatoes, green beans & sweet tea in a mason jar. School is closed today since roads, bridges, homes are washed out, many kids in diner. Cleaned and wipe down gear. Napped in afternoon. Sun comes out early in the afternoon. Dinner @ Carolina's bbq, got half rack ribs, tried each of sauces: mad dog, sweet, Lexington vinegar, & Carolina spice. Afterwards Hawk, Pink Lady, Roadrunner & I cracked wise on the porch with 6 pack of Yuenling & Duck Rabbit milk stout (Farmville, NC). Bulls squeak past Heat in game 1 playoffs, still without Derrick Rose. Jimmy Butler, Joahkim Noah played great. Nice to get rested up and regroup while storm passes.
Date: 2013-05-07
From: TN 19E

To: mountaineer falls shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: few clouds

Roadrunner makes us bagel sandwiches for breakfast. I also have my usual bananas & yogurt. Britney from Shady Lawn Lodge loads us into truck as her daughter and mother wave bye to us. Off to trail head, slow climb up next to habitat respiration project for endangered golden warbler. Along river, which a day ago was up on the trail, then past a small Church and later a cemetery. Muddy all day sunny most of the day. Clouds roll in as we cautiously step on rock tops in front of cascading Mountaineer falls. Up to shelter, light rain rolls in, perfect timing. A carved wooden bear holding metal cross stands at shelter front corner. Atlas sits & journals next to it. All sorts of humorous graffiti etched and written all over the shelter. Danger Pants & Ocho are here, RR & Hawk pitch tents outside, Dorothy stops by for dinner than moves on. A short walk away is the water source, which is a spring that is the source for mountaineer falls below. Shelter is newer, nicer, & has a small 3 person 3Rd floor. Perfect timing & place to call it a night. Just before dinner time, rain gets heavier, thunder and lightning too. Shelter fills up. Dinner under the roof overhang. Most people skip the bear bags and hang from the ropes in the shelter. Snack on chatterjee mix while I journal, then brush teeth, floss, Roy Orbison on the headphones to combat the snoring as I go to sleep.Footwear: big debate is boots vs ridge runners (& vs sandals / lightweight runners also). Ridge runners are lighter & made for speed. Boots heavier, bulkier, sturdier. I wear full leather boots for waterproofing and ankle support. Yes they are heavier, but for me I am choosing safety & performance for the wet, cold, and rocks to start. Plan is to switch these out for a lighter weight boot when weather gets warmer & miles per day is expected to increase. Hope this helps & makes sense.
Date: 2013-05-08
From: mountaineer falls shelter

To: Dennis cove road
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

Mountaineer falls shelter - Dennis cove road15.6 miles - 8 hoursI leave shelter, Hawk & Roadrunner tented near the shelter, still having breakfast. They agree to meet up at the Moreland gap shelter about 10 miles away. The morning is overcast & 60 degrees. I have rain gear & pack covers on just in case. Lots of mud on the steady climb. Through areas of rhododendrons ( still not in bloom) mostly & some tall evergreens. Gaiters coming in handy today. Lots of zig zagging in this section of trail, looks like a recent re-route. We reach shelter and figure we've been moving 2.7 mph. Emeralds tropical trail mix with zone bar, maharaja bar and nutrigrain bar for lunch after we drop our packs into the center of the shelter, this shelter is different, made of hollow block brick painted walls. Overcast skies and a cold wind. P cuts off slices from a brick of cheddar cheese & places them onto wheat thins & gives me a bunch. Danger Pants (who almost always wears shorts, ironically) arrives with Ocho. They also stay for lunch at this shelter. Water source here is a ways downhill, slow trickle, not so productive, not worth the time. Hawk, Roadrunner and i agree to stay at hostel 7 miles away to escape coming rain. I lead the way up from the gap, climb for 40 minutes then mostly downhill through rhododendrons. Sun peeks out for 10 minutes then hides. More mud from rain a couple days ago. Down into ravine bottom where we cross over stream multiple times. different types of ferns line the path & hills on both sides of us. Into forest then nice lawn where there is old worn out log barn, we stop to take pics then go to road where Mountain Squid, trail angel from whiteblaze website from day 1 at Springer is there giving same sugary drinks in a barrel & snacks. Bob Peoples is there shuttling hikers to Kincora hostel. Claus walks up also then heads up to Kincora hostel. We head other direction along the river past farm land, mobile home close to the road with barking dogs behind the fence, around the road bend to hostel. Black Bear Resort is very nice bunkhouse & cabin stay for hikers. New & super clean which we appreciate. owners are green bay packers fans, son in law who works there too is bears fan. All are super friendly. We share nice cabin and have dinner on porch. Small store has all sorts of hot and cold treats, i just bought chips to keep expenses low, others are indulging a bit more. Smiles shows up & we chat as he loads his laundry. He hiked some big miles in rain last few days. Danger Pants & Ocho walk in, they are in cabin near ours. Packman passes through, stays & chats for a few minutes. Laundry is running, some section hikers in common area on the computer and watching a movie on tv. River runs right behind our cabin and along hostel property. Starts to rain, perfect we are here, no wet tents or crowded tiny shelter tonight. Sleep time, Elvis Presley album playing on head phones, perfect since we are in his home state Tennessee.
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Dennis cove road

To: Vandeventer shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

Dennis Cove road to Vandeventer Shelter17.5 miles - 9 hoursSunny morning finally, nice hike through rock canyons, through boulder climbs and down steep rock steps to beautiful Laurel falls, several story high waterfall with pretty cascading Whitewater lit up by the morning sun. If you stand to the left side, water looks blue, swing around to the right side turns pinkish. You can feel the cool mist on your face as you approach and smell the fresh air of the falls.   Hawk says to me the sound of the falling water is so relaxing that we should have camped here last night. We continue on along the river, one section of the trail brings us right next to the raging river where we must tightrope a small foot ledge just above the river but face to face with a large rock wall on the rivers edge. Your pack dangles above the water as you scoot your boots along the narrow ledge while clutching rock edges so you don't fall backwards into the water. There is a part near the end where you round a slight corner, i turned a bit too parallel to the river, my pack caught the rock wall & i had to lunge hands first onto the rock ledge. Roadrunner was following behind me and snapped a pic of my humorous lunge. Further down we hiked along the river then over it on nice wooden foot bridges. I saw a pink flowering bush/tree that i have not seen yet. Is that the blossoming mountain laurel? Will have to look it up later. Up to now, we seen many flowers but also alot of green leaves & flower buds, pretty soon there will be alot more May flowers, can't wait. Most years around this time id have Kleenex on my desk or in my pocket for allergy season. I got itchy eyes now, but not so much sneezing or stuffy nose yet...   5 miles up & down pond mountain, pretty good workout, we have some water & snacks near top before going down. At Shook Branch lake, the heavy rains recently flooded the lakeside trail so we are diverted to temporary route around flooding until water goes down. Lunch @ Watauga shelter, trail mix, granola bars, skittles, and crystal lite mix. Down to scenic Watauga Dam where Chug, Dutchy and others snap photos. Climb up to ridge line and across, we see and hear dark clouds, thunder & lightning at a distance, the trail winds around to a point where sun is shining on our backs but we are looking at storm clouds ahead. We push on a couple more miles quickly all the way to Vandeventer shelter where the ground shows that it rained here recently, luckily not on us while we were hiking today. Ran into Smiles while getting water, we talked while filling our water bottles. We walked back up to the trail to put on our packs & he asks if i want some beer, i said yes & he gives me 2 Natural Ice from his pack, awesome! I bring to campsite & put in Roadrunners water tub to cool off. He is surprised and delighted to find them in there. We cook up dinner while listening to John Foggerty & Tom Petty on my phone speaker, then bring out beers later, they are cold, excellent! What a nice treat thanks to Smiles, what a way to end long day.