morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-19
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Yellow Creek Gap 
Miles today: 7.6

We had breakfast at the lodge again this morning. I filled up on a 3,egg omelette with breakfast potatoes and toast. The lodge food is expensive and not anything special, we could do better at the camper.  That¢s what we¢ll do tomorrow. But, the  good thing about the lodge is that hikers are there. I ran into two ladies who had been with me on Tray Mountain. That¢s the time I was stuck for 11 hours in my tent with below freezing temps and 40MPH wind gusts. They are a mom & daughter duo.(Susan and Sam) can you imagine the memories being made right there? Anyway, we caught up on our adventures and discussed the upcoming Smoky Mountains. As usual Papa Big Swig drove me and Orlando to our starting location at Stecoah Gap. A group of hikers from yesterday had already made their way to the gap and were sitting as a group eating breakfast. I¢m glad it was in them to finish that climb this morning. It really was a tough climb, but that view!  My hike started up today. It was not a rough up. The temp and breeze made for a pleasant morning. I enjoyed some new signs of Spring. Yellow, purple, and white flowers are beginning to pop up all over. The mountains are coming to life. We saw a beaver this morning, a white tailed doe yesterday morning, and many busy birds. I¢m really looking forward to lush green mountains hopping with wildlife. A local in Stecoah let us know the bears are beginning to wake up now. Two days ago a hiker had a bear encounter near the N.O.C. Basically they just crossed paths without incident but he said he could have reached out and touched the bear.  My hardest climb today was Jacobs Ladder. Orlando wasn¢t far behind me on this one. She hollered up to me asking if I knew the name of this mountain. At the time I didn¢t.  She said ¢well I¢ve got a name for it!¢! My grandchildren read this so I won¢t share, but I laughed and laughed!! I could picture Obi(my sister of the heart) saying the same thing... the whole way up!  So when I reached the summit of Jacobs Ladder I took advantage of that Verizon signal and called my friend. I miss her terribly. She told me she¢s trying to match my miles from home in support of my hike. I feel honored.  I really hated to hang up the phone, but I had to get down off that mountain. Those winds get cold when you¢re wet from sweating on the way up. Turns out the rest of my hike was mostly down. By 2:45pm I was at the parking area where Papa Big Swig was waiting.  I built us a nice campfire and we roasted good ole Oscar Mayer wieners for supper. I was not famished this evening like previous evenings. I¢m sure it¢s directly related to having an easy hike today.  After supper we grabbed a banana flavored Moon Pie and came here to the lodge where I can upload my journal. We¢re currently being serenaded by a guitarist who sings good old fashioned country music. He can sing a story with the best of ¢em. My dad would have loved this!  Until Next TimeBlue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-04-21
From: Fontana Dam 

To: Fontana Dam Visitors Center
Miles today: 0.5

I woke up this morning in our little camper with hubby, our two dogs, Hugs, and her dog Morrison. Somehow we made it work!  We¢ll make it work tonight too. Jolly Rancher (aka J-Ranch) had pitched his tent behind our camper. He joined us for breakfast.  Papa Big Swig treated us to gourmet oatmeal with blueberries and a side of turkey sausage. We started discussing careers, and it turns out J-Ranch is a chef. I asked him if he has a specialty, and Papa Big Swig said ¢it better not be oatmeal¢! We all laughed!! J-Ranch said he specializes in anything French. He hit the Smokies today though so there¢ll be no French cuisine for me.  Today¢s photo is of J-Ranch, Hugs, and Papa Big Swig after breakfast this morning.  I started my day hiking(if you want to call it that) 4/10 of a mile from Fontana Dam picnic area to the visitors center. Tomorrow I will start there. So officially today was a Nero, not a Zero!  After my ¢hike¢ I spent the rest of the day preparing my gear to go into the Smoky Mountains tomorrow. I¢m a little anxious about this for two reasons. Reason #1 Thru-hikers pay $20 for a permit to hike the Smokies. In exchange for our $20 we get zero privies and last dibs on sleeping space in a shelter. Weekender¢s and section hikers make reservations, and if there¢s any space left we may take it. However, if a late arrival with a reservation occurs we have to get out and set up our tent even if it¢s midnight! Here¢s the catch... it¢s mandatory to sleep in a shelter if there¢s space. So we¢re not allowed to set up our tents until the shelter is full. And the cherry on top is that we are given no more than 8 days to get entirely through the Smokies. If for any reason we are non-compliant with any one of these rules we will be subject to a large fine.  Reason #2Bears! In Georgia and North Carolina bears are hunted with dogs, so they have a fear of humans and they stay away. In Tennesse bears are protected. Over time they¢ve come to learn where there are humans, there is food. So in the smokies bears see us and think LUNCH! I¢m as prepared as I can be. I have mace, a whistle, an air horn...and Jesus!  In 2016 a hiker was using coconut oil on his feet every night, and while he slept, a bear came up and took a bite right out of that hikers foot! I plan to stink the whole way through. No wet wipes, no toothpaste, I may not even brush my hair just for good measure! This evening we met a thru-hiker named Metric. He¢ll be tenting behind our camper tonight. We also met Big Kahuna another thru-hiker. Metric will start the Smokies with me tomorrow. I¢m not sure what Big Kahuna plans to do. Hugs and Morrison are staying the night, but will be coming off the trail for a while. Hugs hopes to heal up and re-join me later. I got a phone call from my son this evening. That was the best part of my day!! Boots back on in the morning! Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018) Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-04-25
From: Gatlinburg 

To: Gatlinburg 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

What happens on a zero day?  First you sleep in if you can. I was awake at 5:30am but laid around until mid morning. My knee is swollen so I kept it propped up on a pillow. When I started this big ole hike I knew that I would have to listen to my body. Of my 5 original tramily members only 3 of us are still on the trail all because of injuries. Texas is working on a recovery and may be back to see us. Daddy Shakira doesn¢t know his complete prognosis yet but says he¢ll see us in Damascus for Trail Days. I wish them both a quick journey back to good health!  Of course one EATS while on a zero. Actually one eats ALOT! I¢m ashamed to tell you the amount of calories I¢ve consumed today with plans for more!  And then there¢s laundry. Papa Big Swig helps me out with that. He let me rest my knee while he used the hotel laundry machine. Turns out this was a bad move. The rinse cycle doesn¢t work, my clothing still smells, and my sleeping bag has a big hole in it. Feathers are everywhere! He didn¢t realize my sleeping bag could not go into a machine with an agitator.  So the other thing one does on a zero day is go to the outfitters and  purchase replacement gear...$379 later I¢m good to go. It¢s expensive being a minimalist!  Several other hikers were at the outfitters as well. Papa Big Swig was able to see some video of our fun night in the shelter after a horrific day. Handstand was there and she showed him. She is a you tube video blogger. You can find her on You Tube¢s ¢The Trek¢. She said our party night videos will be available in a week or so. I suggest looking her up even before then. I haven¢t seen her blog yet, but I can only imagine that it¢s pretty good.  Since I¢m planning to slackpack tomorrow, I¢ll worry about getting my big backpack ready tomorrow evening. When I take off on Friday It¢s back in the Smokies for 4 days... not a day longer! I will have met my obligations to the Smoky Mountain Authorities. I need to make some amendments to a couple of my previous entries. General is the name of my trail angel who stuck by me after the bear sighting. Not Chief or Captain.Pocketburger is the hiker who gave me a taco, not panburger. It was also him who gave me the Parmesan for my chili-Mac. Super nice guy! I also learned those winds were 50MPH when I was almost blown over twice.  I think I¢ll get a nap in before dinner. We¢re trying the Paula Dean restaurant. Word on the trail says it¢s delicious!  Until Next TimeBlue Raccoon (2018) Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Newfound Gap

To: PeckÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

My alarm went off at 6am, but I laid around another 15 minutes. It was really a good night of sleep and I didn¢t want it to end!  But end it did and soon I was in the SUV with Papa Big Swig.  He was returning me to Newfound Gap where I would begin my journey into the last half of the Smoky Mountains.   We arrived at the Gap about 8:10 am.  It had dropped to 38 degrees and the wind was blowing.  Dense fog obscured any potential views.  I was disappointed because the forecast did not prepare me for that.  Papa Big Swig hung around long enough for me to pull out my gloves and jacket and buff.  I really wanted to climb back into the front seat and go back to the motel. I¢m on a time crunch though so I just had to do it. Despite the weather many locals were day hiking up to Charlie¢s Bunion.  It¢s a blue blaze view off the trail. I told myself I wasn¢t passing up the views, so I started up there.  Then down came some locals who said don¢t bother. The fog was too thick to see anything.  Another disappointment.  I had not yet seen a single view in the Smokies because of this weather.  After Charlie¢s Bunion there were no more local hikers to be seen. I did run into a few  section hikers and they were from Illinois!  One was a group of 3 guys doing a weekend thing, then at my shelter is a couple of guys also doing a weekend thing.  The guys at my shelter are firefighter/medics from Lake Zurich.  It was like a family reunion.  Other than passing the section hikers I only saw two thru-hikers during the day. I was with one of them at 11:28am.  This is important to note, because at 11:28am the sun came out!!  The first sun I¢ve seen in 5 days!  From that moment on it just got better and better.  I saw views! Finally I can see the Smoky Mountains and all the beauty they hold. Still smiling right now!  The next two days look great too.  So I hiked 10 miles to a shelter sign. When I got there the shelter itself was nearly a half mile off trail.  The two other thru-hikers I had seen today were sitting there contemplating if they should go on to the next shelter(5 miles)or hike the 0.5 miles off the trail.  We all decided to hike on.  I took the lead.  About a half mile later I decided I really didn¢t want to do the 5 miles, so I turned around.  I¢m really glad I did! This shelter is set up for folks on horseback.  It¢s very unique.  I love it! It also comes with a privy!  Who knew?  There weren¢t suppose to be any privies in the Smokies.  This is just whipped cream and a cherry on top! I had a Mountain House meal of turkey and stuffing for dinner. It was delicious,  and washed down nicely with my crystal light lemonade.  Sugar wafer cookies for dessert, and I¢m fat and happy!  My boots will go back on tomorrow Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Davenport Gap

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: clear sky

I took time this morning to see a chiropractor. It was a smart decision. A good adjustment really does give me relief from some of my back and hip discomfort brought on by hiking a lot of miles with a big old pack on my back. My knee however remains swollen and achy. I chose to do a Nero up to Standing Bear Farm. Papa Big Swig will pick me up there. It¢s the coolest hostel ever! A hiker had rolled his ankle and needed picked up down by the trail, so Papa Big Swig was his trail angel while I toured the hostel. Today¢s photo is a group of hikers sitting around the fire at Standing Bear.  There are a few places where hikers can choose a bunk at Standing Bear. The bunk rooms are big and tidy. One has a pot bellied stove in it.  There¢s a picnic table on the patio and hikers sign their name on it. There¢s a fire ring, a place to order pizza, beer or pop, and it seems they do a lot on the honor system. The decor really makes it special. There¢s old hiker boots being used as flower pots, and homemade wooden signs. I even saw a library! Oh and of course showers and privies!  Meanwhile, Big Kahuna arrived at our campsite! Papa Big Swig made all of us stuffed salmon with sweet potatoes and green beans for supper. As usual it was delicious!! Then the 4 of us(me, Papa Big Swig, Hugs, and Big Kahuna)played a little Texas Hold¢em. It was a fun night.  Tomorrow morning I¢ll be hiking a leap frog. That means I¢m going to jump ahead and do a special section with Hugs before she leaves. I¢ll come back and hike the part I skipped on Thursday. Then on Friday I will pick up where Hugs and I left off. Big Kahuna will be hiking with us.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-05-01
From: Brown Gap Spring

To: Max Patch Mountain
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

I woke up this morning to a water leak in our camper. Papa Big Swig could not find the source of the leak.  Water was dripping from what appeared to be the bottom of the fridge.  Ugh...double ugh! Then I remembered Big Kahuna is a plumber. He came over around 7:30am for breakfast and coffee, but he went straight to work instead. He found a false wall under our sink and had our leak fixed in no time.  It was not the fridge at all.  I am so grateful and happy!   Realizing we were doing a Nero again today we decided to wait until after lunch to start our hike. Hugs treated us to burgers and onion rings at a cute little greasy spoon. It was a perfect meal to get us started up to Max Patch! This is a leap frog for me. I¢ll have to go back and fill in the gap on Thursday.  Tomorrow will be another Nero so I can say goodbye to Hugs.  On the way to our starting point we saw a big hawk and a mama bear with 2 cubs.  They were cute fat little butterballs running up the mountain! Max Patch Mountain is a bald at 4601ft elevation.  We pitched our tents, but I plan to cowboy camp. My sleeping bag is outside and on the ground.  After this amazing sunset I¢ll look up at the stars all night.  A sunset photo is your featured photo of the day. Just in case I do end up in my tent, my door is positioned to catch the sunrise.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Max Patch Mountain

To: Abandoned Road
Miles today: 1.4
Weather: clear sky

It happened! I fell asleep looking at thousands of stars in the night sky. I haven¢t seen stars so clearly in a long long while. Hugs and I both looked at each other and said ¢it¢s magical¢...and it really was. Cowboy camping is so much fun!  Big Kahuna woke me up about an hour or so before sunrise.  We were positioned on the right side of the mountain to watch the colors in the sky changing. There were brilliant pinks and oranges and sometimes purples and blues as the sun became a round ball of light all the way up over Max Patch. What a way to start the day!  Big Kahuna served Hugs and I breakfast in bed. Peanut butter on a bagel filled us up, and tasted yummy while we watched the new day come to life.  Birds began chirping. Day hikers, thru-hikers, Golden Retrievers and more were starting to move around the bald. It was something to see.  I had my dad in my heart this morning. I hope he really does get to see these things with me. He would be grinning from ear to ear. Last night the three of us ate some creme drops(one of his favorite candies) and toasted him with them.  It was planned for Papa Big Swig to pick us up at¢Abandoned Road¢. around 9am. This was less than 2 miles from the summit of Max Patch. That¢s more than enough hiking for Hug¢s who has a fractured foot! Oh if only that were the end of the story! For starters when we reached Abandoned Road we thought we had 0.2 miles left to go. I didn¢t question that because Abandoned Road really looked like an abandoned road. No way could he have driven up there to get us! So 0.5 miles later there was a shelter with a privy. Perfect timing for me! When I came out of the privy Hugs said we were a half mile past Abandoned Road!  Guess what? Abandoned Road really was an abandoned road!  Of course there was no reliable cell service. We had no idea where Papa Big Swig was at. We decided to walk back the 1/2 mile and go from there.  Big Kahuna took lead down the abandoned road in hopes there would be a gate. We did not go far before we heard Papa Big Swig yelling ¢YO¢! Yes, Papa Big Swig was talking to the bears. We walked a little over a mile down the abandoned road and met up with Papa Big Swig. Yes there was a gate. All of this hiking, and I only get credit for 1.4 miles. Lesson learned. When it says Abandoned Road on Guthook, it really is an abandoned road!  Hugs¢ foot was pretty sore, but she says it¢s better now. Big Kahuna is treating us to a steak dinner. We¢ll play cards after we eat, and that will end my time with Hugs and Big Kahuna. We¢re all going different directions, but we plan to meet back up in Damascus for trail days. I can¢t wait to see EVERYBODY old and new in Damascus...it¢s right around the corner.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Brown Gap

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Hugs is on her way to some R&R in Belize. Her foot really does need to heal. Big Kahuna went back to finish the last half of the Smokies, and I had 10.1 miles to make up that I had skipped for our night on Max Patch Mountain. I will miss them, but we all have to hike our own hike. I woke up around 7am( late for me)and had breakfast at the RV park store. Today was the first time they¢ve ever served breakfast. I had bacon egg & cheese biscuit with a hash brown and chocolate milk. It was ok. They asked if anything could be better, so I kindly answered honestly. Tomorrow I need to get out very early, but we¢ll try their breakfast again on Saturday.  After breakfast Papa Big Swig took me back to Brown Gap and I hiked a 10.1 miles Flip Flop to Standing Bear. My favorite little 4 legged hiker joined me.  It was hot out there today. Flying insects were all over the place! I had failed to bring my repellent, so I just had to keep on moving. If I stopped for even 5 seconds my face was swarmed with hundreds of little gnat things that bite!  Slack-packing is both a blessing and a curse. It¢s a blessing because I get to hike with 1/3 the weight as a full pack, but it¢s a curse because things get missed or forgotten from my big backpack to my little day pack. Also, my hiking distances must be predetermined for Papa Big Swig to pick me up. So I can only hike to places where there is close by automobile access. There¢s usually some random road crossing within 15 miles of any beginning point, but not always. Even with the inconveniences, it¢s nice to carry less weight! While I did not enjoy the gnats at all, I did enjoy watching the very busy bumblebees!  I¢m fascinated by them.  There are also many fuzzy caterpillars right now, and quite a few butterflies too. More and more colors are popping up. The newest are red flowers, trees with a lilac type bloom on them, and the white dogwoods. I have not seen any rhododendron blooms yet but they can¢t be too far away.  Today the trail was a pretty even mixture of ups and downs. The terrain had its moments, but overall was a reasonably level dirt path. That¢s a hikers delight!  At one point I hiked past a futuristic looking building out there in the middle of the mountains. I decided it¢s probably some kind of power source because there were lines coming down from it. I just can¢t imagine what on earth it would be powering way out there.  Before I knew it Seylor and I popped out onto the gravel road that goes to Standing Bear Hostel. This is where Papa Big Swig picked us up. It was a fast hike, but we¢re both worn out. Seylor is especially worn out as she had spent a lot of energy trying to rid the world of squirrels and chipmunks.  We ordered pizza for an early supper since I really had no lunch. Then it¢s shower time, and we¢re going to play BINGO at the pavilion tonight.  My boots will be back on tomorrow Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018) Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Abandoned Road

To: Garenflo Gap 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I was up and at¢em early this morning. Had to go back to the chiropractor before hitting the trail. He was pretty speedy so I didn¢t lose much time. Seylor and I started our hike today at Abandoned Road around 9:00am. It was over a mile hike in before I even got to the trail. But the rule is to start back where I left off...so I did.  When I came up to that privy I had used the other day, I stopped and used it again. There were 3 hikers still hanging around the shelter there. We chatted for a minute about a fire by Hot Springs. Then I hiked on. From that moment until the end of my hike I never saw another soul. I¢m currently hiking Mt Pisgah National Forest. The terrain is definitely less rocky than it was in the Smokies. I like that, but the tree roots can be just as treacherous. I managed to roll my ankle on a tree root today. I went all the way down to the ground, but was able to avoid a sprain.  That brings me to my shoes. This is day #2 with my trail runners. I did buy them a half size bigger as suggested by Vernon, one of my readers. It was great advice. My feet are happy in these shoes! I¢ll keep my boots around for Rocksylvania, but for now it¢s trail runners.  I¢ll be buying some Gators at the outfitters tomorrow to keep rocks and dirt out.  Just before my fall, I saw a large winged shadow coming from overhead. I looked up to see a red tail hawk circling above. He had his eye on something! I saw a deer today too. It was another doe. I have no idea how an animal as big as a deer can run through all of that brush and briar, but it sure did.  The weather has become warm. Even hot at times. There were several ups today and I did my fair share of sweating. Even with a day pack, it¢s a workout! Me and Seylor both drank lots of water. My biggest climb today was Bluff Mountain at 4680 ft elevation. It was the last climb of the day, then I enjoyed about a mile of downhill.  That was nice.  I planned to end my hike today at Garenflo Gap. It¢s a good thing that was my plan because the rest of the trail to Hot Springs is closed due to fire. There is now a 7 mile detour. A forestry official was stationed at Garenflo Gap to redirect us. I¢ll start back on the trail in Hot Springs on Sunday. I hope it wasn¢t an unattended campfire that started this. A good rule of thumb is not to leave your campfire until you can place your hand in the ashes.  I¢ll be taking a zero tomorrow. Papa Big Swig is relocating our camper to the Lazy Llama Campground in Chuckey TN, and I¢ll be visiting the Bluff Mountain Outfitters. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?