morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-22
To: Here I go!
Miles today: 0.0

This last week I was visiting my friend Ellie in South Carolina. She was wonderful enough to drop Lauren and I off at the Hiker Hostel run by Josh and Leigh. I stayed at this hostel in 2005 before my section hike and it is really nice to be back here. The weather is amazing and this hostel is wonderful. Josh and Leigh have a dog named Maggie- a dog I would love to take home. She is a super sweet dog! It's hard to believe that I'm finally here, just waiting to begin at the Approach Trail in the morning. The weather is supposed to be nice for most of the week, thank goodness! It's hard to start off in bad weather, it's hard enough in the beginning as it is. I've been waiting for this moment for years and I can't believe it is finally time to hike. The whole experience is still surreal although I think reality will slap me in the face on the lovely ascent tomorrow morning. I've been wanting to say this for sooo long-- GA->ME on!
Date: 2008-03-23
From: Hiker Hostel

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I hiked the Approach Trail with Lauren and James. The very beginning was tough, but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as I had heard. Today's weather was perfect- sunny, 50s, slight wind. There aren't any thru-hikers at the shelter tonight, but there are a few section hikers. I'm looking forward to meeting people soon and really getting this adventure started.
Date: 2008-03-24
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: broken clouds

Cold night, but we have a warm fire. Slept in the top of the shelter with at least one mouse, but they didn't crawl around me at night. The miles were pretty easy today, but my muscles ache. James has his mandolin with him and plays it around the campfire at night which is awesome.
Date: 2008-03-25
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We are tenting one mile north of the shelter tonight in order to make tomorrow a little shorter that it otherwise would be. Yesterday was chilly- below freezing possibly all day. As a result, my water bladder tube was frozen pretty much all day long. It was hard to get enough water out of it. I had to drink Lauren's water! Yesterday I wore my hat all day long for the first time ever- it was that cold. One plus to the cold or some other heavenly factor was that there were no mice in the shelter last night.Today was really nice- sunny, pretty warm, I'd guess it was in the 50s. Today the terrain was more tough. Sassafras Mountain was the big mountain of the day- long uphill and long downhill. I saw 5 Army Rangers, some blank bullets and heard dome gunfire this morning. The Army Rangers have a training base at the bottom of these mountains so its not uncommon to run into them or hear there training operations at night. I still haven't met as many thru-hikers as I had expected, but I suppose it takes some time to develop a trail community.
Date: 2008-03-26
From: Gooch Gap

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Long day today- very warm and sunny. I wore a tshirt and shorts most of the day. James went on to Neels Gap and we will meet up with hime tomorrow. I met some cool people today. Flatfeet is a thru-hiker who has hiked the AT, PCT, and part of the CDT. He is planning on finishing his triple crown this year. The triple crown is hiking all three of the north-south long trails in the United States. Woods Hole Shelter is .5 miles off the trail, but it was a nice shelter to stay at.
Date: 2008-03-27
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Mountain Crossings Hostel
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I did an easy four miles over Blood Mountain down to the Mountain Crossings outfitter at Neels Gap. Lauren and I booked it to get to the hostel early to get a spot, but that was completely unneccesary as we got the first two bunks. It was great to get a shower, do laundry, eat some ice cream, and talk to other hikers. I only bought a windscreen from the outfitter which I think is great because some people reoutfit themselves competely for the trip when they realize they have brought too much stuff. Taking most of the day off allowed my body to recover which is awesome because I don't feel very sore anymore. Tomorrow I wil probably feel the pain again. Thats alright though because I'm happy to be here. It still hasn't hit me that I'm planning on hiking to Maine. The enormity of it hasn't set in yet. I wonder when it will... ignorance is bliss sometimes.
Date: 2008-03-28
From: Mountain Crossings Hostel

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

My hiking partner, Lauren, now will be known as 'Hot Tang' because she likes to drink hot tang. Today the weather was pretty great- overcast, but warm and it didn't rain today even though it looked like it would. It might rain tonight or tomorrow though. Hot Tang and I have been hiking with a section hiker named Hayduke. He is a fun person to be around- we've been sharing lots of laughs. I've been feeling pretty good. My muscles don't really even hurt anymore, but my feet do hurt by the end of the day. Looking forward to the time when they feel great all day long- IF that ever happens.
Date: 2008-03-29
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap- Cloud 9 hostel
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

Today I had several easy flatish miles before a final uphill to Blue Mountain Shelter where I had lunch. After lunch I hiked 2.3 miles down to Unicoi Gap and caught a ride with Slickrock to the Cloud 9 hostel in Hiawassee, GA. Hot Tang and I weren't planning on going into town today, but about 30 minutes into our day it started raining and lightning. Nothing will get you moving over ridgelines like lightning! Being wet and cold makes turning down a shower and bed rather difficult, so I didn't. I wasn't entirely wanting to spend a bunch of money on another hostel so soon, but I was glad I did. Hot Tang, Hayduke, and I ended up getting a ride to Franklin, NC for the Hiker Fool Bash put on my Ron Haven. It was a really fun party with awesome food and live music. I ate a hamburger, 1.5 hotdogs, potatoes, baked beans, corn, and a gatorade. The music was bluegrass and a self proclaimed hillbilly taught Hot Tang and I how to 'mountain dance'! IT was a riot!
Date: 2008-03-30
From: Unicoi Gap- Cloud 9 hostel

To: Addis Gap
Miles today: 10.8

Hot Tang, Hayduke, and I decided to pitch tents tonight rather than try and make it to the next shelter. It's raining, windy, all around rather yucky weather. The three of us hung out in Hayduke's tent eating a bunch of food and telling stories until WAY past hiker midnight. It was a lot of fun though. There is no better way to beat the cold than laughing hysterically.
Date: 2008-03-31
From: Addis Gap

To: Dicks Creek Gap- Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's miles were short, but tough. First was Kelly Knob- a mountain I remember from when I hiked Georgia in 2005. It was an evil mountain then, it just kept going up and up and up. This time, the fog was so thick that I couldn't see any of the false summits, so it didn't seem nearly as bad. After the mountain was a long downhill and I hate downhill. It hurts my knees quite a lot, even with trekking poles. Once we got down to Dicks Creek Gap, I walked over to the road and stuck out my thumb. After about 20 minutes Hot Tang, Hayduke, and I had a ride! Tracy was the name of the dude who picked us up and he was kind enough to take us to the Blueberry Patch hostel to pick up my maildrop and James (aka Oofdah) and then take us to the Hiawassee Inn. The four of us went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet for lunch and then hit up a coffee shop and the grocery store for resupply. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ate a ton and probably could've eaten more. At the Inn we ran into Liberty (the dog) with her owner Surefoot, Hollywood, and the Irish Ghost. I've been running into those folks from the very beginning of my hike.
Date: 2008-04-01
From: Dicks Creek Gap- Hiawassee Inn

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Hot Tang, Oofdah, Hayduke, and I got up in the morning and the weather forecast was grim. It was supposed to rain all day with lightning. Lightning is not a hikers best friend. Lightning in the mountains is scary stuff. We were told that everyone was going to stay and do a zero because of the weather. I really wanted to hit the trail and not stay in Hiawassee and I think the others felt similarly. We hit the trail. Turns out, the weather was beautiful. It was super sunny and warm. Almost too warm for this Minnesota girl! We reached Bly Gap- the Georgia/ North Carolina border this afternoon. One state down!!! Hayduke decided to turn around and hike back to his car near Springer Mountain so we said goodbye to him. At night, Oofdah played his mandolin and sang us all songs while the sky finally opened up and a downpour began. It was quite wonderful to be tucked into my sleeping bag while listening to Oofdah's mandolin and the rain. It's all just pretty perfect.
Date: 2008-04-02
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Today was really nice- I got hiking about 8am and had done 12.5 miles by 2:30pm! The weather was perfect once again (despite the gloomy, rainy forecast). These last two days I was prepared for such horrible weather and they have been just perfect! Oofdah once again closed down the night by playing his mandolin while we all sat around the campfire. So nice...
Date: 2008-04-03
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap Sapphire Inn, Franklin, NC
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today Uff-dah, Hot Tang, and I were going to go to Rock Gap Shelter, but decided to go the extra four miles into Franklin. Today's hiking was pretty nice, it was really foggy so there were no overlooks which was too bad. We hiked up and over Albert Mountain which has this fantastic view from a fire lookout tower in nice weather. Unfortunately, today we could see nothing. The fog was so thick at times that I felt like my vision was all cloudy, but it was just the fog. I took a fall today and sort of twisted my ankle. It isn't bad, but I am looking forward to some serious R&R tonight and tomorrow. The ankle made the last five miles pretty slow going but I just kept thinking of a pizza waiting for me in Franklin. When we got to the road, I tried to hitchhike, but eventually a shuttle came and picked us all up. There are a lot of hikers here tonight seeking shelter from the storm that is supposed to hit tonight and tomorrow. Still having a fabulous time- today I hit the 100 mile mark!!!To celebrate, I ate half of a pizza! In fact, the four of us in the hotel room ordered over $60 worth of pizza! This appetite could be a financial burden before too long I had a funny dream that I need to share. Yesterday I was hiking with Uff-dah and Hot Tang and we were talking about what kind of ice cream we would eat. Last night I had a dream about my ideal ice cream sundae and I woke up chewing on my ear plug. Gross, I know, but halarious all the same. I've been laughing about it since.
Date: 2008-04-04
From: Winding Stair Gap Sapphire Inn, Franklin, NC

To: Sapphire Inn, Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was my first zero day. It started off to a great start with a breakfast by the local Baptist Church. They fed all the hikers all you can eat pancakes and bacon. It was so nice of them to do. I think I ate 5 pancakes and 6 pieces of bacon! First on the list of town chores was to chop off the hair. Hot Tang was pretty insistent on getting her long hair cut off and I tagged along. She has a short haircut- very cute. I decided to also cut off a lot of my hair. The back is pretty short and it gets longer as it goes to the front. I'm really happy with it because it will be much easier to deal with and it still sorta fits into a ponytail.After the haircut, I took a trip to the post office to mail some unnecessary gear items home. It wasn't too bad, I mailed home sunglasses, a few first aid supplies, my Thermarest's stuff sack, a mesh stuff sack, and my rope. Lunch involved a giant chocolate milkshake, chicken fingers, and french fries. It was soo good! You can tell a restaurant is good when it is completely full of locals on a weekday afternoon! Hot Tang, Uff-dah, and I hit up the local museum scene after that. We went to the city museum, a rock museum, and a Scottish tartan museum! Very educational indeed. It was cool to learn some things about the area I'm hiking in.At 4pm Ron Haven (trail angel extraordinaire) took all the hikers around in a short school bus. We went to the local outfitter and the grocery store. I bought enough food for my next section of trail. I'm hitting the trail in the morning and I'm quite excited to be doing so after having a lovely zero day.
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Sapphire Inn, Franklin, NC

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: light rain

Today was a very short hiking day of only 4 miles. I left Franklin around noon and hit the turnoff to the shelter. There was a loop to the shelter, meaning that there was a southern entrance and also one a little further north on the AT. Once at the shelter and having claimed spots in it for the night, Uff-dah, Hot Tang, Weatherman, and I went for a trek around the loop so that we wouldn't have to go back to the southern entrance in the morning. Weatherman is a guy whose shelter logbook entries I'd seen, but I didn't get to meet him today. He always has a three day forecast complete with pictures which I always thought was super helpful. Turns out, he makes the forecast up completely!! I got a good laugh out of that. Around dinner time it started raining and so we all played cards with Gambler. It was a great way to pass some of the time in the shelter.
Date: 2008-04-06
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was my longest day on the trail yet- 18 miles! Surprisingly, I don't feel too bad. My knee aches, but otherwise I'm doing well. About 10 miles in I met a trail maintainer who said there was a truck with a cooler of drinks just down the hill. Yea!!! Trail magic! I drank an orange drink that tasted like an orange dreamscicle. Around mile 16 was even more trail magic! A man and his two young daughters ( Marshmallow and Boo) were hanging out and feeding hikers. This was even better. Ribs with buns, cookies, and cold drinks. The trail magic made my knee stop hurting, the sun stop burning, and my mood improved tenfold. What a great way to end the day!
Date: 2008-04-07
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: clear sky

Today was awesome! Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I got up around 6am and headed down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. It was about 5 miels of rather steep downhill, so I figured I'd be suffering. Parts of it weren't fun, but mostly it was fine. The views were amazing and I finally saw some wildflowers. Once down the hill I took a shower and then had an amazing breakfast at the Rivers End Restaurant. I ate scambled eggs, french toast, and biscuits with gravy. We made a friend who worked at NOC. We stayed at her house for the night. Thanks Chelsea!!! We all went to Bryson City and picked up some food for dinner. Lasagna, brie, crackers, grapes, and a big chocolate cake. What a feast! After dinner it was already around 11pm (way past my bedtime) and we all went out to the back and Uff-dah played his mandolin while Kelly (another NOC worker) played guitar and sang. It was a great day!
Date: 2008-04-08
From: NOC

To: Spring/ Campsite mile 137.4
Miles today: 3.5

I woke up this morning to the sound of a rooster yoodling. I listened for awhile as it would yoodle and then all the other birds would chirp back. Eventually I got my earplugs because it was so loud I couldn't sleep. For breakfast I had cherry vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake left over from the night before.In the afternoon Chelsea, Hot Tang, Uff-dah, Gambler and I went whitewater rafting. We each had out own inflatable kayaks. I had never used one of these before but I have some whitewater experience and I led canoe trips so I figured I could handle it. The first rapid was large and both Gambler and Chelsea flipped. I began to have my doubts about my 'skills'! It was fine though and I had a great time. Everyone stayed in their boats after that. The water was only 45 degrees, but the air was warm enough to make the water bearable. The final rapid was the biggest and I forgot to get out and scout it ahead of time. It went fine though and I made it over before I got stuck on a rock. It took all of my muscle to get off of it. What a great day! I didn't hit the trail until 4pm!
Date: 2008-04-09
From: Spring/ Campsite mile 137.4

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a tough day. Lots of ups and down. It was quite warm too, which doesn't help me much. The big climb up out of the NOC was done by 10am, before it got too hot. Today there was trail magic from Bare Bear at Stecoah Gap. It was totally awesome. Hotdogs, chips, pop, and cookies. I was hungry and I ate quite a lot. Unfortunately the climb out of the gap is ridiculously steep and I regretted eating quite so much food because I was so sluggish and tired afterwards. Stecoah Gap marks the beginning of new trail for me. I've hiked all the previous 150 miles before on section hikes so I'm completely thrilled to be in new territory. Tomorrow is Fontana Dam and thereafter the Smokies!! I hear there will be snow, but we are just going to suck it up and hike through it.
Date: 2008-04-10
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Today Hot Tang, Uff-dah and I got up at 530am to beat the rush of thru-hikers to Fontana. There was no need because the Shelter was only half full, but we did all 12 miles before noon. Because we rolled into town so early we had time to do all out town chores. I went to the post office to get my mail drop of food and an envelope with an issue of the Funny Times from Grandma and Grandpa. Then I hit up the Bistro where I ate a salad, sandwich, and fries. Next I dealt with my food resupply. I'll be carrying 7-8 days worth of food through the Smokies just in case of bad weather. I do not plan on going into Gatlinburg, a town halfway through the Smokies. Hot Tang's birthday is tomorrow and I managed to get a big slice of chocolate cake! It was a fun surprise at the shelter. Uffdah and I managed to get 23 candles all lit on this piece of cake. So awesome!The Fontana Hilton is this amazing shelter. It had picnic tables, bathrooms, and showers nearby. It is by far the best I've seen so far.
Date: 2008-04-11
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I got up and headed to the Fontana Dam. The trail goes right over the dam, but the dam was closed for repairs so instead of going the several hundred feet across, there is a 2.5 miles trail around the dam. I had been told that if you got caught running across you'd be arrested and I didn't want that, so around I went. After that, I entered the Smokies. There was quite an uphill into the mountains, but the weather was great. As the day went on, the forest floor was covered in little white and pink flowers. It finally felt like spring. I ran into the ridgerunner at the first shelter and he convinced us to move on the next shelter 2.5 miles away. I was pretty grumpy about that at first, but I just hadn't eaten enough food that day. My hunger is kicking in and I realized I did not bring enough lunch food for the Smokies. Oops. Not much that can be done about it now though. The rain started aroun 7pm, but at least it isn't snow. This shelter is barricaded with a fence to keep out the bears. It feels as if I'm in a human zoo. Very odd to be seperated in such a way from nature.
Date: 2008-04-13
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We didn't bother to get up for the sunrise on Clingmans Dome as planned. Clingman's Dome is the highest point on the whole trail, but the weather was so poor in the morning we wouldn't have seen a thing. When I did get to the top is was very windy and a bit snowy. Hot Tang, Uffdah and I quickly ate a roll of Thin Mint cookies I'd been saving for the top of the mountain. It was so cold we just wanted to get down quickly though. It was cold enough that my water bladder tube froze again. That meant that I didn't drink muych water today. I started getting a headache from dehydration by the end of the day. Eventually we hit Newfound Gap which is the road to Gatlinburg. There were all these tourists and cars. It was really weird. Some lovely person gave Hot Tang a bottle of water which we promptly chugged. The road and people were overload enough. We went on to the next shelter. Once we arrived we gathered a lot of firewood and started a fire in the fireplace in the shleter. The shelter is way warmer this way with a tarp in the door. We are supposed to get 4 inches of snow and its supposed to be around 15 degrees tonight.
Date: 2008-04-14
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: light snow

20 mile day! It snowed all day long so I didn't mind moving. If I stopped I was cold, so doing a 20 mile day was a good thing. Hot Tang and I spent quite a lot of our day laughing. We both fell on our behinds today. We weren't alone in our slipping and sliding. Both Catfish and Muzungu also fell! It was a great day for enjoying the snow. We had snowball fights and played tic tac toe in the snow! I also ran into Sprite (formerly Mammoth) today. We had met up for coffee in Minneapolis before we started our hikes. It was really great to run into her again! By the end of the day there was about 6 inches of snow outside the shelter. Very pretty day!
Date: 2008-04-15
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

This morning was probably around 25 degrees, which is at least 10 degrees warmer than when I went to bed last night. Hot Tang and I started hiking in the snow, but by around 10am we were in a lower elevation and the temps were climbing. All the snow was melting which caused some serious surprises. The snow would randomly fall from the rhododendron trees onto our heads, down our backs, or wherever. Snow down the back will probably always cause me to yelp! The ground was slushy, and my frozen boots turned into some very soggy shoes.Today I left the Smokies which was pretty exciting. Not only did I encounter interesting weather in the smokies, but I hiked my first 20 mile day, climbed the highest point on the AT, and I saw amazing scenery and trees. I loved the Smokies!!!Standing Bear Farm is a little hostel that is totally awesome and needed after freezing in the Smokies. I had a hot shower in an outdoor stall, ate half a pizza, and hung out with people all day. Others that are here include: Downstairs Dave, Catfish, Muzungu, Cavalier, and many others. I washed my clothes on a scrub board and sent them through a wringer. I have never done that before. I also played horseshoes! Good times all around. It's nice to be warm, clean, and full.
Date: 2008-04-16
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: clear sky

I left Standing Bear Farm this morning and hiked up over Max Patch today. Max Patch is this mountain that has a grassy field on top. I sat on top of the mountain for at least one hour this afternoon enjoying the clear blue sky and amazing views. Catfish, Briar, Downstairs Dave, Bad Idea, Hot Tang, and I all hung out on top while Uff-dah played his mandolin for us. What a wonderful afternoon!