morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-11-15
From: Damascus, VA

To: Abingdom Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Hung out with Doc and Grizzly Bear a little too long today. We ran into Bootstrap, I haven't seen him since Vermont! Damascus is a cool town, but eventually it was time to go. I thought I would continue my blueblazing ways and get Doc to drop me off up a road that would cut a little bit of a climb. I wanted to get ahead of the mafia and make it to the shelter before they did. Unfortunately the map was out of date, we got lost, it turned dark and stormy, and I ended up way behind everyone else. To top things off, i left my map in Doc's truck and had to go back and get it.I finally got going far too late, and it started raining. Lucky I just bought some rain paints in town. I stopped at the TN/VA border to put them on just as the rain turned snow. Awesome. It got dark soon enough, and the combination of my spot head lamp and snow made visibility almost nothing. The whiteblazes disapeared and I couldn't tell where the trail was anymore. After a few hours of wandering around the dark snowy cold night...I finally caught up to the mafia at the shelter. Spent our first night out in the snow.
Date: 2008-11-16
From: Abingdom Gap Shelter

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Cold night followed by a long walk down a steep slope to get water. The girls showed us how to play 'big booty', which I failed at miserably, but it kept us warm. Walking in the snow was at times beautiful, but also cold and a little miserable.Made it to the shelter, it was still freezing and windy. We set up our tents as a windblock to keep the shelter from being too cold, made a big difference. This is the first time I remember seeing very active and bold mice. They kept on running over our heads and around our sleeping bags. A little unsettling, but I fell asleep soon anyways.
Date: 2008-11-17
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 17.0

Nice walk down to Watuga Lake, all the snow disapeared at the lower elevations. Beautiful falls, but a somewhat treacherous path up. Made it into Kincora hostels and hung out with Bob Peoples, one of the great trail maintainers. Went into town for resupply and dinner, then back to Kincora and sleep. I read a copy of Yogi's PCT guide and got excited about my next adventure.
Date: 2008-11-18
From: 19E

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 25.0

Bob peoples agreed to slack us for the day if we would agree to do trail maintenance the next day. Too good a deal to pass up, and I felt like we could give back to the trail. It made Bearwalkers day too, he was looking forward to doing trail maintenance with Bob.This was the fabled bad part of the trail, where the locals like to beat up hikers and other such nasty rumors. It snowed pretty good and we lost the trail a couple times, I was a little worried we would wander in the wrong place and get into trouble. All for nought though, we didnt see a single person all day.We stopped at Mountaineer Falls shelter and marveled at the handywork of HardCore. Walked by Moreland Gap shelter and wondered why anyone would put a shelter at such an exposed windy place. Eventually we made it back to Kincora and celebrated EKG's birthday (?) with a lasagna dinner.I love Kincora and wish I never had to leave.
Date: 2008-11-19
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Trail Maintenance DayRan into Bookworm on the way to do trail maintenance. I haven't seen him since Rutland, but we didn't have much time to catch up. Our work for the day was creating a switchback just outside of Damascus. I think we got about 200 yards of new trail cut, lots of work! Highlight of the day was each of us painting our own whiteblaze. Also cool was running into Mousetrap! Amazing to see so many old faces in one day!On our way home we picked up a jetboil for Bookworm, he was stoveless since Monson. He didnt want a stove, but he needed a way to heat up his water which was freezing every night.Sadly, this was our last night in Kincora.
Date: 2008-11-23
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Stayed at Uncle Johnnys.Got dropped off early by Doc at the Gap and immediately ran into some obnoxious hikers we had heard about for months. They knew Bearwalker and casually explained we wouldnt see them again because they could hike much faster than us. Sadly, they where wrong.At the end of the day, we stopped at the shelter only to find half the other hikers. Strange since we got ahead of them and never got passed. This was the first we would run into them and their yellow blazing ways. We were upset that they hitchhiked around the trail and then took up the entire shelter, so we just continued on.Originally we where going to camp before town, but couldn't find a decent place so we decided to stay at Uncle Johnnys. Nice place, there was even a little runaway dog that cuddled up with me at night. i really wanted to take her with me, but that wouldnt be nice to the dog. Had a good nights sleep despite the freezing cold.
Date: 2008-11-24
From: Erwin, TN

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

Worse day on the trail.This day didnt start out too bad. Uncle Johnny was a really nice host and took us into town for breakfast and resupply. We got going a little late and the clouds where starting to turn dark. i wanted to stay, but we needed to push on. It started to rain soon, then sleet, then snow. Lots of slogging up hill and no where to take a break. I finally made it to the shelter to find my pack frozen shut and it only got worse. I think this is the closest I ever got to quitting, it was simply miserable.
Date: 2008-11-26
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: clear sky

The shelter was so small that not everyone could fit, so I volunteered to tent it for the night. The climb up to the ridge that the shelter was on was a straight up climb. The spring was also barely a trickle. Flamebo used her hands to dig a trench and managed at liter for 6 of us. This was all the water we would have until town the next day.
Date: 2008-11-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

Made it into hot springs for a wonderful thanksgiving dinner. We had no water all day, so as soon as we made it into town we got some Cheerwine. Note: cheerwine awesomeness amazingly enhanced in glass bottle.Stayed at Elmers, super cool old bed and breakfast. Our yellow blazing hiker buddys tried taking our spots, but where turned down due to hitchkiking 20 miles into town instead of walking. Nice town with a great outfitter. The girls went to a hotspring, but I stayed at Elmers for a nap.Did I mention the food was amazing?
Date: 2008-11-28
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I was feeling pretty sick so I stayed an extra day. The girls wanted to push on though, so they took off a little after noon. Bearwalker stayed, and we eventually met up with Bookworm and later Timber and Mountian Goat, a brother sister team that had been just a few days behind us for months. The thing about the trail is you never know who is behind you. it was kind of weird meeting up with them, like meeting a secret admirer. They where great company and we would get to hike the rest of the trail with them.
Date: 2008-11-29
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiking without the Mafia feels weird, its like a big part of me is missing. I kept wondering everyday where they where and how they where doing. I ran into some NOBO's who saw them last night and they reported all was well.Made it into the shelter late in the dark and fog. Bookwarm was waiting for me luckily and let me know when I walked right by. Shelter was very nice and we even had a visit from a strange mouse in the night who actually stored acorns or something in our packs and shoes.
Date: 2008-12-01
From: Green Corner Rd

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light snow

Break at Davenport GapLunch at Cosby Knob.I was a little nervous hiking into GSNP all alone. I knew the others would be around, but there was no guarantee we would stick together. Did a little road walking then stopped in at Davenport Gap Shelter for a break. They still had a bearfences on the front of the shelter, so it was a little freaky. Timber was there waiting for Mountain Goat, and a couple inches of fresh snow gave the place a nice cozy feel. Very pretty.Pressed on to Cosby Knob for lunch. The day degenerated into a slog through the snow with freezing temps. beautiful views but I was far too cold to stop and enjoy. Made it in to Tri-Corner Knob and a full shelter! Some locals thought a winter hike would be a good idea, but they didn't seem to have a good time. Bearwalker and I slept on the lower platform, but it was gross. I couldnt turn over because the top platform was so close it hit my shoulders. Cold miserable night.
Date: 2008-12-02
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: broken clouds

Another freezing cold slog through the smokies. It felt so desolate and lonely hiking up here, I kept on wondering if I was going to make it out alive. Met up again with Mountain Goat, Timber and Bearwalker. We ended up scrunching in the corner together at night trying to keep warm. it didn't really work.
Date: 2008-12-03
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

D-Wreck called a friend a few minutes ago from Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains. Clingman's is the highest point on the entire AT at 6,643 feet. They got a lot of snow the last 2 days but now it is above freezing today and everything is melting and soaking them as if it were raining. They are aiming to arrive at Fontana Dam/Village tomorrow evening to get out of the cold.
Date: 2008-12-05
From: Fontana Dam Visitors Center

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I made it through the Smokeys! Very pretty, but also exceedingly tough due to lots of snow and our determination to make it through in 4 days. Mafia got ahead of me, but I met up with Timber and Mountain Goat and we hiked through with Bear Walker. Made it into Fontana Dam resort at 8:30 last night and finally had a nice warm place to sleep.The smokeys were quite miserable, it was either raining or snowing or blowing both at us the whole time. We had up to a foot of snow at times, wich later turned into a foot of slush at times. I wondered seriously if I would make it through, but a couple 12+ hour days with serious night hiking was all it took to make it.Only 11 days and 160-ish miles to go to Springer. Today is my birthday, and its kind of amazing: I'm dry, warm, fed and the very best part is BooBoo will be here in an hour to complete my thru hike with me!!!
Date: 2008-12-06
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked late into the night, down to NOC. We finally caught up with the mafia for a very late dinner, which was delicious! Boo and I decided to get a cabin for the night, but the girls moved on. Timber and Mountain Goat where behind us, we ended up getting a room for them and i think we even got them some dinner. Interesting place to stay.
Date: 2008-12-08
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Tried to hitch into Franklin, very difficult. not normally a problem to get a ride with 5 ladies, but today it was. Tried to call a shuttle, but some loser told us "hiking season is over". Kind of the way the Griswalds felt when they got to Wallyworld and it was closed...if you know what i mean.Had a nice AYCE buffet at shoneys, went to an outfitter and had my bank card rejected, and then got a little resupply. I was sad to have to go hiking again, but we made some decent miles. Odd shelter with a very low floor, lots of SOBO hikers tonight!
Date: 2008-12-09
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Post Trail Update.Cold and wet day, from what I can remember. Boo and i made it into Standing Indian Shelter first. I put out my hiking pole because it was easy to miss the turn off. The shelter was an 8 person affair, with a big covered porch out front. Everyone else almost missed the shelter...except my pole was there to show them the way. Nice trick. I think there were 11 of us that crammed into this shelter. It was cold and pouring rain and super windy. in fact, the wind blew all the rain into the shelter and we all got soaked. town day tomorrow so it's not sooo bad.
Date: 2008-12-10
From: Hell

To: Hiawasee, GA
Miles today: 15.0

Yet another horrible day on the AT, but at least I made it to Georgia!Supposedly there has been a horrible drought in the South over the past few years. I thought this would be nice for hiking in, but of course we instead get socked with over 2 inches of rain and a hurricane like winds. Last night at the shelter the wind blew all the freezing cold rain in on us and got all of our down sleeping bags soaking wet, rendering them useless. Lucky for us we where coming into town and could dry everything out. Unfortunetly tomorrow doesnt look much better, all the weather channel says for this area is "Heavy Rains all day long". We are still making a plan to finish the trail on the 15th, only 5 days left and 66 miles to go.Sorry if this report sounds a little negative, it's only because hiking kind of sucks and all I want to do is go home.
Date: 2008-12-11
From: Hiawasee, GA

To: Hiawasee, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Conversation overheard at the local fast food joint: "We've had more rain in the past 2 days than we have the rest of the year." We're still under flood warning here, its going to get below freezing and snow tonight, and so we decided to zero here today. We can still make Springer by the 15th and the good news is the weather wont turn bad again until the 16th!I'm generally in a better mood than yesterday now that I'm warm and dry and well fed. I would even say I'm anxious to get back on trail and start hiking again. Finishing the trail seems surreal at this point, it's hard for me to imagaine living any other way at this point.
Date: 2008-12-12
From: Hiawasee, GA

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

Hiawassee, GA to Blue Mountain Shelter18.3 milesWritten By BooBooCold but sunny start to the day after a continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express. We had a scheduled shuttle back to the trailhead and they promptly arrived at 7:30am. We were warm in the sun and cold in the shade with the steady breeze. Amazing how much difference one day makes with the weather. The day before was rainy and windy all day, great zero day. We even had to put our raingear on to go grocery shopping.Lunch at Tray Mtn Shelter with Bookworm, Vermont Mafia, D-Wreck and myself. Up and over Tray Mtn with great views.After several 1,000ft climbs throughout the day, we were glad to arrive around 5pm at the shelter. The sun set as we were finishing dinner and the full moon rose in front of the shelter. It will be a very cold night. On to Neels Gap tomorrow evening.
Date: 2008-12-13
From: Blue Mountian Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

As I'm filling out this journal almost 2 weeks after the event happened I can't remember everything that happened. Georgia continues to amaze me in terms of how easy and nice the trail is. So far, Georgia is the easiest state on the entire trail. I thought from reading certain books and talking to NOBO's that hiking Georgia was equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest. Instead, it's got all the challenge of walking in suburban Southeastern Michigan. Seriously Mr Bryson, what where you smoking when you started your hike?The highlight of the day was coming into Neels Gap and hanging out with all the other hikers and staff. BooBoo met some friends from last year (Princess Brat), and I met up Bearwalker, the Mafia, and Bookworm. After some extreme nagging, I convinced everyone to stay at the hostel for a party. It was a lot of fun hanging out with Pirate and the other staff at Neals Gap and spending time with my hiker family. My greatest joy of the evening was scaring the absolute crap out of Default with a gigantic stuffed fish, her reaction was just amazing (I almost felt bad too). I stuffed myself into a corner bunk and slept well that night.
Date: 2008-12-14
From: Neels Gap

To: Hawk Moutnain Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Started out the day warm and dry thanks to our stay at Neels Gap, I was happy we all stayed there. Climbed up Blood Mountain, pretty easy walk in the woods. Got to the top and ran into a bunch of weekenders in cotton. Even saw some wierd guy running around in a gas mask (?). The rest of the day was very pleasant, mostly gentle downhill on very nice wide and maintained trail. Perhaps the NOBO's get routed through on a different part of the trail that is approximately 100x harder, because this is among the nicest / easiest trail I have seen in 5 and a half months. Backpacker magazine recently rated this as the hardest 30 miles on the entire AT; they must have dropped some bad acid previously to hiking this section. Either way, I can't ever read that magazine again.Of course, the terrain got more difficult later in the day. There where about 3 completely pointless up and downs that really annoyed me. It was cold and drizzly, so I'm sure that didn't help my attitude. Then it got dark and foggy and we couldn't see where the trail went. BooBoo and I stuck close together and where able to find our way, but she had to suffer through my whining. We finally found the shelter, but it was full of hikers. There where 10 of us finishing up our thru hike and 2 more section hikers. The section hikers chose to tent that night, even though it was raining and cold, while the rest of us crowded into the shelter. My mood turned foul, guess I was just really sick of being wet and cold, no matter that it was my last night on the trail. Went on my last water mission with the Mafia and was bitter the whole time(sorry, girls), ate my last meal on the AT, and fell asleep cold wet and angry the last time on the AT.
Date: 2008-12-15
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: light rain

MEGA SOBO 2008 Completed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Woke up at Hawk Mountain Shelter in a pretty bad mood, all my own fault. It was cold, wet and crowded inside the shelter. The perverse mice that inhibit this shelter went on some sort of illogical rampage last night. They snaked through Bookworms pack and sought out a charger cord to chow on, then they snuck into Flamebos tent and snacked on her tent (?). Guess they where just getting us back for properly storing all our food. Next time I'll be sure to set out a food sacrifice for the mice.BooBoo and I set out on our own, being alone with her always puts me in a better mood and I wanted to be less of a grouch on Springer. It worked, the Boo is magical like that. After 7 or so miles of gentle hiking we came upon my Dad and Beef's parents hiking there way into meet us. It was great to see my Dad again, and just as nice to meet Beef's parents too. My Dad, Boo, and I made our way to the parking lot and refuge in the family van. I didn't really feel anything but a desire to finish the trail and get to the hotel so I could be warm and dry.Mountain Goat and Timber showed up in the parking lot next and had a happy reunion with their family. The Vermont Mafia and Bookworm showed up soon after with Beef's parents. All that was left to do was hike the last 0.9 miles and I would be done with my thru hike. We all made our way up together, but BooBoo and I stuck behind with my Dad and the Beef's as the rest of the group made their way to the top. This was definetly among the hardest mile in Georgia (still easy though). The cold rain pelting down on us didn't help, but we made it up.As always, Springer was different than how I imagined it. We took lot's of pics, experienced whipped cream high fives (courtesey of Mountian Goat and Timber), drank lots of champagne and ate lots of brownies. I failed to notice the cold rain, I was just too happy. One Gallon showed up, I hadn't seen him since Maine! BooBoo surprised me with a really cool stainless steel wine glass, she even got it engraved with my name and the dates I started and completed my AT thru hike. She got and identical one from Princess Brat and pointed out how there was lots more room for the other trails we will complete. Very sweet! After an hour or so on top, we reluctantly headed down back to the parking lot. I sailed down behind Default and EKG, it was fun and sad hiking with them for the last time. We got to the cars and met up with everyone else, then headed to Amicola Falls State Park hotel. Boo, Dad and I got a burger and some rooms, then started the process of getting clean, dry and warm. Met up with everyoneagain for dinner, then headed back to the Beef's cabin to hang out for a bit. It was bittersweet spending the last hours with everyone, I'm going to miss them all.
Date: 2008-12-16
To: Post Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Just thought I would let people know my plans for the next month or so:Today we drove to New Orleans with my father, BooBoo and EKG. We're spending tomorrow playing tourist in the city. Thursday morning we leave for Houston where we're spending time with my Dad's friend, Friday we'll be in San Antonio visiting EKG's brother, and Saturday we'll push to New Mexico to drop off EKG at home while the rest of us will spend Christmas with my brother. I'm flying to Seattle to spend New Years with BooBoo, then flying back to New Mexico so I can drive back to Detroit with my dad. A little complicated but it promises to be fun. I'll make it back to Detroit around January 10th or so and spend the rest of month in town.And then....
Date: 2008-12-22
To: Post Trail Life Adjustment
Miles today: 0.0

Adjusting to life post thru hike is far different than I thought. I envisioned eating non-stop, hiking around New Mexico and generally enjoying civilized life. Instead, I haven't been eating or drinking hardly anything in the past couple days and I can hardly get off the couch. My tongue and mouth feel like they're on fire and I just can't convince myself to eat anything; quite a disappointment.Today BooBoo and I met my friend Katrina (after a chance of encounter with EKG at REI!), she seemed to think I had something called Thrush and convinced me to go to an urgent care clinic for some meds. What is Thrush? It's a yeast infection....in my mouth. It's something babies, elderly people, and anyone with a weakened immune system suffer from. Pretty gross, but it actually get's worse. I went to the doctor with my prognosis, and then preceded to talk about my thru hike and how I lost an amazing 40 lbs! Of course, these are all symptoms of HIV/AIDS and she spent the entire appointment scaring the crap out of me convincing me this is what I was suffering from. Lucky she still gave me some drugs and BooBoo and Katrina where there to convince me I was just wore out from the trail while simultaneously mocking me the rest of the day.I'm feeling pretty good right now, I think the meds have taken affect. Still not sure what to make sure of getting a yeast infection in my mouth, but I'm quite grateful it's not something worse (like being HIV positive). One of my meds is called "Magic Mouthwash", so at least thats kind of fun.Looking forward to enjoying time off with BooBoo and getting back to normal.