morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-03-30
From: SamÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap / NatureÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Inn Hostel Tn.

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 13.4

Saturday Day 41 Sam¢s Gap to Spivey Gap 13.4 MilesI woke up in our little cabin raring to go. It¢s always amazing to me how a goods night rest will reenergize my body. Before I came out to the trail I worked out with my trainer Joe at LA Fitness in Orlando and he would always stress how important rest,stretching,nutrition and recovery is in the muscle building process. Unfortunately it¢s been difficult for me to rest well on the trail so these opportunities to sleep in a bed are awesome. I¢m trying to do a good job on my nutrition but I seem to be running on a calorie deficit as I¢m still losing weight. I did enjoy my ¢civilian¢ food last night hotdogs and birthday cake and I ate Jimmy Deans frozen sausage and biscuits for breakfast this morning. Not the best nutrition but lots of calories!Jimmy drove Q and I back to Sam¢s Gap to start our trek toward Spivey Gap. Yesterday¢s 11.2 miles was just a warm up for today¢s planned 13.4 miles. I plan to eventually average 15 miles per day and I need to start increasing my daily mileage . The only problem is I¢m currently trying to heal my ankle and have to be careful not to make it worse. When we got to the gap Zoomy ,Cookyman and Ito, three fine trail angels were providing homemade cookies, oranges,coffee Krispy Kreme donuts and other delightful edibles for all the hikers coming through. Narsil had stealth camped the night before somewhere near the gap and came back down to enjoy the magic as well . After thoroughly enjoying the trail magic we started our slow long climb out of the gap. Narsil showed us his stealth camp on the way up and he would later break camp and head north as well.We had approximately 7 miles of climbing ,climbing,climbing some parts of the trail were very steep. But eventually we hit the summit at 5516 feet and we were rewarded with what is now the most awesome view on the trail so far. Big Bald had 360 degrees views of the surrounding mountains and we could see for miles and miles it was so clear today. We all stayed up there for a good long time. Reluctantly we started the descent to Spivey Gap. The high Mountain View¢s is what it¢s all about!When we finally got to the gap we were pleasantly surprised to find Trail Magic provided by Bear Bag and Mrs. Bag. They cooked us the most wonderful hotdogs at the end of a very hard day. Very magical indeed. We all stealth camped around a creek near Spivey Gap, tonight it¢s just Q, First Grader, Narsil and Myself tenting . Jimmy is camping in his truck and will slack Q and I into Erwin tomorrow. Today we heard packs of coyotes howling and barking all around us but tonight the only thing stirring are the owls.I¢m safe and sound in my tent but guess what? Yes the sky is weeping again but even better it¢s going to turn to snow, I¢m super excited about that ! After all we are heading to town and will be in a warm bed tomorrow.
Date: 2019-03-31
From: Spivey Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 11.1

Sunday Day 32 March 31Spivey Gap to Erwin 11.1 miles I got up early and started gathering all of my gear within the protection of my tent as it was still raining outside. Earlier in the wee hours of the morning I had awoken to a drop of rain hitting me flat in the middle of my forehead, one of the seams had developed a small leak which I attempted to fix with cuban fiber repair tape. No biggie,this temporary patch would have to suffice until I could purchase some seam sealer in town. I pulled up the weather on my Delorme Inreach and it called for heavy snows in the mountains starting at 10 am this morning .Q , Narsil and I headed up out of the gap and sure enough it started snowing almost immediately. It was wonderful hiking in the snow, Winter is trying to hang on as long as it can. I¢m personally rooting for Winter to hang around a bit longer as I know how miserable 100 degree weather can be. Hiking in the winter is the best in my opinion, the views are not blocked by foliage, the air is comfortable once you get moving and we don¢t sweat and smell as bad. Not to mention the bugs are not out yet. Although it was snowing pretty hard the accumulation was negligible and passage was easy.As we got closer to Erwin we could see the town and the Nolichukee river from the mountain top. The trail led down practically to the doorstep at Uncle Johnnys Hostel which has a nice outfitter store. We did not plan to stay there as Jimmy had arranged to pick us up and take us to the Motel 8 ,a very nice clean hotel in town. Jimmy also took us to Walmart to resupply where I had to buy another pair of hiking pants as the others I bought in Franklin are already too big . We then went and ate fried chicken until we were stuffed. Q and I walked over to the evening service at a church next to the hotel. The people were very nice and the lesson was very good!Tomorrow we will hit the trail again.Tonight I¢m safe in dry in a hotel room .
Date: 2019-04-01
From: Beauty Spot Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 11.8

Monday day 33 Beauty-Spot Gap to Erwin 11.8 Miles.Monday, Jimmy drove Dudley Do-Right, Dynamite, Q and I up to the top of Beauty Spot Gap so that we could hike back into Erwin with our lighter packs.I was amazed to see the sparkling rim ice on all the trees , It reminded me of something out of my wife¢s Waterford Crystal collection. If you can enlarge the picture above you should be able to see the ice. The day and the hike was beautiful, Spring is indeed beginning to come around and I saw tiny yellow flowers and certain trees beginning to blossom. It¢s such a paradox as there is still snow on the ground from Sunday¢s storm. In Florida we do not have the transition of the seasons ,at least not like this and I am blessed to be right in the middle of it!We crossed paths with several of our friends that were heading out of town many zero¢d in Erwin and we will see them back in town tonight.Jimmy is amazing, by taking us to these remote starting points we can still benefit from the great rest a hotel bed will provide but still get our daily miles in. Thank you again Jimmy!Later that evening back in the hotel lobby several of us had gathered in the lobby to share a pizza. When a very nice lady came in and recognized us by name. It turns out she is Blue Grass¢ mom and she had come into town to surprise Blue and Sunshine. They are at the shelter right before town and should get to Erwin tomorrow. I miss them and I hope to see them soon!Big miles planned for tomorrow, and way past hiker midnight!
Date: 2019-04-02
From: Beauty Spot Gap

To: Hughes Gap
Miles today: 17.8

Tuesday Day 44 Beauty spot to Hughes Gap 17.8 miles.Dudley Do-Right, Dynamite, RG, StingRay, Q and I set off to tackle a big mileage day . The great thing is that although I¢ll be carrying my regular pack, tent, clothes and sleeping bag I¢ll only be carrying enough food for the day. Food is probably the heaviest unknown in my bag, I remember when I first started how careful I was watching the weight of my meals now I just try to stuff my food bag to maximum capacity. Unfortunately tomorrow will be the last day Jimmy will be able to help us with slack packing , but my ankle is feeling 99 percent better and I guarantee you it would not have healed as quickly if I was trekking under a full load.  Jimmy has a cool YouTube site, once again I don¢t have web service to give you the correct web address but if you search Jimmy interviews AT hikers on You TubeYou will find interviews with Q, Sunshine and Blue Grass, Soul Shine , Gopher and many others out here. I posted my interview on a previous journal entry as well.The mountains were covered in snow but fortunately not too deep.This has been the coldest spring I¢ve experienced but it truly is marvelous . I can¢t help thinking of Christmas songs as I hike these snow covered wonderlands.I wanted to mention that this Tennessee/ North Carolina section of the trail has been beautiful but it¢s very confusing to know what state I¢m in at any given second. The awol guide and gut hooks neither one identify the state we are in so I¢m sorry I can¢t be more specific. But both states are equally magnificent!When we finally marched in from the long day , Jimmy was waiting for us at Hughes Gap and he carried us to a great campsite. But first he took us to the worlds famous Bob¢s Dairy Land for the best cheeseburgers and sundaes. The food here is all made from scratch and are most well known for their barbecue .Today was another great day full of great views , cold early spring weather. Some people say hiking the AT is type 2 fun , meaning it¢s hard while you are doing it but fun memories afterwards. I disagree, yes some parts of the trail can be challenging and as you know the weather can be well brutal at times.But to me the outdoors and this trail is one of God¢s greatest gifts for all us to enjoy and I¢m savoring every minute.... My sleeping pad sprung a leak, I do miss my bed!
Date: 2019-04-03
From: Hughes Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Weds Day 45 Hughes Gap to Overmountain Shelter 12.2 miles.Today we are climbing over Roan Mountain again this is on the TN/ NC border. Our goal is to make it to the famous Over-mountain Shelter which has an old barn that has been converted to a shelter. I plan to sleep in my tent on the grass as my sleeping pad is not holding air.But first we have to ascend 2150 feet in elevation and a total of 12.2 miles. Beaker one of favorite past 2017 Thru hikers reminded me that the best breakfast on the entire AT is at Mountain Harbor House B&B/ hiker hostel. I am so looking forward to that! It will probably be Friday morning for that culinary experience. But first I had to climb Roan Mountain which was steep and treacherous because the trails were iced over. No problem, I carried micro spikes all the way from Amicalola ... Ummm unfortunately I just sent my spikes home with Snuggs last week argh! Misery likes company and Bear Bait , Q , Soul Shine did not have their spikes either but we all somehow made it up the icy trail without our spikes. When we finally got to the top there was a wide open meadow with ruins of an old hotel that was on top of Roan Mountain back in the late 1800s. You can actually come visit this location by car as they open a gated road every Memorial Day. There are restroom facilities available however they were closed today bummer. See the link below for some history on the hotel very interesting !https://mitchellnchistory.org/...After exploring the ruins we headed down the trail , an old rock chimney from one of the structures sat almost in the middle of the AT trail .We proceeded down the mountain and it finally happened. Yeupp everyone says this happens to all hikers but I did not think it would happen to me. Four of us I won¢t mention who, were busy talking dodging the ice fields and some how managed to miss a left turn and we wound up all the way down to the base of the mountain but we were not on the AT. We pulled out our Gut Hooks electronic map and realized our mistake and had to climb back up the mountain to our turning point ...self abuse I call it.When we got down to the Gap, Jimmy was there handing out trail magic and Q, RG, Sting Ray and I got the remainder of our gear and hiked up 8 miles across a beautiful bald towards our destination of the famous Overmountain Shelter. http://appalachiantreks.blogsp...Well to night I¢m in a grassy field with probably 20 neighboring tents , several hammocks hung by and several folks in the barn. I have officially become part of the bubble. I hope I get some sleep before my air leaks out of my pad!
Date: 2019-04-04
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel 
Miles today: 9.6

I woke up early around five AM to enjoy the morning before all the tenters started to rise , my pad deflated in the middle of the night but fortunately the ground was soft and I slept surprisingly well.I had positioned my tent to face east to catch the sunrise from my tent but that would not happen till a little later because our campsite was in a bowl guarded by the high mountains.I made my coffee, ate my pop tarts and just sat on my pad waiting for something that happens everyday but that I have seldom ever stopped to enjoy. The sun finally came up and it did not disappoint it actually had two linear rainbows right beside it. My northern friends called the spectrum of color -sun dogs.After breakfast we broke camp and headed up our first mountain, the climb was steep and the air was cool ..perfection.I enjoyed the climbs today , I realized I climbed two mountains without having to stop and gasp for air , everything I read prior told me my trail legs would come slowly but I really thought I would be good to go in a couple of weeks , man was I wrong these mountains need time to whip you in shape and although I¢m not fast my stamina and leg strength has greatly improved . If I look really hard I can actually see a little muscle definition developing in my legs. I¢ll need better legs if my goal of averaging 15 miles per day is ever going to happen. We are looking forward to to cranking out bigger miles hopefully in Virginia when the terrain flattens out a-bit. BTW I¢ve not had any blisters yet so that¢s pretty awesome ! I will need to pick up some new shoes soon probably in Damascus.Today we officially completed another state as we have exited North Carolina. That¢s 2 states down 12 more to go!Tonight I¢m staying at Mountain Harbor Hostel, this is the place Beaker recommended for their fine breakfast. I look forward to testing them out.I¢m also going to take advantage of a washtub to see if I can find the air leak in my mattress and I¢ll also attempt a repair on one off my packs webbing . The AT van be tough on gear for sure.I get to sleep on a comfy couch,  the hostel barely had room as rain is in the forecast. But I¢m happy as a clam dreaming of a wonderful meal to come just like Thanksgiving!
Date: 2019-04-05
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel 

To: ScottyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Solar Hostel 
Miles today: 12.1

Friday Day 47 Mountain Harbor Hostel to Scotty¢s Budget Solar Hostel 12.1 milesHostel to Hostel ...Nice !First of all the Mountain Harbor Breakfast was absolutely amazing this morning. I mean the best ever!!!Shannon and Dave are super people and they send their regards to Beaker (class of 2017) . So last night guess what? April showers all night and all day today.So before I left MH Hostel I called Scotty¢s Budget Hostel and Reserved 6 spots. Judge,Q,SoulShine,Pushing Sixty,Boomerang and Bear Bait who already had a reservation plan to crash there to avoid tenting in the rain. They only charge 5.00 per person super great rate.Q and I left with our heavy packs hopefully with enough provisions to get us to Damascus. The rain was falling steadily but bearable.  I believe I mentioned I¢m in this bubble of hikers that are all extremely friendly. It¢s like everyone is part of this huge Tramily. They still ask about Snuggs and have adopted him into the fam. So several of the hikers were slack packing from various hostels today, I felt left out as I was packing a full load today. No problem as I¢m feeling strong this week and my ankle woes are gone for now. span class="Apple-converted-space"> I don¢t even have pride anymore since I¢ve fallen so much. We saw a beautiful waterfall  today it was roaring off the mountain. I¢m looking forward to the day it¢s warm enough to get in and enjoy those outdoors showers ( fully dressed of course). I also enjoyed walking along a stream that had trout swimming in it , I so wished my brother in law Herb was here with his fly rod to catch me some supper!I hit 400 miles today Ooh Rah!  It¢s a drop in the bucket but 400 miles hiking is pretty cool if I say so myself! I reached the hostel around five this afternoon. Q, Soul Shine,and Bear Bait and Judge were already there. Pushing Sixty and Boomerang got there with me and low and behold Coco came marching in later in the evening. The bunk house is rustic but the upstairs ¢Tree House ¢ where I stayed was first class! Scotty played the piano on his back porch and Q and I went down to visit. He¢s a Tennessee Tech Grad engineer and has hiked the PCT and AT .  He¢s hiked with Nimblewill and that  makes him ok in my book!Tonight I¢m safe warm in dry in yet another fine Hostel! I know, I know tomorrow I¢ll be back sleeping in my tent and hopefully my patch job on my pad will work.
Date: 2019-04-07
From: Stealth Camp site

To: Boots Off Hostel
Miles today: 6.5

Sunday Day 49 ,13.4 Miles but only 6.5 miles count. Last night I had A great night¢s rest tenting by the stream. My air mattress is now holding air so no sleeping on the hard ground Yay! I decided to get up early this morning for a couple of reasons , One the forecast had rain coming in around 8 am and I wanted to be packed up. The main reason was Q and I are walking into town to do a small resupply and hopefully visit a local church .After a light breakfast, we took a one mile side trail off the AT and hiked into town. Once we got to the main road it was probably only a mile or two into the main part of town from the trail head.We actually got into town pretty early so we stopped into the Laurel Fork Restaurant for a fine second breakfast. We met a nice lady at the restaurant who invited us to her church right down the road. We still had a good forty five minutes prior to the service so we went into Dollar General and resupplied. Once we got the few items needed we headed to the church . The people at the church were extremely friendly and made us feel like the guests of honor even with our smelly clothes.We left our packs hanging in the hall way and enjoyed the sermon.After church Tony Kelly another church visitor offered us a ride back to the trail head!(Thru hikers hate town miles) He actually took us by Mcdonalds first and told us quite a bit of history of the trail and the surrounding area. Turns out Tony is a professional photographer and has a passion for history. Thank you Tony for the trail magic!Once on the blue trail we had a mile trek to get back to the AT and then the steep ascent began. My full belly and fully loaded pack did not feel great traveling up 1,740 feet in elevation for what seemed an eternity but was only 2.6 miles. One cool thing today was that near the top of the mountain we could hear the drone of the Bristol NASCAR race several miles away. Great memories, many years ago my dear friend Mike Byrd and I got to attend the Bristol race a couple of times. You literally have to wear hearing protection in the stands it is so loud. But truly that race is an awesome experience.When we finally got to the top of the mountain we realized the day had had gotten away from us with our late start climbing. The rain was coming soon and we decided to head to Boots off Hostel to weather the storms tonight. I was able to call from the top of the mountain and secure two bunks.  Our plan of bigger miles today changed just like that but no regrets, it was a fantastic day!
Date: 2019-04-08
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: TN 91 crossing
Miles today: 20.5

Monday Day 50, 20.5 miles.Mile 449 Tn 91 to Boots Off Hostel.I woke up without a particular plan in mind basically pack up and head north is the SOP (standard operating procedure) A couple of our extended tramily had decided to spend the night here at the hostel as well last night Zipper and Texamo and we all met for milk and cornflakes early this morning. Zip and Tex had plans to do a twenty mile day today and even crazier they plan to do a twenty mile day tomorrow to get into Damascus by tomorrow evening. Getting to Damascus is kind of a big deal in the thru hiker world , we start the state of Virginia and leave Tennessee, most of us have to buy new shoes and replace worn out gear, and historically most hikers send their winter gear back home except their puffy jacket, always keep that with you so they say. Damascus is where they have the famous trail days every year where vendors and previous hikers all congregate for a week of festivities and great deals on gear. Unfortunately Trail days is still a couple of weeks out . Well Q and I pondered their plan of slack packing back to the hostel and decided we would tag along and knockout the two twenty plus days back to back , Easy breezy!...hmmm wellThe terrain today was not particularly tough but it wasn¢t easy breezy either and guess what? Yeupp heavy downpours at times. The light packs did made the 20.5 miles very doable and we were back in camp by 6 PM but twenty miles over the mountains is still twenty miles over the mountains if you know what I mean. The great news is that once we get into Virginia we should be able to knock out more 20 mile days as the terrain gets a little easier.The views were socked in for the most part but we actually got to hike around Lake Watauga and I could see bass fisherman enjoying the water. This made me miss my boat and fishing partner Keith. Man if your reading this please take my boat out and catch one for me!So tomorrow I will be on the road to Damascus.I know most of you know the story I¢m making reference to, but I¢ll attach a link below for the real story about the road to Damascus. It¢s one of the coolest stories in the Bible .https://www.biblegateway.com/p...Tonight I¢m safe and dry in the bunkhouse at Boots Off Hostel. A little sore but geared up to go again in the morning. We will be sharing a cabin in Damascus with about 12 others and I plan to take my second Zero of my trip.
Date: 2019-04-09
From: TN 91 crossing

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 22.08

Tuesday Day 51 , TN 91 to Damascus 22.7 miles.Today our hike began cutting across farmland and crossing several fences. I like it when the terrain is different as it adds to the variety of the adventure. We had quite the band of merry travelers today. Doc, Zipper, Texamo,Twenty,Iron man, Loner, Rhythm, Pushing 60, RG, Sting Ray, Q and I . Most of us in this group started way back in Georgia close to the same date. I believe it is phenomenal that we have all maintained a similar pace as we sometimes go days without seeing one another. Q , Twenty and I got to see a small silent heard of deer about 300 yards from the trail. That was actually my first real wildlife encounter in 400 miles. Maybe we ate starting to get lucky and will see a bear soon. On the trail today we had the honor of meeting a fine couple who had hiked the trail in 2002 Bo and Ruby Slippers. It turns out Bo has done the triple crown (The AT ,The PCT and The CDT). They stopped to talk to Ironman,Q and I  for several minutes and congratulated us on our efforts, they were very humble and encouraging!Later several miles down the trail we met a young man hunting turkey, he was very friendly as well and it¢s interesting how hunters and hikers alike use the same Appalachian trail at the same time ,  hopefully no hikers have ever been mistaken for a turkey.As the day went on we all separated to our respective plans. Several planned to do 10 miles and camp, but Q , Texamo and I planned to knock out another 20 plus miles day. I was beat after about mile 11 and seriously thought my left  ankle was seriously hurt.  Recently my right ankle was hurting me and now I had aggravated my left ankle yesterday. Remember the Nimblewill Nomad rule ¢ you will hurt everyday, the trick is not to hurt in the same place everyday¢Well that¢s a true statement, everyday I experience some sort of discomfort but always in various different locations. However this was day two of the sharp pain. The great news is my goal today is to get to Damascus and take one to two Zeros.Q and I trudged along and finally we came to the Tennessee Virginia border. Yippee another state down 11 more to go! This crossing was bittersweet as Tennessee is my boyhood home state.Well I¢m looking forward to Virginia, we will have over 500 miles in this glorious state. Get ready for the Shenandoahs , wild ponies , bears  etc. The adventure is about to begin! Tonight I leave you with a John Denver classic ¢Country Road¢So check out my picture, Q took . It looks like I¢m wearing a kilt .