morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It got down to ZERO last night! Dang, that's too wintry for me this time of year. Do I live in Alaska...?The day started with a long drive so Goldilocks could visit a friend. He's been saying his goodbyes over the last week or so.It worked out well, as I needed to go to an EMS store near where I dropped him off. There was this great deal that my friend Easy Cheese told me about -- hiking shirts for $10 each! Great deal, I picked up one for Goldilocks and one for me.On the way home the dog and I went for our daily stroll. I walk, he sniffs everything imaginable and then pees on each place. Tomorrow he'll repeat the process on the same spots.I think my hiker appetite is kicking in early When I picked up Goldilocks this evening, he needed food, so we stopped at a Boston Market. I had just eaten dinner, but it looked good, so I ate again. Hmmm... I better watch it or I won't fit into my hiking tights Well, just one more day to go. All seems ready. Maybe I'll unpack and pack again tomorrow for something to do. The sweetness of my home and family has been in sharp relief today, as I appreciate what I'll forego during the hike.I just read Stumpknocker's journal and checked mapquest. He's driving 500 miles to Amicalola to see us off, then driving straight back again. Amazing. It's great to have friends.g'nite.
Date: 2005-03-07
To: Carolina Scout's hostel, Jasper, GA
Miles today: 0.0

We are now in Gainesville, GA. A man took our picture for us, standing under the "Gainesville" sign at the train station. He didn't ask what we're here for as it's pretty obvious in Gainesville in the Spring. He just grinned and said "You're gonna drown." Apparently there may be some showers soon. Heh.We noticed a hiker standing in line behind us in Penn Station yesterday. Big surprise, he got off at Gainesville, too. Another thru-hiker! Woohoo. His name is Wes, and he's heading directly to Amicalola today. He got picked up by the owner of The Hiker Hostel. I think she said her name was Lee. She was real friendly - a former thru-hiker herself, and mentioned that they pick up hikers at 6 pm each day at Woody Gap. Our current plans are to hike right through there, but ya never know...5:30 pmJust woke up from a wonderful nap (everyone knows I need my beauty sleep!) We're here at Carolina Scout's very fine hostel (address of which is a closely held secret.) Carolina's wonderful long-suffering-trail-widow wife of 49 years is taking great care of us. All we're doing is eating, sleeping, and swapping trail stories. By the way, Skeemer, if you read this, can you tell me how your ugly mug got on my coffee mug this afternoon? [hint: who'd you summit with?]It's starting to rain a bit - we don't have to hike on rainy days, do we?
Date: 2005-03-08
From: Carolina Scout's hostel, Jasper, GA

To: 0.5 north of Stover Creek shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: overcast clouds

4:30 pm Stover Creek shelterA quick dinner stop (my favorite, chicken enchiladas with green chile sauce). Moving on a bit after dinner to stealth camp somewhere.Boy, it's been a full day. Carolina Scout and his wife Melba took us to Amicalola Visitor's Center. We took some pictures, and Stumpknocker showed up just as they were getting ready to leave us. Stumpie sure looks good - kinda like he's been spending lots of time on a beach or something.Stumpknocker drove us up a very steep, winding road to the Lodge, where he treated us to a great breakfast. Us novice hikers left our hiking poles behind at the visitor's center, and Stumps drove back down to get them.After breakfast, we went back down to the visitors center to register and have our pictures taken by the staff. I bought a shirt listing many major AT peaks for one of our friends who is a future thru-hiker, although he hasn't formally admitted it yet. Tortoise, are you reading this? Stumpknocker kindly offered to mail it for me.While inside we met Jim, Jason and Turtle, all thru-hikers like us, and a couple called The Roman Noodles who thru-hiked last year, making it as far as Gorham before the woman broke her kneecap -- riding a bike! Town days can be dangerous.Then we went out to the stone arch where the approach trail starts, and took more pictures. Anything to delay the inevitable? Finally, there were no more excuses, so we said our goodbyes and started up the trail!The wind was a constant 30 mph, and the sun was peeking out, although we had a dusting of snow last night. With wind chill it felt about 15-20 degrees.We stopped to go over and look at the top of the very tall Amicalola falls, and a little further up found... TRAIL MAGIC!!! With our names on it no less. Stumpy had stashed a couple of sodas on the trail for us. Thanks! They hit the spot!We continued up the 9 mile approach, almost always on the windward side of the ridge. It was sunny and cold. Great views of the layered mountains receding into the distance, visible because there's no leaves on the trees yet.When we were almost to the top, we ran into Roman Noodles coming down, handing out Snickers bars. More trail magic. Sweet!We made the top and the plaque around 2:30 I think, with Jim following close behind. We took each others' obligatory pictures next to the southernmost white blaze, ate some lunch, picked up some pebbles to place on Katahdin, and we signed the register. Goldilocks used one of his HUGE smiley face stickers. Cool. With totally frozen fingers we hustled northward - now following the white blazes we will follow for next 2175 miles.7:30 pm, in my sleeping bagAfter our quick dinner stop, we ambled north, finding a good stealth spot in less than a mile. We set up camp and cooked some hot chocolate. Now it's dark out, I'm buried in sleeping bags finishing up my journal, and drifting off to sleep.A memorable first day on the AT!
Date: 2005-03-09
From: 0.5 north of Stover Creek shelter

To: stealth camp on Big Cedar Mtn. summit
Miles today: 17.9

8:00 pm, in my sleeping bagWoke up early and finally got out of the sleeping bag around 6:15. Very cold, probably around 15 degrees. Slept warm last night though!I pulled all the stuff towards one end of the tarp floor to make for easy packing, and sat in the doorway making tea and oatmeal. Good stuff.We finally hit the trail about 8:00, feeling strong. Our appetites are kicking in early, possibly due to the cold weather. It seems like ate all day long today. I could eat more right now.We met four thru-hikers today: Pete, Red Rover, JR, and Rich, who I've dubbed "hot lunch", as he was cooking up some soup or something when we passed by. Looked mighty tasty.Lots of humps today. Sassafras Mountain and Big Cedar were the two biggest climbs. All of northern Georgia seems this from what I've seen - one mountain after another, with wooded tops. The trees are mostly white pine lower down and various hardwoods throughout.It was pretty overcast all day, and snowed a tiny bit in the afternoon. It's snowing again now, little crystals on the tarp. The temperature seemed to drop around 5:00 pm. It was cold all day - you couldn't take your gloves for more than a minute. But late afternoon, it seemed to drop down to 15 degrees, with a slight wind, making it feel even colder. We expect to wake to snow on the ground.Cooked dinner in camp tonight - wanted to get in the sleeping bag. Some problems with the foot today, but perhaps because I pushed pretty hard for a bit. Steady pace may be part of the solution.Surprisingly, I've been able to hike straight up all the climbs so far without resting. Tomorrow may be different, as we go over Blood Mtn., Georgia's highest.Now it's hiker bedtime. A great 2nd day on the AT.
Date: 2005-03-10
From: stealth camp on Big Cedar Mtn. summit

To: Neel's Gap Walasi-Yi hostel
Miles today: 9.6

Snowed about 1/2 inch last night.  Very cold and somewhat breezy this morning on top of the mountain where we camped.  I pitched my tarp low and had condensation - created a small snowstorm inside when I started moving around.  So I started moving quickly when I got out of the bag and felt the cold.Caught photos of a beautiful red sunrise from the mountain top.Today's trail heads towards and over Blood Mountain, at 4750 ft. or so, the tallest in Georgia.  These Georgia trails are very easy compared to the stuff in New England we're accustomed to.  Blood was no exception, with beautiful views and a bit more snow on top.We're seeing lots more hikers today.  They started a day or so ahead of us and we're catching up to them.Coming down off of Blood we came to Neel's Gap.  Stumpknocker left us a BIG care package here.  Thanks a lot Stumpy.  He must have used two grocery carts and a dolly.We were planning to hike on, but were lured by the prospect of an AYCE (definition: all you can eat) restaurant buffet for dinner.  So we're staying at the hostel here, and we hitched 13 miles into Blairsville for dinner.  We caught a ride with the second car that passed by!After we ate so much I thought I'd burst, we went to Ingle's grocery to get a few resupply items that Stumps didn't provide.  We didn't need much.Catching a ride all the way back to the hostel turned out to easier than the ride in.  A couple in a van named Zeb and Bobbie stopped before we got started hitching and asked if we were headed back to the trail.  Cool!  Zeb was a GA trail maintainer for a time, and also has hiked a good bit of the AT.We experienced a scare with a real southern hospitality ending today.  As our ride into town drove away, Goldilocks realized his digital camera had slipped out of his pocket into the bed of the pickup truck where he was sitting.  I had been sitting in the cab talking with the driver, and tried to remember anything he'd said that would allow us to find him.  All I knew was the company he worked for, that he was married, had just built a house, and drove a black Ford Ranger.  Also, that he'd always lived in Blairsville, GA.Not much to go on, eh?  With the help of a hostess at the restaurant, and Dave at the local Chevron, we had the camera back in 20 minutes.  Dave knew someone who had retired from the company our driver worked for, and called him up for us, explaining our hopeless story.  A couple of times I was asked and had to reply "no, I didn't get his name."  Pretty soon, we had a name of who it "sounded like", and I called and spoke to who turned out to be our driver's wife.  They not only found the camera, but were kind enough to return it to us at the restaurant.  All the time in the gas station while making these phone calls I'm looking at a sign that reads "Don't expect miracles.  Depend on them."  No kidding.Planning to get out early and actually do some hiking tomorrow - back to back 18s should put us in Hiawassee for resupply, and whatever...Good night.
Date: 2005-03-11
From: Neel's Gap Walasi-Yi hostel

To: Unicoi Gap (Helen, GA)
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I didn't sleep well last night in the hostel - it was about 90 degrees in the bunk room.  I think I only got about 4 hours.  Not what a hiker needs.But eating the great stuff Stumpknocker left us gave me enough energy to hike well today regardless of lack of sleep.  I had cantaloupe and cheese danish, chased by a quart of milk.The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm early in the day, but by afternoon it turned windy and cold, with constant snow flurries.We met some hikers today: Lone Trail, Pastor John, who thru-hiked last year, and two SOBOs finishing up, Brett and Evy.Staying in Helen tonight.  We were planning to just go in for breakfast, but Unicoi Gap is very steep sided and there was no place to camp near the trailhead.So here we are in an "alpine theme town".  We feel like we should be wearing lederhosen.  Had a good steak dinner, did some laundry in the shower, and now it's time for bed.
Date: 2005-03-12
From: Unicoi Gap (Helen, GA)

To: stealth camp on summit of Powell Mtn.
Miles today: 13.9

When Goldilocks and I checked in to the Helendorf Inn last night, we learned it was a weekend so we couldn't get the best hiker room rate. (Yes, we are already losing track of what day it is.  But we're much more sensitive to weather, elevation, and food than if we weren't hiking.  Especially food So to save money we opted for a room with just one double bed (not even queen size.)  Being tired, and not caring about non-essentials, we efficiently shared the bed, even though Moosie steals sheets and Goldilocks kicks in his sleep.When we woke up this morning, our main job was to find the "hard to find" breakfast buffet.  We found it, and had to wait for it to open at 8:00.  In the meantime, we walked around the still sleeping town, which is amazing.  The people of Helen take their tourist niche of alpine village very seriously.  There wasn't a single building or sign that would have been out of place in Bavaria.  The cobblestone streets were spotless, and potted pansies were blooming everywhere.  We sat on a bench near a splashing fountain and took it all in.  The only thing out place was the thick Georgia, not German, accent when anyone spoke to us.Finally the restaurant opened and we had the AYCE buffet, of course.  Fantastic.  Then we waddled down to the IGA, which was very cool little touristy place with wood floors and antiques.  Also good bulk nuts and fruits, which we like while hiking.As we walked out of the store a man asked us if were headed back to the trail.  This is an 11 mile hitchhike, and we were worried about how difficult it might be.  But not too worried.  Confidence, patience aand faith are all you need for successful hitching.  Well, this time we didn't even have to use our magic thumbs.  This nice man and his wife and 4 year old daughter were headed up to the trailhead for the weekend to feed hikers.  TRAIL ANGELS!We started hiking around 10:00.  Not bad for a resupply morning.  We had three big climbs today.  After the second (Tray Mtn.), I ate the two Wendy's cheeseburgers I had carried from town.  Between all those instant calories, the big breakfast, and the hard work, I didn't feel so good.  Also I'm fighting a bit of a cold.  So I was walking a bit slower than usual in the afternoon.I need to mention my strategy for climbing.  Simply, I never stop.  Once started on a climb, I pace myself so I never have to stop, even if the climb is several miles long.  This is something new I'm trying and it's been working very well.  Even with the many large climbs today, I've walked straight up each of them.  In fact I haven't had to stop on any climb on the AT so far.We met lots of weekend hikers today, many of them laboring under huge packs full of excess gear.  Some didn't look like they were having much fun.My new pot cozy proved its worth tonight, as I cooked up a super rice & beans dinner.It was very warm and sunny today - like summer.  But it was still quite windy, as it has been the whole way so far.
Date: 2005-03-13
From: stealth camp on summit of Powell Mtn.

To: stealth camp on summit of Standing Indian Mtn.
Miles today: 20.2

Woke up and made tea before a great sunrise today.  Got moving right away, as we were planning on a high mileage day.  We each ate a couple of scones bought the day before.We're still trying to figure out food requirements.  We really hate to carry too much, in terms of cost and weight.  But lately we've been food shopping after visits to AYCE restaurants.  We're so full that we don't buy enough trail supplies.  Devouring our scones this morning, and our meager lunches this afternoon, we were cursing our stupidity.  Please understand that these meager meals would be considered large by non-hiker standards.  But we should know better.  We each ate our dinners tonight after walking 20 miles and setting up camp just before getting rained on, and immediately afterward complained that we were still hungry.  Oh well, only one more day and night before we hit the town of Franklin, NC.We crossed into North Carolina at 12:47 pm today!  We're finished with Georgia, and are camped in North Carolina at 5500 ft.  Even with the very warm weather the past two days, there was a good bit of snow and ice on the higher parts of the trail.We met some thru-hikers today, including Terrapin, No Legs and Monkey.Shooting for another 20 to put us close to Franklin tomorrow.The light rain has stopped, and the rumbling thunderstorm passed us by.Goodnight.
Date: 2005-03-14
From: Stealth Camp on summit of Standing Indian Mtn.

To: stealth camp near Wasilik Poplar
Miles today: 18.3

That thunderstorm last night grumbling miles away -- came closer.  Woke at 11:30 last night to crashing thunder and rain.  Slept fitfully for the next hour as it rained hard.  At one point I checked the edges of the tarp to make sure nothing was getting wet, and realized to my dismay that wind was blowing rain on the foot of my sleeping bag.  I guess that's what happens when you camp on top of the highest mountain for miles around in bad weather.  Oh well.The morning started with trees and rhododendrons dripping all around us, and wet, misty fog everywhere.  After tea and scones in my sleeping bag (not too bad, eh?), I packed up all my damp gear and we climbed a 600 ft. trail to the exact top of the mountain.  We were treated to some clearing skies and views in one quarter of the horizon.The walking was easy today.  Lots of flat and mild down grades.  It was pretty dreary until the sun came out as we climbed 5200 ft. Albert Mtn.  We climbed the firetower, but the hatch to the room on top was locked.  Great views from up there.  Not good if you're scared of heights, though.  We laid all our damp gear on the grass and rocks to dry in the sun, and took a nice break.  Some other thru-hikers came up as we were getting ready to leave.  Ryan and Sabotage were the only names I got.We must have been really hungry today.  We talked about food constantly, and at one point realized that our conversation had devolved into how nice it would be if the trees were made of candy and chocolate covered pretzels.  Geez, where is that town?I'm limping a bit today.  I must have strained a muscle in my lower left leg yesterday, and now it's complaining.  Ibuprofen and ACE bandage today, and I'll ice it in town tomorrow.We wanted to see the Wasilik Poplar today.  It's the 2nd largest yellow poplar in the world.  It was something we had to consider, as it's half a mile off the AT, and thru-hikers don't add miles (one mile round trip) lightly.  But we decided it was important to be able to do stuff like this, and it turned out to be HUGE.  Actually, quite a few of the trees in this grove would be considered huge anywhere else, but the old guy looks like a redwood in comparison.  The whole grove is so nice and quiet, like a church, that we decided to camp here, since it was getting late.  This leaves us 4 miles tomorrow morning to get to the road to Franklin.Drifting off to sleep to the sound of coyotes yipping somewhere not too far away.  A great day.
Date: 2005-03-15
From: Stealth Camp near Wasilik Poplar

To: Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, NC)
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: light rain

We had a great campsite in the poplar (and oak) grove last night, with lots of stars out all night.Today, we have zero food left, not even breakfast, because we only have 1/2 mile up the side trail out of this grove and 3.7 miles on the AT before we get to the road to Franklin.The hitch was easy, the first pickup truck stopped for us.  Turned out to be the manager of one of the local motels, and he was just coming back from shuttling hikers.We got dropped off at Shoney's for an AYCE breakfast.  Did a lot of damage to that buffet.Next, we started walking the 1.5 miles or so across this spread out little town to the motel.  We never got there.  Some guy pulls up next to us and asks if we want a ride.  He looked like someone I know...  We get in and it turns out he's a hiker too.  Named Howdy!  If you've read the earlier parts of the journal you know I met him in 1994 on his thru-hike.  Well, son of a gun, he's come looking for us.  And with the strange way things work on the trail, he was looking for a needle in a haystack and he was just gonna ask us if we'd seen or heard of ... us.  We were the very first hikers he'd seen in the area.So Howdy put himself at our disposal, shuttling us to the grocery store and library (to get on the internet - goldilocks' journal is now updated.)This town is tricky to naviguess, as Howdy says.  We drove in circles trying to find a certain AYCE steak place that was recommended and that we'd seen earlier.  Finally found it a bit after 7 pm.  There was a sign on the door saying that they were closing at 7 pm one day only - guess which day.  Is Stumpknocker in the area?  Did he put that sign there?Aw well, back to Shoneys for dinner.The weather report shows 7 days of precipitation coming, that folks here assure us means snow where we're headed.  I think we stay over 4000 ft, and go up to 6000 in the next 5 days or so.  Should be interesting.  We try to only carry 3 days of food, but we're planning to carry extra thru the Smokies in case a) we can't get out to Gatlinburg due to closed roads, and b) we get stuck waiting for feet of snow to melt or crust over.  So we're sending 7 days of food to Fontana Dam, as there's not much to buy there.
Date: 2005-03-18
From: stealth camp 2.5 miles north of NOC

To: stealth camp just south of Hogback Gap
Miles today: 15.5

start: stealth campsite 2.5 miles north of NOCfinish: stealth campsite just south of Hogback Gapmiles: 15.5day: 11Beautiful weather today, sunny and warm.  The day started with heavy frost and fog, but cleared as we climbed up to 5082 ft. Cheoah Bald.  There was an inch or two of snow above 3500 ft.  The surrounding mountains poked up out of the fog / clouds below, looking like islands in a fantasy landscape.We saw no other hikers all day, except for some young day hikers from a Christian group heading south from Stecoah Gap to NOC.  We saw them while we were drying out our gear in the sun at Locust Cove Gap.The climbing was hard today, partly because the guy who put in all the switchbacks must've got fired or something.  I want my switchbacks back.  I think the climb up out of Stecoah Gap was harder than New England, because the grades were not only steep like up north, but it was all dirt and leaves -- no rocks to step up on.But I was also just in low energy mode today.  I was actually almost falling asleep walking.  I wanted a nap badly.  But this kind of nap would've been a serious affair, snug in my sleeping bag.Didn't really have time for that, but we talked ourselves into seeing if we could quickly hitch the 10 miles into Robbinsville, NC, for a cup of tea.  Really whimsical, since we can make our own tea.  We just felt like playing hooky on such a fine day.Well, the magic thumbs worked again.  All told, round trip, including eating at a restaurant, took only 70 minutes.  We ate burgers ans salads at Sweetwater BBQ, run by a really nice lady named Lori (sp?).  She even gave us a discount for being hikers.  Hiker rates for lodging are common, but this is the first time I've seen a dining discount.  Thanks Lori!We also learned that there's a Chinese buffet in town.  Not too many hikers come here, but a great little town.  We were told that a few decades ago things would have been different, unfortunately.  The locals were suspicious of folks on foot, thinking they were government revenuers looking for illegal stills, of which there were (and probably still are) plenty.One thing about this whole stretch of AT so far that deserves comment.  There are vast numbers of huge trees, several dozen that we've seen where 3 or 4 people's arms couldn't get around the trunks.  Since I started paying attention, most of the trees seem to be various kinds of oak, judging by the fallen leaves.On to Fontana by lunch tomorrow.