morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-20
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: scattered clouds

"I never lived in a house yet without there was something wrong with it Gimme a good tent!" Henry LawsonWe had to get up early today to start hiking in order to get to town in time to get to the post office.We made it to the road in plenty of time, and there is a phone to call for a shuttle. That done, we headed to the post office. Three parcels waiting for me - thanks to Marg and Dallas for their bits and pieces - very much appreciated. The first stop after the shower was the laundry. Of course, absolutely every piece of my clothing is skanky and smelly so I am currently wearing my rain gear with nothing on underneath. Not something I intend to do often nor do I recommend it!Xena's parents arrived this afternoon, bringing lots of goodies with them. It was so nice to meet them finally. They are everything Xena said they would be and more. I was made to feel part of a family, which is really nice when you are away from your own.We enter the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (from now on referred to as The Smokies), which will take us 6 nights and 7 days to pass through. There is a fairly good chance of bear sightings in the Smokies...I will have the camera at the ready all the time .It may have been a short mileage day today but it has been so busy. Of course there was the washing to do, but this time we had to organise food for 6.5 days (and fit it in the bloody pack afterwards!). Now, most of us have only had to carry food for 4 or 5 days at a time. Six and a half days of food makes the pack heavy!It is all stowed away in the corner now, ready for an early ship-out tomorrow. Another milestone reached tomorrow: when we pass a particular shelter (I cannot remember which one off the top of my head), we have less than 2000 miles to go to Katahdin. How cool is that?OK, as I am going to be leaving civilisation (ha!) for 7 or so days there may be a bit of a delay in the journal. Don't panic, they are getting done every day, it will just take a little longer for you to get them.I also want to thank everyone for their support during the last week and a bit. I haven't been able to get to the internet for ages (not helped by a power blackout during a storm tonight) but have been told about the guestbook entries even though I haven't actually seen them. Thank you guys! It all means so much to me.
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Newfound gap

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing" Abraham LincolnWhat a gorgeous day for hiking. Sunshine, warmth - tip top day. Even wore the short sleeved top...daring!We were up at 6am to be on the Trail by 8am. As per our usual form, we didn't even end up leaving the house until after 8am - great organising.Jim and Karen dropped us back at Newfound Gap after providing us with a lovely breakfast. Jim and Karen have been just fantastic to us over the last couple of days. We were all made to feel so welcome, it was great. Thank you guys so much for everything you did for us...it is so greatly appreciated.Waiting in the Newfound Gap carpark were Papa Smurf and Flame, some ex-thru hikers out doing some Trail Magic - cookies, boiled eggs, fruit, coffee, sodas...yummy. Thanks guys.When we met up with Mickey-One-Sock the other day, he had warned us about the ice that was over the Trail. Thankfully it had melted somewhat, which made things a bit easier.We ended up setting foot on the Trail at about 9:30am, just a tad after our scheduled time. Today's hike was pretty nice. Of course there were a few mountains to go over but they weren't too bad. Maybe I am getting used to this whole thing!We stopped at Charlie's Bunion, so named in 1929 after Charlie Conner as it apparently resembled a bunion on Charlie's foot. Fabulous views from this rocky outcrop which was created by a landslide after a storm during that year.Today we got to do some real ridge walking. The Trail had maybe a foot to spare on each side, then sheer drops off down the mountain. Very cool.For some reason the feet are hurting today. The rocks don't help, but I think after a couple of days off, hitting the Trail again is a bit of a shock to the system - especially after all the food we ate!We are sleeping at Peck's Corner Shelter tonight - the 4 of us (Heather, Arwen, Leki-less, and moi) along with 4 others. Nice and roomy and at least tonight looks like being a bit warmer than when we were last out here on the Trail. Still going to be chilly though!I have new gloves and a headlamp which I bought in Gatlinburg - the old ones just weren't making the grade.Not sure when we will catch up to Bloody Cactus and Xena as they are planning on leaving Hot Springs the morning of the day we plan to arrive. Hopefully some slackpacking will help us decrease the miles between us. We will catch up though!
Date: 2004-03-27
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

"If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere" Henry KissingerHappy anniversary to me! Today it is 4 weeks since I started the Trail. To think that this time a fortnight ago, I wasn't even considering getting this far.A bit cooler today but still short sleeve shirt weather. On the Trail by 8:15am today - we were the last out of the shelter.The Trail treated us well today, more downs than ups, which is always good. The heart, lungs and legs don't like the uphills; the knees and the feet don't like the downhills.Honey Pie caught up with us at the shelter tonight. He and Hoss zeroed at the NOC for another day after we left. Honey Pie is a fount of useless information. Ask him any question about a TV show or movie and he knows the answer. Freaky but all good fun.The plan for tomorrow is 8 miles into Davenport Gap where we meet Sasha again (dogs aren't allowed in the Smokies). From there we plan to go to the Standing Bear Farm and hopefully slackpack a bit which might help with catching up with Xena and Bloody Cactus.Not much else to tell really. Looking forward to getting into Hot Springs in a few days - I am treating myself to a massage. Yeah baby!
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

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

"Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed." Mark TwainWell, what an interesting night that turned out to be. A guy calling himself 'White Eagle' was at the shelter when we arrived. He seemed harmless enough but proceeded to inform us about his prison time, shooting heroin, and drunken escapades, but that he was quite gentle. He renamed us all: Heather and Arwen, instead of being Camera 1 and Camera 2 were renamed Number 1 and Number 2 (Arwen wasn't too happy with the Number 2 title); Leki was renamed Mexico and I was renamed Turtle, because of a "protective barrier I have around myself". So, the night continues. He has a radio which is nice to listen to. When it was time for sleep, I asked him if he could turn it down, but he turned it off instead. A couple of hours go by. He is sitting by the fire saying things like "Sleep well my friends, the scout will keep watch over you tonight". Quite nice to hear. When he thinks we are all asleep, he turns the radio on softly and I hear him say "And if you complain about the noise Turtle Face I will come over and rip your head clean off your shoulders!" Nice comforting thoughts to go to sleep with!He retired to bed shortly after and was heard by othesr to be coughing and hacking throughout the night - coughing interspersed with "evil" (he had stated he was a seer). Luckily for us, he is headed southbound while the rest of us are going north! Not likely to see him again.Today was a good hiking day. The second part of the Smokies was definitely easier with the majority of it downhill. We did finally exit the Smokies today, so that is another milestone to cross off. Doing the calculations of mileage etc, we have found that, from where we are now to get to Virginia, it is longer than what we have done already. Can't be helped.Spring definitely seems to have taken hold out here, at least the beginnings of it anyway. There seems to be a bit more wildlife out here, especially insects. Lots of squirrels around and more birds too. It is amazing what a bit of heat can do - 77F today. I even unzipped my convertible trousers (hairy legs and all - too hot didn't care)!Tomorrow, we have the assistance of Heather's Aunt Maxi and her husband Jimmy to slack pack 13 miles or so, then we will camp tomorrow night somewhere around Max Patch. Then they are going to help us slack the 18 miles into Hot Springs the day after, our biggest yet. Hopefully it will be a lot easier without the packs as tomorrow looks nasty after the downhills of the last few days!Maxi and Jimmy very generously took us to dinner at Ryan's - an AYCE buffet place. So much food, so little time. Thank you both so much for your help and generosity.So, I am going to sign off now as I am going to try and start early tomorrow morning to give me a bit of a head start (then hopefully they won't be waiting too long for me at Max Patch!). Comfortable bed (well, not a wooden floor) should hopefully make for less snoring from me if Leki-less' theory proves right. Will have to wait and see on that one...
Date: 2004-03-29
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Max Patch Road
Miles today: 12.8

"Nature, time and patience are the three great physicians" ProverbI decided that I was going to get up early to get a head start on the others. Now, for any of you who know me, getting up at 5:30 in the morning is extremely difficult. I did it though, and was back on the trail a little after 6am. The first part of the climb was a pain - winding in and out of valleys between mountains, slowly climbing up. And up, and up.Surprisingly to me, I made it to the shelter for lunch (well, morning tea really) a little after 10am. That was 7.2 miles in 4 hours - with uphills. I was impressed. Maybe the trail legs are starting to kick in. I wouldn't say the ups are easier, but it seems I am handling them better. Love Bug said to me as I was on my way up one mountain "You really power up these don't you?"I am at our designated meeting place to hook up with Maxie and Jimmy and for them to deliver the contents of our packs. The weather was beautiful earlier but has chilled right down now. The clouds don't look too friendly and we are tenting tonight. Hmmm.After getting our gear back and sorting out a new meeting place for pick up of our gear tomorrow, we headed off towards Max Patch, via a water source along the way. When there, we discussed our plans for the next day. Firstly, we would have to go 1.2 miles up over Max Patch to camp, then break camp in the morning, go back down 1.2 miles to give our stuff back to Maxi and Jimmy, then go back up Max Patch to continue on our 18 mile-something day. Needless to say, this didn't wash well with any of us. It is bad enough doing miles that don't count when you are in town, let alone doing the same part of the Trail 3 times.So, we set up camp right there in an area next to the road (a forest road, not a normal road, hardly any traffic). Joining us are Sundance and Skyline who are also going to take advantage of the opportunity to slack pack tomorrow.I am off to bed now as I am going to try for an early start again tomorrow, our biggest day yet.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Max Patch Road

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

"If you live in the past, your life is history"Well, the early start didn't happen (c'mon, 2 mornings in a row...a bit much don't you think?). That and the fact that it had started pissing down with rain about half an hour before my alarm went off. Not a nice day to get out of bed; definitely not a good day to be packing up camp.Maxie and Jimmy arrived with doughnuts and McDonalds and juice - awesome. Loaded the stuff in the back of the car and I was off.Max Patch was to be our first 'real' bald. A bald is a mountain that has no trees on its top. The summit of Max Patch has been used as a landing strip for small planes in the past. Its 392 acre grassy top is kept that way by controlled burning and mowing. It offers 360 degree views and you can see Mt Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Of course, that would have been possible only if it hadn't been socked in by cloud this mornin! I could only see about 20 metres in front of me at any time.Today was to be our biggest yet - 20.6 miles. I was a tad nervous about it, but it turns out I needn't have been. We made it into Hot Springs before dark and in good time (considering I didn't leave until after 8am). It was just before 6:30pm when we arrived. It was like Old School Week when we got into town. Catching up to people who had been days ahead (Xena and Bloody Cactus stayed today instead of hiking out and will stay tomorrow so the whole gang is back together) and finally being able to put a face to the names in the shelter registers was great. We all congregated in the pub (only one in town - Irish Pub) and there were about 25 hikers all sitting around talking. It was fantastic. I am now back in the room I am sharing with Heather and Arwen, showered and definitely ready for some shut eye. There are so many bruises on my body and I have no idea where they came from. Weird. I am on the couch tonight as technically, there are only supposed to be 2 in this room. Que sera sera.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

"It's a great tragedy to have sight but no vision"Town stays can be so stressful. So much to do in so little time. Even more so today as I wanted to get all my stuff organised before I had...my massage. I didn't want all the good work undone by packing.Needless to say, it was raining today and there have been several unconfirmed reports of 2.5 inches of snow in the mountains. Yes, the mountains we are going into tomorrow.We have all had the pleasure and honour of meeting Baltimore Jack. He is a Trail Legend who has hiked the Trail 8 times so far - a wealth of knowledge and an extremely encouraging and supportive man.Back to the massage. The only spot left for today was a half hour massage that Heather had booked. Fortunately for me, Heather was so very kind to give the spot to me! Thanks Heather! Kraig (yes, with a K) was my masseur and he was great. With only a half hour, I asked him to concentrate on my back, neck and shoulders. It was awesome. Damn shame I am leaving tomorrow!The others arrived at 5pm for our spa. Very hot, very refreshing, and very nice. Very worthwhile. Again, damn shame I am leaving tomorrow!We are currently sitting in the hotel watching 'Good Will Hunting' - of course we have all seen it 50 million times. Guess it's time to hit the hay - early morning tomorrow...again. Ugh. Oh well, must be done.
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

"Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important" T.S.EliotI got another early start this morning - on the Trail by 7am. The plan was to get to our destination shelter early enough that we could get space. Apparently the other night there were so many people at the shelter that lots had to tent. In the snow. Not fun.Consequently, I arrived at the shelter by 1pm. Eleven miles (a lot of uphill too) in 6 hours or so - not bad. Xena and Bloody Cactus arrived not long after I had, disappointed that I was there first. Apparently they had been up here the other day and knew of a short cut to the shelter. Their plans for April Fool's Day had been to beat me to the shelter and be tucked up in their sleeping bags when I arrived. Foiled!We got snow today. The higher elevations had it a few nights ago and it was still on the ground. There was fog everywhere and it was hard to see very far, not that there were any views to be had today.I was so cold when I got to the shelter that I hopped into my sleeping bag and made lunch from there. Someone said my lips were blue, which is not really a good thing. A hot dinner of mashed potato and tuna followed by a hot apple cider drink was just the ticket to get the temperature up.This shelter only sleeps 5 (hence the rush to get here early) but we have 6 squeezed in tonight. More people, more heat!Hands are getting cold so it is time to sign off for the evening. Toodles!
Date: 2004-04-02
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: moderate rain

"Make happy those who are near and those who are far will come" Chinese proverbI got up earlier than the others (Bloody Cactus and Xena) this morning as I knew that Heather, Arwen and Leki were getting picked up by Arwen's Dad, Jim, and his Uncle John, between 8:00 and 8:30am. I have a bit of a cold coming on and figured that a night under a real roof would be better than a night in another shelter (in the snow). I left the shelter at 7:50am, not really expecting to make it 3.7 miles down the mountain in time. . I covered it in 1 hour and 10 minutes - and, I did make it in time. Thank goodness. We have a full house here tonight: John and his wife, Pat, and their daughter, EJ; Jim and his wife, Beryl; Betty and her husband, Bud, plus the 4 of us hikers. Oh, and 3 dogs. We have been in the kitchen helping to cook (something I have really missed): cornbread and a casserole type of thing that looks and smells delicious, as well as several other delights that we cannot wait to start eating. I am not entirely sure what the plans for tomorrow involve, but I do know that slack packing is going to happen. It is currently drizzling with rain outside and I am rather glad that I didn't end up hiking through that today. Of course, that rain turns to snow in the higher elevations. As I was coming down the mountain this morning, the snow was coming down horizontally. It was cold. Bloody cold. But it is nice to be under a roof with lovely people. Thanks John and Pat for your hospitality. Fantastic.
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Allen Gap

To: Devil Fork Gap
Miles today: 20.2

"And a voice said out of the gloom to me:'Smile and be happy for things could be much worse'. So I smiled and was happy, and behold, things did get much worse."Hiking the Appalachian Trail with rocks is difficult enough. Hiking the Appalachian Trail with rocks that are covered with a foot of snow or horrible slush is just downright mad. We did it today.We started out at Allen Gap with John and Pat, Jim and Beryl, Betty and Bud and Julie, EJ, and Ryan who were planning on doing about 5 miles or so of the Trail with us. EJ was by far the fastest of all of us (she is 13) and got way ahead of the group. Worry ensued when there was no response from our shouts. Arwen hiked fast and managed to catch up to her. EJ had thought that everyone was hiking to the shelter at the 5 mile mark, not doing 5 miles total.We got to the first shelter at around 11:30 and had a snack, planning on having lunch at the next shelter, 6 miles away. Only problem was that we hadn't counted on the foot of snow that had fallen. It was hard going. We didn't get to the second shelter until nearly 4pm and we were exhausted. If we had had all of our gear with us (we were slackpacking) we probably would have stayed in the shelter. But this shelter was already packed with thru hikers, some of whom had zeroed there that day to try and dry some gear out. Bags and gear hanging from every available space.I found out that my boots are not waterproof. When we got to the shelter, I took off my socks and was able to wring a substantial amount of water out of them. Twice. The people in the shelter were kind enough to let us use the fire to dry out ourselves and our socks.Of course, we still had 8.6 miles to go at this stage to get to the car that John had left for us. Luckily, we had figured that we would be doing a bit of night hiking, so had brought our head lamps. Only thing was, we hadn't counted on hiking for 3 hours in the dark and didn't get to the car until 9:30pm. We were hiking for 13 hours today and were totally exhausted when we got to the car.John had left a mobile phone in the car so we could call when we were leaving. Of course, it took us half an hour before we were in an area with mobile service. We had originally planned on finishing the day by 7pm so you can imagine there were some worried people back at the house.I think sleep is going to come very easily tonight. Once I take a pain killer
Date: 2004-04-04
From: Devil Fork Gap

To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0

"Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn't we?"After our hellish day yesterday, we made a pact that we wouldn't discuss today's plans until this morning, after we had had a decent night's sleep.That sleep lasted until nearly 10am for some of us. All of us were sore and moving like cripples. Even Sasha was limping, which was causing concern in our camp. Unfortunately Sasha doesn't have any way of letting us know what is hurting her.Finally, a decision was reached. Another zero day. Time to re-group and organise the things that needed to be done before hitting the Trail again. For me, that meant purchasing new boots. The toenails are getting beyond a joke. The two second toenails are black and now bruising is creeping across the right big toenail. Plus the amount of water that got into my shoes yesterday means they are going to take ages to dry. Consequently, I am now the owner of a pair of Vasque boots. Let's hope they do the trick.For most of this evening we have been planning the next few days. Weighing on our minds is the fact that there is supposed to be more snow on the way. After checking the journals of several other hikers, it is still difficult to ascertain what the conditions are like where we are going to be. Varying reports of up to 2 feet of snow is not very encouraging.The plan is to ring Miss Janet's (a hiker hostel in Erwin) and find out the latest from someone who has been through recently. Plus, we are taking Sasha to the vet to have her feet checked out. Heather and Arwen have booties for her, but they are stuck in a bounce box in Hot Springs that had not arrived by the time we left.Unfortunately, packing cannot be done until the morning as my sleeping bag goes in the bottom of my pack. So, I guess I will just have to sit here and watch 'Finding Nemo'. Life is tough!
Date: 2004-04-05
From: Devil Fork Gap

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: clear sky

""No one tests the depth of a river with both feet" Ashanti proverbSasha had an appointment at the vet this morning. The vet said she was doing OK - a little wear on her pads but doing well considering. We think that Sasha may have faked the limp to give us an extra day off. Wise dog. That extra day did the world of good.It was sad to say good bye to everyone this morning. John and Pat, thank you so much for opening your home and your hearts to us. You have no idea how much it meant to me. Betty and Bud, thank you. You know what for. Both Arwen and Heather have such wonderful families who have made me feel so welcome. Thank you all so much.It isn't really a good idea to break in new boots without bringing your old ones. OK, that may be an obvious thing to some of you. I didn't bring the old ones. Consequently, I made the decision to hike the last .8 miles to the shelter barefoot! A bit chilly but no major damage. I think a change of socks for tomorrow is the go. I think my current pair of socks (not the liners) are too thick. I will go back to the old socks tomorrow and see if that is any better.Still some snow around today but nowhere near as much as Saturday. Thank goodness. We are heading up to nearly 6000ft tomorrow so it will be interesting to see what snow is around up there.I am looking forward to a night of 12 hours sleep again. When in town, with access to electricity, we tend to stay up until all hours of the night, then have to get up early the next morning. At least out here we can catch up on some of the lost sleep!