morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-09
From: Unnamed Campsite

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 23 Unnamed Campsite to Hot Springs, NC. The day started a little earlier than it had the last few days. I woke everyone at 0630 to make our push to Hot Springs, NC. As Chelsi was a Trombone Major at FSU, we discussed trombone music during breakfast. It was nice. The group hit the trail at 0800 led by Peace Foot. It was a pretty, lush, walk up and down several drainages until the last part of the day. It was the first day in a while that was both hot, humid, and little wind. Fortunately, it was mostly down hill! As we descended to Hot Springs, I saw my first blooming Mountain Laurel. They are so pretty! We also heard the first signs of civilization. Mostly a ton of lawn mowers. I am not sure if Monday was mowing day, but it seamed if everyone was doing it. Hot Springs is a unique little town in that the Appalachian Trail runs right through town instead of several miles outside. Main Street in fact. It is not a big town, with a diner, a tavern, Hillbilly Grocery Store, and Dollar General as the food options. And a gas station. Our group booked rooms at the historic Sunnybank house. For the last 30 years it has been run by a man named Elmer and known as Elmer's Sunnyside Inn. We checked in, took a tour of the home, dropped off our gear, took a shower, and we set off to the laundromat. I was particularly pleased as I found a shirt and shorts that fit in the hiker box so I didn't have to wear my rain gear all evening! The tavern was next to the laundromat so we had dinner and a few drinks. It was great! I had the Bob's Burger (blue cheese, bacon, fried onions) and a couple of beers. I opted for the side salad instead of the fries. It was all delicious! Plus how could I go wrong with a burger named for meElmer's has a nice patio out back and some other hikers joined us and we all laughed about the foibles of the trail. Wade joined us and tomorrow is his first day on the trail. He attended his daughter's college graduation, always a good thing to do, and decided to start where he thought he might be if he had started in April. Poor Wade was given beer, liquor, and a lot of advice! I am never one to stay up too late and headed up to bed. I cannot say how nice it is to be clean in real sheets. Getting to Hot Springs ended a long section for me. I had been on the trail continuously since Franklin. The Smokies were definitely trying, but all in all, I am very satisfied with the last 12 days of hiking.
Date: 2016-05-10
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 24 Zero Day in Hot SpringsIt was very, very nice to sleep in a bed with real linens. I slept very well. I woke up before breakfast was ready and went and caught up with PeaceFoot on the porch. It was a nice cool morning. He decided to sweep the porch and I helped him with that. Breakfast was ready and we all sat down at the table with Elmer. He asked us a few questions about where we were from, etc. He had hosted Earl Schaefer, the first man to hike the AT when he was rehiking the AT 50 years later. Very neat. After breakfast, we adjourned to one of the rooms and proceeded to give Wade a pack shakedown. That saved him a lot of weight! I mostly just relaxed in the couch and read a very interesting book about the North American Indian Tribes. After we got Wade on his way, we all went out and took apart our own packs and food bags to see what we would need for the next 5 days. I needed some more dinners and snacks. By that time it was lunch time. I walked across to the diner and I had fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, and pizza. All were surprisingly good! The rest of the crew came along and Dave had all you can eat beans and cornbread. I had never heard of such a thing, but he liked it. Helen dared me to drink the ranch dressing, but lost on the double dare. She was feeling pretty rough the rest of the day!We walked to the local outfitter, then the Dollar General, which serves as the competing grocery to the Hillbilly store. I had the misfortune of pulling my credit card out of the machine before the clerk was ready. This caused a huge kerfuffle and really messed up the poor clerk for quite some time. I pretty much shut down Dollar General for a good 10 minutes! We dropped off our food and relaxed the porch. We were joined by Fun-Size, a normal sized guy from Oregon. He had hiked the CDT last year and is making big miles on the AT this year. We may not see him again after today. Later, Repo also joined us on the porch. He is from the Winston Salem area and is not a car repo type guy. We finally headed to dinner. It was not as good tonight. I had chicken wings and salad. That shortened dinner somewhat, we all went and visited on the porch for a short bit, and I hit the rack.My rest day was somewhat restful. However, I am now out of the "zone". We discussed it before bed and it is bothersome. Town is really nice, but it has a tendency to suck you in and you forget how to be a hiker. All of the cares of the world come back. On the trail you only care about hiking, eating, and a place to sleep at the end of the day. It is a very simple life that leaves much time for reflection. I am glad I took a Zero, but it is time to get back to the trail.
Date: 2016-05-11
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 25 Hot Springs to Spring Mountain ShelterI did not sleep as well as I had the night before. It stormed early and it woke me up. I went out on the porch and watched the rain. About 8:15, the group walked over to the diner and had breakfast. It was good! Philip paid which was very nice. After breakfast, we headed back to the hostel, packed our stuff and were out by 11:00. I stopped by Dollar General to get a thing or two and walked down to the laundromat, where I had a few things in. Hiker's abounded in Hot Springs despite the weather. However, none seamed too eager to get walking. About 12:30, the group finally got out of town in a driving rain. The French Broad River was beautiful as we crossed then walked along its banks for a bit. It was flowing fast and rising with the rain. We made a steep climb up the hill overlooking the river and town. There had been a forest fire and I was confused by the burn pattern. I believe it was set as it skipped acres and burned again. Lover's Leap was also a topic of discussion. A very pretty overlook, but why would lover's want to leap from there to certain doom? After much climbing and 11 miles, we came to the Spring Mountain Shelter. We elected to camp near the shelter rather than sleep in it as the weather was supposed to be very nice. Sam built a fire and we were joined by Chad and Hazel. Chad hurt his ankle trying to stomp fire wood. The ankle looked OK, but he appeared to be hurt. We all ate and enjoyed our dinners. I had a pre made Indian dish. It was good! We played cards for a bit, a fun luxury, and wrapped it up for the evening. A productive day all in all.
Date: 2016-05-12
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 26 Spring Mountain Shelter to Jerry's Cabin Shelter. 300 Miles! It rained hard starting at 0300. I did not have everything perfectly rigged as the weather report and the skies did not indicate it before bed. A few things got wet and a lot of things got muddy from splatter. As a result I just did not sleep as well. I had my favorite oatmeal, pop tarts and instant breakfast to start the day. As a result of the mud, we did not leave until almost 10. Yikes! We checked up on injured Chad and got to hiking. There was one particularly pretty spot that went along an exposed ridge. It was quite a view and fortunately no Thunderstorms were too close. We pulled into camp about 6:30 pm and got right to making camp as it looked like it might rain at any moment. The Jerry's Cabin Shelter is right on the 300 mile mark! Wow! I feel very good about that. But tired! It was an Ok day, but not as productive as any of us wanted. We decided to hit it earlier tomorrow. I will wake everyone up as usual.
Date: 2016-05-13
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: Unnamed Campsite
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 27 Jerry's Cabin to Unnamed Camp SpotIt thunder stormed and rained hard starting at 0100. However, this time everything was pretty ship shape. I woke up to check on my stuff and noticed I still got a little splatter, but not bad. Splatter is where rain drops hit the ground and bounce dirt, duff, or other raindrops up under out Lauer of the tent. Satisfied, I went back to sleep and slept better than any other night out. The rain was pretty steady and was so soothing on my tent. I woke up at 0630 and everyone else at 0720. I just have the slows in the morning and it takes me a little longer to get ready. Part of it is I am so particular about my gear and how it goes in my pack. Philip and I crossed wires and he was a little later getting up. Our goal was to bust out by 0800 and we made 0840 in the rain. Not bad, but not good. Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity. The rain is marvelous for the flora and fauna, but terrible for the trail. It was very, very, muddy for the first half of the day. Around noon, the sun came out. When we entered a beautiful pasture, we stopped for lunch and laid out our tents and gear to dry. It is amazing what a difference it makes to have clean, dry gear. It saves quite a bit of weight. After lunch we moved on and caught up with Wade from the hostel. He has decided on the trail name of Carry On. He is doing well. He gave us food as he had about too many days too many and was going to throw it out. I took it!It was a very pretty afternoon to hike. A cold front came through and it was a pleasant change. We made it to camp around 7:00 pm. We made 18.9 miles. Not bad with our breaks. We crossed Interstate 26. I will be pretty excited to cross 90. I had instant potatoes, ramen, and tuna. I also added Sriracha and Olive Oil. Very good! Philip shared jalape±o Cheetos and Sam added a Nutter Butter for everyone. I also ate a Snickers. It really tasted good!It really cooled down as soon as the sun went behind the hill and we all turned in early. A productive day!
Date: 2016-05-14
From: Unnamed Campsite

To: No Business Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 28 Unnamed Camp to No Business ShelterIt was colder last night. Fortunately, I still did not need to wear all of my clothes, so it was not too cold. I woke up at 0650 and got my stuff together. At 0713, I played reveille on my phone. That woke everyone, and much to my surprise, no complaining. In fact they liked it! Quite a crew we have.After a leisurely breakfast, very leisurely, we rolled out of camp at 0850. I was a little sad about the fact that in better weather, getting up earlier, we left later. Oh well, tomorrow is another opportunity to excel. I was a little bit of a grumpy bear as we left camp as I got some news. We crawled up the first hill and I commented that I hoped we could make Maine by my birthday. Everyone was appropriately irritated and told me we would make it. Right after, we hiked through a beautiful meadow and that cheered me up. I also saw some very pretty fields of flowers beneath the trees and this was also fantastic. Eventually we made it to Big Bald. It was much like Max Patch with a grassy top and fabulous 365 degree views. However, it was really blowing and very cold. We all layered up, had a snack, took some photos, and hiked on. The majority of the trail was down hill for the rest of the day. Other than a few isolated steep spots, it was pretty gradual, too. That is where you can make miles! After lunch, Sam took the lead and set a very fast pace. That was the last we saw of her she hiked so fast. I told her I would never be critical of her hiking abilities! We ended up getting to camp before 5:00pm and having a relaxing dinner. Sam built a fire and I had Tuna helper. It was good. I brought out the Sriracha and Olive Oil for the group. It is amazing how much better a lot of camp dishes are with a little seasoning and spice. We played a few rounds of cards and then it was time for bed. Today was a quick productive day. We pounded out 17 quick miles. We had relatively good weather and did not get rained on. Very nice! Tomorrow, we hope to be to Erwin, Tennessee by 1100. We will resupply, do laundry, and stay the night. We plan to depart Monday.
Date: 2016-05-17
From: Unnamed Campsite MM 354.8

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 31 Campsite at MM 354 to Clyde Smith Shelter. The morning arrived and it was raining. I slept great after sleeping poorly in Erwin. We packed up and were on the trail at a reasonable time. We had some nice views on this section of the trail. It was also fairly smooth so we made good time. The rain stopped after a while and it was a beautiful afternoon. We arrived at the Clyde Smith Shelter around 3:30 pm and set up camp. We all had great, level tent sites and there was plenty of wood around, so we built a nice fire. Philip, Sam, and I played Rummy and had a nice time. Helen read and PeaceFoot just watched and visited. After a while some other folks stopped by and we had a nice visit. It started to get dark, hiker midnight was declared, and we all called it a night. It was a very productive 15 miles for us. Nothing remarkable, just a nice day.
Date: 2016-05-18
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overland Shelter (The Barn)
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 32 We got up, but started a little late. It was nice weather as we woke up, but as soon as we got going, a layer of fog rolled in. We were still able to get some good views and we climbed quite a bit. We climbed Roan Mountain, which is over 6000 feet. It had a very pretty pine forest at the top. It is also the site of an old resort. It was right on the state line, so if you were on the TN side you could drink, but the NC side you could not.We walked a little further and came to the Roan Mountain Shelter. It is the highest on the AT. I found it a bit creepy! We made a very Rocky descent and made our way down to Carver's Gap and then walked back up to Jane's Bald. Both were beautiful! It was Dad's birthday and I tried unsuccessfully to give him a ring.We made about six more miles to the Overland Shelter, otherwise know as The Barn. The bottom with the view was full, so we slept up top. We were glad we did as it began to rain not long after we arrived. The mice were active in the night, which kind of kept me from sleeping as well as I would have liked. The guys below smoked a ton of weed and that was bothering me as well. As it turned out, my water bladder was not screwed 100% tight and the guys below complained that it was dripping on them. They asked if I could stop the drip. I said sure. I also asked if they were done smoking. They said they were and the situation was ended. We had a fun day all in all. It was productive.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: Overland Shelter (The Barn)

To: Van Go Memorial Hostel
Miles today: 22.0

Day 33 Overland Shelter to Van Go Memorial HostelWe got going around 0830 and it was raining and soggy. The trail was a mess! Just mud and goop for miles. This was supposed to be a very picturesque section and unfortunately, we did not see much. A couple of items of note. We passed from NC to TN for the last time. PeaceFoot's niece brought us pizza and beer for lunch at a road intersection! Wow! How nice. We went over 400 miles! Amazing!After lunch we entered a Sasquatch Protection Area. It was still muddy and goopy. We saw no sign of Sasquatch. We decided to go to a hostel that was a half mile off the trail to get out of the rain. We were a little nervous as this place was in the middle of Nowhere! When we arrived at the Van Go Memorial hostel, we were greeted by Scotty, the owner. He was giving us the low down when PeaceFoot said, "You don't remember me do you?" Scotty looked at him for a second and said , "Dave!" It turns out PeaceFoot and Scotty had hiked the last two weeks of the PCT together. Small, small world!We managed 22 miles in rough conditions. This was a good break to take a shower, laundry, and sleep in a dry bunk.
Date: 2016-05-20
From: Van Go Memorial Hostel

To: Braemer Catle Hostel
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

We got a bit of a late start as we looked at photos from PeaceFoot and Scotty's PCT exploits. I will say, the photos were grand. 19 years ago! We found out Dave is 57. You would never know. We also learned that Scotty is an Engineer just like Mr. Scott in Star Trek. His place is entirely off the grid. It rained a little and the hiking was once again a muddy slog. As the heavens were really supposed to open up that evening and we needed supplies, we decided to go to Hampton, TN. We walked to town and stopped by the Dollar General and the corner restaurant. The Braemar Castle Hostel was surprisingly nice. I shared a room with PeaceFoot, Sam, and Helen. Philip was the odd man out. He paid five dollars more and was lucky enough to get his own room. We decided to have movie night and watched Ferris Beuler's Day Off. I had forgotten how funny that show was. The heavens did open. With that it was time for bed.
Date: 2016-05-21
From: Braemer Catle Hostel

To: Vanventer Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 35 Braemar Castle to Vanventer Shelter It was rainy up and over Pond Mountain. Something that I ate in town definitely did not agree with me. I did not feel well at all as we hiked around a pretty Lake Watauga. We crossed over the dam and climbed several thousand feet. When we arrived at the shelter, we found it was full and overrun by scouts. We backtracked a bit and camped on our own. It was actually better than the shelter despite the rain in the night. My shoes and socks not being dry for days were starting to take a toll. They smelled awful!! Even washing in town did not help. Just the way it is during these weather systems. We hiked 16 trail miles and one to get to the trail. We felt good about doing so.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Vanventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

Day 33We got up hoping to get more miles in to reach Damascus, VA and resupply the next day. It had rained in the night making it even more boggy. We hiked up a very steep hill and got back on the trail. We hiked hard all morning and came to a nice field and decided to pause there for lunch and relax as the sun was finally out.While there, we were passed by a guy named Michael. After a while, we see a guy coming back southbound and its Michael. So I say, "Hey Michael, what's up?" He threw his arms in the air and said we are stuck here. We can't go on. He doesn't know what to do. Might have to stay where we are for the night. I am thinking to myself what in the world is balling up the trail that we might have to be done at 2:00 pm! So I ask him what is the matter? He says that there are cows blocking the trail and some of them have babies and he is afraid they could be dangerous. I went from concerned to highly amused. I asked him where he was from and he said New Jersey. Yep. So we got him calmed down and I said we would get him through. We got our stuff together and walked to the pasture where the cows were located. I can hear the panic in his voice. "They have all congregated at where the trail goes. They were more spread out before!" I said no problem. The cows had all moved to the trail up and over as it was sunny and that was the only shade. As we were making our way up to the cows, a really neat thing happened. A cow dropped a calf right in front of us. I had never seen that before. Very neat. I clapped and yelled a little and the cows parted without hesitation. We now call Michael, Matador. We had 9 more miles to go and hiked hard. We made it to our campsite around 7:00 pm and were just setting up when the heavens opened. It was cold, rainy, and miserable for the rest of the evening. We ate our dinners in our tents and called it an evening!
Date: 2016-05-23
From: Abingdon Shelter

To: Damascus, Virginia, Woodchuck Hostel
Miles today: 10.0

Day 37 Abingdon Shelter to Woodchuck Hostel, Damascus, VAWe got up at 0630. It was bright, clear, chilly morning for May. It sure beat the rain of the last few days, though. We were able to depart at 0820, which was very good for us. Once we got going the trail was muddy, but gentle up and down hill. This made for very fast trail. Coupled with the excitement of making it into town, we arrived into town around 11:40. We checked into the Woodchuck Hostel, set up our tents in the back yard, and headed to lunch. I had a Reuben sandwich and salad with root vegetables for lunch. It was good! Then I made the mistake of going to the grocery store hungry and it really affected my buying. We also decided to grill out for dinner. Of course, I never do anything half way and put out a total spread of veggies and steak, cheese and bread. It was really great! We had enough to share and still had enough for lunch the next day!At dinner, we were entertained by another Matador incident. This cat got in Matador's tent, the same guy who was petrified of the cows yesterday. Anyway, he would put his hand under the rain fly to get the cat out and it would bat and try and bite his hand. Of course he would recoil. Well, eventually he picked up that end of the tent and got the cat out. Of course the cat was having a great time so it ran right back in! So he closed the door and eventually got the cat back out doing the same pawing, biting and recoiling routine! So with the door closed, the cat ran underneath the rain fly. Poor Matador pretty much took down his whole tent trying to get the cat out and keep it out. We all agreed that it was one of the funniest and most entertaining things we had seen in a long time! The hostel was fun. There was a basketball hoop and corn hole. We played two games of corn hole and tied 1-1. After that it was pretty time for bed.
Date: 2016-05-24
From: Damascus, Virginia, Woodchuck Hostel

To: Unnnamed Tent Site MM 475
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 38 Woodchuck Hostel to Unnamed Tent Site MM 475I awoke at 0645 and started to get things together. It was a marvelously, beautiful May Day. The sky was a clear blue and the sun felt great. We all ate too much for breakfast and learned Mr. Chuck is in his 60's and is from the Kalispell, Montana area. He also did forestry. Hence Woodchuck.... He hiked the AT 3 years ago and liked Virginia, so he bought a place and made it into a hostel. After breakfast, we laid out all of our gear in the sun to dry. We also started our food. With all that I bought, I had to give some away as it would not fit into my pack. Plus I already had Cheetos puffs strapped to the back. I weighed my pack without food and water. My base weight is down to 13.5 pounds!! Sadly, my total lack weight is 33 with one liter of water. That is 18 pounds of food for 4 days hiking. 18 pounds should last 8 days! I guess I am training for my expedition hike. Philip also overbought, so I didn't feel as bad.One other item of note. The cat went back into Catador's tent today. He exclaimed, "You have got to be f"&'&&ng kidding me!" We all laughed. The cat did not last in there as long today. Helen asked him what he had in there. No answer....Speaking of Helen, she made 10 of 14 free throws and won a snickers bar! She has amazing hand eye coordination from playing water polo. She catches everything! Hiking with Helen, we learned that her team won a National Championship and a runner up while she played. She is very competitive!We played one more game of corn hole and then set off about 2:00. We stopped at Dollar General, the Post Office, and the outfitter for last minute items. We headed out of town about 3:00, determined to do 10 miles. We ended up doing 8 so that is not too bad. We got camp set up next to a nice stream and built a fire. We roasted hot dogs and had a nice dinner. It was great to relax on a sunny morning. We needed it! We will have to make more miles tomorrow to reach our goals.