morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-05
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

I ate hot quinoa cereal and peaches for breakfast- always nice to fortify myself for a hard climb. This morning's hike would start with a 3-mile uphill to Clingman's Dome (elevation 6643 ft.), the highest mountain east of the Rockies, and the highest mountain on the AT.I had heard stories of the difficulty of the climb up Clingman's Dome. I didn't think it was as bad as "they" made it out to be. Sure, it was steep and rocky and muddy. And long. I went at my own pace, took breaks and set my mind to it.When I reached the paved path to the lookout, I was surprised. There already? "Davey Jones" arrived just as I was taking off my pack. I asked for the time and he told me 11:00. Wow. Surprised again. I made good time. The view from the observation deck was a bust. It was foggy 360 degrees around. I couldn't see a thing. Taking a few minutes to eat a snack and have a drink, I looked at my guidebook. Mt. Collins Shelter was only three miles away. I would get there very early- 2:00. I could walk an extra 3 1/2 miles past that and get to Newfound Gap around 5 or 6. Maybe I could catch a shuttle or a ride from tourists and get into Gatlinburg. Tom was arriving the next day. I was anxious to get cleaned up before he saw me; it had been 5 days since I last had a bath or washed my clothes. As I descended Clingman's Dome, the plan took shape in my mind and I walked as quickly as possible. At one point, I turned a corner and noticed a hiker sitting on a large rock, pack setting on the ground. It was Tom! I started crying and by the time I reached him, I was a blubbering mess. He had driven down a day earlier than he originally told me and hiked about 5 miles to meet me.We hiked to Newfound Gap together. It began raining. Tom had his first AT experience hiking in hail. He observed that I had gotten stronger in my month on the trail. We were able to hike our longest day to date 10.8 miles. Sore and tired, we made it to the parking lot where the car was parked. What a joy to unload our packs into the trunk and take off our boots.
Date: 2012-04-08
From: Newfound Gap

To: Ice Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We spent the last two days as Zero Days in Gatlinburg with family. So glad that Sawyer came to see Gramma! I ate more food in Gatlinburg than I had probably eaten the last five days. We had a teary goodbye to Joe and Krystal at Newfound Gap. It was wonderful to see them. Glad to have Tom continue hiking with me, it would have been very hard otherwise.A decent 3-mile uphill to the Ice Spring Shelter. We arrived very early; around 2:00. Normally, I would have liked to make more miles in a day, but the Great Smoky Mountain National Park has RULES. Hikers must stay at designated shelters or campsites or receive a fine. We didn't have time to continue 7.5 miles to the next shelter, so had to stop for the night.Another RULE is that section hikers who have reservations have priority at the shelters. Thru-hikers can only fill in sleeping space in the shelters after the reservation holders. IF and only IF the shelter is full, then thru-hikers can set up tents near the shelter. If a hiker is found tenting and the shelter is not full, they face a fine also. So, while we set up our sleeping bags in a shelter space, we weren't really sure until bedtime if we could occupy that space. As it was, the shelter was full with thru-hikers and there were four tents outside. There were two young men who were avid bird watchers tenting outside. The one told us that they already had found 50 different kinds of birds. That is amazing. Wish I knew what to look for; here I am walking through these beautiful forests and missing so much right around me. I did learn what a black-faced junko was, so felt glad to know that.
Date: 2012-04-09
From: Ice Spring Shelter

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

It was so cold this morning when we awoke. One hiker was "cowboy camping", which means that he slept under the stars outside without any shelter. Someone announced "30 degrees!" That's what the thermometer on his pack said. Whether that was accurate, or not, we had no way to verify. But, it sure FELT like 30 degrees. Today's trail was one of the better ones so far. Spectacular views at several points. Layers upon layers of mountains in various shades and shadows. Tom counted at least 8 layers of mountains stretching to the horizon.Mostly, I was tired today. I didn't sleep well in the shelter and hadn't really slept more than a few hours a night for several weeks. I felt like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" walking through the field of poppies. My eyes were heavy, my feet were heavy, and my pack was heavy. At lunch we met "Gung-Ho" from Michigan. She was hoping to meet me on the trail. Her friend, Ann, was following me on Trail Journals and gave her instructions to greet me if we met. This is the second time that I met someone on the trail who had read my trail journal. Thank you, Ann & Gung-Ho, for encouraging me on my guest book!Pulled in to the shelter early- around 3:00. By 4:00, the shelter was full and 2 tents were already up. Rumor is that tonight's temps will be aound 20 degrees.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: few clouds

It was cold upon waking, but no where near the predicted 20 degrees. Packing up efforts were hindered and slow; twelve people all trying to do the same thing in a small space. We were some of the last to leave this morning.Originally, we planned to hike only 5.2 miles to Tri Corner Knob Shelter. The trail was not hard and we made it there by 12:30. The weather was very cold and windy and we had a choice to make. We could stop at this shelter and be cold the rest of the day, or we could keep hiking and stay reasonably warm.We chose to make a hot beverage, eat lunch and push on to the next shelter 7.7 miles away. It would be our longest day yet, totalling 12.9 miles. "Superwolf" was just leaving the shelter when we arrived. The loud, rowdy group we had encountered two days earlier had spent the night there. He didn't sleep much, so decided to go back to sleep after everyone moved out in the morning. He is a strong hiker, so could easily afford the time.Despite sore knees, we hiked as fast as possible. Since we were hiking at ridge line, we felt the full strength of the wind's icy blasts. When we were on the windward side of the mountain, we would put on our gloves and hats. On the leeward side, we would be shielded from the wind and feel too warm. Off would come the outerwear. Just when we felt over warm in our jackets, the trail would turn and we would be blasted by the wind again.At one point, on the descent down Mt. Guyot, there was metal wreckage strewn about from a plane crash. I imagined how terrifying that must have been for those inside the plane. Rescue efforts would have taken a long time. One piece of the metal was in the shape of a cross.We hiked four miles steadily down to Cosby Knob Shelter. It was a welcome sight. Coming in to camp at 7:00, I counted 18 bear bags already hung on the cables. The shelter was already full with sleeping hikers. The only level tent sites were already occupied. Tom found the best site possible and erected our tent. We had a terrible night's sleep on the sloped tent site. Both of us slid down into the same corner and neither one could get comfortable for long. We were safe, warm and dry and we were together. We were thankful.
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

All downhill, all day. My right knee hurt most of the day, even with the knee support. I tried really hard not to be grumpy. The lack of a good night's sleep made it hard to appreciate anything today. Tom let me lead and set the hiking pace to what was comfortable for my knee.I left the trail at Davenport Gap for a few day's rest and relaxation. I had not been sleeping more than a few hours each night and my knee was consistently hurting both day and night. I had missed Tom more than I realized. After 39 days, hiking was getting harder, not easier. I decided to listen to my body and rest. I did want to explain about the "bear bag" mentioned in yesterday's entry. It is important to keep our food out of reach of bears, skunks, raccoons, mice and etc. This is done by putting all of our food, drinks, sunblock, lip balm, toothpaste, and anything else that has any scent into a stuff sack. The sack is then hung from a tree limb, high enough that the bear can't reach. Also, far enough from the tree that a bear can't climb the tree and reach for the sack. Most times, it is hard to hang a bear bag because it is hard to find a tree limb that works "just right". At several shelters, the volunteers have erected a cable system to help hikers hang their bear bags. I took this picture before taking my bag down in the morning. There is a cable going across with two metal cones on each end. Then, there are pulleys diagonally down to where the hiker can reach. You unfasten the pulley from the tree, pull down the hooks, attach your bag and then pull the cables so that the bag rises up, and refasten the cable to the tree. Very ingenious. Convenient, too, for us hikers.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Erwin, TN

To: Curly Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: light rain

When Patriot left Davenport Gap, I went home with him. I needed to eat. I needed to sleep. I needed to rest my knee. However, I did follow The Canadian Geese's advice, and did not quit on a bad day. Instead, before I left the trail, I fixed the day that I would return. That way, I would be focused on my recovery and not on the lure of a soft bed, real pillows and a flush toilet.This is where I need to introduce my non-hiking friends to two new phrases. The first, "HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE", is the catch-phrase of the AT. It's used to say, hey, don't judge my hiking and I won't judge yours.We all have expectations of what we think the thru-hike should be. Purists will walk every single mile with a full pack. Others will "blue blaze" and take detours or scenic routes marked for a few miles with blue blazes, then return to the white blazed AT. Some will "slack pack" by hiking the trail during the day and sleeping in town at night, not carrying a full pack. But me, I was a "YELLOW BLAZE"-er. This is the most frowned upon. The yellow blaze refers to the yellow traffic paint on a street. Thus, the yellow blazer has travelled the mileage in a car, not by hiking. Gasp! I'll admit right here, right now, to all of my hiker friends that I yellow blazed 106.6 miles. I hope to return and do the missing miles.It was hard to decide where to return to the trail. If I returned where I got off, then I would be hiking alone again. I don't know if I was ready for that. I contacted the A-Team, who started Springer when I did. They would be in Erwin and welcomed me as a tag-along. So, here I am back on the trail. I feel better, I am eating better, and I feel connected. We may part ways later on, we may not. For now, I am truly greatful to be on the AT at all.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Curly Maple Gap Shelter

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: light rain

It rained hard during the night. I was glad to be sleeping on the bottom platform of the shelter. To me, the rain was so LOUD on the metal roof. It would have been worse sleeping on the top platform.I woke up early while it was still dark. Couldn't get back to sleep, so laid in my warm sleeping bag until the sun rose enough to get dressed. Early risers stirred soon enough.I thought about "Swiss", a young hiker from Switzerland. He had left the shelter area around 5:00pm yesterday during a lull in the rain. He had hoped to catch up with two friends whom he thought were only 2 miles ahead. He would have tented last night and endured the storm.Breakfast of hot quinoa cereal with blueberries and almonds. Also hot chai. Very Good!The trail today was fairly level with a few inclines- good hiking. My glasses fogged up repeatedly, which was ANNOYING. We had a good pace today. Not too much pressure for my second day back.The weather forecast this morning was not good. Hiking Viking has a weather radio. Chief looked on his phone weather app. Temps predicted in the 30's, winds gusty up to 40 mph, and snow. We decided to not try for the next shelter 12.8 miles away. The A-Team had already sent home some winter gear, and two of them had hammocks, not tents. The next shelter was at a higher altitude, so the weather up there would be severe.We agreed to head to a Recreation Area campsite 7 miles away. If we had to tent- and hammock- at least it would be less dangerous at a lower altitude. When we arrived at the next road, we found out the campsite was closed until May. It was a unanimous decision to start walking down the road towards Erwin, TN and get a room at the hotel. Hiking on the hard concrete made our feet hurt. The rain made us discouraged. After a while, we stuck our thumbs out every time a vehicle passed, hoping to hitch a ride. Pickup trucks with empty truck beds passed us by. Cars with only a driver and no passengers passed us by. An empty 15-passenger van from the NOC canoe & rafting center passed us by. Finally, a car stopped for two of us. Hiking Viking and I rode with the packs back to the Super 8 hotel that we had left 2 days previous. We sent a shuttle car to pick up the others. It felt like we had not accomplished anything, seeing that we were right back where we had started.Later that night, the weather channel confirmed what we feared; the temperature was dropping and snow was falling.
Date: 2012-04-23
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Zero Day in Erwin, TNSeveral hikers came in last night. More poured in during the day. They were freezing cold and tired. Everyone crowded into the small lobby and exchanged stories of their ordeal.I spent the day making phone calls, taking a nap, and walking to the Huddle House for lunch. After breakfast today, we made the decision to stay another day. The weather report was still bad.
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: broken clouds

Arrangements were made for a shuttle to pick us up at 8am. I woke up early and walked to the Huddle House for breakfast: eggs, hash browns, toast and hot tea. It was hard to eat because I was still so sleepy at 6:30.Back at my room, I began to pack my pack. Don't know why I didn't do that the night before. Usually, I am so well organized. A phone call from Valerie told me to hurry. "Miss Janet" would be there in 10 min.Miss Janet is a trail legend. She shuttles hikers all over the Erwin area for a donation. She had 100 hikers to shuttle today. Everyone had come down off the mountain and now we all wanted to get back to the business of hiking.While she drove us up to the trailhead at Indian Grave Gap, Miss Janet interviewed the A-Team for the local paper. She is involved in providing an interface between the AT hiking community and the local community. She was interested in showing that normal people are hiking the trail and a story about a three-generation family hiking together would be interesting to read about. The trail today was good. The uphills were deceiving- they were sloped gradually, but steadily. Beauty Spot was a large, rolling meadow much like a bald. Very windy there. True to its name, it was very beautiful. I felt like Julie Andrews at the beginning of the movie "The Sound of Music" where she is in an alpine meadow singing. Cherry Gap Shelter slept 6. We could have fit more, if needed. The roof and overhang were too low and several of the men kept hitting their heads on the overhang. We spent a lot of time around the fire. "Stonekicker" was there. The last time I saw him was right before the Smokies. Several others came in, mostly tenting: "Ranger Bill", "Chef", "Chameleon", "Sunshine", "D-Dub", "Crush", "Firehands" and a few others that I didn't know. Sunshine brought out a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers and several packs of chocolate bars. S'Mores!!! She shared her treasure with us all and we enjoyed the fire even more. Such a generous thing to do!
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Cherry Gap Shelter 2
Miles today: 0.1
Weather: broken clouds

I wanted to put an extra entry in to tell you about Unaka Mountain. Pronounced "You-Nay-Ka", it means "white mountain" in Cherokee. It was absolutely magical! We had dipped down in elevation a little bit after Beauty Spot, then climbed 1,000 feet to the top of Unaka. The dense spruce forest was a delight! It looked like a scene from Christmas Wonderland all around, with the snow and the spruce trees. It snowed while we were going across the mountain which added even more beauty to the day. The A-Team is from Florida, so they were thrilled to walk through snow. "Samson" made a small snowman, which made us all smile.
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Cherry Gap Shelter 2

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was filled with PUDS: pointless ups and downs. However the terrain was easier than the past few days. The ups were not very steep and there was not a great change in elevation. We did have to work, though. Hiking Viking let me lead and we talked amiably all morning. I told him that sometimes I feel like a pack horse putting on a saddle. You have to strap a cinch belt under the horse's belly to secure the saddle. Then, you have to knee the horse in the side and cinch it tighter. The horse will blow out its stomach in order to have a looser fit. Putting my pack on is the same. I often have to stop 10 min. down the trail to cinch it tighter.Valerie hiked with us in the afternoon. She found a bright orange salamander about 2-inches long. Hiking Viking found wild mint growing along the side of the trail. Lunch was a highlight for me. I had brought a grilled ham and cheese sandwich from Huddle House in a ziploc bag. Also a bag of Fritos and some cranberry drink mix in my water bottle. So very good!We arrived at the shelter around 5:00pm. I was dragging and Hiking Viking was tired. It was our longest day yet since returning to the trail--9.2 miles. The rain and cold from the morning turned into sun and 70* in the afternoon. There were several at the shelter already, cooking dinner. I found a tent site far in back, then changed my mind and settled right behind the building. Afterwards, I thought that perhaps that wasn't the best place, even though it was level. Most likely people brushed their teeth or went to the bathroom there in the bushes. I had a footprint to protect my tent from the ground, so set up there anyway. I went inside my tent early, right after supper. The others socialized around the fire. I wanted to listen to an audiobook and have a little privacy. It was a good day, despite the rain. I felt like 9.2 miles was a good day's work.I went to sleep thinking about Tom. I hoped he was well. Hadn't been able to call or text him in two days because there was no phone signal.
Date: 2012-04-26
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Greasy Creek Hostel
Miles today: 2.5

I woke up early, tossing and turning. For some reason, when I sleep on my right side my left hip gets tingly. Broke down camp and packed up. While eating breakfast, it began to rain. We all sat inside the shelter area eating and trying to keep our packs and selves dry. Then hail, thunder and BOOM! lightning. The lightning hit about 10 yards away from where we were sitting. Never had I seen or heard that before. Scary. We huddled in the shelter for a while, waiting for the rain to stop. Eventually, I got out my earphones and listened to my audiobook. A wet hiker came in to the shelter to get out of the deluge for a while. I didn't get his name, but he was a commercial fisherman from Glouster, MA. Hiking Viking turned on his weather radio and the forecast said that there would be more storms later that day and into the night. We would be hiking to Roan Mt. Shelter, the highest elevation shelter on the AT at 6194ft. Because of the lack of winter gear, and 2 of the A Team sleep in hammocks, it was decided to not chance the storms. Instead, we backtracked to Greasy Creek Hostel. This was our second time not being able to get up to Roan Mt. After going south 2.5 miles on the AT, we turned 0.6 miles down a rutted, muddy jeep trail to the hostel. We left Pisgah National Forest and then down the gravel road. Connie is the owner there, running the hostel from her home. She has a bunkhouse that sleeps 8, a bedroom that sleeps 3 and will put people on the front porch and floor if needed. She also has tent sites.We got space in the bunkhouse, then relaxed in the living room. Connie makes hikers remove their boots and put on camp shoes. She insists that you wash your hands when you come inside. She cooks for each hiker, one meal at a time. I had a delicious cheeseburger, chips, soda and frozen Snickers bar. (It is wonderful how much I can eat while hiking and my blood glucose remains good. I never would be able to eat that meal normally.)We ate, watched movies, played scrabble and ate more. I found a book on Celts on her bookshelf that interested me more than the movies. Several other hikers were there including Jeremy, Kevin, Elmer, "Toenail", "Kazoo", and "Stonekicker". She has two dogs and two cats.
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Greasy Creek Hostel

To: Carver Gap
Miles today: 0.1

We all woke up at 5:00am, then 5:30, then 6:00. Connie's neighbor, Bill, is very antagonistic to hikers and to Connie in general. He accuses Connie of running a brothel and having strange men at the house at all hours. He also thinks the hikers are all homeless scum. He hates us all.So, Bill gets up every morning and rides his riding lawnmower on his property near the fence line where the bunkhouse sits. He revs up the engine and makes the most noise possible. He has damaged her property and caused her a lot of problems. She has two signs that say "Greasy Creek Hostel Closed due to illness" that someone put up near the trail to discourage hikers from patronizing her business. She suspects Bill put them there. Calls to the Poiice over 10 years have not stopped Bill from antagonizing and harassing her and the hikers. Connie has a good attitude and is very generous to all. I hope her kindness outlasts Bill's hatred. (What Bill doesn't realize is that hikers wake up with the sun anyway.)Connie fixed us all breakfast to order, then gave us a shuttle ride to Carver's Gap. The bald we ascended was absolutely beautiful- a big meadow with 360* views. The trail here was a narrow rut wide enough for one foot at a time. It was hazy to the west, so couldn't see much there. The mountains melted into the clouds and you couldn't distinguished where one started and the other stopped.We had a lovely day hiking through easy trails and forest. Outstanding sapphire blue skies. We hiked and talked which made the miles go by faster. What a welcome change from the past few days of rain, clouds and gloom!
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Carver Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter 1
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Overmountain Shelter is a big, red, two-storied barn in the most picturesque setting you could find. On the AT coming down to the shelter is a plaque giving honor to the men of this area who fought in the Revolutionary War at King's Mountain. Tom and I had visited the King's Mountain battle site in SC a few years ago and the conditions of the battle there were heroic. The A-Team stayed in the top floor of the barn, even setting up their hammocks inside! The shelter sleeps 20 and there seemed to be more people than that. I opted to tent in the meadow before the shelter, with a full view of the valley below and the surrounding mountains.