morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-18
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: broken clouds

Got up this monring and took a nice four mile hike into Neel's Gap. On the way, I hiked over Blood Mountain, the highest point on the A.T. in Georgia. I was hiking with Amy from Michigan and when we got close to Mountain Crossings at Neel's gap, I could smell hamburgers on the grill. When we got there, there was a church group providing tasty hamburgers for us thru-hikers. After that, Longhual, Rattler, Red, and I opted to get a cabin for the night. We got a shuttle into Blairsville, GA and at an all you can eat homestyle buffet. After dinner, I bought some more food for the trail and came back tot he cabinf or the night. I will be getting back on the trail in the morning. All in all, this was a good day.
Date: 2009-03-19
From: Neel's Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up early at the cabin we rented and were shuttled back to Mountain Corssings at Neels' gap. Bought some more food there. While I was there, Da Wah-He, a thru-hiker from '08 that I know ran into me, so I stayed and talked to him for a while. I was getting a late start and 10.8 miles to cover, so I had to get on my way. On the trail, I ran out of water and could not find a spring until I got to the shelter. I was very thirsty to say the least. Arrived into camp later than I wanted, ate, drank tons of water, and now I am ready for bed.
Date: 2009-03-20
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

What a glorious day of hiking! Today was really easy, which was nice after the long, hard day I had yesterday. Hiked with Pancake today, who I met an Neel's gap. I helped him adjust his pack because it really wasn't fitting him all that well. We got to the shelter real early and I thought about continuing on down the trail but I decided to just stay put and enjoy the nice view and waether.
Date: 2009-03-21
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

This was another great day of hiking. There were two different thoudand foot climbs but they were not a problem at all. I met four very nice weekeenders from Atalnta at Indian Grave Gap. There was trail magic at the bottom of Tray Mountain. A thru-hiker from last year and his parents were there and they provided hot dogs, veggie buergers, pasta slald, corn chips, oatmeal cream pies and all sorts of goodies. I have regained my appettite and I got had one fo everything.. I also took another hot dog and a zip lock of corn chips to the shleter with me for dinner. After eating, i climbed to the top of Tray Mountain and stopped there for a while to enjoy the view before heading down .4 of a mile to make camp. There, I met a guy from Clarksville and he seems pretty cool so we are going to split a hotel room tomorrow night in Hiawassww. Looking forward to a shower and the Chinese buffet we are going to hit up. I am going to take a zero day there on Monday. Tow nights with a bed is going to make me soft, but oh well. After Hiawassee, I am going to up my miles per day.
Date: 2009-03-22
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawasse, GA
Miles today: 11.0

What a crazy and lucky day I have had. I woke up early this morning to get a good start down into Hiawassee. I decided to roll my tent up inside my fleece jacket and I strpped in onto the back of my pack. That turned out to be a bad idea becuae not long after I started hiking, my tent slid out of my fleece and I didn't even notice it.About seven or so miles later, after a long climb up to the top of Kell's Knob, I stopped for abreak and when I went to put my pack back on I noticed my tent was no longer with me. Iserioulsy debated whether I should go back and look for it or just buy a new one somewhere. I finally decided to start hiking back down the trail to look for it, but only after a few stopes another hiking was cioming my way and I asked him if he had seen a tent anywhere along the way. He told me that three other hikers had found it and were going tot ake to the next shelter down. Luckily for me, that was just another mile further from where I was at the time. I went down ther and just had to wait about thrty minutes and then they showed up with my tent. I was so grateful and couldn't believe how lucky I had gotten. Hikers really take care of each other, I owe them big time. After regaining my tent, i hiked on to Dick's Creek Gap where I caught a shuttle into Hiawassee where I split a room with tree other hikers at the Hiawassee Inn. Some of us went out to eat at that Chinese resturaunt but they did not have a buffet on Sundays. I orded fried dumplings, wonton soup, an egg roll, sweet and sour chicken, and fried rice. I can;t belive I ate all that food. After dinner I came back to the room and sat around and talked to the toehr hikers before headind to bed.
Date: 2009-03-24
From: Hiawasse, GA

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: broken clouds

I was shuttled back to Dick¢s Creek Gap this morning from Hiawassee around 8:30 am and started hiking maybe thirty minutes later. Crossed the Georgia / North Carolina state line. One state down, only thirteen more to go. Today¢s hike was long but much easier than I expected, maybe I am getting my trail legs or maybe the day off helped. Either way, I only stopped twice even with all that uphill, especially during the last three miles. I camped with whole new group of people tonight. Also, this was the first shelter I stayed out with a cable system to hang your food. Hanging your food is quite a chore without those.
Date: 2009-03-29
From: Franklin, NC

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Finally left Franklin, NC after two and a half days and had a chilly day of hiking. There was a lookout tower on Wayah Bald but the mountains were covered in fog and I could not see anything. Got tot he shelter around three and pretty much got straight into my sleeping bag because it had gotten so cold. Spent the next 15 hours in my bag.
Date: 2009-03-30
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Finally, good hiking weather. Today was the first sunny day since last Tuesday. Today¢s hike was filled with good views galore. It was also a good day for taking breaks; I probably took four good ones as the day progressed. The last one was about a mile from the shelter and it was a tall platform that used to be a fire tower. It was nice to sit up there and enjoy the views in every direction and the warm sunshine. I could see Fontana Lake from and the Smokies from it, I guess those are just around the corner.
Date: 2009-03-31
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

Hiked to the NOC today, which was only a little over five miles away. I arrived there by noon and ate at the River¢s End Restaurant. I had an Appalachian Cheese steak sandwich and fries. I spent the rest of the day by the river and up in the commons area hanging out and talking to the other hikers. Tomorrow I have a huge climb up to Cheoah Bald.
Date: 2009-04-01
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 8.1

I woke up this morning around seven and went to the restaurant for breakfast. I crave biscuits and gravy out here. After breakfast, I went back to the bunkroom I had at the NOC and packed my stuff. I then made one last trip to the outfitters to get a new bite valve for my hydration system, and then I proceeded to the general store and bought a Vitamin Water and a Snickers Bar. Soon after, I hit the trail again and every bit of it was uphill for eight miles to the top of Cheoah Bald where a bunch of hikers I knew were and I made camp. It was awesome up there. There were views off both sides of the bald. Everyone gathered to watch the sunset; it was the first sunset I had actually been able to witness so far. Later, we had a good fire and sat around that. I was able to use my FM transmitter on my iPod and play music through another hikers weather radio. It was nice to have music for everyone to listen to. It was just another good day I suppose.
Date: 2009-04-02
From: Cheoah Bald

To: Brown Fork Gap
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

Woke up this morning with every intention of hiking fourteen miles to Cable Gap Shelter, but I was dragging for some reason. Or at least I felt I was even thought I covered the first five and half miles to Stecoah Gap in decent time. Once I made it to the gap, three other hikers and I decided to hitch a ride into Robbinsville, NC for lunch since the highway went right through there. It only took five minutes to get a ride from a local. He drove us to a caf© where I had a Texas Roast Beef Sandwich and Fries. After lunch, we were able to hitch another ride back to the trail. I only hiked another two and a half miles to the next shelter and decided to stay there due to the bad weather that was coming in. The shelter was already full when I arrived but the seemed cool so I just set up my tent. We had a big fire and a good time hanging out around it. Tomorrow I am hiking eleven miles into Fontana.
Date: 2009-04-03
From: Brown Fork Gap

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

Last night was my first night in my tent during a big storm. The wind blew awful hard but I stayed warm and dry. It was raining when I woke up so I got out of camp a little later than I wanted. Today¢s hike was cold and foggy, which seems to be the norm so far on my trip. I made it to Fontana and got a shuttle to Fontana Village where I was able to pick up my food resupply from the post office. I stopped at a convenience store and had two hot dogs, a bag of chips and a Mountain Dew. I hitched the three miles back to the shelter and hung out around the fire. I¢m going to take a zero day here tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-04
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a great zero day. It was warm and sunny and the shelter has great views of Fontana Lake and the Smokies. This morning, Drifter and I tried hitching a ride back to Fontana Village but ended up walking the whole way. Once there though, we went to the lodge and had an all you can eat breakfast buffet. It was great. After breakfast, we went down to the general store and sat on the porch while I did laundry at the Laundromat next door. Once finished, a few other hikers and I go a shuttle back to the shelter. We hug out there and at the dam all day long. I talked to Mom and she is going to pick me up at Newfound Gap on Wednesday and we will spend a couple of days with my Aunt Margaret. Tomorrow I start the Smokies.
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

I woke up this morning with the intention of hitting the trail by eight but I was to tempted to get another ride into Fontana Village before I set out so I did not get started hiking until after eleven. The hike up Shuckstack Mountain, while hard was not as difficult as coming out of the NOC. I came across Drifter who had a knee problem and he did not think he could make it tot he shelter. I hated leaving him there but I was out of water and I had to get going. He should of stayed at Fontana until he was feeling better. Later that day when I finally got to the shelter, there as only on other hiker there but within the hour the place was full. Most of the day was warm and sunny until just a little while after I made camp and then the clouds came in and it turned colder and the wind was blowing. Later that night the rain set in only to be interrupted by hail occasionally. It looks like I am in for a few days of bad weather.
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

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

I decided to take a shortcut out of the Smokies because it began to snow pretty hard and I did not want to be caught up in all that. I took a side trail down the mountain and got a ride into Gatlinburg. I¢m glad I did that because a lady from a local guided hiking company gave me a ride and she had a producer from the Travel Channel with her and he wanted to talk to me about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was excited to do so since I used to work in television. When I arrived in Gatlinburg, I got a room at the grand Prix Inn and saw some other hikers I knew. I¢m going to my Aunt¢s house a bit early now but I really don¢t mind because I need the rest. My body is feeling fatigued from three weeks of hiking. Hopefully, this break will help to get my energy level back up. Mom is going to be there and I know she wants to see me.
Date: 2009-04-12
From: Springer/Approach Trail

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: clear sky

Got off to a bit of a late start yesterday (didn't leave home until late afternoon...), so I'm only starting my hike in a couple hours. The plan is just to get to a shelter and settle in tonight so that I can start hiking in earnest tomorrow. Weather looks good for tonight, though maybe rain tomorrow. I'm ready to finally start. A bit nervous, but ready.
Date: 2009-04-13
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: moderate rain

The first night I stayed in Stover Creek shelter with one other thru-hiker and six weekend hikers. It rained, but the shelter was nice and I didn't get anything other than the bear bag wet. The next morning I hiked for a little more than twelve miles in a thick fog. My glasses were worthless--I couldn't even see far enough for them to make a difference!Monday night I stayed in the Gooch Mountain Shelter with about twenty other people, most of them also planning to walk to Maine. It rained a little more, but really the fog was the bigger issue since nothing really got dry, just more evenly damp. That night was a load of fun hanging out and talking with people of all sorts of backgrounds.
Date: 2009-04-14
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Slaughter Creek Campsites
Miles today: 12.4

I hiked another 13 miles (including my side-trips) to get to Woods Hole Shelter, only to find that a bear frequents the bear cables there and had actually gotten a bear bag the previous night. So I got some water from the stream and hiked on a little further. About half a mile later I came across the Slaughter Creek Campsites and decided to call it a day.The campsites were less populated and fairly exposed to the high windspeeds, so it was a nice place to hang out and reflect for a bit. Unfortunately, a bear also thought that it was a good place to eat. Despite our efforts, the bear bags had apparently shifted in toward the tree due, in part, to the wind and allowed the bear to reach the bags if it climbed the tree. Neither the tree nor the bear bags fared well, but we humans were unharmed. The others who had put up their bags with me and I managed to scrounge up enough oatmeal for breakfast. Oddly, the dog food went untouched.
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Slaughter Creek Campsites

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: clear sky

So, today we ate our leftover oatmeal and hiked in to Neels Gap, where there is a nice outfitter and hostel with internet access and showers. It's a nice change of pace for a day.The evening of relaxing and hanging out with other thru-hikers was a lot of fun. We even got a free "concert"! In reality it was just some of the interns at the outfitter jamming just before lights out. They weren't exactly rock stars. We got pizza and I ate an entire large by myself, only to find that I still wanted a little bit more...
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

Left Neels Gap this morning and had to hike back up to the mountaintops, which wasn't too bad. The real problem came with Wildcat Mountain, where the switchbacks were steeper than most mountainsides I've hiked up to date. After that point, though, it was nice, easy hiking to the shelter. The trails down here in Georgia are really well maintained. I've been impressed. Today was finally a sunny day for the entire day. Unfortunately, that meant sunburn. My neck is the worst, but my arms, wrists and face got a good bit too. The funniest part is the tanline on my hands from the straps of my hiking poles--it's a perfect inch-wide stripe of white on my red hands.
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Rocky Mountain
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

The combination of sunburn and mice last night made sleeping very strange and quite limited. The result was sleeping in until almost ten--after I'd left most days. Luckily the mice didn't like anything in my pack this night (they seemed to appreciate my Sham-wow at Gooch, though) and just scampered around harmlessely until the wee hours of the night. Found some sunscreen here and used it.The first six or seven miles were pretty easy going elevation-wise, but rivaled home in rockiness at some points. I reached Blue Mountain shelter a little before 1:30 and decided to keep hiking.And thus came Unicoi Gap. Over the course of three miles, the trail descends and re-ascends over 1,000 feet. The switchbacks here were killer and rivaled the steepness of the trail my dad and I hiked at the Kodachrome Basin State Park (50-60% grade). The previous rockiness continued here.I camped out on top of Rocky Mountain, which, after the painful hike up it, felt very rewarding. I was able to watch both the sunrise and sunset from my tent and even had a full view of the starry night. The colors of the sunset on the mountains was mesmerizing.
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Rocky Mountain

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Sadly, last night was not as serene as was planned. I awoke around 10:30 to headlamps and many young, male voices. The boyscouts had arived. They set up all around Carolina's hammock then and woke us all up again at sunrise.The hike was fairly strenuous today; lots of elevation change and warm temperatures take their toll pretty quickly. Luckily, it only took me 4 1/2 hours to get to the shelter. Since I got in by 1:30, I had a chance to relax and hang out for a couple hours before everyone else arrived. Tonight was a fairly small night for the shelter though, only seven of us (Tomorrow, Free, Sweet Lou, Aesop, Rambo, Angie, & I) and a dog (Maggie). We had a good time hanging out by the fire that Aesop and Sweet Lou built and chatting for a while.
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Blueberry Patch Hostel
Miles today: 3.5

Short day into Dick's Creek Gap today. I stopped in town to get some food to complement the maildrop I expect tomorrow and to get dinner. We decided to go for chinese since there was a buffet in town...but they don't offer the buffet after 3:00 on Sundays. *sniffle* At least we managed to get a good bit of food for a reasonable price, it being chinese and all.The hostel is owned by a Christian couple who run the place as a ministry to hikers. The property is set up just so that you can see the mountains in the background over the just-blooming trees which surround their organic garden (including blueberries, of course). They have a stream in the back, four goats, two donkeys, and a cat. The whole setup is amazing. Such and incredible place to be after having been in the woods for so long, especially considering the fact that they don't charge a rate up front--it runs on donations only.Oh, did I mention they did our laundry for us?The crowd tonight is Sweet Lou, Aesop, Fiddle, Savage, Maui Bob, and myself. After our run to town and our searching of the hiker boxen, the others realized they had too much food to carry with them. Long story short, we all ate way too much. So much so that our sole defense against it was lying down.
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Blueberry Patch Hostel

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

This morning we got breakfast from Gary and Lennie. It was amazing. Orange juice, eggs, sausage, biscuits and pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup. They even made enough that I didn't want to finish it all off!Another Gary, who happens to be visiting from Bowmansville, PA, took me downtown this morning so that I could pick up my maildrop and stop by the library to update this/charge my phone. I should be on the trail again by noon and will hopefully reach the shelter by dinner time.
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

It was damp and cold when I woke up this morning--someone who happened to have a thermometer said it was under 35 degrees--so I slept in for a little while longer. It didn't really help. I decided to cook some oatmeal and wait for things to dry out a little bit more before I got packed up...it started sleeting. Oh well.It didn't take too long for the sun to come out and warm things up, so I ended up just hanging the rain fly from my tent on the back of my pack to air out while I hiked. It was cold enough all day that I actually wore multiple layers while hiking, but everything got dried out.About half of the regular posse split off today and took a blue blazed (NOT official AT) trail which cut off about twenty miles of a loop. I figure I'll see Sweet Lou, Aesop, Free, and Mosey soon enough. That said, I'm here tonight with Fiddle, Savage, Danger, Jason, and a woman from Scotland named Liz. Fiddle and Savage are setting up mousetraps tonight.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Blueberry Patch Hostel

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Within the first ten minutes of having the traps set, Fiddle 'n' Savage caught two mice! They got up and reset the traps, caught a couple more, reset the traps again and eventually fell asleep. The tally when we woke up that morning was eight mice.Today I basically went rock climbing up Albert Mountain. The slope was quite strenuous, but also rather fun. At the top of the mountain we got a great view of the area, but couldn't go up into the fire tower due to it being locked. I met up with the rest of the crew from the shelter last night; the early starters (Danger and Liz) had stopped for lunch and the rest of us arrived at about the same time.The rest of the day's hike was mild temperature- and elevation-wise. Lengths of rhododendron tunnels also broke the typical scenery and provided some shade along the way; the overall combination made for a pleasant walk.