morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-12
From: Hot Springs

To: Fire Road
Miles today: 7.0

Left Hot Springs in clear weather and sunshine. The climb out of the town offered nice views of the French Broad River and the surrounding woodlands. We could also see the area where the fire burned north of town a few weeks ago and knew we would be hiking through much of that area later in the day. At least all of the trail had reopened and we didn't have to be rerouted. The sun was bright but not too hot, just very muggy. We were passed by a few hikers that we had met in town and I assume Myra was way ahead of us by now as she usually starts early and walks fast!I took my second fall today. I have been so careful but I must have looked away or lost my concentration for a moment and did not see the rock under the leaves. There are so many things that go through your mind as you realize that you are going to fall. I managed to relax, not get my limbs twisted and then let the backpack take the brunt of the fall ( I hope the Oreos didn't break!). Great Gramps came running but I was fine and he helped me up and luckily, all I did was scrape my forearm against a tree. All my structural joints were intact so back to hiking we went. Slowly. Before mid afternoon, the skies opened and it poured! Welcome back to the AT! We donned our rain gear and trudged along and the storm passed but the skies remained ominous and we kept our rain gear close at hand. We hiked through the burnt area all day and the scent of the rain mixed with charred wood was unpleasant and smelled like a wet fireplace. I will be glad to put this section behind us.By late afternoon the skies darkened and there were clouds in the distance. We decided to call it a day and find a place to pitch the tent before the rain started again. We found an old logging road which had grass and green trees hidden behind a burnt out area and we managed to get the tent set up in time. Hopefully, we will make better progress tomorrow.
Date: 2016-05-13
From: Fire Road

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 8.5

Woke to rain again this morning, and we hung out in our sleeping bags till 8. The rain has stopped by then but there was no chance to dry out the tent before we had to pack it up. A wet tent is a heavy tent!The sun finally appeared but it remained cool all day. We met a couple of section hikers and a thru hiker called "Game on" . The trail is very quiet because many hikers got off the trail to go to Damascus for the annual Trail Days celebration which we decided would be fine for us to miss. We were told that there would be thousands of past and present hikers attending. Many current hikers just continue from Damascus instead of backtracking to where they originally got off. I suspect we are about the last of the thru hikers going northbound as it is getting late in the season to start hiking. We shall see.Great Gramps foot is bothering him again so today was a long day for him. We are set up in a campsite very close to the main road so we can hear traffic. Hopefully, that will be an incentive to get us up early tomorrow and on the trail. As you can tell form the picture, the plants are responding well to all the rain. Enough is enough!Beautiful!
Date: 2016-05-14
From: Allen Gap

To: Jones Meadow
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke to traffic and dogs barking. BUT NO RAIN! Yay! To celebrate, we had two cups of coffee while we packed up and headed on our way. Uphill. All day. Ugh.Today it my my turn for foot problems and I think I strained a tendon/ligament behind my ankle. It was sore all day so when the fog rolled in and the dark skies showed up overhead, I was not disappointed to end the day early. Tonight we are camped in a site all by ourselves. The winds is howling and hopefully it will settle down but there is plenty of water.Tomorrow is a new day!
Date: 2016-05-15
From: Jones Meadow

To: Flint Gap
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Sleep was impossible last night. It was COLD! Great Gramps checked his thermometer this morning and it was only 32 degrees! It was so hard to get up and get out of the sleeping bag but the only way to get warm was to get moving. Of course I had already bought a 45 degree sleeping bag and I am using Gramps old sleeping mat (he got a new one) which had an R-value of 1.7 so I froze. I had two pair of socks on and my feet wrapped in my down jacket inside my sleeping bag and I wore my rain jacket with my only long sleeved shirt. I had the sleeping bag pulled up over my head so no cold air could get in. The tent was not quite level so our sleeping bags kept sliding down on the mats to the one end of the tent. Then we would wake up and try to pull ourselves all the way back to the top again. Over and over. Some nights are endless. It is hunting season and we could hear dogs barking in the distance and an occasional shotgun firing during the night .The whole night was weird.We hiked about ten miles today on a trail that was pretty nice. Soft ground and pine needles made it really pleasant. There was only one section of boulders which we got through pretty easily.We hit milestone 300 today! Not bad for two oldies but we still have a long way to go. Sore feet is the only thing that continues to be problematic for us both and neither of us can seem to resolve it.Tonight we are the only ones camped just of the trail in a small secluded spot under some pine trees. It is going to be cold again but I think the tent site is level so we shouldn't have any issues!
Date: 2016-05-16
From: Flint Gap

To: Rice gap
Miles today: 9.0

Good night sleep last night and not as cold this morning. Packed everything up and walked to the Shelter which was about a mile out to replenish the water and have coffee and breakfast bars. Our goal was to check out the new hostel and resupply place about 3 miles out (and a half mile from the AT) and buy some supplies to get us the rest of the way to Erwin. Passed through a beautiful meadow with buttercups and daisies which brought back a lot of memories of my youth.Walked the half mile to the hostel(which doesn't count in the total miles) and every house had a dog that barked at us. We watched as a dog went running through a field and then heard noises of an animal fight. We thought the dog had caught a chicken or something but the next time we saw the dog, he was being chased by a turkey! The Paradise Hiker Hostel was.....different.Not much in the way of nutritional food but I picked out a few things I could put together for a meal, ramen noodles not being one of them! We bought two pizzas and cooked them, ate one immediately and packed the other on the to of my backpack and carried out with us to have for supper! Delicious!It was all uphill after lunch and I feel like my stamina is improving, at least I didn't see any ants pass me today. Or snails. Maybe one grasshopper.We use Awol's AT guide and it is frequently frustrating because it doesn't seem to correlate to the trail a lot of the time. Despite not finding the campsite in the book, we did find a nice place to stop for the night and even had a little fire in the fire ring- had to burn the pizza box cause we sure weren't going to carry it to Erwin!
Date: 2016-05-17
From: Rice gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 9.0

The rain started about 0400 and so once again we pack up the wet tent. We hiked to the Shelter which was only about a mile away, resupplied the water and had coffee and something to eat. So good to have the warm drink while sitting in the cold, fog and drizzle.We made good time on the trail, the hardest part being the climb out off Sam's gap. Looked like a small hill in the guide book but it was crazy steep! It was followed by a beautiful meadow of flowers and then back to the woods. Some of the areas are so dense with vegetation that Great Gramps calls them "oxygen factories".Tonight we are stealth camping on the side of the trail in a not so level spot. Means we will be sliding around most of the night just trying to stay on the sleeping pads. The moon is full and the sky is red...Good signs!
Date: 2016-05-18
From: Low Gap

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

We didn't quite wake to sunshine but it didn't rain last night so the overcast sky and fog were acceptable.However,We did wake to a wet tent...on the inside! Apparently, the platypus water bottle sprung a leak and slowly emptied itself during the night. The bottom of the tent was wet along with any belongings we did not pack back into our bags but fortunately, our sleeping bags were dry on the top of our mats. The underside of the mats were wet but we could dry them pretty quickly so it wasn't too bad. But once again we pack up a wet tent to carry. We are sometimes our own worst enemies and it is becoming comical how inept we are at camping. Oh well, live and learn.Overall it was a good day on the trail with Great Gramps sharing the creek with some deer who were also thirsty. We had a very long climb up to Big Bald. Several hikers coming down the trail told us we were in for a treat with the views at the top but nothing surprised us more when we reached the summit. The setting and the views were spectacular! We were at least a mile high and above the clouds and we were in awe and spent some time watching the clouds go by. Incredible!The other highlight of the day for me was when we had started a steep part of the trail later in the afternoon. I heard hikers behind me so I stepped aside to let them pass. Turned out it was three quite elderly ladies ( at least in their 70's) who were basically marching in unison up that hill, slowly and steadily, not pausing for a moment. I, on the other hand, was gasping for air so all I could do was watch them in fascination and try and to figure out their secret. These women will never know what an inspiration and how impressive they were and I am grateful I was there at the right time to be able to watch them.We found a terrific secluded campsite, with water, at suppertime. We set up camp and knew we were going to be low on food if we did not make it into Erwin tomorrow...but tomorrow is another day.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: Spivey Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 11.0

Rain started about 0400 so it was hard to get going but it was just misty and foggy as we packed up. Wiped a lot of water of the tent before we packed it up so it wouldn't be quite so heavy. Sat on a wet log while we had coffee, admiring the mud on our clothes after a week in the woods. We decided to see how the first part of the hike goes today and then commit (or not) to Erwin as the destination today. We divided up the last of our snacks and headed out. Hiking went really well and we stopped at the next shelter for a break and decided since we had reached the halfway point, we would commit to making it all the way to Erwin. Good decision!We got a shuttle to the motel and immediately showered. We do have priorities! And since it was supposed to rain, we ordered pizzas to be delivered and did laundry while we waited!What a great day!
Date: 2016-05-20
From: Erwin

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Two months today!And we are celebrating by taking extra time off in Erwin to rest the old bones and clean up all the equipment. Everything here is very spread out so it is a long walk to the store, post office and pharmacies. And there are no liquor stores so no wine.    But there is beer so all is not lost. We leave on Sunday morning and will hike in a more organized way so we can increase our mileage and make better progress. Long way to go.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Erwin

To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

The shuttle driver picked us up from the hotel at 0900 and brought us back about 5 miles where we had gotten off the trail a few days ago. Bought some fuel and a new water bag and off we went. Crossed the river and headed across the train tracks into the woods. The trail followed the creek for the first couple of miles and we filtered our water and filled our bags. It feels as good as having money in the bank. Almost.The trail was mostly uphill and was nicely graded with switchbacks but it was difficult in that there were so many rocks and roots there was no where to place your foot without turning it in some abnormal direction. We both have feet problems and I have ankle issues(arthritis?) so it was a long and painful day. But we managed to get the tent set up and all of our things inside just before the rain started. We hung our food from the electrical tower nearby which was a whole lot easier than finding a good tree. Tonight there are coyotes howling in the distance and the rain is finally slowing down and is hopefully over for the night. Hope the trail is easier tomorrow.
Date: 2016-05-23
To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to the birds singing and sunshine! Hallelujah!The trail was more forgiving today with less rocks and roots but still a lot of mud. We only had one big climb and the summit was a dense spruce forest. The trail is well marked or we could easily have gotten lost. The weather remained clear but cool as we were over 5000 feet. Descended into Cherry Gap Shelter and decided to call it a day at about 4:30. I was surprised to see the campground almost full already but everyone was complaining about the past few days of the trail torturing their feet. Glad to hear it wasn't just us.
Date: 2016-05-24
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Little Rock Knob
Miles today: 10.3

Slept well in our little campsite that was isolated from the shelter and no rain! Sat on a log and had coffee and breakfast bars, packed up and were on our way.Surprise! The trail was beautiful, soft dirt and no rocks and hardly any roots! We had ups and downs all day today but they were mostly graded and not too difficult...this was one of our best hiking days. We met a group of 5 brothers hiking south and one of them was from Petaluma! Small world. We also leapfrogged with a group of young hikers and an older gentleman who had twisted his ankle last week but rested in Erwin for a few days. The trail kept going by fields of wild grasses that were so pretty and so soft. It is so interesting how the scenery changes every day.We stopped at the next shelter, filled up with water and decided to hike a little farther today. We ended up climbing a steep hill and I felt every ounce of the four pounds of water that had been added to the weight of the pack. (Two liters of water weighs four pounds.) This hill had lots of larger flat rocks and they were placed carefully to make stairs throughout the climb. I was too tired to take a picture but not tired enough that I couldn't appreciate the handiwork involved. Really nicely done.There was a small campsite at the top and we promptly set up the tent, cooked dinner and are now inside for the night. No other hikers stopped to camp with us so it was a quiet night...my favorite kind.
Date: 2016-05-25
From: Little Rock Knob

To: Round Bald
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Again, no rain! Enjoyed our coffee and bars and took off. We knew this was going to be a long climbing day over Roan mountain but we got to warm up by starting downhill from the summit we climbed to last evening. When we got to the bottom to Hughes Gap, all of the hikers were sitting there taking a break before the big uphill started. Great Gramps and I didn't take the break but started the climb right away. Actually, it was not too bad for a long while with alternating sections of steep and then level so it went pretty well. But with a climb from 4000 feet to 6200 feet, there is bound to be a few rough spots and there were. But we eventually got through it, stopped at the Roan Mt shelter (highest shelter on the AT) for a break and then hiked another few miles downhill looking for a camping spot. The last few miles were miserable as the trail was filled with rocks. No, they were not a part of the natural landscape but were dumped there probably to keep the trail from washing away but it made hiking very painful. Didn't find any campsites so we crossed the road at Carvers Gap and finally found a somewhat level spot behind some trees at the top of a small bald. It will work plus it had an incredible view of the mountains. This is the last time we will be this high until New Hampshire! We had heard a lot of good things about the views from Roan Mt but we didn't see any and found the climb taxing with little reward. But that is life on the AT.
Date: 2016-05-26
From: Round Bald

To: Dolls Flat
Miles today: 11.1

It was very windy .when we woke and we had a hard time taking down the tent without it blowing away.It was overcast and cool most of the day, great hiking weather. The bird watchers were on the bald this morning. Views were great and we made good time.Until we got to Little Hump Mt. So steep but it was manageable if one kept stopping to catch one's breath and enjoy the views.Then came Big Hump Mt which was a bald (no trees) and the views were incredible! Every time you thought you were at the top, there would be more mountain to come! The trail on top was narrow with grass on both sides and the terrain was fairly flat. But the descent on the other side was rocky, rocky, rocky! Have I mentioned that I hate rocks!!!! Our shoes never got dirty cause they never touched the ground! Great Gramps thinks that North Carolina is just a big ditch with rocks in it!'That pretty much sums it up! We finally got to Dolls Flat without breaking a leg and camped at a great site. There were no other hikers or campers and I think we are the last of the bubble of northern thru hikers. We shared the evening with a herd of cows. Cows are better than bears, at least they don't want your food!I am glad we usually hike with long sleeves and pants for protection against tics and poison ivy along a overgrown trail. Need to stay healthy but I am not sure what we will do when the weather gets hot.
Date: 2016-05-27
From: Dolls Flat

To: Mountain Harbour B&B
Miles today: 3.1

Slept in this morning since we have a short hiking day. Thank goodness cause my ankle is sore and I have two blisters! Easy hike except for a tree that was down across the trail and the bag holding our tent was torn open. I think the tent is ok but the bag is now duct taped together.We arrived at Mountain Harbour B&B where we will spend the night. The best part is there is a Jacuzzi tub and I plan to soak my poor tired bones tonight! Already took a shower and they did our laundry for us! Heaven on earth! And our resupply package was waiting for us! ( thanks Christian and Carolynn!)We will be back on the trail in the morning and on our way to Damascus!
Date: 2016-05-28
From: Mountain Harbour B&B

To: Mountaineer Shelte
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Splish splash, I was taking a bath!!!The Jacuzzi tub was marvelous and restorative. Great Gramps and I each took turns soaking our old weary bones (and blisters) and immediately felt better. This B&B is heaven on earth!But let's get to the highlight of the B&B -breakfast! This is what the Mountain Harbour is known for and they certainly lived up to their reputation! The buffet consisted of cinnamon buns, raspberry pastry, fruit ( strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, cantaloupe), tomato pie, hashbrown casserole, ham, two kinds of sausage links, biscuits and gravy, blueberry pancakes, muffins, banana bread and eggs with cheese. I probably forgot something but it was out of this world! How does one hike after that? Several didn't and chose to stay another day.We were finally on the trail by 10:00 and moved along slowly, waiting for food to digest. After about two hours, the blisters were screaming despite all the doctoring I had done. Since the trail was groomed with very few rocks, I decided to wear my Crocs which took the pressure off of my sensitive foot. So for the next six hours I carried my boots and wore my camp shoes! Worked pretty well until the mud oozed into the little holes but I have more socks so no problem. Our hike today brought us through the beautiful countryside of TN. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the trees were green and the wild flowers were in full bloom. The sun was warm but the real heat seemed to come from the meadows, almost tropical in nature and had to be at least ten degrees warmer at about waist level. Interesting. We stopped at a cemetery that the AT passed and picked some wild flowers to lay on the grave of a soldier. Last night on the news, there was an interview with a veteran who survived an attack on his platoon in Vietnam. He was the only survivor and years ago started a tradition on Memorial Day to put flowers on every slodier's grave that died in his platoon. After a few years, he expanded it to include all the soldiers in his division and is now asking for help from the public so that every veteran's grave be decorated with flowers. It was a touching story and so when a cemetery appeared out of nowhere, we had to do our part on Memorial Weekend. Later we passed by the trail to Judas Falls but did not stop (no unnecessary miles today). We replenished water at the Mountaineer Falls and then set up camp at the outskirts of the Mountaineer Shelter. It is the first time in a while we have had fellow campers and interestingly, they all had hammocks. We were the only tenters in the campground. Times change.
Date: 2016-05-29
From: Mountaineer Shelte

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke early to just a sprinkle of raindrops. It seems to take us a long time to get on the trail. Gotta work on improving our efficiency.The trails here in TN are just wonderful and easy to walk on. The mud can't be helped but there are so many footbridges to help cross streams and stones placed for stepping that hiking here has been a pleasure. There are lots of creeks and streams and today we watched as two ducks tried to swim the falls. They gave up and flew downstream. The picture today was taken from a bench that someone had carried up the mountain and set in place. There was no plac but this must have been someone's favorite spot. I believe that if someone went to all that trouble to get that bench there, the least we could do was sit and enjoy.We hiked to the next shelter and set up the tent a little distance away. There are about 8 other campers here, most in tents/hammocks. Only a few use the shelter to sleep and it's main purpose seems to be social. They have a fire going and seem to be enjoying each other's company but most everyone will be asleep by nine o'clock or so cause the hiking days are exhausting. We are over 400 miles this weekend and hope to slowly make better progress but we are facing another big climb tomorrow so we shall see.
Date: 2016-05-30
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Approach to pond gap
Miles today: 10.3

We managed to improve our time to pack up this morning by 15 minutes and were walking (uphill of course) by 8:45. And we were not the last ones out of camp!The trail was really great once again. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining but the air was cool under the trees so it was very pleasant hiking. Despite it being a holiday there were not too many people on the trail until we got to Laurel Falls. This is a popular area for swimming, hiking and camping so it was busy. After that we were the only ones on the trail again. Most of the day consisted of rolling ups and downs until the last mountain at the end of the day. It is a 3 mile climb that we could have saved till morning but the problem is there is no camping in the area immediately after this mountain because of aggressive bear activity. If we put the climb off till tomorrow, it would be a very long day indeed. So we don't put it off and begin the ascent, long and slow. Steep and rocky. After about a mile, Great Gramps spies a small side trail leading to a clearing which is big enough to accommodate our tent. Thank goodness! All I could think was that it was so good to be home!