morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-05
From: Troutdale

To: Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 5.2

After being awakened by the wind, I didn't sleep well. Luckily, there was a little sun and the tarp and fly were dry before I packed them. We met the pastor at the church where the hostel is, Ken Riggins. I might complain about the "homecooked" food, but I don't mind eating a plate of French toast before heading out! There was a local/hiker Lonewolf, who'd been at Jerry's restaurant and store for a week or more and we'd known since our arrival who had long hair. This morning he had cut his hair. He drove us to the trail and we has a pretty easy hike until the last half mile. There were no tent sites near the shelter so we camped over five minutes away. We think we saw a flying squirrel leave a hole in a tree and climb up to get away from us. It then made rain (peed :>)- a portent of what was to come. We wondered if we weren't going to have enough food for the seven days left to hike. I started a fire, but it took some doing because the wood was not completely dry. Some names from the log: Lazy Legs, Hawkeye & Wyoming, Kolocho, Kerosine, Sled Dog, Stud Muffin, Comet, Stitch & Figgy, Tuko Spoon, Chopsticks, Coldylocks, Sudoku, Fishstick & Bullwinkle, Platypus (a plastic water bag that many people have.) Slick Rick, Repete, Cannonball, Nuclear, Nutella, Blue, Caboosie, Bum Bum, Trail Pooh, Tuna Bag, Red & Sweetblood, Skittles, Nature Boy, Two Dogs.It started to rain, slowly building up. At some point we realized that it was almost harder than we would have like to be caught in running back to the tent so we took off with haste. It was a bit dark and we only had one Petzel (headlamp), because we had shed unwanted ounces in Grossclothes. Well we quickly made our way down the hill and over some creeks to jump, somewhat damp, into our tent. It wasn't much water. We had to wait 45 minutes for it to slack up some so we could tie the bearbag to the line we had previvously strung. I like our foodbag cord because it reflects quite well the headlamp light far away in the middle of the dark woods. We weren't far from a stream and unfortuneately, our packs, usually outside the tent, under the fly, were in very damp, you might even say wet, earth. I woke up around three and didn't sleep too well after that. (What a surprise!)
Date: 2007-06-06
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I put the tent, fly, and tarp in my pack a little wet. Our packs had gotten wet on the wet ground. The straps were damp, but it didn't seem to be a problem on our arms or waists. Left at 10:10 and went four miles by 2:00. We stopped at Old Orchard Shelter for lunch and left by three with six more miles to go! Not so great. A father and son showed up and we hung out awhile. Dad took our picture. Finished our six more miles by around 7:15. We saw distant ponies on the way while walking through scrubby savannah-like landscapes. We walked in the sun quite a bit for a change. At one place we had read that you can see the mountains of North Carolina, and Tennessee. We were maybe 40 miles from where the two states meet on Virginia's southern border (South and East of Damascus. The camping turned out to be wonderful and everything was dry before too long. Our feet were very tired. This was as long as our longest day previously. It got cold very quickly as it got dark. We were up higher here. We met a Tennesseean with a distinctive part-chow longhaired dog named Rusty who loved to hike and was now 13 so he wouldn't be hiking a whole lot more. At the shelter was a guy who had been hiking three days with his two kids in their mid- to their late- teens. The kids were enjoying it. They were doing about 5 miles a day. We heard what we think were coyoties screaming. It was rather wierd, and for awhile it seemed like they were getting closer. I saw rabbits for the first time in awhile. I took a picture of the privy. Whiskey was very cold and couldn't get in the sleeping bag fast enough! She finally warmed up and could take her head out of it. I think we'll sleep well.
Date: 2007-06-07
From: Wise Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: broken clouds

We slept great and got going late - about a quarter to 11. We hung out with someone who called himself an "opportunivore." Three or four people who'd slept at Thomas Knob Shelter (our destination) the night before, showed up and ate. One of them talked about camping on Mt. Hood and Mt. Shasta. You have to take a 'blue bag' because you have to pack out your, um, scat. I tried not to imagine what that might be like. I took a photo of the privy as we left. This was a nice one. Most of them had more flies, or no roof, or were small, enclosed and smelly. Someone here had even gathered a large amount of forest duff that goes in the metal "trash" can and is used to "flush" the privy. Most other privy's that needed duff had lots of leaves and sticks in them. Not this one. Pure duff! We did 5 miles by 5:05 pm - and very difficult miles I'll have you know! It was very sunny and rocky. We climbed up Rhododendron gap for a mile and a half or more. After that it wasn't too hard or far to the closest shelter to Mt. Rogers, the highest mountain that the AT goes over in Virginia. We met Luckyman, Preacher, Grandpa (who'd done the trail twice: '93, and in '98-'99 with his daughter. Move On and Slowpoke seperately stopped for water and after a rest, went on. Slowpoke said he likes to take a few zero days (zero mile days, that is) and had a bag of cookies with him! I don't think he's going to make it to Khatadin.Whiskey went with Luckyman and Preacher to the top of Mt. Rogers while I rested and filtered water. They did the two miles and were back in about an hour. Whiskey did 7.5 miles today!We slept upstairs at this two-level shelter (a lot of people go to the top of Mt. Rogers) and saw a mouse! Yikes! Then those three guys snored like all getout!! We did not sleep well at all! These guys weren't just sawing logs, they were clearcutting the mountainside!
Date: 2007-06-08
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hwy 601, then Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Rain was threatening so we ate cold food and left by 9! We'd done 4 miles by noon and we're feeling almost like through hikers! We cooked some couscous for lunch, but then headed uphill and regretted it (too much in our bellies.) We crossed a gravel road to the top and, in the sun again hiked to Buzzard Rock for spectacular views south and east. Enlarge the photo and you'll see it better. Whiskey Jo's arms got burned a bit - the one day she didn't put sunscreen on her arms! We then went down and around to Hwy 601 where we were going to find a place to camp. There weren't very many good places and since it was only 4:00 we decided to go another 2 - 2.5 miles to the next shelter. We arrived around 6 and washed ourselves with the pipe coming out of the spring. Lots of people showed up. Met Fishman and Squirrel who I talked Minnesota with. Fishman said he helped clear the way for Cuba to buy wood and geese from Alabama. Met Barbosa (Redbeard), Spill The Beans, and two UVa students, Tom and Dave. One of them said he was craving an Arugula Salad! Hmmm. We didn't have any arugula with us. It suddenly started to rain when I was hanging the bearbag and we dived for the tent. We stayed in there for 45 minutes and then went and filtered more water and hung out at the shelter and talked. The fire lasted through the rain. Whiskey didn't hardly sleep. I didn't hardly sleep.
Date: 2007-06-09
From: Hwy 601, then Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Whiskey didn't hardly sleep. I didn't hardly sleep. Everyone was gone except for one loud guy who'd kept Whiskey up all morning. I packed the fly still wet. We had a three mile hike down and crossed the Virginia Creeper Trail. Lots of places in Damascus make money from renting bikes and shuttling people up to the top of the 17 miles rails-to-trails trail. We went along it for a half miles dodging bicyclists. Back in the woods, we went up, up, up for four miles. It was quite steep twice. We only passed six hikers all day. The shelter was a bit off the trail. There were lots of pines and we dried the fly and set the tent up on a soft carpet of pine needles. We bathed again in the spring water pipe. It looked like rain, but it never did. Whiskey found a secret pocket in her sleeping bag and now started to put her ear plugs (we used them every day) in it. She wished she had started using it a month ago. We couldn't believe that the trip was almost over and cried together a little.Right after that, two guys showed up - each with a dog carrying a pack. They said they'd gotten caught in the vortex called Damascus for three weeks! The set up somewhere and never came and talked to us again. We read some newpaper pages we had found. I gathered wood and we had a fire until about 10:30 (we were usually in the tent by then). We both slept great for a change. It was very quiet.
Date: 2007-06-10
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Damascus!
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: few clouds

We both slept great for a change. We ate cold food and got started before the two guys who'd gone to bed about two hours before us. We went a little up, four miles down, crossed a road and went two miles up (this was kind of hard), and then two miles down. Half a mile or less on the Creeper Trail and we were in front of the Damascus sign around 2 pm! We stopped a guy riding a recumbant bicycle who took our picture. We stopped in a locally-owned coffeeshop, where we met a woman who'd recently moved back to the US from South Africa and had a diamond with the inscription 'Aunt June's Diamond' in it for identification. We ate subway sandwiches as we were very hungry. We walked to the Lazy Fox a quarter mile away and had showers. We went to the laundry, but their change machine was empty of quarters so we decided to take care of that tomorrow. Ate at Baja, but the food wasn't too good. Whiskers realized that her ankle was twisted a few miles from town. We sat on the front porch while Whisky put ice on her ankle and we called our friends and family on her cellphone. We read and sat there until it was late and then went to bed.
Date: 2007-03-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Will actually be getting a chance to hike on the AT. It will become a reality!!!!!!!!!. Have airline tickets to North Carolina and then our daughter there will taking us to the Springer MOuntain.   My wife will be coming along at least to see me off.    It will be an adventure and hope to enjoy the small moments and lifes little pleasures, as i have said before, that is what it is all about.
Date: 2007-04-18
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Since I saw Dad off Tuesday (04/17/2007), I'm going to be updating Ken's journal, and will try my best to accurately represent his adventures. (My name is Julie and am one of his two daughters.)Day one was windy with gusts probably over 20 mph, but not a cloud in the sky. We made our way to the parking lot off Forest Service Road 42 and I walked with him up to the Springer Mtn. plaque. After that, it was time to put the pack on and start walking!   I have to admit that it was kind of sad watching him disappear into the trees, but I know he's been planning for this all year and was both nervous and excited to finally start.Ken (feels strange not calling him Dad) will be calling in with reports from the trail and the first one came this afternoon. Made it to Hawk Mountain shelter, along with about a dozen other hikers, for the night. Had a good first night, and will be heading to Gooch Mountain shelter for the next stop.
Date: 2007-04-20
From: Wood's Hole

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Got another call from the trail last night. But before we get into the details - we need to find Dad a trail name! After a very good suggestion from a fellow hiker, I realized that calling my Dad - Ken - just didn't feel right, so there needs to be another title. I was thinking Sailor (from his past days of sailing, before the hiking bug bit), but please let us know your ideas/suggestions!!From the first night at Hawk Mtn. 'Sailor' traveled 7.3 miles to the Gooch shelter, and then spent a night at Wood's Gap another 11.9 miles. 'Sailor' is heading for Neel's Gap hostel today. Only 4 miles and then a warm bed and supper! However, first he has to get over Blood Mountain and I know that after all the other elevation changes from the past 3 days, this will be a challenge. It sounds like there's only the start of one blister on his foot, and other than being tired at the end of the day, things are holding up well. Had a good supper of Chicken and rice last night and tried to get warm from the cold temps.
Date: 2007-04-22
From: Low Gap 

To: Rocky Mountain
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Hello again! We've finally settled on a trail name.....Whistler! Dad thought this would be more reflecting of his time on the trail. (he likes to whistle) Since the last post from Neel's Gap, Whistler spent a night at Low Gap shelter. It was a long 10.6 miles from Neel's Gap, and every bit of it was challenging. A lot of up's and down's. He got to try out a new sleeping pad, purchased from the outfitters in town, and hopefully that will help with the sore back. Water has been plentiful with creeks, designated spigots, and even bubbling right out over the rocks, but only drinking after treating it with drops.Today I heard from Whistler around noon and it was time for a lunch break. He had already put in 7 miles this morning. I guess 4 of them were on an easy, flat, old logging road, so that was a nice change of pace. There was going to be a hot lunch (unlike the usual dried fruit and other cold snacks) and a nice nap before doing the last 3 miles to the top of Rocky Mountain and the shelter for tonight's camp.The weather had been good all week and hopefuly it will hold out for the next few days. The nights have been warming up too, and I suppose pretty soon there will be complaints of it being too hot
Date: 2007-04-23
From: Cheese Factory campsite

To: Deep Gap 
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

Almost hiking for a full week, and have survived so far! I hope you'll be able to see the map to get an idea where Whistler's been at, and where he's headed. After 54 miles, he's only got about 20 more to go till crossing the first state line into North Carolina.Spent Saturday night at Low Gap shelter, walked on Sunday with 'Little Engine', and had another gorgeous day of sunshine and warm temps. But I guess there was also a little excitement along the way. They were on the trail that morning until they heard something scraping around in the woods about 300 ft. ahead. Their first thought was a bear and after approaching cautiously, they scared up whatever had been rustling around....wild pigs! Whistler's first encounter with any wildlife on the trail, other than the usual chipmunks and squirrels, were 3-4 pigs. So that was the big story for yesterday!For tonight he's headed for Deep Gap shelter.Side note: its Whistler's birthday in two days - we'll have to remember to wish him well!
Date: 2007-04-25
From: Hiawassee

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: overcast clouds

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!Today's the big day, and I heard there might be an extra candy bar for lunch as a birthday treat! Starting from Deep Gap, yesterday was a short day of actual walking - 3.5 miles - which took Whistler and fellow hikers, Little Engine and Jay Bird, to a road that led into Hiawassee (about 10 miles away). They found a ride into town and got to spend a night at the local Holiday Inn. So I'm sure that a hot shower and comfortable bed were the best birthday presents a person could ask for! While in town today there will be a trip to the grocery store in order to restock food supplies, and then a quick ride on the shuttle back out to the trail. Since most of this morning will be spent in town, Whistler is only planning on hiking 3-4 miles to the next shelter for tonight.Hopefuly the weather holds out for the rest of the week, they're forecasting rain on Friday, so that will be the first day of hiking in the rain.
Date: 2007-04-27
From: Bly Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 25.6

Since it's been a few days since the last entry, I hope things won't get too confusing, but I'll back up to Tuesday and go from there.Tuesday night was spent at the hotel in Hiawassee. Wednesday after getting back to the trail, Whistler, along with Little Engine and JayBird, headed north for the North Carolina border and they made it to Bly Gap. Thursday is when it started to RAIN and RAIN and RAIN!! About 10:30 is when the first drops of rain started and it didn't quit till about 4:00 the next morning. They walked with rain gear on and soaking boots for 2 hours until they got to Standing Indian shelter. Had lunch and since the rain wasn't letting up, decided to call it a day and camped with a roof over their heads. By nightfall, the shelter was full, and more hikers even came in later yet and had to sleep around the covered picnic table area. This morning (Fri.) things had finally dried up, except for the hiking boots, and they were on their way again by 7:00 am. Will be climbing to almost 5,500 ft today and cover about 10 miles. With all of the mountains, the miles don't go by as fast, but the view's have been spectacular, and going down is always a lot easier. As of yesterday, Whistler's put on 83.1 miles - those making donations will have to start counting their pennies - the miles are adding up!!   For those outside of Kaukauna, WI; the idea of a donation started as a joke, a friend would donate a penny for every mile Whislter walks to the local Rotary Club - but now it's been catching on to other friends and family members, so by the end of the hike, the Club might be getting a very nice sized contribution!
Date: 2007-04-30
From: Standing Indain shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 34.0
Weather: clear sky

Since the day of rain last week, things have been going well for Whistler. The weather's been good and the miles are adding up! After tackling the elevation changes on Friday, Whistler spent the night at Big Spring shelter. Saturday was a momentous day when 100 miles had been covered. It was also Whistler's first encounter with 'trail magic'. A wonderful experience where cold water, soda, chips, sweets and other goodies that hikers long for on the trail appear on the trailside, often donated by local folks that want to help out the hikers that come through their community. In this case, it was a group of people from a local church that waited at a small parking lot (at the road crossing that takes you into Franklin, NC) for hikers to cross and then they were happy to donate some small treat. For Whistler, it was a cold soda and a Rice Krispy Treat. But not only food, they were also offering prayers for those that passed through! From there, Whistler got a shuttle to take him and Little Engine into the town of Franklin and Saturday night was spent at a little hotel, and a big buffet restaurant. Sunday covered 11 miles, and spent the night camping at Winding Stair Gap, elevation 3,770 ft. The highlight that day was reaching the summit of Wayah Bald, elevation 5,340 ft. A 'Bald' is what a mountain is called when grass is growing at the top. I guess that's not a common occurance, but Indians had burned the mountain top since its early history and that's what kept the vegetation from growing up. From there, Whistler got his first views of the Smoky Mountains. Just a preview of what's coming next!
Date: 2007-05-01
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Nantahla Outdoor Recreation Center
Miles today: 16.0

Whistler's been out on the trail two weeks now! Well into North Carolina and soon will be entering Smoky Mountain National Park. He got another view of the mountain range from the top of Wesser Bald on Monday. Very impressive to see! Monday was a lot of ups and downs, and while it may be hard to imagine, going down can be as hard as going up. You use a whole different set of muscles going down and Whistler said it was rough on the knees. After a long 16 mile day, Monday night was spent at the A. Rufus Morgan shelter. Tuesday was considered a 'nero'. Hiker slang for near zero miles, but not quite. Whistler put on less than a mile and took a much needed break at the Nantahla Outdoor Recreation Center. The day was spent washing clothes at the hostel he'll be staying at, taking a nap, early dinner and watching the rafters and kayakers hit the rapids on the Nantahla River.For Wednesday, Whistler was telling me that he has about 12 miles and 2,500 feet to climb to get to the next shelter. Hopefully it won't be as hot as Monday - which was well over 80 degrees.
Date: 2007-05-04
From: Nantahla Outdoor Recreation Center

To: Fontana Dam shelter
Miles today: 29.5
Weather: light rain

Wednesday night was spent at Locust Cove. The camping area was pretty full with 7 other tents - and the total miles is up to 144! Thursday the rain held off for most of the day and Whistler made it over Stecoah Gap. He said it was a tough climb, but at least the pack is lighter since he's getting to the bottom of the food supply. Whistler's mentioned a couple of times how his appetite has grown over the days of hiking. He seems to be eating more than on his previous hikes on the Ice Age trail in Wisconsin. I guess they call it 'hiker hunger' for a reason. But there are plans for refueling at Fontana Dam where he will be stopping at the Post Office in order to collect a box of supplies that he had sent out to himself before leaving for the hike. Spent Thursday night at Cable Gap shelter with 4 other hikers. It sounded like between the 5 of them, at least one person took turns snoring throughout the night. The other bit of interesting news for Thursday was a rattlesnake sighting. Whistler didn't actually see the snake, but 2 other hikers coming into camp shortly after him were talking about finding one on the trail.   Ughh!!Today Whistler is going to make it into Fontana Village to stay at the shelter fondly known as the Fontana Hilton. Because of its large size and hot shower facilities, this shelter sounds pretty nice! As a side note: I will be meeting up with Whistler tomorrow! I'm excited to see him again and it'll be neat to see some of trail he's been on. My fiance, Ryan, and I are about 4 hours from Fontana so we'll drive out tomorrow afternoon and then spend the rest of the weekend exploring the area. I'd like to walk over the Fontana Dam (supposedly the tallest one east of the Rockies) and get into the Smoky Mtn. National Park. Whistler'll have some more pictures too, so I'll be adding those once I get back. You'll have to check in Monday to get the update!