morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-05-19
From: Shippensburg Rd. 

To: Pine Grove Furnace St. Park
Miles today: 8.5

Started out early to avoid the afternoon heat, humidity, and potential thunderstorms. Pete and Tim hiked out the first .4 mile with me and Jenny to the 2019 AT Midpoint (1,096 miles), where we had a minnie celebration for this milestone! Jenny sang and blew bubbled and the guys took pics and videos.  It¢s hard to believe I¢ve hiked that many miles. Lots of mud around the Toms Run Shelter area and for most of the miles to the Pine Grove Furnace St. Park. We met our sherpas there to celebrate the midway point again with ice cream. After checking out the AT Museum we drove back to our campground.
Date: 2019-05-20
From: Sheet Iron Roof Rd. 

To: PA 174/ ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Skipped ahead a section today to have a shorter hike due to high heat and humidity. We¢ll pick up the longer skipped section tomorrow when cooler. The AWOL guide made the day look easier than I experienced. We had several steep climbs. The 2 rock mazes though were not too lengthy or difficult. They were fun and interesting.  Stopped by Alec Kennedy Shelter and the monument at the original AT midpoint. Since the trail length occasionally  changes so does the midpoint. We took a suggested detour around a low, mucky area then hiked into farm fields where we somehow missed a turn. We bushwhacked to a RR track that we knew would eventually lead us back to the trail. We met the guys at the park with the old, iron furnace. We walked on past the the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office then to a great lunch at Cafe101 before going back to our campground. Ran into Pivotal again in Boiling Springs.
Date: 2019-05-21
From: Sheet Iron Roof Rd. 

To: Pine Grove Furnace St. Park
Miles today: 10.8

Hiked south today on this previously skipped section so we could end up at Pine Grove Furnace St. Park for a late lunch with our sherpas. It was a sunny cool day for a relatively easy hike. We really had not seen too many thru hikers since we started our section hike on May 10th, but today saw 18.  It helped that we were moving south as they were all hiking north.  We stopped at James Fry Shelter for a quick break,  but otherwise had an uneventful hike. We did speak with Mammoth, a thru hiker that had just finished his 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge at the Pine Grove General Store and also with Magician who was just starting his. It¢s tradition for thru hikers to eat an entire 1/2 gallon of ice cream at this store to celebrate having hiked half of the AT.  Thank goodness I¢m a section hiker... no brain freeze for me!
Date: 2019-05-22
From: PA 174/ ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office

To: US 11 / Carlisle, Pa. 
Miles today: 8.0

A glorious last day on the AT for this 105 mile  section hike.  Saw some familiar faces in Boiling Springs before heading north.  Counting Pa 174 where we started and US 11 where we finished we crossed 10 roads in 8 miles.  We enjoyed the very easy hiking through mostly flat trail in woods and farmland.  Went up and over 2 stiles, crossed a few foot bridges, saw an old family cemetery, and crossed a RR track just after a train passed. We especially loved the ¢TRIP HAZARD AHEAD¢ sign along the trail. WOW! So glad we were warned. Wouldn¢t want to trip on anything out there!
Date: 2019-03-22
To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: broken clouds

My 20 year redo of the AT! I remember how my parents came down and started me off from here 20 years ago. How things change. Both of them are dead now, my father just last year in December. They loved shadowing me until their camper caught on fire outside of Franklin at the top of the pass by the AT and made the local paper's front page news.... ahhh so long ago. I too have changed. I was such a beast then. Now I feel far more fragile. One knee replaced, the other one also already qualifying for a replacement. Last time I too was challenged by the AT approach trail, but this time, while I was comfortably exhausted, my knees were on fire, screaming at every step at the end. I gave myself permission to back out if I wanted to but just day one is not enough of a test. I made it a day hike and once we hit the Springer Mt parking lot I was happy for a ride to the bottom where I could sleep in a real bed and try to work out the aches and pains. Tomorrow? A two night stint to Woody gap and another ride to a clean dry bed. Yay, the privilege of old(der) age. Take it slow. Give myself more creature comforts and make a summer of it. Maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't. But at least today I made it to the top of Springer.Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-23
From: Springer Mountain

To: Springer Mountain parking lot
Miles today: 1.0

My 20 year redo of the AT! This is to log that first mile of the AT from the top of Springer to the Springer parking lot as part of my AT hike though of course the Approach Trail was the biggest part of today's journey. My companion for much of this hike will be my 2.5 year old Great Dane. She's very small for her age and still has big paws so most guess she's still a puppy. Definitely has puppy brain. Learning how to hike with a dog, (and she learning how to hike all day) has been a bit of a challenge. I'd say shes a good 10-20% handycap. She's constantly pulling on her leash either forward or back, or circling me causing me to do 360s to keep her leash in front of me. I've let her off the leash on occasion but there are alot of people hiking the approach trail so not the best plan. Besides she needs to get used to it for Shenandoah. I felt I was being passed by pretty much everyone today and I passed no one. All good. I promised myself to be good to myself and take all the time I need. Sleeping in a real bed tonight!!! Yes!Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-24
From: Springer Mountain parking lot

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

Another gorgeous day. A good nights rest a little leg massage and two Aleve seemed to make a big difference. Took two more this morning just to have them on board if I was going to re-experience the knee pains I had from yesterday. My two day goal is Woody Gap where I can get another trail rescue to a clean bed so two tens would be a good goal, but its supposed to rain much of tomorrow so a few extra miles today would be a bonus. I think the terrain was a bit easier today and another thing I remembered was to bring my hiking poles. They helped me significantly soften the impact of each step going either up or down steeper inclines. I'd like to say that was the difference. My goal had been Justice Creek at 14.4 but had a feeling that was too far. Remembering back to 20 years ago I realized I made it all the way to Gooch Gap Shelter at mile 15.7 but this time I was happy to dry camp at the top of Cooper Mountain (AT mile 11.6). The Hawk shelter was beyond packed with over 30 hikers and 4 dogs by 3PM. I didn't think I could make it the next 6 miles to Justice (the next water supply) so I had my "dinner" early and packed enough water to dry camp along the way. This was also a test of the dog. Leila had never camped and been outdoors overnight so other then learning how to hike, this overnighter would be quite an experience for her.Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-25
From: Cooper Mountain

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 8.9

I'm happy that the promised rain didn't start as early in the morning as had been predicted. Cooper Mountain was a great though dry camp site. It was at the top of the mountain and I was worried about pre storm wind, but I picked a fairly sheltered spot and the wind was not bad so a great stop all in all. Better than having stayed at Hawk Mt Shelter (mile 8.1) with its large crowds. As I met a few hikers from there though out the day I learned there was quite a bit of drama for much of the night. People on cell phones much of the night. People getting into arguments and storming off. Glad I missed the fun. I had my own drama. Leila had never gone camping before so I wondered how this tenting thing would go. It went about as I expected, badly. She was a bit freaked and uncomfortable. Good thing I left my tent screen unzipped as she bolted up and barreled through it when she heard something. More than a couple of times in the night she headed out to bark at some imagined threat. I'm wondering what she would do if she encountered a bear. I'm not sure what I should do. She's so big I can't really control her if she's on that kind of mission. Neither of us got a good night sleep. I was encouraged however to see the moon through much of the night thinking we'd have a weather reprieve. We did. Happy to make it to Gooch Shelter without rain. Fun to meet some of the hikers there. Named Green Slouch and maybe Tater. Met Chopstix (2016) and Q-Tip. Did some Geocaching along the way! Shhh! And then the rains began. It was about 2 miles to Woody Gap. I remembered how much my Leila girl hates rain and realized I had no rain cover for her pack. Things to take care of for next time. That last stretch was also another small test for us as a hiking pair. The best news of all was that my knees have been only whispering their pain, not at all like day one. This I can live with. I'm sore and tired but not in too much pain. As the rain came pouring down we made it to the warm dry car. Ahhh for the want of a nice warm shower and a hot meal. Happy happy.Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-27
From: Neels Gap

To: Poplar Stamp Gap
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Full pack today as the distance to the next road crossing is more than I can hike in a day. Whoo! That extra 20 lbs above my day pack weight was noticeable. I'm slower. Leila carried her pack as well as we have our second overnight tenting experience. My plan was to get to Unicoi Gap at mile marker 52.5 in two hiking days where we'd meet Stan again, keeping with my 10 miles per day goal. I've been feeling stronger everyday and though I had targeted Low Gap shelter at mile marker 42.8, I was hoping to make it a bit further. The hiking weather was again fantastic and terrain tolerable and I have been slowly getting my hiking stride back so I was pleased with my progress. Leila is also becoming a better hiking partner though tended to follow so close behind me she often stepped on the back of my shoes or, especially when going downhill, butted the back of my pack in such a way that it launched me forward a bit. Good thing I have hiking poles (sticks) so I didn't find myself face first down the hill! I readjusted my goal to the Poplar Stamp Gap at mile marker 44.3 and as it looked like another dry tent site so I needed a water plan. As before I figured I'd stop to eat dinner at the Low Gap shelter then hike the last mile or so to set up camp. There was quite a crowd at the shelter as well as a number of tenters nearby. It was hard to leave and getting later but I wanted to get in earlier to Unicoi so wanted to move on. I was in for a happy surprise. The trail out of Low Gap was an old graded mountain road. That was VERY easy walking! I flew up the hill at much better than normal hiking speed. Since this site was on the map I assumed I would find other campers there. In total there were 6 of us. A father and son (forgot their names), A german hiker Alex, Ethan, Eliza and myself. While I rarely make campfires, the group was up for it and we had a great time chit-chatting around the fire. Leila still needed to play guard dog however and stood guard for a few more hours before I could coax her in to sleep.Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-28
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Mt Tray Shelter
Miles today: 14.0

That beautiful graded old roadbed continued out of Poplar Gap for another few miles and the hiking was fast and easy. Wow. If the whole hike could be this smooth, but eventually we were back to a more traditional hiking trail. I was far ahead of schedule so started looking at the next section, Unicoi to Dick's Gap. It still seemed more than I could do in a day (mile 52 to 69) but since I was so early perhaps I would just move on. I met Stan at Unicoi Gap at 1PM, plenty of time to hike a few more miles making Dicks Gap and mile 69 reachable in one more day. Unicoi also had another surprise, a "hiker feed" was taking place. I had never heard the term before but I guess its now more common. Some group sets up food for hikers. In this case it was a local baptist church offering burgers, chips, fruit, cookies, bibles, advice and more. I partook of the food and enjoyed the camaraderie of some of the other hikers that had stopped. It was good to sit for a bit before moving on especially looking at the hill we had to climb right out of the gap. Woof! To increase my speed for the next section I asked Stan to take pup. The short goal was Indian Grave Gap, up and down 1000 ft in three miles, the longer goal was Tray Mt shelter adding another 1000 ft elevation in another 3 miles. Did it!. Great spot, great views, lots of hikers again but I managed to snag a spot in the shelter for a quicker morning getaway.Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-29
From: Mt Tray Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.1

A special treat waiting for me at the end of the day. Stan had found a nearby winery offering a tapas and live music event for the evening. If I could make it down by three we could make it. There's some motivation. I also promised myself a zero day tomorrow (no mileage). I don't want to stop as the weather is projected to be beautiful and I hate to waste a sunny day to sit around, but it's been 7 days of hiking and I can feel my body getting worn down. Everything is sore. I need to recover a bit. On the knee front, the new knee has been getting stronger, but the old knee is starting to tweek with more pain, especially on the downhills. In the beginning my old knee was doing extra duty to make up for the weaknesses of the new one. Now the reverse is starting to happen. I know I need to take the break. Since Tray Mt is the second highest peak in Georgia the net elevation change was all downhill. One 1000 foot climb up Kelly's Knob and we were into the Gap. I was also able to slide out of the shelter by 7:15 and was the first one on the trail this morning. Combining an early start with my improved strength I was happy to see the end of my hiking day at 1PM. As to the tapas, it was great but I was so tired I didn't even want to go. Just let me get clean, slide me into bed, get my feet up and sleep! We'll sort it all out tomorrow!Hyper99
Date: 2019-03-30
From: Dick's Gap

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Whew! Tired! Ah, to lay down and get my feet up above my heart. On the trail I put my backpack under my legs to elevate my feet at night and bring down the throbbing and any swelling in both feet or knees. Here I enjoyed a pillow. No blisters yet and I hope that stays that way. I was happy to get cleaned up, rest my body and eat real food. I have been eating well on the trail so far keeping up with my Nutritarian diet goals. Most of that has been possible because of the amount of food I prepped before starting the trail. Alot of my food doesn't look that appetizing because it doesn't have the commercial color dyes but tastes just fine. This stop has also exposed how my diet change has improved my choices. 20 years ago my routine was a quart of OJ, a quart of milk and the greasiest burger I could find, this time we headed for the grocery store that had a beautiful salad bar and I piled it high. It was just as satisfying. I hear it on the trail and have heard it much of my athletic life: eat more protein, you need it to compete. Now I believe: eat more nutrients - greens, nuts, seeds, legumes. I feel so much better.
Date: 2019-03-31
From: Dick's Creek Gap

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

Rained hard last night. I mean RAINED HARD!!! Thunder, lighting rocked the RV. I was so happy to be under cover. Avoiding this storm hadn't been my intention but it was sure good timing. Headed out before 8 to a damp cool morning. My last 7 miles in GA. Good bye pecan pie and sweet tea (neither of which I had had anyway, Georgia just reminds me of those things). Somehow its a milestone to say good bye to the first state of the trail. The trail maintainers along this section were outstanding. I met 4 of them and their care and attention to both the trail and structures as well as the passing hikers, was phenomenal. Kudos!!! Met and loosely hiked with two father/son pairs and we all crossed into NC together and took plenty of pictures of each other. My plan was a 3 day 41 mile stretch to Franklin NC Rt 64 so I needed to do close to 13-14 per day, however about mid day things really started changing. A cold front was moving in after that rain and it was starting to bite. Everyone else was pulling into Muskrat Creek Shelter and I wanted to share the company. I'd try to fit the extra miles into another day. Brrr it got cold. I'm told that at a lower elevation than us (4567 ft) it was only 15 degrees! We made a fire but even that was not enough and died down quickly. Turns out that in total we had five father/son pairs at this location. NC feels different. The shelters are different, or perhaps its just the cold introduction.Hyper99
Date: 2019-04-01
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.2

Yikes! Getting up was not easy. Cold cold cold. I had every stitch of clothes on I had brought. Sleeping bag not warm enough. Poor Leila was suffering too. I tried hard to keep her on her sleeping pad (adds insulation from the ground) and wrapped in her blanket as well opening my sleeping bag to pull her in for extra shared heat. She was unfortunately waking up to hack some irritant out of her lungs multiple time during the night and that made bundling back into bed tough. No one slept well. Morning happened. In this situation I really know only one way to get warm. Start walking. The time, energy and cold exposure it would take to make a hot beverage would more than cancel out any benefit. I also had extra miles to pull. I grabbed my stuff as quickly as possible and was moving, stumbling would better describe it. Hoarfrost was everywhere, all the mud and puddles were frozen, icicles were hanging off the springs. I didn't need to go fast, just move. Sure enough an hour or so later I was feeling better. I stopped for my breakfast another hour after that.I targeted Betty Creek tent site as my goal today but I knew that would be ambitious. Over 16 miles out with Standing Indian Mountain ahead. It is the highest peak in the Southern Nantahala forest standing over 5650 ft. Nothing to do but keep walking. It turned out that Standing Indian Mountain was an easy climb. As earlier, the mountain had once had a road to the top, so the walk had a smooth grade and we were quickly to the top. I took the time to take the side trail to the top and was not at all disappointed. Beautiful. Down was a bit more challenging but all around an easy time. After that it was in and out of creeks and valleys for what seemed forever. Carter Gap Shelter at mile 93.5 was a possibility but it just wasn't far enough. I passed by Carter around 3 pm so still plenty of time before dark, I figured I could make it to Betty. As I descended into Betty my knees started speaking loudly again. You might thing I'd be proud to have my longest mileage day yet, but I'm not. I need to take better care. This is not sustainable. I see some of the young ones sweep by me on the trail but know that simply not an option for me. Its another cold night below freezing but nothing close to yesterday. Found my dinner shy of calories and was supplemented by others. Met some fun new people as well as caught up with a few (Audible, Hot Sauce and friends). Found two other people from NH.
Date: 2019-04-02
From: Betty Creek Gap

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 12.2

Leila and I had another rough night. She wasn't hacking tonight but she seemed even colder than last night. She was often shivering. I hadn't planned on a coat for her but I had brought an extra layer of mine for her. It worked amazingly well but still not enough to stave off the night time cold. After hours of trying I finely got her to tuck into my sleeping bag with her back so I could cover her with a big section of it. We finally got to sleep. Its the first time I woke up to full light. It was only 8AM but later than we had been getting up. It was definitely not as cold as yesterday, but I did like yesterday's strategy and employed it again today, just pack up and move. There were three hills and 12ish miles to cover so I didn't have to stress so much. The first was Mt Albert (5213 ft) with a fire tower, As I get closer I notice the snowflakes. By golly! Its snowing! I also had some information on a stand of American Chestnut trees in the area that I was hoping to look at. They used to comprise somewhere between 25-60% of all the trees in the Appalachian Mountains and were wiped out by an Asian blight back in the early 1900s. Can you imagine a forest completely different from the one we know today? Turns out there are still a number of stands that try to regrow throughout these mountains. They grow enough to throw seeds or grow shoots from their roots. They all eventually catch the blight themselves but live long enough to procreate, so persist. I found the story fascinating and went to take a look. By the time we got to the fire tower snow had actually accumulated a bit. It was fun and not threatening at all. The sun came out while touring the tower. Then it was off to the smaller two elevation climbs before the decent to Winding Stair Gap. Met a woman doing trail magic offering hard boiled eggs and carrots. Leila got my egg and I grabbed some carrots. First time I saw Leila flagging today. She has been such a trouper, really built for this. Her big feet and long legs making all of this look like a walk in the park. But in the end she stopped to lie down a few times. Could be the cold and lack of sleep more than just the terrain that she seems to float over. But tonight is another RV night so quick to the finish for a shower, a real meal and warm bed.Hyper99