morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-03-12
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Long night last night. Didn't sleep well. Was up and hiking early. First 45 minutes I hiked in the dark using my headlamp. I needed to be at Rock Gap by 9am to catch the shuttle into Franklin, NC. Made the shuttle and got a room at the Sapphire Inn. Turns out this hotel is owned by the same person that owns the Budget Inn that I stayed at in Hiawassee, Georgia. (Ron Haven) he really goes the extra mile to help out hikers. I got a well needed shower, cleaned my gear and did laundry. Took another shuttle into town to re supply at the Walmart and went to the local outfitter store to check into getting my permit for the Smokeys. Turns out I can get that in Fontana. I've met several people over the last few days while hiking, werewolf, seeker, sparkles, hopper and Bismarck who had thru hiked the AT twice already. All unique in their own way and good people. Have a pretty good storm system coming in tomorrow night with a lot of rain, so I will be catching a shuttle tomorrow morning and headed north to Burningtown Gap and hiking southbound to Rock Gap where I got off this morning a total of 18.4 miles. That way I can stay another night here at the motel and miss most of the storm and then go north from Burningtown Gap without taking a zero day. It will be a long day, but I will still be logging miles instead of just sitting here trying to wait out the storm.
Date: 2015-03-13
From: Rock Gap

To: Burningtown Gap
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Caught a shuttle at 0730 to Burningtown Gap and hiked southbound to Rock Gap. It was a cold and rainy day. Didn't take long for the hands to get cold. Stopped on top of Wayah Bald and took picture with the stone tower that is there. Made it to Rock Gap at around 345pm. Hiked with F-bomb, Mau, Butch, Subdance and Dirt time. Caught shuttle back in to town where the rest of the night will be cleaning gear again! Tomorrow we will catch the shuttle back to Burningtown Gap and hike north to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). My legs and knees are really feeling it after today's hike. Looks like rain again tomorrow.
Date: 2015-03-14
From: Burningtown Gap

To: Natahala Outdoor Center (NOC)
Miles today: 13.1

Got shuttle to Burningtown Gap and hiked 13.1 miles to the NOC. Long hard day. Probably the most dangerous day I've had so far. Pouring rain made the trail extremely slippery and muddy. Had my first fall today. Landed right on my back. Happened so quick. I laid there for a minute to see if there was any pain and when I felt none I just started to laugh. Had to scale a rocky ledge, which I didn't much care for. It took me several minutes to do that. I don't like heights very well. By the time we made it to the NOC I was covered in mud. Washed my pants in a bathroom sink, hopefully they will be dry by morning. Had a nice meal at the restaurant. Sharing a bunk room with dirt time. Our bunk room isn't any bigger than a jail cell. It's supposed to quit raining at some point tonight, then sunny skies for the next 3-4 days. I will believe that when I see it.
Date: 2015-03-15
From: Natahala Outdoor Center (NOC)

To: Stecoah Gap, Cabin in the woods hostel
Miles today: 13.2

Started hiking at 0750. Climbed 5 hours to cheoah bald at 5062 feet. The highest mountain around and I had no cell phone coverage. Thanks Sprint! We had great views today. Hiking was hard because it was straight up and straight down. Hiked 13.2 miles today. It was sunny and in mid 60s which is a total change from what I've been hiking in. Still hiking with fbomb,Mau, dirt tine, butch and Sundance. We were all out of water for about the last 3 miles today. Never even seen a water source today. Staying at Cabin in the Woods Hostile. Run by Donna and Phil. We have our own cabin, fully equipped kitchen and bath. Donna is cooking chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables and peach cobbler. Dinner was awesome. Very nice people and I highly recommend this place.
Date: 2015-03-16
From: Stecoah Gap, Cabin in the woods hostel

To: Fontana dam shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 6 and had a great breakfast cooked by Donna. There was scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, corn bread muffins, muffins with jalape±os, yogurt, juice and coffee. After stuffing ourselves Donna and Phil gave us a ride back to Stecoah Gap and we hiked long and hard up to the top of Jacobs ladder and made our way to Fontana Dam where I'm sharing a room at the lodge with Dirt time. I needed a shower in a bad way. It's pretty bad when you can't even stand your own smell. Need to wash clothes also and get permit for the Smokeys as we enter the park tomorrow and will have 7 days to make it thru, however I have heard that the ridge runners can adjust your permit if needed. Forecast is calling for pretty good weather for next several days, but in the Smokeys you can have clear skies and sunny one day and wake up to 6 inches of snow the next. Still no blisters on my feet, just pain in my knees. Going downhill is murder on my knees. I'm enjoying the company of the 5 guys I've been hiking with. We all hike at different speeds so we usually are by ourselves, but all end up at our preset destination. Mao is carrying the USMC flag all the way to Katadyn and we stopped on top of Hogback Gap and had our picture taken
Date: 2015-03-17
From: Fontana dam shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Left Fontana Dam around 8 this morning. Great day for hiking sunny with no chance of rain. We crossed Fontana Dam and got several pictures. Put our permits on the Ranger box and entered the Great Smokey Mountains. Had great views today from Shuckstack tower, although there was no way I was actually going to climb to the top of the tower. Mau and dirt time did tho. Also had great pictures from the top of Doe Knob. For about the next hundred miles or so we keep crossing back and forth between North Carolina and Tennessee. The trail runs the state lines the whole length of the Smokeys. Got to Russell Field Shelter about 6pm. Filtered water, ate and got in sleeping bag. Cold night. Hiked 13.9 miles today. Also saw my first snake today, it was just a Gardner Snake but it was definitely a wake up call that it was getting warmer and they are starting to move. At least it wasn't a. Rattlesnake or Copperhead.
Date: 2015-03-18
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Cold night last night. Not much sleep. Couldn't get comfortable and there was way too much snoring going on. Up and on the trail at 815. Today was without a doubt one of the hardest hiking days so far. Several up and downs. They wear you out real quick. The weather was absolutely perfect for hiking, no rain, no wind, and cool. Had a great 360 degree view on top of Rocky Top, took several pictures here. It was a long hike to Silers Bald Shelter. Made it to the shelter about 5pm. I did my normal duties with getting water filtered, ate and I got to text my wife for a few minutes before I lost signal, which was nice. I miss her and my son. Tomorrow we will climb over Clingmans done, which is the highest point on the entire trail, 6655 feet. We should get to Newfound Gap late tomorrow and will head into Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a much needed zero, maybe two! Hiked 15 miles today.
Date: 2015-03-19
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Got pretty cold during the night last night. Had to get up about 0130 to use the little boys room. Saw something out of the corner of my eye, when I turned my head, I saw two eyes looking right at me, when I turned my headlamp on there was a deer about 7-10 feet away just looking at me then wondered off. When we left the shelter shortly after 8am it was pouring rain with a temperature in the mid 30s with high winds. Didn't take long before we were all soaking wet and cold. Had to stop several times and put my hands under my armpits or blow on then to warm them up. With these conditions we hiked hard for about 7 hours to make it to Newfound Gap where we were going to hitch a ride into town. About 1130 we hiked over Clingmans Dome, which is the highest point on the entire Appalachian Trail at 6655 feet. Didn't take any pictures today. Only thing on my mind was hiking to our destination. By the time we got to Newfound Gap we were so cold our hands were numb and had a hard time getting the buckles undone to take our packs off. We waited only about 5 minutes when a ridge runner that was getting off shift offered to give us a ride into Gatlinburg. He was definitely a life saver. Once in town I got a room at the Motel 6 and took a very long hot shower and crashed. I was so tired. Hard day of hiking. I expected some days like this, you can't expect to make it to Maine without them, I just hope there's not too many more.
Date: 2015-03-20
From: Newfound Gap

To: Motel 6 Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero Day today!Need to rest the feet and knees. I've hiked 14 straight days and a 154 miles without a break. The body needs a little R and R. Went to the local outfitter here in town and bought a new water filter. The Katadyn that I have is a great system but to heavy at 1.5 pounds compared to just 3 oz. of the Sawyer squeeze. Also got a new fuel canister and will be mailing some things home that I found I really don't need. Rain in forecast for today and possibly tomorrow.
Date: 2015-03-21
From: Motel 6 Gatlinburg, TN

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

Enjoyed my zero yesterday. Pretty much just stayed in my hotel room off my feet and relaxed. Another zero today. Got a ride to the store today with Dirt time and his wife and am re supplied and ready to return to the trail tomorrow. Going to church tomorrow morning and then will catch a ride back to Newfound Gap and finish the last three days of the Smokeys. Thought I would take a minute and go over some of the lingo and practices of the trail I've learned over the past 3 weeks. You don't shake hands out here, because that helps spread germs. Instead you either bump elbows or fists. AYCE - all you can eat (hikers look for these)Hiked midnight - 9pmNOBO - northbound hike from Georgia to Maine. SOBO - southbound hike from Maine to Georgia. Trail Magic - an unexpected gift, usually in the form of food,soda, or water provided by a church group or private citizens. Shelter - a 3 sided structure varying in size for hikers to sleep in. Privey - basically an outhouse, some have 2 seats side by side with no barriers between them or doors. PUDS - pointless up and downs. Switchbacks - trail that goes back and forth up or down the mountainside. Saving you from going straight up or straight down. Sometimes they are a lifesaver and other times they are a pain, making you hike longer than what is needed. Zero- a day where no miles are hikedNero- a day with few miles hiked, usually 5 or less
Date: 2015-03-22
From: Gatlinburg

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: broken clouds

Got up early and left pack with Dirt Time and his wife and caught a ride to church with Steve Koon, the owner of the Grand Prix motel. Started the day with great preaching from the Pastor at the Roaring Fork Baptist Church. He preached a great message on "Inheriting the Kingdom of God". After church I hooked back up with Dirt Time and his wife gave us a ride back to Newfound Gap where we continued our adventures thru the Smokey's. We were only hiking 3 miles today, because Fbomb and Mau were going to meet up with us later in the day. It was a nice day for hiking. Great views and clear skies. When we got to the shelter we noticed that Fbomb and Mau were already there, they left earlier than expected. There was a "Ridgerunner" there by the name of "Twinkletoes" and she checked everyone's permit. It was a very nice day for hiking
Date: 2015-03-23
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

It rained all night, but stopped just before we started to hike, as wer were all eating breakfast this morning a deer walked right in front of the shelter, only about 10-15 feet from us. This deer could care less if we were there or not. She stopped right in front of us and ate grass for about 10 minutes and then just continued to walk away. The sun came out and temp's were around 50 degrees, another great day for hiking, and also knew there would be some great pictures today. Saw a weasel or mink while hiking today. Hiked thru several different types of terrain today which made for a nice hike. Got to the shelter around 5pm, and hikers started showing up and filling the shelter shortly after, also had 5 Boy Scouts and their leader show up. They started a fire using wet wood ( I was highly impressed). However I was not impressed with their Leader for several reasons. I got a call from my wife today while at the shelter stating that the Federal Government wouldn't accept the Power of Attorney that I left her, giving her authorization to sign my name. And she needed me to get to a town ASAP to sign a form and mail it overnight so she could get my son a passport. I was a long, long, long way from a town. I knew tomorrow was going to be a long and stressful day for me.
Date: 2015-03-24
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostile
Miles today: 18.4

I didn' sleep well last night, because I knew I had to find some way to make it to a town. We were up early and started hikiing shortly before 8am. I left the guys and told them I would meet up with them in Hot Springs. I usually hike around 2 miles and hour, however today I was hiking like a madman and with an urgent purpose. I don't know how I did it, but I hiked 17 miles in just over 6 hours to Interstate I-40. Hiking this fast and hard came with a price tho!m I could tell I had blisters on my feet and I also twisted my knee today and had some severe pain everytime I put pressure down on my left knee. I was really concerned that I had damaged my knee to the point It was going to end my hike. At I-40 I saw a Tennessee State Police Trooper sitting there, running radar and explained my situation and he gave me a ride to Newport which was the closest town about 22 miles away. He dropped me off at the library where I was able use their computer and print off the form that my wife sent to me. Now I had to find a notary to sign the form, this took some doing, I first went to the court house, where beleive it or not they dont have any. I finally found a notary at a tiny law firm. As they were signing the form and I was paying the $10 fee I happened to look at the clock and saw that it was 4:16 pm. I asked where the post office was and what time they closed. I was informed that it was 4 blocks up the hill and they closed at 4:30. My heart sunk, I thought there was no way I was going to make it, and after everything I've done today and getting so close. I ran, actually walked/jogged as fast as I could up this long hill with a 40lb. pack and a screaming knee. I found the post office and flung the door open and noticed the clock said 4:28. I made it! I couldn't believe it. I got the documents in the mail and caught a ride back to where the State Police picked me up from and Hiked the last 1.4 miles to the hostile. It was a long day, I crashed shortly after securing my bunk for the night and eating a pizza.PS. There was a Dr. at the hostile who looked at my knee and said it was probably a strained or pulled IT Band and that I needed to rest my knee and showed me some stretches that would help. I felt somewhat relieved.
Date: 2015-03-25
From: Standing Bear Hostile

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I felt much better in the morning, but my knee was still painful. Got some motrin from Fbomb and Dirt Time and I headed out. Fbomb and Mau were going to slack pack from Max Patch back to the shelter and then meet me and Dirt Time tomorrow in Hot Springs. It was about 9am when we started hiking. We again had great weather with clear skies. Probably some of the best views so far were today. We Hiked across Max Patch which is a large grassy Mountain Top. You could see 360 degrees. We took about a 20 minute break up there, the sun was beating down on us and you could easily take a nap there. We continued to hike and made it to the shelter around 4pm or so. This was a small shelter compared to most and only had room for about 8. It filled up quickly. During the night some sort of animal was chewing on the shelter, we saw teeth marks in the wood between mine and Dirt Time's packs.
Date: 2015-03-26
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 18.0

WE got up early and headed out, we knew or rumor had it that "fresh Grounds" was providing trail magic at Lemon Gap, which was only about 3.5 miles from the shelter. You could smell the food about half a mile away. Sure enough, "Fresh Grounds" was there and had maple/walnut pancakes with potatoes and onions and peppers and most importantly he had hot coffee. I stuffed my self and had several cups of coffee, after about an hour I put $5 in the donation basket and felt a surge of energy as we again headed out on our long day. It seemed to be warmer today than any other and only got hotter as the day went on. I was looking forward to getting to town and resting my knee. As we Hiked today we saw 2 Great Horned Owls (i never realized how big they were). They were awesome to see and hear. We had a long decent coming into Hot Springs, going down hill is always harder on my knees than going up. Once in town we found rooms at the Alpine Court Hotel, I immediately went to the laundry and washed everything I owned, while wearing only my rain gear. Then It was off to dinner where we hooked back up with Fbomb and Mau. Going to be taking a zero tomorrow.
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Hot Springs

To: Alpine Court Motel -Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We're taking a zero day today and possibly another tomorrow. We need the rest after several long mileage days and it will do my knee good. Just relaxed and layed around today. I cleaned all my gear and resupplied, although I really didn't need that much since I just receivedy mail drop a couple days ago at Standing Bear. Laundry is done and just hanging out at the library since this is about the only place that I can get on the Internet.
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Alpine Court Motel -Hot Springs

To: Alpine Court Motel Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Today is another zero, I am not real crazy about taking two zero days in a row, but the weather forcast is not good for the next 24 hours. They are calling for dangerously low temperatures here in Hot Springs, which means they will even be lower in higher elevations. I guess for evey 1000' gain in elevation the temps drop another 3 degrees. Which means that it will be near zero tonight or below and with the shelters being very small (5-6) person and long distances between them we really didn't want to be caught in bad weather so we are playing it safe and staying in town for another day, besides the extra day rest will do wonders for our body's and more importantly, my knee, which is feeling much better now. Not a great deal to do here in town but sit and wait. So for the most part, we all are getting our journals up to date and catching up with current events and talking with family members and friends. By tomorrow morning we will be ready to hit the trail again and log some serious miles over the next few days. We are aiming for Erwin, Tennessee in about four days, which is about 67 miles away. Fbomb had some friends from his home town come up yesterday and they cooked a great feast for us, which included some of the best chicken I have ever had, mashed potatoes, rolls, mac and cheese and a large assortments of sweets.......all free of charge! and to top it off they even bought us breakfast this morning. You really appreciate the acts of kindness like this.I can't thank them enough. I also weighed myself yesterday at the local outfitter and I have lost 13 pounds. I wanted to lose some weight out here, but didn't want to lose it all in the first month. It's hard to take in as many calories as your are burning while hiking. Anyway, Im ready to get back to hiking and need this day to be over!
Date: 2015-03-29
From: Alpine Court Motel Hot Springs

To: Hemlock Hollow Hostile
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 16.3 miles today. Got up early and had breakfast at restaurant. Started hiking around 0830 with full stomach and two days rest. I felt good. It was cold and temps were in the low 20s. It was a good day when the sun came out. Took pictures from lovers leap and had a great view of Hot Springs from on top of the mountain. We hiked to a hiker hostel at Hemlock Hollow. The price was $20 for a bunk and shower. The only other hiker at the hostel was "Chef". The four of us were the only ones in the bunk house, we had a wood stove in the bunkhouse and it didn't take long before we got it to hot in there and had to open the door. Mau rolled his ankle twice today, but thankfully he was good by the next morning. Today was a good day for hiking.
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Hemlock Hollow Hostile

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

Up at 0615, the owner of the hostile cooked a very good breakfast off eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and coffee. Hiked a good portion of the day in mist and clouds and it got chilly if you stopped moving. The sun finally came out about 1300 and the clouds moved out, turned out to be a good day of hiking. Hiked 17.5 miles today to Flint Mountain Shelter. Not a whole lot of views today, so there were few pictures taken. We did however, have just about every different type of terrain you could imagine, Big Big rocks and lots of mud. At times I felt like I was on an obstacle course. By the time I got to the shelter I was hungry, rice and tuna for dinner tonight. Crossed the 300 mile mark today!
Date: 2015-03-31
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap - Tent site
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept pretty good last night, even tho it was a shelter and Mau kept making noise, trying not to fall off the platform. It was a beautiful day for hiking. Sunny skies, temps somewhere in the 60's maybe approaching 70. Great day for pictures and I did take my fair share, the problem with taking pics of the mountains is even tho it's a great view, eventually they all seem to look the same. We stopped at Hogback Ridge Shelter and had lunch, (my usual tortilla and peanut butter). We stayed for about an hour and just relaxed enjoying the sunny day, since we had only another 5 miles to hike today. We stopped for the night at Low Gap. I set up my tent on the flattest ground I could find, which turned out not to be that flat, as I kept sliding to the left side. It's been awhile since I've been in my tent so I really didn't care to much. As I lay here typing this the sound of the wind and running water of the tiny stream is just so relaxing. We should be in Erwin,Tennessee sometime Thursday to resupply. Hope all is well with everyone back home.