morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-21
From: Rich Mtn Look-out tower

To: Little Laurel shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

The group of 7 to 10 people I hike with have named ourselves "The Turtle Group," because of the snail-like pace we're keeping. The majority of us started at Springer on or around March 10th, and we're getting lapped by people who started a week or more after us. I get the idea that none of us are concerned about this, and most of the group has remained mostly injury free (other than blisters, cuts, scrapes, burns, and bruises). Anyway, when I woke up this morning at 8, I considered getting up for about 2 seconds and fell back asleep until 1030. Then didn't really start hiking until 1145. I've got mixed feelings about waking up early to bust out the miles. On one hand, I could get to camp earlier, get all my camp chores done, and then relax for the rest of the day. On the other hand, I really don't like getting up in the morning, and somehow I'm still getting the miles and the camp chores done before dark. I think as long as the miles are reasonable, I can afford to sleep in a little. I've been assured that when the weather gets hot, I'll be up and hiking at dawn.Today's hike went a little better than yesterday, in that I felt like I had more energy. At some point, I came across an old service road with a sign advertising a hostel nearby. Two feet before this service road, a sign said something about food and ice cream and showers "down the next road 0.5 miles." I passed the service road, and spent the next 4 miles looking for this non-existent road. Not because I wanted to stop, rather more for the landmark. I think the sign actually meant 0.5 miles down the intersection I was standing at! I asked the others about it when I made it to camp, and they expressed an equal amount of confusion. I might've walked a mile for ice cream though.I did see the remnants of a controlled burn at some point on the trail. When I first noticed it, I was unimpressed, until I was struck by the dramatic contrast between that which was scorched, and that which was not. Little Laurel shelter was a crowded place, and our little band of miscreants set up shop a respectful distance away from the shelter in an established campsite. SuperFeet carries a Bluetooth speaker and has a nearly endless list of music on his phone. He doesn't play it too loud, and I actually like having it on around camp. There will be a day very soon where I start using my phone to listen to music while hiking. I know the purists will poo-poo the notion, and I think I'm inclined to limit music time to a a couple of hours a day. Again to bed late tonight. Looks like I'll be sleeping in again tomorrow.
Date: 2014-04-22
From: Little Laurel shelter

To: Jerry Cabin shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

One topic that is visited at the end of every day is what the plan is for tomorrow. I've never witnessed any debate about tomorrow's destination, or how many miles are in store. Yeah, someone will jokingly suggest we pull a 20 (usually Tuna, who can go all day), but to date no one has taken the bait. Last night we decided to keep the miles down an do somewhere around 9, which we were ALL okay with. Again, I slept in and didn't get to hiking until around noon. It's important to note that while all us hike "together," in reality we're spread out for miles. SuperFeet and Barnacles are generally the last ones to break camp, and the first ones to make it to camp. As mentioned, SuperFeet plays music from his phone, and I can hear them coming up the trail from a mile away. When they get closer, I can hear their bionic knees whirring as they blow past me. I'm fairly sure they're both robots by the way they hike. One of these days, I'm going to jump out of the brush and scare the hell out of them. I doubt it'll slow them down. I'm still feeling a little beat up, and continue to struggle with feeling comfortable with the pack on. I'm also running low on food, so my pack weight has been reasonable. I mentioned my concerns to SuperFeet, who told me what was going on was probably normal, and to pound as much water as possible. A few of us decided to do a light resupply at an upcoming gap, so I've been eating up everything in my food bag. I still have three dinners left, but my snack and lunch supplies are almost exhausted. The notable experience during today's hike struck me while I was hiking down what appeared to be an old road. It was mostly downhill and rocky, and I was most definitely not inspired while hiking it. Ironically, my utter lack of enthusiasm was what inspired me to mention it, and snap a picture of this little section of trail. Funny, but this idea made the hike a little less painful.
Date: 2014-04-23
From: Jerry Cabin shelter

To: Devil Fork Gap
Miles today: 8.7

No improvement with my energy levels, and today it felt like I was hiking through quicksand. Awol's trail guide suggested that today's hike would begin with an easy uphill hike, with a short 400 feet of positive elevation change. The elevation profile looked fairy gradual, and maybe it was, but to me it felt like I went straight up for 400 feet, and went on forever. I slept in again today, but was on the trail by 1130. It took me nearly six hours to cover a little under nine miles, and my legs were cooked by the time I reached Devil Fork Gap. I could see Meticulous and Knaffles trying to hitch a ride to the resupply point, 2.5 miles away. They weren't trying particularly hard, which was probably just as well--there weren't many cars passing by. As for myself, I had no choice but to resupply, so I readily agreed to pay the $10 round-trip shuttle fee to the Laurel Trading Post and Hostel. The owner, Mark, is a really good guy and cooks a mean cheeseburger. I hadn't planned on staying there, but when I saw breakfast on the menu, it was an easy sell in convincing me to tent on his front lawn ($10). My alternative was ride back to the gap and hike up the trail to find a place to camp. And not have a real breakfast. SuperFeet, Barnacles, and Knaffles decided to tent there as well. We all watched a movie in Mark's bunk room, and called it a night by 1045.
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Devil Fork Gap

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: clear sky

SuperFeet's uncle, Dennis, appeared at the Laurel Trading Post around 1000am, bearing breakfast biscuits from Hardee's. Talk about trail magic! Dennis lives about an hour off the trail, and belongs to a hiking club that provides maintenance to a certain section of the trail.We'd all agreed to do a little under 9 miles today, and Dennis had arranged to slack pack SuperFeet and Barnacles to Sam's Gap. As a surprise bonus, SuperFeet invited us to come with him to his uncle's house at the end of the day, where we could eat, hang out with his family, and take a zero the next day. I started hiking at 1115 today, and the challenge was to have the miles done by 6pm. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been a problem, but since finishing the Smokey's, I've been out of gas. Despite a few zero's sandwiched in between, it's taken considerable mental fortitude to throw the pack on and go. The only real obstacle in my way today was a 3.5 mile uphill hike to start the day. It took a lengthy 2 hours to get up the mountain, which included two 15 minute breaks. I think my pace is fine, but I just don't feel good while hiking. I stopped for another water refill around the 6 mile mark, and took a 45 minute break. Dirt Bag and I hiked the remaining 2.5 miles to Sam's Gap in a little under an hour. While most of the trail was downhill, I felt a little better, which I took as encouraging. SuperFeet's aunt and uncle brought two cars to pick all of us (and our gear) up. It was maybe an hour long ride back to their beautiful house in the mountains, with a quick stop at Hardee's for food. My appetite has been low today, and I couldn't finish all my food. There have been reports of Norovirus (what hikers call the plague) behind us in a few of the hostels. I'm not sure how valid these claims are, and I don't have any symptoms associated with Noro. I've almost convinced myself that I'm just tired, and hopefully taking this zero tomorrow will straighten me out.
Date: 2014-04-25
From: Sam's Gap

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 0.0

A zero day at SuperFeet's aunt and uncle's house. I owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid to Dennis and Nancy. Not only did they invite a group of strange, smelly people into their amazing home, they treated us like family. From hot showers, to home cooked meals, to laundry, beds, and a great place to relax, Dennis and Nancy went way out of their way to keep us well-fed, well-rested, and CLEAN! Thank you Nancy and Dennis!I also had the opportunity to meet SuperFeet's parents, who were every bit as classy as his aunt and uncle. It was my pleasure meeting you both. Nancy and Debi collaborated in taking some great group pictures of "The Turtle Crew." I'll see what I can do to get those pics to a FB account for public consumption. Nancy is an accomplished photographer, and these pictures turned out great. Thank you all for your gracious hospitality. Cheers to SuperFeet and Barnacles for a well-played zero.On an unrelated note, internet / cell phone service has been a little dicey until today. Thus, the nearly two week delay in updates. I expect to be in Erwin, TN., in 2.5 days. I'll do my best to update from there...
Date: 2014-04-26
From: Sam's Gap

To: Big Stamp campsite
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

It was a bittersweet goodbye to SuperFeet's family. I was ready to get back to the trail, though I will miss Dennis, Nancy, Bob, and Debi. Before going to bed last night, Dennis outlined a plan to slack pack us to Big Bald, about 7.5 miles up the trail. Slack packing 7 people is no easy task, and it took 3 cars to haul us and all of our stuff back out to Sam's Gap. Today I was carrying only the bare necessities, and my pack maybe weighed 8 pounds. Slack packing today was a great idea, as most of the day was uphill--including a few tough sections. Even after a light resupply, my full weight had to be nearly 37 pounds. My entire body was grateful for the opportunity to leave most of that weight behind! Dennis is very familiar with this section of trail, and told us about a little known campsite, complete with table and chairs, near Big Bald. When I got the top of big bald, I noticed someone on the horizon toting two trash bags up the trail. Since I packed all my non-essential gear in a trash bag, it was obvious that someone was packing my gear up a hill. Turns out that Tuna was feeling particularly strong today, and carried my slack gear from the drop off point to the campsite. While carrying his own backpack! SuperFeet and Tuna had a campfire going shortly after I arrived at camp, and I must admit, it was one of the best campfires I've experienced. Lots of heat, little smoke, and they were burning dead pine branches, so it smelled good too.SuperFeet's family packed a bunch of left-overs, including 3 pounds of pulled pork, homemade cookies, chips, and beer for dinner tonight. Meticulous was kind enough to reheat dinner in a frying pan that Tuna carries (yeah, Tuna is a weight-carrying machine), and divided the portions so we could all have seconds! After an excellent dinner, we all hiked up to an area near Big Bald and watched a spectacular sunset; one of the best ones I've seen yet. This is normally a talkative group, but for an hour we all sat in stunned silence watching the sunset. I pitched my tent on high ground, which made for a windy night, but the trade off was a remarkable view of the stars. I stargaze whenever I get the chance, and I have to thank my Uncle Jim and Aunt Judy for taking my brother and I to museums and planetariums when we were kids. Their influence during my childhood has deeply enhanced my enjoyment of this trip as an adult. They are my role models, and my heroes. I'm going to take full advantage of my sleeping bag tonight, and leave my rainfly off so I can sleep under the stars. Goodnight all!
Date: 2014-04-27
From: Big Stamp campsite

To: No Business Knob shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I'd actually planned on getting up a little early today, but that didn't happen. The wind blowing through my tent was cool enough that I was convinced there was no need to get up right away.While I didn't start hiking until around noon, my energy levels seem to be coming back, and I felt good when I left camp. I'm glad, because today featured a few tough uphills, and the temperature was hot. Also, I think I discovered the cause of my knee pains today. Until this trip, I've never hiked with an internal frame backpack. There is a difference between hiking with an internal frame and external frame pack. The biggest difference is in how each type gets packed. With my external frame pack, I can basically throw everything in with no rhyme or reason, and start hiking. With an internal frame, I have to be more deliberate in loading it. After 300 miles, I finally figured out how to pack it, and make little adjustments to the straps and lifters while on the move. I'm definitely happy with my choice of backpack. And now my knees feel better!I didn't take any pictures today, because I was mostly in my own little world. My friend Bear once asked me what I thought about while hiking; if it's not about food, I think about social theories! I usually hike alone (I prefer it) and instead of taking pictures I ground out the miles while lost in thought. I made it to camp around 7pm, and I was thoroughly exhausted. I think feeling beat at the end of the day means I succeeded in reaching my daily goal. The one time I pushed too hard, I pretty much fell over when the day was done. While I didn't feel THAT tired today, i was in my sleeping bag a couple of hours after I ate dinner.Tomorrow, Erwin, TN., where I have a mail drop waiting for me!
Date: 2014-04-28
From: No Business Knob shelter

To: Erwin, TN.
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I nero'd into Erwin this morning, and made the 5-ish mile hike in a shade under 3 hours. There were reports of severe thunderstorms for this evening, and the hostel my mail drop was at was a popular place. I'm staying at Uncle Johnny's hostel and outfitter today, and after I checked in, they'd retrieved my mail. I'd asked my brother to send food a few days ago, and when I opened the box, I noticed he'd included about 10 travel sized bottles of alcohol! This was certainly an unexpected surprise, and me and my hiking pals were quite excited too! Way to go, Todd! You were the man of the day. Uncle Johnny's is an interesting place, and so far I've enjoyed my stay here. Incidentally, the selection of gear here is good. I saw a Big Agnes super light sleeping pad for sale, that even the NOC didn't have yet! If I hadn't recently bough a new sleeping pad, this one would've been coming with me. Erwin is a cool town, and while I'm not sure it's on the same level as Hot Springs (in terms of hiker friendly), the people here are nice, and it's easy to procure a full resupply. A brief thunderstorm rolled through last night, and I slept through it like a baby. In my tent!
Date: 2014-04-29
From: Erwin, TN.

To: Erwin, TN.
Miles today: 0.0

A zero day at Uncle Johnny's due to severe thunderstorm warnings. A "trail ambassador," was strongly encouraging hikers to stay out of the mountains. When I say "trail ambassador," I'm referring to someone who would receive no financial benefit to squeezing another days stay out of us. Turns out the storm never came. At first, I marked this down as a wasted zero day, even though my feet and knees were certainly grateful for the unexpected, unscheduled break. The highlight of the day was riding into Erwin for $1 tacos and $1 beers. I rang up a $5 tab on 4 tacos and 1 beer. It was close to being 4 beers and 1 taco, but I do plan to hike tomorrow.
Date: 2014-04-30
From: Erwin, TN.

To: Beauty Spot Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

A fairly routine day on the trail: 1 challenging climb in the morning, and 1 challenging climb late in the day. Sandwiched in between, was the standard fare of up and down hiking, though it wasn't particularly remarkable, in terms of difficulty. I felt fortunate that the dark, thunderstorm carrying clouds forecasted yesterday, didn't appear in the sky until mid-evening. I was supposed to meet SuperFeet and the gang at a predetermined location, and I thought I'd made it around 6pm. When I strolled into camp, there was no sign of SuperFeet, or anyone else from my group. I got back on the trail, hiked about a quarter of a mile, and consulted the trail guide. At the time, I felt that the campsite I just left was the place we were all supposed to meet. There was little mistake that the clouds were indicating a storm, so I turned around and went back.The spot I stopped at wasn't the best campsite, but since I arrived there before a lot of other hikers, I had prime picking rights when it came time to find a place to tent. There was a lot of commotion down a hill close to where I pitched my tent, and it turned out to be 4 hikers who'd been there for a few days--eating and drinking. They'd managed to score a ride back into Erwin, where they'd hit up the local Wal-Mart for a weeks supply of alcohol and food. I'd met a couple of these guys at Standing Bear hostel during my stay there, and they invited me to dinner: Pork chops and potatoes they'd been cooking over a campfire. I don't remember what I'd planned on pulling out of my food bag that night, but it certainly wasn't pork chops and baked potatoes. I went to my tent shortly after dinner, mostly because it was cold, but I was also tired, and it had started to rain. I missed meeting up with my hiking pals, but a decent dinner sort of made up for it. I'll try to catch them sometime tomorrow.
Date: 2014-05-01
From: Beauty Spot Gap

To: Greasy Creek Hostel
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Once again, I repeated the quarter mile hike that I'd done last night--for no additional mileage credit. About 100 yards after that section, I stumbled upon SuperFeet and Barnacles, still in their tent. Their plan, per SuperFeet, was to wait out the last of the light rain this morning, let their tent dry a bit, and start moving. Two of the four guys I had dinner with last night were tented here. It's not that I got off to a terribly late start this morning, it's that the 4 guys who'd been drinking last night, got off to an early start. These two made it a whole 0.5 miles before calling it a day, and retiring to their tents. Anyway, one of them was trying (unsuccessfully) to get a fire going, and after dumping the better part of a can of cigarette lighter fluid on some rain-soaked wood, he'd managed a squeeker of a fire. I hung around for 20 minutes, occasionally talking to SuperFeet, but mostly just shifting from foot to foot with my pack still on. Looking back, I'm fairly sure I was wasting time, putting off the climb up Unaka Mountain (which wasn't that bad).The top of Unaka Mtn (5180 ft) featured a dense spruce forest, which if there'd been a water source, would've been a perfect place to drop a tent for the night. The trail sort of meanders around in the forest, and I may have stepped off of it a few times, though recovering from losing this section of trail was easy.SuperFeet and Barnacles caught up (and passed) me at some point during the day, but not before telling me everyone was meeting at The Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel at the end of the day--an interesting and slightly unusual place. The guy who lives next door to the hostel apparently hates hikers, and goes out of his way to annoy and agitate backpackers, as noted by his lawn mowing habits (beginning at 6 am). The owner of Greasy Creek told me this guy mows his lawn in the middle of winter. It's almost like a Hatfield-McCoy type of rivalry. I wouldn't let that dissuade future AT hikers from staying there, though the 0.6 mile side trail to get there may scare a few people away. For the record, I didn't think getting down there was too bad, though the 0.6 mile trek back up wasn't very entertaining.Overall, a satisfying day on the trail, with lots of pretty scenery.
Date: 2014-05-02
From: Greasy Creek Hostel

To: Ash Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The plan for today was to summit Roan Mountain, and find a suitable location for all our tents. We're only talking about a 10 mile day, but the last two miles to the summit of Roan did not look easy per the elevation profile in the trail guide. This is a good time to discuss the trail guide, and in particular, its author, David "AWOL" Miller. A fair number of hikers are under the impression that AWOL never really hiked the trail, rather he hired a few people to call in the elevation profiles, thereby riddling the guide with elevation and landmark errors. I don't think their really serious about the criticisms, AWOL just happens to be an easy scapegoat for the inevitable frustrations experienced on the trail. Several times I've yelled out, "damn you AWOL, where's the water!?" When I see him at trail days in Damascus, VA., I'm going to ask him to autograph my guide with something to the effect of, "water 0.2 E (denoting water 0.2 miles east of the trail), Best of luck, AWOL." All jokes aside, the AWOL guide is THE best guide presently available. Okay, back to the hike. There were a couple of tough stretches today, with lots of climbs. The one that nearly smoked me early in the day was Little Rock Knob. Straight up. No mercy. By the time I made it to Hughes Gap, it was 3pm with 5 more miles left to our goal. As mentioned practically every gap is preceded by a climb, and this one was no exception. I met up with Dirt Bag at some point during the climb up from Hughes Gap, and I think he looked about like I felt--done. When we finished that climb, we were at Ash Gap (5350 ft) in a pretty sweet mountain meadow. A few people were stopping here for the day, and Dirt Bag and I decided if there was a decent water source here, we were stopping for the day. So, the water source was something of a slow trickle, but the water was clear and cold. And a total pain in the ass to get to. SuperFeet and Barnacles arrived a short time later, saw us setting up our tents, and looked a little surprised. When he asked about water, Dirt Bag and I just laughed. Still, we explained our reasoning for stopping (getting late, blah blah blah) and he shrugged his pack off and called it a day too. I could tell Barnacles was a little put off by the decision, as she was really looking forward to NOT making the Roan summit first thing tomorrow morning. In her defense, she was a great sport about it, and their wasn't much said about stopping here. It was hard to deny that Ash Gap was an incredibly scenic place to camp. Dirt Bag volunteered to get water for the entire group (not an easy job), while SuperFeet and the rest of us collected fire wood. It was pretty cold tonight, and not for the first time since leaving Georgia, I was happy to be lugging my sleeping bag up and down mountains.