morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Springer Mtn

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 92.0
Weather: light rain

8/28: I hiked 15+ miles into the 100-Mile Wilderness, the last hour through a downpour and flooding streams. I dried out in a shelter. I had hoped to make 20 miles, but a late start from the hostel and the rain precluded it. A tick survey was negative. I was smug about rock hopping two stream fords, but the rain soaked my boots anyway. Tomorrow I will put wet clothes back on.8/29: Foggy and drizzling when I left today. I spent a strenuous day hiking 16 miles over the Chairback complex of summits. The Trail is very wet and slippery. Luckily, the sun came out as I descended to the Pleasant River. This is the largest ford on the Trail. I am still hiking solo and was concerned the water level might be way up with the 3-4 inches of rain we had yesterday. Fortunately, the water was only a foot deep. After fording, I tented on the north side. I would like my boots to dry overnight, but I am sure there will be a lot of water on the Trail tomorrow. I am at 2,102 miles.8/30: Today I hiked 16 miles over the Whitetop Mountains. They are the last before Katahdin. From here it is 60 nearly flat miles and generally easier hiking. I feel my hike coming to an end. It is hard to explain my feelings, but I am ready to finish. I miss my home and family especially after being gone since April. They have been so supportive; I can never thank them enough. Thank you to those who read my Trail Journal and especially those who took time to write in my guestbook. I read every one. Together with my family's support, those notes kept me going when I thought about quitting. I think Maine is my favorite state on the Trail for all its lakes. At night, I am reading Thoreau's "The Maine Woods."8/31: I hiked 22 official miles plus 1 mile to Whitehouse Landing. The weather was cloudy all day and still no view of Katahdin. A ferry picks you up and takes you across a lake to a hostel/fishing camp. They provide a 1-pound hamburger dinner, a big breakfast, bunk and shower. Three section hiking women are the only other guests. It is a good respite for a tired hiker. I also loaded up on homemade brownies! 9/1: It's September! I hiked 20 miles to Rainbow Lake campsite. It's my last night on the trail. I'm enjoying my last loon concert! Tomorrow I will reach Abol Bridge Campground, the end of the 100 Mile and the trailhead for Katahdin. I'm pretty excited!9/2: I hiked 11 miles to Abol Bridge, the end of the 100-Mile Wilderness, but because of rain, I hitched into Millinocket for a rest day. I hope to get those remaining 10 miles to the trailhead for Katahdin tomorrow. I will save the actual climb for the 4th or 5th with R and E. Katahdin, elevation 5,369 feet, is a serious mountain with a climb of 4,300 feet. The mountain is several thousand feet above timberline and has mountain weather.
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Springer Mtn

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

9/3: R and E met me in Millinocket. After a big hug for both and some lunch, they slack-packed me the 10 miles in Baxter State Park. I hiked while they toured around. It was sunny with views of Katahdin when I started, but of course, it poured on me at the end. We drove back to town for a stay at the AT Lodge.9/4: Summit Day! We got up at 5:30 and had a great breakfast at the AT Cafe. We drove to the trailhead in Baxter, bringing two other hikers. We began the 5.2-mile hike at 8 a.m. I had been up this trail a mile or so last October. After Katahdin Stream waterfall, the trail began to climb several hundred stone steps. Then it was good ole AT climbing through rocks and roots for a couple of miles in the forest. Suddenly, we broke through timberline into gigantic boulders the size of buses. There were a few rebar climbing aids in this area. We briefly lost the trail in the fog, but found white blazes again. Then it was up a steep ridge over rocks like the backbone of some giant dinosaur. With about 2 miles to go, we gained the Tablelands, a flatish alpine tundra. When the fog lifted once, we saw the summit looming up above still a half mile away. We arrived on top about noon, had another big hug, and took the obligatory summit photos. What a fitting end to a very difficult trail! I am so glad that I was able to share it with R and E. Other hiker friends were there too. My AT hike was over after 4 months, 3 weeks and nearly 2,200 miles.
Date: 2013-09-13
To: Katahdin
Miles today: 0.0

Epilogue:I flew home last Friday, Sept. 6. It felt a little strange sitting in airports and on planes, seeing so many people and babies, watching television, catching up on news and being reimmersed in society. I have metatarsalgia in my feet (which I have had for 1,700 miles). In addition, there are other changes in my body. I lost 8-10 pounds that I'm working on gaining back. My appetite is still fierce and it is really hard to cut back on the food. I hope I can rein it in after I regain the weight. It won't be long at this rate. I have a few other age-related health changes that are annoying, but not significant.My family had a welcome-back picnic at M's house. It was so great to see them and other friends who had followed my hike. Many asked what my next challenge or adventure would be. I don't have any hiking plans now other than resting my feet and recovering. I won't hike the AT again; some people hike it multiple times. I probably won't do another thru-hike either. They require such commitment of time and effort, and I have already hiked choice parts of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, and all of the 500-mile Colorado Trail. I am interested in shorter hikes in the Alps and New Zealand, but we'll see. I would also like to do more scientific research.The ticks I collected have been analyzed for pathogens, and I'm working on a manuscript for a scientific publication. I will also prepare a report for the National Park Service and other AT online outlets. I have some interesting videos to post too, including interviews with hikers about Lyme disease and my sampling methodology. I'm more convinced than ever that tick-borne disease is the greatest health hazard on the Trail. I hope my work can help protect AT hikers from tick-borne disease in the years to come. I also have posted my plant phenology measurements at Nature's Notebook, a USGS climate change database.Here at home in Colorado, we are suffering from massive flooding along creeks and rivers from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs. It puts my little adventure into perspective with large-scale nature's power and damage to Colorado's Front Range.Thanks again to my readers. Your support helped power me through to the end! I can be reached at earthford@aol.com.
Date: 2013-08-03
From: MA 23, Great Barrington, MA

To: South Wilcox Shelter
Miles today: 3.3

Late afternoon start,with help from Stitches. About 9 hikers here at the shelter, all are northbound. Met Legolas, he's carrying his running shoes with him so he can have a run after a days hike. I really tried to get started by August 1 but things piled up in July, including the late month addition of a trail magic trip to Kinsman Notch, NH.
Date: 2013-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   This is my first journal entry and let me tell you, that I am excited to share my journey with you! I will try and write and update as much as possible. No Trail Name now, but in the time being you can call me, Michael.    March 9th or 10th I should be on the trail heading North from Springer Mountain (Georgia) to Mt. Katahdin (Maine). I wasn't sure what site I would post my journals on and so far this site seemed the best for sharing in this moment.    Looking at the Calendar, 11 days the trail will be under my feet and until then the excitement and joy is building up.    I would like to thank my friends and family who are supporting me as I make this trek. Truly grateful for you guys to be there by my side. I did create a facebook page about my 2013 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike so go "like" it, haha.   I will leave off here, and update shortly but it'll be better when I am actually on the trail giving you updates.-Michael
Date: 2013-02-27
To: Home
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

So last Tuesday, I was dropped off approximately 10 miles away from home and I hiked home with my backpack (90% full). The trail I hiked home is the Airline Trail (a bike path pretty much) and was covered in almost a foot of snow. Now it was easy at first because the snow was packed down but after one road crossing, the snow was not packed down, so it was very difficult due to sinking down every step. Now I felt pretty good, physically and mentally but part of me was missing the actual trail beneath my feet. I made it home in just under 3 hours, which I don't think is that bad, made a couple stops for water and one snack break. Less than one one week. Less than one week!
Date: 2013-03-09
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday on March 9th 2013, I started my journey of a lifetime. I entered Amicalola Falls State Park and registered as a Thru-Hiker with which my number is "255" for the year so far. Mom, Brooklyn and Xena accompanied me on my hike up The Approach Trail to Springer Mountain and down to the Parking Lot.I decided to come back to the Hotel for one more night and start out fresh in the morning on The AT. The Approach Trail was quite a hike though, tough but was well worth making it to the Summit of Springer Mountain. The view from the top was totally amazing and I can't wait to see more views just like it.Feeling good though but this morning I know things will go well! Weather looks like sunny and 60's today, hopefully it's just like yesterday's weather which was gorgeous. So as I sign off, wish me the best of luck and I will try/do my best to update this online journals page."The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese"-EagleRunner
Date: 2013-03-10
From: Big Stamp Gap (parking lot after Springer Mtn)

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: few clouds

Today would be my first full day on the Appalachian Trail. I started at the Parking Lot at the Bottom of Springer Mountain and journeyed North to Hawk Mountain Shelter. I said goodbye to my parents and pushed onwards but shortly there after leaving them I would see my parents and the dogs one more time for a quick lunch break where the trail crossed another dirt forest road that was pretty popular. I started to catch up to another fellow thru-hiker and we hiked to the shelter together. His name was Zach but goes by either "ZZ" or " ZZ top-less". The first day went well, when I got to the shelter, it was prety full so I just ended up tenting. Cooked dinner which was Ramon Noodles and shortly thereafter got ready for bed. As soon as I laid down in the tent all cozy in my sleeping bag the noise of Gun Shots. It wasnt like one or two gunshots it was a repeated amount of gunshots that went on and on and on. To be honest, I was scared as shit!! My first night on the Appalachian Trail camping pretty much alone and I head this!? After not being able to sleep for a while, I was finally able to grab some sleep. The next morning I was informed that the gunshots were actually Special Teams and Army Rangers carrying out training drills in the mountains. Those gunshots were blanks obviously, haha. That concluded my first full day.
Date: 2013-03-11
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Waking up at Hawk Mountain Shelter, was pretty intense due to the amount of fog that rolled in throughout the night. Some people were already packed up and on.the trail by 8am. I was able to eat a poptart, pack up and be out around 9am. Word was spread about the weather that was coming through this evening. Most didn't want to.get caught in a violent rain storm so everybodys pace was little faster. I hiked for a couple of hours and decided I would stay at Gooch Mountain Shelter, this was around 1230pm -1pm that I called it a day. I was able to squeeze into the shelter to sleep while it poured at night. Was a pretty simple day. Bedtime was around 730pm.
Date: 2013-03-12
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at Gooch Mountain Shelter freezing, but slowly got a move on and hit the trail. Breakfast was instant oatmeal and instant coffee, yum haha. Was on the trail around 9am with 'ZZ top-less'. Near Woody Gap the ice that formed on the tree limbs and branches were melting and pelting our bodies and the trail as we walked, was different. Couple great views from the mountain tops. The day was called short again due to there being a 5 mile section in which you needed a Bear Canister for your food and since I did not.have one I stayed at Lance Creek which is a tenting spot right before that specific section. Was a great night, got to meet more hikers, talk with them, learn where they were from, why they are here and what not. Dinner instant Mashed Potatoes and Tuna mixed. Word was the next few days would be great weather, ahh I was happy to hear that. You might ask, well your in the woods, how do you know these things or how do you know whats going on in the world? You just talk to other thru hikers, during the day you just start a little conversation with day hikers and ask them about weather and such. Time to sign off. -ER
Date: 2013-03-13
From: Lance Creek

To: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings Hostel
Miles today: 7.4

Once again, the morning started pretty cold, fingers were pretty much frozen. Got going slowly due to that, but headed up Blood Mountain and, the view from there was beautiful!! Between the climb up and the descent down, going down was tough on the knees. When I got to Neel's Gap I decided to call it a short day and stay at Mountain Crossings Hostel. Extremely glad I chose to stay here because the weather was around 13 degrees at night plus we received a homecooked meal, with great thanks to 'Pirate'. He cooked pulled pork sandwiches, pizza, shish ka bobs, salad ( with vegtables and fruit mixed) and had beer. Again thanks to 'Pirate' that was amazing plus having a bed to sleep on.. Great hospitality!! Was able to meet more thru hikers since I was spending the night with them (Lucky One, Narnia, Floater, Gi, Zz topless, Main, Stevie, Snacks, Gigglefits, Moonshine and manyore!). The stop at Neels was mainly used for resupplying. From The Appalachian Trail for Wednesday, That's all folks.
Date: 2013-03-14
From: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings Hostel

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

The morning started by "Pirate" turning on the lights at 7am (on the dot!). He cooked us a blueberry pancakes and sausages and had coffee ready. That was totally awesome! The hospitatlity was great! If your ever going through that area and need a hostel to stay at, it was well worth the stay. I packed my belongings shortly after breakfast and hit the trail, was out around 830-9am but it was sure a very slow start due to how cold it was! On top of Wolf Laurel Mountain I think it was, our waters were freezing. Hikers with camelbak hoses were frozen too, this was AS we were hiking too... but we all survived. Today was the day we received our first trail magic from King-Tut and his friend. They were from a Church group and wanted to give back to Thru-Hikers. Soda, trail mix and nutter butters, were what I had but there was much to choose from. The night was finished at Low Gap Shelter. Now that place was PACKED. THe shelter was full and almost every place you could set up a tent was taken but luckily I was able to find a place to pitch my tent, that spot was actually just 5 feet from a little flowing stream, which was quite peaceful to listen to. We had a bonfire/campfire and I was super happy because it would be my first one on The AT for this journey. A Bunch of us gathered around and chatted and just had a great time! One of the other thru-hikers, "Snacks" she is actually hiking the trail with a violen. The correct name is a Whipple Stick but, she took that out and she played some tunes for us, was neat!! After that it was lights out for me, pretty tired for a long day. Goodnight.
Date: 2013-03-15
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 13.0

The day started like all others, cold and chilly. The fingers were having it rough, trying to take down the tent and zip zippers on the bag and pack things away. The Rocky Mountain was a tough hike up I must say but the view from the top was great! Wish I could have shared it with you all. About a mile before where the day would end, we ran into some Trail Magic, which was given by Panda and Fishhook (prior thru-hikers of the AT). We received sodas, cookies and I also grabbed an apple, believe it or not haha. The campsite was great, level land mostly and enough space for everyone. The night heading to bed was tough because of this stupid bird that would not be quiet! If youve seen the Disney movie "UP", the noise reminded me of the bird in that movie, haha. Then at around 2:30am - 3:00am some locals were heard on the dirt road .1 - .2 miles away driving around and reving their engines. But sleep finally set in and I was out. ZZzzzzz
Date: 2013-03-16
From: Cheese Factory Site

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Today I knew would be a beautiful day, with which it was! Tray Mountain was the first climb of the day from leaving the Cake Factory Tent Site. The view from the summit was beautiful! Took a break there for a snack and take in the view of miles and miles. Today was a day most hiked in shorts and short sleeves, it was so warm out! The day continued quite well until we hit Pine Knoll which was this incline that kept going and as soon as you think you hit the top, the trail turned and continued up and up. That was a tough climb, maybe the toughest so far for me. I got the shelter decently early maybe around 3:00pm or so with a few others, we set up our gear in the Shelter, had dinner and got a campfire going. A thru-hiker, "Cody Coyote" rolled into camp and hung out with us. We found out he went SoBo (Maine to Georgia) but when he got to Springer Mountain in Georgia he turned around and is now heading home, back to Maine... now thats crazy but yo-yoing has happened among many hikers, so I've heard. During our camp fire, "Snacks" saw a Shooting Star, so we all were able to see that, which was pretty cool. For now, thats all Ive got, if I can think of anything else, I will add it later or throw it in another journal entry. Goodnight from the Appalachian Trail - EagleRunner
Date: 2013-03-17
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Was An Early Morning, Hit The Trail By 730Am...Had To Catch A Ride Into Hiawassee, Ga. Tonight Id Be Staying At The Budget Inn. the Motel Was Nice Due To Having A Bed And Shower and just Be In Town. Lunch was All You Can Eat Buffet, Which Was Nice. Went To Ingles, Dollar General To Resupply. A Few Of Us Had A BBQ Outside The Budget Inn For Dinner So that Was Pretty Cool. Called It A Night Soon After. I Appologize For The Capitals on EverY Word, Phone Is Being Stupid!! Ahh.
Date: 2013-03-18
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Plum Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: light snow

Woke up early with intentions of running half way across town to the Post Office to mail some items home that I didn't need anymore but another thru hikers, gigglefits told me the little outfitters would mail out packages, so that saved me some time. I was also able to updateore journals which was good. After packing my bag, I caught the 11am shuttle back to the trailhead. When I started back hiking my knee had been killing me on the downhills, so I've been taking some Vitamin I. Todays plan was to go with long mileage but reports of a vert bad storm rolling through had us call it a short day so we could have a shelter to stay at. The shelter was three stories, which was pretty cool. Made dinner and shortly thereafter headed to bed. -EagleRunner
Date: 2013-03-19
From: Plum Orchard Shelter

To: Beech Gap Tenting
Miles today: 16.4

Woke up with a chill in the air, which made for a slow start. Breakfast was a quick poptart and a nutella tortilla wrap. Packed my belongings and hit the trail. Great long quick day though. Tented the night away at Beech Gap, great spot except the water was like .3 miles from the tenting area.. Booo! Haha the honey I bought to eat opened up and got everything all sticky, luckily I washed out my food bag and re-bagged my food. Had ramon noodles for dinner, and that way day. Ohh the best part was the Fire Tower ontop of Albert Mountain... The view was awesome though the hike up the mountain was tough, all worth it. Bedtime, signing off, goodnight. -ER
Date: 2013-03-20
From: Beech Gap Tenting

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: broken clouds

Yet again it was a pretty chilly start to the day, def tough to get out of your sleeping bag! Poptarts and some hot coffee was what started my day, maybe a granola bar was in the mix too, I don't remember, haha. Today would be a 15.3 mile day though, not too bad. Today was a big milestone too, I hit the 100 mile mark (NoBo). Lunch took place at Albert Mountain under/on the Fire Tower. The view from the fire tower was amazing too! At the end of lunch it was only a mere 6 miles to the shelter, so it wasn't too bad. The shelter says it fits 8 but with 5 of us in it I don't see where there would be room for another 3 people, haha. All in all, was a great day, "High Five!" Right now its 7:30pm nothing to do, guess it's bedtime, goodnight.-Eagle Runner
Date: 2013-03-21
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Wayah Bald Picnic Area
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up this morning with snow on the ground, that was a first for the trip and yes, yet again it was a slow process to get out of a warm sleeping bag and start the day. Had a poptart and hit the trail. Once at Winding Stair Gap, ZZ top-less and I hitched a ride to Franklin, NC. While waiting for ZZ's maildrop we hit up Ingles (same thing as a Stop n Shop), stopped by a bar for a few drinks and to catch up with another fellow thru hiker, Double Dare who was doing a ten year reunion hike. As we left, the owners of the pub gave us some beef-sticks as trail magic, they were sure yummy! Thank You!!! After sorting everything out, being done in town, we asked a man what the area code was for the telephone numbers on the paper so we could call and get a ride back to the trailhead (at Winding Stair Gap), he said, "area code? heck I'll bring you back there myself since I'm heading that way to go home". The man's trail name was, Cracker (couple thru-hike attempts but not successful). Thank You Cracker for your bring an amazing and helpful trail angel and giving us a ride back to the trail head. From the trailhead it was a few miles to the picnic area we tented at. As it got dark the Sheriff stopped by and checked on us to make sure we were alright, but luckily didn't kick us out!! Phewww! ZZ, Scraps, Hurry and Ugway (spelling?) and I all tented and had a bonfire, was fun. That's a wrap, goodnight! -EagleRunner
Date: 2013-03-22
From: Wayah Bald Picnic Area

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The first of many days that it wasn't too cold when I woke up, so the morning was started pretty quickly. This morning to be honest, I wasn't having a great day mentally. I just wanted to go home, be home, see home and have family and pets around me. Though this was how I felt, my feet actually just kept moving along North Bound (NoBo) so that was a sign to keep hiking and keep moving. Reaching Wayah Bald Observation Tower, my mental state became better and I was loving the beautiful views this tower offered! From here on out, my day was WAY better! Legs were tired today but the destination of the shelter was reached. Bad news, it's supposed to snow tonight....Goodnight.-EagleRunner