morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-11
From: BurningTown Gap

To: Locust Grove Gap
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

This was our toughest day yet. We had a long 4000' descent, then 4000 plus feet climb. Pretty steeep and rough trail, too. We compared it to hiking the Grand Canyon--not too far off.We stopped for breakfast at Nantahala Outdoor Center. Very nice - and true to the Pickle myth, we sat out a brief rain shower there. Thunderstorms are in the forecast, but we had no rain while hiking - Pickle again. It's raining now in camp, great timing, just finished dinner.We tried a new pitch for the tarptent for snow, since that's in the forecast too. We got the rigging figured out before we need it- how's that for two engineers.My thighs are burning, but the feet amazingly are still fine.We just passed Sassafras Gap shelter, but it was packed and the wind was blowing strong right into it. Everyone there looked cold. We just had lunch and kept going to this fine camping spot. We'll see if it stays dry here.We plan on seeing Chief tomorrow at Stecoah Gap, where there'll be a hiker feed!Spirits were a little lower today with the cloudy weather and steep grades. Breakfast was a high point, great food, location (overlooking the river) service and I got to talk to GreasePot on the phone!
Date: 2008-04-12
From: Locust Grove Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Another tough day of up and down, but broken up nicely with a breakfast in town (Robbinsville) with Chief. Pickle's old friend met us at Stecoah Gap, doing trail magic (at Hopeful's birthday party), and took us to town. We also got a real grocery store to resupply, though we had to carry it all an extra 15 miles. Fontana Dam has a great free hot shower room and AT Shelter. I was hoping for a restaurant within walking distance, but no joy. We did some laundry in the shower. So we're all ready to head into the Smokies tomorrow! Sounds like some cold and snow, but no blizzard at least.I got an extra pound of trail mix from a SOBO section hiker, Sunshine. She had WAY too much food.
Date: 2008-04-13
From: Fontana Dam

To: Derrick Knob shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's milage is actually 25 Plus, due to a detour at the dam. Good day, but last 6 miles were tough - both terrain and weather. It's very cold (water froze in bottles) and snowing. We pitched tents in 1/2 inch of snow, still falling. Glad we practiced when we did. And we are going to be very happy for our excellent down bags.We made an irrational through-hiker decision to push on to this shelter, only because we could, barely. Got here at 7:30. About worn out, but still having fun. Got nice views of the Tennessee plains from 'Rocky Top'. Yes, we got into Tennessee. The shelter is full, which we hoped for, so we could legally tent here. The tent should be warmer and more comfortable than the hard shelter floors.Tomorrow should be interesting, very cold and more snow.
Date: 2008-04-14
From: Derrick Knob shelter

To: Ice Water Spring shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light snow

Wow! Wintery day! Cold and blowing snow all day and we're at the highest point on the AT! We did fine, cold at breaks but OK when walking. And it was a fine walk, in 2 inches of fresh snow in fir forest - beautiful.Lots of hikers bailed out to Gatlinburg. Dozens apparently. Now we have a shelter all to ourselves. I think it's ironic that the light hikers in running shoes are still out in these conditions, while those with the heavy loads bailed. I think, though, it has more to do with experience, not how much you carry.We got through last night's light snow and cold just fine and dry in our tarptents, got going early when we saw not enough snow to obscure the trail. We're both glad we pushed on over Rocky Top yesterday, that was hard enough to follow dry! A ridgerunner today told us it would be even colder tonight, but nice tomorrow. Sence we were plenty warm last night, we're confident about tonight. I guess most weren't and went to town. Neither of us wanted to go to Gatlinburg - no trail charm at all. And this is a fine challenge which we're meeting in good style and humor. We actually enjoyed ourselves today. And we passed the two hundred mile mark and both still feel great.
Date: 2008-04-15
From: Ice water spring shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night was bitterly cold. But what an awakening. It was an ice palace outside, with 6-8 inches of fresh powder snow. We stayed in the protected shelter pretty late, till 9:30 but then went out running and sliding down the trail like boys. It was gorgeous with bright sun and blue skies, and we had it all to ourselves (I was missing sunglasses--I didn't think I'd need them on this trip). We didn't see anyone until late afternoon. Everyone who went to town missed this! It will probably be one of the highlights of the trip. The snow got very soft and slushy as the day wore on and made walking though and wet. Today's 20 miles were hard. We found a melted patch to camp on at a lower elevation. It looks like we are past the highest of the Smokies. Great high alpine views today, especially because of the snow.We resupply tomorrow - none too soon. Perfect planning - again!Pretty incredible trail routing and construction in the national park - knife edges and stone catwalks - in the snow!
Date: 2008-04-16
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Max Patch Summit
Miles today: 24.0

Another highlight today - sunset from Max Patch Summit. Gorgeous and great timing. We got there just as the show started, after a long day. It was broken up by a 2 hour stop at the Standing Bear Den, a small informal hostel and resupply. We walked in empty and dirty, bought groceries and a shower. We only needed groceries for 1.5 days to Hot Springs. Warm and sunny today, budding trees and singing birds. What a difference in one day. We're camped on a breezy 4600 foot summit, but it's grassy and no snow after three days of it. Very comfortableToday's low-light - we both got a heel blister! After 250 miles, why now? And why both, within a few miles? It may be that the 3 days of walking in snow wrecked the feet. Oh well, they're small and we should be able to take good care of them.Yesterday we passed the 10% mark in 12 days. And we're on track for 2 140 mile weeks. Good pace.Standing Bear was a great place, relaxed atmosphere, help yourself honor system - pay when you leave.Last night campsite was very cold again. We scraped a little snow away to camp and the ground was very cold too. Tonight is quite pleasant.I got to talk to my honey today!
Date: 2008-04-17
From: Max Patch Summit

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: clear sky

We got treated to a gorgeous sunrise right out our tent doors. So we got up early at 6:30 in the cool wind and got hiking. We made our first 12x12 - 12 miles by noon - on this trip. We arrived in town by 3:30, found the Duckett House B&B to be very nice and welcoming. The wrap around porch, the clawfoot tub, and especially the laundry machine were big points. It was warm in the 70s at least.I spent a lot of money on resupply, probably bought too much for the 70 miles to Erwin. My first trail town! I was smiling as we walked in.
Date: 2008-04-18
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Ridge above Log Cabin Drive
Miles today: 17.8

Garlic here. We left town mid-morning after a nice breakfast and conversation with other (non-hiker!) B&B guests. It was a very restful night there, my best indoor sleep in a while.We met several young, strong hikers--Downstairs Dave, Campsite, Upwardly Mobile, Double D, Zack, all from Maine. Then we saw a note at a road crossing (Allen Gap) inviting us for dinner at a nearby house! So we all met Hercules and FAL (AT-99), who returned to the AT a few years ago to live the trail angel life, and they're fantastic at it. Waffles, stew, dessert, drinks, unbelievable!So I left tonight's dinner in their hiker box and managed to waddle another few miles.This may be our last perfect weather in a while. Lots of days of showers in the forecast. Nothing looks too severe. It sure was warm today on the climb out of town, but perfect on the higher ridges.The blisters are much better today. They never got larger than 1/4" diameter. I put a layer of duct tape over the medical tape and that did the trick to reduce friction in a hot spot. It's amazing how a 2" strip of tape improved my life.
Date: 2008-04-19
From: Ridge above Log Cabin Drive

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter area
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We got a good soaking today, cold thunderstorms at 4600', windy too. The rain stopped when we set up camp in the area of the shelter. We woke this morning to light showers and had mist and showers all day. But it rained very hard the last three hours. But I'm warm and dry and fed in the tent now. I will wear some of the wet clothes to bed to dry them out overnight and hope it's not raining in the morning, so it'll be a comfortable start.There was one exposed rocky ridge today (Black Stack Cliffs) with a blue blazed trail bypass for bad weather. But we took the ridge and got up to the bottom of the clouds. We could see the sunny plains of Tennessee.We're about 27 miles from Erwin. It's tempting to try to make it tomorrow.
Date: 2008-04-20
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter area

To: Erwin town
Miles today: 27.0

Our longest mileage day yet got us all the way into Erwin, TN. It was pretty easy going today, one good climb up Bald Mt, good trail all the way. Garlic here. We got a few more snowflakes on top of Bald Mt and cold rain showers pretty much all morning. Then it cleared up partially for the afternoon and we really made good time. We're staying at Uncle Johnny's for the night. I used a little kid's bike and rode about a mile down to the Long John Silver for a greasy fish dinner, and even won an ice cream cone on a scratch-off thing. We met a few hikers I've heard about from Trailjournals, the folks I was following before I left home.We had a lot of fun making 27 miles today. We both feel great, no more foot pain. I get a little fatigue on the really steep climbs, but not too bad. We're surprised we didn't see Downstairs Dave and Campsite today, after seeing them three days in a row (the first people that's happened with). We still don't need a zero day, so we'll do our grocery shopping tomorrow morning and leave in early afternoon. It looks like our next town stop will be Damascus--cool!
Date: 2008-04-21
From: Erwin town

To: Ridge above Low Gap
Miles today: 14.7

We got a late start from town as planned, at eleven o'clock. It was a fairly disappointing town stop in terms of eating and sleeping. The hostel had a 70's rock station playing outside on the patio just outside our window all night. If I hear one more Boston or Jethro Tull tune, I'll go crazy. The town is too spread out to walk to groceries or restaurants. The hostel shuttle took us on one trip to a cheap, fast diner for breakfast and a poor grocery store with half-empty shelves, all in 45 minutes. So we left kind of unsatisfied and rushed. At least we got to lie down on bare mattresses for a few hours. But the showers were hot and clean and the laundry was appreciated.We managed to make the huge climb up Unaka Mt (Unaka, I answer the doora). The summit of Unaka holds an Enchanted Forest, incredible green hues in moss, leaves, and light. The weather was cloudy and cool. I wonder how long it will be before we think wistfully back on these blissfully cool and sometimes snowy days. We're still talking about how lucky we were to be able to see the Smokies in the snow.
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Ridge above Low Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter area
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: light rain

It was another fine day on the AT. Near perfect weather (cool and cloudy), met some interesting people (Auntie Mame and V8, Aqua Maria (love that name), Tailgate, Shiloh, etc.), and we climbed a major mountain, Roan, and still managed over 23 miles. But we are now tired!The wildflowers are getting to be magnificent (eat your heart out, PMags!) Pickle pointed out Dutchman's Breeches the other day. Some of the slopes look like snow. We saw some flowering azaleas finally, and the rest of the flowering trees at the lower elevations are amazing. I hope we can see some rhododendron in bloom soon.The vistas from Roan and nearby balds were stunning. And we finished the day, weary, at this old converted barn in a meadow. Nice campsite on soft grass, fine views, then capped by a beautiful sunset. And it was a painless day of hiking. Can't ask for anything more than this, except for GreasePot's company.
Date: 2008-04-23
From: Overmountain Shelter area

To: Moreland Gap Shelter area
Miles today: 26.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a few miles too long. We missed a target campsite and ended up having to hike to a shelter to camp in a level spot. But the long miles at least were on easy trail for the most part.We met a few new nice people--Nona, Spartacus and Turtle (father/daughter) and we saw Bananas again. Spartacus was very interested in our light weight packing style. Nona is going for her triple crown, but is having some foot and gear problems. We remain very fortunate, with no injury or gear problems at all. Tried and true, I guess.Our first possible resupply, Abby's Place, is closed this year. Thus the extra long day. We'll try Laurel Fork Lodge tomorrow morning.Great views early this morning from Hump Mt. Otherwise we were in low lands all day. It was perfect weather again, cool and misty in the morning, sunny and warm midday.
Date: 2008-04-24
From: Moreland Gap Shelter area

To: Ridge above Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We saw our first AT bear today, right in the trail facing us, about 150 feet away. Pickle got a photo as it ran down the hill away from us.We had two strenuous climbs today, just under 2000' each, with very steep trail. That felt tough after yesterday's long miles. We were going to stop early at Watauga Lake, but all the campsites were filthy--too close to town.Resupply and clean-up went well at Laurel Fork Lodge. We're good to Damascus now. We wished there was a little more to eat right there, but we'll survive.We saw a lot more hikers slackpacking (no pack, with vehicle shuttle) today.The trail along the Laurel Fork was through a scenic gorge, but it was pretty tough and rocky.We got lucky and found a good spring on this ridge that we climbed with very little water, so we could camp up here before the shelter, which is probably very crowded. It's very nice right now, though we hear the weather could change soon.
Date: 2008-04-25
From: Moreland Gap Shelter area

To: Abingdon Gap
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: light rain

We stopped for water at a spring this morning. I sat down at the top of an embankment and started taking off my shoes. As I pulled one off, I dislodged a large head-sized boulder from the loose embankment. Pickle thought it came out of my shoe! I said, "Ah, that should feel better."We saw two large white-tailed deer after the water break. And Pickle says he's finally hearing thrush, his favorite songbird.It was another beautiful day, a few threatening showers. There's distant thunder now, in the evening.We hiked on and off with Pine Knot, and kept giving her a hard time by calling her Pine Nut instead.There was some nice trail magic today at a road crossing, by Skillet, an '05 through hiker. We had met him two nights ago at Moreland Gap. In return, we gave him some advice about planning a PCT hike.There's a decent thundershower now, drove me into the tent for the night.We also hiked through a large prescibed burn area today, and saw some smoke from another a few miles away. We met a SOBO who got shuttled around one. We thought it would be a shame--here we've just avoided some major fires during a bad year on the CDT, and how ironic it would be to miss a section of the AT because of a little prescribed burn!Damascus and the Virginia state line tomorrow! That's a psychological milestone. Today we passed the 20% mark, and in just over 21 days. We're both very pleased with our pace and progress, and we're having lots of fun with it.
Date: 2008-04-26
From: Abingdon Gap

To: Damascus
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

An easy 10-mile cruise brought us into Damascus by mid-morning. The highlight of the day came very early, pre-dawn, when (it sounded like) three owls engaged in either mating or a territorial dispute (maybe both) right above our campsite. They were making sounds up there I've never heard in nature before.Garlic here. In Damascus, I contacted some old neighbors from Evergreen, CO. Eleanor and Jack now live in Bristol, VA, about 30 miles from Damascus. They welcomed us into their beautiful old home for some resting and eating.I am a little alarmed at my rapid weight loss. I started this trail with about five extra pounds I nurtured on my spare frame over the winter, and that's now all gone. I maintained it OK through the Smokies, by eating heavily at town stops. But food in Erwin was disappointing, and we got very little extra to eat at our last resupply in Dennis Cove. There's been too much strenuous climbing on nothing but pack food. So we're going to try to remedy that this weekend. We plan on taking a zero day here, our first on this trip. We're pleased to have gone 460 miles without the need for a day off. I guess we deserve the rest here.Before we even got to the house, our hosts treated us to a good Mexican meal. My strategy for the day off is to try to consume about 10,000 calories, give or take a decimal place. Our friend Victor just informed me that he'd heard the most the human body can absorb in one day is 8,000, but I'm not interested in finesse here, the brute force sledge hammer approach will do just fine. A couple thousand calories down the toilet won't bother me at all right now.Time to go eat.
Date: 2008-04-27
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Garlic here. I hope our hosts are not too disgusted with us. We ate an endless stream of waffles, eggs, and sausage this morning, along with most of a stick of butter. We just got home this rainy afternoon from an AYCE (all you can eat) Chinese buffet, where Pickle and I pounded down four plates each plus a couple of ice cream cones. Dinner plans are next. I can actually feel a small layer of fat on top of my iliac crest now ("love handles" in the vernacular). It's scary that one can change one's body shape with one meal.What a joy it was to be able to drive to a decent grocery store and have our pick of whatever we wanted for this resupply. We gathered groceries for a 75-mile hike to Atkins. Our last resupply was from a couple of shelves of dry goods at a small hostel on a USFS road. So this is real nice.One of the best parts of this day is that it's been storming most of the afternoon. What a great pick for a zero day. Of course, there's the bad news, or maybe good, that there may be snow tomorrow on Mt Rodgers. We agree it would be exceptionally fine to be able to see the wild horses of the Grayson Highlands in the snow. And we're ready for it.
Date: 2008-04-28
From: Damascus

To: Whitetop Mtn Rd
Miles today: 21.3

How smart is this? It's cold and rainy and we climbed to a 5100' high point to camp. It was a through-hiker decision, not a rational decision. Actually we came up to see snow, we hope. Maybe we'll see the wild ponies of Grayson Highlands in the snow tomorrow. It's not snowing yet, but we are ready for it.I had a case of "the Mondays" today, with the rainy weather and already missing my friends Jack and Eleanor. Pickle said that was his best, most relaxing and rejuvenating zero day ever, in nearly 10,000 miles of hiking!We got going from Damascus around 900 in the rain. We passed two shelters filled with cold and wet people and found this campsite on Whitetop Mt. Jack told us they collect maple syrup commercially up here.We may be getting what we heard a local guy call the "blackberry winter". This comes after the "dogwood winter" we had two weeks ago.Oh boy, lightning and thunder and heavy snow now. This may get interesting.
Date: 2008-04-29
From: Whitetop Mtn Rd

To: Past Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 24.2

This was our coldest day yet. For the first time, I hiked all morning with everything on. The sun didn't come out until late afternoon and it was very windy. If it wasn't so damn cold, we would have appreciated the snowy beauty a little more.Yes, it snowed a couple of inches last night. And we saw two herds of ponies in the snow and enjoyed it as much as we could in the harsh wind. When we crossed Low Gap, the conditions reminded me of some winter climbs in Colorado in the bitter cold. But we both slept well in our nice bags and tarps rigged for snow. I'm sure glad we figured out how to do that.Pickle reminded me that I'm really getting the extremes so far on this trip.We pushed on to drop a little lower for a warmer night tonight. We got to sit outside and talk and eat. All other breaks today were shivering in shelters. It was nice to see shelters every 5-7 miles. At one of them, I used the privy and my hands were too numb to wipe myself very well. Uggh. As Pickle said, "It's not for everybody". But we made through the day with another fine memory and we're warm and dry at the end of it.
Date: 2008-04-30
From: Past Hurricane Shelter

To: Past USFS 644
Miles today: 26.2

Great campsite last night, nice and quiet, soft leaf duff, warm and dry. I slept great on the soft ground. No owls either. Just a little very light frost on the tarp.Pretty easy trail today too, rocky in a few spot, small climbs and good grade. After yesterday's fatigue, I feel pretty good at the end of the day today.We continue to find good spring water. We treated some from a creek yesterday for only about the 5th time on the whole trip so far.Tonight's campsite is very similar to yesterday's. I hope I sleep as well, but I may dream of breakfast which is only a couple of miles away at Atkins. We're just about out of food, so perfect planning again.This site has an old wire fence running through it. I cautioned Pickle about it, not to run into it if he got up during the night for some reason, which prompted his mind to come up with this book title: "Agony in the Night", by Barb Dwyer.The shower at the Partnership shelter was very nice. We tried to order a pizza there, but they didn't want to deliver just one--$30 minimum order, apparently. We weren't that hungry.
Date: 2008-05-01
From: Past USFS 644

To: Climbing Chestnut Ridge
Miles today: 23.0

Here's what I bought at a truckstop convenience store for resupply today:1 package of 6 bagels, 22 oz1 Jar PB, 18 oz3 Ramen, 10.5 oz4 crackers, 7 oz2 trail mix, 19 oz1 tuna, 3.5 ozTotal of 80 oz or 5 lb. Plus I had about 1/2 lb of cereal left, so my food weight is 5.5 ob--oh yes, plus one deli sandwich and one banana makes over 6 lb. The next resupply is 63 miles away, and I like to carry about 1 lb per 10 miles, so this should be good.Being able to buy at the Atkins highway exit kept us from having to hitch into Atkins or go to a PO to pick up a drop. Total cost of the above was about $20, about the cost of postage for a priority box without the food.So far we're very happy with our decision to buy as we go and to eat cold food. It's far simpler and we can be more spontaneous. We spend less time in towns, more on the Trail, and haven't had to hitch yet.Today we passed the 25% mark in 28 days. We're very pleased with our progress and pace, and we're having great fun doing it.I ordered two full breakfasts at the truckstop restaurant. It was a little too much and I felt a little funny climbing out of town, but it worked out OK and I feel fine now, glad for the calorie and fat boost.We found another fine, leafy campsite in the upper part of a long climb up to Chestnut Ridge. This is one of a few steeper climbs today, and the temps were a little warmer, in the 70s. They were harder miles today. We also walked through a couple of low agricultural valleys, perfect bucolic countryside setting, just my vision of rural Virginia. Warm and stinky with manure, though!