morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-07
From: Blue Mountain

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: scattered clouds

If I found my legs yesterday, today I must have misplaced them. I was feeling tired and a bit sore when I started out this morning, and by the time I got to Tray Mountain Shelter at 1:30, I had covered less than eight miles. With a rainstorm starting, I decided to make it a short day and stop for the night. That means I've fallen behind schedule enough not to be able to make it to Franklin with my current food supply. That's good news because it means tomorrow I'll be going in to Hiawassee and can look forward to a warm bed. There are quite a few others at the shelter tonight, but I haven't met many of them yet because I'm holed up in my tent while the rain is coming down.
Date: 2005-03-08
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night, I took some ibuprofen and got a really good night's sleep. The storm kept going all night, but my tent stayed warm and dry. By morning the rain had turned to snow and there were about two inches on the ground when we started out. Brett caught up with me last night, so the two of us set out together for the ten miles to get to the road to Hiawassee. This was the most beautiful day yet. It was cold and windy, but the snow had stuck to every branch and the light on the mountains was spectacular. We made good time and got to the road shortly after noon, and quickly hitched a ride into Hiawassee. There are seven of us tonight in the hostel room at the Hiawassee Inn, including Brett, Angie and Julie from the first night. We had pizza and beer in the room, and we're getting a shuttle back to the trail in the morning.
Date: 2005-03-09
From: Hiawassee Inn

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up early this morning and left the room so the others could sleep. Ron, who owns the Hiawassee Inn with Sam, was up and invited me into his kitchen for breakfast. He gave me an egg and some chees grits. The breakfast really got me going. Almost seventeen miles to the Standing Indian Shelter. We were aiming for Muskrat Shelter, on stop earlier, but Brett caught up with me just before we got there and we decided to push on another five miles to beat the crowds. Erica, a student at the university where I work, had started a day before me and we met up at the shelter. I also finally caught up with Pierrette from Rimouski and it was great to have someone to chat with in French. I hope we see more of each other down the trail.
Date: 2005-03-10
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

The day after a big day is always a little harder. It was a bit of a push to get to the Big Spring Shelter tonight. Especially since the day ended with a climb up Albert Mountain. The really steep part was only about half a mile but it was the hardest bit yet. I felt fantastic when I got to the top though. There was a forest fire observation tower there. From the top, looking north, we could see the Smokies. They're less than a week away now. After the summit, it was an easy walk to the shelter where Brett and I met up again with Tim, Erica, Chris, Billy, Ellen, and Pierrette.
Date: 2005-03-11
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Haven Motel, Franklin
Miles today: 9.1

Brett, Chris and I set out his morning for a short nine mile hike toWinding Stair Gap to get a ride into Franklin. When we got to theroad, we split up to make it easier to get a ride. Three hikers withbackpacks are a lot to put in one car. I saw Chris and Brett go by inthe back of a pickup minutes before Cham stopped and let me in histruck. He gave me a ride right to the motel, so I ended up gettingthere first. I made a trip to the Post Office to pick up my firstmaildrop. I had sent myself way too much food. About a third of it isgoing into the hiker box. Then after a trip to the library to updatemy journal, we went to the all-you-can-eat steakhouse for supper. I'mlooking forward to a good night's sleep tonight.
Date: 2005-03-12
From: Haven Motel, Franklin

To: Burnington Gap
Miles today: 14.6

There's no accounting for how hard today was.. I had a big dinner, aten-hour sleep and a big breakfast in me when we started out at 10.But by six, we were still short of the 15 miles to Cold SpringShelter. It felt like we were climbing all day, but when I looked atthe elevation map there was the usual mix of ups, downs, and flats. Wedecided it must be that towns make you soft. Luckily we didn't have toclimb the last hill up to the shelter. A trail angel called Apple hadset up a huge dome at the the base of the hill and was serving food,drink and shelter to the hikers passing through. Everyone stopped sowe have the same crowd as two days ago in the shelter, along with Maxand another Chris. Even though today was hard, we got one of our mostspectacular views yet from Wayah Bald. It's invigorating to look overthe way we've come. Albert Mountain and Standing Indian looked so faraway. On the other side, we could see ahead to the future and thesnowy peak of Clingman's Dome in the Smokies.
Date: 2005-03-13
From: Burnington Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Centre
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

There wasn't a big difference in the level of difficulty betweenyesterday and today but for some reason yesterday was one of myhardest days outside and today felt like a pleasant walk in the woods.It was also a lot warmer than it has been up to now, 20 degreesCelsius, my first day hiking in shorts. I was thinking about how manyfirsts there have been so far: first state line, first encounter withsouthbounders (already met 3 - hardy bastards!), first all you can eatrestaurant, first warm bed, etc. Things are probably going to seemvery different in a few weeks when everything becomes routine. I'mwondering how I'll react when it stops being a great adventure holidayand starts being just a differernt way of life. I think I might enjoyit even more. Tonight we're staying at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, acomplex of log cabins, bunkhouses, a restaurant and kayak rentalfacility. The others have gone down to the restaurant for supper, butI'm cooking my food just so my pack will be a bit lighter tomorrow.
Date: 2005-03-14
From: Nantahala Outdoor Centre

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a half day, just eight miles, but all of it uphill. Iwas asteady consistent climb, never too steep, with even more extraordinaryviews. I stopped at noon for half an hour at a rock with a spectacularview near Swim Bald. Then it was just another mile or so to theshelter. I was the first one there so I got the fire going and spentthe afternoon taking it easy, as the crowd rolled in from N.O.C.
Date: 2005-03-15
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Today was quite a hard day. Last night, there weren't any great spotsto pitch a tent so I ended up setting it up on a bit of an incline. SoI was sliding down all night and kept waking up at the bottom of mytent. I was tired this morning and it was a fairly long day overdifficult terrain. Ellen, Brett, Billy and Chris decided to hike all22 miles to Fontana Dam so they could have a zero day tomorrow. Sofrom our crowd, it's just Pierrette, Tim and Erica in the sheltertonight.
Date: 2005-03-16
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Hike Inn, Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Things didn't quite come together today. I think they will tomorrow,but there are still a couple of hurdles to get over. It took me a longtime to get to the dam this morning. By the time I made it to theshelter it was almost noon. I was hoping to run into some of the folkswho got here last night. I saw some of their bags, but they hadobviously gone into the village. I went to the dam to call about theshuttle to the village bu the next one wasn't leaving for another twohours. I was about to walk the three miles into the village when I raninto Pierrette. She was headed to the Hike Inn and offered to shareher room. I also found out I forgot my stove fuel at last night'sshelter and that Tim was bringing it in. I decided to bypass thevillage and go to the Inn with Pierrette. That way I could also get tothe supermarket in Robbinsville. I found out I could get my packagesent to the Inn from the post office. I left a note about my fuel atthe shelter. If I'm lucky, we can get a ride to the shelter in themroning early enough that I can meet up with the others and get myfuel. But the extra wrinkle is that there may be six inches of snow onthe ground tomorrow, in which case we'll be stranded here. We hadsupper tonight with Diane and Alan, two more Canadian hikers. Theyhave a Jeep with them and may be able to get back to the dam even ifit's snowing. I hope everything works out.
Date: 2005-03-17
From: Hike Inn, Fontana Dam

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light snow

Today was both really hard and really rewarding. We started in theSmokies in snow and thick fog. And we were climbing most of the day.But it's great to be hiking again. Yesterday's entry doesn't conveywhat a frustrating logistical nightmare Fontana Dam was. It's justreally nice to be functioning on our own steam again and not becompletely dependent on other people. I'm also happy to be back withthe pack. I'm going to try to keep up with them until Hot Springsbecause I think that will be a lot of fun. After that though, I expectI'll fall back a bit.
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The weather completely cleared up today. The Smokies really aremagnificent and very different from the mountains before. But weweren't having an easy time today. We had hoped to do a 16-mile daytoday but stopped short of 10. Chris and Max have moed on. But Billy,Brett, Ellen, Pierrette and I were exhausted when we reached DerrickKnob Shelter. We were going to try one more shelter and Pierrette setout first, but she turned back when she saw the next climb and we wereall relieved to call it a day.
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mount Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's hike was magnificent. This might have been the most beautifulday yet on the trail. It was long though, I started just after eightand finished just before dark and I only covered 13 miles. Betweenyesterday's 10 miles and today, it's clear I haven't budgeted enoughfood for the Smokies. When our group came in we were planning toaverage 15-mile days. Now we're all facing the same dilemma. Ellen andPierrette are pushing on with what they've got. Billy and Brett aregoing to pull 20-mile days until they're out of the Sokies. And I'mgoing to hitch into Gatlinburg tomorrow. So the pack won't make it toHot Springs together. Initially I was a bit diappointed . But really Iwas relieved I didn't have to keep up anymore. I kept a fairly slowpace today and really enjoyed all the views along the way. The climbup Clingman's Dome was a lot less strenuous than I had anticipated andnow the highest peak in the Southern Appalachians is behind me. I'mrecharging tomorrow and feeling really good.
Date: 2005-03-20
From: Mount Collins Shelter

To: Sleepy Bear Motel, Gatlinburg
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

In the woods, the prospect of a trip into town is tantalizing. I cravelaundry and a shower and the bright wide bounty of a supermarketaisle. But it doesn't take long after I get in to be anxious to getback on the trail. On the trail, I'm moving in one direction and alldecisions are based on how far my current energy level, food supplyand daylight hours will get me. Town is a lot more complicated. I getin with a list of things to do and then have to navigate a maze ofoptions on how to get everything done efficiently. Here's what Ineeded to get done in Gatlinburg: replace my fuel canister and pumplost last week at Cable Gap Shelter; get my poles repaired or replaced(I broke one falling in the snow a couple of days ago); buy a coupleof long AT maps for firends to track my progress; get to asupermarket, laundromat, post office and pharmacy; get photostransferred to CD to post on my online journal and find internetaccess to update the journal itself. It's not a short list, but itshould be manageable in 24 hours. Two things were working against methough. I came in on a Sunday, so the library and post office areclosed, and it's an hour's walk from the resort part of town where Ican do half of what I eed and the part of town where the post officeand supermarket are. I got a room in a motel halfway between the twoends and next to a laundromat, and with a lkot of walking back andforth I got everything done except the post office and library. Ofcourse one is at one end and one is at the other, so I have quite abit of running around to do in the morning. I have to be back on thetrail before noon though to do the 10 miles to Peck's Corner Shelter.
Date: 2005-03-21
From: Sleepy Bear Motel, Gatlinburg

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

It did take longer than I expected to get out of Gatlinburg. I made it back on the trail at 12:30 and got to the shelter just before dark. Today was another beautiful day with some spectacular views from the trail as it followed high ridges. I had my camera out a lot but it's impossible to capture the sensation of these vistas in a two-dimensional image. The precipitous drops from the edge of a ridge, the swooping curves and billowing peaks, lose almost all their drama in a photograph. I'm surprised at how much I'm missing my gang though now that I'm a day behind. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to catch up a bit.
Date: 2005-03-22
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: overcast clouds

My first twenty-mile day! I left the Peck's Corner shelter at dawn and kept walking until after dark with only two fifteen-minute breaks for food and water. This definitely isn't the kind of mileage I can do regularly but it was fun to see how far I could push in one day. I had planned to stop at the Devenport Gap Shelter exactly 20 miles on from Peck's Corner. But it was still light when I got there and I had heard about Standing Bear Farm from Eric, another hiker who passed me today. I decided to go the extra three miles so I could have a shorter day tomorrow. I'm really glad I did. This place is really nice, wood huts around a creek with a bunkhouse, shower hut, laundry hut, office hut, store and privy.
Date: 2005-03-23
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Max Patch campsite
Miles today: 14.1

So far, every time I've had a record-breaking day for mileage, the next day has been one of my weakest, and today certainly started out that way. I limped into the first shelter at lunchtime. My left foot was sending jolts of pain up my spine and I was sure it was telling me it wasn't going another step. But it turns out all it was saying was, "Get me out of this boot and rub me for a bit," because after I did that I had a great afternoon hiking up to Max Patch. There's a shelter being built just past there, but it isn't ready yet so I pitched my tent just south of the Patch. The summit was really beautiful and the wind up there was ferocious.
Date: 2005-03-24
From: Max Patch campsite

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 16.1

Last night on Max Patch a dog started walking the trail with me. There were other campers near the summit so I assumed it belonged to one of them. I heard it outside my tent as I went to sleep, and when I got up in the middle of the night I saw it sleeping next to my tent in the rain. The next morning it sat by me as I packed up and followed and watched me as I dug a hole to go to the bathroom. For the next four hours as I hiked, the dog stayed with me. I never touched it or fed it. The only interaction I had with it was to gently suggest it ight go find its owner. And eventually we did. It turns out this dog lives in the area and loves thru hikers. It goues up the mountain by itself and hooks up with hikers and has been known to follow them 20 miles to Hot Springs. But after we met its owner, it decided to stay with her and I carried on alone. I got to the shelter in good time and shortly after I arrived, Billy caught up with me. He says Brett and Ellen are on their way.
Date: 2005-03-25
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn, Hot Springs, North Carolina
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: clear sky

I got into Hot Springs for breakfast this morning, bacon, eggs and biscuit at the Smoky Mountain Diner. This is a really nice trail town. A lot of hikers are spending more than one day here and I'm tempted to as well. Elmer's Sunnybank Inn is a wonderful peaceful place., a Victorian mansion full of great books. Supper here was extraordinary, a vegetarian feast, soup, salad, a great Tunisian couscous and pumpkin pie. After we ate Gary and Catherine played music in the living room. It was easy to get everything done in town today so most of the aternoon was spent in the sun at the pub. It's going to be hard to leave tomorrow.
Date: 2005-03-26
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn, Hot Springs, North Carolina

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up early this morning, so I found one of the many comfortable spot's at Elmer's and read from a collection of Emma Goldman essays I borrowed from his great library. She was quite a pistol! But when she takes on Wilde and Shaw and the Fabian crowd, that lot just seems so much more right. They had it right in 1890 and they're still right today. When the breakfast bell rang I went downstairs for another terrific meal, eggs, grits, delicious whole wheat biscuits with vegetarian gravy, as well as granola and fruit. I set back out around noon and enjoyed the ten-mile hike to the next shelter. It was a very varied bit of trail, a river, cliffs, a waterfall, a pond, a daffodil patch, and finally an area of forest that had been subjected to a controlled burn that afternoon. It was very strange to walk on pristine trail with the forest floor on either side turned to ash and small fires still burning where the trees were dead or dying.
Date: 2005-03-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Today turned out to be a difficult day. The eight miles in the morning were uneventful but were consistently uphill. So I was already tired when I set out after lunch. About three miles short of the shelter, the trail went on to a rocky exposed ridge. The ups and downs over difficult rocks would have been fun at the beginning of the day, and the views would have been spectacular had I not been enveloped in a thick cloud. By the time I reached the shelter tonight, I was exhausted.
Date: 2005-03-29
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Stone steps near Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

It continued to rain and snow through the night, then by morning we had a beautiful cloudless sunny day. The weather was perfect for the climb up Big Bald and the views from the top were spectacular. But I think I need to slow down a bit. I was exhausted when I got to the top, and all I could think about was the next six miles before bed. I found a great spot to camp though, right next to a stream, and with a cloudless sky, I set my tent up without the fly so I went to sleep under the stars.
Date: 2005-03-30
From: Stone steps near Spivey Gap

To: Miss Janet's House, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

It was a beautiful day today for the walk into Erwin. I've been getting tired the last few days so I was really looking forward to a rest. The first car I saw picked me up and dropped me off at the Post Office. I picked up my package and met Chris and Billy and 10 other hikers at Miss Janet's. This is a really friendly comfortable place and I was feeling rested almost immediately. I got everything done quickly and had a nice dinner with everyone at Elm's restaurant. The weather is supposed to turn ugly for the next few days and I haven't decided how far I'm going to go tomorrow.
Date: 2005-03-31
From: Miss Janet's House, Erwin, TN

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: moderate rain

I had a hard time getting started on the trail this morning. Miss Janet made us all a great breakfast and drove Ryan, Wes and me back to the trail at 10:30. It took me three hours to cover the first four miles to the next shelter and then I stopped for another half hour. But then I found my groove again and the next eight miles were a lot easier. Some of the others are spending the day in Erwin and I considered it because the forecast called for rain and I knew I would be tenting between shelters, but in the end there was hardly any rain at all and I'm glad I came back out.
Date: 2005-04-01
From: Deep Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night my camping spot was next to an old forest road. Just as I was getting ready to turn in, I heard a truck coming up the road. It slowed down as it got close to my tent and started inching forward on the gravel road. I could hear loud male voices, probably drunk, and I got pretty scared. It turns out they were slowing down because my light in the woods scared them. They called out, I replied, we introduced ourselves, "I'm Eric from Montreal, I'm out here hiking," we determined there was no mutual threat and they moved on. An hour later I was asleep when the truck came back. "Hey Eric," they called out, "You want a Labatt's?" I don't know if they went to resupply and bought Canadian beer on my account, but I was too tired to leave my tent so I declined and they moved on. Today I noticed I forgot to refuel in Erwin and my stove tank was dry. Fortunately by taking a detour of just over a mile, I could drop in on a hostel to fill up. I bought a pint of Ben and Jerry's and ate it on the way back to the trail, so by the time I got to the shelter I was full and didn't use my stove. The storm was just starting when I arrived and I was happy yo run into Frank. It was just the two of us and we chatted in the evening as the storm intensified around us.
Date: 2005-04-02
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: snow

Roan Mountain is the toughest climb on the Appalachian Trail until we get to New Hampshire. Roan Mountain in a blizzard is the toughest hike I hope ever to do in my life. For about four miles, it was a steep climb in snow that started in round beads like tapioca and then turned wet and then powdery but that just kept coming down. Frank hikes quite a bit faster than me so by the time I caught up with her at the shelter at the summit, she had finished lunch and was ready to move on. We commiserated about the climb and promised ourselves it would be easier on the way down. Were we ever wrong! Past the summit, there were large grassy balds. The grassy balds are some of the most beautiful features of the mountains around here, but in a snowstorm they are barely navigable. It was hard to stand upright in the wind, and the drifts meant that with each step I never knew if I would sink to my ankle or to my thigh. And the trail still had two more tough climbs. Halfway up the second one I started talking to the trail directly, begging it to change course and start going downhill! Finally I met up with Frank again a mile and a half before Overmountain Shelter and we decided to push on for the last bit together. The trees were sparse enough and the ground so thoroughly covered that it was hard to make out where the trail was, but eventually after only one wrong turn we made it to Overmountain Shelter. The shelter is a converted barn open at both ends and when we got there the wind was barreling through, the floor was covered in snow and the structure itself was shaking with each gust. Nuffy, another hiker from Melbourne, was there trying to keep warm without a tent. Frank and I pitched our tents inside the barn and Nuffy joined me in mine. Even though I was exhausted after a difficult day, I had a hard time getting to sleep with the high winds, the shifting barn, the unfamiliar company, the soreness, and a sleeping pad that has sprung a leak and will need replacing in Damascus.