morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-09-25
From: Wise Shelter

To: Campsite near Beartree Gap Trail
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: clear sky

I sauntered and dawdled this morning. Or at least what passes as such for a thru-hiker. Why don¢t I linger a moment in this trailside campsite, savor the close-cropped grass that would be more at home on a putting green than the AT. With the campsite in the foreground let me try to capture the view ¢ nine, yes, nine distinct mountain ridges, one after the other. I try to capture it with a lens, with millions of pixels at my disposal, but even with that height of modern technology I¢ll likely fail. In the background ponies nicker.Further ahead I can see the trail tread approaching Mt. Rogers. When was the last time I could see the AT a half mile ahead? I wouldn¢t be surprised if the heads of elves or fairies popped up into view.I walk off trail to introduce myself to ponies. When I was a child, once a year a man with a pony would walk the neighborhood door to door, offering to take your child¢s picture on his pony. Now I return the favor, taking these ponies¢ photos for free. This one is Sophia:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...This one is Jessica. Oops, maybe not on closer inspection. It¢s Reuben Scout:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...And this feisty one is Jessica:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...If you were thinking about staying at Thomas Knob Shelter, don¢t unless it¢s raining. Stay at the campsite a mile north of the shelter. It¢s flat, with scrumptious views, grass as soft and neat as peach fuzz on a shorn head.None of this is ¢above¢ treeline, but wide stretches of these highlands have only shrubs easy to see over and the few trees don¢t block the view. I haven¢t walked through this much open country since the mountain tops of Maine.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...And since I mentioned the number nine, the number of successive distinct ridges before the distant horizon swallowed up any more, I must mention the real important number of the day. It is not 1,700. This morning I reached that AT milestone. It is not 12, the number of miles I have till I walk into Damascus, Virginia, tomorrow. The important number is ¢6¢. That¢s the number of days till I see Frodo again.Today I had lunch at Buzzard Rock with a full 360° view ¢ a rare AT event. Tonight I am stealth camping by myself; the cicadas making the usual deafening but ignorable racket. I am going to read a little more, munch a Butterfinger candy bar, and then turn off my headlamp, snug in my tent. (Frodo: I can¢t help but think, ¢What about your teeth??¢)It¢s been a good day. Good night, moon; good night, brush; good night to thoughts of ponies with their muzzles in mush.
Date: 2017-09-27
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 124, Sep 27, 0 in Damascus, VA Creeper Coming toward town yesterday I was acutely aware that for the entire 12 miles there¢s a popular alternate path, a ¢Rails to Trails¢ path, a flat one-percent-grade path, wide, alongside the river. All the while I, on the AT, climb up, down, including one 800-foot climb. As much as Damascus is famous as the Appalachian Trail town, it is also famous for the 34-mile Virginia Creeper foot and bike path. Town businesses include bike rental shops, shuttles, and the place I¢m staying is its eponymous namesake (Frodo: Umm¢¦ I think that¢s a bit redundant.) Converting old railroad rights-of-way to recreational footpaths, just like our National Parks is another great American idea. The lead photo is of an old railroad bridge, where the AT deigned to descend onto the easily-trod path to cross a river.Doing zero day chores ¢ and it¢s a good time to thank Barbara and Anne who confirmed that the tightly closed purple lower is an East Coast gentian, though one says ¢bottle¢ gentian and the other says ¢soapwort¢ or ¢closed¢. I vote or ¢closed¢ as a second mystery to me was why are they earning brown without ever opening? How the heck do they get pollinated if they never open? (Frodo: Maybe they self-pollinate, like Mendel¢s pea flowers.) Here¢s a photo o a second set of gentian-like lowers, much smaller, a half inch instead of an inch long, and more clusters.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Another mystery to me the last few days arose from these wonderful open highlands. They are called ¢Balds¢. Today I asked an expert, the ATC Southern Regional Director Morgan, ¢What¢s the difference between ¢above treeline¢ and a ¢bald¢?¢ Morgan said that down here they would calculate ¢above treeline¢ would be above 8300 feet. So none of that exists. High points here are in the 6,000s. ¢We don¢t really know what causes balds.¢ He said theories include grazing by large ruminants ¢ wood bison and elk once populated these southern mountains, fires set on purpose by Native Americans, or maybe just ¢too thick¢ soil for trees. Whatever the reason, there will be many more in the miles ahead in which to scratch my own thinning=hair head, and to thoroughly enjoy.Boy, it¢s hard, but I am restraining myself from talking about the four-letter ¢¢ word ¢ food!Finally, I was in Food City supermarket with Franky, finishing up my resupply shopping, when a man came up to us. ¢Are you Scout?¢ He hopes to hike the AT in a few years. He¢s been following my journal, loved meeting Franky, and glowed as he spoke of watching Dot¢s YouTube videos. So here¢s a shout-out to Alan Skyzypczak. (Frodo: Scout wrote that out VERY neatly, thank goodness!) (Scout: Maybe he wants to hike the AT to get a nice simple trail name.)  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Today Virginia, tomorrow Tennessee!
Date: 2017-09-30
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: Walnut Mountain Rd
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: broken clouds

I was up early at Boots Off Hostel, packed in the dark, wolfed down two chocolate donuts and an orange, ready to get a jump on a hoped-for 23-mile day. Then I saw it.I often say, ¢I have one soulmate, three best friends, six very important women in my life, and likely fifty from whom I could get or give a hug at any time.¢ (Frodo: That last one should be at least a hundred.) But that¢s wrong. There are four best friends. And I spotted a first cousin of my fourth best friend at the hostel and I stopped in my tracks. I¢d been ready for a 7:20 pre-sunrise start.My guitar is a best friend. It¢s always been there for me. My guitar helped Frodo fall in love with me. It¢s always there when I¢m down. With my guitar in hand I could get 100 campers to sing silly camp songs, at 7:30 am or pm. Four times since Katahdin I¢ve had access to a guitar. And there tucked between the refrigerator and the sink at Boots Off hiker area was a dusty guitar. I had to give it 15 minutes, didn¢t I? Tuned, played, heard the four around me grow quiet, saw them mouthing the words. 15 minutes is a half mile or more out here.The opening climb of 1000-foot-plus was smooth enough and then late morning the AT dropped into Laurel Stream Canyon. Except for the dense trees and rhododendrons, it almost felt Sierra-like. Cascading stream, pools, waterfalls, culminating in 70-foot-high Laurel Falls. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... We won¢t mention the getting lost on a side trail that turned out not to be the AT. 15 more minutes.Today is Yom Kippur. It¢s the pinnacle of Jewish holidays. If I was home I would fast for 24 hours, no food or water. Ten years ago in 2007, Yom Kippur fell two weeks before we finished our PCT thru-hike. Somehow I got in my head that Frodo and I should fast on the trail. Cold rain turned to snow that night and we had 16 tough, freezing miles the next day before eating or drinking again. I had fasted every year since I was 13, so over 40 years running, and I thought it would be meaningful. I was wrong; it was miserable. It wasn¢t spiritual, it was painful. So I am not fasting today, but I have been thinking about the heart of the day ¢ who have I wronged, who have I offended, and are there apologies I need to make.  We are not supposed to just confess, but to seek out the wronged party and try to make it right. And what if the wronged person won¢t accept your apology? There¢s a rule for that, too. Your duty is to apologize three times. After that, even if not accepted, you¢re absolved.I will ask Frodo tomorrow, if there is anything I have done for which an apology is warranted. ONE. She flies out tomorrow and will hike in less than a mile to Overmountain Shelter!!!! She¢ll have with her Blazer (from our 2007 PCT hike) and Blazer's brother Ian. All three are hiking with me for a day and a half. Which is why I pressed all day, not finishing until deep into dusk. I wanted 23 miles. 22.8 will have to do. I think it will be cold tonight. Tomorrow night will be warm regardless of the temperature.
Date: 2017-10-02
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

¢My thermometer reads 41 degrees!¢ said Aloha. And that was while we were packing up, on the late side. ¢It must have dropped into the high 30s.¢ The only time this whole trek, in almost 130 days, that I had temperatures this low was back on my first night ¢ Day 1 on Mars Hill with Rolling Thunder. Frodo even put on her down puffy jacket last night because she couldn¢t get warm enough to fall asleep. I wore mine ¢ gratefully ¢ as we started hiking. Frodo hadn¢t brought it a day too soon.These shelter mice were not only circus acrobats, at least one was a rodent Harry Houdini. Aloha hung his food bag on the usual mouse-proof hanging rope hook. Somehow a mouse got down the thin rope, around the plastic cone, inside Aloha¢s nylon stuff sack, and chewed on his tortillas. And then it escaped again. Harry Houdini in the 1920s was the era¢s famed escape artist ¢ no combination of handcuffs, chains, locks, or thick-walled steamer trunk could keep him contained for long. So, too, the overmountain Shelter mice. Aloha: ¢It will forever be a mystery!¢It was such a joy to hike with Frodo all day. We have not hiked a full day together since the CDT two years ago. It¢s no small thing to just jump in for a thru-hiker day. It¢s like jumping onto a fast-moving conveyer belt. Blazer and Ian well acquitted themselves. Sixteen miles from shelter to shelter. Up and down more open, view-filled balds, first Jane Bald and then Round Bald. I do wonder how the three of them will feel tomorrow. Will it be ibuprofen time?The lead photo above may be the centerpiece of our holiday photo page. But this one is a favorite, too. Kissy, kissy. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... (Sorry for the mushy stuff, Princesses and Reuben.)Here¢s the four of us on top of Round Bald. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... I felt I had to keep on explaining, ¢The AT isn¢t like this. It really is a green tunnel. This morning they had no reason to believe me.Great photo of Blazer:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...And of Blazer and Inyo:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...We have been skirting the Tenessee/North Carolina state line. A luxurious hotel was built up here in the 1880s. The Cloudland Hotel was three stories and was grand indeed. A stripe was painted down the middle of the dining room floor. One side was North Carolina, a ¢dry¢ state, and the other side was Tenessee, where drinking alcohol was legal. A North Carolina sheriff sometimes surreptitiously hung out and waited for drinking guests to forget and cross the line. And what was the cost of this grand luxury in 1880? $2 a day.It was so great chatting with Blazer and Inyo, catching up on their lives. And finally, Frodo had this weird hat deal going on:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j.... Actually, it¢s my fault. I had dropped my hat and she picked it up with her trekking pole so it wouldn¢t blow away. So I should apologize for making fun. (Frodo: darn right.)Great campfire with the 7 of us again tonight.
Date: 2017-10-04
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: clear sky

I surprised myself. I was the first one out of the shelter and on the trail. 7:15 is now the new 7:05. And I still have to go slow at 7:15 because there is so little light. Dot and Franky were packing up. Aloha poked his head up out of his hammock. I woke him and a hiker I¢d met only once before, Suches, who soon tucked in behind me. We¢re heading to Uncle Johnny¢s hiker hostel, on the trail, right outside of Erwin, TN. I will see Frodo again there. It¢s ¢only¢ four miles.Here¢s our drill for today: Hike four miles from the shelter to Uncle Johnny¢s. Meet Frodo and her rental SUV. Give her most of our gear. Slackpack 11 miles to Spivey Gap. Meet Frodo after a little more than 15 miles, and also Mango and his wife Jane. (Mango was hosted by us in 2010 and hiked the southern 40% of the PCT that year.) Stop for LUNCH in Erwin. Proceed with Dot, Franky, and Aloha to Mango and Jane¢s cabin on Ripshin Lake outside Roan Mountain. Yes, I know, life is tough for an AT hiker.Before I forget, I apparently created an off-trail firestorm. Royalty divided; the Princesses erupted in discord over whose pony is the cutest. (Frodo: You mean you didn¢t see that coming?!?) My peace plan was to have Reuben Scout decide, but Frodo vetoed that idea. My apologies, Princess parents (Frodo: King and Queen?), but Happy 15th Anniversary!The 12 miles from Uncle Johnny¢s and the Nolichucky River to Spivey Gap looked tough. But we slackers, er... slackpackers, formed a train and powered up the first half, a big climb. We didn¢t look at the time until noon. ¢Only 4.9 miles to go!¢ We met Frodo right on time ¢ 2:15. How¢s that for 16 miles?Mango and Jane¢s cabin was right on the lake, with amazing views of the lake through the large windows. Dinner was Caesar salad redolent with shaved parmesan, heirloom tomatoes http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  , chicken, bread generously slathered with butter. For dessert, what Time magazine once declared ¢The Best Ice Cream You Can Buy In A Store¢ ¢ Mayfield ice cream from a dairy in Athens, Tennessee. Mango and Jane were terrific hosts, at least until moments ago, when Mango unleashed his chess prowess on poor Dot. Here are Dot & Franky playing chess: http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  Miscellaneous: Today we saw a tree that had grown fully enclosing a 2-inch-diameter fence bar. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... Also, as we neared Uncle Johnny¢s there was a succulent alongside the trail that belongs in the desert, not on the AT. Answers, anyone?  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...I have just finished a glass of white wine, ¢Kroger¢s finest wine that comes in a box,¢ http://www.trailjournals.com/j... and I am about to go off to bed ¢ not in a tent, not sticky and dirty, and with my Frodo alongside me.Pinch me. What a lovely day. I could get used to these thru-hiking days.
Date: 2017-10-09
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Roaring Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: mist

One hundred percent humidity produces more than a good sweat on a hard climb, it also produces some great photos. See left.So far Nate is behaving today. The rain is holding off. I have 6 miles done and another 12 to make the shelter. I am actually thinking about hiking straight through to Roaring Brook Shelter. My luck seems to be holding today. Not only is the rain holding off ¢ is that a bit of sun? ¢ but at mile 7, with 4 more miles of climb to the top of Bluff Mountain, I tied up with two day hikers, Matt and Jon, and then tucked in behind them. One was a Samford University faculty member and both were ministers.Hot Springs was down at 1300 feet and Bluff Mountain Summit, which the At goes squarely across, is 4700 feet. If I did the math right (If I don¢t, Frodo will let you know), that¢s a 3400-foot climb. But with Matt and Jon, talking about college life, then families, then the trail, we moved along. Here¢s a photo of me with Matt (blue) and Jon (gray) and three of their buddies, whom they met up with later on.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...I was determined today to find out how the other side lives. So, so often I get to the shelter or the campsite and others have been there an hour or two. They¢ve had dinner. It¢s those young 20-something legs of theirs that seem to have one more gear than I do. But today I left at least an hour before Aloha, Franky, and Dot, and with Matt and Jon as pleasant goads, I arrived at the shelter at 3:56 pm!Yes, I did skip lunch. But it felt so deliciously decadent to be here, the only person, leisurely eating my late lunch. Then at 5:00, I lay down on my pad and bag and I TOOK A NAP. Can you imagine? The first of the others showed up at 5:30. This time it was me welcoming them, not the other way around.¢Hi, Franky.¢I am writing this journal entry, nearly done, and it¢s 6:45. I think it¢s time for dinner.I could get used to this. But yes, my dear Frodo, pushing straight through for 18 miles is pushing the envelope on being ¢wise.¢I¢ve done it. That was enough.Nate is supposed to throw a bit of a fit tomorrow. We¢ll see. I¢m enjoying being dry right now.Nite.
Date: 2017-10-11
From: Standing Bear Hostel at Green Corner Road

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: broken clouds

Thirteen hundred and sixty-three hundred. That¢s today¢s low point and high point.  We have a 5000-foot climb. Woo-hoo! That¢s right, woo-hoo, not boo-hoo. We are going to sleep at almost 6000 feet and better yet, we are entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Last night at 3:30 am it was 66 degrees. Daytime it has been in the 80s, well into the 80s. I have my 30-degree sleeping bag and my down puffy jacket. As I hike the first five miles of the climb, sweat soaking my shirt, the cold weather gear in my pack feels like a jilted suitor, like we threw a party for cold but nobody came. Don¢t they know we¢re getting deep into October?¢Six.¢ No, not for me and Frodo. The ¢six¢ is for Dot. Tomorrow she could begin her journal entry with ¢six.¢ She will have six more days left to complete the trail. Last May Dot hiked the southernmost 140 miles of the trail and then jumped on a bus to Maine. We all hope to celebrate with her next Tuesday. And the rest of us will have a bit over a week left. Is that really possible?BEAR. Decent sized, four to five years old, my Great Smokies welcome. My sixth bear, about 40 feet away. At the mid-day shelter where I had planned to have my lunch, I moved on instead. It was this sign.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...As I rose high, the sun ducked in and out of the clouds. And higher still, we were inside the clouds themselves. The temperature dipped, and dropped some more. In the afternoon it was eminently comfortable. At dinner, I put on my long underwear top and bottom and just before heating my hot chocolate I broke out my down puffy.Today the map said there was a plane wreck and the twisted metal was still in evidence three miles before the shelter. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... The pilot missed clearing the ridgetop by only 75 feet.We have had double-deck shelters, but never one like this one. The lower level doesn¢t even have two feet of headroom. Six others were already set up on the top level, so Dot, Franky, and I are like three sardines in a can. We¢ll all have to be real careful not to bang our heads.Tomorrow we have 15 miles and then it¢s the road we take into Gatlinburg. As Dot said while trying to get down a bean dinner that from her look was less than appetizing, ¢Tomorrow, town food!¢This sardine is signing off.
Date: 2017-10-13
From: Newfound Gap, then Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

8:01 am. Franky: ¢I haven¢t slept in till eight in four months.¢ Maybe our bodies are telling us something this morning in our motel room. The time draws near for this to end. Dot and Franky are really ¢doing¢ the town. The Aquarium, Ripley¢s Believe It or Not, and miniature golf are on their agenda. It¢s a joy to see them having so much fun. Though how the heck did a fully grown sawtooth shark find its way to Gatlinburg?  (Frodo: ???)When we hike out tomorrow, Dot just has four hiking days left. So yesterday I thought to pass on to both Dot and Franky some long-trail wisdom. I can¢t take credit for this, it comes from my hiking buddy Rolling Thunder. At the end of his PCT hike eleven years ago, RT gave this advice. When you need to go pee, start waiting 15 minutes instead of stepping aside and going right away. It will help prepare you for the realities of civilization.Rolling Thunder, by the way, is doing well and is maybe a week or so behind me.Fire. I¢ve written about the near-complete lack of charred trees or brush on this trail. Gatlinburg stands in stark contrast. Almost a year ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, a major forest fire threatened to engulf the town. I look out from my balcony and I see empty foundations where homes once stood and I see multiple steep hills with charred trees. The fire must have come at the town from all sides. Late this afternoon Sean arrived. It¢s great having our son with me again. With his car we can finally do our laundry. The hotels do not have washers and dryers for public use, and the laundromat in town burned a year ago. The nearest one now is three miles away.Take a look at the amount of clothing in this dryer. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... At your home, what fraction of your wardrobe would this be? For us, this represents all the clothes for three persons. All.Finally, I must say good-bye again to a pair of friends. They¢ve traveled nearly 500 miles with me. ¢The shoes are dead. Long live the shoes!¢ Frodo sent me a new pair of shoes and I must discard the old. A hole had developed in one of the insoles that is so large I can stick my finger through it. Tomorrow the AT high point, Clingman¢s Dome.Nite,
Date: 2017-10-15
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Visitor Center
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: light rain

Even though rain is predicted, today should be much more civil. We¢re doing 17 miles, not 24, and there is much less climbing with a long and what looks like relatively gentle descent. Yesterday I crossed from 1999.9 miles to 2000. Why didn¢t I write about it? For one thing we were on a mission. But more so, there was nothing along the trail to mark it. Once again, we SOBOs are chopped liver. I had thought to perhaps assemble a marker, as I did for 1000 miles, but every minute spent would be another minute of hiking in the dark. But I hadn¢t come completely unprepared. I had had Frodo send me a metal tin, about the size of two decks of playing cards stacked one on top of the other. Inside I¢d put 120 of the ¢AT¢ temporary gold tattoos. This note was taped on the outside:2000 miles!Congratulations, SOBOs!Please take one and whoever takes the last, please pack out the tin. Scout.Sean and I took a ¢second breakfast¢ break around 11:00 am, including a short nap. Then at 1:00, just after The Devil¢s Tator Patch, we took a lunch that was oh, so leisurely. All our climbing was done. Next we would descend from 5000 feet to 1700 feet and Fontana Dam.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Franky and Dot passed us heading toward the dam and Sean¢s car (the shuttle driver from Gatlinburg had been hired to shuttle his car here.)About an hour from the trailhead we met a new-to-us thru-hiker, Mona. She is a flip-flopper. She started at Damascus and hiked north to summit Katahdin; now she¢s on her Damascus-to-Springer Mountain final leg.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...We had room in Sean¢s car so the four of us plus Mona (Frodo: that must have been tight, since Sean drives a Honda Fit!) went to Fontana Dam Village for a town dinner. And them just to prove how tough life is for an AT hiker we got a two-queen-bed room in the lodge for the five of us. Which is where I write this from right now, full, clean, and (with a ginger ale at hand) fizzy.Two thousand! Go, Scout.