morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-07
To: Can you say "single digits"?
Miles today: 0.0

"I've got a fever...and the only prescription....is MORE COWBELL!" We're leaving in 6 days and I've got a serious case of butterflies. It's slowly starting to sink in. We've checked and rechecked our gear. There is not much left on the "To Do" and "To Buy" list. Not having things to do makes it worse so I've been spending a lot of time doing knot work and reading journals. I bought some nice nylon cord at REI last week with the intention of using it for bear bagging. I used up a lot of it making Turks Heads for our trekking poles so I got some more at EMS yesterday. I spent hours last night working on a lanyard for Kim's tiki pendant. His name is Lucky (Ka'Ahele - God of Travel) and he's one creepy looking character. This morning I made up a bracelet for myself. At this rate I will have gone through 150' of cord before we're done with GA. We're having BBQ & Beer with my parents tonight. I'm going to miss them. Tomorrow we are headed up to VT and will have one day before we head to Philly to meet up with Katie. The time is going to fly by in VT. We'll be setting up the food and gear for maildrops and exchanges, having a show and tell for Kim's mom and grandmother, and meeting the newest addition to their family: Ema, a 5 month old Old English Sheepdog. We were too busy to be able to meet up with the gang. Hopefully we will see them at some point on the trail. I was rethinking my clothing choices after a nice warm spell. Alas, the temperatures dropped and we had a snowstorm so back to the original plan. I've heard about the weather being crazy in the Smokies and I'm sure we'll have our share of snow & ice. Hopefully it will be a small share. There seems to be a lot of people getting off the trail and we've read about lots of injuries related to ice and slips. I'm bringing my training wheels. It looks like we'll be at the rear of the pack, hopefully it won't be so crowded at the shelters. We need to stop at a party shop and pick up some hats & favors for the birthday celebration on Springer. Kim's required to hike in her party hat all day. The weather forecast for Springer on the 16th looks great - I hope it stays that way. I'll probably have one last entry before we hit the trail and then the rest will be coming from Joe. Somebody pinch me. I think I'm about to hike the AT.
Date: 2006-04-14
To: Amicalola State Park
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Arrived at Amicalola State Park the 14th of April. Our good friend Katie and her sister Maggie drove us down to Georgia from Pennsylvania. We made it one long day so Katie could make a quick turn-around and have two days to drive back for Easter with her family. After getting to Dawsonville and checking into the hotel we decided to go out for a late night meal. We ended up at the Waffel House. Apparently Maggie is a bacon lover and occasionally enjoys a biscuit or two. We had a Waffle House moment, which is not a good thing. Woke up early, bought a couple of last minute food items, and headed for Amicalola.We said our goodbyes and watched as they drove away. Kim looked like she was going to puke at any moment. Thank you so much Katie, we'll see you soon.   Wes igned in at the register, weighed our packs, and had are mugshots taken. Kim's weighed in at 33lbs, and mine at 37lbs. At the park shelter we met an old timer named Gums. He was quite the interesting fellow. The weather couldn't have been nicer. We took a three hour nap in the shelter and tried to relax. Since it was warm at night we shared a tent. Tomorrow we hike!
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Amicalola State Park

To: Approach Trail to Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to more beautiful weather. Didn't sleep that comfortably because we shared a tent. Hit the trail just after 9am. While the falls were cool, we only got a view from the top. The approach trail was easier than I imagined it would be. Met Frank (B-Train) from New Zealand. His son thruhiked and he thought it would be exciting to follow in his footsteps. B-Train was warming up by doing a "flip flop," down to Amicalola, and back to Springer Mt. to start his journey. Met up with another thru from Ohio who goes by the name "Estel," which means hope in Elvish. He staying at Black Gap Shelter with us tonight. I rebuilt the fire ring and we made managed to keep some of the bugs away with our little fire. There is fire wood everywhere. Apparently, a hurricane did some damage a while back. It was cool to read the shelter register and recognize some people whose journals I had read. Looks like it will be an early night, tomorrow its a B-Day party for Kim on Springer Mt.
Date: 2006-04-16
To: Black Gap Shelter to Hawk Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: broken clouds

Hit the trail about 7:30 A.M. and enjoyed some sunshine until we got close to the Springer Mt. summit. We got up to the top around 8 A.M. and noticed a couple of guys camped 30' from the plaque. We looked around, snapped a few pictures, and looked through the register. A few minutes later "Many Sleeps" the ridge-runner came back down, took our info, and gave us the rundown. He had just been radioing a ranger about the guys illegaly camped. They had also made a fire, probably not the smartest thing they had done. Many Sleeps had some great stories, and after a chat we asked him to take our picture by the first blaze. I gave him one of the peanut butter eggs we had gotten for the Birthday party. He was happy enough to proclaim that "the Easter Bunny had come afterall."The view from the top was non-existent, and when combined with the wind we moved out right away, that is after a couple of quick calls to our moms. We figured we wouldn't get much reception for awhile after that. We met some more thru's today on the way to, and at Hawk Mt. shelter. We had a nice break at a beautiful waterfall. We strolled into the shelter at about 1:30 and weren't sure if we would be going any further. We ate lunch, and all the while other folks rolled in. By the end of the day 8 of us tented with 7 in the shelter. We met a cool couple that thruhiked in 89', Captain Ron and Magnet. Magnet gave Kim some balloons for her Birthday. I know, who brings balloons backpacking? I hope to see them again, which is probable since they are planning to hike GA. When it started to get dark I brought out the sparklers, candles, party hats, peanut butter eggs, and party favors. Everybody was quite amused with my feeble attempt at a B-Day celebration and joined in the merriment. Bedtime followed shortly afterwards.
Date: 2006-04-17
From: Black Gap Shelter to Hawk Mt. Shelter

To: Hawk Mt. Shelter to Lunsforo Gap
Miles today: 13.0

Started hiking at 8:00 A.M. Sassafrass was a nice climb to start off the day. Stopped for breakfast on the way down. Lots of small ups and downs on this section of trail. I heard they call the GA A.T. a rollercoaster. We stopped at Gooch Mt. Shelter for lunch. Don and Freddie, who we met the night before, had just gotten there. The shelter is very nice, with a roof that covers a picnic table and two vented windows up top. Estel and Chad from Massachussets rolled in a bit later, during which time I had a big lunch.Only three days on the trail and I can already feel the hunger building. I'm scared to think of the quantities I'll be eating in a couple of months. Our lunch break turned out to be two hours long.Some of the people we were with the day before would be staying at Gooch, but we planned to move on. We had a couple of nice views on the way to camp and took some pics. Kim started getting a couple of blisters. We loaded up on water at Woody Gap and found a great tentsite a bit down the trail. It was very private, grassy, had a fire ring, and tiny purple flowers everywhere. I forgot to mention I got a trail name yesterday. The night before Kim was telling Estel that she was trying to count how many times shes seen me rebuild fire rings. He replied that might be a trailname in the making. Magnet came up with "Fire God." Kim says it suits me. Now to find her a trailname, or for it to find her. Birthday girl would have stuck, but she wasn't fond of it.Back at the camp I set up my tent, rebuilt the fire ring and gathered wood. It was a buggy and we thought the fire might give us a few hours of peace without getting swarmed. As soon as Kim made a fire they all retreated. I had a pretty big dinner; 1 enertia meal, 2 ramen, 1 packet of sweet and spicy tuna, and 1 peanut butter egg. Last night I fell asleep to the hoots of owls. Tonight its coyotes howling. Life is good.
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Hawk Mt. Shelter to Lunsforo Gap

To: Lunsforo Gap to Neels Gap;Resupply&Bunk@Walasi-Yi
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up in a cloud. We were on the trail by 7:00 A.M., our earliest start so far. Hiked in drizzle and fog, and was disappointed that views were probably going to be socked in. The plan was to break at Woods Hole Shelter and refill our water, but we didn't realize it was .4 miles downhill off the trail. Needless to say, we stopped at the spring and never made it to the shelter. Our spirits lifted as the sun spirited away the clouds. It was a nice climb up Blood Mt. There is a large stone shelter on the summit and plenty of scenic tentsites. We took an hour long lunch break while taking a few pics and chatting with some dayhikers. The awesome views on the descent were a bonus. Kim has been dubbed "No Whammies!," and there haven't been any yet, unless you count the tiny man-eating garter snake that chased her down the trail. I saw a blur as she shot by, in hopes it would turn insights on me. I did get a good pic of it after fighting it off. Some people say you have to watch out for bear and copperheads, but I say its the garter snakes you have to avoid. The Walasi-Yi Center is a great place. We resupplied and checked into the hostile for a bunk and a shower. There were 7 staying the night with us. We ordered pizza, and the guy that runs the place "walks," drives 8 miles down the mountain and meets the delivery guy that drove that far up. Everyone is in good spirits after cleaning up and feasting. We didn't get shakedowns. The duck is not negotiable! Some of the others are getting shakedowns tomorrow morning to try and shed some weight. Lifes too short, just do it!
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Lunsforo Gap to Neels Gap;Resupply&Bunk@Walasi-Yi

To: Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a late start today, 11:15 A.M. It started pouring about a half hour before we were ready to leave. Oh well, you cant stay dry all the time, so we headed out into the storm. After a couple of hours the skies cleared and we were glad to see the Sun again. It was after 6 when we arrived at Low Gap Shelter. Two other hikers were there, John and Alex. My rituals are as follows; 1. Take off boots and socks. 2. Collect water in a water bag for filtering. 3. Rebuild fire ring and collect wood. 4. Make dinner and bear bag. 5. Check options for next day and write journal entry. Don, a.k.a Headbanger, and Estel arrived about an hour after we did. A bunch of people we met showed up at Neels Gap this morniing. I wonder if they stayed or pushed on?   Some owls are hooting out there. I'm off to sleep.
Date: 2006-04-20
From: Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter

To: Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mt.
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a pretty rough day. The first 7 or so miles were rolling terrain. We stopped at Blue Mt. Shelter for a snack and were joined shortly afterwards by others that were at Low Gap shelter last night. We moved on at a moderate pace, resting every so often. After the big climb up Rocky Mt. we had lunch at a campsite near the summit. One long descent into Indian Grave Gap and a nice 1200' climb up Tray Mt. and we were home for the night.I found a great tentsite off a sidetrail. The fire ring was rebuilt and tents pitched soon after we arrived. I found an awesome rock outcrop some 100 yards away with fantastic views. Kim got a fire going and we sat around chatting and recuperating from a hard day of hiking. We had been hearing thunder in the distance and wondered if it was heading our way. About 9 P.M. it began to drizzle, and fifteen minutes later the skies opened up. I love thunderstorms. If I wasn't so pooped I would have thrown on my rain jacket and gone over to the rock outcropping to watch the show. I fell asleep to the flashes of lightening, roaring thunder, and the patter of rain. Having your tent set up before it rains is great. I had the best nights sleep so far. Camping at 4300' in a thunderstorm rocks!
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mt.

To: Tray Mt. Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: heavy intensity rain

I was planning on sleeping in this morning, but I was awoken by what I believe was a Canadian Warbler. It's song is a stream of random beautiful notes, like a car alarm, except pleasant to listen to. The rain has stopped, but everything was saoked. I collected some firewood and struggled for a while to get it lit.Headbanger had given me a couple of folgers singles in Neels Gap. Kim loves coffee so I surprised her with a cup when she woke up. We lounged around all morning chatting by the fire. We went over to the rock outcropping and took some more pictures. I wrote my journal entry for the previous day. Kim had all her stuff packed and ready to go, all the while mumbling about rain clouds. Meanwhile, I was laying by the fire writing. As soon as I decided to start packing up it started to rain. I got dressed and packed mostly everything in the tent, hoping for just a 5 minute break in the shower so I could finish up. It did not however let up, and we ran around taking the tent down and jamming it in my pack.We are planning on going to Hiawasee tomorrow. We had a nice short day to Deep Gap and 3.5 miles to Dick's Creek where we were going to hitchhike into town. We met a couple from Texas as we stopped for water at the Tray Mt. shelter, and David and Jenina were nice enough to give us a ride into town tomorrow morning. They are at the shelter with us tonight. Tom, Rick, and Andy (Mouse-Patrol) are here as well. We've had a lot of laughs tonight, they are all a bunch of characters. Almost forgot to mention our first trail magic experience, that is apart from the lift into town. As we dropped into Addis Gap we could see some gigantic tents set up in the basin. David and Janina were chatting with Precher Dude and The ridge runner. P-Diddy hiked in stoves, coolers, tables, lawn chairs, cooking utensils, food, 2 tents, and who knows what else. I had a soda and some stew. Kim had coffee. We had just eaten about half an hour earlier, what great timing huh? The stew was great, and we chatted with Precher Dude and The Ridge Runner before going on our way. We were going to camp on Powell Mt, but changed our minds. There was talk about snoring before we started getting ready for bed, so we were warned. I'm treated to a cacophony of nasal trumpeting, Dave described it as listening to some giant bullfrogs. Earplugs come in handy once in a while. Nighty, night...
Date: 2006-04-22
From:  Deep Gap

To: Deep Gap to Dicks Creek Gap-Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light rain

We had a short hike to Dick's Creek Gap this morning. While waiting for David and Nina shuttles from the Hiawassee Inn pulled up packed with hikers. It was nice to see B-Train was one of those of there. We also met Righty, Lefty, and Bouy. Their's was another case of reading some trail journals and having email correspondence before a personal meeting with folks happened. It's cool to finally meet these people after getting to know them through trail-journal entries. I also met a couple of young guys from Massassachusets; Red Sox and Eye Forget. They reccomended the Hiawassee Inn after staying their themselves. Names can sometimes be confusing as we came to realize Rio was not a thru, but a dog. Or a dog thru I guess we be more fair. Also, Skywalker and Two Dogs are actually two guys. Rainbow Bright is another who turned out to be a really friendly girl. We saw Melissa for the first time since our first day, it was like the changing of shifts as we were heading into town they were heading out. David and Nina showed up shortly afterwards and we packed into their car. They dropped us off at the post office , our first stop, and gave us two peach pastries....yum.   They are incredibly nice people. I hope they get to live their dream of hiking the entire trail someday. At the post office we mailed off our first journal entries, had a quick lunch, and walked over to a laundrymat thats no longer there. As we stood checking our map looking for another laundry location a woman in a pickup stopped to ask if we needed a ride. She is just another example of another friendly face in this vicinity. She dropped us off on the other side of town and wished us luck on our hike. After washing clothes we walked over to the supermarket to resupply. I made a few phone calls since it was free and there was a signal for once. While I'm sure all of these hiker chores are boring to read they are just another part of our adventure, and mostly fun too. Our plan was to get some stuff done, get a ride to the trailhead, and hike in a few miles. We decided however that since we are over a day ahead of schedule we could spare a night in town. We're tenting at the Hiawassee Inn, its very hiker friendly as well as a great chioce if your on a low budget. Ann was dropped off by the shuttle and is spending the night as well. I showered and shaved, leaving me feeling right as rain. There was just one thing left on the to do list; eat. The three of us were dropped off at an All You can Eat Buffett. I'll leave you with something I read in a register; "Food=Good." We'll be crossing into N.C. tommorrow, WOO-HOO!!.
Date: 2006-04-24
From:  Muskrat Creek campsite 

To:  Muskrat Creek Gap to Carter Gap
Miles today: 12.1

I love starting the day climbing. The first few miles offered a 500' ascent followed by a descent as a warmup for the 1000' climb up Standing Indian Mt. At 4499' it's the highest elevation on the trail so far. Tom a.k.a Bullfrog was already on the summitt taking pictures when we arrived. We chatted briefly, and he took a pic of us with a beautiful scenic backdrop before leaving. We had a long break overlooking mountains to the west. I found a tentsite fairly early in the day. Kim started a fire to keep the bugs away while I went for water. We experimented with some food combinations. Ramen, couscous, and alfredo sauce is pretty good. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, and olive oil garlic pouches aren't that bad eithier. We heard there is an uppity bear in the area that has taken some hikers packs. While gathering wood I found a dental floss despenser with big teeth marks in it....hmmm.
Date: 2006-04-25
From:  Carter Gap 

To: Carter Gap Rocky Cove Knob
Miles today: 14.0

Everyone, except NoWhammies! and me, complained about how difficult the climb up Albert Mt. was. It is now my current favorite section of the trail. We climbed the fire tower, took some pictures, and had a long lunch break. The rest of the day was mostly a gradual downhill hike. The plan is to head into Franklin tomorrow to resupply and pick up a couple of things at the outfitters. We're camped on the shoulder of Rocky Cove Knob, about 2 and a half miles from the road we will be hitching on. Counting the latest, I have rebuilt 5 fire rings and done one from scratch. Most of our food is gone, just how we had planned it. We're starting to get the hang of the food planning. I remembered something about hot nalgene massages in one of No Granola's trip reports and thought it would be a great way to soothe our sore muscles. I think we will be adding it to the nightly camp routine. The hot massages loosen everything up, including the giant knots in my calves. Thanks NG for the valuable backpacking tip.
Date: 2006-04-26
From:  Winding Stair Gap

To: Rocky Cove Knob to Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 2.4
Weather: light rain

Had a NERO (near zero) today. After the short hike to the road we attempted, unsuccesfully, to hitch into Franklin. We hiked about half a mile and were rescued by the short bus. Ron Haven was making his rounds; dropping off hikers and checking other trailheads to shuttle others into town. Ron, formerly Mr. X of pro-wrestling fame, was also an avid hiker. He now owns a few buisneses in Franklin, one of which is the hiker friendly Budget Inn. He doesn't charge for the shuttle even if you don't stay at the Inn, proving he is Mr. Hiker friendly himself. We were not planning on staying, but changed our minds when we caught a glimse of the thunderheads rolling through. We checked in, sent a couple of emails, showered, and emptied EVERYTHING in our packs all over the room. After hanging around watching t.v. for a while we took a shuttle over to the outfitters and the grocery store. Becka, Adam, Josh, and Granny Franie are also staying at the Haven. We had dinner at an all you can eat steakhouse with Becka and Adam. The steak was just awful, but everything else was just fine. I was wearing my kilt, which seemed to attract a lot of attention from the patrons and waitresses. The most memorable exchange was with an elderly waitress that commented that I should shave my legs if I was going to wear a kilt. I told her I would take care of it, and she responded; "I do like a young leg" and winked. Everyone present was extremely amused. When she came back she put her hand on my shoulder and told me she would let me in on a little secret. She told me that she shaves her legs once a year, and thats on New Years day. That was a good try, but nothing can stop me from consuming mass quantities of food. I hobbled uncomfortably back to the room and flopped onto the bed, content.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Rocky Cove Knob 

To: Winding Stair Gap to Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I was excited about seeing our first Balds. After hiking 4 and a half miles we saw Becka and Adam's packs by the side trail leading up to the summit of Siler Bald. We caught them halfway up enjoying the Mt. We all hiked up together and enjoyed the spectacular views. We sat around for a while having some snacks and taking pictures. I climbed a tree while Becka contemplated doing a cartwheel. All of us kept saying over and over how great it was to be there. The four of us hiked on together and stopped on Wayah Bald for lunch. There was a young couple with a child already there, they had driven up. The husband had come to America via Scotland a few years ago. Coincidently, his Tartan was Anderson, the same which Kim wore. The wife insisted Becka take some ziplocked bags of ice for her knees. They took our pictures and we took one of them. After lunch, we hiked on for another 6 miles to the Cold Spring Shelter on Cooper Ridge Bald. In a moment of genius, Adam and I stopped at the base of the Mt. for some water to bring to camp while the girls hiked on. I carried 4 litres of water up the Mt. only to find a spring 30' from the shelter. Hmmm.....I guess thats why they call it Cold Spring Shelter. I began work on fire ring beautification project #6 and went in search of firewood. Josh and Cassie arrived while I was out gathering wood, and it was nice to see everyone make their dinners around the fire a little later on. This was their first fire while Thruhiking.When Becka told Cassie I had rebuilt the fire ring I recieved a "thank you fire god" from her. Both Josh and Cassie turned and exclaimed "Your Fire God and NoWhammies!?" They explained "We've been reading your entries and have been trying to catch to you guys." It was great to know people have been following our trail register entries. I roasted some hot-dogs over the fire and Kim made some mashed potatoes. Josh offered everyone some hot chocolat and I accepted. We sat around joking and telling stories round' the fire, and Cassie proclaimed we all had to stay up late because they finally found some cool people; we obliged of course. It was one of the best nights since we've been on the trail.