morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-09
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

The word for today is lazy, even though I did 12.2 miles. It's really strange that I feel like that isn't enough. I try to keep it between 15 and 18 miles now, but I digress. The morning started at 7:30 after hitting the mental snooze button a couple of times. My tent was wet from last night's thunderstorm, but I didn't mind. It took me a little longer to pack up than usual. I took my time getting water, eating breakfast, and using the privy. I was packed up and ready to leave around 9:30am, and that's when things went downhill. I saw Breeze, Sunshine, Savage, and Gentleman all sitting at the shelter pick nick table drinking coffee and chatting. This is a fun group to be around, and so I decided to join them. After 2 hours of near non-stop laughter, and knew I had to get moving. I finally left camp at 11:45am. That is the first time I've sat in morning camp that long, and it made me feel very lazy. But out here we say, "it's about the smiles, not the miles, and I had a lot of smiles today. My morning hike was a tough 1700 foot climb where I saw a feral cat on the trail. That's a first. I also captured a deer on camera where it casually grazed 25 feet away from me. I rolled in to the first shelter of the day around 3:45pm and had lunch, while making conversation with a few day hikers. As I was leaving, the crew I'd been hanging with before showed up. They were planning to go to the next shelter like me, but as of writing this at 9:30pm, they have yet to arrive. The afternoon hike was a few miles of sharp, choppy ups and downs, punctuated by a 1200 foot climb. It was well over 3000 feet of climbing today, a tough 12 miles to be sure. I easily could have made 6 more miles to the next shelter had I left on time, but I'm learning that the best days out here are the ones that don't go according to plan. Tonight I'm staying at Sarver Hollow shelter with a German man who speaks practically zero English. I honestly think I know more German. It's a very nice and spacious shelter, as it should be since it is .4 miles off the trail. It's a long day tomorrow, and I need my 9 hours. Take care all.-Andy
Date: 2015-06-10
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: broken clouds

I slept in a bit this morning, not rolling out of my bag until 7:45am. It didn't take me long to get packed up, and I was out of camp by a quarter of nine. Before I could punch my time card, I had a .4 mile climb out of the crevasse when they built a really nice shelter. The morning hike was very difficult for some reason. There were a few rock scrambles, but the terrain was flat. I struggled all morning taking several breaks after short distances. I think I may have been a touch dehydrated, as I began feeling much better after my water stops. It was so stinking hot today, but fortunately there was only one big climb of 1500 feet. Imagine climbing Kennesaw Mountain in Atlanta, and when you get to the top, starting the climb over. Out here, it's a slow day if you only have to do that once.The afternoon hike went by kind of fast surprisingly. Since I'd taken so many breaks this morning, I didn't want to waste time, so I hiked the final 10.2 miles with only 45 minutes worth of breaks. After a .4 mile hike back to the trail this morning, and then a 16.1 mile day, I discovered that Pickle Branch Shelter where I'm staying was .3 miles off the trail as well. Add in a .5 round trip for water, and I hiked 1.2 miles of steep blue blaze trail just getting to and from shelters and water sources. I think this is the most blue blazed trail I've walked so far that didnt include a view. The shelter is packed with people tonight. I'm tenting .1 away at a killer campsite. After dinner and chores, I saw two guys that got off the trail early yesterday like I'm doing tomorrow. For many reasons I've decided to do a low mile day tomorrow and stay at Four Pines Hostel.It's donation based, and he gives free rides to a family style restaurant, and a market to resupply. I need just a couple of things for snacks and I should be able to cruise in to Daleville where they have a Kroger. First one on the trail, and I'm very excited. It's the little things that I find pleasure in these days. The only thing the short day tomorrow costs me is a few more hours in town, but now I only have to pay for one night's stay instead of two.Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I saw two bear cubs today. A section hiker told me there was bear activity in the area. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before. Sure enough, a few miles later I hear what can only be the sound of a bear crashing through the forest. It is an unmistakable sound after you've heard it a few times. Then I see a cub bolt down a tree 30 yards away. I kept walling and saw a second one shoot down the same tree. By the time I got to a good vantage point, they were long gone. That's all from Pickle Branch Shelter. Take care all. -Andy
Date: 2015-03-22
To: Start Week has Arrived! 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Finishing up projects around the house to prepare it for summer, if it ever gets here, before our flight on Tuesday morning. We will be spending Tuesday and Wednesday visiting with family in Georgia before we start on Thursday. We are very thankfully to Scott, Sam and Brooke for housing us and providing us with a ride to Springer Mountain. Very excited to get this journey to Katahdin started! My daughter will be updating this site as often as I send notes to her so you can follow our progress, so check back often!
Date: 2015-03-26
From: Georgia

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Scott gave us a ride to Springer Mountain (thank you). We hiked the 0.9 miles from the parking area to the top of Springer where the adventure begins. Took pictures and signed the register. Hiked back to the parking lot where we said goodbye to Scott at 11:30am. We hiked 8 miles to Hawk Mountain Shelter to spend the night. We arrived about 3:30, had a couple of rain showers but it was a good hike. Not too many steep climbs but it was tough for the first day. We had dinner and are now resting up for a 7 mile hike tomorrow. Check out the photos from today in the the section on the left.
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

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

A cold front came through last night at Hawk Mountain shelter. It rained a good part of the night. Stopped by morning but it was wet, cold and windy hiking most of the day today. There must be a military base near by because we could hear shooting and helicopters practicing throughout the day. Temp was around high 30s to low 40s. We went over Sassafras Mountain and Justus Mountain (they kicked our butts). In total, we made it another 8 miles today to Gooch Mountain Shelter by 3pm. Supposed to be 27 degrees tonight so we have on most of our clothes for tonight and have our jackets close by. Now its time to rest the body for another 8 tomorrow. Goodnight. ~ Robi1
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek 
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was a good day. It was cold last night - down in the lower 20's - and even snowed a bit but we were warm in our tents. It was tough climbing out this morning though. The cold firmed up the trail nicely so there was no mud to deal with today. We had pleasant hiking temps (low 40's), a dry trail to walk on and bright sunshine. Doesn't get much better than that, but it did! Today we experienced our first day of trail magic. Twice. Just 1.4 miles into our walk we found a local mobile ministry providing breakfast sausage sandwiches on English muffins, coffee, fresh fruit and hot chocolate. We both had a sandwich and John grabbed the first fresh fruit he's had in days. After another 3.8 miles we arrived at Woody gap where the Atlanta Outdoor Club was offering candy bars and brownies. We opted for a brownie each. The people we met today were too nice. One guy from the AOC reminded me of Ducky from NCIS. He was insistent upon sharing detailed lengthy stories even while we were trying to get back on the trail. It was windy again but without the fog it was nice to be able to actually see the great views that today's route provided. We will rest up tonight and get ready for tomorrow's hike up Blood Mountain. This will be our most difficult climb yet with 1600 feet of elevation and a descent of 1300 feet all within the 7.4 miles we plan to do tomorrow. We will pick up our first resupply boxes at Neel Gap where we will probably spend the night. ~HootiCold Night at Gooch Mountain Shelter. We woke up to a dusting of snow in the morning. Started out at about 9am and ran into trail magic at Gooch Gap. A ministry group had a tent set up and had sausage and cheese muffins, bananas, apples, hot chocolate and coffee. Couple of good climbs today and made the 9 mile journey to Lance Creek camp area where we will spend another cold night (23 degrees). In the morning we will climb Blood Mountain and down to Neels Gap to pick up our first mail drop and hopefully shower and spend the night. Time to rest up for tomorrow. Good Night! ~ Robi1
Date: 2015-03-29
From: Lance Creek 

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

Last Night was very cold. My water bottles were mostly frozen by morning and I now have a bad head cold. It probably doesn't help that my sleeping bag zipper has already broken. It was a beautiful hiking day though despite the cold night. It was sunny and the views are amazing. We made it to Neels Gap and picked up our first mail drops. I am already making alterations for my future mail drops because I have too much food! We were able to take showers today and have a warm meal even though it it was a microwaved frozen cheese burger. Reception is very spotty now so we may not get a chance to call home for a few days. Weather will be very wet over the next few days but at least it will be warmer during the day. I can definitely feel all my muscles by the end of each day. So I am off to rest up now while my laundry finishes. Talk to you soon! Good Night. ~ Robi1It got so cold last night that some of John's water froze. We were warm though with all of our clothes on inside our sleeping bags. It was sunny and no wind finally with temperatures again in the 40's. The hike up Blood Mountain was a tough one. Lots of ups and downs at first, then switchbacks and later the downhill. We got to Neel Gap pretty early and picked up our supplies. Sounds like a race track here with all the motorcycles riding on the mountain roads nearby. Staying in a cabin for the night. Real food, a good night's rest and a hot shower tonight. ~ HootiPhotos are views from Blood Mountain and the cabin we are in for the night.
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 11.5

Day 5: When we arrived at Neels Gap last night we grabbed a cabin and are glad we did. We got some pretty good thunderstorms and rain through the night. In the morning we set out in a drizzle and some fog to Low Gap Shelter. We hiked 11+ miles today. Our plan was to head to Whitley Shelter but it was early and another 1.2 miles off the trail so we decided to keep going another couple miles to Low Gap. The longest day we have had so far. However the afternoon did turn out to be nice, clear and in the 50s. We will be tenting tonight, won't be too cold, high 30s tonight. Good Night. ~ Robi1We cranked up the heat in the cabin last night. It was nice not to have wear all our clothes to keep warm like the past two nights. We slept great, but were woken up around 5:30 by thunderstorms. Since we had unpacked everything yesterday it took us a while to get our gear back in our packs, so we didn't get started until after 9:30 this morning. I had a hard time walking away from the comforts that the cabin provided. It may have been a little too soon to treat myself to such nice accommodations. The rain and fog continued until around midday, so the trail was wet once again. But the weather was beautiful after that. We were able to hike in t-shirts this afternoon. 6.7 miles into today's hike we arrived at Whitley Gap. The shelter there was 1.2 miles off the trail and downhill. Since we had no plans for the day up until that point, we decided we didn't want to waste the mileage and did not relish the uphill climb first thing in the morning, so we kept on. There were some good up and downs during the day so by mile 9 everything hurt and the packs felt heavy again. We made it to Low Gap around 5:30, tired and sore after our longest day so far. I bought a pillow last night. As much as I thought I could do without, I just couldn't. Hopefully it will help me sleep better on the trail. ~Hooti
Date: 2015-03-31
From: Low Gap Shelter 

To: Cheese Factory site 
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

(Updated)We have been on the trail just 6 days now and have experienced freezing cold temps, snow, rain, wind, fog and thunderstorms as well as comfortable hiking weather. Today we became Georgia rednecks, literally. It was in the mid 70's and sunny, so shorts and t-shirt weather and we forgot to pack sunscreen. My son always tells us the Georgia sun is hot. Well, he's right. We stopped at Unicoi Gap around 2:30 after hiking 9.7 miles to take a break and rest our sore feet where yet another trail angel offered us an ice cold soda. Since we still had time we decided to push on for another 3.7 miles to the cheese factory site. We finally got to camp around 6:00 which made for a long day. Tired and sore again, but feel like I am getting stronger each day. ~ HootiWe left Low Gap Shelter around 8:30am. It was a very nice day for hiking. Had lunch at Hogs Pen Gap and took a break at Unicoi Gap where there was a lady giving out drinks and snacks. Continued on over Blue Mountain (whew) and made our way to the Cheese Factory camping site after 13 or so miles. ~ Robi1
Date: 2015-04-01
From: Cheese Factory site 

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 13.0

Two things I've learned this past week - Level ground is an amazing thing and real food tastes good.There were thunderstorms last night and I am sure I heard hail. The pillow worked it's magic though and by the time we woke the rain had passed. We got a late start today and planned on 10 miles to Deep Gap Shelter. Another very warm and sunny day so more sunburn and the gnats were out in force - we were breathing in mouthfuls at a time. We got to Deep Gap around 4:00 and decided to push through to Dick's Creek instead. Shortly after making that commitment we regretted it. The trail got challenging again and we were getting tired. All you can eat buffet inspired us and we made it Hiawassee in time for dinner at Daniel's steakhouse. Staying in town tonight and plan on a zero day tomorrow. We'll pick up our resupply boxes, mail some extra gear home, and get our laundry done. Will head out again on Friday for our last 9 miles in Georgia. The people we have met on and off the trail have been gracious and extremely nice. Good way to start the journey. ~ HootiAnother intense thunderstorm last night. This one brought hail which sounded very strange hitting the tent, but it wasn't all that bad, the hail acted as a nice massager. So far the people we have been hiking with each day are not fond of my snoring, but I don't see them complaining about the lack of bears, see my loud snoring is good for something! We left Cheese Factory campsites at this morning at 9:30. Went up and over Tray Mountain and had a lot of ups and downs till we got to Dicks Creek Gap. There isn't as much vegetation as you would think there is down here in Georgia. The blooms haven't come out yet at this elevation, but it will sure look amazing in a few weeks. 13.5 miles later we got an 11mile ride to Hiawasse. The Budget Inn was full so we are at Mulls Inn for the night. Weather calls for rain tomorrow so we will enjoy a nice day off to rest up, do some laundry, eat some real food, stock up and head back to the trail Friday morning. Good night! ~Robi1
Date: 2015-04-02
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We moved out of Mulls Inn to the Budget Inn at the other end of town. While walking, a SUV pulled up to offer a ride. Turned out to be Tom, a trail ranger we met at Hawk Mountain Shelter. We declined a ride as we were almost there, but everyone is so nice to hikers! Before we moved we had breakfast at Huddle house. We got the big breakfast of course. Three eggs (Hooti does not like eggs so I helped him with that), two sausage patties, home fries, bacon, grits, toast and coffee. Had a banana split for lunch and a hamburger and fries and onion rings for dinner, and throw a six pack in there somewhere... Getting ready for hopefully a big day tomorrow. Goodnight. ~ Robi1We had a good break in town today. We got some stuff taken care of and I watched John gain back any weight he may have lost this past week. Boy can he pack it away. We are resupplied and ready to hit the trail again in the morning. The weather looks good for the next few days. Crossing the border into North Carolina tomorrow.-Hooti
Date: 2015-04-03
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Back on the trail today and our rest day is long forgotten. Luckily the Temps didn't get as high as predicted but it was still pretty warm - in the high 60's - for hiking. There was no wind so we were sucking in gnats again. Free protein but nasty. We did pick up some sunscreen while in town so we were ready for the sun this time. The hike was a tough one. We got a ride to the trail head just after 9:00 this morning and finished today' hike around 5:00. We are now just about 2000 feet higher in elevation than when we started our day. To get here we did a number of puds (pointless ups and downs) so the days elevation total is much more than that. Tired and sore again but after a good night's sleep we'll be ready to do it again. You can lose track of what day it is out here, but we know it's the weekend by the number of hikers on the trail. -HootiWe are in North Carolina! Yahoo! Not much of a signal here. At 9am we got a ride back to Dicks Creek Gap. Started up out of the Gap and had some tough climbs till we reached Muskrat Creek Shelter 11.5 miles later. We crossed the GA/NC boarder today. So One state down 12 more to go. We are about 3 miles into NC. Time to rest, Goodnight! ~ Robi1
Date: 2015-04-04
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter 

To: Carter Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Had a thunderstorm last night and it rained a good part of the night. Clear by morning, but wet. Left Muskrat Creek Shelter around 9:30am or so. The trial was wet and muddy in spots. 4 miles into todays hike we came across trail magic again at Deep Gap USFS Road 71. They had a large tent set up and were offering hikers pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, coleslaw, with all the fixings. All kinds of drinks, chairs to sit in and nice campfire. We spent a half hour there before heading out on the trail again. We went up and over Standing Indian Mountain and continued on to Coleman Gap where we took a short break (thanks Ed) and made our way to Carter Gap Shelter for a total of 12.5 miles today. Supposed to be around 30 tonight so getting ready to rest and stay warm. I do have pictures, from the past few days but because the reception is poor up here I may have to wait and send them when we pick up our next mail drop. Goodnight. ~ Robi1Thunderstorms again last night so we got another late start today. When everything is wet and it's cold in the morning, it's hard to get your hands to work. We climbed the rest of Standing Indian Mountain today (5498 feet), but before we started the final ascent we were treated to more trail magic. Today's fare included pulled pork, coleslaw, beans, lemonade and peanut butter cookies! Welcome to N.C. I think we'll be mailing back some more of our food supplies if this keeps up. The day was on the cool side and windy so we got a reprieve from the bugs. It was another tough hike with a good amount of downhill this afternoon. We were surprised to finish up as early as 4:30. The same church group will be providing food again tomorrow further up the trail, so we hope to reach their location sometime tomorrow afternoon. Tonight there is a freeze warning but no rain in the forecast so we'll try to get an earlier start tomorrow. We heard from the Rangers that 40% of the hikers that start this journey will have stopped before the North Carolina border. We know of a few who stopped because of injuries and feel fortunate that we are not in that group.~ Hooti
Date: 2015-04-05
From: Carter Gap Shelter 

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We passed the 100 mile marker today at the fire tower on top of Albert Mountain. It wasn't a real long climb but it was very steep. We were grabbing rocks and pulling ourselves up through this section and then rewarded with great views of the Blue Ridge at the top. We had trail magic all day and ended up with more food in our packs at the end of the day than we started with. Colored hard boiled eggs, hot dogs and beans, create your own omelet or sandwich, fruit, cookies and candy all in the same day. Got a ride to Franklin where we'll stay tonight and pick up our supplies and then gear tomorrow before heading out. Think it's going to rain.~ HootiLast night was cold as predicted, around 30 degrees. We left Carter Gap Shelter around 9:30. 4 miles into our hike there was a couple at Betty Creek Gap providing the first trail magic that we encountered today. They had sandwich bags with assorted Easter candy and a decorated hard boiled egg. A couple of miles later we found more trail magic. This time, hot dogs and beans! Next we went up Albert Mountain, a short climb but a kicker. Very nice views from the top of the fire tower (see pictures posted earlier today). We continued onto Rock Gap Shelter but it was full and the ground was not good for tenting. Continued on to Rock Gap where we encountered even more trail magic, amazing! We ended the day for a total of 12.2 miles. Got a ride into Franklin, NC about 4pm where we are doing laundry and a good nights sleep. A local church will provide breakfast for us in the morning and a bus trip back to Rock Gap where we will continue our hike. Goodnight. ~ Robi1