morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-05-22
From: Brown Mtn. Creek Shelter

To: Fish Hatchery Rd. 
Miles today: 18.1

I was up very early this morning (4:30). Started hiking at 5:30 with my head lamp. Love Boat followed me out, but did'nt see much of him during the day. There was a 5mi climb early and then nothing very difficult. It seems after 15mi I really began to tire. The bottoms of my little toes have corns or something protruding. They start to get painful after about 4hrs. Ok lets see what else I have to complain about. Thats enough for now.The weather was great today. Lots of blue sky with a cold wind blowing on the west side of the mts. Many outstanding views and lots of blooming mountain flowers. The AT is beautiful this time of year. I made it to The Dutch Haus by 2:30. This is a nice place to rest. Its very hiker friendly. Lois and Earl are great hosts. I get to sleep in a bed tonight and have a great breakfast tomorrow. Thats not to mention the dinner thats almost ready for tonight. The hot shower was also excellent. Well I must go dinner(supper) is being served.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-23
From: Fish Hatchery Rd. 

To: Maupin Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: few clouds

The weather continues to be sunny and cool. Elevation dropped down to 997ft at the Tye river. Then climbed back up to 4000ft by the end of the day. Will hike into Waynesboro, Va. tomorrow. I plan to stay the night in town.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-24
From: Maupin Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap 
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: clear sky

It¢s another beautiful day. The hike today was mostly on good treadway with little elevation gain or loss. When I arrived at Rockfish Gap I got a shuttle to town. I plan to stay the night and head into the Shenandoah National Park tomorrow.I think now would be a good time to address my expections for this year¢s hike. When I left home this year I did not know how far I was going to hike. The hike was going to be open ended. I told my wife that I would hike until I had enough. I know down deep the though of thru-hiking was still there. However, the desire has waned a lot. For the last 100 miles or so I have felt burnt out. Everything has become hum-drum. I don't appreciate the everyday beauty of the trail like I once did. Its like been there done that. Without the burning motivation it takes for a thru hike I just feel like a tired old hiker who has had enough for one year. I have always had trouble keeping my weight up. I'm down to 125lbs. So I have lost 25lbs and most of what I lost was not fat. However I'm not sick or injured. I have simply lost my desire to continue. Last year I hiked from Springer to Damascus, Va., and I went home from there with a bleeding ulcer. I went back out in Sept. and hiked from Harper's Ferry through the Shenandoah Natl. Park to Montebello, Va. So lately I have been hiking over ground I just plowed in Sept. So after saying all of that this is what I'm going to do.The Sheandoah is one of my favorite sections of trail. So I will hike through the Park and then go home. My hiking quoter having been filled for another year. I will continue to post journal entries until I'm through hikingHappy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-25
From: Rockfish Gap 

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

I got a shuttle back to the trail and was hiking by 8:00. It is a beautiful day. There was a good climb to start, and then the trail smooth out some. Today the trail was well graded and cushioned by a layer of pine straw. I spotted several deer close to the trail. I also saw a big bird that I think was an eagle. I could be mistaken about that. I will get an earlier start in the morning. So maybe I will see more wildlife. The sun is going down, so it must be bed time.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-26
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Swift Run Gap 
Miles today: 24.8

It was a very good trail today. There was not much change in elevation all day. In The Shenandoah National Park the trail parallels Skyland drive. This is the main road through the park. Its somewhat disconcerting hearing road traffic much of the day. I stoped at Loft Mt. campground store for a snack. Because of Memorial Day the park is very crowded. A few hours from now most will be headed home. Its been a long day. So I will close for now.Happy TrailMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-27
From: Swift Run Gap 

To: Big Meadows 
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

The weather turned nasty last night. My tarp held up fine. The morning dawned cloudy and much cooler. The skies cleared by late morning. The trail was again in great shape. This is probably the best trail on the AT. I planned to stop at Big Meadows Lodge for the night. The lodge has a resturant that has very good food.I saw my old friend ME(ME to Maine).He got off the trail a couple of weeks ago to tend to some family matters. He was at the Lodge with his wife. They are going to do a day hike tomorrow. He plans to be back on the trail soon. It was great seeing him again. I had a great supper, read some, and then to bed.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-28
From: Big Meadows 

To: Thornton Gap
Miles today: 18.5

I had a good breakfast at Big Meadows. I was hiking by 8:30. It was a cool morning with clear skies.The trail did not offer much of a challenge today. The miles seem to melt away. I stopped at Skyland for lunch. I camped near Thornton Gap. My heart was not into hiking today. I will be catching a train for home tomorrow evening. Hiking has been an after thought lately. My thoughts are already back home.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-29
From: Thornton Gap

To: Elkwallow Gap 
Miles today: 8.6

Today was kind of a sad day for me. I'm ready to go home, but there is a sadness about leaving the trail. I had a great hike this year. I felt really strong from the beginning to the end. I think when you stop being excited about your hike and even less excited about what you see and hear its time to go home. There are some out here who don't see or hear much. They just trudge toward Maine like sleep walkers. I wanted to leave the trail on my own terms. I want to thank everyone who showed me kindness while on my trek. I met a lot of wonderful people along the way, and I have a lot special memories to ponder. I would like to thank my son for transcribing my journal. He did a great job. Last but not least I thank all of the people who read my journal. I hope in some was it might inspire you to follow your dreams.Happy TrailsMississippi Mule
Date: 2008-05-11
From: Amicalola

To: Maine
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

Sunday, May 11, 2008Starting Out Appalachian TrailWe're off! We're sitting in the Amicalola Lodge and the fog is thick. It rained all last night and the lightning was close. I was awakened by an incredible thunderclap just outside our window at 4 or 5 am. We are hiking down to the bottom of the falls this morning and then back up to start the climb to the official beginning of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain NC. Doug is having tooth issues but we'll try to find a dentist for him somewhere on the trail. I uploaded our first gps tracks from Philly to Atlanta including the flight (I left the GPS on while we were flying on accident) anyway, we ate breakfast at the lodge and we're off to begin the Adventure of a Lifetime; Three Brothers and the Appalachian Trail!http://www.wbafinc.orghttp://www.brotherproof.comDavid
Date: 2008-05-12
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Important directions at Gooch Gap ShelterStover Creek to Gooch Gap Shelter 12 MilesWe made it through the first night even though my rain fly kept flapping with a particular similarity to the sound of a bear traipsing through the leaves on his way to enjoy a sumptuous Backpacker Hammock Crepe. I don't know if I actually slept much since I'm not wearing a timepiece of any sort and the wind was howling around and swingin' me all over the place. Actually the swinging was very nice if I wasn't all worried about Bears coming and sniffing me for a 2 AM snack; and let's just say I was quite aromatic after a full day of climbing mountains.We saddled up and headed on out, hoping to crank out twenty miles on our first full day of backpacking. Needless to say we didn't make it. We managed to do about 16 miles according to my GPS ( http://wbafinc.motionbased.com ) and about 12 miles according to the map. There's something fishy going on around here! When we got to Justus creek we cooked a little and we were DONE. Note to self: Stop Eating Lunch! We barely made it back up the mountain to Gooch Gap Shelter where we collapsed. Earlier that day we had passed a female hiker with her dog "Wolfie." She told us her trail name and we didn't like it much because it was self-given and pretty negative. We decided that the next time we saw her we'd call her "Dances." A little while later, Dances and Wolfie showed up and we knighted her with her new name, she loved it and shortly thereafter another girl walked up who had recently graduated from Medical School so, you guessed it, "Doc" set up her homemade hammock in the shelter and unloaded her homemade backpack and got into her homemade sleeping back (we would later discover she had a lot of ingenuity and tenacity when it came to creating gear) We'll have to hire her on at BrotherPROOF when we get it rolling. During the hiking we came up with each other's Trail names:Mine is "Two-Tone" because I'm singing all the time and I wear Two-TonesDoug is "Cyclone" because it always rains wherever he goes and when we got in to Amicalola there was a tornado watchMike is "Rolex" because he's always trying to keep us on schedule (mostly unsuccessfully)We ate and had a little show tonight and slept the hiking pains away. My pack is heavy... I hope we can speed it up tomorrow, oh yeah and we ran out of food tonight DavidAKA Two ToneWebsite:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com
Date: 2008-05-13
From: Gooch Gap

To: Suches General Store
Miles today: 0.0

The intersection that determines SuchesHey guys, we just pulled in to the Suches General store, well, walked in really. We've done about 30 miles so far and we ran out of food last night so we had to hike another extra couple of miles into this town called Suches (pronounced such ¢ as) Georgia. It¢s actually more an intersection than a town; but, it has its own post office so I guess it¢s legit.Hopefully we can hitch a ride back to the trail head so we don't have to walk the 2 miles back. I washed up a little in the bathroom. I rinsed out my underwear in the sink and hung it out on the back of my pack to dry. I¢m already chafing and there won¢t be any breaks to heal.Please forgive any typos; there's this rubber, flexible keyboard and some of the keys don¢t work all that well. I'm just going to type now and edit it when I can. It has been a grueling hike so far. I am having trouble editing the website so to see our GPS logs you have to go to http://wbafinc.motionbased.com (I think that will work) there is a link on the website. You can click on the Google Earth file and get a better ideaWe got to the road after hiking a few miles this morning and decided to hitch/walk down the road for two miles to get to Suches. Our first Hitchhiking attempt was a miserable failure. No one picked us up and we had to walk the entire way to the Suches General Store (like a 7/11 but with more stuff) where they had some barbecue sandwiches cooking up in a pot on the counter. They were delicious!After that, we walked next door to the Post Office to send home a bunch of gear, 11.3 pounds of gear, to be exact. We've met up with some very interesting people so far. My body hurts! Everything hurts; my earlobes are frustrated and my nose is tired. I have been fully exhausted. I "bonked" on a hill after Horse's Gap yesterday and I nearly had to be carried to water. ¢Bonking¢ is when you don¢t eat enough while you are hiking so that your blood sugar drops way low and you literally feel like you are going to die.It looks like this schedule is going to be rough to maintain and I'm wondering if we'll even make it. We're running thin on resources already; but, I think things will work out unless we run into any serious emergencies. I never noticed how expensive it is to eat on the road! I'm going to sign off and we¢re going to try to get back up the street a ways. I'm sending another video tape back today. We're all excited ¢cause we got some more spaghetti! Woooo Hooo!David, AKA "Two Tone"Website:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com
Date: 2008-05-19
From: Franklin NC

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Budget Inn BusWe woke up in another hotel. The weather really took us out yesterday. The push to get to Franklin last night took its toll on my body. I think have shin splints and some lung congestion that is a little unsettling. We're bone tired and beat but feelin' good. We did a hundred miles this week and we're moving twice as fast as we did in the beginning so we hope to be up to our schedule in a few weeks. We stopped in Franklin to resupply and it looks like it's going to take us all day. I wanted to be moving on today but I woke up with my lungs gurgling like a faulty snorkel and it kind of freaked me out; so when Doug said, "maybe we should take a zero day?" I pretended to reluctantly agree from under my Budget Inn Bedding, while rubbing my splinted shins and hacking a few raindrops from my saturated lungs.Dave drove us all around Franklin to take care of some business; including, mailing my hotel key back to the Hiawassee Inn. Of course it turned out to be a beautiful day full of sunshine and commerce as I upgraded my rain prophylactics and got a new bowl and some Gold Bond for the Chapped Ass Syndrome. An interesting side note: Gold Bond medicated powder is a little scary at first when applied to open wounds but the mentholated goodness never gets past a 6 on the pain scale before the benefits kick in it also doubles as deodorant if you don¢t want to carry a stick of the Old Spice.We got some dinner at a peanuts-on-the-floor steakhouse and we answered Jeopardy questions on a silent TV while some 19 y/o girl got the Happy Birthday song from the whole crew. I was only staring at her because she was right under the TV, honest, no really, honest...As we got back to the budget in it was like another reunion; Doc was on the computer, Lil Cubit, Mad Mountain Mike, Just Lyle, and even the secretive guys came walking by. The only one missing was Dances and Wolfie. Maybe the hotel didn't like dogs. Anyway, we met the charismatic owner of the Budget Inn, Ron Haven, toured the town, and watched a lot of really stupid television about crocodiles, hippos, M*A*S*H, Dancing with The Stars (kristy yamaguchi is my pick, although that dance partner of the tall bald guy is unbelievable), Family guy and Adult swim. I can't wait to get back into the woods... TV sucks these days. I managed to get my hands on some Genuine Moonshine so my brothers could try it out. I have never had American Moonshine but I dipped my finger in and dabbed my tongue. I recognized it instantly as the same stuff I¢ve had from on of my Serbian Buddies. It tastes like kerosene and knocks you out quicker than Vicodin. Ahhh Memories¢¦David AKA "Jukebox"Website:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com
Date: 2008-05-25
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Siler's Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Is this Rocky Top, Tennessee?Mollie's Ridge to Siler's Bald on top of old Smokey, Rocky Top and Thunderhead 17 milesWe passed a series of shelters in a short time and then climbed up the three peaks of Thunderhead. It was weird how there were no trees up there on top. It looked kind of like a nice, groomed, picnic area with exotic grasses and trimmed bushes; yet, it was all done naturally. They say that the Native American Indians had a lot of legends about the bald tops of these mountains. I think it¢s aliens¢¦ We got up top and there was a Japanese guy I tried to talk to; but, he was pretty quiet even when I greeted him in Japanese. Maybe he was one of the Alien gardeners! Two girls came climbing up from the other direction and told us where we were, overhearing us arguing about it. It turned out we were at the World Famous Rocky Top. You know, the one in the song. We stopped to get water at an unusually large shelter that seemed to have been built recently. I got a little extra and washed my feet. It was soooo nice. I'll have to remember that... Afterwards I lay on the grass and watched the chipmunks try to pretend they weren;t trying to get into our backpacks. It was a hot day and we went through nearly two gallons of drinking water each as we trudged through the Smokies. Grasshoppers were all over the place and I wanted to eat them. We put in at Siler's Bald Shelter and met a bunch of section hikers from Alabama and other places. We pulled out the guitar and harmonica and played until we finally hit the sack. We want to get up early to get up Clingman's Dome and then down into Gatlinburg to resupply. The Guidebook states that ¢Gatlinburg is a full fledged tourist Mecca that overwhelms the senses.¢ Sounds like my kind of place. Where's the KARAOKE!!?? It's going to be cold and wet tonight... Grrrrrrr.David AKA "Jukebox"Website:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com
Date: 2008-06-02
From: Hot Springs

To: The Best Damn Burger in America
Miles today: 0.0

Dave talks while Rolex eyes the last bite of that burgerWe were on our way out of town when we decided to drop in on this little place for lunch. We had wanted to eat there the day before but it was closed and we opted for the local pub. Today, as we were walking out of town, the Bridge Street Caf© was open! I was dubious about the prudence of patronizing this establishment, since these places usually have small portions and exotic fare at exorbitant prices. I ordered the Black and Blue burger; which is a blackened burger with Gorgonzola Cheese. I can¢t stand Gorgonzola so I asked for the goat cheese that I noticed elsewhere on the menu. They also had an asparagus soup, and you know I had to try that. When the burger came I was distractedly uploading GPS tracks for our last leg and I absently bit into the sandwich. Holy Arugula! This was quite possibly the best burger I had sunk teeth into EVER; and I¢ve bitten into a lot of burgers! I couldn¢t believe it! Michael, the owner came over and was talking to us a little and I found out that the cheese is made locally by a woman who was widowed into a goat farm and decided to start making cheese. That cheese was DAMN GOOD! The whole burger was an exceptional marriage of flavors and I made sure they knew it. If you ever find yourself in Hot Springs at lunchtime; get your ass to the Bridge Street Caf© and get you a Black and Blue Burger with Goat Cheese instead of that Gorgonzola. That burger and Elmer¢s Sunnybank Inn are the reason we¢re staying here another week, just kidding, I¢ll see you on the trail tonight.David AKA "Jukebox"Website:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com
Date: 2008-06-07
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Uncle Johnny's PorchUncle Johnny's Hostel 2We had decided to take a "Zero day" on our way down the mountain but we ended up working harder on our zero day than we do hiking. We had to re-supply, we had to take a bunch of stuff back to the post office and of course we had to eat lunch. Seemingly normal tasks you might say; except, all we had were bicycles and town was none too close. We got some great footage of the landscape while riding and thankfully it was pretty flat all the way into town.It was damn hot though; and as we got into town, the freight train almost messed everything up. They have a freight train that goes right through the middle of town here, and when I say Freight Train, I mean one of those two-mile long deals that has to back up every so often; which, usually happens when you're stuck on the wrong side of it, staring at the blinking red lights and you were on your way to a wedding or to pay your taxes (at 11:58 the night of April 15) or you ate some questionable Mexican dish at the lunch buffet at the Best Western and needed to get back RIGHT NOW MOTHER#$$%$!! Well, we had a bunch of stuff to mail back and the post office is on the other side of the railroad tracks. Cyclone and I came cruising up after the clackers had gone down and although the train was close, it was moving slowly; so we ran the clackers and rolled up on the Post Office. It was 11:30 or so and the post office would close at noon. Rolex was takin¢ his sweet-ass time and he got caught since he was way behind us on a bike with only one gear (and the wrong "one gear" to have at that). What we didn't know was that he hadn't put his stuff to be mailed in Cyclone's Backpack. We figured it was OK, he could just sit there and wait, since he was being a slowpoke anyway. Then we got the call on our cell phone that he had stuff to mail out. DAMN! We got lucky though, he managed to get across the tracks at about 11:58 and came slidin' in sideways to the post office and we mailed out his stuff.We took another loooong bike ride up to the supermarket, packed five days worth of food for three men in one school size backpack and hit every soft-serve ice cream shop on the way home! That's what 98 degree days are for!Back at the ranch, we hung out and played guitar, read some books, ate some food and watched the guys get drunk again. More people we knew had rolled in and were staying at the Hostel so it was a fun time with old and new friends. Uncle Johnny is pretty cool, he has a ton of stories, as you might imagine a guy who has run a hostel like this for many years might have. I¢m going to get in to bed and relax, my legs hurt and my ankles are swelling a little. They should be fine in the morning. I don¢t think I¢m going to feel like heading out tomorrow but we have to keep moving.David AKA "Jukebox"Website:http://www.brotherproof.comBlog:http://brotherproof.blogspot.comPictures:http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofFilm:http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/brotherproofDavid's Website:http://www.davidpatrone.com