morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-14
From: Burning Town Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light snow

I slept pretty well in my bunk. I got up at 6:30 and went out to the sitting area to stretch my legs and feet.At 7:00, Maggie came in and made coffee and then breakfast for the 5 hikers staying at the hostel. Right after breakfast I got dressed in my own clothes and got my pack ready and into the car for the drive back to Burning Town Gap.  I was hiking by 8:45. Gap means up. I set my goal on Wesser Bald by 1:00. It was about 15 degrees out and windy, so I was cold until I got moving for about 20 minutes. Eventually it started warming up in places again, so the track got slippery and muddy there.  I made Wesser by 12:30, grabbed some food from my pack and climbed up the observation tower. It was clear and I could see the Smokies range and Fontana Lake in the distance . Clingman¢s Dome was snow covered. Something to look forward to!  After Wesser, I set my sights on the NOC and got there at 4:00. I picked up my drop box, checked in to my room and then walked up to the lodge to do a quick load of laundry, shower, and then back down to the restaurant to get dinner with some other hikers.  I think I made the right call going off to the hostel last night as it was apparently brutally cold and windy and people were miserable. I got back to my room and organized my gear, food and pack so I would be ready to go in the morning.  The weather looks good for the next 2 days and then it¢s going to rain, but at least it¢s warming some. I¢m thinking of my family and friends in New England getting pounded with snow and wish them well. Thank you to those who have left comments for me in my guestbook. It¢s nice to hear from you, I appreciate the support.
Date: 2018-03-15
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Locust Grove Gap
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

I left the NOC at 9:00 thinking I would go as far as Sassafrass shelter and see how I felt there. I knew it would be a long uphill climb and I just took it as it came. It was really nice weather and I hiked about a mile and a half an hour.  I stopped at the shelter at about 1:00, had some lunch and rested with my pack off for a few minutes before resuming the hike. The next highlight was Cheoah Bald and it kicked my butt. I struggled up for a long time and eventually got up and over it and headed to the next named campsite at Locust Grove Gap where I found a nice flat spot to put my tent. I did my camp chores and got to bed about 8:00.
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Locust Grove Gap

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

I had a slow start out of camp. I wasn¢t feeling my best and it was 9:20 before I got hiking. My goal was to get to Cable Gap Shelter so that I would have a short day on Saturday into Fontana and be inside a shelter because thunderstorms were forecast for overnight.  I was dreading the climb out of Stecoah Gap which is Jacob¢s Ladder.  I got to Stecoah at 11:00, stopped for a break, got some energy food and water and then headed up. I could hear the Yankees fans screaming at Pedro Martinez as I was going up Jacob¢s Ladder...¢Who¢s Your Daddy??¢ It really wasn¢t as bad as I was imagining.  I kept thinking about last year and the fact that I hiked everything I hiked yesterday and today and can¢t believe I was able to do it. After Jacob¢s Ladder I had about 6 more miles to the shelter. Nothing exciting to report during those miles. I got to the shelter, claimed a spot and made dinner and gathered firewood for a fire. About 45 minutes later a large group came in and the shelter quickly reached its capacity of 6 , with a half dozen tents scattered behind the shelter.  We had a good group of people enjoying a campfire until about 8:30.
Date: 2018-03-17
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: light rain

Someone snored all night. I named the section hiker that did, ¢Sleep Study¢. It was pretty warm last night and at 7:30 I got up and got started getting ready to go.  It had rained only a little overnight and no thunderstorm.  I got my bear bag down and grabbed some snacks to have for the morning, made coffee and got dressed and ready to go. I decided to wear rain pants and not my rain jacket at first.  About 30 minutes in, it started to sprinkle, so I stopped and got my raincoat on just before it rained hard. It rained for about an hour and I was getting mighty hot once it stopped. I decided to wait until I got to The Fontana Road crossing to take my rain gear off. Man was I hot. I took a short break and then made my way to the Visitors center which was closed. No cell signal, no phone to call for the shuttle to the Village. I started walking back towards the Fontana Hilton as the shelter is known just south of Fontana Dam. As I walked I got cell signal and called, but ended up walking back up the hill until a maintenance guy gave me a ride in place of the shuttle.  Worked for me.  I got checked into my room, showered, picked up my resupply box from the desk and went to do laundry. Got that finished up and headed back for dinner.  Had an early night as I was tired from not sleeping the night before.  Looking forward to a full zero tomorrow in advance of going into the Smokies with cold wet weather predicted.
Date: 2018-03-18
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zero at Fontana VillageToday I focused on relaxing. I got up at 7:00 had coffee and breakfast from my food bag to lighten it a bit, then just hung out watching the news of the day for a bit. I showered and then went up to the lobby to see if I could hire one of the shuttle drivers to get me to the Dam at 7:15 tomorrow so I could see it lit up and get going on a 4-5000 elevation gain day before the normal shuttle time of about 9:30. Success! One of the guys agreed to meet me at 7:15, perfect. The rest of the day, I messed with my gear and looked at the weather for the next few days (wet and then cooler), talked with my family and took a nap (luxury). It was a beautiful day and while I wish I was hiking to take advantage of it, I know I can¢t run from the weather forever so will deal with whatever comes.  Not very many hikers here compared to yesterday. I guess I¢m in a bubble-lull.  I had dinner at the restaurant again and turned in early to get further rested for the next few days.  All things considered, I feel pretty good about my progress so far and I¢m looking forward to getting into The Smokies, which I have held in awe for a long time.
Date: 2018-03-19
From: Fontana Dam

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept fitfully after 3AM and got up at 5:30, made coffee and showered.  I got my pack ready and got dressed and at 7:10 went and checked out and then outside. Right on the button, the driver who agreed to drive me to the Dam, showed up.  I was hiking by 7:20.  It was great to see the Dam lit up before the sun came up. I crossed the Dam on the road and then entered The Great Smokies National Park. The road ended at a gate and there was a storm gun and white blazes indicating where The Trail entered the woods. Shortly after that there was a box for Thru Hiker permits which I put mine in.I took a side trail up to Shuckstack Fire tower. It was a challenge for me to go up but I did and the views were amazing.  I had to come down the ladders backwards to avoid feeling like I was going to fall. Very steep steps and about 6 stories high and open structure.  The weather was forecast to be rainy so I was in full rain gear to start, but stopped to strip that off as I was too hot. It was gorgeous out until about 1:00 when it started raining and I got wet, and chilly, so stopped st Mollies Ridge Shelter to don my rain gear. It stopped raining, but I warmed up.  I left Millie¢s Ridge Shelter at 2:30 and made the rest of today¢s miles by 5:30. I had an awesome hike today, I felt in tune with the miles and just hiked, even with over 6,000 feet of elevation gain I just went with it and had fun. No fighting the constant uphills, just marched forward and the miles happened.  I¢m in a big, full shelter with about 12 other people, so hoping sleep will happen tonight!  It¢s supposed to be rainy and very windy tonight with gusts up to 55 mph.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: SilerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.9

Posting multiple updates, you can use the previous button to page back if you choose to.A thunderstorm hit at about 9:00. I was plenty warm in my bunk. At about 2:00AM a pack of coyotes was yipping and yelping outside.  The shelter motivated at about 6:45.  I was planning to try to get to Double Spring Shelter today. Today¢s miles were tough. Reminiscent of parts of Vermont, the track was variable, some steep ups, some scale covered, some dirt, lots of mud and puddles. I fell today for the second time, not bad, but I¢m counting it. It¢s said that a Thru hike has 100 falls.  It was about 45 degrees and partly sunny until 2:30. Then It started sprinkling, so I stopped immediately and got my rain pants on to make sure I stayed dry.  It started raining harder and then sleeting then back to rain. I decided I was going to stop at the next shelter, Siler¢s Bald Shelter instead of going the additional 2 miles to Double Spring, there was room here and others thought the next shelter may be full.Today was not the same as yesterday for me. I struggled with the terrain and mentally rolling dozens of scenarios around in my head on how I could get to Gatlinburg to avoid the major snow storm forecast to hit tonight. I would have had to hike 24 miles to get to Newfound Gap. That would have been an impossible mileage for me, and I knew that, but somehow still spent energy trying to figure out how I could do it.  I got settled in the shelter, made dinner, waited for a lull in the precipitation and hung my bear bag from the cables. A family of 8 arrived to what ordinarily would have been a full shelter, but all of the hikers scooched closer and made room for them to get a place out of the rain. The kids range from 18 months to 16. Amazing. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Snow is expected to fall heavily and it¢s 12 miles to Newfound Gap. The road is often closed for heavy snow, so, once I get there, I¢ll make the decision about if I go to Gatlinburg or keep hiking north.
Date: 2018-03-21
From: SilerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Bald Shelter

To: My. Collins Shelter 
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: snow

Posting multiple updates, you can use the previous button if you want to.People started moving around and waking up around 6:30. I got my stuff packed, and grabbed a few snacks, but didn¢t make coffee or eat. There was about 5 inches of snow on the ground, it was still snowing hard and the wind was blowing crazy hard. It was a blizzard. I learned afterwards that it was a storm named Toby.I took off around 8:00 and was following footprints of a group of 6 ahead of me until I got to Double Spring Gap Shelter.  They stopped there for water, I kept going. Now it looked like one or maybe two others were breaking trail. It was hard to see the blazes, essentially in whiteout conditions.Today The Trail goes over Clingman¢s Dome, the highest point on the entire Trail. There¢s a side trail up to an observation deck that I didn¢t even consider taking. It would have been pointless since I couldn¢t see much more than maybe 100 feet. I was cold and miserable and decided I¢d go to Mt Collins shelter and spend the night there, hoping that the storm would be over tomorrow and the road reopened. The alternative would have been another 4 1/2 miles to Newfound Gap, and then hope to sleep in the bathroom (yikes, nooooo!)I got to the shelter about 1:45, which is on a .4 side trail, dropped my pack and then went down the trail another .1 to fetch water. I got back and Ridge, another hiker was at the shelter. I made myself some hot coffee, went to use the privy (cold!) and then made myself some food.  Dynasty showed up shortly after and the 3 of us compared notes on how cold windy and smart we all were for deciding to stop here.I changed my clothes into warm pants, fleece top, puffy coat and hung my food from the bear cables. At about 5:30, I got under my quilt to stay warm.  Spirit Man (also a Trail Jouraler) arrived about 6:00 PM.I put my rain jacket over my head to help stay warm and keep the mini snow that was drifting in through the top of the shelter wall off my face. I was mildly uncomfortable but not shivering or in any danger, and drifted off to sleep with the wind blowing and gusting hard outside.
Date: 2018-03-22
From: My. Collins Shelter 

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 4.9

I was awake a lot in the night, but it was a long night given how early I went into the sack. I started stirring about 6:30; got up, got my food bag off the cable outside. It was 23 degrees in the shelter according to my watch. I kept my water next to me under my quilt, so it didn¢t freeze, and I made myself some coffee and ate some trail mix. The snow had stopped and the wind was decreasing; I was hopeful that the road at Newfound Gap had reopened.  I changed into my goretex pants and got myself packed and ready. I set out just after Ridge at about 8:15.The snow was about a foot deep except where it wasn¢t.  Where the wind had blown the snow into the trail ditch and into drifts it was often up to my knees and even my hips going into Indian Gap. Potholing through snow that deep is hard work even if you¢re not breaking the trail. Ridge stopped at one point, so I was trail breaking for about a mile or so. It was interesting trying to find the trail. Occasionally I saw a white blaze and that made me feel good about the progress and knowing that I was still on the trail.  After Indian Gap it was mostly downhill, and I got to Newfound Gap at about 11:00 AM. It was bright and sunny, the road was plowed and plow trucks were passing. It was still cold and there was some ice on the road and it was still closed.  Ridge and I decided that we¢d start walking to Gatlinburg, which is 15 miles downhill.  I needed to resupply as I had in my food bag 2 protein bars, 1 tuna packet, 1 ramen noodle soup and 1 instant potato package, plus some instant coffee and drink straws. I couldn¢t make it the 40 miles out of the Smokies on that.  I walked ahead of Ridge after he slowed due to a shin issue, and at 12:30 I passed mike post 11, so I had gone 4 miles. About 1:15, a National Park Service truck pulled up next to me and Ridge was in the backseat; ¢would you like a ride? It¢s tight but we can make it work.¢ Uh, yes sir that would be fabulous! Thank you!!!! Shortly after that the road opened and cars started going up the road. I¢m so happy I didn¢t have to walk 15 miles.  We got dropped off near Stoplight 10. I walked a couple of blocks up the main drag and found a Hilton Garden Inn with an on-site laundry, SOLD. Booked for 2 nights.  I got into the room, did the typical pack explosion, showered and went out to get lunch. I came back, caught up with family by phone and did laundry. Around 6:30 I was hungry again so went out to The Smoky Mountain Brewery to sample their goods and got food (thanks to Atlas for the tip on this place).I was back in the room by 9:00 and it being passed my new bedtime, I got to sleep. An amazing day. Beautiful scenery, tough conditions, and benefited from the goodness of the guys in the truck.
Date: 2018-03-23
From: Gatlinburg 

To: Gatlinburg 
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a chore day. I did my resupply at Walgreens and the NOC outfitter, repackaged some of the stuff I bought to reduce weight and volume and had an unbelievable meal at The Best Italian restaurant.  The last few days before I got into town were light on calories, so I made up some lost ground today.  I arranged a shuttle for 8:00 AM tomorrow and ran into a few hikers at the outfitter and we chatted about the difficulties we all faced over the last few days. We¢re all making headway on becoming badass hikers!I forgot to mention that I have surpassed 2 milestones, 1- I¢ve hiked further on this trip than my previous highest mileage which was in September 2016 on The Long Trail at about 180 miles and 2- I¢ve crossed the 200 mile mark on the AT.  Looking forward to seeing what the rest of The Smokies brings.
Date: 2018-03-24
From: Newfound Gap

To: Tricorner Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: clear sky

I was up at 6:00, got showered and had some coffee. I made last minute adjustments to my pack and was waiting at 8:00 for the shuttle. She showed up at 8:10 and I was hiking north in ice covered trails up hill at 8:45.  The trail was intermittently either ice, mud, packed powder or slush. Much of the day it was packed powder which was nice as it was a smooth surface without rocks or roots. Later in the afternoon it was mostly slushy as the temps warmed and the rain soaked everything.  I don¢t know if I was in a cloud, the temp was at dew point or if it was raining, but The Trail gave no views and by the end of the day everything I had on was soaked.  I skipped trying to go to Charlie¢s Bunion as there was no point in scrambling over wet rocks to look at a grey mist that would be no different than what I was walking through. A highlight of the walk was ¢The Sawteeth¢, a series of ups and downs that traversed a narrow (8-15 feet) path for what seemed like several miles.  The forest was thick evergreens and even though there were no long distance views, the contrasts of the green boughs, brown trunks and white snow was strikingly beautiful. At some points it was so thick and dark it was a little intimidating and downright scary. I was looking around to make sure Ursus was not stalking me.  I hiked most of the day without seeing anyone and then around 3, a guy passed me and then about 4, I passed another guy and then a couple, we were all headed to Tri Corner Knob Shelter.I got there and went into a dungeon like atmosphere, dark, crowded and people mumbling. I think everyone was cold and trying to get themselves changed, fed and set up for the night because eventually things got more comfortable.I hung my stuff up optimistically thinking it might dry before morning and got into my sleep system about 8:00.
Date: 2018-03-25
From: Tricorner Knob Shelter 

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: moderate rain

There were thunderstorms overnight and a hiker named Frankenstein snored like a champion.  Ha! I had ear plugs and slept fine.  Most of my stuff was still damp, so I elected to use my sleeping shirt to start off hiking in. I used new socks and put grocery produce bags over my socks to try to keep my feet warm. I suspected that The Trail would be more slush and wet. I wasn¢t wrong. There were streams flowing down the trail. I kept my feet mostly dry. Of course there was a lot of mud too, which made for a dirty slippery mess. A lot of the track was downhill except one big uphill mid day. I stopped at a shelter at 1:00 ish to refill water, change back into my damp hiking shirt and shed my rain jacket. I needed to have the pack off for 10 minutes too.  My plan was to go to Davenport Gap Shelter and Nero into Standing Bear Farm Hostel on Monday.Again today, it was cloudy for most of the day and there were no views, so I elected to skip the Mt Camerer tower as it was .6 off the trail and cloudy so no views.  I arrived at the shelter at about 5:15, and within 10 minutes, another Hiker ¢The German¢ arrived. He¢s a young man from Cologne Germany. We had a roaring fire in the shelter¢s fireplace, made our respective dinners and got to bed after discussing weather and such.  This shelter was I think the last of The Smokies shelters to still have chain link fencing and a gate in the front as a measure of bear protection. As the story goes, the fencing was installed and then people found it entertaining to actually feed bears through the fence for a close up view, so that ended that. Anyway, this one still had the fence up and we didn¢t get any visits from bears.  As it looks like a big rain storm is going to hit Wednesday, I decided that I would change my plans and go to Standing Bear to buy a few things for my food bag, but would not stay there as the weather looks good, so no point in burning an afternoon.
Date: 2018-03-26
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I got going just after 9:00.  I was out of The Smokies by 10:30.  I got to Standing Bear Farm by 11:00, bought some resupply and was done there and back on The Trail by noon.  There was a lot of climbing in the afternoon, culminating with Snowbird Mountain with big 360 views and an FAA transmitting tower.  I got to Groundhog Creek Shelter at about 4:30 and found a spot to set up my tent, got water, cooked etc. I was able to have a nice long conversation with my wife and got to sleep by 9:00
Date: 2018-03-27
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter 

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I got up and got camp broke down, had breakfast and was hiking by 8:15It was a cold and windy day to start. Today my objective was to get to Max Patch, a bald mountain at about 4600 feet with long range views, by noon-ish. The weather cooperated and it cleared up and was pretty warm. Max Patch is known to be very windy due to its exposed conditions. It was not too bad for me. I could see The Smokies; Clingmans Dome was in the clouds. After a few minutes looking at the views and snapping pictures, I kept going.  The next goal was to hike as far as I could in order to minimize miles to Hot Springs on Wednesday. I ended up at Walnut Mountain Shelter at about 4:00, and decided I¢d had enough and would do the 13.1 (mostly downhill) tomorrow. Coincidentally, today was a 13.1 mile day too.I took a spot in the 5 person rustic shelter, made dinner and enjoyed a campfire that Sherpa built.  A bunch of hikers showed up after 6:00 and rented up the hill away from the shelter.  I got into my sleep system at 8:30 for the night.
Date: 2018-03-28
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

It was a nice night. The wind was blowing warm, and I slept comfortably.  I was wide awake at 5:30, and at 6:00, Ridge got up and I got up too and started packing my gear.  I left the shelter at 6:45, hiking by headlamp for the next 35 or so minutes. My first ¢night¢ hike.  The terrain was down about 500 feet and then immediately up 1000, so at the bottom, I stopped, had a drink and ate a protein bar. About 10 minutes into the climb, I had to stop and take my jacket off; it was humid and for the first time since I started, getting quite warm. Once the climb was done, there was about 5 miles of downhill, so I cruised. I had covered 6.5 miles by 9:45.  There were a few more ups and downs and one surprisingly tough uphill that hit me in the motivational gut. I got to the last uphill of the day and then had about 2 more downhill miles to Hot Springs where a hostel room awaited me. The trail comes out right next to the Laughing Heart Hostel and I was there and in my room at 1:00.  I showered and went to a local diner for a taco salad, then wandered downtown, nowhere to go, just to hang around.  I stopped at the outfitter and then went to a local place and had a beer and iced my left ankle which was a little stiff.  A bunch of hikers showed up, we all ordered wings and then headed back to the hostel for the night.
Date: 2018-03-29
From: Hot Springs NC

To: Hot Springs NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A typical zero day. Laundry, resupply and food.  I got to talk with my wife and at night The  Blackalachian came by with hot dogs and beer as trail magic.  He¢s a 2017 Thru hiker and somewhat of a YouTube sensation.  You should check him out.  I found him very entertaining.  Ready to get going early tomorrow.