morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: few clouds

Last night was horrendous. The wind whipped and blew. My hammock rocked and the tarp blew against me all night long. It felt like some little child was jumping on the bed. I gave up trying to sleep in and got up at 6 am. Running about, throwing everything into my backpack, I tore out of the campsite and down the hill, desperate to find someplace out of the wind to sit and warm up. After two miles, I came to a rocky spot on the trail that was in the morning sun. I sat down, fired up the stove and made an enormous cup of tea to accompany my breakfast Cliff bar. It was so peaceful and quiet, like another world. I didn't want to leave, but knew there was a shower waiting at the end of the day. As I lingered, hikers from the shelter began trickling by, so I knew I needed to get going. The good thing about today is that it is a downhill run, but a long one. Lots of switchbacks to work your way down, but relatively easy on the feet, not so much the knees though. By afternoon, I was dragging, hot and miserable. Bugs were buzzing around and while swatting at them I managed to smack myself with my hiking pole. So sad, but so funny! As we got around the side of the mountain where Hot Springs was below, I caught up to Bushwacker. I was glad to see a friendly face, and just put my head down and followed him down the trail. Soon we began to smell smoke and noticed planes flying back and forth. It was obvious there was a big fire somewhere and we were hoping we weren't in danger. Soon there was a clearing we could see through and saw where the smoke was coming from, across the valley, on the next ridge over. Planes were busy going back and forth dropping water and fire retardant. It added a bit of excitement to the final descent.About 4:30 pm, we hit level ground, and there off to the left was Laughing Heart Hostel. I was so glad not to have to walk too far, and soon sank into a chair on the patio, catching my breath and trying to cool off. Whenever did winter end so suddenly and summer begin? The owner of the hostel was off investigating the fire and the impact on hikers, and the hostel, so I had to wait to check in. It was good to just sit, while listening to those around me talk about the fire. Apparently it was arson, and had now spread quite a ways, shutting down the trail north of Hot Springs as well as the hills above the town. At one point there was mention of evacuating the town. Rain was expected the next day, and given the way I was feeling, I decided that a zero day was in order. I really need to think about what I am going through, and why I am struggling mentally¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦.
Date: 2016-04-23
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Jones Meadow campsite
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Laughing Heart Hostel was a great place to stay in Hot Springs. The owner was busy arranging free shuttles to Allen Gap, 14 miles from where we all left off. The fire seems to be contained, but rumors fly that it has started up in spite of the rain. While at the hostel I met the father of one of the hikers who was there to visit his son. He kindly offered to shuttle myself, Kangapard and her cousin up to Allen Gap, so we loaded into his van and off we set. It was a dreary, rainy morning and as we went up the mountain, the fog began to set in. Paul dropped us off and pointed us in the right direction, and the climbing began. Kangapard's cousin soon blasted by both of us, and without a word, disappeared into the fog. We would not see him again until weeks later. I guess he decided to "hike his own hike". That was well and good with Kangapard, but he could have told her he was moving on.Our packs were heavier than usual as we had six days of hiking to tackle before resupplying in Erwin TN.We took our time ascending and it was fun because all of the hikers stuck in town for a few days were all starting again. One by one, they came by and we had many opportunities to stop and rest while chatting. During one such rest stop, I noticed something odd looking off to the side of the trail. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a very long intact snakeskin. Sure glad I wasn't around when the snake was removing it!!Today was a short day, due to the climbing all day, and we pulled into camp about 3:30. It was a nice area in a gap that had a creek running nearby, complete with a pipe to make gathering water easier. We got set up and sat and watch the latecomers hike by. Soon we were joined by a young woman, who sat down, said she was starving, and began to unload every single food item she was carrying. It turned out that she had at least 16 pounds of food with her. It was quite comical watching her! She explained that her father just sent her a care package, full of boxes of spaghetti, 16 granola bars, 12 Lipton pasta sides, etc. Who carries that much?? She allowed that she felt obligated to carry it since it was so nice of her father to send it. She then entertained us with stories of her travels, living in Nepal, starting grad school soon in Belgium, traveling to Sri Lanka after her hike, etc. Then to our amazement, she filled up a large stuff sack with water and soap and began to wash her clothes, hanging them to dry on a line strung between two trees. While she was busy doing all this she was tromping around barefooted! She obviously was used to being in a third world country without modern conveniences!It was a wonderful evening around the fire ring listening to her stories. Kangapard and I hike well together, so I am hopeful about this week going well.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: Jones Meadow campsite

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we are at 4000 feet with few ups and downs. The weather is sunny and warm and the views are wonderful. This is a very rocky area, Whiterock Cliff and Blackstack Cliffs. The AWOL guide warns that the area around the Firescald is "rocky and strenuous" so I convince Kangapard that we might enjoy the bypass trail more! It was a great decision, because the footing was good and the views even better and we made good time. Our only big climb today was up Big Butt Mountain. We had a good laugh over that name. I don't know where they think up these names, but some of the more entertaining ones have been: Chunky Gal trail, Sweat Heiffer Mountain, Big Butt Mountain, and lots of Lick Log Gaps!The mileage went well today and we got into camp in time to make a cup of tea before setting up. As the evening wore on, more hikers arrived and there are now about 30 people here, mostly the 20's crowd of noisy party-ers. Tonight will require earplugs for sure.
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Hogsback Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

It's a hot sunny day and the bugs are out. Unfortunately they seem to find me to be a good target and I itch all over. The trail today went through the woods, down into a valley. As we were going down towards a road, I heard bells! I couldn't tell if they wind chimes at someone's house or someone was hiking with bells on their packs to alert bears that they were coming. When I hit the road, I saw cows in the meadow and a stile we had to climb over. Such a wonderful change from hiking in the mountains! As we climbed the stile, the cows moved away under the tree into the shade (making them hard to see in the picture above) and we continued through their field and up the hill on the other side. Apparently the cows like hiking the AT because the path was full of hoof prints! As we walked through these woods and dry leaves, I noticed a popping sound, like someone was popping corn. I stopped to listen and looked closer and saw that the noise was caused by lots of little grasshoppers hopping around on the dead leaves. I've never seen such a number of grasshoppers in one place before. Up a little further, the leaves were rustling and moving about. I stayed quiet for a moment and then saw that the noise was coming from a dozen or so little field mice chasing each other around. It always amazes me what you can see when you hold still for a moment and just observe.One point of interest today was a beautiful cascade we passed. Later when talking about it at the shelter, I learned that one of the young men earned his trail name "Waterfall" there. Yes, he did climb to the top and yes, he did find it slippery and fell down the waterfall. Fortunately he only injured his prideOne last huge climb took me up Sugarloaf Gap and Licklog Rock. At least I thought it was the last climb. I couldn't have been more wrong, as with the way of the trail, you usually have to climb uphill to a shelter, and so it was. It was just 0.8 mi up, but seemed like it took forever. The same crowd from last night's shelter was here and we sat comparing notes on the day's hike over dinner. As the evening wore on, the young noisy, dope smoking crowd from last night rolled in, sleepings bags were thrown down, joints lit up and their partying resumed. Sigh. I headed to bed and shoved my earplugs in so far they met in the middle.
Date: 2016-04-26
From: Hogsback Mountain Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

The day begins with breakfast at the picnic table, discussing today's plan, when the party crowd begins to wake up and light up. This is getting so old. I ate quickly, packed up and we hit the trail, hoping to get an early start on the crowd. In retrospect it didn't matter because they sat around the table until noon, entertaining themselves passing around a pipe. We keep hoping they will pass us and do more miles but it isn't happening. Guess they are getting really "relaxed"! Heading out of the shelter area it is a downward hike to Sams Gap and US23, where there are garbage cans! Yay, I can get rid of my garbage bag, a quart size ziplock stuffed to the gills. On the way down I cane to a marble marker. It is a dedication memorial of a local family who owned the property and sold it to the government. It listed the family members names and each had a biblical quote. Hmm. Kind of an odd place, I think, for such a memorial. A short time later I met a hiker coming up the trail and we stopped to chat. His name is Morgan and he works for the ATC. He was on his way up to inspect the memorial as the ATC has received a number of complaints regarding the religious nature of said monument. People finding the religious nature of it offensive. His objective was to figure out how to re-route the trail around the back of it so that only those who wanted to read it could. Unbelievable. Later when we saw him again, he thought he had solved the problem. The ATC would rotate the monument 180 degrees so that if you wanted to see it, you left the trail to walk around to read it. It would be fun to come back in the fall and see if this project has been accomplished.Today walking across Big Stamp, a treeless saddle on a ridge, I found trail magic set up under a tree. It was a hot, hot day and I was so happy to find bottles of water on a bed of ice at the base of a tree. I grabbed one and downed it immediately. There was more bald to cross and an orchard of thorn apples to hike through. The trees were in bloom and there was a carpet of white flowers throughout. So pretty. I checked the map and lo and behold, it was downhill to the shelter! What a relief to cruise downhill to camp for the night. Usual chores were done, dinner made and plans made for tomorrow. Ohhh nooo, here comes the party crowd and they are setting up for the night. This is very disheartening to hike all day long and be challenged by this every night this week. There is no sign of it ending until we get to Erwin.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Shelter
Miles today: 10.6

It looks like the hot weather is here to stay. I have been hiking in shorts and short sleeve shirt, which I might add, stinks to high heaven, as this is day 5 wearing it. Ugh. It is certainly best to stand upwind of myself. There is a short climb up to Little Bald, elevation 5220 feet, today and it was a rocky, boulder climb. Hard, but fun. Then downhill for a bit to recover before hitting another short uphill. Soon we were following a creek downhill, crossing streams on footbridges, or sometimes rock hopping. When we got to Olgesby Branch, there was a great spot in a glade to take a break for lunch. By now it was at least 85 degrees and I just wanted to jump into the water. So I did! Well, maybe not jumped, but did step carefully into a knee deep spot to soak my feet and try and dunk my head into it to cool off. The ice cold water felt so good.I procrastinated here quite a while and many hikers going by looked envious. Some even joined me.But there was more trail to hike and I had to pull myself away and head uphill. We followed the branch (creek) upstream and crisscrossed it many times. I just love being by water and hiking by it. Its a real mood changer!Kangapard and I arrived at the shelter around 5 pm to find a few hikers already here. No one was set up in the shelter yet; it was suspiciously empty! Ramblejunk was cooking his elaborate dinner at the table outside the shelter and casually announced that there was a big black snake in the shelter! He pointed it out, curled up in a corner under the floorboards. It was behind wire mesh fencing, so I wasn't too concerned and continued on with my dinner preparations. As hikers came in, the announcement was made and everyone continued to scatter around the shelter setting up tents and hammocks. Up come two young men, one of them Waterfall, and they threw their packs into the shelter. They were happy to find space, as rain was expected tonight. Ramblejunk informed them of the visitor and they sat there mulling over this news. We all went back to our dinner preparations. Suddenly there was a bit of a scuffle behind me (my back was to the shelter) and Rumblejunk's (sitting across from me, facing the shelter) eyes got really big, so I turned around in time to see the young man coming out of the shelter with this enormous thick healthy black snake wrapped around the shovel. We all jumped back, while he calmly and casually walked away from the shelter, down over the ridge and threw the snake even further!He walked back, pointed to a spot in the shelter and announced "that is MY space for the night"!!We gave him a round of applause and I asked Waterfall if his friend was a southern country boy. He said "nah, he's from Texas. That ain't nothin' for him." I gave the young man the trail name of Snake Charmer!Thunder sounded off in the distance and rain began to fall. Everyone ran for their shelters as the skies opened. This storm circled us the entire night, thunder, lightening, hail and rain. Yikes!
Date: 2016-05-10
From: Elizabethton, TN

To: Low Gap, US 421, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is our last day at Sarah's home, and what a wonderful experience it has been. We are busy making plans to have Sarah and Crumpet join us for some hiking in part of Virginia.The usual errands got done, food organized, although it will only take us two days to get into Damascus, so not much was needed.I thought I would post this picture of a rainbow taken yesterday when a storm rolled into the valley in front of the house. It actually turned into a double rainbow, but I don't think you can see it in the picture.I want to apologize to my readers about the last few entries being condensed, instead of daily entries. I know they lack interesting detail, but I felt it was more important to get caught up than get further behind. I now have a friend back home helping me with entries, so the postings will be more regular. Thanks, Liz!Connie, to answer your question about shelters vs. stealth camping. Yes we could have maybe avoided some of this party crowd by stealth camping, but probably not. Once a tent is set up (stealth), others tend to join anyway, so you are rarely alone overnight. The reason we went shelter to shelter in the Hot Springs to Erwin area is that they are reasonably spaced mileage wise, and it is just so incredibly convenient to have a privy, rather than having to quickly dig a cat hole first thing in the morning. So water source and privy become priorities!!   As I travel northward, more and more shelters will not have privies, so I expect to be doing more stealth camping, the way I did in Georgia.I also had a nameless reader correct me on my photo, label, mileage etc at one point. I did delete the post because it was irritating. Please know that I am posting photos to make things interesting. I might not get the exact location correct, or what the mountain off in the distance is, because it really doesn't matter to me. This journal is about what I am thinking, feeling and seeing. I will try to be as accurate as possible, but when I take one picture and then don't use it for a week, I forget where it was taken! If you want exact details, you will have to come hike the AT yourself!Back to the trail tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it now. Look out Damascus, here I come!(Oh, did I mention that "Trail Days" a big party shindig is happening when we get there? Oh well, we will blast in on Thursday and leave on Friday, avoiding the partying masses) Also next up is Grayson Highlands and the wild ponies! Can't wait
Date: 2016-05-11
From: Elizabethton, TN

To: Damascus, Va
Miles today: 0.0

Morning arrived bringing an immense storm covering two states. The news reported all manner of storm alerts. Conferring with our trail angel, Sarah, it was decided that we should postpone our departure. Better to be safe than get hit by lightning up on the ridge. We would reassess at noon and make a plan. Sarah went off to work and Kangapard and I went I to full relaxation mode. (Zzzzzzz)I enjoyed being on the back porch watching the rain and the storm moving through and thinking how fortunate I was to be here and not out in it. I read through a few Backpacker magazines and then started to get antsy. Needing to move, I started to putter around the house doing cleaning chores. Kangapard was tracking the weather on TV and we reworked our plan for today. We will skip the 14 mile section from Low Gap into Damascus. In the fall, we will return to complete it with Sarah and her husband, as a day hike. Then we can celebrate our completion with them as they have been instrumental in our success!Sarah drove us to Damascus and on this route we went through this stone wall called Backbone Rock. It was a beautiful section of road. We had reservations at the Montgomery House B and B, so we dropped our bags there and headed off to find some dinner.Staying at this B and B are hikers that we have met and that Sarah provided Trail magic slackpacking for, Moonshine, Sunshine and Barnum. Very nice young people and lots of fun to be around.Time to head to bed, although it is fun to sit on the front porch here and watch all the hikers streaming into town for 3 days of festivities called Trail Days.We head out tomorrow and head north with loaded packs. This week's highlight is the Grayson Highlands and the wild ponies. I can't wait to see them.
Date: 2016-05-13
From: Saunders Shelter

To: stealth site
Miles today: 9.1

Another rainy morning which means packing up a wet tarp. Ugh, more weight! I finally got packed up and we left camp about 8:45 am. The weather has started to clear and the temperature is about 60, so nice hiking weather. My pack felt more comfortable today with less wobbling. We got to a pond that hikers in the shelter told us about and took a break while watching for turtles that they had reported. I saw nothing! Not even a frog, but it was a pretty spot. Everything is damp and musty smelling from the rain, but the streams are running making it easy to hike from one water spot to the next without having to carry many liters. Today's hike had us back on part of the Virginia Creeper Trail and it is sure fun to walk and have people riding by on bikes. How I envy them!! I would like to return some day with my bicycle and do the same. The trail crossed the longest wooden footbridge I have ever seen: the Luther Hassenger Memorial Bridge. It was up high on trestles. Leaving the Creeper trail, I climbed up to Lost Mountain Shelter and had a late lunch. I met two women there, hiking SOBO, who are members of NC Trail Dames: Data (Cindy) and Pollyanna. I belong to the Georgia chapter, so we had much in common. This shelter is relatively new and is in a beautiful wooded area. The water source was nearby and I took advantage of filling my bottles. I think I am still trying to rehydrate after yesterday! Setting off again we were going to hike another 2 hours and look for a stealth spot for the night. I had requested an earlier end to today as I am not up to speed with my pack being so heavy. Plus, my tarp was wet and everything was soggy from the rain. I wanted a chance to dry everything out before bedtime. We found a great spot just off the trail and set up for the night. It is a large campsite and so far we are the only ones here. It has been so calm and peaceful watching the sun set behind the mountain and listening to the birds. The evening is cool, perfect for sleeping and I am toasty warm in my sleeping bag. Tomorrow we climb up to 5000 feet and by Sunday I should be taking pictures of the wild ponies on Grayson Highlands. I can't wait!
Date: 2016-05-14
From: stealth site

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

I awoke to the sound of an owl hooting. While I was lying there it flew to a tree above our campsite and hooted some more. Now that's the kind of alarm clock I like! It looks to be a promising day; blue skies and sunny, but cool. We got out of camp about 8:45 am and began our day with an uphill climb to Buzzard Rock, at 5080 feet elevation. This area is a grassy bald with lots of rocks. There were great views in all directions. Proceeding downhill, we entered the Lewis Fork Wilderness and started climbing again. The weather had gotten gray and cold. As we ascended we could see clouds rolling into the valley below and the wind began to blow. I kept praying the rain would hold off until we got to camp. The climbing was very rocky and required constant attention to foot placement. At one point, I slipped, my pole slipped and I lurched forward, sure to do a face plant on the rocks. Somehow I managed to pull off a two footed landing, upright and intact, between two boulders. Ta Da!! Whew, that was a close one.As we got closer to the top, I began to see evidence of the wild ponies, piles and piles of manure on the trail. I guess they like to hike too! Suddenly, the forest ended and I came out onto the bald and there in the bushes and low trees were the ponies. Now I could see off into the distance and the clouds were darkening quickly. The trail curved to the right and as I came around the bend, here is a pony facing me, blocking the trail! She was so pretty, a palomino color. She munched some grass, then moved on and I continued on. Coming around another bend, I found 2 mares with their foals, a yearling and five or six more ponies. The foals were skittish and stuck close to Mama, but the yearling was more curious and came right up to me. I held out my hand, he sniffed it and walked away. I think he was disappointed but you are not supposed to feed them or disturb them in any way. They are part of a land management program and are there to eat the briars, grass and help maintain the balds.The ponies got bored with us and moved off and we headed for the shelter area as it began to hail! Yikes. I quickly found a place to set up, got chores done and crawled under my tarp to get out of the wind. Thankfully the hail didn't last long, but the temp kept dropping. It was going to be a long, cold night and I searched in my emergency kit for a hand warmer to help boost the warmth level in my sleeping bag. As I tucked in around 9 pm, the wind was gusting strongly. I tried to sleep, but kept imagining I would awake encased in ice!