morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-10-01
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Slept OK last night, I did have to rearrange my sleeping mat a few times because of sliding down hill. We left camp today at 8:20am. Beautiful weather today. Small ups and downs through out the day. Over all we dropped 320'. At one point we did walk thru a large cow pasture. The cows didn't seem to mind. We did have to watch to avoid the cow pies. Water was scarce today again. Billy goat stuck his hiking pole in a ground wasp nest accidentally and got stung about 5 times. This did make him feel sluggish. We met two hikers from Germany on a 6 week hike and two more hikers from NJ and MD on a 100 mile hike. Due to the flatter terrain and improved conditioning we covered 16 miles. We arrived at Abington Gap Shelter at 5:20pm. The first thing we did was head down the very difficult .2mile trail to the water source. We are the only ones her this evening. The tenting area is very nice. We enjoy a beautiful sunset thru the trees while sitting at the shelter picnic bench. Tomorrow is our last day on the AT this trip and we only have 10 miles to Damascus VA.
Date: 2013-10-02
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus Virginia
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Very quiet last night and I slept good. We start out at 8:20am this morning. The first 4 miles are small ups and downs, then more downs then ups. We are moving at a faster pace today. Probably the thought of town food has motivated us. At 11:20am we get to the TN/VA sign. One minute later two south bound hikers also arrive at the sign (only hikers we see all day). We take pictures for each other to mark the occasion. Another state finished. It will be awhile until we finish Virginia. There are more AT miles in Virginia than any other state. From here its all down hill for the next 4 miles. We drop 1700' over the course of the day. We arrive at town at 1:20pm and walk thru the "Welcome To Damascus Va" sign. The AT goes thru the center of town. This is the most famous of all the AT town. There are a lot of hiking and bicycle stores in town along with hostels and Bed and Breakfasts. We stop at The Blue Blaze Cafe for lunch. My Philly cheese steak was pretty good. From here we make it to The Hikers Inn Hostel. Bill and Tom are in a room for 4. I paid a little more and have a private room. We all share the same bath. This Inn/Hostel is clean and nice. The owner does our laundry for a modest fee. We explore town and eventually make it to the Old Mill Inn for diner. The fish I had was good and the beer was great (first beer this trip). It felt great to accomplish my goal this trip considering how bad the spring went. T-Rex daughter will be picking him up tomorrow and will drop off Billy Goat and me at the Tri County Airport car rental. This finishes my hiking this year. My plan is to start here in Damascus next spring and continue north. See you then.
Date: 2013-01-14
To: Going West
Miles today: 0.0

Tomorrow my brother Michael and I embark from Daphne AL heading west. The final destination is Los Angeles where my brother hopes to start a career in the film industry. We will be stopping on the way out to take in the sights and to hike and camp in national parks if all goes according to plan. I will be flying home once we reach Los Angeles and I will begin to prepare for my north bound through hike of the Appalachian Trail which I hope to start in late February or early March, depending on weather.
Date: 2013-02-17
To: Within a month...
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

...I hope to be on the trail. My concerns over cold weather have led me to buy a set of wool long underwear and a down jacket and I need to pick up some gloves before I set out. There are a few other minor things I need to get together before I leave but for the most part I am packed. The weather has been chilly in Daphne the past few days, and when I step outside into the cold wind I wonder why the hell I think I want to live outside and walk to Maine. This may be one of the worst ideas I've ever had.
Date: 2013-02-23
To: Caminos
Miles today: 0.0

Despite my previous post I am actually excited for this trip and decided to begin my hike in a week, March 2nd-3rd. My feelings about through hiking have obviously been bipolar but the truth is I know it is what I want to do. My doubts and nervousness are mostly due to the fact that I will miss my family and being near the water. Fishing and being on the water are a big part of my life, especially during the summer, and I know it will be difficult for me to be away from it!When I graduated from the University of Alabama this past December, I felt immense pressure to get a "real" job even though I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do. I had co-oped for three semesters in a manufacturing environment and couldn't imagine going back to work in a place like that, at least not at this time. Even still, I applied and was offered a job in the manufacturing field. After turning down that offer, my resolve was strengthened and I began to get more serious about acquiring the gear I needed to begin my hike.A couple years ago my father recommended that I read some of Carlos Castaneda's books. Several passages were memorable to me, but the following is one I think about any time I am faced with a difficult decision in life, especially concerning my plans for the future.      "Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.      This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.      Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it."Although many people see it as foolish, I know that hiking the trail is the right path for me at this time and working in an office is not.
Date: 2013-03-01
To: Behind Enemy Lines
Miles today: 0.0

I am writing this post from my friend Rob¢s couch in Auburn, Alabama. Tomorrow we will drive to Dawsonville, GA. Rob, his dog Ava, and I will begin hiking on Saturday morning at Amicalola Falls State Park. Rob and Ava are only joining me for the first two days but it will be good to have a friend along for the start, especially since he is an Eagle Scout and a much more experienced outdoorsman than myself.Tomorrow I will explore the town and visit with friends before heading to GA, as well as do some last minute gear checks and purchases of some smaller items.The last time I was in Auburn was when I met up with Rob to hike a section of the AT from Gooch Gap to Neel's Gap. This weekend may be as cold as that trip, with highs around 40, lows in the 20s, and snow expected on Saturday. I guess it will be good to test my cold weather capabilities on day 1. We will see how much $$$ I end up spending at Mountain Crossings in a few days!
Date: 2013-03-02
From: Amicalola Falls 

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light snow

Left dawsonville around 7:50. Met Ron brown for shuttle at amicalola falls. Followed him to Hightower gap where we left robs car. Rob, his dog Ava, two other thru hikers ( summit sisters) and I went back to amicalola where rob and I weighed our bags (27 or so for me, 37 or so for rob) and began our hike. The summit sisters were coming off the trail for a couple days as the weather was too cold for them. Single digit temps were expected on springer with wind chill. They told us of numerous other hikers who had already gotten off the trail. The falls were beautiful and I'm glad we did the approach trail even if my legs disagree! We hiked through a winter wonderland to the summit of springer. We quickly got some pictures and hiked on to get out of the wind. We were slip sliding on the ice all the way down. Made camp at stover creek. Seem to be a good number of hikers here and I am going to go enjoy the fire. Shelter is full so rob and I are tenting out.
Date: 2013-03-03
From: stover creek shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

3/3 am Very cold last night and snow fell throughout the night. Mostly stayed warm but getting up to pee in the middle of the night was pretty painful! We should have around a 6 mile hike to where rob parked. There I can get more food and my wool base layer top which I forgot In the car yesterday morning. I hiked for the most part in shorts , wool leggings , and a t shirt. As long as I kept moving I was more than warm enough but it will be comforting to have another warm layer just in case.We were in our tents by 6:30 last night and I am writing this at 7:45, so even though it took forever for me to fall asleep I think I got plenty of rest!
Date: 2013-03-04
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: overcast clouds

3/4 amAs planned, Rob left me at Hightower gap yesterday. This gave me an opportunity to reapply at the car, and share a few beers with some section hikers that I walked with for the rest of the day. Between the food from the car and the food I got from a trail magic tent set up by a cemetery earlier in the day, I was carrying a good bit more weight than I had been.Matthew, Brody, and I decided to go for Gooch mountain shelter, putting my total for the day at around 13 miles, and almost 16 for them. It was a beautiful hike all day, starting with thick snowy woods alongside streams and culminating in great views from atop Sassafras mountain.I learned a valuable lesson when I didn't select a cook spot carefully enough and spilled half my rice onto the ground! My 20* down bag has been doing a good job of keeping me warm on these cold nights but I am looking forward to warmer weather!Today was fantastic. Beautiful warm weather and more trail magic ! As I came down into Woody Gap I heard someone shout " I have hot soup and coffee!" Across the gap I found Fresh Ground , Slapp, Dragon, and Shepherd. Fresh Ground had set up a propane stove and was cooking soup and coffee/ hot chocolate for hikers coming through. Fresh Ground knew me by my trail journal, so I already feel justified in being a dork and writing this. Moxie and Joe showed up as I was getting ready to leave and enjoyed some food and drink as well. The vegetable and beef stew and coffee was a welcome surprise and helped me get up Ramrock Mountain where I ended up losing my wool baselayer and hiking in just shorts for a while. As I enjoyed the view Moxie and Joe came up and Moxie took my picture. They left me in the dust. I kept up my pace and soon came up to Lance Creek where a large group of students from Fort Myers were stopped for lunch. I stopped to refill on water for the night and they offered me pb and j on a tortilla which I gladly accepted. After talking they found out I was thru hiking and had a lot of questions for me. They had just come over blood mountain. A short ways past the creek I ran into the campsite where Dragon, Slapp, Brice, Moxie, Joe, nomad, and Mountain Man were already set up. It was sunny and warm so I set up my tent and hung up all my clothes and my sleeping bag to air out. That night we had a nice fire and a few more people joined us ( Bill and Barbara and co). It was the first night where I had the energy and it was warm enough to stay up past sun down and I enjoyed getting to know everyone. Mountain Man and Nomad entertained everyone with their sling shots by shooting at a tin can on a tree stump. Around nine I went to bed and planned on an early start to avoid some of the rain and storms predicted for Tuesday.
Date: 2013-03-05
From: Lance Creek

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 7.4

Today I woke up around 5:40 am and wanted to go back to sleep but the sound of raining my tent reminded me that I needed to hit the trail. I packed everything up and was the first to break camp. Brice passed me on the trail soon after. A few minutes after he went out of sight I started seeing deer tracks, the first tracks I've seen on the trail so far. I could tell Brice jumped it by the way the deer moved but he later told me he only heard it and never saw it. Slapp and Dragon came along soon and we caught up with Brice shortly after. We climbed Blood Mountain together and went in the old shelter (built by the the CCC in 1934) to sign the shelter and eat. This is the first register I signed under my trail name, which Dragon gave me on the way up Blood. Being from the city of Mobile, AL with a rich cultural heritage due to Spanish, French, Native American, and African influence, Dragon and Slapp decided my trail name should reference my hometown... Leprechaun (Google Mobile Leprechaun if you're confused). We rushed down the other side of blood through the ice snow and wind and rain and mud. Now I'm really having fun! ( Not sarcasm, I really did enjoy it!!) We got to Neel's around 11:30 and were the first hikers to buy bunks for the night. When heading to the hostel I ran into Matthew and Brody. Most of the other people I camped with last night also showed up. We are entertaining ourselves watching Oh Brother Where Art Thou and watching the hostel cats catch rats. Rain and thunder outside , snow tonight. I got a hot shower and did laundry, even bought a hot dog! Word is a church group is going to cook us dinner. We will see!
Date: 2013-03-06
From: Neel's Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light snow

The thunderstorm ended up stopping last night and the church group did in fact come cook burgers for us! A real treat. I went to sleep around 9:30 and was soon awoken by a hostel cat jumping up to my bunk right in my face. I'm sure to expletives I let fly awoke some of the other hikers. I guess the car was scared too because he ran directly to my feet and leaped back into the darkness from whence he came. I was awoken by the smell of PANCAKES! I had 3 with crunchy peanut butter, jalape±o raspberry jelly, and syrup. I should have had more but I was eating like I was in civilization. Whoops. Thanks again Pirate ( runs hostel)!Most of the group left between 9 and 10 but Slapp and I waited for the UPS truck at 10:15. We were rewarded with brownies and moonpies from my parents! I now have a camera as well, though I am thinking I may need a more durable one. We will see. I helped the mountain crossing employees load up the truck because they really had their hands full this morning. Shortly after most of the hikers left, the high winds brought down a power pole across the AT behind Mountain Crossings. Lights out!! As Slapp and I were leaving a man in the parking lot asked us where we were going. "Maine." Slapp said. "Let me get my camera!" The man ended up being from channel 11 news in Atlanta and wanted to talk to us about the weather. He asked me to talk about the weather as the high gusts of wind blew snow in my face. " it's really cold." I don't remember exactly what I said but I'm sure I looked stupid. Slapp and I set out hoping to catch up with our group. We finally ran into Steady Pace and Fly around Hogpen Gap. Johnny Cash (carries a guitar) was right ahead of them but judging by his footprints he stayed the night in Whitley Shelter, a little over a mile off the trail. The rest of us continued on to Low Gap shelter and set up camp. I have yet to sleep in a shelter. They are always full and don't really look that warm anyway. Plus I don't like the idea of mice crawling all over me and destroying my things. My tent is beginning to be like my own little home and I enjoy packing and unpacking it each day. While unpacking today I found my Sawyer squeeze water filter in an outside mesh pocket. If this filter freezes it is useless so... I guess it's useless now. We were hiking through thick snow all day and the water in our pack pockets froze as we walked. I drank some unfiltered water tonight ( most people have been) but will replace the filter ASAP. Dragon got a good fire going even with wet wood by using my thermarest seat cushion to fan the flames ( thanks Cindy!). We all hung around the fire and warmed up water to sleep with. If you don't want things to freeze you have to keep them in your pocket or in your sleeping bag with you. Sleeping at the hostel broke me of the habit and I paid for it with my filter. Oh well.Tomorrow we are expecting warm weather (50s) and blue skies. We are looking at hiking past unicoi gap.
Date: 2013-03-07
From: Low Gap Shelter

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

Today I woke up early and decided to forgo a warm breakfast and just get moving. Last night seemed like the coldest yet and it Is hard to get out of your bag on mornings like that. You come to accept that the only way to get warm is to hike. So I was one of the first few to leave camp and got a move on. The wind died down and the sun was shining bright. By 10 or 11 I was getting dusted by snow falling off trees but hot enough to change to shorts and a tshirt. I never thought I'd think of 50* weather as warm. I met a few day hikers with their running coach who was from Birmingham. Even though he went to auburn it is always nice to meet a fellow Alabamian. After walking away from them I realized I probably should have apologized for my thru hiker odor... Oh well. I reached unicoi gap after a spine tingling steep descent through a muddy and rocky trail. For some reason every time I start to slip I have this mental image of smashing all my teeth out on a rock. My hiking poles have saved me more times than I can count and I often feel like the character from the movie There's Something About Mary who is feigning a spinal injury. If you've seen the movie you know what I mean!At unicoi I was joined by Jeff, Fly, Matthew , Brody--and later Slapp, Dragon, Moxie, and Joe. They all gathered around and we watched my 15 seconds of fame from the Atlanta news website. ( ill try to get a link up). I started the 1000 ft climb out of the gap and was passed by Brody ( maybe now know as Chief or Jaws?) and Matthew. Slapp and Dragon caught up and we headed for the Cheese (cake) Factory camp site. It was a beautiful hike with clear views. The camp site was the best yet. Flat grassy areas with a big fire ring and water a tenth of a mile down a side trail. Joe and I got water while dragon and Slapp collected firewood. When I got back Brice had joined the camp as well. Soon a couple of old thru hikers came by headed to unicoi. They had been doing trail magic at the next shelter-- beer and hotdogs!! We were all sad we missed out but enjoyed visiting with these guys. Past thru hikers are common on the trail and they all get the same jealous nostalgic look in their eyes when you answer their question affirmatively- "Yes, I am a thru hiker." Another thru hiker today excitedly told us of a great Chinese buffet in dadesville Virginia. All you can eat sounds pretty good right now!We are going to hike 13 tomorrow and get a ride to the blueberry patch hostel. I am looking forward to resupplying in town. I was so concerned with keeping my weight down I restricted myself to meals of freeze dried pasta and rice meals, granola, and tuna packets. I don't like tuna. I don't think I can carry all the food I will want to get in town but I guarantee my diet will be a little more varied soon!
Date: 2013-03-10
From: Muskrat Creek Gap

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Last night was the warmest night yet! Aside from an incident involving a large moth in my tent I slept very well. In the morning slapp dragon and I were the last to leave camp. Moxie left her gloves but we brought them to her down the trail. We told her we left them on the shelter table for her but she has learned of our "trolling" tactics and called us out. Another five minutes down the trail and I had to make a bathroom stop so I fell behind once again. I caught up with Moxie, Dragon, and Slapp at Deep Gap. We made thru hiker jokes as we unloaded trash and I gave everyone a block of cheese, a tortilla, and some pepperoni. If I can make lunch for everyone I obviously have too much...but it was delicious! We then started the 1,000 ft climb to the top of standing Indian mountain. It was over almost 2 miles so the ascent wasnt nearly as bad as others. The summit was a grassy patch and we all took off our shoes and lay in the sun. It was very nice and relaxing. I learned later on that my friend Daniel proposed to his fianc© Megan here. Pretty awesome place to do it! Though hopefully he didn't smell like me... ( thru hiker stink lingers and returns quickly, even if you showered and had laundry done a couple days before). The descent was even more gradual, over a 5 mile stretch. We hiked through a bear sanctuary and across numerous creeks before camping at Carter Gap Shelter. I had all the hikers here sign my pack ( something I started doing at the blueberry patch) and it already has some great trail names and drawings on it. For dinner I had cheddar a d broccoli pasta in a tortilla with pepperoni with acup of decaf chai tea. Very delicious. Met heartrock and heartburns at the shelter as well as Jeff. All great people. Roswell was also here and while talking around the campfire about knowing people by their shoes he asked if it was one of us that liked to draw smiley faces in the snow. I told him it was me but he said he hadn't noticed the RTR ( Roll tide roll!!) I also write. Today was my birthday and I got a great gift, a spoon!! This morning I was scooping peanut butter and broke the rest of my handle off ( I broke half off before dicks creek gap and Fly told me I was getting ultralight!). The weekenders saw the whole thing and next thing you know they gave me a perfect REI long-handled light weight spoon. They were two cool guys from Georgia- thanks again if you see this! I also had a shot of Roswell's whiskey to celebrate before giving up on seeing the comet tonight and going to bed. We are going to try to get an early start tomorrow to make it to Rock Gap Shelter before the worst of the rain hits.... We will see!!Also I have a good number of blisters suddenly. I think my feet have already grown some and are too big for my size 13 shoes. Much bigger and I'm going to start having problems buying shoes and insoles. I'm going to stop by the outfitter in Franklin and sort things out.