morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-03-22
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Heavy rain last night 3/21/17. In the shelter so no rain issue but turned the trail into a mud pit. Fromega Silers Bald Shelter to Clingsman Dome was not too bad but from Clingsman Dome to Newfound Gap was major wet and slick. 2 minor slip and falls. Decided to exit at Newfound Gap to get cleaned up and rested.Seeing some Spring Break hikers but shelters we have stayed at are holding 5 to 6 people. All water on trail as advertised so far.
Date: 2017-03-28
From: Hot Springs NC

To: Hot Springs NC - Zero
Miles today: 0.0

Greetings. Last post was 3/18/17 as we were arriving at Fontana Dam (Mile 165.6). When leaving Fontana Dam you enter the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We had a great hike through the Smokies completing in 5 days. Weather was in 30s at night and 50s during day. Only 1 big storm at night but since we were in a shelter...no problem. It did make the trail from Clingman Dome to Newfound Gap (mile 206.8) real icy or muddy. Couple slip and falls but no damage other than pride.On the north side of Newfound Gap, ice cleared up and trail views were awesome. Great overlooks and lot of high ridge running. Still cold in AM but with effort required on uphills was great hiking weather. One of the selfies is of icicles forming on the brim of my hat fro sweating...interesting to be submitted freezing yet heavy sweating when. Only wearing a light sweater.Coming out of the Smokies met my Brother-in-law, John Gassler. Hiked out of the Smokies together to his car where he had Trail Magic for our group of 4 (Nuke, Stitches, Just Phil, and myself). Bananas, Apples, and Snicker Bars...real treat.1st stop after the Smokies was legendary Standing Bear Hostel (mile 240.3) on March 23rd. Not much more than a hot shower, warm bed, and frozen pizza heated up...could not have been better.Early out next morning at 7AM under threat of rain and thunderstorms all day but never materialized. Great day hiking that included starting the day with a 2200+ foot climbs out of the Gap and summit of Max Patch. Lot of uphill but end of day was a great downhill run into Roaring Fork Shelter (mile 255.5). An area full of waterfalls and creeks. Slept in tent with rushing Creek about 25 yes away. Great night sleep.March 27 on the trail at 7AM with one primary goal...make the run to town of Hot Springs that day...an 18 mile run. Tough day with a lot of uphills starting out but made Hot Springs (mile 273.4) by 3pm. Stayed at Laughing Heart Hostel...real nice hostel and had a private room. NUKE and I will take 2 zero days in Hot Springs to rest up. Liz joining me on Tue and Wed at the historic Iron Horse Station.Will be back on trail Thursday AM with next town Erwin TN about 6 days out.My Feet and body doing great....Thanks for the support...
Date: 2017-04-03
From: Log Cabin Drive

To: Erwin TN - Uncle Johny's Hostel
Miles today: 6.2

Made it to Uncle Johnny's. Feet on trail at 7:15 and arrived by 9:30. Got a 4 bunk Room and sharing with Nuke, Stitches, and Royal Scarecrow. Rain broke about 10:00 am so glad we made good time.
Date: 2017-04-03
From: Log Cabin Drive

To: Erwin TN - Uncle Johny's Hostel
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: moderate rain

Made it to Uncle Johnny's. Feet on trail at 7:15 and arrived by 9:30. Got a 4 bunk Room and sharing with Nuke, Stitches, and Royal Scarecrow. Rain broke about 10:00 am so glad we made good time.
Date: 2015-06-30
To: Getting Started
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I've decided to hike the whole Appalachian Trail. It is the longest hiking-only footpath in America ¢ and with 2,189 miles of trail, more than 250 shelters, and an overall elevation gain equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 16 times, it earns that title.Every year, a couple thousand people try to hike the AT from beginning to end in one season, and a few hundred manage to accomplish it and I am indeed hoping/intending to be one of them.You can read all about why I'm doing it here (copy and paste the URL address listed below into a new browser window): http://appalachiantrials.com/it-was-only-a-matter-of-time-why-i-am-attempting-an-at-thru-hike/A popular tradition of Appalachian Trail culture is to go by a trail name. These trail names are what you go by in lieu of your real name. They can either be bestowed upon you by your hiking mates or be one of your own choosing. Rather than risk being labeled by others due to some silly or dumb thing I get remembered for doing early on, (although there is no guarantee against that not happening), I instead have looked to my past to come up with something token to represent my future. I chose "Arachne" which is the name of the Greek goddess of weaving. It is the root word meaning spiders and was the name I gave to my computer hard drive when I worked in an advertising agency. I also contracted a tick-borne disease (ehrlichiosis) in the mid-1990s. Deer ticks and their ilk are members of the arachnid family. Thus, I carry a small personal connection in addition to having a weaving background. So, unless I do something incredibly stupid¢or¢memorable, Arachne it is.
Date: 2015-08-01
To: Ice Age Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Dates: July 31 - August 2, 2015Weather: High 70s to low 80s; sunny and clearMiles Hiked: 22Place: Ice Age Trail/Kettle Moraine Southern Unit, WisconsinWildlife: Mosquitos!This was my first trial run using the ULA Circuit backpack loaded with the rest of gear. I used this short hike to test a few recipes as well as two different hiking shoes.The Ice Age Trail is relatively flat with only slight gains in elevation when hiking up and down the moraines.Day 1: Drove to ranger station to register for open sites. Instead of doing a loop, I had to do a sort of flip flop by parking my car in the middle of the hike. After obtaining my permits (I guess the state budget was now in effect: $18 per night for lean-tos without a water source, thank you mr. guv'nor), I drove to the car campground at the midway point and began my hike at 3 pm, hiking 5 miles east to the first lean-to. I carried two quarts of water. Arrived at 5 pm. Mosquitos were fierce in the woods, but the lean-to caught a nice wind and the evening was relatively bug-free.Day 2: Filled up the water bottles 1/2 mile away at a visitor center, then headed back toward the car where I was able to switch out shoes (traded the Oboz Sawtooth to Merrill Moabs) and grabbed two more water bottles since the next shelter, six miles away, had no additional water sources. Carried a gallon of water to the shelter located west of the car, for my second night. Mosquitos continued to be a nuisance. It was very hot and humid. Used up two quarts by dinner, part of the third for cleaning off the bug repellent, sun screen and sweat and retained the fourth for the hike back to the car the next morning. Hiked 11 miles in total.Day 3: Retraced my six miles back to the car. Used the morning to test the umbrella. The ULA Circuit has elastic cording to hold water bottles on the front straps, which worked just as well for holding up the umbrella handle. Made it back to the car by 11:30 a.m.Reflections:- Happy with the gear, including figuring out a simple hands-free means of carrying the umbrella.- Had to fiddle around with the backpack straps to get it to rest better on my shoulders. Was riding too high. - Like the convenience of carrying water bottles on the front.- No blisters. Both pairs of shoes worked great.
Date: 2016-01-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

November, December and January have been spent bagging up more than 150 dinners and/or lunches. Still working on where mail drops are expected to be shipped. Each box will contain 25 + dinners which have been packed with a variety of chicken, beef, tuna and/or veggie recipes ranging from 5 minutes to 15 minutes of cooking time. I'll pick a few days and bounce the rest of the trail. In most cases, the stove will only be used for a few minutes and "cooking" will be completed using a pot cozy.My cook kit consists of a Snowpeak GigaPower Stove, GSI 1.1 liter pot, with cozy and GSI Foldable spoon.I am a huge fan of TrailCooking.com (for recipes), Harmony House (for harder to DIY dehydrated vegetables and beans) and Minimus (for individual oil, cheese, soy sauce and dressing packets.)You can read more about my food preparation and recipes here:http://appalachiantrials.com/the-magical-makings-of-memorable-trail-food/I've always packed my own meals beginning in the lat 70s with my worn copy of the Sierra Club's "Simple Foods for the Pack." It's not that I don't know resupply is relatively easy for most parts of the AT, its because I don't want to rely on convenience stores when grocery stores are absent. You either hit a post-office or hostel or you spend the time shopping. It's a trade-off I'm willing to make. All of my food has been prepared in this way for every trip I've ever did, including my 740-mile long canoe trip in 2011. But hey, thanks for the anonymous advice I'm getting about what I'm doing wrong.
Date: 2016-04-08
To: A Week of Lasts
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The last invoice was issued, April sales taxes paid and I officially closed down my office just 24 hours prior to my departure.I attended my last yoga class, my last YMCA Group Power class and took my last fully loaded-backpack training hike. I got my hair cut, although in hindsight, probably not short enough, and I got the house cleaned.I said goodbyes and received hugs and well-wishes over coffee, during lunch, on the phone and online. My two-year granddaughter imparted some excellent goodbye cuddles.This was my last week at home before heading east to Shenandoah National Park where I will begin my AT flipflop thru-hike. We left Wisconsin during a snowstorm in search of spring. My resupply boxes and pack have been assembled and loaded for weeks now. I¢ve been enviously following members from my class of 2016 hikers, NOBOs (north bound) and more recently, the first couple of fellow flipfloppers. I do expect to be crossing paths with hikers I already ¢know¢ from my FaceBook groups. We are already looking for¢and looking out¢for each other. When people ask me in shocked surprise why I¢m hiking alone, it¢s because, for the most part, I won¢t. At night hikers tend to congregate in the established campsites and shelters. If fact, the trail is appearing to be way more social than I initially assumed. But we shall see. I¢m ready for my first week.
Date: 2016-04-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Three inches of wet heavy snow fell as we left Wisconsin. A smallish cough began to tickle my throat. We stopped in Milwaukee for a visit to see family and by evening the cough was that kind that wouldn¢t stop once you started laughing¢of which we were doing a lot. No big deal. Bought some cough drops, some cough syrup and continued on our road trip to my personal trail head and start of the A.T. All through the day we chased after spring, driving in and out of snow flurries and dropping temperatures. Fellow hikers from Georgia to Virginia were talking of a polar vortex and seeking shelter from hostels and hotels. All day my cough stuck around and I started feeling feverish. Great. At least S. was going to be sticking around for several days so if I couldn¢t start right away or needed to see a doctor, I still has some options. We were pulling out little teardrop camper. Once we arrived in Shenandoah, the plan was to base camp and have S. drop me off and pick me up each day as I worked my way up the trail until his departure back to Wisconsin. After eating dinner in a small town in western Ohio and driving more than 600 miles, we stopped for the night at a state park about 30 miles shy of the Pennsylvania border. All we had to do was crawl into the icy bed where I hoped sleep would work its magic and I¢d wake up feeling better by morning. Instead, I shivered most of the night, woke up with the same headache I had gone to sleep with and scraped frost off the windows.Not an auspicious start. I started the day with a hit of Tylenol and my chills and headache immediately improved. By the time we reached Harpers Ferry, five hours later, it was sunny, warming and looking like we might finally see spring. I was ready to leave my first resupply box and do a little sight seeing. Still coughing, but a little hacking cough isn¢t going to stop me. Onward. Shenandoah National Park and the start of my flipflop. Picked up a few groceries in Front Royal, and drove another hour and a half south to Lewis Mountain Campground, Milepost 55, halfway-ish along Skyline Drive. Two solo women were camped out across the road from us. They were out for an overnight shakedown hike in preparation for a Muir Trail hike later this summer. Our first night camping in Shenandoah was still cough inducing and cold, but there was none of that cold white stuff to scrape off the windows the next morning.
Date: 2016-04-12
From: SNP MP#95: Sawmill Overlook

To: SNP MP#84: Jones Run
Miles today: 11.9

Miles: 11.9 in 7 hoursSawmill Overlook (MP# 95) to Jones Run Trail Head Parking (MP #84)Weather: Mid 50s, cloudy in the morning, threatening showers that never materialized, changing to sunny with cool breezesWildlife: Usual assortment of woodland creatures Number of hikers: One solo male hiking southDinner: Lewis Mtn. campstore cold beer, chicken with rice and peas, salad remnants including avocado peelings that Sam thought would make the salad look more abundantAfter a slightly shorter 40-mile drive, was on the trail by 9:30 this morning. Sam hiked the first four miles with me before doubling back to the car in order to meet me further up the trail. This time, we hiked four miles in under two hours. Much better. Today I noticed that there are definitely stealth camping spots on the summits where the trail levels out. Being able to physically ease into this week has the added bonus of reassuring myself that I don¢t have to rely on hitting specific shelters or established campgrounds.On the other hand, I was under the impression that you could practically knosh your way along SNP. Eat dinner, hike some more, camp at a backcountry shelter, get up, hike to breakfast, etc. While there are camp stores and waysides peppered along the parkway, it¢s not like you reach them daily. And the food in the camp store where we are base camped is hugely expensive. A canister of fuel was double what you¢d pay at REI.But what our base camp at Lewis Mtn has really going for it are the hot showers. Really hot showers. Sure it costs four quarters for five minutes, but those are some of the best five minutes at the end of the day. And that shower warms me up in preparation for our nighttime dip into the 30s this week.My left knee is beginning to talk to me¢which is disconcerting, but only going downhill. I started listening to it in the afternoon. My feet are holding up okay. Today I wore the Oboz Sawtooth shoes. Had two smallish blisters on my left foot that I attended and aren¢t an issues. Not sure if it was the distance or the shoes. Each night I¢ve been massaging my feet with Aveda Foot Relief moisturizing cr me. Feels good, if nothing else.Met two young Canadian thru-hikers camping here on their night three of a flipflop hike. This is their first hiking experience for these two women and their spirits were high in spite of the temps at night dipping so low. Trail highlight: Blackrock Summit at the end of the day. Just about a 360-degree walk around the summit of fractured boulders with views of the valley below.Musings: Following AWOL¢s elevation changes in my guidebook is completely reminiscent of reading shoreline topography features on Fisher canoe maps. But I might be missing seeing actually maps.
Date: 2016-04-14
From: SNP MP#77.5: Ivy Creek Overlook

To: SNP: Powell Gap
Miles today: 7.0

Day 47 miles in 3 hoursIvy Creek Overlook to Powell GapSunny, clear in the 50¢sDinner: Trout at the Skyland Lodge Dining RoomWildlife: Deer and my first bear sightingLast day on the trail while Sam is still here. We started hiking 2.5 miles together before he returned back to the car. My knee started hurting again and I popped some more Vitamin-I which did the trick.No pain on the downhills. Passed a few section hikers and another Flip Flopper, who had started in Harper's Ferry heading south. Just past the Simmons Gap Ranger Station, I saw my first bear. It heard me first and went crashing uphill away from me. This was thrilling and a theoretically a great direction for it to have taken. Until. The trail switched back. I had passed a group of three hikers only 5 minutes earlier and I had waited for them to catch back up to both tell them about the bear and to hike with other people for a bit. Now I¢m at the top of the hill after several switchbacks. Sure enough, another crash and the same yearling peels away at up trail of me. Meanwhile, Sam is chatting it up with all sorts of Northbounders that he¢s passed heading back to the car. Tenderfoot, Christmas Tree, Bananas and Dirt. He barely made it to Powell Gap before I showed up. We headed up to Skyland Lodge for our last night together before he heads back to Wisconsin tomorrow.
Date: 2016-04-15
From: SNP: Powell Gap

To: SNP: Lewis Mountain Campground
Miles today: 14.5

Day 514.5 miles in 8.5 hours Powell Gap to Lewis Mountain CampgroundSunny, clear in the 50¢sDinner: Thanksgiving on the TrailWildlife: Saw an owl, end of day heard two or more Barred Owls, deerFirst day hiking with a fully-loaded pack. Sam drove me back to yesterday¢s ending place at Powell Gap where we embraced like the two contagious platonic friends we had been acting like all week with this bronchial infection. Unfortunately as Sam started to bend around to bear hug me, I was kicking the car door shut resulting in a memorable bang to his head. He won¢tbe forgetting about me anytime soon.   Was on the trail at 9:25 and did think it would be nice to make it to Lweis Mtn Campground again, knowing I might keep my daily shower routine intact. At 6 p.m. On a Friday night, during free national park weekend, I made it. I learned that Lweis Mtn Campground had been the designated negro campground when Shenandoah National Park was founded. It's located about 10 miles south of Big Meadows Campground, a huge one, and tomorrow's destination where I'm slated to meet my friend Laurie, and her family. My knee started acting up again, so I downed two Aleve. At first they didn't seem as effective as Vitamin I, but I did make it through the day. Walking a few hundred yards to the shower later that night was another issue. I set up camp right next to the campground hosts , who let me stash my food bag in their car as all the other sites with bear boxes had been taken. Took some Zircam and finally slept like the rock I felt like.
Date: 2016-04-16
From: SNP: Lewis Mountain Campground

To: SNP: Big Meadows Visitor Center
Miles today: 10.0

Day 610 miles in 6 hoursSNP MP# 57.5: Lewis Mountain Campground to SNP MP: #51: Big Meadows Visitor CeterSunny, clear in the 60¢sDinner: Meatloaf at Skyland LodgeWildlife: Deer, bear #2Knowing I¢d be coming back to Skyland to spend the night with Laurie, I left a larger Resupply bag in left luggage and only took 1.5 days worth of food with me. In the morning, I discovered that I neglected to pull coffee from my food supply. But I had carried two creamers nabbed from breakfast the day before. I made myself a tasty mashed potato breakfast and the creamers came in handy for that. I was getting everything packed up when the campground host comes over with a pot of morning amber elixir. Why yes please. Even with the fuel, I still felt like I was dragging all morning. Lots of people were out on this first warm spring weekend. I met 2004 NOBO and SOBO ¢Allegeny¢ and a wonderful spry Snow Owl (she was old¢er), Lone Rose and ¢Undecided¢ all heading south in sections. Dragged myself up Bearfence Mtn and just after passing the parking area,I glance up and see a black thing not four or five car lengths in front of me. Now most times, it's usually an odd shadow or charred stump. This time it was a bear. Just sitting and chilling. The trail crossed in front of it. I made noise, but nothing. I started moving. Nothing. So I kept moving. The thing just sat and watched me pass by. I kept looking back, but nothing. The afternoon was getting really warm and in spite of reapplying sunscreen, my hands were getting really burned. I later realized there was a direct correlation between the anti-biotics I¢m taking and sun exposure. Laurie and I had been texting all afternoon and I met up with her, her daughter Meagan and boyfriend Jacob a little after 4 at the visitor center. We headed on to Skyland were I¢ve now enjoyed another shower and bed.
Date: 2016-04-17
From: SNP: Big Meadows Visitor Center

To: Skyland Lodge/SNP:MP #38.5: Stony Man Overlook
Miles today: 9.8

Day 79.8 miles in 5.5 hours (with three stops)SNP MP: #51: Big Meadows Visitor Center to Skyland Lodge/Stony Man OverlookSunny, clear in the high 60¢sDinner: Shrimp Poorboy at Skyland LodgeWildlife: TouristsSlept great again. I¢m over the uncontrollable coughing hump. Laurie had me up earlier and we were on the trail by 8 a.m. Another beautiful day. With Laurie¢s family shuttling my heavy stuff and good conversations on the trail with Laurie, the miles flew by. If we hadn¢t stopped to spend time enjoying the vistas more, we might have made it back to Skyland by noon!We passed lots of people out on an overnight trip or day hiking including one couple who cautioned us to be on the lookout for any solitary hikers without gear. Apparently there was as search and rescue (or recovery) in progress. The height of the overlooks and the beauty of the park draws people for another reason. While we stopped for lunch, a helicopter passed overhead several times. It makes you look at approaching hikers a little differently. Are they carrying water? Did they sound cheerful when you said ¢Hello! How are you?¢We were back at the lodge soon after 1 p.m. And we're ready to hike longer. I had decided it would be nice to stay one more night here, originally thinking 8 miles would have been enough. Plus it would give me a chance to reorganize for my upcoming truly camping only days. Yeah, so don't judge me¢¦if you are keeping score that would now be 7/8 nights of comfy accommodations and 8 nights of showers. Laurie and I were able to text Jacob and Megan about picking us up a bit further down the trail, at an overlook/parking area. This made our hike almost a full 10 miles. Laurie was keen to know my pace and her duration as we are planning on meeting up again in July¢closer to her home (and in between her other exotic travels).I should mention that Laurie is a 2015 Northern Forest Canoe Trail thru-paddler, the first woman to have successfully travelled the entire 740-mile trail completed under her own power. No shuttles, no miles skipped. She and I ¢met¢ via Facebook when she paddled the second half of the trail in Maine, the same year I paddled the trail. She is one of my fantastic NFCT peeps and was here in Virginia visiting her daughter in Richmond. By sheer coincidence, our schedules overlapped perfectly this weekend. Another coincidence? Megan and Jacob had met while attending school in Harrisonburg and knew exactly which Vietnamese restaurant Sam and I had enjoyed our Pho after my visit to the ER earlier last week.