morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Hall Mountain Lean-to

To: Baldpate Lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I am very far behind attempting to journal everything. I am just going to get everyone caught up by putting mileage in for each day, and update every once in awhile. My apologies on this. Attempting to journal every day just isn't fun for me, and I thought it would be just a bit easier if I laid off of it for a wee bit.
Date: 2015-07-25
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.8

In all honesty Muffin Man and I got lost and ended up hiking about 5 more miles than we should have. I missed about a half mile of the AT, so I have officially not hit every white blaze now. It's for the best...slackpacking took away my purist status, and missing a few blazes was comforting.
Date: 2015-07-30
From: Stealth Camp at US 3

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 16.1

It's funny that my favorite day was proceeded by my least favorite day. I climbed Kinsman on this day, and it rained on me quite a bit. It left me pretty demoralized after falling down a couple of times. Each of these falls could have resulted in a decent injury, so that kind of puts the fear into you. Muffin Man and I split a hotel, and that ended up fixing both of our spirits.
Date: 2016-03-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today I had my very close friends come over and we had a farewell party for me. They all signed a calendar to pray for me that day for when I go hiking. We just hung out then later in the evening and talked about the stuff I could face on the trail and about how light my stuff was in my pack . Tomorrow will be my last day in "civilization" before I go to head on the trail. We will be shopping for some of my clothes and getting final preparations before I head out on the trail. I continue to ask for prayers as I will soon be ready to embark on a journey that will change my life.
Date: 2016-03-08
From: Springer

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I left the house this morning around 8am. We stopped at Waffle House to eat breakfast and got in a conversation with the waitress. She started going on a rant about people getting kidnapped or killed on the A.T. Josiah whispered "are you scared yet"? It was kinda funny. We stopped at Neal's Gap and got a few things and then headed to Springer. We got to Springer around noon and took some pictures and said goodbye to the family. Mom started to cry and believe it or not Mariah had years in her eyes. We got to Hawk Mtn shelter about 5. We are camping under the stars. Beautiful weather! Met some cool people. Lots of people on the trail!
Date: 2016-03-09
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 13.0

We woke up early this morning and got on the trail around 8 am. We had a few tough climbs early on with Sassafras and Justin Mountains. We kept on running into these dirt roads that army rangers have made for training.... it's pretty cool! Sometimes out of the blue, I would hear gun shots and then look around to see where they were coming from. But then I realize they are just the army rangers training. It's crazy that they train right along the trail and late at night! Last night when I was sleeping I would hear some gunshots, and then later on that night there was a helicopter, jet or something that flew really low and woke me up. I thought to myself, "Why would they be training this late at night?" and then I looked at my phone and it was only 8:30 pm. I guess I was trying to sleep a little too early. We got to our shelter around 12:45 today and rested for 45 minutes. We then decided to hike another 5 miles to Woody Gap and camp out there. By doing this we are a day ahead and will try to hit Neel's Gap tomorrow with 10 miles to hike. I met a lot of other cool hikers on the trial today. We hiked a total of 13 miles today starting from Hawk Mountain Shelter to Woody Gap. 13 miles was definitely enough and now I am extremely sore.
Date: 2016-03-11
From: Woody Gap

To: Neals Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Lat night around 10pm it started to rain. My dad yelled my name like 5 times so he could squish in my very small tent. It was not too bad sleeping but we were squished. It had stopped raining by the time we woke up at 6am. My dad brought no rain gear and the forecast said rain today. So today was my first day hiking alone. It went well. I met some really cool thru hikers and some day hikers as well. While I was hiking up Blood Mtn, I ran out of water and I had 3 more miles to go. Blood Mtn was most beautiful and was worth the hike! The hike down Blood Mtn was brutal and was more like a rock scramble. Not having water and my legs cramping made it tougher. Once I saw the road at Neal's Gap, I had energy. Dad was waiting for me there with a Powerade and a Coke. He took me top a hotel and we are planning on going to a buffet tonight. I am to take some advice and try to stay under 10 miles for the next week.
Date: 2016-03-12
From: Neals Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good day physically, but very hard mentally. We woke up this morning in the hotel and had a good breakfast. I started early in the morning around 8:15 and was planning to hike 6.9 miles to Hogpen Gap where my dad will pick me up and take me to the hotel again. The thing is that I felt really good and had strong legs and I was able to hike to Hogpen around 12:00. Some really nice folks had set up trail magic and were giving away free hot dogs, chips, drinks and handwipes. It was awesome! There me and my dad decided that I would hike an extra 4.6 miles to a shelter. This was a very hard thing to do because it is going to be my first night sleeping by myself. Before I left Hogpen I said bye to my dad because he is going home for the night. The next couple miles were the hardest for me by far mentally because it was the first time I realized that I am on my own. It was very hard and I cried on the trail while hiking for the next hour and then whenever I thought of my family after that I just started to cry. The last mile I was able to get my feelings together before I got to my shelter. I got to the shelter around 2:15 and met a lot of cool hikers. The shelter is full and the weather is suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow, so I hope it don't get too messy. The one thing that I am looking forward to a lot is that I will be able to see my family tomorrow. This thought is helping me a lot to keep my calm and know that I am alright on the trail. There is a lot of cool people though which also helps with my feelings. Tomorrow I don't know where I am going to hike, but what I do know is that I will see my family which is all I want. Today I hiked 11.5 miles from Neel Gap to Low Gap Shelter.
Date: 2016-03-13
From: Low Gap

To: Tray Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good day, but a very long day. It started to rain during the night and kept on raining till 10:00 in the morning. I started to hike at 8:00 and hiked through the rain for a few hours. I was able to hike very fast and get 10 miles done by 1:00. From there I met my parents, Josiah, and Candace to say hi and they gave me some soda and good snacks. They also provided some trail magic for some of my fellow hikers (Mudslide, 560, Checkmate, and Turtle). I then started to hike at 1:30 for another 5.7 miles. From there I ran out of water and got very weak. Not only was I getting dehydrated, but I had some very hard terrain to hike. Thankfully my parent convinced me to take some soda along the trail to enjoy afterwards, so I grabbed those and drank them while I was hiking the trail to get hydrated. I was still very weak and had tough terrain and didn't get to my shelter till 5:30. The shelter that I am staying at has a very good view. Now that it is getting darker I am hearing some coyotes howling and mice climbing through my pack. The shelter is talking about how to best cook a mouse! It is way past hiker midnight and I am really tired! I will sleep good tonight. I hiked 15.4 miles today!
Date: 2016-03-14
From: Tray Mtn Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today was a great day! My hiker legs are starting to develop. Terrain was fairly easy today! The only tough climb was Kelly Knob. I started hiking at 7:45 this morning. It was kinda weird getting up this morning because of the time change. I woke up at 6:30 this morning expecting daylight and all I saw was stars. I hiked 11 miles to Dicks Creek Gap and was there by 1:15. My Mom, Josiah, and Candace picked me up and they took me to eat Mexican Restaurant for lunch! We got a hotel, took a shower and Mom washed my clothes! The rest of the family met me for dinner this evening! I can't wait to sleep in a real bed tonight! Great Day....11 miles!!
Date: 2016-03-15
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

Today was again a very good, chill day. I was able to sleep in this morning at the hotel and then we ate the continental breakfast at the hotel. After the breakfast I went back to my room and rested for another two hours. Me and my mom then went to Diary Queen and ate lunch before I headed on the trail. Once I got to the trail, I heard the tire on our car get flat, so I waisted another half hour trying to get it figure it out. Thankfully someone was able to plug it up and my mom was able to get home. So I didn't get started till 1:00. I had a great home and hiked 4.5 miles to the next shelter. On the way to the shelter I met no other than four Amish men that were from Michigan. I met people all over the world, but I never thought that I would meet some Amish people, but I guess the trail attracts everybody. I got to the shelter at 3:30 and was able to chill today. Keep on meeting new hikers and cool people.
Date: 2016-03-16
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: few clouds

I got started about 8 am this morning and was able to cruise on some easy terrain. I got to the GA/NC line around 10 am. After that there was some very steep stuff, so it took me a while. After the tough stuff I was able to go fast again. About a mile before my shelter I ran into trail Magic which was awesome! Coke and Snickers. He was a local mountain man that hiked the trail in 2009 and was repaying the favor for all the trail magic he got! What a awesome dude! I spent about an hour hanging out there before i got to my shelter. I gotto my shelter around 4:15. There is a great group of hikers I am with tonight! I don't know all their names but Jeff, Jelly Bean and 2 older guys are here! Hiked 12.2 Miles
Date: 2016-03-17
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Mooney Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning was my first really cold morning! I don't know how cold but probably around 35 degrees. Because of the cold, I got a later start around 8:15 am. I had a gradual climb to start with, but once i got rolling, i felt like I was moving really fast. My Dad at Mooney Gap (12.2 Miles), so I wanted to get there as fast as I can. I did not take any breaks, I was just cruisin on good terrian. I got to Mooney Gap by 1 pm. Dad and I set out some drinks for the hikers behind me because after Mooney Gap was a tough climb up Albert Mtn. I will be off the trail for my Junior/Senior trip. I will be back on the trail Wednesday of next week. I miss it already, but nice to come home and rest my legs for a couple of days! 12.2 Miles.
Date: 2016-03-23
From: Washington D.C. 

To: Camp near Old 64
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

got back from my Washington D.C. trip last night. I had a great time, and had a great group of people to be with in D.C. Two of my cousins David Fisher and Kordell Fisher from Pa. also surprised me last night and decided to go hiking with me for about 2 weeks. Their trail names I haven't quite figured out yet. Here are some suggestions for David: Bert, Wifi, Pigeon, Stankbut, or Moth. For Kordell: Ernie, Blackbird, Goose and Korkbut. Any help would be appreciated in this very monumental and difficult desicion. We got up early this morning to pack up and head up to the trail. We started on the A.T. around 11:30 and right away had a hard climb in Albert mountain. We then kept on hiking till 4:00 and found a clear area to camp out away from the trail. We are going to have a good night sleep by sleeping under the stars, and we will get up pretty early tomorrow morning and try to get a lot of miles in.
Date: 2016-03-24
From: Camp near Old 64

To: 1 Mile past Licklog Gap
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night I slept like a rock and woke up at day break. We packed up and got on the trail at 8:30. We hiked really fast and were doing 2 mph on some hard terrain. The weather was amazing and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery. We hiked to a shelter at 3:00, but then kept on going for another hour. We wanted to get to a campsite soon so we were running in the trail before we get caught by rain. We then found a good spot to camp at, but have little water. While we were setting up our tents it started to rain. It has been raining ever since and I am staying pretty dry, but Wifi and Goose say that some water is seeping in their tent, but they are mostly dry. Tomorrow we are wanting to hike to the NOC Center, but we will see how far we go. I am not quite sure where we are at, but I think we hiked at around 16 miles today. I am really sore and will sleep well tonight.
Date: 2016-03-25
From: 1 Mile past Licklog Gap

To: NOC
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we woke up and found that some of our stuff was wet from the storm. We packed up our stuff anyway and started to hike. We started to hike at 8:15. We hiked at a good pace and had a lot of down hill. We hiked to the NOC Center and got there at 3;00. We had a trail name change! One thing that I have noticed with hiking with Bert and Ernie( Sesame Street) is that Bert (David) just makes stuff up to on the way. One time he just wanted to keep on hiking so he said that on the other side of the mountain has a better rest place even when he has no clue. Another time he also wanted to keep hiking and said that if your feet hurt then it would be better to just keep on walking harder when that is totally false. Me and Ernie get a lot of laughs out of Bert. Also I have noticed that Ernie (Kordel) eats a lot. He will eat his day pack of food, then eat mine and Bert's left overs, then eat like half of the dinner and still be hungry so he eats the next day of food. Luckily we got a day ahead so he was able to eat an extra day pack of food. These guys though are amazing and I am so glad they came along. They bring great company and we are having a blast and making memories. Later on today my family met us at the NOC Center and took us out to eat. We then found a hostel to stay at for the night. It also seems like my sister, Mariah will be hiking with us for a couple days till we get to Fontana Dam, so we will be a crew hiking in the woods. I am looking forward with the next couple of days with these people and I know we will have fun.
Date: 2016-03-26
From: NOC

To: Brown Fork Gap
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we were able to sleep in and eat a good breakfast at the NOC. When we left the hostel I noticed that I left my hiker boots in the truck, so my dad had to drive 2 hours and give me my boots. He is so amazing. I was trying to convince him that I will hike in my crocs just for a couple of days till I see them again, but he resisted and said that he is going to drive and give me my shoes. My dad got to the NOC a little before noon, but once we got everything together we said our goodbyes to dad and left at noon for our hike. My sister Muddy Maid (Mariah) is hilking with us for a couple of days till Fontana Dam. I am excited about that. To start the hike we climbed a mountain that was 8 miles long. This hike was rated the 4th toughest hike on the AT, so it was rough. We got to the top at around 4:30. We decided to hike down to the gap and maybe camp there, but by the time we got to the gap we felt like walking, so we just kept on going. We decided to hike to the next shelter. For the last 2 miles or so, it got dark so we had to night hike a little. We ran out of water and still had to climb a steep hill called Jacob's ladder, or to Bert, Joshua's peacock. So Ernie very nicely ran up the hill a little and got to the shelter before us to fill up some water bottles. We drank those bottles clean. We found out that the shelter was full, so we hiked for like .2 miles to the bottom of a hill to find a camping spot. we didn't get to our site till 9:00. Ernie ran back to the shelter to fill up some more water, while me, Bert, and Muddy Maid set up our tents. It is now late and very dark and I know that I will sleep good. I don't know how far we hiked because I used the book pages for fire, but I think it was like 16.2 miles.
Date: 2016-03-27
From: Brown Fork Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up in the morning with some rain hitting our tents. We didn't feel like hiking in the rain so we slept for another hour and didn't get going till 9:00. We had some very easy terrain to hike to Fontana Dam. It was very cloudy and rained in spurts but we mostly stayed dry. About 6 miles into my hike I started to get an ache in my left leg with my Achilles heel muscle. Once I started to feel the pain I slowed way down and started to hike slowly. We got to Fontana at 3:00 and found my dad there to take us to a Hiker Lodge. There he refueled us with food and planned our days for the Smokey Mountains and take Muddy Maid back home. After that we got some food and rested up in our room watching some March madness. We will be getting a late start tomorrow, but if we are still sore and if my leg still hurts we might take a zero, we will just see how we feel in the morning. 12.8 Miles
Date: 2016-03-28
From: Fontana Dam

To: Birch Creek Gap
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We were able to sleep in today. We woke up around 10:00 and then went up to eat a very good breakfast. We were too lazy yesterday to do our laundry, so we did that, but that took around 2 hours, after that I sent food back home because we had too much. After we did all of this stuff we weren't able to leave till 3:30. We hiked 6.6 miles and then got to our campsite at 7:30. We set up camp and now I am sleeping under the stars in my tent. It Is very beautiful.
Date: 2016-03-29
From: Birch Creek Gap

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

We woke up this morning and saw that it was really cold. We decided to keep on sleeping through the cold and didn't get going till 9:30. I am not quite sure how cold it got, but I would say that it probably got into the 20's and maybe teen's. Today we had a lot of just up and downs but no really long climb. There is a lot of beautiful scenery here in the Smokies. We got to our shelter at 3:30 and didn't do anything but chill. The shelter was full, so we are having to camp again. I tried to cook pancakes , but that was a total fail and they just became mashed pancakes with a mix of burnt, cook, and a little under cooked pancakes, but they were still good. I put my rain cover over my tent this time hoping that it keeps in the heat better and maybe I can be warmer than last night.
Date: 2016-03-30
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

We woke up this morning to even colder weather. I still wish I would know how cold but I would say in the 20's again. We didn't leave till 8:45 from the shelter. We hiked up Rocky Top mountain which was really cool and had some amazing views. I guess there is even a song about the mountain because Bert & Ernie were singing it on the way up. We then kept on hiking these little nobs and that took a lot of time. We didn't get to the shelter till 4:15. We will hike Clingmans Dome tomorrow. At 6643' Clingman's Dome is the highest point on the A.T. It is suppose to rain tomorrow, so we will see how it goes. It is going to be very cold again because I am already cold and we are like 5,500 feet high so hopefully I can still be warm. We hiked 13.5 miles to Double Springs Shelter.
Date: 2016-03-31
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Peck's Corner Shelter
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was tough. It rained a lot. We got to shelter about 6:30. I am cold, wet and tired. I will go to bed without cooking any dinner hoping for a better day tomorrow. Ernie tweeked his ankle today. Most likely, Bert and Ernie will get off the trail at end of day tomorrow at Standing Bear Hostel. I am grateful for their company for the past 2 weeks!Ps. I went over 200 miles today!
Date: 2016-04-01
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

We woke about 7:45 this morning. We got started hiking and we hiked 23.3 miles to Standing Bear Hostel. The Smokey Mountains were beautiful but very tough! I am glad they are behind me. Today my feet got wet and now they are blistered. I will see if I Can buy some new socks here at the Hostel. The laundry here is hand wash in a sink and the showers are cold water showers. I am so sore and tired that I am just going to go to bed without a shower or washing my clothes. I hope to be in Hotsprings by Sunday evening where I hope to take 2 zero days and see my family! That means I have to do at least 15 miles tomorrow. I am going to miss Bert and Ernie. Bert and Ernie drove down from P. and hiked with me over a very tough stretch. They definitely pushed me and encouraged me. They also provided a lot of entertainment. I am very appreciative and grateful for Bert and Ernie.
Date: 2016-04-02
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Walnut Creek Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning around 6:45. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I decided to get started on my hike. I packed up everything and paid for my expenses. I then told Bert & Ernie bye because they are done hiking. I got started at 8:00 having to right away climb a long mountain called Snow Bird. I had a great hike and around 1:00 I ran into some trail magic. They had some pancakes, hotdogs, chips, and soda. The trail magic was presented by a family that hiked the trail last year. They were really cool and gave some useful tips. I hiked about 3 miles and then I run into some more trail magic. I was already full from the other place that I just grabbed a soda. I then had a great hike up Max Patch. Definitely the greatest view I have seen so far. It was very windy though and I could barely stay on my feet because the wind was so strong. I got to my shelter around 6:00. It is very windy and cold and I don't have that much dry clothes because of the rain a few days ago, so I am going to have to cuddle with my sleeping bag. I hiked 20.3 miles today to Walnut Creek Shelter.