morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-24
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

digger, tripod, red cloud, and i were out of the shelter by 8am since we only had a 3 mile hike into franklin nc and got there by 10am. and then... we spent the whole wonderful sunny day in town, which i've decided i'm moving to someday--the food is cheap and you get a lot of it, the people are nice, and everything is within walking distance. we met up with john and went to dairy queen and found mule and driver there too. i saw skeemer walking along the road so i figure if i get on the trail early tomorrow i can still beat him to katadin :-). fubar surprised me and showed up in town too and he's sharing a room with us too. it's great to him. i bet 80% of the people in this town are thru-hikers. this is the longest time i've spent in a town and it was much needed.
Date: 2003-03-25
From: Franklin, NC

To: Wayat Bald
Miles today: 10.0

slept great in the hotel despite all the coughing coming from the sick guys i shared a room with. i don't have a cold and feeling pretty good. got a ride in the back of a truck with jon and another hiker at 8:00am. i took my pace down a level today and will keep it slow for the next week so that i can meet up with my family monday. it's going to be great to take 1-2 zero days (which means not hiking at all) and visit them, but i'll be anxious to get bakc to the trail and put some high mileage in so that i can catch up with some great people i've met.so i ran into mule and driver this morning and they said that skeemer left really early and was probably miles ahead. so i thought "ah well, i probably won't see him again. he'll beat me to katadin"... about 7 miles later i see a hugh tent set up with food, candy, and drinks on tables: it was a trail angel and there were several other thru-hikers already there gorging themselves. before i can see who is there i hear mule yell "goldberry run!" and i assumed skeemer was near. so i bolt on past the tables at a dead run and see skeemer try to grab his pack and head me off. of course we didn't run for long, but it was so funny. skeemer had been sitting around eating all the food for about 2 hours by the time i had come up--what a moocher! we have such an odd friendship: it's like the animosity is for show and it's just funny to keep it going. he also has a trail journals on this site so you can read about more of out crazy pranks. "apple" was the name of this trail angel and i hung out and chatted with him (and ate the food of course). after that was 2miles uphill to wayat bald. i'll have to ask my folks, but i could swear i've been here before a couple years ago.it's such and incredible view from here, and such a gorgeous day. i can even see clingman's dome from here which is where I'll be with my dad in one week. it was a 10 mile day and that's probably it for me, besides, my tummy hurts a bit, so it goes.
Date: 2003-03-26
From: Wayat Bald

To: Wesser Bald 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

we slept out under the stars last night. if it wasn't for an unhappy tummy, it would have been wonderful. some of the guys walked back up to bald when it got dark, but i passed. this area would be great for a short section hike. fubar and i got up super early, i have no idea why, oh well. we were only going to do 10 miles and try to beat the rain that was predicted for this afternoon. got to wesser bald shelter by 11:30. mom, dad, you have no idea how hard it is to pace myself this past week. it's definitely worth it to meet up with the fam on monday, but it's tough right now, especially since in the shelter register skeemer (and john too) wrote that he did 22 miles yesterday! i'll never catch up with him now. so it goes.it started raining at the shelter at 2pm, right after tom and charlie pulled in. snow is predicted for this weekend. i hope my dad brings some warm clothes for out section from fontana dam to clingmans!
Date: 2003-03-27
From: Wesser Bald 

To: NOC
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: scattered clouds

i hope and pray that last night goes down in history as the worst and longest night on the trail, i don't think it can get worse. note to other hikers: if you meet a guy named tom out there and he's going to stay at the same shelter you're at, RUN. i thought i've heard some impressive snoring in the past two weeks, but this was astounding. tom's a great guy when the sun's up, but something happens when it gets dark, and it's scary. yes, i had ear plugs--didn't work. i would have pulled my stuff outside and slept out there but in order to get far enough away from this sound would mean that i would have to hike another mile or two away and hope that there's not an echo. the only good thing about all this is that the supernatural snoring freaked out the mice so much that they were wise enough to stay away. if you shore as bad as he does, you should't stay in the shelters unless the weather is bad.we only hiked 6 miles into NOC and decided to split a hostel room. i feel like i've been spending too many nights in towns. so after clingman's dome next week, besides just doing more miles (got to catch skeemer) i'm going to spend fewer nights in towns. worst thing about today: tripod has decided to leave the trail, because of money (stupid money...) he'll hike with us to fontana dam but is going to get a ride back to atlanta from there. he's okay with this but i'm really going to miss him. his stories kept us laughing on all the uphills. hopefully he'll keep in touch. if he doesn't i'll "put karate on him." you rock tripod.
Date: 2003-03-28
From: NOC

To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.0

there was a kayaking festival at noc this weekend so it was really hard to get going on the trail after watching them ride the waves. digger got started first and around 11am tripod, radio shack, and i tore away from the vortex of noc. 7 miles to the shelter--sounds like a walk in the park, right? na, it was up up up. all 7 horrible miles. the arches of my feet hurt. we're planning on a 16 mile day tomorrow so that we'll only have to do 5 miles into fontana dam on sunday where tripod is getting a ride into atlanta :-(. i'm going to meet my parents on monday night and my dad and i will hike 3 days to clingman's dome. that's the plan anyway.
Date: 2003-03-29
To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

so i set my alarm for 5am this morning. my goal was to wake up early and hike up to cheoah bald for the sunrise. that was the plan.this is what really happened:alarm goes off. i promptly ignored it. digger mumbles something like "you've got to be kidding me", fubar says our groups motto: "you gotta live hard to be hard hooo!" and everyone goes back to sleep. one hour later, the sun is up and NOW i'm ready to go. eh, it was overcast anyway.i like hiking alone in the morning so got out of the shelter right after fubar but before everyone else. the plan was to hike 16 miles to cable gap shelter. it started misting and then raining around mile 4 and lasted the rest of the day. tripod and radio shack caught up with me by mile 9 and we hiked together the rest of the day.digger was somewhere nearby behind us. we pulled into cable gap before 2pm, making great time. we got out our sleeping bags and got warm. feeling pretty good about things, when hiking up comes tom the snorer. there's no way i'm staying in a shelter with this guy again. so, digger came in a bit later. he didn't want to stay with tom either so we decided to push on to fontana dam. 5.5 more miles. this makes for a 20.7 mile day (it's the .7 that gets ya). got to the road at dusk and a quick hitch to fontana village's AYCE (all you can eat). who might be there? Skeemer! he nearly jumped out of his chair when he saw me walking up to say hi. he he he. i hope i catch up with him after the smokies and can hike with him a little. he can beat me to maine (i'll let him)I'm waiting here until monday to meet the fam. should be fun!now, after my first 20 mile day, I,m going to bed. g'night
Date: 2003-03-30
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

this happened yesterday and i forgot to mention it in the journal:so the four of us were hiking the last 5 miles to fontana dam at dusk while it was still raining. remember we had all just walked 15 miles and were tired, wet, and just a wee bit slaphappy. digger was in front. (background informantion: of all of us (even me), digger is the most normal and mild mannered.) so we're hiking up for a couple miles and digger kinda cracks and starts going on a long unbroken tyraid about anything, but mostly about the weather. tripod and i were literally rolling in the mud cause it was so funny--we kinda fell over on the trail, and have the muddy clothes to prove it. we couldn't walk, much less keep our balance with the packs on. if i tried to recap any of it, it wouldn't be the same, but there was something about digger wanting to rename the appalachian mountain trail to the appalachian monsoon trail and it got better from there. it's not nearly as funny reading it as it was being there. i haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time. digger needs !to do stand-up!okay, back to today:bummer of a day, but we (radio shack, digger, tripod, and I) knew it would be. today, tripod was going to leave the trail and go back home to washington state. a super nice and wonderful section hiker named scott drove all the way up to fontana dam from atlanta to pick him up and take him back to atlanta. scott, you rock!i am so bummed that tripod is leaving. he might be able to come back to damascus va for the trail days festival.. hope so. this is just one of those situations where it's so unlikely that I'll never see him again. i think i've only been hiking with these guys for less than a week, but you get to know people fast out here, and tripod is a gem. after he left this morning, digger, r.s. and i did the boring town chores (=laundry). they're both taking a 0 day today so will keep me company until tomorrow when i wait for my family to pull in.it's snowing out there right now so maybe it's not so bad taking some time off waiting for the weather to clear up. tom the snorer who stayed at the shelter last night and hiked in this morning said there were 3 inches of snow up at the higher elevations. so i'm glad we pushed it yesterday to make it to the hotel.skeemer's here for the day too so i don't feel like i'm loosing too much ground. last night, he paid for my dinner (i was worried that he slipped something into my water to make me sick, but so far i feel fine) so i got his breakfast this morning--can't be feeling guilty when i speed by him in a couple of days! it's all about strategy. we also met up with fubar for the last time before he launches ahead. i doubt i can (or would want to try to) catch him. hopefully i'll see him when he starts heading south on the AT since he's hiking it north and then turning around and hiking back.today would be a heck of a lot better if tripod hadn't left. thanks a WHOLE lot for ruining my first 0 day, tripod, real considerate of you. [sniff]
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

my 2nd zero day in fontana dam. last night skeemer, tunnel vision, noah, matt, and neely (one of the few women i've hiked with) said they were headed out this morning. oh well, maybe i'll catch them later. so radio shack and i are hiking down the hall of the hotel and who do i run into but skeemer. taking 2 zero days? i mean, i have an excuse to wait, but he's lost any gain he had... well, this way he can meet my parents and maybe realize that i'm not just out here to race. i also ran into mule and driver which was a great surprise since i assumed they were a couple miles ahead by now. so tonight, i'm in a wonderful cabin. now my parents can meet all the crazy people i've been hiking with...i'm a little worried actually. 6 hours later: my parents and sister showed up around 6pm. we had a great dinner and the rest of my hiking buddies showed up later. they were on their best behavior, even skeemer(i was shocked)! good times were had by all (i assume). even thorn stopped in, who hiked into fontana today. my parents were angels and brought some of my cottony clothes AND my beautiful fleece robe that i made. i've been wearing it since they got here.i saw twofiddy and heard that leapyear was here also (these guys were in my original group but i haven't seen them since 3-16). my dad and i are hiking out tomorrow with mule, driver, and probably skeemer. digger and radio shack will also be around. there will probably be snow up top but it's not suppose to rain or snow for the next couple of days. should be a fun 3 days!
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Fontana Dam

To: Mollie Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

dad and i got up early to feast on the AYCE breakfast buffet and then we're off. my saintly mom shuttles us, digger, skeemer, driver, and mule to the trailhead, which takes well more than 2 trips. it was an incredible day to hike. there was still snow on the ground but it was about 60* throughout the day. it was a 3000 feet climb uphill during the first 4 miles but this was cake compared to some of the other killer climbs in north carolina. we hiked in 12 miles and stayed at the mollie ridge shelter. good day.
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Mollie Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

i have something very important to say:last night in the shelter i had to sleep next to tom the snorer again and was ready to kick him throughout the night if necessary. tom didn't snore much at all though, probably because he found a contender that knocks him out of the ring--pete. good god, i hope i don't come across worse than the Pete.dad and i got up early this morning. another beautiful day with some incredible vistas. we did 12 miles into derrick knob shelter. i'm sunbathing in front of the shelter while typing ...this is the life.
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

we slept in the tent that my dad brought with him last night, got up early and headed out. it was my dad's last day on the trail and we were doing 10 miles to clingman dome where we'd meet my mom and sister who were going to be doing some trail magic. it was a relatively uneventful morning, but the weather, once again, was spectacular. I'm not going to let my dad leave since as soon as he showed up, the weather's been great. so we get to the parking lot where my mom is and there are at least 10 other thru-hikers who are basking in the glow of all the food and drinks my mom has brought for them. talk about trail magic! everything a hiker could ask for was right there and the hikers' gratitude showed it. i think my mom made more hiker friends in half an hour than i've made in 2 weeks. :-) after hanging out there for a while, the fam and i headed back to gatlinburg for the night. mule, driver, skeemer, and radio shack had already gotten a hitch and we were going to meet them for dinner later. after a horrible cold shower in the holiday inn (don't stay here!), our group of 8 went from restaurant to restaurant looking for the "perfect" menu. i was getting VERY hungry when we finally found this nirvana--and yes, they ahad cheesecake! it was worth the wait...my first cheescake since leaving home
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Gatlinburg

To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.0

my mom was kind enough to give a ride to myself, driver, mule, radio shack, and skeemer back up to clingman's dome. it was so great that mom, dad, and christy could come down for this week.it was a pretty uneventful day. this was the first time i really hiked with mule and driver, so i got to know them a bit better. it was a wonderful section from clingmans to newfound gap, reminded (sha, as if i've been there) me of a blend of rivendell and hobbiton.when we got to newfound gap, there was talk amoung the guys about hitching a ride into cherokee where they have gambling. but i put my foot down--we had only walked 8 miles and were in gatlinburg last night! they gave me grief over it all day, especially once it started raining on us.since my dad isn't hiking anymore, the weather decided to stop being perfect. it was cloudy and cold throughout the day. since when you're hiking in the smokies you HAVE to stay in the shelters, it was either do 11 miles today or 18...argh. we decided to stick to 11. i'm probably going to hike with these guys at least until hot springs so that i can see driver off (he was only going to hike a month with his son) and meet his wife/mule's mom. we've only been out on the trail 3 weeks, but we were talking about the best times we've had on the trail...ah memories. good times, good times.since we had so much time in the shelter waiting for it to get dark, i'm teaching mule the muppet song, woo hoo!
Date: 2003-04-05
From: 11

To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.5

woke up this morning at the normal time, 6am. of course, i'd been waking up throughout the night because of the RAIN pounding on the roof of the shelter. and it hasn't really stopped since then. the rain wouldn't be so bad except the wind decided to join in the dance. we're going to wait around for a while to see if it will let up at all. if the wind would just settle down, it wouldn't be so dangerous. radio shack's weather channel said that in knoxville, winds are up to 40mph so it's probably worse up here. radio shack is now known as saint radio shack--he went out there and got EVERYONE'S food bags. wow, what i guy.mule is having a staring contest with thr rain but i don't think it's doing any good. so 9am rolls around and the rain goes away, the fog comes and goes, and the sun peeks through. turned into a beautiful day. i got out of the shelter first for some alone-hiking and flew down the trail--did 7.5 miles in 2.5 hours. i had lunch at pecks corner and met up with mule, driver, and skeemer right after that for the last 5 miles to the tricorner knob shelter. the weather became great but it's suppose to rain tonight and it turns out this shelter leaks. yay.neely, tunnel vision, and noah were staying there tonight too. i had met neely in neel's gap and she's very cool. I'll admit i'm bias since there are NO OTHER WOMEN THAT I'M HIKING WITH AND IT'S REALLY ANNOYING. we should be in hot springs near the same time. hope so, sometimes it feels like i'm drowning in testosterone.
Date: 2003-04-06
To: Standing Bear
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

so the wonderful idea of day light savings time happens today, which stinks cause if it didn't, my timing and mileage today would sound really impressive. i got on the trail by 7:30 (but it was really 6:30) and made the first 7.7 miles by 11:30 (but it was really 10:30) and finished up the day with 19 miles by 3:00 (but it was really 2pm). wonderful day, hiked alone for all of it--the rain started coming down just as we were pulling into the standing bear hostel (which totally rocks). for any soon-to-be AT hikers, go to mountain mama's for food, but push on 3 more miles to standing bear. it rocks the casbar. we went into town for mexican tonight--woo hoo! the food was good and we had live music too. the worst thing: our ride to the restaurant was one of the waitresses, so now were stuck waiting around for 3 more hours until she gets off. one of the funnier things that happened tonight was that as soon as we realized we were stuck, the band started playing a country song! called "you're not going anywhere". so that's where i am while i'm typing this, in the waitress' van with the guys WAITING. just waiting around with mule, driver, skeemer, and radio shack. that's the price for good mexican food i guess.song in head today: man of la mancha songsa couple jethro tull songsthe star wars gansta rapsome muppet songsbig rock candy mt.
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Standing Bear

To: roaring fork shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

once we finally got back to our beds last night, sleep wasn't far behind. it's been a while since i've been that tired. morning came too soon though and by 8am (really 7am) i was back on the trail. maybe it was the mexian, but the climb coming from standing bear was a killer. i wanted to get to roaring fork shelter, 18.5 miles away, but shesh these hills weren't making it easy. i got to max patch by 1:30 and from there i knew what to expect--this past october, i hiked the section from max to hot springs. i made it to my shelter by 3pm-great time for me. it was empty so i just made myself at home. radio shack, skeemer, detective friday, saucy dog, and josh rolled in around 4pm, in that order. mule was having some pains in his leg so he and driver might just stay somewhere before the shelter. I might start using my radio soon--i've been hiking alone recently and trying to sing some songs to myself but i keep going over the same ones and it's getting annoying and i can't remember how some of them start which is bugging me too. sigh--life is rough, i know.i have a new blister right where the old one was. it's not a big deal but i told skeemer about it and he said "good!" what a meanie! not a very eventful day overall. the sky was overcast and drizzled a bit but the view from max patch was awesome with the clouds and the lighting. nature's more subtle fireworks display. good times, good times.
Date: 2003-04-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This is a ¢guest entry¢ from ¢Goldberry¢s Dad¢. I had the pleasure of hiking on the AT with my daughter for three days last week, from Fontana Dam to Clingman¢s Dome. The hike was very humbling physically, and very uplifting emotionally. It was inspirational to witness the spirit and enthusiasm of the many fine people I encountered. All the thru hikers had been through bad weather and demanding terrain, up and down the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia, and had triumphed over the adversity. I appreciated the kindnesses of all, from giving me a bandaid for my blisters to cheering me up when I got exhausted from the climb to the ridgetop. It was a gift to be a part of it for a few days, even as an ¢interloper¢. And what a pleasure to see the number of post-fifty folks in the crowd. I was particularly impressed with Tom and Charlie. You guys are my new heroes. Thank you Clair for sharing the experience with me. It was great to be totally absorbed in the pure physical experience of the outdoors for a few days ¢ all I had to think about was getting enough water, and food, and staying warm, and avoiding twisting an ankle so you didn¢t have to carry me out of the woods! I enjoyed the company of your friends and fellow travelers. May you all make it safely to Maine! May your experience in the woods give you insight and wisdom to bring back to share with us, and be a source of strength to you the rest of your life.