morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-22
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light snow

I awoke shortly before daybreak to reluctantly answer nature's call. When I went to sleep it was raining and we had inch deep puddles in both vestibules. So, I really wasn't looking forward to splashing through the cold puddle to get out of the tent. I was pleasantly surprised to find the puddles were gone. I was less pleasantly surprised to discover the rain had changed to snow. By daybreak 2 inches had accumulated. Cold wet conditions make breaking camp and packing up a more challenging task. But with good team work we got the job done and were hiking by 9:30. Trail conditions were not bad, really not too slippery. As the morning progressed the snowfall and accumulation diminished. We had some views from time to time and the sun even made a brief 10 minute appearance. The trail did it's typical climbs and descends, the most significant was Sasafrass Mountain. Even with its many switchbacks, it is still steep in places, causing many a hiker to proclaim, "Sasafrass kicked my ass", but with a slow steady pace, it really wasn't too bad. I actually felt I hiked better today than the previous 2 days. We stopped for lunch, and again to resupply water, and talked with other hikers here and there. By the time we reached the shelter at 3:30, there wasn't any snow on the ground. There are at least 12 other hikers here when we arrived. And about that many more came in after us. We got a good campsite, fairly level. This shelter area has designated tent sites some of which aren't very level. We set up the tent and crawled inside to change into dry clothes, get warm, and rest. For the second night we did not cook supper, but opted for ready to eat food instead. Tonight's supper was energy bars, spicy rice crackers and pepperoni. Shortly after we got in the tent it began to snow. It stopped after an hour or 2, leaving everything coated in white. Tomorrow's forecast calls for sunshine and you can be sure we're both happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-23
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: clear sky

Yeah! The sun came out this morning around 11, and stuck around all day. Forecast for tomorrow calls for more sunshine. I think I can deal with that. It's so much nicer in camp for the evening when the weather is nice. We actually cooked supper. Split pea soup with added dry sausage. The soup was yummy, the sausage was not. I chewed and reluctantly swallowed one bite. It had a weird flavor and was pretty greasy. It wasn't spoiled, just not good. A pretty poor commentary when a hiker doesn't want to eat it. Even Magnet didn't like it, he did, however eat it. I was looking for summer sausage or hard salami. This looked similar, and was a name brand, but I won't ever buy it again. We had a nice time chatting with the other hikers camped here tonight. Good sharing of information. Magnet even got to check out camping hammocks. Every hiker I¢ve talked to that has tried a hammock has never gone back to a tent. The word is they offer a very comfortable night's sleep, and, as long as you have two trees, it doesn't matter if the ground is wet, rocky, or uneven. Not sure it makes sense for a hiking couple, though. But interesting all the same. Tomorrow we will hike to Mountain Crossings, where we will resupply, shower, and do laundry. And I'm happy with that, especially the shower. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-25
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

So...even after a night's rest in a bed, my leg was still sore....improved...but still sore, so we decided to take a zero day and stay in the Mountain Crossings hostel. We used the day to organize our food, and go through our packs to see if there were things we could send home. We were able to cull out an additional pound of stuff out, and will send it home. The outfitter here will go through your pack and make suggestions of gear you can do without. So, we had our packs shook down, and they really didn't find anything we should get rid of, so I guess we did pretty well with our gear selections. Keith, from Goose Creek Cabins took good care of us last night, and delivered back to Neels Gap around 9:00 am. The hostel was pretty busy when we arrived, and I had 2 surprises. First a number of hikers we had been seeing on the trail the past couple of days were also taking a zero. Second, the hostel caretaker is none other than The Miss Janet! She a wonderful member of the trail community, and has taken care of thousands of hikers. It's doubtful there is anyone with more insight to the inner workings and external needs of a long distance hiker. She's a wealth of information and has entertaining hiker stories. It was a pleasure to finally make her acquaintance. It seems the church groups of the area like to feed hikers. They were here again today with free burgers on the grill at lunch, and then a supper of fresh vegetable salad, macaroni and cheese (the real stuff, not the kind from a box), green beans, lemon squares, and cream cheese brownies. Yum! I'm not sure why they do it, but it certainly is appreciated. It's nearly 9pm, which is later than hikers Usually stay up, but we all just learned one of the hikers, Jack, is carrying a backpacking guitar. We encouraged him to play, and we are now being treated to original acoustical guitar show. Very relaxing and beautiful. So, it's been a good day of rest, hiker fellowship, good food, and live music, and I'm happy with that. Be Well Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-26
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

A good day of hiking today. Good mileage. My leg held up well. It ranged from nearly pain free (when I first got up) to tender to slightly uncomfortable when I was ready for a break. Besides the leg discomfort I already notice improvement in my hiking. The weather today was cold windy and damp. The trail was foggy most of the day. All views were a white-out. Three years ago Wildcat mountain kicked my ass. It was a hard climb today, too. Finding a place out of the wind for a lunch break was a bit of a challenge, but we stopped by a rock ledge and had an enjoyable lunch of Slim Jims, cheese, an apple with peanut butter, and a couple of Hershey nuggets. We had some fun taking a couple of pictures at Hog Pen Gap. Other than that there were no other significant stops. We started hiking around 9:30 after a superb Miss Janet breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy, and a special treat of blackberry gravy for a desert biscuit. It is often tough to leave a good hostel. Especially when the weather is nasty. So, a 9:30 start wasn't too bad.. Along the trail we most often saw John from Syracuse, Deeana, and Rattler. When we arrived at the shelter a number of the others from the hostel last night were all here, including Jack the guitar man. Also here is Safari, and Superman (who also hiked in 2007)., as well as many others. Magnet got here around 4:20 and I arrived about 20 minutes later. I did a lot of stretching of my legs. I'm trying to prevent another painful injury. As I arrived I saw that Magnet was beginning to set up the tent and the sun was breaking through....NICE! We are tented a bit away from the shelter, but cooked supper, ate, and visited at the shelter. Tonight's menu was chicken and noodles, with a chocolate Pop-Tart for desert. Now food is hung. Water is purified and set for tomorrow. We are cozy in our sleeping bags in the tent, and it's only 7:40. Magnet is already snoozing and I hope I fall asleep quickly, too. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, which is always nicer. Today I feel like a hiker, and I'm happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-27
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

After a good day of hiking yesterday, today was a bit frustrating and disappointing. I expected I would be able to do about a 10 mile day. I know Magnet could have done more than 10. We're in the process of figuring out my rest break needs (to allow me to make more daily miles). I'm sure we'll figure it out. At least the day was sunny, although the wind made it chilly at times. Looks like we may have rain tomorrow. Packing up in the rain is just never fun. My leg is gradually improving. It didn't hurt at all during the first couple hours of hiking. I am stretching it a lot and I'm certain it's on the mend, and I'm happy with that. Be Well Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-28
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: moderate rain

We woke up to chilly rain and wind which makes packing up not much fun. We had oatmeal for breakfast, the first time on this hike. Our tentative plan was to hike to the next shelter 7.8 miles away, and reassess our options. We didn't get hiking until nearly 10, but cooking breakfast adds time to the morning routine. My leg felt good this morning. And the first couple of miles went by smoothly despite the rain. There was a long descent into Unicoi Gap. It has been the down hills that have bothered my leg the most, but this time I was able to move right along without difficulty. The only bad thing about going down down down into a gap, is you will then have to climb climb climb back out. Heading north out of Unicoi Gap you climb up Rocky Mountain. There are a few times when you think you're near the top, only to have the trail bend, and climb some more. I started to feel some tenderness in my leg during that ascent, but it was manageable with some stretching. The descent down the backside of Rocky Mountain brought us on an open ridge in full wind and rain. It was bone chilling, and we made careful haste to get down. Another difficulty of hiking on a cold rainy day is it's tough to take a good break to eat and rest legs, feet and back. We were fortunate to have a little trail magic in the form of apples left trailside at the gap. After our descent of Rocky Mountain. We stopped a couple times briefly and ate our apples. The climb up Tray Mountain felt long. After a while we both began to wonder if we had missed the sign marking the side trail to the shelter. But finally there it was, yay. The shelter was damp and 5 or 6 hikers were huddled in the back trying to stay dry. Magnet quickly assessed the situation and we decided to pitch our tent right behind the shelter. Using good team work we got the tent up quickly. Magnet then went for water as I put the contents of our packs into the tent. The next order of business was to get out of our super saturated clothing, and crawl into sleeping bags to warm up. We ate our cheese-summer sausage-tomato paste wraps, and then snuggled to get warm. As Magnet dosed, a thunder storm rolled through, complete with hail stones the size of peas. I think we've experienced just about every type of weather on this hike. Sometimes when people think of an adventure like a Thru hike, they attach romantic notions of sweeping views, campfire conversation, and beautiful wildlife. Well, it does contain all these elements, but it is also cold wet days plodding endlessly through slippery mud and puddles, muscles aching, body and clothing stinking, with the full knowledge that there is nothing to do but keep walking, and town is still at least a day or more away. For now I am warm, the rain seems to have let up, and we're in good spirits, and I'm happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-29
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to winds, heavy fog, and cold drizzle. When we went to sleep it was windy, but dry. Our hiking pants, socks, and long sleeve base layers were wet to damp, so we decided to leave them hanging on outside shelter pegs, thinking the wind would dry them overnight. That was a mistake. Our clothes were soaked....and cold. Yuck. Ate breakfast in the tent and checked out what we had left for food. We had been planning on staying at the next shelter 7.5 miles away, then hiking 3.5 miles the next day and go into Hiawassee, GA to resupply. Based on the cold wet conditions and our dwindling food supply, we decided to hike 11 miles today and get into town a day earlier. Our pace (my pace, Magnet moves right along), isn't quite were we'd like it to be, we hiked from 9 am until 3:30 (3:00 for Magnet) with one short break. I was straining the last 3 miles or so. My leg had been doing well until I climbed Kelly's Knob about 6 miles into the day. It was sore by the time I reached that summit. It's a one mile continuous ascent. Shortly after that there is a lot of long sometimes steep descent. My leg was very sore and tight by the time we arrived at Dick's Creek Gap. Good news! Our shuttle was there when we arrived, so no waiting. We are now resting in a room at the Hiawassee Inn, which was recently purchased by Ron Havens. He has 3 motels in Franklin, NC as well, and takes good care of hikers. We are showered, laundry done, and fed (Subway). Now we need to figure out our food needs for the next few days, and go grocery shopping. With a bit of luck we will check email at the library. I am tired, but I know I'll be warm and dry all night, and I'm happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-30
From: Hiawassee

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Yes, another zero day. Not exactly as we had envisioned this hike, but we did hike out yesterday rather than doing a short mile day today. We discussed a lot of things last night and again this morning. Hiking as a couple has some different considerations than hiking solo. We knew before we started that we were going to have to find the hiking strategies that were right for us as a team. This hike is still in the very early stages, and there are many details to be worked out as we go. This morning we had breakfast at a local eatery. And then casually strolled through town, discussing our options. We did happen upon a hunting outfitter and Magnet was able to get the type of wool gloves for which he had been searching. And at a reasonable price. It was a good find, and it made us both happy. We then window shopped, and stopped at the library to access the internet. The library here is on the small side, but quite nice and suited our needs well. As we walked back to the motel, we decided we would take a zero day to rest, rejuvenate, and clean and organize our gear. The tent was rinsed in the tub then hung outside on a line in the sun and wind. Packs and boots were also placed in the sun. Phone calls were made to family, and we enjoyed a late lunch at an AYCE buffet (All You Can Eat). We decided it would be better to relax and enjoy the hike, that to worry about making miles to make sure we finish the entire trail. We still hope to complete the trail, but not at the expense of hiking unhappily. As the afternoon progressed, more hikers arrived from the trail. We were surprised to see Rattler, we thought he was at least a day ahead of us. He is continuing to be bothered with knee pain, and said there is a 50% chance he will be leaving the trail. I hope he finds a way to continue, but healing his knees is important. We also met an engaging young couple, Carl and Carrie. We had quite an enjoyable time getting to know them tonight. They are taking a zero day tomorrow, so I hope to see them again up the trail. We are basically 90% packed up, and hope to be on the trail by 9:00 tomorrow morning. The weather is predicted to be sunny for the next few days, and we have renewed enthusiasm, and I am quite happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-03-31
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap, NC
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

The Hiawassee Inn runs 2 morning shuttles back to the Dick's Creek Gap trailhead; one at 8:30 and another at 11:00. We had planned to take the earlier shuttle, but then didn't wake up until 8:15, so the 11:00 shuttle was our ride. Hmmmm.....I'm pretty sure beer had something to do with the later plan. We got to the trailhead, made some clothing changes (it was sunny and warm!), and were hiking by 11:30. I must admit I was feeling slightly apprehensive, as our last day of hiking felt difficult for me. But today was wonderful. Although there were plenty of climbs, it seemed they were well spaced with descents. Oh, it true, I still huffed and puffed at times, but it never felt like a strain. My leg felt pretty good, it felt absolutely fine for the first 4 hours, and even after that it was only slightly tender. It was sunny, and beautiful. Magnet hiked in shorts and a short-sleeves. I wore my long pants, but was comfortable with a tank top. The sun warmed the dried leaves on the forest floor releasing a wonderful earthy scent. It also brought out the mosquitoes and biting flies in swarms. They like me MUCH more than I like them, which is kinda funny, since they only want to BITE me, and I want to KILL them. So.......drum roll please.......today we said good-bye to Georgia, and hello to North Carolina. One state done and 13 to go! I want to give a shout out to my good friend, Griz. I remember how proud he was 3 years ago when we all made it to his beautiful home state. It was a near perfect day of hiking, with warm mild temps in camp. That makes it so much more pleasant to set up, and take care of camp chores. As the sun began to drop lower in the sky, on a ridge not too far from camp, we saw 2 coyote running through the woods. I wonder if we'll hear their yips tonight, as we have yet to do so on this hike. We met many different hikers today. We are tented on the ridge at Bly Gap near Too-Late and Too-Soon, and Hercules. Down below the ridge are Yatchzee, Cootza, Stretcher, Whyot, and mand many others. Along another old old road is H. D. Mumma. All in all a really good day, and I think we're both happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-04-02
From: Beech Gap

To: Deep Spring Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Up at 8, hiking by 9. Kind of a late start, since the sun is up before 7. There's still more daylight hours than I have stamina to hike. Another day without quad pain. There was some tenderness in the right shin, but overall it was better today than yesterday. I still feel so slow on the ascents. I hope this improves. I tell myself it will as I lose body weight. In retrospect, I wish I had been able to lose some of my excess 40 pounds before the hike. Some strength training would probably have been beneficial as well. Today's hike was sunny and warm, we were grateful that much of it was shaded by rhododendron leaves. We stopped for an early lunch break at the Carter Gap Shelter. A second break at Betty Creek Gap, for water and a rest before our final 3 miles of the day. The last major hurdle of the day was climbing the very steep Albert mountain. It is rocky and hand holds were required at times. I made this climb 3 years ago and found it exhilarating. I still enjoyed it today, but found it much more of an effort. Maybe because it fell within the first 3 miles of my day the first time, and at the end of my day this time around. Tomorrow we will pass the 100 mile mark and go into Franklin to resupply. There's a hiker festival of sorts, so I hope we will find a room. If I get a shower I will be happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star
Date: 2010-04-03
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

We got a fairly early start, 8:00. the day started out overcast with a threat of rain, but gradually cleared by midday. It wasn't as warm today, and there was more of a breeze. This made hiking more comfortable. Rock Gap Shelter was 5 miles from our starting location, and was chosen as a our location for a break. Less than a mile from the shelter we came upon 3 people handing out trail magic in the form of Easter ziplock treat bags. They also gave me an orange. The treat bags held an assortment of candy and a hard boiled egg. There were also small packets of salt for the eggs. So, here's a story: ever since I was a kid I would only eat eggs that were scrambled or an omelet. I always needed the eggs to be uniformly yellow in color. I don't like egg whites. Now, I also know eggs are a good source of protein, so I decided to give the hard boiled egg a chance. Hey! I liked it! I like the egg so much I would eat it here or there, I would eat it anywhere. I would eat in a box, I would eat it with a fox......oh, sorry, I got lost on a bit of a tangent there. Anyway, I made the discovery today that hardboiled eggs aren't bad. (much to Magnet's disappointment, because if I didn't like it he would have gotten it) After the shelter it was about 4 more miles to Winding Stair Gap. This is the most common road crossing to access the town of Franklin, NC, over 10 road miles away. This weekend there is a hiker event, with a feeding bash Friday and Saturday nights. The motels are pretty busy, but we caught a shuttle from the gap and managed to get a room at one of Ron Havens' motels, The Franklin Motel. So now we're showered and changed into cleaner clothes, and are resting until It¢s time for the feed. My feet felt tired today, and the right shin tender at times. I guess the bigger concern is the state of the multiple blisters on my left foot, as well as some irritation in a rather delicate location. I have 2 open blisters on the heel, a bulging but closed one on the medial side of the great toe, 2 small intact ones on the top of the great toe, and a mostly healed one between the 3rd and 4th toes. I cover then daily, and by the end of the day the covering is coming off and stuck to my sock. I have never had this much trouble with blisters before. I'm starting to feel like I have some sort of new problem every day. It is frustrating for both of us. Oh, I forgot to mention I also have sunburned shoulders and neck, as well as too many insect bites on my arms to count. All these ailments make it difficult to sleep. Lack of sleep make it harder to hike. I'm searching for solutions, and hope to find the right ones soon. Tonight I'll sleep in a bed, and have real (not trail) food for supper, and I'm happy with that. I just wish my feet felt fine. Maybe they will soon. Be Well, Rock Star