morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-15
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

Since we only had an 8.8 mile today planned we stayed warm in our sleeping bags past sunrise and then leisurely had our coffee and honeybun (me) and oatmeal with peanut butter (Hush). The trail gods allowed us a one-mile warmup before the 1200-foot climb of Unatka Mountain. That warmed us up quite nicely, until we stopped for a moment. Yowza! I couldn't wait to start climbing again, not my usual attitude. The summit offered no view but it was beautiful nonetheless. A dense spruce forest contrasted nicely with the hardwoods we'd climbed through. The rest of the day we descended towards Indian Grave Gap. There we met my friends Ann and Ed. Nearly 40 years ago they were friends of my mother. When I started my current job in 2000, Ann was the director of my department. Now retired, she and Ed have a beautiful home about 40 minutes away from the trail. She contacted me through this journal and offered us their hospitality. Yay us!Well aware of hiker needs, they arrived with food, took us home and gave us more food, took us to the grocery store and then brought us home and fed us supper and what a supper it was! Hands down we enjoyed the best meal in months. In between all the eating we did take a shower, do laundry and enjoy conversation about books, local history, family and of course the omnipresent AT. In the morning we will wake up to brewed coffee, a hot shower and a cooked breakfast. Have mercy!
Date: 2013-09-16
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

I do enjoy a big old Southern breakfast with home made sausage, eggs scrambled in a little of the grease, grits, biscuits and home made preserves. Throw in some orange juice and plenty of coffee and you have hiker rocket fuel. I didn't miss my honey buns one bit. Thanks Ann!All good things come to an end. Ann and Ed loaded us into the car and away we went on steep, curving and winding roads back to the trail where I arrived slightly green despite the Dramamine I took earlier. We all hiked together until the Curly Maple Gap shelter, 4.1 miles in. Hush and I said our goodbyes and headed down the trail toward Erwin, TN. We didn't go into town. We stopped by Uncle Johnny's hostel, had a soft drink, bought some socks and talked to Uncle Johnny for a little while. We intended to buy a couple of food items to supplement what we already have but the pickings were slim. We are sticking with our original plan to hitch to a store from Sam's Gap two days from now. The afternoon went slowly as we climbed away from the Nolichucky River. Arriving at the No Business Knob shelter we went through our evening drill and are now in our sleeping bags trying not to thing about The climb up Big Bald Mountain tomorrow.
Date: 2013-09-17
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: North of Sam's Gap
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: broken clouds

We finally had a day where we ran into several hikers. We met a trio of ladies this morning about five miles into the day. One of them actually knew us through Trail Journals. That flattered us a bit. We ran into another couple of ladies who seemed to doubt our assessment of trail details ahead. That's fine. As the commercial says, "Your mileage may vary." While eating lunch at the Big Bald shelter we met a trail maintainer out with a buddy for some hiking, glad not to be carrying a chainsaw for a change. We just kept climbing today until we finally hit Big Bald Mountain. Little Bald to the north was a tough hike, two miles of hard breathing and sweat. Trail conditions aren't quite as sweet as they were north of Wautauga Lake but it is still possible to make good time. The only annoying part are the miles of trail side nettles. Can't they just die already?The campsite where we planned to stay had no level ground on which to pitch our tent. The site was in a shallow draw downhill from the AT. We decided to get some water there and to push on another couple of miles to a hill top a couple miles north of Sam's Gap. In the morning we plan to hitch to a diner for breakfast and then walk a half-mile to a country market to resupply.  Shelter placement and campsite options will make it a short (12 miles) day.
Date: 2013-09-18
From: North of Sam's Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday I left this entry in the log at the shelter where we ate lunch - "Dear SOBO (southbound) or Flip Flop Hikers, please catch up with us. We haven't seen another thruhiker south of Harpers Ferry". That wish didn't technically come true but we did meet a couple, Nattie and Moxie, doing a 900 mile SOBO hike to Springer from Waynesboro, VA. Nattie hiked everything north of there last year. We spent some time trading trail stories and plotting out strategies for resupplying in the Smokies. I don't know how much more of them we will see but it was a better day today with them in it. When we got to Sam's Gap, two miles into the day, we wanted to eat breakfast at a diner 2.9 miles away and then walk half a mile to a store to resupply. As soon as we got to the gap I engaged two section hikers in a conversation and before you know it they gave us a ride to the diner. We ate, walked to the store and bought our food. I just flat out asked a man in the parking lot for a ride and he readily agreed even though he was going in the other direction. Our total time off the trail was less than an hour. We saw plenty of people on the trail today. This section between Erwin, TN and Hot Springs, NC seems to be popular with section hikers. Since it was a shorter day for us, we took the time to stop and chat with just about everyone we saw. It was fun, even though our talkativeness ended up getting us wet when the rain came 2.5 miles before the shelter. Tonight, Hush and I finalized our plans for the last 300 miles. We plan to be at Springer on October 11. That's less than a week later than when I thought we'd finish. We will take that. Weeks and weeks of rain, doctors visits, mail drop woes and a host of other unpredictable and unforeseen circumstance didn't knock us off the trail. They just delayed us a few days.
Date: 2013-09-19
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: South of Alan Gap
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

The less one expects, the happier one is. I've been trying to learn that lesson my entire adult life. Note that I said "trying". Today's plan was a 16-mile hike to a hostel/campground at Allen's Gap. We both needed food for supper tonight, breakfast tomorrow and trail food to last until we get to Hot Springs. We hiked according to plan, actually faster. At 2:30 we had our 16 miles and were headed to the campground, .7 mile away. We arrived, bought a few sodas, were disappointed by the lack of availability of ice cream or microwaveable food. We got a cabin. As is usual in these places there's electricity but no plumbing. We headed to the shower to be greeted by some incredibly foul smelling water that barely trickled from the shower head. Whatever. It was at least hot. Once clean and hydrated from the sodas, we headed to the area designated as having wifi. Except it didn't. The owner wrote the password down for us but it didn't work. I couldn't find her to verify it so I asked her husband. He looked at what she'd written and told me the password was not supposed to be in cursive. He really said that. When I finally found the owner to inform her about the connectivity issue, her response was "It works."  In real life I work in IT and have done so since the 90s. I gently (really) tried to explain that, no, it doesn't work but she wasn't hearing it. Long story short, we packed up our stuff and hiked some more. I expected to eat something besides backpacking food for the first time in four days. I expected to be able to communicate with my family. I expected to sleep on a bed with clean sheets instead of on the ground in my nasty sleeping bag. In the end it's all good. We are now closer to Hot Springs. I get to see my daughter and her family for the next couple of days. We're taking a ZERO in Asheville. The day after that we head towards Springer like a juggernaut.
Date: 2013-09-20
From: South of Alan Gap

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

We continued the climb out of Alan Gap this morning for what seemed like forever. We started out just before dawn wearing our head lamps. It turned out to be a bright sunny day from start to finish but early in the morning hugging the side of a mountain in a green tunnel of tall Rhododendren bushes its as dark as a coal mine. The first group we encountered consisted of four 50-something friends from Georgia who were slack packing to Hot Springs. We encounter a lot of groups who use their vacation each year to hike sections of the trail with goal of eventually completing the entire trail. I admire that tenacity. I remover how hard the first days on the trail were for us. Section hikers have to go through that difficult stage year after year. We also met several trail maintainers, one of them accompanied by an Appalachian Trail Conservancy employee. At one point the maintainers were piping a spring to make drinking water more accessible. The ATC lady had a GPS unit to record the locations where trail improvements are needed. She also spoke of possible reroutes. I guarantee the reroutes will make the trail longer, not shorter. At long last, we arrived in Hot Springs. We immediately went to work on getting hydrated, me with root beer, Hush with OJ. We looked at our strip map of town and set out for the Smoky Mountain Diner, home of the 12 oz. Hungry Hiker Burger. Hush had pork tenderloin. From there we hit the public library so I could update the journal. We heard from my daughter while we were there so we headed to the local outfitter to buy trail maps for the rest of the trip. Gasp!We spent a wonderful evening in Asheville. I got to read three bedtime stories to my granddaughter. We may even get to go to her birthday party If Hush and I finish on the date we think we will. There are so many things to do tomorrow, all the usual town chores plus selecting our cool weather clothes, phoning hostels, making mail drop decisions and more. One thing we don't have to do is hike. Good. We need a break.
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Asheville, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Well, we just can't sleep late, even on our last planned ZERO on the trail. I will admit though, getting up early to sit inside listening to the rain fall onto the deck while cradling a mug of hot coffee is not too bad. Before too long my granddaughter woke up and I got to be part of her morning. Later my daughter made breakfast and we sat around the table like civilized folks. We went through our unmailed food drops and took out a few of the items we can still tolerate. A trip to the store to complete our resupply was next. My son-in-law drove us up to Standing Bear Farm at Davenport Gap to leave supplies we will pick up in a couple of days as we enter the Smokies. We hoped we'd be able to use a shuttle so we wouldn't have to carry five days of food into the park but the final bill would be $180. No go. We could hitch into Gatlinburg at Newfound Gap but it's a 30-mile round trip and that many tourists would make my head explode. Tomorrow is supposed to be not-rainy. That's all I need to know because it poured today. We have several big, big climbs coming up as we leave the French Broad Basin heading for the tallest point on the trail, Clingmans Dome. This restful visit should provide us the fuel we need to make it to Fontana Dam next weekend.
Date: 2013-09-22
From: Asheville, NC

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Roaring Fork Shelter18 milesMy granddaughter wanted to hike with us this morning. She didn't want to be carried like last time. So in all her two-year old glory she accompanied us through Hot Springs until we reached the climb out of town. We should finish in time for her third birthday party. One day she will hike with us for real. I hope all our grandchildren will. It was a perfect day to be on the trail. As long as we kept moving, I was comfortable in my standard shorts and t-shirt, otherwise the air was crisp. It definitely feels like fall. We stopped for a break at the top of the first climb and Hush laughed at the steam coming off my body. I think I'm finally (finally) relaxing here at the end. I'm no longer in a hurry to make it to the day's destination. I'm even becoming flexible as evidenced by my willingness to add an additional 3.5 miles to today's plan. We take longer and more frequent breaks. That helps with adding miles at the end of the day. Despite the long climbs today the trail conditions allowed us to keep a good pace. My hat is off to the Carolina Mountain Club volunteers who do trail maintenance here. You folks do as good a job as anyone on the AT.  I haven't seen better trail. We have company tonight. A local man doing the section from I-40 to Hot Springs and a lady from Ohio doing the Smokies until North of Erwin. It's nice to have other people to talk to. Because of our extra miles today we should make it to Standing Bear Farm tomorrow in the early afternoon. That will give us a chance to hit the Smokies well rested and prepared.
Date: 2013-09-23
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

This won't be long. Today came close to being my personal worst day on the trail. My litany of woes include hurting my foot, getting lost for 1.5 hours, falling and busting some gear, screwing up our shower/laundry/resupply at the end of the Smokies and a mistake in the AT Guide that made us climb a hill twice. My foot will be fine even if I lose my sixth toenail. We were lost but now we are found and we made our goal today. Hush just ordered a replacement for the gear. We got a reservation at another place. It has no laundry, is more expensive and doesn't have many food options but it beats starving in a shelter. We are at Standing Bear Farm. Tomorrow is an eighteen mile day. The first eight miles are one big climb out of Davenport Gap. I hope to have updates on Wednesday when we hook up with 2013 thruhiker Oz, who we met in Maine back in July. If not, I'll update on September 28 when we finish the Smokies if the hotel has wifi.
Date: 2013-09-24
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Tricorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The day started with the owner's dog eating my hiking socks before we left Standing Bear Farm. Things improved after that. Physically, there may never be another day this hard in the time we have left. We don't have any days planned with this much mileage. We certainly won't start another day with a seven-mile climb - with a five-day resupply in our packs. So far I have mixed feelings about Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Paying $20 to hike these 70 miles is jarring when there is no fee to hike anywhere else on the AT. The fee is new this year and it's a bad precedent. This isn't a pay as you go country, at least it didn't use to be. On a positive note, the trails are well maintained and well graded. To counter that, the trails are open to horses. Well great, now there's horse crap right next to our drinking water. I'm also just waiting to hug the side of the mountain surrounded by nettles while Roy Rogers and Trigger go by. For the first time we saw fall colors up here in the high 5000+ feet elevation. It's becoming hard to find places to stay in trail towns because of the leaf peepers. Thruhiking the trail flip-flop style has many benefits. Now we are seeing some drawbacks.  Oh, one more thing about the Smokies. Hikers have to stay in shelters. We are not allowed to camp. The park is popular so tonight we are sharing the shelter with a radio playing soft jazz,  a classy cigar and conversation about hiking the Grand Canyon. It's not so bad, kind of nice really.
Date: 2013-09-25
From: Tricorner Knob Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

The rain started last night around 10:00. As I write this (9:00 P.M.) it's still raining.  Hiking today reminded me of all the wet days in Massachusetts except today we were 4000 feet higher and it was 20 degrees colder. We didn't hit the trail until after 8:30. The plan for the day was for 15.6 miles and to arrive at Newfound Gap at 5:30 to meet Oz, 2013 thruhiker and today's extraordinary trail angel. We had to hike nearly 13 miles without stopping to get to a shelter where we could dry out and eat lunch. Once we got there we shucked our wet clothes and put on dry ones, albeit temporarily. We sipped multiple cups of coffee and tea. Our packs and plenty of stuff in them were wet through and through, including unfortunately my high calorie pork skins. Don't judge. As luck would have it, one of the most interesting people I've met on the trail was also at the shelter. A student of sustainable agriculture, this young man was funny, curious, interested and interesting. We talked books, politics, food and culture. It was so much better than another hiking conversation. As promised, Oz picked us up. Knowing the hiker drill he took us to an outfitter, the grocery store and a restaurant. He also secured us the world's fanciest tent with electricity, wooden floors and wifi. A shower and laundromat are on site. For a day that had the potential to be nasty, we came out better than all right.
Date: 2013-09-26
From: Newfound Gap

To: Siler's Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Siler's Bald Shelter12.5 milesWhen we woke up this morning in Gatlinburg the temperature was 65 degrees. Since then we climbed up and over Clingman's Dome (highest elevation on the AT) where we missed the view by two hours. That's when the clouds lifted. We are spending the night at Siler's Bald Shelter. I have on wool socks, long pants, a t-shirt, a wool shirt and my jacket. Additionally I'm wearing a bandana over my head. I'm shivering. Hush is zipped up in her down sleeping bag and is still cold. The weather forecasters don't tell us what the weather will be at 5500 feet. Even though we get progressively closer to Springer Mountain every day, the demands of the trail lifestyle make it hard to wax nostalgic. Each day continues to present logistical and physical challenges. Food, water and shelter and how to get them are what we still concentrate on. Since we stopped our mail drops we carry less food and less weight. That's good. We now have to plan our opportunities to buy food much more carefully. That's a drawback, especially with Hush's dietary restrictions. Thankfully when we get to Fontana Village she will have  care package from our friend, Carolyn. My coworker and friend Jeremy is also sending us a care package. We will round that out with purchased food. A couple days later we will be at the NOC and can buy more food. I am so looking forward to my next hot shower. It's less than 48 hours away.
Date: 2013-09-27
From: Siler's Bald Shelter

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

We got to play thruhiker celebrity tonight at the Mollie's Ridge Shelter. Three extremely nice section hikers from Indianapolis had both a ton of questions and a ton of food to share with us. We got M&Ms, chocolate, cookies, cereal, beef jerky and a Mountain House breakfast. Score!! We showed them our pictures, talked about our highs and lows, our gear and how we prepared to hike. It was fun. It wasn't until I had lived outside for awhile that I became aware of how seldom it is sunny from dawn to dusk. Today was one of those rare days. We ran into a Ridge Runner who told us how rare it is to get a view from Rocky Top. We ate lunch there while looking back at Clingman's Dome off in the distance. It's hard to believe we were at that summit only yesterday The shelter is packed tonight with three separate groups. Hush and I pitched our tent to escape the snoring, late talkers and the farting. We will stay warmer this way and get better sleep. In the morning we are up early and on the way to Fontana Dam. The Smokies will be behind us.
Date: 2013-09-28
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 11.1

First a request - if you read this journal on any kind of regular (or irregular) basis, would you mind signing our guest book? We're looking for all the motivation we can get over the last stretch. Thanks. We slept in our tent last night behind the shelter and we could still hear snoring. I hope once we leave the Smokies the trail will return to what we experienced prior to the park. While I like having people to talk to, getting enough sleep determines whether we hike well or not. Today we hiked great. It took less than five hours to make it down to Fontana Dam. We night hiked out so we arrived before lunch. As we descended toward the dam I realized with every step that tomorrow we climb right back up on the ridge line. A voice in my head keeps repeating "One day at a time."Once we got to Fontana Village and checked into our room we made a bee line for the grill. For only the second time I can remember since May a salad bar was available. It went great with my cheeseburger. Many hikers experience rapid weight gain after the trail. I don't intend to be one of them but I will eat like the ravenous animal I am until we climb Springer. The drill is under way - eat, then shower, then wash clothes, then buy food for the trail. Whenever possible get on the Internet. Eat some more, drink some more, stay of our feet. No more Zero days. Back in the woods in the morning.
Date: 2013-09-29
From: Fontana Village

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We enjoyed our night on a king-sized bed in a climate controlled room awaking to real brewed coffee instead of instant made with creek water. We did however eat a standard hiker breakfast. Fontana Lodge offered nothing but a $12 breakfast buffet. I opted for a sixty-five cent honeybun. Hush had two packs of oatmeal. Our hike started at 9:30 with the predictable miles long climb away from the dam. The temperature stayed cool under overcast skies. Climbing makes me sweat but the moment we stop I get chilled. The shelter where we ate lunch was down in a hollow. Hush had enough sense to put on her jacket. I sat there like an idiot, a cold idiot. We only had six miles to hike after lunch but time just kept dragging on. That frustrates me to no end. My mind started wandering on a technically tricky section of trail and down I went. I didn't get hurt but it spoiled my mood. Hush is sporting several bruises from recent falls. My last remaining unbruised toenail is now turning black. Just let us survive the next 11 days OK?After hiking 10 miles without seeing anyone we saw five people within a mile of the shelter. The first guy we met wanted to know who we were. When I told him our trail names he whipped out his camera and snapped our picture. He's been reading our journal. We had a nice visit with a father and son who were getting water at the shelter before moving on. Once again it's just us and the hoot owls and the coyotes. Good night.