morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-03-16
From: Hiawasse

To: Franklin
Miles today: 20.0

The first week was wonderfully orchestrated to give me a sample of things to come but not test me beyond my abilities. I spent two nights in hostels, two in hotels, two in shelters, and one in the tent. The first rain day was warm and easy. The first cold day was sunny. The second rain day was more severe but I knew I was going into Franklin so my wet clothes were not a health issue. Other firsts were staying in a hostel, using bear cables, and sleeping in a shelter. All in all I walked 110 miles and only got lost twice (once each of the first two days). I have left Georgia behind but will never forget the beauty of its mountains or the generosity and kindness of its people.
Date: 2014-03-20
From: Franklin

To: Smoky Mountains
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I stayed at the Fontana Lodge last night, something I had been looking forward to that fell below expectations. I suppose the hospitality was no worse than a normal resort but, after all the kindness along the trail so far, this place gives very little consideration to hikers. Even so, I was considering taking a rest day but can't afford to waste what should be a few beautiful spring days in the Smoky Mountains. With any luck I hope to spend two nights in shelters before catching a shuttle into Gatlinburg. This should be the same day I climb Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the trail at 6655 ft. Wish me luck. The park has lots more rules than earlier parts of the trail. This could be a good thing but probably won't seem so if I get kicked out of a shelter late at night by some late arriving section hiker. Trust me I would have to retrieve my pack from the bear cable and pitch my tent in the dark. Still, Great Smoky Mountain NP is a magnificent sight and contains about 80 miles of the AT. Today I expect to climb over 3000 ft up from Fontana Dam.
Date: 2014-03-21
From: Smoky Mountains

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

No not climbing or descending, falling and getting back up. During the first week I prided myself in not taking a face plant. After several rainy days and some extreme drops I now have become accustomed to tasting mud. The normal sequence is to feel a foot catch on a root or rock. This is immediately followed by me hitting the ground. It happens so fast there is almost no sense of actually falling. Just a mental "Oh shit". I haven't done damage to anything vital or to my poles (yet). It is all too obvious that one misstep on this trail can end my hike, or worse. I really need to keep my shields raised and my short range sensors active.
Date: 2014-03-21
From: Smoky Mountains

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 16.0

No not climbing or descending, falling and getting back up. During the first week I prided myself in not taking a face plant. After several rainy days and some extreme drops I now have become accustomed to tasting mud. The normal sequence is to feel a foot catch on a root or rock. This is immediately followed by me hitting the ground. It happens so fast there is almost no sense of actually falling. Just a mental "Oh shit". I haven't done damage to anything vital or to my poles (yet). It is all too obvious that one misstep on this trail can end my hike, or worse. I really need to keep my shields raised and my short range sensors active.
Date: 2014-03-22
From: Smoky Mountains

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

Spoiler Alert! This log entry is just a boring detail of the first 13 days, just in case I actually write a book and need to remember.Day 1: Wolfpen hostel in Suches.Day 2: Witney Gap shelter.Day 3: Blue Mountain shelter with my son. Very cold.Day 4: Top of Georgia hostel in Hiawasse. Overhyped.Day 5: Budget Inn in Hiawasse. Zero day to spend time with my son that didn't work out (he slept all day).Day 6: Tent at Beeches Gap.Day 7: Budget Inn in Franklin.Day 8: Tent at Wesser Shelter.Day 9: Tent at north base of Cheea Bald. Lots of tents.Day 10: Fontana Lodge. Disappointing but worked in my favor.Day 11: Spence shelter in Smokies.Day 12: Tent at Mt Collins shelter.Day 13: Motel 6 in Gatlinburg. Weather coming.
Date: 2014-03-23
From: Newport

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I had my first bear experience today; they were gummy bears. Some Swedish fish also. Actually the wildlife has been rather shy so far. A rabbit, some squirrels, a turkey, a few woodpeckers, and a hawk. The hawk was cool though since it was soaring below me (at >5000 ft) and was shrieking. I thought I smelled a bear several times but don't ask me why. It simply smelled like something that was hairy and might want to eat me. To retaliate I ate another mouthful of gummies. I have now left the Smokies and it's 500 bears behind me.
Date: 2014-03-24
To: newport
Miles today: 0.0

It is time to take a break. With snow coming tomorrow I am staying at a Motel6 for two nights. I have gone 240 miles, right up to interstate 40. I expect to pick up from there We'd and take two days to hit Hot Springs.I had my first real equipment failure last night when it was 12 degrees. My hydration bladder froze up and is now leaking at some fitting. I need to assess this and fix it in Hot Springs where they have outfitting.
Date: 2014-03-24
From: newport

To: newport
Miles today: 0.0

I have been hiking solo since leaving my son at hiawasse but I am hardly alone. I have met and passed or been passed by dozens of section an thru hikers. Panzer and Mike/Niaomi are the few who have breezed by me, probably not to be seen again. I have walked for a time with Diamondback, Walkworthy, and One Day. With two weeks now complete I expect to see Laughs A Lot, Princess,Rocket Man, Ranger, Radar, Norco, and others from time to time as they steadily work their way north at about 12-16 miles per day, I do about 20 per day but stop more often at hotels. I see this pattern continuing since I prefer walking to camping. I will not likely see any of the Yogi's (mooches) like Mountain Man and Nomad, who started on Feb 1 and hope to finish Oct 15. They enjoy camping an move just enough each day to the next campground or next free meal. Hike your own hike!
Date: 2014-03-25
From: newport

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Cold weather to me while actually hiking is normally a trivial problem. My normal clothes for dry days with temperatures under 40 deg always starts the same: base layer brief, short sleeve base layer top, zip off pants, long shirt, rain pants, and rain shell. The rain pants and shell provide protection against any amount of wind. This outfit can feel chilly at the start of the hike but quickly warms up. If climbing it can easily become too warm and require adjustments to the shell vents and or opening the shirt buttons. Tomorrow the low is expected to be 27 in the city, warming to only 50. I will be climbing 3000 ft so you can subtract about 10 deg from those numbers. There should be no problem as long as I don't stop. But of course at the end of the day I have to stop and pitch the tent. I won't sleep in the shelter unless I have to because there is always a snorer and sometimes mice or worse. Either way there comes a time where the clothes must come off in favor of my long john base layer for sleeping. Hint: Dont make this switch until the sleeping bag is out; then get in and zip it up! Yes, there is a similar issue when getting up the next morning, a brief exposure to the elements when putting hiking clothes back on. Trust me, don't make the seeming convenient mistake of hiking with the long johns under your clothes, no matter how cold. In 5 minutes you will be sweating like a pig!Cold weather combined with rain is a different and potentially dangerous condition but I will save my thoughts on that until I encounter a more severe case than I have seen so far.
Date: 2014-03-25
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

If you are wondering why my mileage and destinations seem wrong and disjointed its because I am not playing by the exact guidelines of the trailjournals site. There are fields to fill out for each entry, which are assuming an entry is being made every day. I am adding notes only when I have enough phone charge and when I have something potentially interesting to say. So ignore the stats; I'll tell you specifically where I am and how far I've gone. Deal with it.
Date: 2014-03-26
To: hot springs
Miles today: 20.0

The day's hike had been treacherous due to the snow that fell the day before. At 4000 ft it had never gotten above freezing and the trail blazes were either not well placed or had been obscured. Luckily a couple of polished web walkers had picked up on the meager footprints left from the day before and blazed the trail ahead of me. Without their footprints I would surely have been clueless at several places. Kudos to Scott!Reaching Walnut shelter around 6pm I had no choice but to tent. It's what I intended to do anyway but, in any case, the shelter was full. By nightfall another half dozen hikers arrived and the shelter was surrounded by various style tents. I didn't realize how many others came because by 7pm I was inside mine for the night. I had waded thru the snow down the creek to fill my two bags from the pipe that was placed in the stream just high enough to allow the mouth of my bag to take water. It took a few minutes of transferring from one ouch to the other but I got 1.5L and trudged back up the hill. I was already getting chilled from not hiking. After filtering and refilling my bladder I had a small amount left that I kept in my canteen. I also had a can of cherry coke trail magic that I had carried for miles, afraid of opening it and having it turn to slush. Sleeping with it in my bag would make it work for breakfast.Deploying my bag and air mattress was the next step but a low level hiss told me something was amiss. The pad was leaking from the inflate valve and could not be fixed. Boo to the REI Flash pad! It had a number of problems but this was a killer. Without it the cold ground came right thru the sleeping bag. All I could do was try re-inflating it from time to time playing Russian Rullete hoping the valve would hold. It never did for long.The night was cold and made worse by a strong wind that had pulled up several tent stakes by morning. The night had been restless although I had been able to reach Hot Springs to reserve a hotel for the next night. My alarm weren't off at 6am and I heard some activity near the shelter. I ignored the alarm for 45 min knowing I only had 14 mostly downhill miles to get off the mountain into town. Once up I changed from long johns to clothes but found my shoes were frozen solid and had to be sat on just to get my feet into them. Breakfast was my coke, meds, and a couple of fun size kit kats. The wind kept my tent from dewing up, except for the frozen muddy footprint and I moved on down the trail at 8:30am. I don't remember actually sleeping.
Date: 2014-03-27
From: hot springs

To: hot springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Just when it looked like I was on a 110 mile/wk pace (which translates into a 20 week thru hike) I find myself taking a second zero day this week. I sat out the mountain snow on Tuesday in Newport TN and now will let the heavy rain go by while staying in Hot Springs. Of course Hot Springs is a special town in that the trail goes right down Main Street. I got my first drop box here (thx to my wife) and likel send home some unneeded items (like the repair kit for that useless air mattress). My strategy may backfire since the rain is expected to continue into Sat but it should definitely knock down some of that mountain snow. Mud is not better than snow but it is better than ice! I am not giving up on 20 weeks; there are more level sections in VA where 30 mile days should be possible. Right now I am watching March madness and rubbing a sore right thigh muscle. The feet are fine but numb and my right kidney is complaining at times. A solid hydration and eating day will do me some good. I must manage my food and water better when on the trail. It's doubtful I can continue this binge pattern for the whole hike. As of now though 274 miles are behind me.
Date: 2014-04-03
From: same

To: Roan Mtn, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

More boring stats I'm afraid. Day 14: (3/23) Colby Knob shelter. Tented. Last stop in Smokies.Day 15: Newport TN (I40 intersection)Day 16: Newport Zero day while it snowed on the mountains. Day 17: Walnut mountain shelter. tented. Day 18: Hot Springs. Expecting rain the next day. Day 19: (Fri 3/28). Zero day. No rain. Day 20: Little Laurel Shelter. Rain late afternoon turning to snow and ice with high winds overnight. Day 21: Devil's Gap Hostel. Beat up from hiking thru ice and getting lost. Day 22: (Mon 3/31) Tented at Spivey Gap. 22 miles. Day 23: Tented at Low gap. Skipped Erwin. 24 miles. Day 24: Roan Mtn shelter (cabin). Bad ice high up on trail. Day 25: Roan Mtn, TN B&B. Lightning and high winds.Day 26: Roan Mtn TN. Zero to resupply.
Date: 2014-04-03
From: Roan Mtn

To: Roan Mtn, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The list of dangers out here seems almost endless: bears, ticks, falling, lightning, freezing, hypothermia, getting lost, malnutrition, etc etc. But which of these worries are irrational? All of them or none of them? I thought I might fret about bears. I don't, at least not yet. After getting lost in the snow though I now worry too much about blazes, getting upset when I haven't seen one for awhile, even if there were no obvious other trails. I have learned that I have no Indian blood in me. Many times a switchback is missed while I follow a washout until it disappears. Damn my eyes; they often see what I expect to be there, not what really is.Because of this obsession with the white blaze I have developed a habit of verbally saying thanks for every blaze I see, theoretically to whomever painted it. If there has been a ridiculous gap between them I may also add some other choice words. It does seem the trail caretakers must take a quart of paint, starting at some nice city or gap and go happily along adding blazes and change markers every few yards until they run out of paint, leaving the remote sections almost devoid of markings. It doesn't help that natural coloring of many trees look remarkably like a blaze or that the paint seems to kill the bark and peel off. I can just see two caretakers standing at a particularly non obvious junction trying to decide how best to fool hikers while still technically doing their job. Who knows? They may even keep track of how many they get to take the bait. I've only made it thru two states but NC was much worse than GA. Maybe NC and TN couldn't agree on whose trail it was.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Roan Mtn, TN

To: Roan Mtn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

My zero day in Hot Springs had great weather. Unfortunately I was expecting rain. I HAD to leave the next day even though the rain was still forecast along with high winds that night that just might leave a minor "dusting" of snow in the upstate NC mountains. I will supply the ammo if someone will shoot the TV weather gal. I did make it to a shelter that day just as the wind and rain started. All of us witnessed the winds pick up as the night progressed. It's funny how wind at night makes the sleeping bag feel more cozy. Not so in the early morning though. Waking to a howling wind in a freezing shelter was a bad sign. It got worse when it became obvious any gear left near the shelter opening (ie my pack) was covered from blowing snow. My ursack bear bag was also frozen solid. OK. Sleeping next to me was Tree Frog. He had started the hike the same day as I and was "in it to win it". Boy did he prove it that morning. Although sunrise was 7:20 he was packed and gone before 7am. In the dark. I was next at 7:30. Crunching my first two steps up the mountain was a rude awakening as every step was painfully slow. There was no trail; just a set of footprints already being swallowed by the blowing snow. What normally were groves of laurel acting as lush tunnels were now heavily bent over obstacles that could not be gone over or under. They needed to be individually moved and when they were they rewarded me by dumping snow on my head and down my back between my pack where it would quickly melt. I spent the time rethinking my purpose on this earth and if changing my name might somehow help me quit without anyone knowing. Failing that I trudged on, afraid to fall further behind and lose the footprints, my only trail guide. How Tree Frog navigated I have no clue. I have never seen him again. He's like a phantom. When I ask people they say "he just came through". Somehow I did 17 miles that day, not counting the half mile down then up while I was lost. Thanks to Two Put and Gandolf for giving me some erroneous footprints. It ended well though since my lack of energy made me stay in a hostel where I got a warm dinner and breakfast and started the next day with renewed enthusiasm. But that's another story. The moral of this day was never apply a city weather forecast to the mountains.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Devils gap hostel

To: Spivey gap tent
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: broken clouds

The weather report shows four beautiful days ahead. Time to rejoice and look forward to merrily romping thru the woods and dales. So one might think. First of all, no one can predict tomorrow's weather, much less four days ahead. Secondly, if it rained or snowed recently the trail will be a mess for days after, no matter how glorious the sun is shining. Thirdly, high winds can be in the fine print making any hiking difficult and oppressive. The two days following the ice storm was a good example. Sunny and warm I hiked in zip off shorts and a tee shirt. Thru slush at low altitudes and either snow or ice above 4000 ft. While the snow melts it runs down the trail like a river, adding to the springs that naturally do the same, until it finds a better path. A well built trail has runoffs built into the switchbacks so these rivers don't get out of hand and turn the trail into trenches. So no romping. Just making progress up and down, from gaps to summits, from 1500 to 5000 ft, over and over, stopping at night near water to set up the tent and cozy into the sleeping bag for 10 hours. Surely the snow will melt the next and be perfect. I breezed into the hostel near Erwin on April fool's day and had a fun conversation with the owner about the possibility of snow later in the week. He zips out his phone and sees highs in the 70's. Doing the math he dismisses any chance of snow, even at 6000 ft, where I was bound for. What day was it again? Oh right. A day later, climbing Roan Mtn there was still snow from the last storm four days earlier. So much for the local expert. I met Grey Skies coming down from the Roan summit as I was climbing near the top and warned him about several icy spots that I had just traversed with difficulty. I didn't catch the full meaning in his look when he told me he knew, having just climbed the other side. The next day I found out what he meant.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: B&B

To: none
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It is obvious people are reading my blog. People I know, people I mention, and others who I have no clue of. I can tell by the guest emails even though almost all of them have a notice that the email address is invalid and can't be replied to. Some comments are funny and some are helpful. They are all welcome, even the ones that seem sarcastic or critical. Nomad took the time to tell me she is not a moocher, despite lots of anecdotal evidence to the contrary from other hikers. I apologize. Hike your own hike! My weather report complaints got me a terse comment telling me to stop using my BS phone app. Oh but that I was smart enough to even do that. I usually just watch TV wherever I'm staying. Hopefully it should be obvious by now that I just like to complain. The weather is one of the easiest targets. To all out there, please keep up the comments. They are valuable to me and a few folks are able to do it right such I can reply. I usually do.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: none

To: B&B
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is a zero, waiting out expected rain and relaxing. It is day to catch up on my journal as well. I have gone almost 400 miles and now have some feeling for how I can finish this in Maine. It is close to what I expected and hoped for before starting but didn't have the confidence to predict. I like to hike. I don't especially like to camp out or sleep in shelters. Hostels are better and hotels are the best. I like to eat well when in towns, hot meals, salads and fruits. I like eating quasi junk food while hiking: snickers, kit kats, peanut m&m, peanut butter cups. I no longer can taste Cliff bars or protein bars and delay eating them, forcing one down just to make me feel healthy. I have cooked using my alcohol stove but don't really want to much. Just too tired at night to go thru the effort and too much in a hurry in the morning. I prefer trail meals of summer sausage and cheese. Maybe some cookies and crackers. I leave each town with a fresh Gatorade or orange juice which I sip on and try to make last until the next town. At 20+ miles per day this has usually been three days max, two days typical. Today I sent home my cook set consisting of covered pot, alcohol stove, fuel bottle, matches, and sponge. I kept the spork and the zpack towel to wrap it in. This saves me a pound of pack weight, more if I have a lot of fuel. It is an experiment that can be reversed at any time.So I expect to stay close to 110 miles per week. Maybe less while in the mountains but more as the terrain levels. A typical week includes 20 mile hikes with a zero thrown in, hopefully in sync with bad weather. If this pace gets too much I will reduce it, perhaps just to keep my life more diverse than hike, eat, sleep. Sometimes I just want to lie in bed eating corn curls watching Bonanza. What more is there to life?
Date: 2014-04-04
From: B&B

To: none
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

My son's hike is over. As agreed he took the bus home to Austin. He took with him some memorable adventures of his own but the snows in the Smokies did him in. His local friend had some challenges of his own up there and I'm glad they got off the mountain in one piece. We may not have had the same objectives for this trek but I believe he got mostly what he wanted. Although we could not hike together the problem was mostly mine; I just don't like hiking in a group. I know he tried extra hard to be here with me but my wife and I are glad he is safely home with stories to last a lifetime. Thank you son for sharing this time with me.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: B&B

To: none
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My son's hike is over. As agreed he took the bus home to Austin. He took with him some memorable adventures of his own but the snows in the Smokies did him in. His local friend had some challenges of his own up there and I'm glad they got off the mountain in one piece. We may not have had the same objectives for this trek but I believe he got mostly what he wanted. Although we could not hike together the problem was mostly mine; I just don't like hiking in a group. I know he tried extra hard to be here with me but my wife and I are glad he is safely home with stories to last a lifetime. Thank you son for sharing this time with me.