morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-04-17
From: Licklog Gap

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Made it out before 9:00 a new record. While taking down my tent I saw several familiar hikers passing by. They must have stayed at the shelter a mile back and got up much earlier than me.Two miles in I got to Burningtown Gap and there was Plunge Pool treating hikers with his cheese sandwiches again. Soon after Duck Farts showed up. We talked for a bit and then I continued on. I made it to the next shelter before noon. There was a girl from Germany who was taking a zero day due to a sore on her foot. She asked me if I was going to camp there tonight. She said she was bored out of her mind. I think she was looking for company but I continued on. Finally I was passed by Duck Farts. He's got to be at least in his late 70's, a big fuzzy white beard and a pony tail tucked up under his hat. He hiked the trail about 16 years ago. Looking at him I would guess he's been on it ever since. He just looks like someone from the mountains.Further up the trail I came across a sign for a view from Rock Bald. There was writing on the sign not to miss it. It was 0.1 miles off the trail but was pretty steep. I left my pack part way up but grabbed my lunch. I figured it would be a great spot to eat. I took a picture and before I could sit down it started to rain so I headed back for my rain jacket and to cover my pack and to continue hiking. After half an hour it let up and got warm again. The rain would come and go until I got to Wesser Bald shelter where I ran into Duck Farts, Jaws and a couple other guys. Cowboy showed up soon after. We sat around and ate under the shelter staying out of the rain. It finally let up to where I could get into my tent and sleeping bag to get warm around 7:30.
Date: 2017-04-18
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: broken clouds

It rained all night and into the morning. Finally around 8:00 it let up enough for me to get out of the tent and start hauling stuff over to the shelter. Jaws was already hitting the trail with Duck Farts not to far behind. I was planning on a short day so I was in no hurry. After packing up most of my stuff and eating the usual breakfast of oatmeal I went to dismantle the tent including wiping off all of the mud that had splashed on it.I hit the trail by 10:00 on a very foggy hike and within 40 minutes the rain picked up again and continued for the next 5 miles.   It was a long downhill hike with a few tricky spots especially in the rain. I did slip once onto my back. Luckily the back pack cushioned the fall. I finally got into the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) around 2:00 where I had booked a bunk for the night. I hung out with Cowboy for a bit then went to do laundry where I ran into Duck Farts. While waiting on laundry i learned that Duck Farts is a drink (Kaluha, Baileys and Crown Royal). I figured he got the name from the way he snores. I had shared a bunk room with him in Franklin and it looks like I'm doing the same tonight. After laundry I finally made it to the bunkhouse, took a shower and headed off to the Rivers End restaurant for a burger and beers. On the way I ran into Tom and Q-Tip which I hadn't seen since last week. It was good to see them. They had taken a few short days and then a 12 miler today to get to the NOC today. After dinner I hung out with cowboy at the bar for a couple beers then he was going to pitch his tent nearby before it got dark and I headed back to the bunkhouse.
Date: 2017-04-19
From: NOC

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 10.4

All rested from sleeping in a hostel and fueled up from French toast and eggs from Rivers End Restaurant I was ready to Attack the 3600 feet of climbing today. I had not been looking forward to it but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The first five hours of hiking were vey foggy. There was supposed to be a look out spot to views of Nantahala Gorge about 4.5 miles into the hike but it was nothing but fog. 6.7 miles in I hit Sassafras Gap Shelter where I stopped for lunch. Having had a big breakfast I did not stop earlier. Plus I case rain was coming I wanted to get to the shelter. There I met Aaron and Ben from Maine. They were going to stay there for the night to get a spot in the shelter in case it rains tonight. Around 3:20 I left to do more climbing. This part was pretty steep. It took me almost an hour to get to Cheoah Bald at 5062 ft. By then the fog had cleared and it was a fairly clear view. After a few minutes at the top I started the descent down to the campsite I felt like I was walking forever finally getting to the campsite by 5:45. There was one other camper there, a range runner name Maury. She spends four days a week hiking between Fontana Dam and the NOC checking on campsites and the trail and reporting back any maintenance needs.
Date: 2017-04-20
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Cody Gap
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained a bit overnight and into the morning so I was slow in getting out of tent. I still made it out by 9:30. There was a couple from Panama City FL that stayed at the campsite They had passed me early on in the day with their dog Murphy. They are doing a section hike up until Fontana Dam. I would catch up with them at common break sites. The first was at Stecoach Gap, a road crossing where a trail angel had left a bunch of apples. I had a couple. I had planned on getting to the second shelter I came to that day but then Jacob Ladder happened. It is a section that climbs 600 ft in 0.6 miles. In most parts of the trail climbs this steep usually have some steps built into the trail but this was just a trial going straight up. It was very difficult to walk. Thank God it was not raining. It was wet enough from the overnight rain. Just after reaching the top I came to Brown Fork Gap Shelter for a lunch break. At the shelter was the couple from Florida, Charles who I met down by the apples and "Blue" who I had met the day before. Everyone was talking about the climb. From there I hiked up out of the shelter and got to a high point where I could make some phone calls. I spoke to a friend Andy in Kentucky who might join me for a few days in a couple of weeks. I also spoke to a friend Ken in NC who I plan to meet up with in Gatlinburg next week. I got a hold of Sharon. She told me that she had gone to Pinstripes Restaurant in Oak Brook because John William who has a talk show on WGN radio was doing his show from there. We had met him a couple of times on some cruises that he was a guest on. She went up to say hi to him and mentioned what I was doing. He was getting ready to come out of a commercial break and told her to hold on. When he back on the air he introduced Sharon on the radio and talked to her about my hike. After the tough climb and spending sometime on the phone it was going to be late by the time I got to Cable Gap Shelter. Also i heard that it was going to be pretty crowded as it's the last shelter before Fontana Dam so I stopped at Cody Gap campsite where the couple from FL is camping. I guess I should have got their names so I could stop referring to them as the couple from FL. This will just make tomorrow a longer hike to get to Fontana
Date: 2017-04-21
From: Cody Gap

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

I got my earliest start today, 8:05. Because I cut my hike short yesterday I wanted to get into Fontana as soon as possible and had three more miles to cover than originally planned. I got a call a week ago that Top of Georgia Hostel had found my trekking poles and were mailing them to Fontana Lodge. I got to the Shelter in about an hour and a half where I stopped for water and then continued on the trail. From there I never took a break until I got to Fontana putting in about 8 miles by 1:30. My back was feeling sore from the pack and my feet and legs weren't feeling too good either. I took the shuttle to the lodge to get my poles. Along the way the driver picked up Matt (now called "Opie") a kid one year out of high school from southern Indiana. I had seen him off and on about a week ago. The driver waited for me at the lodge to then give me a ride to the general store to resupply and do laundry next door. I ran into Jaws who I hadn't seen it a while either. He had gotten into the lodge the day before and was taking a day off. Afterwards grabbed a BBQ pork sandwich and beer at the Pit Stop. I later learned that I could have hiked all the way to the shelter where there was a shower before shuttling into the village instead I took the shuttle back where it originally picked me up to the hike the mile to the shelter. It was awfully tempting to shuttle straight to the shelter and skip the mile. It was still pretty humid and I was hoping I would not sweat too much as I now had clean clothes on and still was going to shower. At the shelter I staked out a spot in the shelter (my first night in a shelter) and then got in line for the shower. I was in the shelter in my sleeping bag just after sunset when it started to pour. A lot of hikers were still out by the fire at the time and came running in for cover.
Date: 2017-04-22
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

I slept in a shelter for the first time last night. I had snorers on either side of me and did not get much sleep. To make things worse one of them after obviously having a good nights sleep decided to get an early start and was up before sunrise making a lot of noise. By 6:30 he was headed out with his backpack on. 20 minutes later he returned. He changed his mind and was going to take the day off, having woken a lot of people up for nothing.Soon after I started the hike I crossed the dam and then a car pulled up to give me some fruit, an apple, orange and banana. I did not want to carry it all so I put my pack down and ate it all just as Jaws was walking by.I then entered the Smokey Mountains. It was one of my longer days so far. I reached the Shelter just in time. As soon as I was inside it started to poor. I the Smokeys it is required to stay in the shelter if there is room which was fine due to the weather. It was already a full house when just before sunset four more people showed up. There was a ridge runner there who then slept on the ground and we squeezed every one in.
Date: 2017-04-23
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: light rain

It was still pouring in the morning. Knowing that I was planning on meeting a college roommate in Gatlinburg on Wednesday I did not have to cover as much ground today. I came to Russell Field Shelter to get out of the rain for a bit where someone had a fire in the shelters fire place. It was good to warm up a bit before continuing on. I hit Spence field Shelter soaking wet. My rain jacket is not holding up. Two of the girls that got in late the night before and I worked on getting a fire started. It lasted a short while but there was not enough dry wood. I think just the act of working on the fire was enough to keep me warm.Everyone climbed into there bags long before sunset to get warm.
Date: 2017-04-24
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: broken clouds

It was tough having to put wet clothes back on in the morning. I have hiking clothes and sleeping clothes. There was supposed to be more rain today so I did not want to chance getting my sleep clothes wet too. The other two people that showed up late a couple of nights ago were brother and sister Jim and Lesley a little bit older than me. We had met off and on throughout the day on our hikes.There was a good group of people at the shelter that night. Jaws was there. A mother from Texas and daughter from Knoxville were there and a couple working on a relay of the trail to raise money for Green Baret organization.We were all still huddled in the shelter. It was still damp and cold. Another early night
Date: 2017-04-25
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Most of the hikers from Silers Bald were getting off the trail today. Some were section hikers, some were going into Gatlinburg a day before me. The mother and daughter had extra food that they did not need so the gave me a few homemade freeze dried meals. I am looking forward to those dinners.I had to put on wet socks for the third day in a row. My feet are looking pretty wrinkled and ugly by the end of each day. My boots are covered in mud and smell pretty bad. But off I go again. Today's forecast called for a sunny day but the morning was still very foggy and misty. While I have gotten used to the cold and rain, the trail conditions are the most bothersome. There is a lot of deep muddy spots that are very annoying the either try to get around and often times just having to walk through.I few miles into the hike today I started entering areas of pine trees and moss covered fallen trees it is a nice change from the leafless trees and it smells good too.I got to Clingmans Dome where I ran into folks that I had seen when Sharon was stil on the trail. I figured they would be way ahead of me but they have taken some zero days.Jim was at Clingmans Dome. He was always walking a bit faster than his sister and was surprised when I showed up and had not passed his sister. She had actually gone to the parking lot. He went down to look for her. I told him that I would keep an eye on his pack. I had some lunch there figuring no sense in going to the top of the lookout tower as it was still foggy. By the time Jim came back and I was done with lunch it had cleared so we both went to the top for a wonderful 360 view. His sister decided to call it quits for the day and head into Gatlinburg while Jim continued on to Newfound Gap.Others were getting to Clingmans and taking of there boot and socks to dry them out. I continued on to the last shelter before heading into town where I met up with the folks I saw at Clingmans mostly a younger crowd in their 20's
Date: 2017-04-26
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: light rain

Hopefully the last day of putting on wet socks for a while. It was a short hiking day today. Halfway into the hike I got to a parking lot where I stopped to take a break and figure out how far I still had to go. A car pulled up. It was Omar and Jen from the Green Baret organization. The said they saw me as they were driving by and stopped to see if I needed anything. We talked for a bit and they gave me a poptart which I ate on the spot.shortly afterwards into my hike a came across a couple of older day hikers. Adam and Laurie, coming in the opposite directions. We talked for a bit and they asked me if I wanted a some granola bars. I gladly accepted.I got to Newfound Gap and a while later a shuttle bus pulled up and got me into town. In the front seat was Pumpkin who I had met a while back. She had hiked 3 miles past the gap to the next shelter where she sprained her ankle. She had to limp back. Some friend had helped her carry her pack back to the gap.After getting dropped off I was walking down the street and heard someone yelling my name I turned around and it was Jim and Lesley across the street waiting for a ride back to the trail. I was great to be able to say goodbye to them before they were to head home after the next section.I got to the hotel ahead of Ken and was able to shower in the changing room to the pool and do some laundry while I waited for him. Timing was perfect just as I was finishing up he showed up.After getting to the room he treated me to some beers and a nice dinner which I have not had in weeks. It was great catching up. It has been 25 years since we had last seen each other. We will have to work on getting together a little more often going forward.
Date: 2017-04-27
From: Newfound Gap

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was wonderful sleeping in a real bed. Ken and I went out for breakfast and then I played catch up on the trail journal. I did some food resupplying and the Ken took me over to NOC to look for a rain jacket.  When we got there I saw Duck Farts hanging out outside. And then inside saw Blood Moon who I have not seen for over a week. I was hoping to find a Frogg Togg jacket which a popular on the trail and pretty affordable. Unfortunately the choices were $100 jacket or $7.95 poncho. I went with the poncho and I'll keep my not so waterproof rain jacket for now. Ken then drove me back to Newfound Gap as the rain started up. I brought all my stuff into the restroom to get out of the rain and to organize my pack. And then headed out. The rain wasn't bad and it was actually enjoyable hiking in it now that I have a little more protection from the rain. The trail was in good shape and it was a gradual 1000 ft climb over a 3 mile distance. A few people were hanging out in shelter when I got in around 4:00 waiting for rain to pass before they continued on but I was calling it a short 3 mile day.  Rain and winds finally let up a couple hours later and as I was working on dinner Jaws came strolling into the shelter. He had gone into town for two nights from Clingmans Dome and then had to go back there to continue his hike today. Thanks again Ken for sharing the hotel room and the dinner. I had a great time hanging out with you in Gatlinburg. Hopefully we can get together again in Maine, assuming I make it all the way.
Date: 2017-04-28
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: mist

Started out moving at a pretty good pace. I was well rested from only putting in three miles the day before. Plus I was trying to catch up to Jaws. He had left about a half hour before me and in noticed he left his water bottles behind. There was no water to be found until our destination 12 miles away.  Maybe three miles in I caught him heading back for them. He was very grateful that I was carrying them. On the way a deer ran across the trail right in front of me. My first wildlife siting besides squirrels and birds. But we see those in the forest preserves and home so not as exciting as a bear spotting would have been. Weather wise it was a beautiful day. Much of the hike was on a ridge with drop offs on both sides. If I fell down the right side I'd be in North Carolina. If I fell down the left side I'd be in Tennessee. I had spectacular views of the mountains on both sides. High up on the ridge I had a signal to make a few phone calls from a couple different lookout spots. Plus is was a good excuse to take off the backpack and take a break.  It did make for a long day as I pulled into the shelter around 6:00. The shelter was full so I set up my tent. Probably a good thing because I had not used it in several days and the last time I did it was wet when I packed it. Plus I get to get away from the snorers. Hopefully ill catch up on some sleep tonight. As beautiful as the day was temps are dropping pretty quickly in the evening. In ducked into the shelter for a bit where it was a little warmer plus out of the wind. And then off to the tent to get warm in the sleeping bag.
Date: 2017-04-29
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter 

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I had o good nights sleep last night. The shelter was full so I had to sleep in my tent whisk was wonderful, no snoring and the ground was softer than the wooden floors on the shelter. I took my time in the morning figuring on only going 7.7 miles today. Jaws said he was going to the shelter after at 14.8 saying it was mostly downhill but I thought it would still be too far. There was a little climbing to start and I had a great view from the top where I took a snack break. After that it was a pretty long downhill to Cosby Knob Shelter at the 7.7 mark. It was only 2:00 so I was still debating wether to continue while getting water and eating something. In the Smokeys it is required to stay at the shelters. I decided to continue on the the shelter at 14.8. After a 0.8 mile drop to Low Gap there was a 2.1 mile climb to Mt Cammerer. And the sun and warmth that I wanted so badly was now beating down on me. I think I went through half my water on the climb. As I got near the top. Two women were coming down from the peak. I had noticed from the guide that there was a lookout tower at the top and remembered the Hostel owner at Top of Georgia specifically mentioned this one to go out of your way to see. So at the top I made the 1.2 mile detour to go check it out. It was a pretty cool stone structure with incredible views unfortunately it added an hour and a half to my day and actually put me at 16 total miles for the day.  I figured that there was a long downhill after that so it wouldn't be so bad. Most of the downhill was pretty rocky so it still to some time to make the descent. The trail did get better a few miles in where I made up some of the time. I got the the shelter with two others around the same time at about 7:40. The shelter was full so I had to set up the tent.  The only spot available was rocky and on a bit of an incline. I had trail mix and two granola bars for dinner, I did not feel like cooking. I got some water and chugged down a liter pretty quickly. Everyone was already settled in for the night so I climed into my tent soon after sunset. It was still pretty warm so I slept on top of my sleeping bag until sometime in the middle of the night
Date: 2017-04-30
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Green Corner Road
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I did not get the same quality sleep as the night before. On the inclined ground I would find that I slid down my sleeping pad throughout the night. And on occasion I would turn over to find a new rock under me so I would have to reach order the tent to remove it.Part of the push for miles yesterday was to get into Sleeping Bear Hostel Farm Hostel early today, thus the short mileage. The descent that started yesterday took me out of the pine trees but brought a lot of beautiful clusters of purple flowers.About of a mile of the hike today was along a good flowing stream with plenty of small waterfalls. It was one of my favorite stretches of the trail. Then I got to a section where sit was walking along a road that fed into highway 40 (not as scenic). Its is funny that knowing it was a short walk today psychologically seemed to make me get tired more quickly and make my pack feel less comfortable much sooner. I pulled into the Hostel pretty early, took my shower in the outdoor shower, did my laundry by hand using a washboard and then Jaws shared his pizza with me. From there I went into the hostel's resupply room where it was on the honor system. I had to take a envelope and then just write down the food items and prices of things I take. Hanging out with other hikers I met "Yard Sale" from Andersonville in Chicago. She had a few days off and procrastinated a few hours in getting back on the trail todayI've been sitting around drinking PBR's with other hikers. Everyone we'd ask for another they would just remind us to write in on our envelopes. Sitting around still drinking beers I looked down to see that my right ankle with the Achilles problem was swollen so I went and joined anther group of hikers that were soaking there feet in the stream.  Hanging out there I met Chris from Austin. He is getting off the trail tomorrow. We talked a lot about travel. His wife is from Bulgaria and he has visited there several times. He suggested I look up a Bulgarian restaurant when I get back home.Later on before sundown Cat had recognized me from the first hostel I stayed at way back at mile marker 20. She was joined by a friend of hers from Nashville on the Smokeys part of the hike.