morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-28
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Longest hiking day in a while but a hiker gets pretty motivated over a chance for a shower and real food. I literally flew on the trail as I started the downhill into Hot Springs. As towns go, Hot Springs isn't much to write home about. But to a hiker it's like an oasis int he desert. Scored a room at Elmer's, which is a house built in 1840 with a dozen or so rooms. Shared the room with Jersey for $15 -- not bad.Grabbed a nice hot shower, did my laundry, and then headed into town for a pizza and beer. Most often back home we get a large pizza, split it and still have leftovers -- but not out here. You get an 18 inch pizza, polish it off by yourself and then look around to see if anyone else can't eat all of theirs.That pretty much summed up the day. Tomorrow morning the plan is to hit the library for a little internet access, stop in at the outfitter, mail some stuff home from the post office, and then head out hiking again. Ah . . . the life of a thru-hiker!!
Date: 2003-04-29
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Important lesson ....don't leave town @ 2:30 PM and expect to hike 11 miles by dinner time - just ain't gonna happen. Woke up and had best intentions of getting out of towon in the morning. But then reality set in. The Post Office didn't open until 10 AM and I still wanted to hit the local library for some internet access. Somewhere in between I ran into a hiker named "Rumbler". I had hiked with him before so we caught up a bit and then he said that he was hiking out of town today. He was taking 2 dozen hot dogs up tot he first shelter where a friend of his would be waiting with the hot dog buns. Jersey and I volunteered to bring the ketchup, mustard and relish. So we split up and agreed to meet back at the Pub for lunch. Short end to a long story...we didn't start hiking until 2:30 and the rail coming out of Hot Springs (northbound) is a tough uphill pull. Anyway, off we went, hiking up hill with what was supposed to be dinner. Let's look at the math here - 11 miles at 2 miles/hr should have put us at the shelter around 7:30 PM, which in and of itself is pretty late for dinner. Turns out that our 2 mile/hr estimate was a tad generous. It ended up being somewhere between 1 and 2 miles per hour. Regardless, we arrived at the shelter, totally exhausted, at around 9 PM. Everyone was sleeping but the hiker with the hot dog buns did get up and acknowledge our arrival. He had given up on us and had dinner several hours ago. Somewhat depressed, we all set up our tents and called it a night. We were starving but were too tired to make dinner. I don't know about the other guys but I wolfed down a Snickers and crashed.
Date: 2003-04-30
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: few clouds

Woke up early - lord knows why. I should have slept in. But it was a clear day and the sun was coming up. Besides, I was hungry as hell from not eating dinner last night. Got some breakfast and the other guys started to wake up. We decided to do a short day and have the hot dogs for lunch.So, we broke camp and got started. After a few miles we were all glad we decided on a short mileage day. The trail was rough - mostly steep uphills and steep downhills. We eventually found a nice spot, started a fire and roasted our hot dogs. Mixed up a quart of Gatorade to wash them down. This was a nice treat. Just as we were finishing lunch we heard a clap of thunder. Within a few moments the sky opened and it started to rain.We ended up having to hike the rest of the afternoon in a downpour. Got to the shelter @ 4:30. It was full but 4 hikers said they were just resting and were moving on. That was great news! They cleared out and we moved in here for othe night. Weather and trail permitting we are talking about attempting a 20 miler tomorrow - we'll see!!
Date: 2003-05-01
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Set out to do big miles today but the "trail gods" had a different plan for me. The terrain was more difficult than I had imagined. Another factor was the weather. The day started off partly cloudy but by mid-afternoon it was pretty obvious that were in for another "soaker". I can't remember seeing so much rain. Oh well, no pain, no "rain", no Maine. Got to the shelter around 5 and called it quits for the night. Of course now this means I will have 2 long days in order to reach Erwin by Saturday night. Only time will tell if I can handle the big miles.
Date: 2003-05-02
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

More tough terrain. Starting to wonder if I brought enough food. Had originally laid this out as a 5 day stretch to Erwin, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take a part of the sixth day. Stopped @ Hogback Ridge shelter for lunch and decided to take a rest. Jersey and Rumbler were talking about going 19 miles today so they could get into Erwin tomorrow. I had no intention of going that far so I wished them the best and said farewell. I just wasn't in that big of a hurry to get to town. Besides, if they got in on Saturday evening they really won't have a chance to do anything. I will need to use the Post Office and I'd like to hit the library too so I won't be hiking out until sometime on Monday. Started hiking again after my rest and the weather really started to look bad. As I dropped down into Sams Gap (Rte 23) it started to rain. There is a new over-pass under construction so I ran underneath to get out of the weather. Along with the rain, the temperature also began to drop. Wet and cold are not a good combination. Changed into some dry clothes and put on my rain gear. Just then another hiker came running under the over-pass and we chatted for a while. She said her parents were supposed to meet her there. Within 10 minutes they showed up. Her dad got out of the car withi a quart of fresh strawberries and told me to take as many as I'd like - he had No Idea what he had just said. I ate the entire quart in less than 5 minutes, as he watched in amazement. Thru-hikers NEVER turn down free food, especially fresh fruit. By now the rain had stopped, the parents took off with the hiker and I crossed the highway to resume my hike. I hiked until it started to get dark. Then I found a nice spot, just south of Low Gap and called it a night. It's peaceful when you're all by yourself in a tent in the middle of nowhere.
Date: 2003-05-03
From: Low Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Woke up and everything was soaked. There was a dense fog and humidity was 100%. I wrapped up the tent, ate breakfast and started hiking. Before long I realized this would be another rough day on the trail. I think my diet needs some work because I'm starting to run out of steam during the day. If I even had any hopes of hitting Erwin today they were dashed by lunchtime. Rather than obsess about that I just decided to set my sights on the last shelter before town (No Business Knob). That in and of itself was a mouthful as it turned out. This is some of the toughest terrain I've seen since the early days on the trail. Very difficult to do big miles, unless you're among the "younger crowd". Anyway, made it to the shelter around 6 and called it a night. The plan is to get up early and hike the 6 miles into Erwin - hot showers, laundry and re-supply tomorrow. Yahoo!!
Date: 2003-05-05
From: Erwin, TN (Holiday Inn)

To: Erwin, TN (Holiday Inn)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up to a weather report that showed "hazardous weather conditions" for the next 5 days. Opened the curtains in the hotel and sure enough...it was pouring rain, with lightening and thunder thrown in for extra measure. That made the decision regarding taking a "zero day" pretty easy. That as OK with me. It would give me a chance to hit the PO and the outfitter. I also checked in to Miss Janet's Hostel and said my hellos to the other hikers. Found that tonight was Lasagne night at the hostel, courtesy of Baltimore Jack so I asked to be included. Spent the rest of the day taking care of business - PO, grocery store, outfitter and the library.Got back to the hostel just in time. The lasagne was being served!! BJack asked everyone to raise their glass in a toast to Mr. Earl Shaffer, the first man recorded as having thru-hiked the AT. This was the first anniversary of Earl's death and this gathering of hikers was pleased and proud to offer a toast of recognition. Then came the good part - dinner. It was fantastic, complete with salad and garlic bread. When the lasagne was gone a huge tub of neopolitan ice cream was brought out and we proceeded to make it disappear.Then it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I hit the trail again - yahoo!! Towns are fun (and necessary) but they can easily become addictive!!
Date: 2003-05-06
From: Erwin, TN (Holiday Inn)

To: Curly Maple Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: moderate rain

Got up early and had a big breakfast. The plan for today's hiking was a bit sketchy. Reason being...we were still getting weather warnings. Got a shuttle out to the trail at around 11 AM. That was about as long as I could stand around with my boots on and pack ready to go. As we got out to the trail the rain really started to fall. We had no choice but to don our packs and start slogging through the mud. Progress was slow (one step forward, 2 to the rear) and the lightening/thunder seemed to be all around us. We made it to the first shelter around 3:30. That's early to stop hiking but taking everything into consideration, we decided to call it a day. Four or five other hikers showed up and made the same decision. So with the protection of the shelter we made dinner and called it quits for the day.
Date: 2003-05-07
From: Curly Maple Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Had talked about doing 20 miles today to make up for the short mileage yesterday. Only problem with that was we woke up and found that it was still pouring rain outside. Waking up in a rainstorm has a profound effect on hikers-it causes them to sleep in a bit. That said, it was 9:30 AM before I had my pack closed up and ready to go. That pretty much ruled out a 20 mile day. The longer I hiked the more I began thinking in terms of where to spend the night. At about the 12 mile point I saw a shelter. Jersey had fallen way behind me and it was almost dinner time. I decided to pull off and make a hot dinner and wait for him. He showed up as I was finishing off my meal. We agreed to make this our spot for the night. We also agreed that tomorrow morning we were getting up early and would be on the trail by 7 AM at the latest. Lights Out!!
Date: 2003-05-08
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Bluff (6150 feet)
Miles today: 14.7

Roan Mountain...now there's one humdinger of a "speed bump". Whew, that sucker really took the wind out of my sails! We hit it at worst possible time too-right after lunch. Thought we'd NEVER see the summit but around 4:45 we broke out onto a huge open grassy area with a parking lot and restrooms-yes, you can drive there...and in a fraction of the time it took us to climb it. But it wouldn't have been so exciting. The shelter at Roan High Knob was actually .7 miles down the other side of the mountain. But we had enough hiking for the day and decided to camp out on the bald area of the summit.We pitched our tents and then walked over to the restrooms where we were able to fill our water containers with "potable water" - no filtering or purification necessary, and man was it cold and refreshing. We ate dinner and had a spectacular sunset. Dozed off pretty fast but around 2:30 I was awakened by huge bolts of lightening. Directly above us were still stars and a clear sky. But I watched the storm in the distance and noticed that it was headed our way. I woke up the other hikers who had set up tents and told them about the situation. We had a little pow-wow and all agreed that we were way too exposed on this bald. We made the decision to pack up and take our gear to the restrooms. Amazingly, the restrooms were clean and did not stink. So, as the winds picked up and the storm got closer the restrooms surfaced as the best choice for sleeping. Within a few minutes we had both the mens and womens restrooms looking like hiker hostels.
Date: 2003-05-09
From: Roan High Bluff (6150 feet)

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 15.2

As soon as it got light outside we packed up and headed down the mountain towards Carvers Gap. It was a long descent which makes sense since it was a long/hard ascent. Hit Carvers Gap for a breather and pit stop before starting back up the "Balds". Great climb and outstanding scenery. Fun being able to look back and see the trail we just hiked way off in the distance. Had lunch at the next shelter, which was called "Overmountain". It's a must-see for thru-hikers, even though it is a bit off the trail. Overmountain Shelter is a huge old red barn with a loft. It was too early in the day to call it quits but we did spend several hours just relaxing and taking in the scenery. In fact, we stayed a bit long!! We set out hiking again @ 4 PM, which normally would have given us plenty of time to cover the remaining 8 miles - BUT ....we had to go over "The Humps", which are 2 huge balds that come one right after the other. Haven't had this much spectacular scenery yet on the entire hike. The view from the top of the secon dand larger bald was unlimited in all directions. Then started the painful and knee-banging downhill over a rocky trail. To make a long story short, it took us until 8 PM to reach the shelter - way too late for me. Make a person note that my goal from this point forward would be to quit hiking for the day around 6 PM. A funny thing happened that night - sort of a mystery that did not unfold until the next day. Jersey could not find a tent spot to his liking and saidi that he was going up the trail a bit. I got settled in and then walked about a half mile up the trail to find him - No Jersey. I gave up and crawled in my tent for the night. As I hiked out in the morning I watched for him along the trail but again, NO JERSEY!! I stopped for lunch along the Elk River and a hiker walked up. He toldme about a great time he had the night before in a town called Roan Mountain. He said he even met another hiker there named "Jersey". So, he told me the whole story and said that Jersey was just a few minutes behind him on the trail. The temptation was too great. I ran and hid behind a tree and then jumped out in front of Jersey as he approached. Scared the crap out of him and now we were "even" for his having gone into town for a shower and real food - without telling me.
Date: 2003-05-10
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Logging road campsite
Miles today: 13.5

Well it was obvious now that we weren't going to reach Kincora Hostel until Sunday. So, we just decided to slow down and enjoy the miles. This was some really rugged terrain so making big miles is out of the question. Our primary goal was to get closer to Kincora sot hat it would be an easy hike in the morning.   About 1/4 mile into the hike I came to a road (19E). AFter the road the trail took a sharp turn up hill. Sad too, lots of trash along the trail. I see this a lot on trails that are close to roads. By the looks of the trash it is nothing a hiker would carry so my guess is that it is thrown there by people driving by in a car. We finally climbed back up to the ridge level and the hiking a bit easier. By around 6 PM we had been hiking for about 9 hours and were ready to call it a day. Besides that I had recently decided that I wanted to be done cooking dinner before it got dark at night. I really had grown to dislike having to wear a headlamp in order to see what I'm cooking or eating. Anyway, we found a nice spot that was close to water - what more could you ask for??Got our tents set up, made dinner and were fast asleep by 8 PM. Tomorrow is Kincora!! Hot shower, laundry and a trip to town - yahoo.
Date: 2003-05-11
From: Logging road campsite

To: Kincora Hostel (Dennis Cove Rd) TN
Miles today: 10.1

Up early and hiking by 7:30 - really motivated by the thought of being at a hostel. Plus, this is the last stop before hitting Damascus. Another tough hiking day. The ups seemed to last forever and the downs were so steep that they were hard to handle without slipping. This was one of many days that hiking poles really were worth their weight in gold. On top of everything else, the sky darkened, temp dropped and it started to rain - really hard. The rain came on so fast there was no time to get out my rain gear so I just kept on hiking. Finally I got to Moreland Gap shelter. I decided to put on some dry clothes and warm up. After a snack and a rest I continued on to Dennis Cove Rd and then onto Kincora. There was quite a large group of hikers at the hostel and I soon learned that no bunks were available.Bob Peoples, the hostel owner, told me I could sleep on the porch of his house. That was a much better option than hiking on so I set up my gear and sleeping bag on the porch and then got busy donig laundry and getting a much needed shower. Later on in the afternoon, Bob took a group of us into town for food re-supply and an "All You Can Eat" (AYCE) Oriental dinner - yum!!When I got back to the hostel I located my "bounce box" and the package from Leslie. One item in my bounce box was a set of hair clippers. I was starting to get a bit shaggy and gave myself a "buzz". When the other hikers saw the clippers they asked if I could also cut their hair - to make a long story short...by the time it was all said and done I had cut about a dozen heads and on most of them I had carved an "AT" symbol or a "blaze". That pretty much did it for the night. I crawled into my sleeping bag on the porch and settled in for the a good night's sleep.
Date: 2003-05-12
From: Kincora Hostel (Dennis Cove Rd) TN

To: Rt. 321 (Watauga Lake)
Miles today: 9.0

Woke up early and found that my left ankle was a bit sore and swollen. I felt like hiking but I wanted to take it a bit easy. My two choices were to either take a "zero" (no miles hiked) day or do something called a slackpack. A slackpack is where you get a ride forward to a road crossing further up the trail and then hike back to a pick up point. I'm not a big fan of slackpacking but it was the better of the two options for today. So we loaded into the hostel owner's truck and headed up to Watauga Lake. It's amazing how fast you can get some place in a vehicle but how long it takes to hike the same distance.It turned out to be a really pleasant day and the 9 mile distance gave my ankle a little break. As I walked out of the woods at the end of the day there was an RV parked and 3 former thru-hikers were standing there offering drinks and snacks. I went for a nice cold beer!!I got back to the hostel about 3 PM and learned that several hikers had left, which meant I would have a bjnk tonight and would not have to sleep on the porch again. I got my gear moved into the bunkhouse and then the announcement came that Bob Peoples (the hostel owner) was taking hikers into town. This was another shot at an all you can eat (AYCE) oriental dinner for $4.99 so I jumped on it. Funny because normally I'm not much for AYCE restaurants, because I generally don't eat that much, but out here on the trail it's a different story -- I can't get enough! So I stuffed my face (again) and then picked up a few last minute supplies at the store before heading back to Kincora. Tomorrow morning I resume my hike towards Damascus and my reunion with my wife, Leslie -- Woo Hoo!
Date: 2003-05-13
From: Rt. 321 (Watauga Lake)

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

I set a fairly healthy mileage goal for myself today, given the shorter (9 mile) day yesterday. Today is tuesday and that gives me 3 days to cover roughly 42 miles. I wanted to get a many miles hiked in the first 2 days to give me an easy coast into Damascus on Thursday.This turned out to be a great hiking day. My lighter day yesterday paid off -- my ankle did not hurt and all the swelling was gone. the hike took me around the lake and over the earthen Watauga Dam. After the dam I climbed up on a ridge where I could look back and see the lake -- what a beautiful sight.Soon I was deep in the woods again and by around 11:30 I reached Vandeventer Shelter -- a great place to stop for lunch. With lunch out of the way I set my sights on Iron Mountain Shelter. The miles went fast and I reached the shelter by 4:30. At the shelter I found several hikers I knew so it was a nice little reunion. We had a super campfire, ate dinner and called it a night.
Date: 2003-05-14
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Today would be another fairly tough day (at least for me) but if I reached Abingdon Gap I would be 10 miles from Damascus and I would have a pretty easy stroll into town on thursday. I had been told that the last 20 plus miles into Damacus was pretty easy -- which I now know is a bit of an exaggeration. I had certainly hiked over tougher terrain the past 6 weeks but these were by no means "easy miles." Lots of ups and downs and a few road crossings. There was a van at one of the crossings and the driver was handing out cold sodas and fudge brownies. Couldn't pass that up. Shortly before reaching Abingdon Gap Shelter I hiked past an old hunters shack that just caught my eye. It looked as if one strong wind ight blow it down so I decided to snap a picture for my memories. I reached Abingdon Gap Shelter around 3:30 and I actually was tempted to hike the remaining 10 miles into Damascus. But then I found out that the water source for the shelter was about 1/2 mile downhill. By the time I gathered water and got back uphill to the shelter, my mind had changed. I would now stay right here and then hike in early in the morning. That would work out fine becuase Leslie wasn't arriving until tomorrow evening. This made for a nice and relaxing dinner and evening. Had another great campfire and then turned in for the night. I drifted off to sleep with wonderful thoughts of seeing Leslie and hiking together for a month.