morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Tray Mountain

To: Dick's Creek, Hiawassee
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was great. Woke up feeling energized and ready to hike. We hiked a few miles to Addis Gap where we heard all week about a beer & bbq fest of some sort. When we were close, we saw all of these neon signs attached to trees telling hikers what goodies were ahead. It was fantabulous. Moo is an absolutely wonderful trail angel. She and the 'home team' gave out free food, liqour and fun for a week. Why? Because they are wonderful people with huge hearts. We had a great time and really appreciated the generosity.We then hiked on through Kelly Knob (a hard steep uphill with great view on top) and succumbed to stopping in Hiawassee for dinner and a motel. We ate at an all you can eat (AYCE) steakhous for $6.50...what a deal!Took a shower & tried to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I will go over my first state line into North Carolina...woo hoo!!
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Dick's Creek, Hiawassee

To: Muskrat Creek
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was a fabulous day. Didn't sleep very well in the motel...amazingly, I sleep beter in the woods with fresh air, birds chirping...We met some new people today...Trucker (a girl...woo hoo! Girls are few and far between out here.), Craig & Dan (two English guys...love that accent!), and Flamingo. We startd at Dick's Creek and we walked alone to Plum Orchard...what a beautiful walk! Sunny, 70's, mostly easy terrain. Aswah left me messages along the trail like spelling out 'I love Lisa' with sticks knowing I'm right behind him. He's so damn sweet, I can't believe he is so in love with me. Lucky lucky me.Had lunch (pb&j sandwiches) and met Josh & Eric, Iodine and Mike to conduct a 'safety meeting'. Then we hiked on up & down, up & down to the GA/NC state line!! How exciting to have completed a state! 1 down, 13 to go! I've just walked 80 miles across a state...I'm proud that I've made it this far. I really do love it out here...so peaceful and beautiful.I saw a new flower bloom today....it had purple blades of grass as petals and a bright yellow center...lots of flowers are starting to bloom. After the state line we went thru Bly Gap and past a huge gnarled Oak tree. Then up a steep ass-kicker. Camped at a BEAUTIFUL campsite tonite...we watched the sunset slowly turn from shades of orange to a fiery red right thru our tarp!
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Muskrat Creek

To: Betty Creek
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Today was my highest mileage day and the highest mountain I've climbed so far! Woke up with again a beautiful day...first rain is expected tonite. Walked 4 miles to Deep Gap thru boulders this am...fun! Stopped for lunch and had mac'n'cheese'n'sand. Yep, the water source nearby is dry due to no rain so we had a little crunch to our pasta. A mile down we switched out to some delicious cold mountain water.We then hiked on to the 5,498 foot 'Standing Indian' mountain. Wonderful graded walking....just gradually up 3 miles to a beautiful view from atop. Wow is it awesome to "earn" your views. From here we could see mountains from which we just came from...and we could see the actual footpath too! All day is was so green, lots of rododundrums and other plants really blooming. The ramps are starting...wild garlic. Aswah was so excited that he started describing delicious dishes to come. Can't wait! Man, food fantasies are huge now!!We ended up going 16 miles today...what an accomplishment. I stumbled/tripped 13 times in the last 4 miles...we were cracking up...due to being slightly beat. Fell asleep in a campsite listening to the fire crackling and a nearby stream flowing...aahhhhh...
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Betty Creek

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

First day in rain...only a little bit of rain though. It will be pouring later this week. We started toward Albert Mountain which is one of Aswah's favorites. Rained all the way there for about 4 miles...but just a light rain so it was pleasant...felt refreshing. There is an area which is slightly scary...slippery rocks on a narrow ledge where the drop down is straight down a cliff edge.Albert Mountain is a rock scramble...I loved it. More rock climbing than hiking. And just as we started up the mountain it started to clear up...by the time we hit the top it was totally clear with the greatest view!! The gods must be looking out for us today. There is also a really cool fire tower up on top...we'll be seeing a few of those up the trail.After that it was pretty much graded walking again...the birds chirping, the sun filtering through the trees on the trail...lots of tunnels thru rododundrums...smells of wet leaves and pine...so peaceful...Did 12 miles by 3pm and hit Franklin...we are very excited to eat and have our first zero day (called a HERO day) to relax...We ate at the Shoney's AYCE for Easter dinner...then we went to Pizza Hut later for a 2nd dinner.
Date: 2004-04-13
From: Franklin, NC

To: Cold Spring
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

I am right now eating Fun Dip, listening to sleet fall on my tarp, warm and cozy, surrounded by snow at about 30 degrees outside. I have the fondest memories of family occasions at my Aunt Diane and Uncle Doyle's house. Mark, my brother, and I would leave my aunt and uncle's apartment and walk over to White Hen for Fun Dip and candy. We felt both grown-up and scared walking in the big, bad city of Chicago (we were nw suburban kids). Great memories of BBQing, eating Uncle Doyle's delicious food, playing his zylophone (sp?), and watching his electric train go around the apartment. I miss you guys!So, today we came back refreshed from our day off and did another 16 miles. It was a rainy, cloudy, colder day. It was comfortable temperature-wise until the last 6 miles. It was so serene and peaceful out there...we were alone all day going over streams, rocks and mostly walking through forests. It would be cloudy and then the beautiful, bright sun would pop out, get me warm and shine the prettiest light on the trees.I went thru rain, hail, sleet and snow today! I am warm and comfortable in my sleeping bag...it just sucks when I have to pee...
Date: 2004-04-14
From: Cold Spring

To: N.O.C.
Miles today: 11.0

Woke up in the middle of the night with a huge weight upon us...SNOW. It snowed and drifted on us and blocked our exitway from our tarp...also bitter-ass cold! Cleaned up camp as quickly as possible and walked as fast as possible to warm up.Maybe camping on a 4000+ foot mountain when a freeze is expected wasn't the smartest idea, or maybe that WAS the idea?!! The weather was very extreme today, too...one second it was freezing cold and the next I'm sweating. This happened all day. But, boy was the snow beautiful...a forest filled with snow covered branches. When it cleared up the views were breathtaking close-ups of the mountains next to me. We hiked 11 miles and stopped at NOC for a hot meal and a room...it's supposed to freeze again tonite so we decided to stay in a motel...lucky me.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: N.O.C.

To: Sweetwater Gap
Miles today: 15.0

Went to breakfast and met up with Aswah's friend, Mountain Mike, and his soo cute puppy, Pumpkin. Started up a hard, long 8.2 mile climb. All uphill to Cheoah Bald, a beautiful climb with breathtaking, expansive views on top. Kept going all the way to Sweetwater Gap.Today was hard physically, but we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day in the 70's. We went from freezing temps yesterday morning to sunny 70 degrees today. Amazing how drastic the weather changes are.Today was beautiful forest walking...I love when the rhododendrons form a dark tunnel and the sun shines thru making the trail glow.Aswah slipped and fell on muddy terrain three times today...great entertainment for the day! He needs new shoes. The tread is wearing low. Camped off the trail on a gorgeous spot with mountain views and a sunset glowing beyond...I've walked 148.7 miles. It might not seem like alot, but it feels good.
Date: 2004-04-16
From: Sweetwater Gap

To: Fontana Dam Visitor's Center
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

Started out today on a bad note. I woke up with daddy long legs all over my stuff and it freaked me out! Spiders freak me out. So I was not happy for awhile, mostly because I was disappointed with myself for over-reacting. These are things I need to get used to and not let them get to me.We started out with a hell of a climb...straight up for a mile. Then good walking to a gap where Trucker and I commiserated on our bad days...we felt the same way. One second we are pissy and asking ourselves why the heck we are doing this. The next moment you see a beautiful flower or butterfly and you're happy again. I was very happy to talk with another newbie instead of the ever-positive, Aswah.We moved on to beautiful walking and stopped for lunch at Cable Gap shelter. That's where I learned two things that proved very helpful. One was how to correctly breathe during the uphills. Then I started to channel my energy to places where I needed it. Mostly I sent it to my arms to make my hiking poles move faster and feel stronger. Wow, that worked! I flew for the next few miles...Aswah couldn't even keep up. It felt great.Then we headed on to Fontana Dam...Jeff and Nancy who own the place are awesome...they pick you up, drop you off, do your laundry, provide the most cozy and comfortable setting imaginable and overall are really good people. We went to a Chinese Buffet AYCE seafood dinner with Mountain Mike. It was great. They had big crab legs and all these fried concoctions...yum. Had the best night's sleep yet.
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Fontana Dam Visitor's Center

To: Fontana Dam Visitor's Center
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hero Day...Totally relaxed, played cards, visited with Nancy and cooked (not me, I assisted Aswah and Nancy with dinner)...Stuffed "I love Lisa" artichokes (yes, cheezy I know, but I love it!), Rib Eyes, potatoes and green beans...the usual, wonderful Aswah meal.We learned today that two-thirds of hikers quit at this point. Wow. I guess it's good that I'm still in the game!
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Fontana Dam Visitor's Center

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Entered the GSMNP today!! The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is home to the most dense forest in North America. Can't wait! It's also home to 1800 black bears. I have mixed feelings... I really want to see one, but I'm very scared. The walk today was beautiful weather (80's) and great scenery. I was very tired from a day off and a heavy pack. We are going to do the 70+ miles of the Smokies in 5 days.I saw a little bit more of wildlife, a grouse (a bird that makes a sound like a helicopter...odd), a chipmunk and lots of butterflies. Oh! We went on top of a fire tower...oh my god that was absolutely breathtaking. You couldn't see a road anywhere...huge mountains all around and the Fontana Dam...just stunning.We walked thru a gap that was covered (I mean millions) with little white flowers everwhere in sight. It looked like a light snow had covered the ground. The flowers reminded me of my mom...simple yet elegant.Met Sauerkraut and Excellent Half Moon...had dinner, talked and retired to our campsite. We hung our food bags and anything that has a scent so the bears will hopefully stay away.
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Russell Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

The Smokies are playing kickball with my out-of-shape ass. Today we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise from our tarp. The first few miles I absolutely loved. Spence Field is the largest, grassy bald in the Smokies and it's so neat! A huge area on top of the mountain is completely open, full of huge fluffy blades of grass, almost like hay. That would be so comfortable to sleep on.Then I walked thru alot of rocky areas with my favorite rhododendruns surrounding me...sounds of the wind, birds chatting with me, smelling fresh air...what more could I ask for? Then the top of Rocky Top Mountain with its sweeping mountain views.The rest of the day was mostly forest ridge walking with lots of little white flowers everywhere again! Oh! I have a trail name now, Day Tripper. I came up with this name during one of my many trips/stumbles when all of a sudden the song "Day Tripper" by the Beatles came on in my head...my favorite band. Perfect! I am very clumsy in general so what a perfect name.Kept going...stopped for lunch for an hour...decided to go farther than planned due to all the lovely aromatic horse manure at Silers Bald. Ended up hiking in front of a beautiful sunset to the next shelter, Double Spring. Saw Dawn and Chris again which was great...they are so cool. I met Jimmy Dean (a.k.a. Rebel with a Cause), Aswah's thru-hiking friend. Nice guy...chatted over dinner (Ramen noodels).On the way back in the dark to our tarp we saw a deer 10 feet away! He was running around the area. We are sleeping under big pines tonight...we will be entering more pines soon. Tomorrow is the highest point on the AT! Exciting!!
Date: 2004-04-20
From: Double Spring Gap

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I am officially done with 10% of the trail! Today was great. Woke up and ate a hot Ramen breakfast. Hiked all day with Jimmy Dean which was really fun. He is a hilarious southern man with alot of knowledge about this particular area of the Smokies. The hiking was very pleasant thru thick pine forest and rocky terrain. Very enjoyable...lots of huge pieces of quartz, too.Went up to the highest point on the trail, Clingman's Dome...WOW. Walked up the cement watertower with views all around. Very touristy, but it was great because it was marked all around with descriptions of the mountains we were looking at. The rest of the day was pine forest walking to Newfound Gap where we succumbed to the pull of Gatlinburg.Jimmy Dean drove us there, we ate at a Brewery. Very touristy, fun town...lots of candy and fudge stores...YEAH! Got me some of those and then we went to a local haunted house. It was cool! Got a good nights sleep, laundry and shower.
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Newfound Gap

To: Pecks Corner
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was the day I fell in love with the AT. I hit over 200 miles! WOOHOO! Beautiful, beautiful walking all day. The most beautiful yet.We had gorgeous, sweeping mountain views around us the entire day...I'm not kidding. I should have brought more film. I can't believe how pretty it is...it chokes me up.  Charlies Bunion is awesome...very narrow, scary trail with huge drops on both sides leading up to it. Then you sit on a huge rock jutting out and it's just sensational.Here is where I first witnessed Aswah's amazing yogi-ing techniques. A threesome of day hikers were talking about food and Aswah turned around and said "Hey, if you're going to talk like that, at least have the food on you". (joking of course) They then gave us a yummy cheese sandwich, pringles and Famous Amos cookies...WOOHOO!Then just more and more beauty. We kept stopping and enjoying the views which were great...I don't like rushing thru those things. Why the heck are you out here if not to enjoy the gorgeous scenery!! At Bradley's view we stopped for almost an hour and talked about our future together...endless possibilities of adventures both on and off work.Heard new bird calls today...watching birds soaring so gracefully over the mountains.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: Pecks Corner

To: Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower
Miles today: 15.7

Today we slept inside of an octagon-shaped fire tower with 360 degree panoramic views surrounding us. That was awesome. We walked today thru all the difficult terrain of the Smokies. It's getting much more lush and green out here. We walked until around 7:30. I really love walking at dusk...it's quiet, there is more wildlife roaming about and it's just very peaceful.Then on to the great fire tower. We had heard from Rambunny that it was great and it really was perfect. Shelter and views all in one...it was like having a private cabin in the woods for free!
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower

To: Painters Branch
Miles today: 10.0

Woke up to the most beautiful orange and fire-red sunrise that I've ever seen. It just kept getting better and better each moment. Got an early start for a change which was nice...very quiet in the early hours.Today's forest walking was 7 plus miles downhill with beautiful, lush greenery everywhere. The smell of spring was in the air. We saw a few new flowers, too! My favorite is this big purple flower with four velvety petals. Inside of them is a handpainted-look of white and yellow.After the great downhill, we followed a small, gushing waterfall...ahh how I wanted to sit my butt in a tube and just float...We then came upon Standing Bear Farm, which was a great place. We resupplied for another 3 days and talked with A-Dog and Icebreak. Cool guys. Aswah's friend, Doug, sent us a goody box with a bottle of Veuve Chiquot Champagne so we enjoyed that along with a pizza and lots of sodas. Thanks Doug, what a great surprise!Standing Bear is very friendly...good vibe. Surprisingly, we didn't stay. We hiked on a few miles to a great campsite inbetween 2 springs. What a great natural noise machine to sleep to.Today is the first day that I felt really comfortable thru-hiking. There's no use getting mad at uphills that kick my butt. Deal with it. I've got hundreds more to do, by choice. So, instead, I think about the benefits: Aswah, a wonderful companion, I'm getting into the best shape of my life, meeting new, cool people, not working!, eating whatever I want (always a huge dream of mine) and being free. I have occasional pain and discomfort...oh well.My non-outdoorsy upbringing is hindering my ability to truly enjoy the woods. This is another thing I have to learn. To not let insects, spiders, mice, etc. get to me. Aswah said to me today "Things are only going to bother you if you let them bother you". That made sense. I have to learn to just let go.
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Painters Branch

To: Brown Gap
Miles today: 7.8

Woke up to two streams running by me. What a nice awakening! I had two pop tarts for breakfast, a snack an hour later of six powdered donuts, fruit and pringles. Two hours later, my lunch consisted of a peanut butter sandwich, goldfish, cheese/bread and oreos. I'm starting to notice that my appetite is growing!Today we walked thru forests of huge,tall straight trees with small green leaves. When you look into the forest it looks like these specks of green are floating all around...beautiful!Then we came upon the 'trail devils' at Brown Gap. Rat,Oz,Lisa and others prepared a 3 day hiker feast that was totally awesome. We had steak, porkchops, venison, salmon, grilled asparagus, numerous dips, chips, candy, and different homemade snacks...AWESOME!!! We met a whole bunch of new hikers. It was fun and relaxing. I rocked in a hammock which I told Aswah a few days before that I really wanted to do. We had such a wonderful time.
Date: 2004-04-25
From: Brown Gap

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: overcast clouds

My first 20- mile day! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but after mile 17 I was very tired. Today's walking was beautiful...we saw lots of different new flowers everywhere. Lots of trilliums...wow, they are amazing. Huge, white petals with a ruffle effect...white, pink, peach and maroon.Then we were walking down a valley and OH MY GOSH! the smell of these small white flowers just took over, and it smelled so fresh and floral. That was great. It's so lush and green now. It's really cool to walk with spring and to see it develop as we walk north.We hiked over lots of streams and huge boulders...very serene and peaceful. We slept behind the shelter in our tarp and it was quite wet. We didn't set up our tarp according to terrential rain, but overall we stayed dry. Next time we'll do it better. Falling asleep listening to rain drops on the tarp was awesome
Date: 2004-04-26
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to a wet morning. We didn't set our tarp up as well as we could have for the rain...live and learn.We had a few rivers running thru our bedding, but overall we stayed dry. We then walked 3 miles into the wonderful town of Hot Springs.Aswah was so excited for weeks about eating at the Smokey Mountain Diner. We went there first and found out that it was closed for a few hours to change gas tanks. Funny! So we grabbed a bite at the Camp Store, went to the awesomely equipped and friendly Bluff Mountain Outfitters. We bought a new gi-hugic, I mean big, tarp. It's a 10ft. by 12ft. family size...120 sq. ft. Quite a nice difference from sharing a single person tarp. We're excited to try it out.We checked into the Duckett House, a great B and B. Went to the Paddler's Pub for lunch, did laundry, errands etc.For dinner we went to the SM Diner with Blue. She is awesome! I had a delectible piece of warm strawberry rhubarb pie ala mode. YUM. Then, off we went for a few drinks at the Pub. That was fun. Went home and slept very well
Date: 2004-04-27
From: Hot Springs

To: "Hero Day" in Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Stayed in Hot Springs for a lovely "Hero Day". Started out with a great breakfast at the Duckett House, lunch at the diner.Spent an hour in a hot spring tub. They pipe in mineral water from the springs into a hot tub. Wow, what relaxation! Fell asleep early
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Hot Springs

To: Campsite on Pond
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: broken clouds

Had another great breakfast at the Duckett House, then off to the trail. We decided to only hike a few miles because of a great campsite on a hill across from a pond. Set up camp early;LOVE our new humungous tarp!Enjoyed a weinie roast by the campfire, played cards, took a walk along the pond, read and had a very enjoyable evening. We love our new Chateau (a.k.a. Big Ass Tent)
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Campsite on Pond

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Very pleasant day of walking today. Felt like lots of ups. It's amazing, when you run out of water your mind plays games on you. You think you are going to die of dehydration.We ran out of water at Alben Gap where there was supposed to be a reliable spring. We had another 5 miles until water with ups and it was a very hot day. We even went off the trail because we saw a house, thinking we could get water, but it was empty. We really were totally fine and hydrated, but our minds played tricks on us. Luckily, we came upon a spring a few miles up. We were happy again
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Elevated Campsite
Miles today: 13.6

Today we went thru an awesomely fun rock scramble. It was unexpected. This part of the trail was redirected, so Aswah didn't know about it. It was so much fun!!We camped at an elevated campsite. It was really odd when it got dark. There were these horrible noises that sounded like animals being tortured. There are farms nearby...we had to play music all night because the noises were so disturbing.