morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-23
From: Blood Mountain shelter

To: Whitley Gap shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: few clouds

Feet still fine, but skin over hips starting to get hot spots. Not sure if it's from change to hiking skirt, pack adjustment I had at Neel Gap, or if this is just what happens after walking in a pack for five days straight.At Neel the AT actually passes through a store! I bought a $4 shower (heaven) and had a shakedown, where they evaluate what you're carrying and help you skinny down.Went: Keen camp shoes (replaced with Waldies), Nalgene bottle (replaced with Gatorade bottle), baseball hat, extra tent stakes, too-heavy raincoat, freshette (don't ask), bathing suit.I was proud to hear everything else was in good shape, including my first aid, which I agonized over.Anyway, I somehow missed the fact that my target shelter, Whitley, was over a mile off trail! Middle of nowhere! I was a little worried no one would show up...and then the best people in the world did. And their dogs.Jake and Matt are brothers, hiking with their rescues Starbuck (guess where she was found) and Dodge. They're from Alabama. They're great people.They made one helluva good fire. I repaid as best I could...with French press coffee.They also had done the shakedown at Neel. "They're anti-towel!!!"Meeting these two totally made the side trip to Whitley worth it.
Date: 2015-06-24
From: Whitley Gap shelter

To: Somewhere past Low Gap shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We all decided to hike and camp together today. Walking behind the dogs today made me think of the opening title sequence to "Downton Abbey."And the smell of sweaty dogs bearing packs actually brought good memories to mind - the way my horse Rebel smelled when I took off his saddle at the end of a long ride. Horse and sweat and salt and leather.Hiking with people is different...suddenly your pace matters.They're so delightful. I'll be sad when we part ways (they need to go off trail for dog food resupply). I hope we meet up again further up trail!
Date: 2015-06-25
From: Somewhere past Low Gap shelter

To: Rocky Mountain campsite
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

There's a bird out here who sounds just like a person doing the "I'm over here!" whistle. There are also trees that make animal sounds.Tonight rabbits were going berserk in the bushes as I tended the fire (my first out here!). Two came really close, checking me out. They were like lean brown kittens with cotton ball tails. I'm glad I saw them...and now when I hear freakish rustling in the bushes at night, I can tell myself, "it's just the bunnies."Last night was my best sleeping so far. I built up my "pillow" by sleeping on my pack. I took my glasses off (I've been sleeping in glasses and a head lamp so I can see. It's a bit crazy). And I willed myself to ignore noises that make it past my earplugs. And reminded myself, "that's just the tent flapping."I separated from the guys this morning and we exchanged phone numbers and emails. Matt said that if I need anything to call him, that he'll turn on his phone periodically and check. Made me think of the radios in "The Walking Dead." Very sweet.Right before I left, a butterfly landed on him and then rested on my pack. He handed me something small and said, "this has a message for you."It was a penny: in God we trust.
Date: 2015-06-27
From: Deep Gap shelter

To: Top of Georgia Hostel (got off at Dick's Creek gap
Miles today: 4.1

This is where I was trying to get last night! Top of Georgia Hostel, my first resupply. A box I had mailed to myself was waiting for me. I'm surprised, I estimated pretty well what I'd need.Taking a shower was amazing . And they give everyone scrubs to wear , so you can wash everything you have at once. It's funny to see a bunch of us lounging around in scrubs like its a hospital.Zen from South Africa and I went to town and hit a Southern all-you-can-eat buffet. It's the most I've eaten in one sitting in a week. Tonight we all sat around discussing bears, bugs, wild pigs, mosquito bites, shelters, mice, hammocks. It was wonderful. Tomorrow us NoBos will be dropped off back at Dick's Creek, where we'll probably disperse based on pace. Or not. It will be fun to meet up again at various shelters.
Date: 2015-06-28
From: Top of Georgia Hostel (got off at Dick's Creek gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

After a night of R&R several of us breakfasted at the hostel, listened to advice and stories from Sir Packs A Lot, and then rode the shuttle back to the trail. The weather was amazing - cool, no bugs or rain or humidity. We felt amazing. I hiked with Faith and Zen (pictured). They were at a faster pace, but we leapfrogged all day. We got to the shelter we were aiming for, but it wasn't nice and we were feeling good, so on we went!I finished Georgia today! And set a new personal record - 16.7 miles!
Date: 2015-06-29
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Something Sir Packs A Lot said has been kicking around in my head - that many people go on the AT to get away from the rat race, and yet when faster hikers pass them, they feel compelled to speed up...and it's the rat race again. Much as I enjoyed Faith and Zen's company, their pace was too fast for the kind of hike I want to do. Nearly 17 miles yesterday - it was too much.I felt sapped and sore for the first time, and hated feeling like I had to catch up. So after we all breakfasted on Standing Indian summit, I told them I was going to stay behind and do a slower hike. It sure is hard to find people with the same pace as you!So I wrote on the mountain for a while then did a real leisurely day , really taking it all in, down to the different mushrooms and millipedes along the way.I could feel the strain in the arches of my feet, behind my knees, in my hip flexors...I did too much.When I got to the next shelter, I saw Camo and Sunflower. Camo and I stayed at the same shelter our first night then ran into each other again at Neel Gap! We must have a similar pace.After they left, a father and his son, son in law, and their two Golden Doodles arrived. I had seen them also at Standing Indian shelter, but hadn't gotten to talk. We started chatting and I joined their campsite for the night, helping in a small way with gathering firewood, making coffee, and bringing out marshmallows to toast.Dexter (yes, named for the show) and Winston were so much fun. I hadn't realized how much timeI I'd spend with dogs on the trail! And I feel better camping with dogs - surely they'll keep the bears away.The birds chirp so late at night here. There's one bird that sounds like that children's toy - the hollow ribbed tube you spin that makes a whirring noise? Exactly like that.We were sitting around the fire and the dad exclaimed, "We got the Hunger Games goin' on with these birds!"I ended the night doing my favorite thing on the trail: lying on my stomach in my tent, gazing out at a crackling fire.
Date: 2015-06-30
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Albert Mountain fire tower
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

I finished 100 miles.I avoided lightning at the top of a mountain again.I met up with the family with the Golden Doodles again.I climbed to the top of the tower at Albert Mountain.I was invited home with the family for spare ribs, a shower, laundry, and a bed for the night.I am overwhelmed with the kind hearts of this family. I don't even know how to capture it.
Date: 2015-07-01
From: Albert Mountain fire tower

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Before I start on the miseries of hiking for days on end in the rain...I want to give a major shout out to the Tyler family, formerly of Tallahassee, Florida, now in a spot of heaven next door to the Chunky Gal Stables! :-) You have been the highlight of my trip and I am so lucky to have spent time with you.It's a good thing the Tylers filled my belly with eggs and sausage and biscuits, because boy was I in for some weather. The Tylers dropped me back at Albert Mountain and I resumed hiking. I finally saw a deer! I was in this part of the woods that suddenly cleared out...to use scuba terminology, where the vis has been consistently 5-6 feet, it suddenly opened up and I could see a good 100 feet or more . The trees were relatively sparse and I was at the bottom of a bowl. I was just thinking it would be a good place to see deer when I looked to my right and there she was...a pale tan doe, standing perfectly still, watching me. So beautiful. So I saw a deer and a waterfall and all was going well...until the sky opened and started dumping rain. And I got totally turned around / lost trying to find stupid Siler Bald Shelter.You know that old NES game Legend of Zelda and the part of the game where Link gets lost in the repeating forest section until you figure out the up-right-down-right (or whatever it was) pattern? That is exactly how it felt. It was pouring and I came upon the same stupid unmarked 4-way trail intersection twice. It was maddening. I saw the "shelter: .5 mi" sign TWICE. I probably added a good two miles to my mileage trying to find this stupid place.I finally pulled out my phone (using it in a Zip-loc bag with fingers pruned with rain) and had enough reception to use Guthook's trail app to figure out where I was. The shelter is on a loop!But whenever things get bad, the trail turns them around.Waiting in the shelter were Shutterbug, Caboose (a fellow professor!), and Gia the dog, AKA Pequod.A dog AND a Melville reference! I was in great company.I couldn't have asked for better folk to share a shelter with. We commiserated as we stripped off wet clothes and Caboose passed around a plastic bottle of Maker's Mark. In my normal life, I don't really drink. In my just-spent-hours-lost-in-the-mud-and-rain life, oh yes, I'm swilling whiskey!The tin roof (tiiiin roof! Rusted!) reverberated with rain all night.But as Caboose announced, "This is like a sleepover!"And right before I curled asleep in my bag on the wooden shelter floor, she called out, "Goodnight Walker!"
Date: 2015-07-02
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

It's funny...this whole time I've been avoiding sleeping in shelters and today I found one I like so much I actually want to sleep here.This morning I got to experience donning a clammy sports bra and pants and wet shoes and heading out into another day of rain. At first I did okay with the wetness - I had a Snickers bar that Shutterbug gave me, and it did wonders for morale! But after a few hours of sloughing through washed-out trail and wet weeds (this part of the trail wasn't maintained well), lifting the extra weight of sodden shoes, socks, etc...I just felt so tired and cold. I had a moment of brief respite when I went through the stone tower at Wayah Bald...suddenly the AT turned into a paved path! There was a family of tourists out there with umbrellas...and I emerged from the woods like Swamp Thing.Stopping my hike to do an unexpectedly touristy thing like exploring an old stone tower (which reminded me of towers in Ireland) really helped distract me from the misery of cold and wet. (The view up there was unfortunately a white sheet of storm clouds! Ha!) I had originally aimed for a shelter 11ish miles away, but it was becoming apparent that I needed to dry off and warm up.I used up the last of my isopropane (so now I know how long they last: two weeks), made some ramen with seaweed and peanuts, and tucked into my bag to read the trail log and warm up.Side Note: in Japan they have these moss gardens where you go to refresh your eyes by gazing on different types of green moss. Hiking through all this greenery must be completely rejuvenating my eyes.Side Note 2: People keep asking me what about the AT is different from what I expected. Hiking through endless thunderstorms, that's not something I expected.Side Note 3: Only redeeming thing about endless rain is that when it does pause, everything looks unbelievably misty and eerie and cool.(see pic!)
Date: 2015-07-03
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: NOC / Robbinsville
Miles today: 16.5

Eager for a shot at clean and dry clothes, I busted through nearly 17 miles in the rain to get to the Nantahela Outdoor Center (NOC), where I also had a bounce box, a food drop, and two surprise packages waiting for me! (Thanks for the T shirts , Mom!)I knew I had a tough day ahead, but without any fuel for cooking, I had to be creative for food. I ate a packet of tuna and fruit gummies for breakfast. I was planning on eating raw ramen (crunch crunch) for lunch. I stopped at a shelter and there were some local hikers there. I asked if they had a stove and might boil me a cup of water...and instead, they just gave me a brand new canister!I tried to give them money for it, but they wouldn't take it. Mysterious local hikers who bestowed trail magic on me...thank you!!!It's funny, but I was actually lugging four empty canisters with me...my own plus 3 others that people had left as trash. I picked them up to help with leave no trace, figuring I'd recycle them in NOC. Karma?Thank goodness for a real lunch, with the day I had planned. I knew I could do the miles, as I had before with Faith and Zen. But it was still pretty demanding, especially in the rain and with the crazy descent into NOC, and my legs buckled at the end and I had my first official fall. No biggie, just a bruise to add to the collection.The bad surprise upon getting to NOC was realizing 1) there's nothing there but NOC, 2) they were totally booked for the holiday, and 3) so were the surrounding towns. Taxis wouldn't come without an $80 surcharge and my phone only semi-worked (side note: if you are hiking the AT, get Verizon. AT&T is nearly useless, but Verizon people get signals on most mountain tops)I was delirious after pushing for so hard and so long (and in the rain!) to get there...and I was starting to feel desperate. Then one of the employees gave me a business card for the San Ran Motel in Robbinsville. They had had a cancellation...they could take me! And they had the number for a person who would do the shuttle from NOC to Robbinsville! Sold!I got in with time for a vigorous shower, a Frosty at Wendy's, and lying out on the outdoor couch to watch the town fireworks.
Date: 2015-07-04
From: NOC / Robbinsville

To: Robbinsville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Best Zero Day Ever! (Okay, technically it's been my only zero day so far...but seriously, how do you top this?)I feel so lucky to be here. Robbinsville: Pop. 607. And I'm pretty sure all of them came out for one heck of a small town county fair today.I started off the morning with errands - laundry at the local laundromat-ice cream shop (Pop & Nana's, The Wash Board) and getting some food extras (plus using the cash back option to get cash). The post office is closed for the holiday and tomorrow is a Sunday, but the hotel manager was kind enough to take my bounce box and cash and mail it for me.But let me get to the good stuff!I headed down to the fair, where I had an "Indian taco" (fry bread with meat and beans and cheese and lettuce on top) for lunch and BBQ later for dinner.There were live bluegrass bands playing all day and people were dancing / tapping ("clogging" - thanks for the term, Jen Haydel!). I guess this betrays my PA and CA roots, but I've never seen anything like it. They spread out corn starch across the street and everybody was getting up and dancing---young, old, in pairs, alone, it didn't matter. There was this one guy...I saw him compete in the up-to-15 category of the greased pig contest, so he must have been 15 but looked 18...he was dancing up a storm. So graceful. I could have watched him forever. He danced with his eyes closed, his face tilted downwards, completely in tune with the music. His dancing was beautiful.At one point everyone went out - older couples, young boys with tap shoes - and they all danced. The rain chased all but the youngest away, and the guy from earlier, he just kept dancing across the soft powder in the rain.At one point the announcer was trying to make light of the rain, pointing into the mountains and saying, "that's where the real rain is!" And I thought, yep, and I'm going back into it tomorrow...I heard the Britthaven Bunch, the Jones Boys, the Carolina Bluegrass Boys. "Listen to this song and see if you can hear the mule kick the fence," the singer announced.I sadly missed the Lumberjack Competition, but there was no way I was going to miss the greased pig contest.It was divided into age groups, but the 4 and Under group was the most entertaining by far. Imagine a gaggle of 3 and 4 year olds, running helplessly after a squealing pig fast as lightning. See what I mean? These memories are going to get me through the next few days of rain.
Date: 2015-07-05
From: NOC (return from Robbinsville)

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 10.3

I hiked up out of NOC with a ton of food weight. Chatted with a trail maintenance guy, Bob the Builder, who said I'd love Cheoah Bald. I probably would have , if it hadn't been endlessly raining. All the views were solid white. :-(I chose to tent tonight because I miss the tent ...and once I hit the Smokies , it's all shelters (you aren't allowed to tent unless the shelter is full ).Luckily I got the tent up before the rain started again , just under a rhododendron. Second time setting up beneath one...they're comforting somehow. I noticed a lot of bird activity, more than usual. But it wasn't until the next morning at breakfast that I learned why! There was a nest, barely 2 feet off the ground, just behind the tent. Guess the mama bird and I have similar tastes in where to bed down! I watched her fly back and forth, feeding her babies (who cheeped their heads off each time she returned). It made me think of how much work it is to feed babies, and of my own mother feeding me. Apparently I used to hold my mouth open wide, waiting for more food. My grandmother, who had had 8 babies herself, said, "I've never seen a baby do that!"While I was finishing dinner, a day hiking group from Atlanta stopped to talk. "You're brave to be out here. I'd be afraid a bear would go right for that tent!" one said.I know he meant to be making conversation, but ...please don't go up to hikers and say things like this! A bear attacked a sleeping boy in the area just weeks before I came out. It's taken me nearly 3 weeks to get over the feeling at night that every sound I hear is a bear. I am a couple of days away from the Smokies, where several shelters are closed due to bear activity. And I'm an hour from going to bed in a tent...please don't put the idea of a bear attack back only head!And I'm not brave, just determined. :-)My favorite poetry professor , Stephen Yenser, said that I have "what we call back in Kansas gumption."Gumption and a lot of smelly hiking clothes.
Date: 2015-07-06
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Cable Gap shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I had to pack up the tent this morning wet...and now everything's damp. This shelter didn't have an overhang or place to dry stuff. Today was the first day without rain in a week! Holy cow, could I feel the difference in my mood. My toes were still wet, unfortunately...shoes take days to dry out. But it just felt so good. I put my hiking skirt back on...how I missed it! It was tough going up the steep Jacob's Ladder today and once again, getting no payoff with the view. Just trees, same as always. Then back down again. The ups and downs of this trail can be heartbreaking! It must look so different in fall and winter.I meant to say this earlier, but this trail really changes your relationship to water. You really think about it...how much you're carrying, how long it will last, how much it weighs, where you'll get more, which sources you like best. I love all of the inventive ways people have dammed up stream with rocks, inserted bits of hose or pipe, to make a big enough stream for collecting water. I pass up water sources that are shallow or muddy, and love a good pipe. When I see a good pipe, I sometimes stop even if I don't need water!Today there was a detour between Locust Grove and Stecoah ("stay-CO-ah") due to a rock avalanche. The trail is really eroding due to all the rain and I've seen at least one tree fall over in front of me. The shuttle driver had told me he'd picked up a guy forced off the trail by blown-out knees, trying to do the regular trail instead of the detour. No problem, detour for me!The detour ran alongside a forest service road, so it was actually a treat - wide, flat, open. You could see the sky! And sunlight and wildflowers. I also saw my first snake, which was pretty cool .Oh and my first attempt at hanging my food bag the PCT way was a huge fiasco. I ended up having to cut the rope to get it down!Luckily they have bear cables in the Smokies. Tomorrow is Fontana Dam...and then the Smokies!
Date: 2015-07-07
From: Cable Gap shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter- the 
Miles today: 8.0

I'm hitting a breakthrough in tent sleeping on this trip - dreams!So is your awesome meter going off? Because I got to be sittin' on the dock of the bay (err, lake), waiting for a sunset boat tour on the Miss Hazel.I laid against my pack, feeling the perspiration on my skin and clothes evaporate, listening to ducks and the soft squeak of the dock, feeling the sun, indulging in a Starbucks Frappuccino from the bait shop. Today was so random. I left camp at 10 am - later than normal, but drying the tent takes forever. Then I walked to Fontana Dam marina. There's a visitor "center" here, basically a map and a white telephone you're supposed to pick up to arrange for a shuttle into town. Except...the shuttle's not running today. For no reason.I needed to get to the laundromat in town for clean, dry socks for the Smokies. And I needed batteries for the head lamp. Town was two miles away down the road. So I set off.I kind of unofficially decided I wouldn't seek out hitchhiking this trip, but if people offered rides, I'd take them on a case by case basis. A pickup truck pulled over and offered me a lift. I gratefully took it.Once there, I threw in a load and went for a root beer float. I found an outlet and started charging my phone while updating this blog. I'm surprised how much there is to write about, since I basically do the same thing every day.After the float, I decided to eat whatever I craved before heading back. This included:- 1 stick string cheese - 2 packets of stale Saltines- 1 whole tomato (eaten by hand like an apple, Christie style!)- 1 cup of yogurt- 1 container orange juice- 1 hot dogHiker hunger hasn't kicked in, but certain cravings have.I then walked the two miles back to the marina, where I ran into the dad and daughter hiking from a few days ago. I also saw they offered sunset boat tours...why not?I was the only hiker on the Miss Hazel, which was embarrassing because I smell so bad. But tourists in towns seem fascinated by me and want to hear about what it's like. Since all the thru-hikers have passed, I'm sort of an oddity.The Miss Hazel's motor died while we were in the middle of lake! They called for a tow, towed us back, then split us into two groups to go out again on pontoon boats. Luckily a couple was there and the man had boat skills, so he piloted our boat and the tour guide did the other ! The couple were missionaries about to move to Taiwan. They were so much fun to talk to. The tour took us up to the Dam I'd walk over the next day and the "Fontana Hilton" - the shelter where I'd be spending the night. It was cool to see them from the water side.We ended after dark, so the guide offered me a ride up to the Hilton. It was too dark to see and the other hikers were already asleep so I didn't want to turn on my headlamp. It's strange to lay out your bag and have no idea who you're sleeping with! But I could tell by the breaths, there was at least one dog!