morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Big Bald Shelter
Miles today: 10.1

10.1 miles today. Another beautiful hike. Went across Big Bald - great views at 5500 feet. Got to Big Bald Shelter about 4 pm after an easy day of hiking. Sheltered with our same gang. About 6:30 two college age kids came in. Started thundering and it looks like rain tomorrow. Dorothy and I have different plans if it rains. She wants to stop and try to keep her boots dry. I want to press on to the next shelter even if it rains. We'll see. I hope it doesn't rain so it won't matter.
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Big Bald Shelter

To: No business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: moderate rain

12.6 miles and maybe some of the prettiest parts of the trail we have seen. Dorothy hasn't been eating enough so we stoked her up with an extra Ramen yesterday and we had 3 oatmeals for breakfast today. Hiked most of the morning in thick fog and all lthe trees still dripping from last night's rain. It was surreal. Seemed like this is what inspired longfellow's "Forest Primeval". It was gorgeous. We crossed a big stream several times. Got to Spivey Gap and had a bite to eat before going on up to No Business Knob Shelter. The hike along Ogelsby Branch was beautiful - rushing stream through a forest of rhododendrons. We tried to imagine what it would be like if they were in bloom. Got to the shelter about 2:30. By bedtime, the shelter was full and overflowing - 7 in a 6 person shelter plus 5 or 6 tents. Water was a quarter mile away. We stretched a Mountain Home dinner of chili by adding ramen, read and went to bed about 7:30. This is the only shelter with no privey. It made Dorothy realize how much she likes priveys. It never did rain while we hiked, so we didn't have to make a decision about whether to hike and get wet. Thank goodness.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: No business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, Tennessee
Miles today: 6.3

The hike into Erwin was the easiest hike into a town we have had. The switchbacks were great and made the downhill much easier on our feet and knees. We got to a hostel and met Robin. We called Miss Janet and she came and got us. Her hostel is in town and in an old house. It was lovely. Jimmy and I had a double bed and air conditioning. There were 11 of us. Robin, Dorothy and Jimmy met Bill and John at a local restaurant and had a nice dinner together. Erwin is a great town. Robin, Jimmy and I went to town and had GREAT burritos, Sonic ice cream for dessert, went to the public library and the post office. Jimmy and Dorothy decided to end their journey here. We will really miss Robin, Bill, and John. They will head out tomorrow. We let Bill borrow Jimmy's hiking poles to see if he likes them. We think he will LOVE them. Miss Janet likes to call people by their trail names. I had been thinking about this as we hiked along, so I decided to be Todo(the dog in the Wizard of OZ) and Jimmy could be the Wizard. Robin is Gretel - with no Hansel, Bill is Pilgrim Will, and John is Spinmaster. Miss Janet fixed us a wonderful breakfast and then we started the shuttle back to the real world. She took us all the way back to Clingman's dome to our car. We took off and made it to a small town in Kentucky. Then on to Aunt Mary Lou's house in Ill. and then on into Denver. We had a wonderful trip and are very proud of ourselves. 150 miles in 15 days with only 1 "0" day. Thru hikers might laugh, but we enjoy every day on the trail or off and will have a wonderful story and pictures. See you in 2005 at Erwin!
Date: 2004-02-12
To: Helen, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Well hey folks, I've arrived in the expansive metropolis that is Helen Georgia after about a week on the trail. So now I'm taking time to set up this journal thing so we can keep in touch if you know me. If you don't know me, maybe this journal will provide you with some insight on hiking the A.T. (But I offer no guarantees )Dominic, Josh, and I took off from amicalola falls state park last saturday in the snow. It was pretty steady and the temperature dropped all day making for a cold night. We tent camped that night at Long creek falls in the 3 forks area. Sunday morning was a beautiful day and we hiked around 10 miles or so to Gooch mt. shelter. Here we met up with Pickle and peanut (who have journals on this site) mike from canada, luke from new york, and Dozer, a retired army colonel. We all hiked monday to woods hole shelter near blood mountain. This was a pretty rough day for me....I didn't really eat much and I bonked about 3 miles from the shelter. Tuesday we woke up and all hiked 4 miles to neel's gap. Everyone stayed the night at the hostel there except for Dominic, Dozer, and myself. The three of us went on about 7 miles to Whitley gap shelter and spent the night there with Beetle and his husky, Sasha (who, by the way, is the coolest trail dog ever!) Yesterday (wednesday) the Dozer, dominic, beetle, sasha, and I hiked to Blue mt. shelter (13 mile day). It was a great day for a hike, but i went and did something to my right achilles and now it's twice the size of my left one. so i think tonight i'm gonna get some anti-inflammatory stuff and ice and elevate that joker and see if i can shrink it. Dozer, Dominic, and I are staying at the helendorf inn, which is very nice for the price!    Tomorrow my dad will bring me my supplies for the next week and probably drop us off at the trail to save us from having to hitch hike back up there. Oh...speaking of hitch hiking....if you ever see someone trying to catch a ride and you don't stop to pick them up, don't wave at them! It adds insult to injury. It's kind of like "oh, i see you out there shivering in the cold rain, but i don't want to stop and pick you up because that means opening the car door and letting the heat out"   This is a really rough summary of my journal, and it's lacking a lot of detail, my apologies. I left my journal back at the hotel and now i'm in the helen library and dont' feel like walking back to get it, so this is strictly for memory. I'll probably update this in about a week or so and will probably clean this up into a real journal. Catch you lata!
Date: 2004-02-14
From: Helen, GA

To: Plumorchard Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light rain

Happy Valentines Day!!! Dad came up to helen yesterday morning and he and I went out to eat and to find me some trail shoes. Needless to say, the outfitter was small and not well-stocked (everybody keeps telling me it's too early in the season)So here I am, still in boots. We just did the 6 miles or so up to Tray Mt. shelter yesterday, Dom and I set up our tents. A-1, dozer, and Will stayed in the shelter. Really great day to hike...actually got to sit around with my shirt off for a while. Mike wasn't there, heard he took a zero day at Blue Mt. Hope to see him again. Today we came the 15 miles from Tray Mt. to plumorchard gap shelter. We caught up with luke (who now has the trail name cool hands luke), good to see him. This shelter is great- 3 levels and covered eating area. Tomorrow we'll go 12 miles to standing indian shelter. Possible snow tonight and tomorrow. Decided to go on and push hard next 3 days and spend 2 nights in franklin, actually take a true zero day...think we all could use it. My achilles is doing better i think. Probably a combination of medicine and sleeping w/ it elevated. Saw a boy-scout troop today heading up to deep gap shelter I think...felt bad for a couple of them wearing jeans, which will be miserable if it snows and/or rains. Oh...Dom got a trail name today...L.A. Dom- after lance armstrong since he powers up hills past everybody.
Date: 2004-02-15
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!One state down, 13 to go! Spent my last night in my home state and headed into north carolina today. Came the 12 miles to standing indian shelter. Definitely the most trying day so far, both mentally and physically. Woke up to rain and crazy wind. So windy that 1/2 my body was soaked and the other half bone-dry. The first 7 miles were pretty rought...temperature dropped all morning and rain turned to ice turned to snow Snow was actually better than rain because you can brush off snow. Stopped for a few minutes at muskrat creek shelter for lunch. Ate mashed potatoes...really felt like I needed something warm, as I hadn't drank or eaten anything since breakfast. After lunch, the next 5 miles were easy. The first 2 miles of northcarolina were like "welcome to NC, hope you brought a ladder!" These jokers went straight up! Add 30 mph wind gusts with rain/snow and stuff got interesting. I saw two rainbows though, which was nice, because the sun couldnt decide what it wanted to do. One minute it would be glaring in my face along w/ stinging rain, and then it would be lost in dark rain clouds the next. Tonight we cooked at the feet of our sleeping bags it was so cold-definitely glad I have dry-mid weight thermals. We were in our bags at 3:00...made for 17 hours in our bags! Tonight we'll try to listen to the simpsons on dozers radio, but it will be an early night- got 14 miles tomorrow in the snow!
Date: 2004-02-16
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Did the 14 miles today with no problem....ate lunch at Carter's Gap shelter. Really nice day...lots of rhododendron tunnels. The sun decided to come out and made pretty beams of sunlight stream through the ice-covered trees. Had incredible views from mile-high albert mt. we were actually above the clouds! Looked like an ocean or something-like you could get out and walk on them. met a southbound thru-hiker named stumpknocker who told me I looked like a hiker, which I'll take as a compliment! Spent a lot of time today coordinating strategies with A-1, Dozer, and Cool Hands on getting around all the blown-down trees on the trail. The maintaining club of this part of the trail has really fallen behind in there work...definitely have a job cut out for them! Tomorrow it's 9 miles down to winding stair gap and into franklin, nc. Looking forward to taking a good zero day and hopefully seeing my folks.
Date: 2004-02-18
From: Big Spring Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap and Franklin!
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Hitched into Franklin yesterday after 9 miles in frozen boots. Caught a ride with an atlanta fireman. Oh...A-1 and I got held up by a very obstinate skunk who decided the A.T. was his. Had to make a slight detour. Spent last night and tonight at the Haven motel-not the nicest place, but ok rates and really helpful staff. Mom and dad came up last night and took all 6 of us out to eat at western sizzler. Everybody got satisfyingly bloated on massive amounts of food. As I write, Dozer, Dom and I are eating Breakfast at Normandie restaurant. So nice to have a day off the trail to kind of sit around, relax, and get fat! Still looking forward to hitting the trail again tomorrow though. Going to go over the first balds of the trip in the next couple of days, and then it's on to the smokies! Gonna go hit up the outfitter, grocery, library, and post office after breakfast and then it's lunch time followed by a nap!
Date: 2004-02-20
From: Franklin

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday was the best day yet...caught a ride from the hotel back up to winding stair gap and did the 4 miles to siler bald. Dozer, L.A., A-1, Cactus and Gus and myself all camped here. Luke, Pickle, pnut, and dan went on. We all pitched our tents in the field and basked in the afternoon sun for a few hours and ate off extra food weight. The sunset was phenomenal...just enough clouds to light up like fire-it's days like this that remind me why I hike. Definitely refreshing after being cold for almost 2 weeks straight. Today was a somewhat different story from yesterday. Cold and windy with most of the views clouded over. Did 12.1 miles today to cold spring shelter. Very easy 12 miles. Well, with the exception of sliding along the trail on sheets of ice that were yesterdays' snowmelt. So windy today- had to look to the trees often to avoid falling branches. Ate lunch out of the wind at wayah bald parking area bathrooms. Rain is moving in now- luckily we're holed up in this shelter. Hopefully it will rain tonight and stop by tomorrow morning. Tomorrow should be a pretty easy day to rufus morgan shelter. We'll be less than a mile from the N.O.C.
Date: 2004-02-23
From: Sasafrass Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Did 21 miles to Fonatan dam today- made for the longest day yet. This shelter, known to the hiking community as the fontant "hilton" is quite the nice place to stay (as far as shelters go). Caught up w/ luke and cactus/gus today. Brothaman had some feet problems, so he hitch-hiked most of the day and we met him here tonight. Gonna take a zero day tomorrow and pick up our maildrops in fontana.
Date: 2004-02-25
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Rusell Field Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Man...we've really gotten the short end of the stick from NOC and Fontana- everything as far as restaurants go has been closed! Looking forward to Mt. Mama's and a cheeseburger after the smokies! Today we did 14 miles from fontana to rusell field shelter. This shelter is a dump, looking forward to getting out of here. It's supposed to snow tonight and all day tomorrow. Should make the next couple of days interesting. Oh...I think a stray dog that was running around fontana dam stole my glove. He's getting me back for throwing sticks at him to keep him out of my food. So if you see a dog that looks like a cross between a chihuahua and a chinchilla tell him to watch his back!
Date: 2004-02-26
From: Rusell Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: snow

Well, the weatherman was right about the snow.......Spent all day in it, 4-12 inches. Woke up to 2 inches and it fell all day. Made for a very rough day of hiking. Obviously, physically it was challenging in that we were sliding all over the trail, but mentally as well. I had a really hard time keeping a positive attitude. I now have a trail name: The Georgia Chainsaw (evidently I have a snoring problem) We took a tally of how many times we fell today, L.A. won with 9 falls. We've decided to take a zero day in gatlinburg...tomorrow we'll do the 12 to newfound gap and U.S. 441, since later in the day today we had snow up to my knee!
Date: 2004-02-27
From: Silers Bald shelter

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked to the road today and hitched into gatlinburg. Had no views whatsoever going over clingmans dome. Sun started to come out early afternoon and that made things very interesting. All the snow in the branches of the fir trees weighed them down, making a 4 ft tall tunnel of melting snow-   cold wet day!Saw some skiiers and snowshoers today, the latter of which offered us a ride to gatlinburg.
Date: 2004-02-29
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Pecks Corner
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy Leap Day!!!The four of us (Dozer, LA, A1, and myself) are in Pecks Corner shelter tonight after a gorgeous day of hiking. Still a lot of snow on the trail-kind of hazardous. A1 and I hitched a ride out of gatlinburg after dozer and LA (we figured it would be easier to hike in pairs as opposed to groups) Of course, LA and Dozer got a ride from a park ranger instantly, while poor A1 and I had to wait over an hour. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and on and off for the next couple of days. We're going to do the 20 miles tomorrow to davenport gap shelter. That should put us just a day behind cactus- hope to catch him by Hot Springs.
Date: 2004-03-01
From: Pecks Corner

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well, we made the 20 to Davenpolrt gap. Dozer got a nice fire going in the fireplace. Weatehr today started a little shaky with massive dark clouds and 30+ mph winds. The clouds kind of came and went throughout the day and we had a few nice vistas. It amazed me how you could be hiking on one side of the mountain and have 2 inches of ice and 6 inches of snow, and then cross to the other side and have hot sun and dry ground...really something else. Like switching seasons in a minute. Met 3 dayhikers today and a couple of spring-breakers from michigan. We also met another thru-hiker- Drifter from Kansas, who's been behind us for some time trying to catch us. Said he got tired of hiking alone. Drifter also told us about the first thru-hiker that quit this year so far.
Date: 2004-03-02
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to rain this morning and pretty much had it all day. Did 10.5 to groundhog creek. 5 of us in her again tonight. Actually managed to get a nice fire going, despite the wet wood. This allowed us to dry out all our wet gear. The weather is starting to clear out and it's pretty comfortable. Here's a thought (rainy days allow for reflection, since you cant really do anything else)...Why do we do these hikes? Hasn't it been mankind's goal all along to escape the harsh environment for more comfortable surroundings? Maybe we do it to test ourselves. Who knows? I do know that no matter how much technology and fancy gear we may have, at the end of the day we can still get wet, get cold, get hungry, and feel lonely. After all, at the end of the day we're still all human. So yeah...tomorrow we'll go to walnut mt. shelter and then on to hot springs. I'm gonna try to work for stay somewhere. We're going over Max Patch mountain tomorrow, hoping for clearer skies!!
Date: 2004-03-03
From: Grounhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 13.1

13.1 miles today to walnut mt. Had absolutely gorgeous views from Max Patch- unlike anything I've seen yet. We could see all the way back to the smokies. Ended up spending over an hour just sitting in the grass soaking the sun. Clouds started moving in and so we shot on down the 6 remaining miles to the shelter. It's supposed to rain tonight...heading to Hot Springs, NC tomorrow.
Date: 2004-03-04
From: Walnut Mt. Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Started out early today- 7:15. Had the trail to myself all day- kind of nice. So quiet this morning, had nice views at several places. Made really good time...got to town before noon. Went to the outskirts of town to a bed and breakfast called the Duckett House Inn that's hiker friendly. I asked the owners if I could do work for stay, and they obliged. Two great guys with a really nice place. I did a little yard work for them and they let me camp in the yard and use their showers. Met up with the other guys, who were staying at another place in town and ate supper, did laundry, etc...Spent the rest of the night sitting on the wrap-around porch of the Duckett House reading (until I ran out of book!)
Date: 2004-03-05
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Left Hot Springs today in the heat...had to be at least 70. The temp dropped all day. It's supposed to rain tonight. Today was fairly easy, just 11 miles up the hill to Spring Mt. Shelter. There are actually a couple of other folks camped up here...2 students from asheville. We've decided to do 2 fifteen mile days followed by a 20 miler to get us to erwin, TN. This means I can eat more food since it's going to take us fewer days to get there than I originally thought when I grocery shopped.
Date: 2004-03-06
From: Spring Mtn Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiked the 15 miles today from spring mt. to Jerry cabin. It rained all night last night. 3 more people showed up at the shelter around 3 a.m. and set up there tarp...had to be soaked! Today's weather was ok...always seems to be sunny down in the valleys, but cold and windy/cloudy on the mountains. We ate lunch at little laurel shelter and then went over camp creek bald- quite the steep climb. We only saw 2 folks today- some girl and an older gentleman on a side trail down below us that kept yelling random things.I felt pretty good today-got a fire going and am now warm and relaxed in the ol' sleeping bag.
Date: 2004-03-07
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback ridge shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, ended up doing another 15 miler today. Weather was great- we took a break in a field at devil's fork gap and made shapes out of the clouds. We were able to look back and see camp creek bald (that we hiked over yesterday). Always strange to see mountains we hiked in days past...they never look that far away, but I guess the way the trail winds through the mountains, it makes up the distance. We made it into Hogback Ridge just as the weather turned bad. We actually had a snow thunderstorm tonight...and had to put up a tarp over the shelter opening to keep it from blowing in. Weatherman's calling for snow on and off tonight and tomorrow, but hopefully he's wrong, because it's clear now, and we have 20 miles tomorrow!
Date: 2004-03-08
From: Hogback ridge shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Felt really good today, despite the long miles and wicked weather. Had to be well over 50 mph at times, especially up on Big Bald (around 5500'). Dozer actually got blown over a couple of times, as would I, if it hadnt been for my treking poles. Hiked over a very poorly marked section of trail today in a couple of inches of snow....made for a really slow hike and a long day. Luckily the clouds held back the rain/snow and we managed to stay dry. Tomorrow we'll do the 6 miles into Erwin, TN and stay at Miss Janet's Hostel.
Date: 2004-03-09
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Miss Janet's, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

I'm at Miss Janet's hostel now, in Erwin. Definitely enjoying being out of the wind and weather for a bit. Had good weather coming off the mountains down to town until I got to the road and had to hitch hike. Seemed like as soon as I hit the road, it started snowing (go figure). So I walked about a mile toward town and got picked up by the first car that went by. A really nice lady dropped me off at miss janets and gave me 8 dollars! (which I truly appreciated) I don't know you're name, but if you read this, Thanks a lot!We ate lunch at pizza hut and did the buffet thing....all you can eat places are worth their weight in gold after being on the trail for a few days!Going to spend most of tomorrow here and probably hike out to the first shelter north of here tomorrow night.
Date: 2004-03-11
From: Miss Janet's, Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Made good time today- 16 miles in a little over 6 hours. Came to cherry gap shelter tonight, going to do 21 tomorrow to overmountain shelter. Left Miss Janet's kind of late this morning, didn't start hiking until lunchtime. Did a good bit of uphill coming out of the valley. Unaka mt. was really nice...first time we'd seen fir trees since the smokies, very dense and dark stands, made for a surreal hike sometimes. Felt wierd today, almost sick feeling, like I needed more food. I'm felling ok now, hoping I don't feel like this tomorrow, got a big day going over Roan mountain.
Date: 2004-03-12
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up sick today...made for quite possibly the worst day I've ever experienced hiking. We were supposed to go 20 miles to overmountain shelter, but there was no way I could go that far. A-1 decided he would hike with me today, just to make sure I didn't pass out or anything. We only did 15 miles to Roan High Knob, the highest shelter on the trail at 6200ft. Took me a very long time to hike today, had to stop every 10yds or so to take a break on any uphill. To top that off, we had to hike up the worst uphill of the trip...roan mt. I arrived completely exhausted and feeling quite defeated. Everyone else (drifter, dozer, magic, and L.A.) had decided to stop at Roan Mt. too and not go on to overmountain. It was really good to see everbody at the end of such a horrible day. Tonight I'm going to make myself eat and then get to bed quick.