morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Tri Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 18.4

Got up early today to beat the rush of hikers that would be leaving the shelter this morning. Was probably the 5th or 6th out which was nice, less chance of playing leap frog with varying hiking speeds. I decided short into the hike that I wanted to make it to Standing Bear hostel for the night. That put me getting through the Smokys in 5 days which I¢m happy with and am generally happy to be finished with them. Increased bear/human activity is clearly a downside but the shelter restrictions and priority to section hikers seemed to cause some disruptions in people¢s hike through the park. It¢s interesting when you catch up with a big group of hikers. Lots of stories. Overall not too difficult for an 18 Mile day. But the knees and feet take a real beating with so much vertical loss. Somewhere around 7,000 feet of loss and only 2,000 feet of gain. Plus the terrain is important. A gradual path isn¢t that bad but this is a lot stepping down big rocks or man-made steps to help support the trail. Gravity always works against you. Standing Bear Hostel was a really nice place. Just off the trail up a gravel road. There is a house when the owners and I believe the staff would stay. Then a bunkhouse, cabin, and big lawn for tenting with prices ranging $15-$25. I chose to tent. Not a money thing but that bunkhouse has a lot o people in it and I like the cooler temperature outside anyway. The hostel has a resupply room of food with all the main backpacking foods and also a fridge with cold drinks and a freezer with pizzas. Everything on the honor system. When you check-in you¢re given a piece of paper. You want some food just write what you take. Also, every half hour or so a staff member would go on a ¢beer run¢ which meant they were going to the beer fridge so if you wanted a beer you¢d just bring your piece of paper over. Before you leave you¢d bring your paper to the front porch and tally up your paper to be checkout out. There was also laundry and a shower included in your stay. The showers were unlimited and the laundry was free. You¢d have to hand wash your own clothes but there was a working dryer.Most of the people in yesterday¢s bubble made it down which was fun. Hostels are always great places to socialize. It¢s 33 miles to Hot Springs, NC. The first trail town going northbound and I¢m really excited. Not sure if I¢ll get there Thursday or Friday. I¢ve been putting in some good miles lately and my body is feeling good. Aches and pains and small blisters but that¢s not unusual with the constant hiking. Lastly, the 7 miles of trail closed down due to wildfire has been reopened. No need to skip it.
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Catpen gap
Miles today: 21.3

Alrighty making it to Hot Springs on Thursday. That¢s the plan. Put in a pretty solid day today to cut down on the miles tomorrow to get more time in town. Hot Spring North Carolina is the first trail town heading North Bound. That means the AT actually goes through the town. I don¢t know much about Hot Springs other than it is famous for the naturally heated hot sorry mineral water underneath the town. So pretty long day but it went well. Hiked for the day with Strawberry because we hike around the same pace and have similar endurance. It started out with a big climb, 2500 foot gain over 4 miles but it¢s always worth it when you get to the top and have great views. The next 9 miles got us to Max Patch which was the summit of a mountain but the summit was flat about about the size of half a football field. Just a big field of grass. 13 miles into the day and we rest here for about an hour. Sun was out with a breeze so we just laid there and refueled. Did some stretching too to keep myself loose. As we were leaving, in typical AT magic fashion, we walked into Poet and Hippie Chick. The two are former AT alumni who hiked the trail about 10 years ago. They are now the owners and operators of Shaw¢s Hostel in Maine. It is the hostel just before the entrance to the 100 Mile Wilderness. The 100 Mile Wilderness is a section of the AT in northern Maine. It is the most remote section of the AT and considered the most difficult. Strenuous terrain, think rock boulders and roots are the trail, and being 100 miles you need to carry enough food to make the whole trip. But it was really nice meeting Poet and Hippie Chick along with their two children. I am really looking forward to Poet¢s blueberry pancake breakfast!!!Just shy of 12 miles to get into Hot Springs tomorrow. Aiming to get there around midday or early afternoon.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Catpen gap

To: Hot Springs 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Got started around 7:30 so I could make it into Hot Springs at a reasonable time. Big thanks to my Dad for booking a cabin and reserving a session in the mineral water jacuzzi! That was a big motivation for hiking for the day. So made it into town around 12:30, not bad. My legs definitely feeling fatigued from the past week¢s trek. 107 miles over the past 7 days. That¢s just above a 15 mile per day average which is what I¢d like my overall average to be. I think it¢s a good goal but I¢m not on a specific time schedule to finish.  Got into my cabin and settled in. Where I¢m staying doesn¢t have laundry and I heard the laundromat in town wasn¢t any good so I just showered in my hiking clothes. Rubbed them down with soap, rinsed, then hung them on a clothesline made from my cord that I use to hang my food. It¢s not a bad option to take. It gets all the sweat out and some of the dirt and some of the smell. They¢ll be dirty tomorrow anyway. Took a quick nap before my soak in the jacuzzi. My legs were so tired they kept having that spasm you get when you¢re falling asleep but not quite there. The soak in the hot springs jacuzzi was fantastic. Exactly what a tired hiker needs. I even surprise myself with some of the hiking I¢ve been doing but you always need to find time to relax and let your body heal itself from all the wear and tear. Made my way down to one of the restaurants and ran into a bunch of people I knew. Good times. I made sure I had a salad with my dinner. Gotta eat those veggies! In bed by 9:00. It¢s tough to stay up past that especially when you¢ve hiked. But my sleep schedule is definitely shifted towards early to bed early to rise. The picture for today was actually from yesterday at Max Patch.
Date: 2018-05-11
From: Hot Springs 

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

One big benefit to waking up in town is being able to go to a diner for breakfast. Classic pancakes, eggs, and sausage. Pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. Gotta get those calories when I can. I didn¢t do any chores yesterday because I wanted to rest and relax. After breakfast I went back to my cabin and packed up my gear. I stopped by the Bluff Mountain Outfitters to pick up new socks. 275 miles on my Injinji¢s and they were starting to get thin. Unfortunately the outfitter didn¢t have Injinji socks in my size so I went with Smartwool. Always reliable. Now that I¢m wearing shorter socks the tan line on my leg is very noticeable where my higher socks were before. I resupplied on food next. Dollar General had a lot of cheap options. I still have food left from my resupply for the Smokys which I¢ll get through over the next couple days before Erwin, TN. Lastly was the post office. I sent cold weather clothes home. My long john thermals pants, gloves, and long buff. All which kept me warm those first two weeks in freezing temperatures but I haven¢t used them in over 10 days so they¢re going home. I kept my wool beanie though. Gotta always be able to keep your head warm if need be. Started hiking around 3:00 in the afternoon. I didn¢t plan on doing a big day and it¢s been hot out so hiking while the temperature lowered was great. I made it past Spring Mountain Shelter at about 11 miles and heard some people I¢ve been hiking with were up ahead so I made my way to Deep Gap. That last 2 miles were the best of the day. Temperature getting cool and the sun setting. The sky grew redder and made the forest look so peaceful. Made it to camp at about 8:30. Strawberry, Nameless, Silverback, Pongo, and Mademoiselle were there already hanging out. Good crew. Oh that reminds me I do have a trail name now. BlueChip. Multiple groups I¢ve hiked with have described me as a well planned and steady hiker so with working in financial services I was compared to a blue chip stock. Not too bad of a name I¢ll take it. Sometimes people just call me Ol¢ Blue in addition to Just Connor or JC.
Date: 2018-05-12
From: Deep Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: clear sky

Ok so I¢m writing this post on 5/14 because I¢m trying to catch up on posts.Been putting in some big mile days to help get me closer to Damascus, VA for Trail Days. With the hot weather, 80¢s during the day, I¢ve been hiking early and taking a long break in the middle of the day. Typically 10 miles by 12:00. Then another 10 miles after 3:00. The hot weather is brutal and can dehydrate you very quickly. Planning when to fill up on water and hydrating yourself between stops is so crucial. I¢m going to have my parents send my water filter back to me. I¢ll gladly take the weight if it means I can drink water the instant I find a water source. To be honest not much comes to mind about this day other than whats above. Again, I¢m writing this on 5/14. But I can tell you I hiked. And it was hot. And I crossed mile 300!
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

Also writing this post on 5/14. Today was an interesting day in regards to my energy levels. Woke up and just did not want to go hiking. Didn¢t sleep well and just couldn¢t get motivated. But, I got to talk to my Mom! Happy Mother¢s Day! Was really happy I was able to get phone service, that¢s been tough to get for awhile now. Got hungry by 11:45 so sat and ate lunch with a few people. 3 miles later was low on water and still hungry so Pongo, Silverback, and I hung out at Hogback Shelter for an hour or so. Just trying to get out of the heat. Pongo plays the ukulele which always brightens the mood. By 3:00pm my energy levels had changed though. The second half of the day I had all my energy back. Love that feeling. Got one of the best views of the trip so far too atop Big Bald Mountain. No trees, just grass and rolling hills. A lot like Max Patch a few days ago. The picture with this post is from Big Bald.
Date: 2018-05-14
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Uncle JohnnyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hostel
Miles today: 16.8

17 miles by 1:00pm. Started a quarter past six so we could all make it to Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel at a reasonable time. A lot of downhill but it wasn¢t too steep and the terrain was groomed fairly well. My feet were definitely swollen by the time I made it though.Luckily the hostel I¢m staying at is next to the Nolichucky River! After hiking in the heat this past week a dip in the river was exactly what I needed. Probably 30 hikers down there already by the time the group I¢ve been with made it. Hikers will sometimes hang at these spots for a couple days. Pretty easy when you¢re carrying a backpack with everything you need to live. But give some hikers a river and you¢ll see them all sprawled out in the sun or submerged in the water. Strawberry, Nameless, Mademoiselle, and myself split a cabin for the night. Really close quarters but it¢s a soft bunk and it has linens! This will be the first time I¢ve slept on linens since Franklin. Called a shuttle, can¢t remember the guys name, but for $7 we would drive up to 4 people 3 miles down the road to Erwin, TN or over to the Walmart which was a little further. We got a group together and had the shuttle make multiple trips. Dinner at Los Jalape±o, a Mexican restaurant. Strawberry, Silverback, Cheddar, Slacker, Nameless, Charlie, Mademoiselle, Rockslide, Stretch, and myself. Next stop was over to Walmart for resupply and what a sight that is. A bunch of dirty smelly hikers, more than just the group I¢m with, walking up and down the aisles seeing what kind of food they¢ll bring on the next leg of the trip which we expect to take 3.5 days. I¢ve gotten better at buying the right amount of food. Well, sort of. After a month on the trail and I¢m starting to feel the hiker hunger. The never ending craving for food. If I buy too much food...then I just eat it and cut down the weight in my pack. Eat eat eat. I haven¢t weighed myself since I began but there¢s no way I¢ve sustained my weight. Back to the hostel to do laundry and shower. Sort out my food from all the boxed packaging. And finally put my feet up to relax by 8:00pm. 17 miles of hiking with a trip into town for a meal and resupply. A productive day. There is a lot of rain in the forecast. The coming days should be interesting. The picture for today¢s post is of Nolichucky River. Where Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel is located.
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Uncle JohnnyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hostel

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Wasn¢t in a rush to get out of a bed with sheets and a pillow in the morning. Gosh that¢s nice. I do feel comfortable when I¢m snuggled up in my sleeping bag but darn it sheets are nice. The hostel ran a shuttle bus to the Bojangles for breakfast. I stayed back because I had a big donut I got at Walmart the day before. Plus a protein bar, banana, and cup of coffee from the hostel shop made a complete breakfast. We¢d heard of the storms coming so began preparing ourselves mentally for some rain. We were hoping for space in the shelter 17 miles out but wasn¢t sure what we¢d get. Beginning of the hike started nice maybe just a bit warm and humid. But only took about an hour for the clouds to build up rain start falling. At first wasn¢t bad but it quickly turned into a strong thunderstorm. Not a lot of wind but big rain droplets and loud thunder. Not much you can do but put on your rain gear and keep moving. Rockslide put the overheard tarp for his hammock up when it got really bad but you can only stay under there for so long. Gotta hike sometime.  I was relieved when we finally made it and with luck there was room in the shelter. No having to put up a tent. And there was a picnic bench under the shelter overhang so that gave us a place to cook. A package of Uncle Ben¢s Spanish rice, two packets of tuna, wheat thins and peanut m&ms for dinner. Wer¢e packed like sardines into the shelter but we are comfortable. Great way to stay warm too with all the body heat. Hoping for better weather tomorrow!
Date: 2018-05-16
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: CarverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light rain

Happy Birthday Walter!!!Second day of rain. No thunderstorms though which was good. Everyone in the shelter packed up around 7:00, preparing for a hike and not sure how long or badly it would rain. If you think getting out of bed in the morning is hard you should try getting out of a warm and dry sleeping bag and into already wet clothes and shoes to make yourself breakfast before you go walk in the rain for a few hours. The next shelter was about ten miles away so plan was to make it there for lunch. It went by fairly quickly. Well groomed trail and not much gain/loss we made it in a little over 3 hours. After eating we discussed next plans and most of the group decided they were staying there at the shelter but Strawberry and I decided to keep going. We¢d like to get to Roan Mountain, TN by Thursday so we could do laundry in a hostel before finding a car ride to Damascus for the Trail Days Festival. The second half of the day had a lot more elevation gain than the first half but really didn¢t seem like much. Took us 2 more hours than the first half but I still felt good. Sore, a bit tired, and cold/wet, but good. The rain even let up halfway through and we could see the sun lighting up the clouds. I took the opportunity to check if my phone had service and I luckily did. Got to FaceTime with Scott, Arlene, and the boys and was really happy I got through to them. I can¢t believe Walter is 2 years old already. Strawberry and I planned to make it to Carvers Gap. He has the GutHook App which is another type of AT Guide but can have user added info and is connected through gps. For Carvers Gap it listed a good stealthing campsite for a couple tents. When we got to the site there were already two tents there but no people and it seemed odd. We determined the campsite had been abandoned by whoever was there during yesterday¢s torrential thunderstorm. Tent doors on the tent were open, inflated air mattresses inside. Food laying around the campsite. An opened package of hot dogs and peeled potatoes laying about. Also a table that had a pan on it with a lot of grease built up on it. Sunny D bottles strewn about. I¢d also like to clarify these were not backpackers that did this. The tents were luxury tents, not backpacking tents. There¢s a huge difference. It was just really weird and also dangerous with the food so we kept on the trail up Round Bald. Just a half mile up we found a flat spot around a dozen or so trees so we setup camp. Tomorrow we have around 15 miles to the hostel near Roan Mountain. Hopefully it doesn¢t rain too much but should be able to do laundry and wear dry clothes again. The photo for the day is a little orange lizard. I saw three of these on the trail today. Haven¢t seen them one day before.
Date: 2018-05-20
From: The Station at 19E Hostel

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: moderate rain

Diner in the morning for breakfast. Eggs, thick bacon, and biscuits n¢ gravy. The shuttle picked us up around 11:00am. On the ride up I had a seat facing sideways which I think gave me the motion sickness. On the way back I got a forward facing seat and didn¢t get sick so that was great. Back at the hostel a little after 12:00. Moseyed around before hitting the trail by 1:00. Most of the group stayed back for lunch but Short Mile and I wanted to get back on the trail. Plan was second shelter out which was 18.4 miles but we knew there wasn¢t going to be a lot of elevation gain/loss. We got to the shelter by 8:30. 7.5 hours for a little over 18 miles is pretty darn good. Ate quickly and settled into the shelter. I¢d still rather tent but with it still raining I¢m tired of packing up a wet tent. I¢ll deal with the mice tonight instead. Even as I start climbing into my sleeping bag I can see them running around the ground and up the picnic table where I was eating only minutes ago. Tomorrow we¢ll make our way to Boots Off Hostel. It¢s on the trail so easy place to get a shower and laundry. Tenting is only $10. And guess what...more rain on the forecast!!! Thunderstorms should roll in sometime in the afternoon.
Date: 2018-05-21
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Boots off Hostel
Miles today: 14.8

Didn¢t sleep well because of the loud snorer in the Shelter last night. Another downside to the shelters. Camping away from shelters really is the way to go. Hoping for good weather soon so that will be a more comfortable option. Today¢s hike was almost 15 miles. The first 9 miles were like yesterday. Relatively flat to what I¢m normally used to. Short inclines going over hills. Pretty forests. The final 6 miles were up and over Pond Flats Mountain. 1,500ft up 1,500ft down. And what better than a thunderstorm to throw into the mix? It rolled in just as we started the mountain. Soaking wet by the time we got to the hostel. But, if I am going to get caught in the thunderstorm it¢s always nice to be able to get to do laundry and have a hot shower afterwards. Short Mile and I split a pizza too before we and the rest of the group got shuttled over to Subway and Dollar General for dinner and resupply. The outdoor shower here was especially cool.  Big metal bucket with a cold water pipe and a hot water pipe. Turn both on and holes in the bucket allow the water through.  Really fun. If I¢m lucky to have a house with an outdoor shower I¢d love to make it like this. Strawberry has hiked on to stick to a schedule he set to make it to Harpers Ferry by the end of June I believe. He¢ll then be taking a week off the trail to go to his girlfriend¢s brother¢s wedding. I hope to see him down the trail sometime in the future!We spent the rest of the night hanging around the hostel common area telling stories. Silverback played guitar and sang.
Date: 2018-05-22
From: Boots off Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Slept pretty well last night. Short Mile, Nameless, Silverback, Rockslide and myself shared an outdoor shelter at the hostel. Rockslide and Silverback setup their hammocks while the rest of us put up tents to protect from the bugs. Breakfast this morning was two frozen chimichangas that I got from the dollar general yesterday. Pretty good actually. The hostel bought two dozen donuts too. Yum yum! Also some coffee!My first objective for the day was getting to the post office. I didn¢t have time to get their yesterday before it closed. The hostel would do a shuttle for $5 but I knew I would take 30 minutes at the post office so I decided to hitch. And just my luck as I¢m walking out of the hostel to the main road there was a shuttle from another hostel dropping someone off to slackpack. The shuttle picked me up and dropped me off at the post office a few miles up the road. At the post office I had to get my bounce box so I could grab a few more aqua tabs and also clip my nails. What a sight I must have been sitting in the parking lot clipping my finger and toenails. I also had to pick up a package from my parents that had a replacement hip belt that will fit my changing waistline. My Sawyer water filter was also there which I had sent back so I could hydrate more at water sources. Then to my luck again as I put on my pack a local drove into the parking lot and asked if I needed a ride. His name was Hippie. Not an avid hiker but has done some sections. His name came from the fact he¢s had four hip replacements. My trip to and from the post office took much less time than expected. Hippie dropped me off at the trail head. I had heard from Strawberry yesterday when he hiked on that I should take the blue blazed trail down the road instead of the actual AT because of flooding from the lake. It was great advice because there was no way to get through without hiking in knee deep water. The rest of the day went smoothly. The hiking was relatively easy, no big climbs or descents. I also made it to the shelter just in time because another thunderstorm rolled in late in the afternoon.