morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, NC)

To: Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, NC)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was my first official zero day. So far, we are averaging 12 miles per day. It is very respectable since we started with a 2.8 mile day the first day at Springer. My hamstring is still feeling tight, along with other muscles in my body. I'm continuing to rest my feet and I'll be taking another bath later on this evening. We will most likely be meeting up with Carrie and her dad, Mr. Belding, for dinner at the steakhouse. We'll be at the NOC in two days time; we have a huge 3,300 ft. climb after leaving the NOC - not something we're taking lightly. Then, we'll be picking up our maildrops at Fontana Dam, most likely by Friday afternoon, before heading into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for my very first time. I absolutely can't wait.---BAD NEWS..Before leaving for dinner with Carrie and Mr. Belding, I was telling Wendy that I noticed my left ankle (the bad one) kept clicking and was hurting on the one side of the ankle. She confirmed the clicking. Then, when I looked to the other side of the ankle, I couldn't believe that my ankle was completely swollen. I'm really hoping that it is just a bruise, but I fear the worst. I immediately began icing it, taking Aleve, and keeping it elevated (following the traditional RICE method). Tomorrow, I will most likely take another zero day to rest it, but I certainly do not want to continue paying for these hotel stays. It will be unfortunate b/c I will have to say goodbye to my friends, as they will hike on, but I really must rest my body. It's telling me to slow down. What is interesting is all of this relates back to my blister problems. After the blisters, I had to wear crocs. The crocs have offered very limited support and, therefore, have increased my back tightness. My back tightness has increased my hamstring pull, which I've been resting the past few days. Due to the instability of the crocs, I surmise that my ankles are swollen from all of the sticks and uneven ground that I had been walking on. I'll give it a day or two and then hope for the best. Fingers crossed. Hope all is well on the home front.
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

Rough day today. Hiked downhill to the NOC, which was very steep terrain. Knee was really starting to bother me, especially on the way down. The views to the NOC were absolutely phenomenal, but I had to be very careful where I stepped as we descended 2,500 ft. in three miles. After reaching the NOC, I saw Matt and Kate, the Alaskan brother and sister, who had planned on going whitewater rafting for the afternoon. I headed across the highway and into the outfitters in order to pick up my bounce box filled with my electronic chargers. I also purchased a Z-Lite Thermarest and decided to send the inflatable Thermarest home. I think that this was a good choice. It is a bit more bulky, but is much more comfortable. Todd and Jack came down shortly after and we headed over to the restaurant to have a bite to eat. It was absolutely refreshing feeling the cool air coming off the large river to the side. The water was moving so fast and you could feel the freshness of the water that it took me back to my days in Switzerland walking along die Aare River or even in die Aareschluct, a large and impressive gorge between Innertkirchen and Meiringen. The NOC river was absolutely beautiful. Gnarly came in and we called him over to eat with us as well. Gnarly is an interesting guy - just recently he packed up his things and went on a bike trip from Las Vegas to San Diego, down into Mexico and across the desert. He asks a lot of though-provoking questions and, I think that the purpose of his AT trip is to really find some serenity and comfort in the woods, while trying to find out in which direction he wishes to go. Leaving the NOC, it was a 3,400 foot climb in less than 5 miles, which proved to be the most difficult climb yet on the AT. Georgia and North Carolina are known to be brutal states on the trail, as the elevation change is even more drastic than the Pacific Coast Trail. My ankle has healed up pretty well, but I now have some problems just below my left knee. I'm hoping that it will subside in the next few days. Climbed all the way up to Sassafras Gap Shelter, where I met Chicago Bear, Nano, and Panama Bill. Chicago Bear was jumping around on the AT, doing bits and pieces before heading back to Chicago. Nano was a young 30's guy who was hoping to make a career change from computer programming into something entirely different. He's been smoking cigarettes each day out on the trail and has been feeling it in his lungs. Panama Bill is an older guy who is on the verge of retiring, having spent 31 years in Panama working for the Panamanian governement in the Panama Canal. Very interesting people. I'm hoping to make it to Fontana Dam by tomorrow evening, but this will be very difficult given the distance and ridiculous elevation change.
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Last night, I slept in my GoLite tent. I sent home my ground floor in order to cut down on an extra pound of weight. The only problem now is that mice, snakes, and other little critters can crawl underneath the lightweight tent. Despite my sleeping far away from the shelter and close to the water source, a few mice managed to find their way down the embankment and into my tent. The ground was inclinated and tilted as well, so I really did not get a good nights sleep. Maybe tomorrow...After doing my duty at the old-fashioned privy (like all of you really care), I climbed Cheoah Bald and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the mountainside. Unfortunately, the black flies were horrible and I nearly had to squint went taking pictures. My eyes were dripping in sweat, even though it was still early in the morning. After some steep climbs and descents, I arrived at NC143, where there was a picnic table set up and a beautiful view of the Smokies. There was about 10 other hikers that arrived to have lunch. A bird association was eating lunch next to us and even offered sandwiches and food, much to our delight. One of the steepest climbs so far was the next stretch, which many of us climbed in the dead heat. I had to stop about 6 days on the way up, gulping down water with every step. Once we reached the top, it was a nice breeze downwards to the Brown Fork Shelter Gap, where we all took refuge from the blazing sun. Red Lion, Moe, and I hiked onwards, with Wolfpack a bit ahead of us with our goal of getting another six miles in to Cable Gap Shelter. At Cable Gap, it was getting dark, so we immediately cooked our food and headed to bed. It will be a short nights sleep as we plan on waking up 6 hours to get into Fontana Dam tomorrow morning to pick up our maildrops. We are all looking forward to it.
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Rd. Crossing
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Woke up very early in the am to pick up my three boxes at the Post Office. Thanks Kathy!!! Katie and Alex also made some wonderful notes for inspiration. At the road crossing, we managed to find a hitch for eight people in the back of a pick-up truck and headed into Fontana Village. It was a tight squeeze and the first of its kind for me, but very refreshening with the cold breeze and the impending sight of civilization. Yahoooo!!! We sat around for the afternoon going through our maildrops, laying low, eating tons of food and ice cream, before finally making our way back to the Fontana Hilton shelter. This is not the usual 'Hilton' that many of you civilized folk would consider, but it is a shelter that sleeps 24 people and has a bathroom and showers right up the hill. And...it has such a beautiful view of Fontana Lake. In our world, IT IS BETTER THAN THE HILTON!!!Saw a huge 5 foot snake preparing to lash at a bunny rabbit in the brush. One of the thru-hikers saved the bunny from sheer destruction. After having dinner for the second time, we headed down to the dam to watch the sunset over the Smoky Mountains and then we headed back to relax by the fireside. Great evening. Tomorrow will be a zero day to give our bodies a rest before this HUGE climb up to the Smokies. In a few days time, we will be hitting the Tennessee border, reaching a pinnacle of elevation at 6,700 ft. at Clingsman's Dome. We're all pretty jacked about the Smokies. More to come soon..
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Fontana Dam Rd. Crossing

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: few clouds

We had to make the extra mile from the road crossing to the Fontana Hilton shelter in order to be a 'purist' thru-hiker. We managed to catch another hitch on the back of a pick-up truck (sorry mom) and headed into the Village where we saw the rest of our friends. After relaxing for a few hours, I'm presently up at the Fontana Lodge, pirating their internet and preparing to go destroy Belding, Carrie, and Ninja in fussball and air hockey down below. It's on!!! Will be bouncing a food box to Standing Bear Farm in Tennessee after the Smokies and then sending an extra ankle brace and water bladder back home to PA to alleviate some weight. Hope you guys are all doing well. Keep the emails/support/posts coming! They truly mean a lot!See you on the other side of the Smokies! Belding and Tully whooped Ninja and Indy in fussball. During the game, Indy made an inadvertent ¢crude¢ comment, which I will not include in my PG-13 trail journal. Just kidding ?After the game, the four of us headed up to the lodge to have a wonderful dinner together. It was delicious! Thanks Belding and Indy and hope to see you in Pennsy! After stuffing our stomachs full with some good food, Ninja and I had to find our way back to the shelter, but the shuttle was no longer operating b/c it was late, so we had resigned ourselves to walking two miles back in the dark. As we descended down the hill, we saw our good friends Matt (Pussyfoot) and Allison (Ketchup), who had managed to talk to some locals about getting a lift back to the shelter. Sure enough ¢ it worked and we were back to the shelter in no time, preparing to head off into the Great Smokies the next morning.
Date: 2009-04-28
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Either it was really tough terrain today, or my legs were just really heavy¢¦OR it was because I ate too many Jelly Bellys. We were on the trail by 7:30 am this morning, after having a delightful oatmeal breakfast. We initially summated Thunderhead Mountain at 5527 ft. with another panoramic view of the Smokies. On the Appalachian Trail, we are literally straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Pretty wild. By 10:30 am, Pilgrim, Ninja, and I had hiked 7 miles and we stopped at the first shelter for a very early lunch. I was already hungry (obviously) and needed a full 2-serving meal of Mountain House Lasagna w/ Meat Sauce just to satisfy my insatiable hunger. Both Moe and One Hand caught up to join us for lunch. Today was the most beautiful day on the trail so far because of the lovely mountain flowers. It is amazing to think that these flowers are blooming each year, going largely undiscovered by people who fail to get outdoors to enjoy life and nature (I was guilty of this just a short while ago). Beautiful white, yellow, and violet flowers were in full bloom all around us. All you could hear was the buzzing of the carpenter and honey bees helping to pollinate the flowers and the sound of grasshoppers jumping with each step on the trail. We made it to Double Spring Shelter by 2:50 pm ¢ bar far the earliest I have arrived at a shelter. After another full 2-serving meal ¢ the second of the day ¢ I filed up my Platypus Clean Stream filtration device, washed down my body as the bugs were biting me all over again, soaked my feet in my bag, and then prepared for bed. I¢m sitting here at 6:30 pm and getting ready to fall asleep. Ahhh, life on the trail. We will be waking up at 5:00 am tomorrow morning to head to Clingman¢s Dome ¢ the highest point on the AT at 6643 ft. They are calling for some nasty thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon, so we are hoping for some clear skies in the morning. We will officially be in Tennessee in a few days time. Good night to all.
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I started off the day by getting lost for the first time out on the trail. The trail that I was on didn¢t seem like much of the ¢AT¢, but there were obvious footprints in the distance. Even when the path turned into a swamp and I had to jump over several tree stumps, I kept going. Only until I arrived at a stonehouse 12 mile away from the creek at which I started did I realize that I wasn¢t on the right trail and I had to turn around. Although we did a 15.6 mile day, it didn¢t seem too bad at all. Climbing up Bluff Mountain, I was in awe at the various types of wildflowers. I¢m not much of an horticulturist, but there were all sorts of colours: blue, violet, pink, red, orange, yellow. It was magnificent! I left much later than Pilgrim and Ninja, so I really didn¢t catch up to them until the shelter. It absolutely pissed down with rain several times today, making our entire gear wet. It was quite comical: as soon as I took my rain jacket off, it started to pour. Then, when I decided to put my rain jacket on, the rain would stop. Nature can play fickle games with you sometimes. It was another peaceful day hiking on my own. I passed about 5 people, but I had most of the trail all to myself today. What I¢ve been doing while I¢ve been walking is to concentrate fully on the exhalations and inhalations of my breath. I¢ve learned that your breath is the most vital part of your body and you can have full control over it. More people should focus on this innermost energy and harness it and let it go. It feels healthy, so I¢m going to keep doing it. Hiking on, I arrived at the shelter and met up with Pilgrim and Ninja and Pigeon, who was also staying the night. Pigeon is an older man from Ohio who was most recently laid off from his job. He is nearing retirement age and has figured that doing pieces of the Appalachian Trail will keep him busy for a little while. I didn¢t catch the full story, but I think that he plans on doing a SOBO at some point in June. Beaver, a really strange character originally from Northern Mississippi, was already in camp. Most of the time, whenever he speaks, he always has something ¢profound¢ to say. He powerfully told us about 10 times that he is ¢on vacation¢ and that he is a raft guide on the Pigeon River. He also had some serious problems in cooking his food, as he was using Sterno, which is more commonly used to keep catering food warm. His light in the Sterno cap kept going out, he had to throw out his water because some sediment managed to get in it, then he knocked over his cooking pot a few times before he finally managed to get settled and improve his efficiency of cooking. The cursing under his breath was very amusing. Tomorrow, we will be heading down to Hot Springs to enjoy a wonderful day at the thermals. We¢re actually planning on heading to Elmer¢s in the morning for some real breakfast and then meeting up with Kristin, Pilgrim¢s sister, who will be meeting us.
Date: 2009-05-13
From: Erwin, TN

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: clear sky

After waking up by the train tracks, we headed over to Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel for our shuttle up to Iron Mountain Gap. It turned out that there were 11 of us doing the slackpack back down to Erwin. After a very brief pit stop at Hardee¢s for breakfast (gross!), we climbed up to the gap, where we were greeted with the piercing wind that was trying to penetrate our already cold skin. We quickly gathered our belongings and set off into the wilderness en route to Erwin. The hikers that were doing the slackpack were: Scavenger, Pussyfoot, Ketchup, Frankenfoot, Chef, Walking Home, Nano, Scree Freak and a few others. Scavenger and I jumped ahead and continued walking until the first shelter. It was quite strange walking in the other direction and seeing the various messages of messages in the trail registrar¢s from friends that had passed through within a few days beforehand. We shortly came across two of our favorite people on the trail ¢ Recom and Moonlight. The views descending from the gap were absolutely breathtaking and we soon made it to Beauty Spot, where Frankenfoot, Scavenger, and I had lunch. At around 4 pm, about 7 hours after we started, we descended all the way down into Erwin. In total, we had hiked 19.4 miles in the day. In the evening, we headed into town with the large group for dinner. Again, Scavenger and I slept across the bridge, relatively close to the train tracks. Let me tell you something: a freight train can be really, really loud when you are trying to sleep. Ahhh, it was well worth it though.
Date: 2009-05-14
From: Erwin, TN

To: Trail Days - Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

In the morning, we awoke to the raging water of the Nolichucky River and to the blaring horn of a freight train. I was rather tired, so I slept in until 9 am when I headed over to Uncle Johnny¢s to greet everyone. Scavenger and I decided that we would hitch the 80 miles up to Damascus instead of paying for a shuttle. I was a little bit skeptical of hitching such a long distance, as I really wanted to get to Damascus, but we went with it anyway. We made up signs and determined that, at the very least, it was bound to be an adventure. So, we strapped on our packs, and headed off to the busy interstate of I-26 in Tennessee. After climbing over a jagged fence and clawing through some rugged high weeds, we climbed up the embankment and started walking alongside the busy highway. Huge 18-wheelers were flying by at 80 mph. But, all we did was stick out our fingers and hoped that someone would stop and give us a lift. Sure enough, within 8 minutes after we started walking, a young guy pulled his jeep over, made some room in the back for us, and then we were off. It turned out that Rambo (thru-hiker Class of ¢08) was heading to Trail Days as well. It just worked out perfectly for us. On the way, we shared some of our ¢war¢ stories about life out on the trail. When we arrived in Damascus one hour later, we immediately headed to Tent City, which is about .75 miles outside of town and holds the large majority of the hikers in town. Over 1,400 hikers camped in Tent City and the small town of Damascus, normally listed at 1,000 people, swelled to over 30,000 for the big Trail Days event. It was amazing to see the sight of hundreds and hundreds of tents of thru-hikers. There was real excitement in the air and we were very excited to partake in the festivities. The first major event of the evening was the eating contest of cake and hot dogs held at the main church in town. Our buddy Sideshow valiantly consumed 5 hot dogs in about one minute, but lost to some guy named Kobayashi. Just kidding. Later on, the primary meal of the weekend was held at the church and, oh my goodness, it was phenomenal. Food that is free tastes even better and we really stuffed our faces full with pork BBQ, sweet potato, salad, chicken, sausage, and copious amounts of cookies and sweets. It was too delicious. We hung out for some time after dinner to allow the food to digest (it was a slow process), seeing ¢old¢ friends and meeting new ones. I even had the chance to see Pippi and Hamburglar, and their friend Jed, all of whom had helped me out in preparation for my own thru-hike. On the way back to Tent City, Scavenger and I popped in to see a presentation on thorough-hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was a rare and somewhat unusual method of thru-hiking, in which you take as much time in the world to hike, spanning all four seasons, and really embracing the cultures of each town. I think the presenter, Cesar, did the hike in 1 year, 23 days at an average of 6 miles per day.
Date: 2009-05-15
From: Trail Days - Damascus, VA

To: Trail Days - Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 2 of Trail Days was still wonderful. We woke up early to attend the workshop on lightweight backpacking, titled ¢Then and Now¢. It was more of a history lesson of lightweight backpacking than the actual philosophy of it. I still enjoyed it, though. Then, we headed over to the church, where we took part in the health check. I was a bit surprised that my blood pressure was at 149/58, but this could have been from a number of reasons ¢ especially for the amount of sweets and goodies that we were consuming. I also had an excellent foot massage, given by an individual in the church army of volunteers that were needed to help over the weekend. Their generosity and grace was very much appreciated. They had the local news videotaping some of the foot baths and I was interviewed and my feet were filmed, so I may make it to Hollywood! That¢s right ¢ my feet are Hollywood! I should also state at this point that so many people think that I look like Ryan Gosling in the Notebook. I¢ve probably heard it from about 20 people already on the Appalachian Trail and even more when I was back in ¢civilian¢ life at Duke. If you don¢t believe it, try googling: Ryan Gosling & The Notebook. I have yet to see the movie, however. Ninja, Scavenger, and I then picked up some organic salad from Suzanne, a woman who owns a B&B and grows organic goods in her backyard. She just picked the lettuce the night before and made the homemade sauce that morning. She even picked some flowers while we were there and threw them into the zip-lock bag, along with some homemade salad dressing ¢ all for $3.00. Very tasty. Fortunately, my new camera did arrive at the Mt. Rogers Outfitter and, when I packed it up, I was without a doubt, the happiest man alive. It¢s the new Canon SD1200 with an orange colour on the front of it. Aside from the invention of peanut butter, this camera is probably the next best thing. Immediately, I started taking pictures again, capturing each moment with a quick snap and flash. Ninja and I ended up getting some pizza at Quincey¢s, where I also went through all of my belongings, taking some much-needed time to organize. In the evening, we went to see Lucky Joe¢s film on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the Rock House. After watching his film, which had more of a personal context of the trip, we headed to the Youth Center, to watch the PBS film on the third trail in the triple crown: the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). The Appalachian Trail (AT) is considered the first of the three trails. Back at Tent City, I was beginning to feel more and more sick, so I only took part in a few of the Trail Days wild activities. One of these was the crazy ceremonial bonfire, a huge conflagration with over 500 people surrounding it, yelling all sorts of wild chants, all to the steady beats of the 20 bongo drums. It was absolutely wild. People were up dancing cave-man style in front of the fire. I¢m actually surprised that they didn¢t end up sacrificing a lamb or something.