morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-21
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: moderate rain

We had some brief rain this morning, but everyone was hurrying on for Ervin. It had been a week since we had been into town, and we were ready for showers and clean clothes. We arrived at Uncle Johnny's hostel about noon and rented a nice cabin. We were happy to see Stick Man and Mountain Man who also stayed at the hostel. The weather has turned nice today and we're happy to be back in town.We'll zero tomorrow before continuing on with our son, Jason, who will join us Thursday morning. 19E will be our next planned resupply. Right now we're enjoying cold beer and lots of town food. Life is good.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN

To: Nolichucky River, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a nice sunny day. It's a little cool, but we're expecting temperatures in the 80's in the next few days with no rain. Good hiking weather. We had a trail angel dinner with some of Mosey's family contacts that live right next to Uncle Johnny's, and we've got our resupply done. Looking for a good hike out of Erwin tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Nolichucky River, Ervin, TN

To: Campsite North of Beauty Spot
Miles today: 11.0

We woke to a nice sunny day at Johnny's and cooked our own breakfast to get an early start. We made enough to share with the hikers tenting outside our cabin. They seemed quite pleased to get waffles, eggs and sausage delivered to their picnic table.Our son called to say he was running late, so we decided the old folks would start hiking and Jason would catch up. We made it to Curley Maple Gap Shelter for lunch and enjoyed talking to several other hikers.Jason finally caught up to us shortly after we reached Indian Grave Gap, and we enjoyed his company for the rest of our hike up to Beauty Spot. It was a nice day, so there were lots of hikers camping on the bald. We moved on looking for a water source. We didn't find one, but we did find a nice meadow where Jenn, Greg and their dog, Sheba, were already set up. We joined them and they shared a little water with us. Jason was also successful in getting some passing cars on the forest road to give him some water. This is definitely a section where you need to get water when it's available. Firecracker joined us in the meadow after we got set up, so we had a nice group to share the night with.
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Campsite North of Beauty Spot

To: Campsite North of Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

We got up at sunrise and moved on quickly to finally find water about 1/4 mile down the trail. All we needed to do yesterday was walk a little farther. Oh well. We climbed Unaka Mountain and had lunch at Cherry Gap Shelter. Late afternoon, we came to Iron Mountain Gap to find a previous thru-hiker, Crazy Horse, doing some trail magic while he waited for friends who would camp with him that night. We enjoyed some cold drinks and a few snacks before leaving to find a campsite for the night. We ended up in an old apple orchard with a nice spring and plenty of campsites. Several other hikers joined us a evening moved in. Our meal was enhanced with some ramps that a couple locals gave us. They were out harvesting and showed us what to look for before sharing what they had gathered. It was a good day for magic.Tomorrow looks like another nice day. We're enjoying all the wildflowers that are sprouting. The trees at altitude are still bare, but there's some green appearing at lower elevations.
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Campsite North of Iron Mountain Gap

To: Ash Gap
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: few clouds

We had over 3,000 feet elevation gain today, and it was very warm with record temperatures in the area. Quite a tough day hiking. We lunched at Clyde Smith Shelter and several hikers were just resting there waiting for the temperatures to go down. It was real tough on the dogs who were hiking.We took a long break at Hughes Gap before starting up the approach to Roan Mountain. Other hikers were doing the same, and we all got quite a work out on this steep climb. We stopped at Ash Gap where we camped with others and got water from a minimal source. By nightfall, we had quite a collection of hikers including one who had done 30 miles today.Ash Gap is at 5,350 feet altitude, so we got a nice cooldown of the temperature. Quite a relief from the heat of the day. Tomorrow it's over the top of Roan.
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Ash Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

We got an early start and had cool temperatures all the way to the top of Roan. We took a short break at the Roan High Knob Shelter, the highest shelter on the AT. We had a leisurely hike down Roan to Carver Gap talking about the fact that this would be the last time we'd see 6,000 feet until Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.Jason and his dog, Sipsey, left us at Carver Gap to go back to the working world. We had them for four days and enjoyed seeing family again. The weather had cooperated so it was a great time together. Danny and Leslie Honrath, family friends, picked Jason up and brought us some trail magic drinks and snacks before they left and we started to cross the big balds north of Roan.After a warm afternoon, we came to Overmountain Shelter, a big barn renovated for hikers with a killer view. There must have been 25 - 30 hikers there, mostly young folks who played music, sang, and were just having a fun time as we bedded down for the night.
Date: 2009-04-27
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: 19E
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: clear sky

What a night. The wind blew fiercely right into the shelter, and nobody got a good night's sleep. Sunrise was great, but we were all tired with two mountaintops to cross before reaching 19E. We enjoyed great views from Little Hump Mountain and Hump Mountain. The wind was blowing so strong that it literally blew us sideways on the exposed slopes. On Hump Mountain, we walked with several cattle who were grazing contentedly, and we found half a dozen horses also enjoying the grass on the bald. The animals were all quite content with us slow moving hikers walking through their terrain.After a long downhill and passing Apple House Shelter, we were met by Bob Woodall at 19E. Bob and his wife Andrea will be hosting us tonight in their home in Newland, NC. Bob got a chance to play trail angel to some other hikers as he took them to a nearby hostel before taking us back to his home. Tonight we have clean clothes and bodies and will be sleeping in a real bed. Andrea fixed a nice dinner that was a great change from boil in the bag fare. It was a nice way to end our day.
Date: 2009-04-28
From: 19E

To: 19E
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We took a zero today to rest up and catch up on our internet activities. It was nice to just sit around the house with no hiking to do. Tonight it's steak dinner and another night in a warm bed before we get back on the trail tomorrow. We'll be heading north for our next stop where we'll be catching up with friends who are hosting our dog while we hike. We haven't seen them in two months, so we're looking for a great reunion. Not sure what the dog will think of us after two months living outdoors. We definitely look and smell differently from when we left.Thanks to Bob and Andrea for giving us a nice break as we finish up hiking in North Carolina.
Date: 2009-04-29
From: 19E

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The Woodalls got us back on the trail at 19E about 9:30 after serving us a hearty breakfast in their home. With all the warm weather, we're noticing a lot of wildflowers popping up, and the trees and bushes at lower altitudes are all budding out. Spring is definitely on the way.The initial portion of the trail in this area is a little rough with obvious use by ATV's. We ate lunch near a small creek and continued our climb out of town. Temperatures were really warm today, and we decided to walk in the afternoon rain without putting on our rain gear. We got thoroughly drenched, but it felt good and cooled us off. We dried out when we got to Mountaineer Shelter, which is only a couple years old. It's design was a little different from the other shelters we had stayed in, and it had a lot of nice features for hikers. With three levels for sleeping, there was plenty of room, and the water source was near by which is always nice. This was definitely one of the best shelters we've stayed in.Because of the rain, several hikers had stopped by the shelter to wait out the rain before moving on to complete their 20+ mile days. After they left, the late comers arrived to fill out the shelter. We ended up with a nice group. One young hiker showed off the blisters on his foot, and we all agreed that he won the blister contest. What a mess. We were amazed that he could still hike. We are grateful that we've not had the blister problems that a lot of hikers have, probably because we're keeping our mileage down.There's a nice fire burning now outside the shelter, and we expect a goodnight's sleep. More hiking tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-30
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

It was pretty cloudy today, but we really didn't have any rain that mattered. The clouds kept it cooler which was nice. We started hiking at 7:30, out earliest start yet. We had lunch at a small stream with The Flying Scotsman and Trigger and celebrated passing the 400 mile mark of our hike. It was nice to celebrate the occasion with a couple other hikers before moving on.We ended our day at Moreland Gap Shelter where The Flying Scotsman had already arrived. The water source here is way down the hill but was good once you got there. Swiss Cheese and the Caw-Caw group arrived later in the day along with some middle aged hikers. We had another nice fire, and while the wind blew quite hard, the rain stayed away. A few late night hikers arrived after everyone had gone to bed and made quite a ruckus getting their tents set up. This is always annoying, especially when they come in late because they didn't start hiking until the afternoon. Oh well, hike your own hike they say.Tomorrow we'll head to Kincora hostel which is advertised as one to not miss.
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Rd., Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 6.0

When we got up today, it was tent city outside the shelter. All the late arrivals had tented instead of moving into the shelter. Again it was a cloudy day, but the rain was minimal. We found a dog at the shelter when we woke up and have no idea who it belongs to. It followed the first two hikers out of camp who definitely did not own it. It's just one of those strange things that happens on the trail.We intentionally took a short day to arrive at the Kincora hostel early. We were met by Baltimore Jack who showed us around and escorted us to the executive suite, a private room with a double bed. What a nice beginning. Later we met Bob Peoples, the proprietor, who is one of the hikers and trails best friends. He host hikers for donations only and heads up the maintenance of the local trails. He was really a super person.We shuttled into town on the afternoon run and had some fast food before picking up groceries to cook our dinner at the hostel. The whole day was one great experience just hanging out with other hikers and relaxing. Bob's no drugs, no smoking, no alcohol policy kept the crowd alert, and the dinner fellowship was really outstanding.We've elected to get a shuttle from Bob in the morning to slack pack our next trail segment. Then we'll reunite with our dog, Trekker, and our friends Dennis and Katy who are taking care of her while we hike. It should be a great day.
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Dennis Cove Rd., Kincora Hostel

To: U.S. 321
Miles today: 8.9

One of the other hikers had prepared a breakfast casserole for the hostel hikers and it was really a nice start to the day. We caught the shuttle to our trailhead at 7:45 and were hiking by 8:30. Getting over Pond Mountain took a good bit of time and effort. We lunched along the trail after starting our descent and dodging some light rain.The last portion of the hike back to Kincora was spectacular. Everything is blooming and flowers are everywhere. The whole woods is that bright new green of spring and it's wonderful. We followed a rushing stream for a couple miles, crossing several elaborate bridges with great views of the water. Before climbing out of the gorge we were in, we came to a 35+ foot waterfall that is one of the most outstanding things we've seen on the trail. All this was in the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness. We wished we had more time to stay and enjoy it, but we needed to get on back to meet our dog and friends at the appointed time.We had just arrived at Kincora when our ride arrived. Our dog, Trekker, was not quite sure who these odd looking people calling her were. She hesitated quite a while before the tail wagged and she enthusiastically greeted her owners. We showed Dennis around the hostel and gathered our stuff before heading to Piney Flats where we'll zero a couple days to refresh and enjoy the company of our friends, Dennis and Katy, and Trekker. Life is good today.
Date: 2009-05-03
From: U.S. 321

To: U.S. 321
Miles today: 0.0

We enjoyed a nice night in a real bed at the home of our friends, Dennis and Katy. After attending church in Johnson City, we visited the local trail shop, Mahoney's to see about getting Mosey some new boots. Her La Sportiva boots had definite issues after 400 miles and her feet had been hurting for quite a while. She ended up with new Asolo boots that are much stiffer. Whether or not this will help the sore feet issue is yet to be determined, but we'll head out Tuesday to see.We lunched at Smokey Bones where our friends definitely got to see how hikers eat after being on the trail for a couple of months. We have no shame. We had dinner at our friend's home where they prepared us a scrumptious and ample meal of grilled steak with all the trimmings.Tomorrow will zero again to catch up on loose ends and get something called a haircut. We're enjoying our reunion with old friends and our dog, Trekker.
Date: 2009-05-04
From: U.S. 321

To: U.S. 321
Miles today: 0.0

We enjoyed another night at our friends home and were happy to be there after a night of rain that continued into the morning. We both got haircuts and hope our trail friends will recognize us when we get back on the trail tomorrow morning. Our packs are restocked and we're ready to continue on to Damascus.Today we updated our mail drop schedule. We're travelling considerably slower than the original schedule showed, so mail drops are slipping. If you plan to send us something, please check the new schedule since we're 2-3 weeks behind the original one. Thanks to everyone who has sent us trail goodies. We really enjoy them. Thanks also to everyone who has written in our trail guest book. You're all very encouraging, which is something we really need every now and then.Tonight we're getting another home cooked meal with our friends who will put us back on the trail tomorrow. We'll be in Virginia soon and are looking forward to meeting all those who have passed us at Trail Days in Damascus in two weeks. It should be a great time to fellowship with trail friends and enjoy some down time from hiking the trail.Still heading north with new hope in Mosey's new boots.
Date: 2009-05-05
From: U.S. 321

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: moderate rain

Lots of rain today. Mosey is breaking in new boots. Dulcimer Dave is bored. Dennis dropped us off at U.S. 321 where we picked up our trek north. We skirted Watauga Lake and crossed the dam before the rain started. We ate lunch in the back of Bob Peoples' truck to get out of the rain and then headed up a very steep section where the Peoples' crew was working on a much needed reroute. The rain continued almost all afternoon.We arrived at the Vandeventer shleter in late afternoon to find that the shelter had some major leak problems. We elected to set up our tent near the shelter in case the rain picked back up. We left the shelter to some young folks. Mosey's new boots are doing ok with only one hot spot so far. We'll keep the mileage down until she's happy with them.Dulcimer Dave is bored with the slow pace, rain, and having to constantly watch the trail for footing with no views. Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-06
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: moderate rain

We woke to grey skies, but the rain didn't start until after we had the tent packed and were hiking. Nasty rain - lots of it and blowing. No views and a muddy slick trail. About noon we got a break with enough time to eat lunch. We reached Iron Mountain Shelter in the early afternoon and decided to call it a day with Mosey's new boots and the threatening weather forecast. We staked a claim in the shelter and spread out our stuff to dry. Other hikers joined as at mid-afternoon as the rain started again. By early evening we had a full shelter with rain coming down.A couple late hikers came in and tented. Then one not so bright young hiker comes in about dark and announces that he doesn't have a tent because he shipped it ahead so he wouldn't have to carry it. The younger hikers squeezed together to get him in, but I don't cut any slack for stupidity. One last set of hikers came in after dark and cooked in a dark shelter before setting up their tent. Looks like a long night of rain with a crammed shelter.
Date: 2009-05-07
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We were happy to wake in the shelter. It rained fiercely all night and finally stopped about 7:00 AM. Everyone packed up expecting another wet day. We made good time and arrived at TN 91 with no rain, but clouds in the distance. We ate our lunch of pepperoni and cheese at the road crossing and had just finished when Alabama drove up. He had been out in his pickup for some days looking for property and day hiking. He offered us fresh bananas and fruit cocktail which we gladly accepted. He also took the trash. We had a nice conversation and enjoyed this unexpected trail magic.Leaving the road, we walked through a nice section of trail that was acquired in the last few years. It goes through farm land and provides good walking with excellent views. We met a turkey hunter who talked to us about the area for a while. Then we met the man who maintains the trail in this area and thanked him for a nice trail. We arrived at Double Springs Shelter around 2:30 and decided to stay and avoid any of the expected afternoon storms. Several hikers came and went trying to get closer to Damascus. The storms finally came in early evening and we were glad to be in the shelter. We eventually ended up with Minnesota Smith and another young hiker, Robb, for the night. Hoping for no more rain tonight and a good day tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-08
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: U.S. 421, Low Gap
Miles today: 3.5

Taking a nero today. We left Double Springs at 7:00 and quickly made it to U.S. 421. The weather forecast is for severe storms today and the weather radar shows them moving in. We met two hikers with a dog at the road and talked to them with another couple hiker before starting up the trail. One of the hikers we met then hollered up that she'd take us home if we wanted the rest of the day off to avoid the rain. She didn't have to ask twice. We loaded into the pickup and headed down the road to Shady Valley as the rain started.Our host, India, gave us the run of the house and a nice place to sleep. We enjoyed a bath and some trail magic meals. The rains have still not come, but the forecast still says tonight will be bad with severe storms. We're happy to be in. Tomorrow we'll pick up where we left off and continue on towards Damascus. At least the forecast is somewhat better for tomorrow. We'll see. The rain seems to know when we're on the trail.
Date: 2009-05-09
From: U.S. 421, Low Gap

To: Campsite near Backbone Rock Trail
Miles today: 10.0

We enjoyed a nice night off the trail and our host provided a great breakfast before putting us back on the trail at U.S. 421. The sky was cloudy with rain threatening, but we enjoyed a relatively dry morning hike. We met some trail maintainers and their young children at USFS Road 69. They gave us a cold drink and some cookies to get us up the mountain to Abingdon Gap Shelter. We lunched there and filled up with water since no water is advertised between the shelter and Damascus. The source here is good, but way down hill.we didn't spend any extra time at lunch because we were pestered unmercifully today with small black flying insects that want to bite. We had experienced them off and on over the last week or two, but today they were out in force. We wished we had our bug nets, but they are lost somewhere in the mail. The maintainers provided some bug spray which helped a little, but the bugs were still very annoying, especially when you inhaled one.From Abingdon Gap, we decided to hike on until late afternoon and then look for a tent site with a few miles to go to Damascus. We found one about 4:00 and set the tent up quickly since the rain drops were starting to fall. We got set up and cooked dinner just before the deluge. We ate in the tent and basically stayed there until bed time. It rained pretty hard. Tomorrow we get up early to hike into Damascus and some time off. Hoping the rain clears as the weatherman promises.
Date: 2009-05-10
From: Campsite near Backbone Rock Trail

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke to a clear, cool morning with temperatures in the 40's. We quickly ate our breakfast of pop tarts, power bars and instant breakfast, anxious to get to Damascus. We hiked less than an hour before reaching the Virginia state line. We're through hiking in Tennessee, our fourth AT state. There's over 400 miles of trail in Virginia before we can check off another state. We took the required pictures and celebrated a little before moving on. We reached Damascus about 10:30 and enjoyed our hike where the AT goes right through the middle of town. After checking two hostels that were full, we moved into "The Place", a hostel owned by the Methodists. It's pretty informal, but close to everything in town. After dropping our gear, we headed toward a quick meal at a nearby restaurant. Mosey got sidetracked into the morning service at the Baptist church, but Dave decided he was too dirty and smelly so he went on to eat.After meeting back at the hostel, we went over to the Mt. Rogers Outfitters and picked up our food drop and bounce box in addition to some mail from the kids. We showered and washed the clothes before going back to the outfitters to shop for some items we needed. We also arranged for a shuttle that will take us back to the trail north of town on Tuesday morning. We'll hike south to return to Damascus on Thursday in time for Trail Days. When that's over, we'll shuttle back north and pick up the trail heading north.The rest of the day, we relaxed around the hostel, talking to other hikers and making Mother's Day calls home. We were also happy to reunite with Alabama and Vagrant. We didn't expect to see Vagrant until Trail Days and we were delighted to get to see him early. He's staying at The Place too.We finished our day with the evening service at the Baptist church next to the hostel and were glad to be indoors with a weather forecast of rain for the night. Will it never end?