morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-03-26
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mt. shelter
Miles today: 8.1

Woke up at the lodge at 4:30am. Checked on trail conditions and mentally repacked my bag. We had breakfast at the lodge. Left for Springer Mt at 8:30. Stopped at Amicalola visitor center and registered as a thru hiker.Walked up to top of Springer with Mrs. Boomer and our son. This is the start of the trail northbound. After walking back down (.09 mile) we said our "see you laters" and off I went. Hiked from Springer Mountain to Hawks Mountain Shelter in seven hours. Met Swamp Dawg,Four Iron and Echo on the trail and we hiked in together. They are all veterans of the trail.Got into camp at 4:30 and my legs were very sore so I took vitamin I (Ibuprofen). Filtered water from a creek near my camp site. Got food out for dinner and raised my food bag on the bear cables.I can't believe I'm really here.The trail in was hard climbs for me but fun. I'm told tomorrow will be harder.Great group of people at Hawk. But when your hiking you don't see many of them because you're all spread out.In the middle of the night I was awaken by a bunch of coyotes in the camp howling like crazy very loudly. That was so cool. Then they just left. Living the dream.
Date: 2014-03-27
From: Hawk Mt. shelter-Game.

To: Gooch Mt. shelter
Miles today: 7.7

Got up and packed my gear at about 7:30am. Temperature was 22 degrees. My legs were so sore I didn't sleep well. I knew I was in for a very long day.Today we had a few hard climbs to do over a 7.7 mile distance. After hiking for about an hour my legs felt better and my pack seemed lighter. The hardest climb was Sassafras Mountain. My legs got pretty wobbly going up that. I hiked the day with Swamp Dawg. He's been on the trail many times and has thru hiked it. He's also worked on it. During a short lunch break on the trail Swamp Dawg fell asleep with a pop tart hanging out of his mouth. He said he dreamt he was at home. He's a little older than me at 67 years old.Got to Gooch Mountain shelter and decided to sleep in the shelter because rain was forecast for the next two days. We were lucky there was room. It only held 12 people. Got my water from a spring so I didn't filter it. Lots of friendly talk here. People so happy to be on the trail living their dream.Went to bed about 8:30 but didn't sleep well because my hip hurt. My legs felt better though.I'd read this was going to be a difficult and painful journey when you first start. It is.
Date: 2014-03-28
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter (Ga)

To: Lance Creek Camp (Ga)
Miles today: 8.5

Woke up this morning at 4:30 by sound of heavy rain on the tin roof of the shelter. We plan to hike to Lance Creek camp in this rain. A distance of 8.5 mountain miles.I ate a little breakfast, packed my damp gear and headed out about 9:30am.It was cool,foggy and rainy all the way to Lance Creek. It was cold at times and I was soaked to the skin from sweat and rain. I stayed warm because I layered my clothes well. But we never stopped too long to prevent getting cold.We climbed a few tough mountains today. Got to the camp at about 4:30.Lance Creek camp had no shelter or privy. I had to set up my tent in the rain. I then went to the creek and filtered water. I then got into the tent and dried off and put on my last dry clothes. I then cooked up some hot cocoa and oat meal that I got as trail magic enroute here. I cooked out in the rain and then had to hang my food bag in a tree so the bears would not bother my tent,hopefully. It felt good to be in my tent and dry. My legs and hip felt better but I was awake most of the night with shoulder pain. Once I got settled in my tent I took care of a blister on a toe and patched a few hot spots on my feet. Also wrote in my daily journal book for later transfer to this journal.It rained real hard and nonstop all night and into the morning.Still having fun.
Date: 2014-03-29
From: Lance Creek Camp (Ga)

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.4

Packed up this morning in heavy rain. Tent is soaked and everything else is damp. This makes my pack a lot heavier. Hiking 8.5 miles to Neels Gap. Can't camp in this area without a bear canister because of the bear activity so we're walking through. Went over Blood Mountain during the hike. It's about three miles of climbing and two miles of some steep decent. I only had a liter of water when I left because my filter quit working. I have Aqua Pure tablets if I can find a stream.While going up Blood Mt. I was charged by three dogs that came out of nowhere. I shouted "git" loudly and the two smaller ones ran away. The big dog kept barking and advancing so I kept yelling louder for him to git. He finally stopped and trotted away over the ridge. Pretty scary for a second. Swamp Dawg was some distance away but saw the action. He said I was acting impressively. My only thought during the confrontation was, Oh Poop. You just don't expect to encounter dogs like this in the wilderness.The climb up Blood Mt. was hard. I had my first face planting fall here. I was going up a steep incline when I suddenly slipped and fell forward. The pack on my back helped add weight to the fall. I was falling toward a sharp rock in front of me and it was aimed at my face as I fell. I dropped my poles and covered my face with my hands, palms out and hit the rock hard around my cheek. The hands saved me from a real hurting.At the top of Blood Mt. I ran into some young day hikers who said they carried too much water. They topped off my bottle for the trip down. The trip down was steep and difficult. I had to watch every step carefully to prevent falling. When I got to the bottom at Neels Gap there was a store across the street. A note was on the door for Boomer and SwampDawg from Bonito that he had secured a cabin at Blood mt cabins for us just down the road. Swamp was about an hour behind me.The cabin owner did my laundry and dried my tent free. Staying with Happy Hiker, SwampDawg and Bonito. Swamp and I are taking a zero tomorrow to rest up.
Date: 2014-03-30
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Taking the day off to rest up. Shoulders and everything else is feeling good. Probably catching a ride to a restaurant this evening.I fixed my filter. The ceramic filter part was already clogged with gunk. Still happy as a clam that I'm finally on this journey.Will update as I can.as we were leaving the restaurant a lady asked if we were through hikers and offered us fresh fruit. I love this place.
Date: 2014-03-31
From: Neel Gap

To: Hog Pen Gap
Miles today: 6.9

Not many photos posted for last two days of hiking because it rained and was foggy both days. I know I missed some great shots from the top of Blood Mountain but I couldn't see anything off the top.I also appreciate all entries in my guest book. Unfortunately I cannot respond to all due to the limits of my battery and time spent on trail. Please keep your support coming. Mrs. Boomer may help by answering guestions if she can. Thanks.Woke up to a beautiful morning and had breakfast at the cabin store. We chatted with other hikers until our shuttle arrived to drive us north.Today was a slack pack hike of 6.9 miles of mountain climbing and descending. Slack packing is when you get a ride ahead to a trailhead and hike back from there with a light pack, leaving you full pack behind. Just another hiking method I wanted to experience. I shuttled with Swampdawg, 4iron, and Echo to Hog Pen Gap and hiked back to Neel Gap. The hike was full of beautiful vistas from a few mountains. The climbing was tough at times. It was sunny and warm the whole trip. After our hike we went to Hiawasse Ga. For dinner and resupply. I will get a shuttle back to Hog Pen Gap in the morning to continue north with a full pack.
Date: 2014-04-01
From: Hog Pen Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: clear sky

Pictured to the left is 72 year old Sally who shuttled us from our resupply back to Hog Pen Gap. She was very entertaining and laughed a lot. There are folks down here who make some income shuttling hikers to towns and back to trail heads.My hike today with Echo,Swampdawg and 4iron was uneventful but long and tiring. Most of the climbs were straight up and not switch backs. The last mile was steep rough rock path. You have to watch you foot placement very closely on a lot of this trail. It is not a sidewalk. In many areas if you try to look around and not watch where you are stepping you will stumble. Many of the paths are narrow ledges and the possibility of falling a long way down is often present. If you want to enjoy a view you stop. More than a few of the hikers have fallen already. Even if you didn't get hurt it would a heck of a climb up with a heavy pack on.We got water just before we got to the top of Blue Mt. When we got to Blue Mountain shelter I set up my tent and made hot chocolate, oatmeal and tea. I just had a taste for it. Spent time chatting with other hikers at the shelter fire pit and turned in about 9pm. Only two people actually stayed in the shelter.One of the other thru hikers is from Ireland and his trail name is Ireland. Go figure. He's a lot of fun to talk to so of course I had to ask him if they ate Lucky Charms and used Irish Spring soap in Ireland. Guess what. They don't. Now I can't get the Lucky Charms jingle out of my head.Great sleeping weather.Another observation is how quiet the trail is. Most times it is very quiet. No human made sounds at all, like traffic etc. Most pains I've developed have gone away. Makes for better hiking.How is my journey going so far?It's magically delishes!
Date: 2014-04-02
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 2.4

Came down from Blue Mountain to Unicoi Gap and got trail magic from Smokestack, Mother Nature and Hoy. Then hitched a ride to the medical center to get treatment for an infected thumb I've been trying to cure. Got antibiotics and will return to Unicoi Gap in the am to resume journey. 4iron and Swampdawg did chores in town too. Sadly, Echo's heading home tomorrow. I will miss him.
Date: 2014-04-03
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: overcast clouds

The miles posted are from my trail guide and only include actual trail miles. They do not include the milage from the trail to a shelter or a water source. So the actual miles hiked are a bit higher than posted. Also a zero day is a day of rest and no hiking and a nero is a day of few miles. In the beginning of this hike it is recommended that you keep your miles from 8 to 10 until you get your body used to the work. Bigger mile days will come.Today awoke to a nice morning and started hiking north with Swamp Dawg from Unicoi Gap heading to Tray Mountain shelter which is over the top of Tray Mt. We hiked over Rocky Mt. and then Tray Mt. Both were over 4000 feet and were steep ups and downs. Severe storms were forecast so we decided to stay at Tray Mt. shelter for the night. It never did rain but the forecast was the same in the next morning.Had a Mountain House lasagna for dinner. There were 7 in the shelter with 5 tents outside. Temp was cool.
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: light rain

Left Tray mt. shelter in heavy fog to Deep Gap shelter and under a severe weather warning. Hiked in rain gear for awhile until it seemed again the forecast was wrong. The climbing and descents have become more difficult since Unicoi Gap. I'm still keeping milage short for awhile while I adapt as recommended. I am feeling stronger already. All early pains are gone and my thumb is getting better with the antibiotics I got.About half my day was solo as I got out ahead of Swampdawg. I did not see another hiker until I got to the shelter. I filtered water from a little creek prior to the shelter. There were already about 7 hikers there to wait out the storm that never came. I signed the shelter log and ate dinner. I had freezed dried scrambled eggs and bacon. Yuk. I won't eat that again. I hung my food bag on the bear cable and spent the rest of the day talking with the others. All went to bed pretty early which is not unusual for tired hikers. No storm came. By now I was looking forward to seeing one from inside a shelter.This shelter was said by one who has used it before to be Micey. I did not see any or feel any crawling on me as sometimes occurs to hikers. This is why I prefer my tent.
Date: 2014-04-05
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to a cold and foggy morning but without storm warnings. Got up early with the rest at 5:30. I made oatmeal and hot chocolate. I usually don't take time to cook breakfast but just eat poptarts, dry cereal and granola bars with water.We left camp at sun up. We only had 3 miles to hike to Dick's Creek Gap to hitch a ride to the Blueberry Patch Hostel. Swampdawg and I both had resupply packages there and he knew the owner. When we came out of the woods at Dick's Creek Gap the hostel owner was already there after having just dropped some hikers off that had spent the night at his place. We got right to the hostel.The owners, Gary and his wife Lennie Poteat run a real nice place. I showered first and then they did our laundry. Pancake breakfast in the morning with a ride back to the trail. All for a donation.After we got squared Gary dropped us off in town for dinner and to pick up some supplies. We then caught a hitch back to the hostel from a nice couple from Tennessee. Now that I have my resupply of 4 days food and my crocs my bag will be heavier. Oh well, gotta eat.My next resupply stop will be in Franklin North Carolina. I'll be looking for a barber.
Date: 2014-04-06
From: Dick's Creek Gap Ga.

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter NCarolina
Miles today: 11.9

Awoke early in the morning and began to repack my bag. With the resupply from home of food and my croc camp shoes I had to do some serious smashing to get everything to fit. Four days of food probably weighs 6-8 lbs.Gary Poteat rang the breakfast bell at about 8:30 a.m. and we went to their house for scrambled eggs, sausage. pancakes. potato patties, biscuits and gravy. I smothered my pancakes with their homemade blueberry syrup. It was so delicious I had two helpings. The Poteats were wonderful hosts and Gary led the table in prayer before we ate. After Breakfast Swamp Dawg and I were shuttled back to Dick's Creek Gap By Gary. We hiked 11.9 miles to Muskrat Creek Shelter in N.Carolina. During this hike we litteraly climbed out of Georgia and then climbed harder into N.Carolina.I thought some of the climbs would never end. I'm surprised my legs held out.When I checked the weather for this area last night the forecast was for two cloudy and then two sunny days. I am writing this journal entry in my book in my tent at Muskrat Creek with rain pouring down. This means I will be packing and carrying a wet and heavy tent in the morning. Thunder storms are now forecast for tomorrow. Spooky.As soon as we got to Muskrat I filtered water from the nearby creek, made hot cocoa and ate a pack of tuna. I tried to warm up by the shelter fire but it didn't help. This shelter had no bear cables so food bags were hung on ropes in the shelter. I added mine to theirs instead of hanging in a tree.To those who have sent comment and encouragement to my guest book, I thank you. Sorry that I have been unable to answer every one. It's hard to keep up on this journal on the trail.My thumb is almost healed. My feet are pretty much blister free. I had one small one.Darn, I got all cozy in my sleeping bag. It's raining like crazy outside, and now I gotta pee. Welcome to the AT.
Date: 2014-04-07
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter NCarolina

To: Standing Indian Shelter NC
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: moderate rain

Steady hard rain all night and this morning. On the bright side the privy has a roof on it. The ones in Georgia didn't. It is very difficult to keep your toilet paper dry in a downpour. This was a small blessing in a miserable start of a day. I sat in my tent listening to the rain and decided to pack up the wet gear and try to make it to the next shelter (only 5 miles away) before the forecast thunderstorms hit. The map didn't show too many hard climbs to the next shelter. To go beyond it would get us into our highest climb yet. Not smart in a thunderstorm. Swamp Dawg and I hiked out in rainy, cold and windy conditions. Some areas of the trail ran like rivers because of the rain. This made mud, roots and rocks slippery. I slipped on one root and fell on my butt.We got to the shelter about 2 p.m. and four other hikers had already taken refuge there. I got into dry clothes and got in my bag to warm up. This was definitely hypothermia weather and we were soaked with sweat from the climbs and rain. It was 8 miles to the next shelter.Spent the afternoon talking with others in the shelter. Our wet gear is hung here and there. The shelter eventually filled to overflow with some sleeping on the gravel floor around the cooking table. Some were also out in their tents.It was windy with hard rain most of the night. The shelters have metal roofs which made for little sleep. The forecast thunderstorms never came.
Date: 2014-04-08
From: Standing Indian Shelter NC

To: Carter Gap Shelter NC
Miles today: 7.6

Left Standing Indian shelter about 9:30 a.m. after a windy rainy night. Our gear still wet from the day before. Hike started out cool and breezy and my clothes were fairly dry since I had brought them into my bag to dry a bit last night. Our big climb up Standind Indian Mountain was long and hard. It was cold, windy and sunny. When I got to the top I had the most beautiful view of the mountains now below me perfectly lit by the sun. I brought my trusty android phone out so I could share this with all of you. The phone was dead as a door nail. I could take no pictures now or for the next two days. Oh well. I must have left in on overnight. I hiked about half this hike solo because Swamp Dawg had a sore knee and insisted I go ahead. He said he felt bad for holding me up. When I got to the Carter Gap shelter I met Mundo , a retired army vet. We both spread out our wet gear to dry in the sun after shaking out as much water as I could. Mundo was also kind enough to lend me his phone so I could call Mrs. Boomer and let her know my phone was dead. The gear dried in about one hour. I was able to set my tent up for the night.I had a good Mountain House beef stew dinner. I had forgotten to eat my lunch of pop tarts and Snickers and found them smashed up in my pocket so I ate them too.>As other hikers arrived and set up tents or set up in the shelter we built a fire in the fire ring. Had some good conversation with Professor, Grandpa George, Navy Bean, and Dustin, all very interesting people. I found out that Ireland was given a box of Lucky Charms. It seems he did not find them magically delicious.Glad to be tenting tonight. It's more peaceful without the snoring, people moving around and the thought of mice running over my face. You can be at a camp site with a dozen or more people and while hiking see no one. It's because we are all spread out during our day, sometimes miles apart. But you'll often see each other again at a future camp site or trail town. It's quite a community of hikers.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: Carter Gap Shelter NC

To: Rock Gap Shelter NC
Miles today: 12.1

Woke to a cold morning but tent was dry. Had to walk about 100 yards down, a steep hill to filter two liters of water. The water was ice cold. My fingers got so cold they hurt. Took about twenty minutes to warm them up. I'm looking at getting a different filtering system.Packed up and left early to get some good miles today so we can reach Franklin NC in two days for resupply and some gear.The big climb for the day was Albert Mt. It was a long climb that seemed to not want to end. There were ledges so narrow going up the mountain that at some points I had maybe a foot width of rocks between the mountain and a fall of hundreds of feet.After that long climb you hit a sudden steep rocky path to the summit that had me climbing using hands and feet with the weight of my bag wanting to pull me off the mountain. Suddenly I was at the top and 100 miles into my journey.There was a fire tower on the summit and an amazing view of all the mountains below. The view was breathtaking. I would have loved to take a picture for you if my camera worked. We hiked a total of 12.1 miles to Rock Gap Shelter. We stayed in the shelter so we didn't have to take down tents in the morning. We wanted to leave early so we could hike to Winding Stairs Gap (3.7 miles) by 9:30 to catch a shuttle into Franklin NC.I want to find a barber and get some food.
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Rock Gap Shelter NC

To: Winding Stair Gap NC
Miles today: 3.8

Got up to cold weather and left camp at about 7:30 a.m. Swamp Dawg's knee hurt so I went ahead to catch the shuttle and secure a room at the Budget Inn in Franklin. He would hitch a ride when he got to the road. I caught a ride, got a room took a shower and a half hour later Swamp showed up. When he got to the road he sat down to rest and a car pulled over and offered him a ride to the hotel. These Southern folks are beautiful. They really help out the hikers.After Swamp Dawg got situated we walked to a McDonalds. On the way I saw a barber shop. It had a note on the door explaining the barber was taking the week off. We kept walking. I spotted another barber shop down the road. As I approached it I saw it had a closed sign. It was only 1pm. The barber stuck his head out the door and said he closed at noon. I must have looked pitiful to him because he told me to come on in and he'd cut my hair. He said he's been a barber here for 42 years and he closes his shop at noon ever since he went on social security. A real nice Southern gent. So I got my hair and beard cut. Swamp said I looked ten years younger.After I got my haircut we ate and then went back to the inn so I could catch up with my journal. We later got an inn shuttle to the outfitters and Walmart and a Chinese buffet with a dozen other hikers. I ate so much I felt sick.Tomorrow at 7 am the local Baptist church will pick up hikers and take them to the church for a free breakfast and then return us by 8:30 for shuttles back to the trail.It is quite a journey.
Date: 2014-04-11
From: Winding Stair Gap NC

To: Wayah Bald Shelter NC
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

The 1st Baptist Church of Franklin N.C. sent its van to pick up hikers at the Budget Inn at 7:15am for a free hikers breakfast. They've done this for a number of years during the early hiking season until April 11. They had already served about 500 hikers this season. We were lucky to be here on their last day for the season. All the church members involved were so friendly and some sat at each table asking about our trip. They did not have to tell us they were Christians they simply showed us. They took our pictures and made prints for us to mail to loved ones. They provided envelopes and stamps and mailed them for us. We were dropped off by 8:30 at the inn to continue our journey. I love these people and their way of making you feel so welcome.After returning to the inn I mailed my water filter pump home since I replaced it with a lighter and easier to use Sawyer filter.At hostels, outfitters, inns and other places that serve hikers there are often boxes were hikers can place items of food or gear that they don't need or want for other hikers to take. After I resupplied the other day I had extra packs of crackers and some ramen noodles so I put them in the box at the inn. I got some m&ms and gummy worms out of it.The owner of the inn shuttled us back to Winding Stair Gap to continue our hike at 11:00am. We had miles of long climbing over Siler Bald and then over Wayah Bald to a stone tower at the top. We spent the night in the Wayah Bald shelter because we were too tired to set tents after our late start and 11 mile hike. I shared the shelter with Muskee, Navy Bean, Swamp Dawg and Shawn Again. A good bunch of hikers. All were sore and Navy Bean had Ibuprofen PM for us. I had the best sleep of the trip.