morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-10
From: newfound gap

To: Peck's Corner shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

Packed up and left early by about 9:00 a.m. It didn't rain this morning gladly because we figured it would be hard to hitch in the rain. We asked a guy gassing up at a station right by the road if we could jump in the back and he agreed to drop us off at newfound gap on his way to cherokee. We wanted to hike as far as we could before the rains came. The weather forecast is calling for rain the next 5 days and on top of all the snow that sounds pretty miserable. The first 3 miles out of newfound gap were a piece of cake thanks to the tourists and day hikers. After that it was another story..... We quickly slowed to a very frustrating mile an hour pace. It was exhausting!! Every other step we fell at the very least to knee/ hip deep. It was not fun and it made my legs very tired and my knees were screaming. We got to the shelter about 5:30 and there were 3 spring breakers, but they did not have a fire started which was very dissapointing. They all had snow shoes. One had an old wooden pair and i made a comment about robbing a cracker barrel wall to get them and his friends laughed but he did not think it was too funny. I don't know want to go to sleep because I know tomorrow is gonna awful, cold, and rainy but as they say NO RAIN! NO PAIN! NO MAINE!
Date: 2010-03-11
From: Peck's Corner shelter

To: Cosby Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

The first 5 miles of the day took a little over 4 hours which was again very frustrating. The rain came down most of the day and at 6000 ft the temps didn't get above 40 degrees which was very cold. We were soaked and planned on about a 12 hour day just to get 13 miles, but we wanted to be out of the smokies bad. We had lunch at Icewater spring shelter and froze quickly since we were soaked!!. After shivering uncontrolably for about 10 minutes thoughts of hypothermia were creeping into the back of our mind and the decision to stay or move on needed to be made quickly. We decided to move on to the next shelter no matter how long it took to Cosby shelter. What made it so hard was the 3 and a half feet of snow that once had a hard crusty surface was now slush which allowed every step to fall through to at the very least knee sometimes higher to the waist. The next 4 miles weren't quite as bad and the last 3 or 4 were a lot easier making it to Cosby just before 6. We were soon me by two very tired hikers in their 40's doing Davenport Gap to Newfound Gap section. So much for a relaxing getaway right? Out of the Smokies tomorrow Baby!!!!NOBO '10
Date: 2010-03-12
From: Cosby Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Todays miles were great! We ran into a little snow in the beginning but after that we were downhill and dry. Had lunch at Davenport Gap shelter and made it to standing bear by 1:00 We have been relaxing and licking our wounds and will be back on the trail in the rain manana!
Date: 2010-03-13
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Roaring Ford shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Todays hike felt great on the rested legs. We left with intentions on staying on top of Max Patch in the tents but when I got to the top it was literally a windy blizzard so I easily made the decision to go on to the next shelter. There was a whole crew of boyscouts there in for an overnighter.... again what a nice getaway right? It rained/sleeted/snowed all day depending what elevation I was at. Dave and I got separated after about halfway. He wasn't feeling good to his stomach and as it started to rain he told me to go on ahead and he would meet me at the next shelter, however, he never showed up and had stayed at the previous shelter as he had been throwing up all afternoon. Needles to say it made for a very sleepless night for me after I spent half the night looking for him and the other half hoping he was ok. The next day as I headed south to go find him we met as he was coming north and I was glad to see him doing well again.
Date: 2010-03-14
From: Roaring Ford shelter

To: Deer Park Mtn. shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After meeting Dave at about 12:00 this afternoon I asked him what he wanted to do. 1. hike to Walnut shelter and do 13 miles to HOt Springs the next day or 2. Hike to Deer Park Mtn. and have only 3.2 the next day. He chose the latter of the two and ended up pulling a 23 mile day!! At the shelter a few other guys came in. They were students at a prestigous catholic school and had aspirations of joining the priesthood. Going to bed and on to Hot Sprangs tomorrow to meet my dad for a big section. It snowed and rained all day again by the way.
Date: 2010-03-15
From: Deer Park Mtn. shelter

To: Hot Sprangs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked out to town in an hour (3.2 miles) and that was right when Bob Peoples from Kincora Hostel was dropping dad off in town. We stopped in at Bluff Mtn. Outfitters and then Dad treated us to some lunch and got us a hotel room to shower at and do some laundry. We had a couple of beers and some pizza and then a resupply and off to bed!
Date: 2010-03-16
From: Hot Sprangs

To: Spring Mtn. shelter
Miles today: 11.0

Glad to have my dad here!! He hiked good and hard today doing 11 miles with us on his first day and I am very impressed! The trail wasn't too bad with very few steep climbs but just a steady up most of the day. Its gonna be good to slow down a bit as I have had some more achilles issues and to have some good quality time with my pops. I'm sure he is sore but hopefully It'll go away soon.
Date: 2010-03-17
From: Spring Mtn. shelter

To: Little Laurel 
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Todays miles were a little tougher than yesterday. We got a late start at around 11 and had a nice leisurely hike. The forecast predicted rain but it didn't rain all day thankfully. A slight shower drizzled for a few minutes after we stopped but that was it. We had a good time at the shelter and then went off to sleep. Dad is probably hurtin a bit by now but is shouldn't be too bad yet and tomorrow is a big day for him with 12.7 miles.
Date: 2010-03-18
From: Little Laurel 

To: Flint Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 12.7

The trail was alot tougher than we thought. It has really taken a toll on Dad's knees and I think he has made the tough decision to not continue. This is very hard to accept for us both. He invested alot of time/money/ and effort into preparing for this two week long trip and it is getting cut short by something out of his control. I think we may have pushed it a little too hard right out of the gate. It is hard for us both to swallow but it is the only choice. He is gonna try to get a ride tomorrow at Devil's Fork Gap to get back to his truck. We ran into knee deep and his gf at the shelter that night and they are also getting off in the morning so it might work out pretty good. Tonight we say under the starts for what seemed like hours with a perfectly clear night looking at the countless stars. Tonight was mine.. All you staying at a 5 star hotel tonight I am staying at a 5 million star hotel and that means mine is better!!!
Date: 2010-03-19
From: Flint Mtn. Shelter

To: Bald Mtn. shelter
Miles today: 19.1

Walked 3 miles to Devil's Fork Gap for Dad to catch a ride back to Kincora. It was one of the toughest parts of my entire trip to see him go so early. The past 3 days have been the best 3 days of my whole trip so far. Its very lonely on the trail specially if you leave real early like we did and it is good to have family with you and I wish it could have lasted a lot longer and I know he does too. I miss my family very much and my girlfriend too. It has been the most difficult thing to overcome so far as I was used to seeing her everyday and now I haven't seen her in over a month. After a hard goodbye we hiked real hard up to Big Bald Mtn. and watched the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I had someone in mind who I wished very much was there to see it with me and she knows who she is. The shelter was almost impossible to find that night, but we found it at around 8:30.
Date: 2010-03-20
From: Bald Mtn. shelter

To: Nolichucky Hostel
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

It took an hour to find the trail this morning due to the snow and the trail not being well marked but finally found it about 9:30- The hike was strenuous in the morning and fizzled out to an easier hike towards the end of the day. We could see town for the last 5 miles and it was such a tease seeing it all the way down the switchbacks. At the hostel we met up with knee deep and Joe (Sundial) Its good to see everyone and catch up. Knee deep will go back and do the past section he skipped tomorrow after his gf leaves him and try and catch up with us by Damascus. I have some very sore feet with some serious blisters and Dave is feeling it too so we will be taking a zero tomorrow.
Date: 2010-03-22
From: Nolichucky Hostel

To: Cherry Gap
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light snow

We got started out of Johnny's at about 8:30 and hit the trail and the trail soon hit back. We were making great time and then the sleet started which was quickly followed by a very hard wet snow. We got soaked by the time we reached the shelter. I have been plagued by my achilles the entire trip and today was the worst. The last seven miles were very hard and every step excruciating pain shooting through my leg and the other leg began to hurt from the overcompensation. The blowdowns in this section were as bad as they have been on the trail too which added to the pain and misery. At the shelter snow was blowing everywhere including all over us and our stuff. We tied up our rainflys to stop some not to much avail and we woke up again very wet especially our sleeping bags. Due to my achilles and being soaked including sleeping bags we decided to stop in at the greasy creek hostel tomorrow to dry out and rest up. We will have some big days after that so it will be in good interest. I am sorry to the readers but I must quickly vent...."I AM SO FED UP WITH THE DANG SNOW AND BLOWDOWNS AND MY BOOTS A LITTLE... I WANT TO SEE THE SUN!!!!!!!"jb NOBO '10
Date: 2010-03-23
From: Cherry Gap

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: light snow

We tried to sleep in what seemed like armagedon winds blowing snow and ice all over us as we tried to drift off to sleep last night and this morning the winds were even worse. We had to break out our balaclavas to put over our face again which is rediculous because its almost April!!! I put on wet boots and rain gear this morning after getting a late start. It was very hard getting out of the bag this morning with the wind blowing so cold. It is a good decision to stay at the hostel and try and summit Roan High Bald on a good day as to not get lost. Greasy Creek is a very cool place run by a nice lady named C C. It worked out well to dry out and we are the first NOBOS of the year to stay. We will be doing a few big days and try to get to Kincora Hostel at Dennis Cove road by Friday night. We are supposed to have some good weather tomorrow and then the snow and rains are supposed to hit us again, but everyone says it'll get better so I hope they are right
Date: 2010-03-24
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a day that we really needed for our morale. We got dried out at the hostel and had a beautiful on the trail. We saw 3 other thru hikers who are trying to to do the trail in 100 days, barely over 3 months. I don't know how you can enjoy your hike going that fast. Roan High Knob was a bear of a mountain to climb. This mountain had no top to it! I started to think of what I might say if i reached the pearly gates cause i was sure i was getting pretty close. We stopped for lunch at Roan High shelter which was cool but very cold. After we got off the mountain the trail got alot easier down into Carver's Gap. Carver's Gap is a very cool place with alot of bald areas. We ran into a number of day hikers in the area. After Stan Murray shelter we got a little turned around after missing one of the new switchbacks put in recently. The key is to follow the white blazes not the old footprints. We are staying at an old bard that they have turned into a shelter. It overlooks an amazing valley. By far the coolest place we have stayed on the trail so far. I sat on the backside of the barn as the sun went down and just stared out for an hour or so. It only takes one good take to erase alot of bad ones. The would be a fantastic place to see and awesome sunrise but the clouds are coming out and its supposed to be overcast in the morning. A guy named paul is staying here tonight. He is finishing a hike from springer to damascus in a few days. Reckless
Date: 2010-03-25
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

This morning was kind of nice just in no kind of hurry. I love this barn. We left at about 9:30 and on my way back to the trail I was startled by a pack of deer coming right my way! They didn't see me and were on there way to running into me until i hollered at them scaring them off every which way. They were within about 15 yards of me. I was wide awake from this point this morning. The weather was windy and overcast most all day. Little hump and Big Hump had some really cool panoramic views. WE still are walking in some deep snow in some of the elevations above 4000' feet which sucks but it can't last forever can it? I am starting to think i will be in snow the entire trip. We cruised pretty good the rest of the day and stopped at an awesome waterfall of a side trail called Jones Falls. I think it is one of the tallest on the whole trail. Mountaineer shelter is really awesome and probably one of the nicest on the trail. It has two floors and also a loft above them. I am laying here in the loft (penthouse) right now. We arrived here at 5:15 pulling 18.3 miles which is not too shabby. I think we are getting our legs although I am having some issues with my feet still. We are gonna try and stay at the Kincora Hostel tomorrow night and then on to Damascus in a few days.Reckless
Date: 2010-03-26
From: Mountaineer shelter

To: Kincora
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

The day started with a pretty strong mist and turned into a very cold rain by afternoon. We cruised pretty fast to try and stay warm. I was soaked within the first hour and the temperature was around 40 degrees. By our lunch break my hands were frozen and I considered just to keep going but I was starving and had no energy. I had to put my down jacket on to try and warm up while we stopped and quickly scarfed down some food. We arrived at Kincora Hostel at about 2 O'clock. 16 miles in 5 hours w/lunch break. Thats cruising! At the hostel we talked to the owner Bob Peoples for a while and also ran into Knee Deep and Sundial who we had been criss crossing the trail with for a while. They were on their way out but decided to stay and join us in the morning so we could all hike to Damascus together and celebrate. Later on tonight we had an intense Monopoly game which got intense very quickly. I jumped out to an early and commanding lead and by the end of the game I am not carry my food bag or my tent and poles tomorrow! This is thanks to a couple of expensive stays at Reckless's Hotels of Kentucky Avenue. Dave, Knee Deep, and I are planning on a 24 mile day tomorrow which will be our longest yet. There are a couple of climbs but all the rest isn't too bad. My feet are sore and I will rest them tonight and tomorrow is a great day for a light pack.Reckless
Date: 2010-03-27
From: Kincora

To: Iron Mountain 
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: clear sky

My feet are in some pretty serious pain after today. My boots are not working our for me. My bones are throbbing every step and I think they are starting to do some actual damage, not to mention the fact that I am still getting blisters and my achilles are still messed up after close to 500 miles. Besides the pain it was a beautiful day for hiking. The trail was really cool down in around Laurel Fork Gorge and it was a good tough climb up Pond Flats. I was a good feeling at the end of the day to have done almost 25 miles. The shelter was full so we set up our tents which was nice for the privacy and I got to make some phone calls since I had some good service where we were. Tomorrow we plan to get to Abingdon shelter about 16 miles away and then to Damascus the next day for a zero, a celebration and hopefully meet up with a guy named Allgood I met on spring break last year through my roomate KevinReckless
Date: 2010-03-28
From: Iron Mountain 

To: Damascus
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: light rain

Not much to say about today. The weather was scary bad with reports of thunderstorms coming our way. The wind was intense and we got rained on a bit. We got to the shelter we intended to get to at about 1:30 and despite my body telling me know we went on ten more miles to Damascus. The trail was easy but my feet were ruined and I had to go so slow basically hobbling the last 5 miles into town. We got the "The Place", a hostel in town run by a Christian ministry and we were greeting by a couple who talked to us for a bit and disappeared only to return with fried chicken and fresh fruit! Wow talk about trail magic. Later on this evening two girls came into the hostel on a road trip and were looking to spread a little trail magic on to some thru hikers and are gonna take us to breakfast in the morning! I like this town. First thing i the morning I am going to Mount Rogers Outfitter and getting some trail runners!Reckless
Date: 2010-03-29
From: Damascus

To: Nowhere
Miles today: 0.0

First Zero. Got some trail runners but my feet are still in bad shape. The girls got us breakfast and we just hung out around town. I sent my boots back to REI and sent a few things home to lighten my pack and now we are meeting Allgood for Pizza and Beers. He is gonna let us stay at his house tonight. We are gonna zero tomorrow because that was the original plan anyway and my feet need rest and healing!Reckless NOBO '10
Date: 2010-03-30
From: Nowhere

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Again a very relaxing day at Allgood's. We have resupplied and saw Knee Deep off. I have received some very disappointing news that my girlfriend will not be able to visit due to her schedule at school which is devastating but I'll have to make it work. Back on the trail tomorrow for a 16 mile day and the weather has finally broke for us I think!
Date: 2010-03-31
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today is the day we have been itching for after sitting around for two days impatiently waiting on my feet to heal and trying to relax. We have stayed with our good friend Allgood's house and have experienced some awesome hospitality from him and his parents. My feet have not completely healed but im done sitting around! We didn't start till about 12 o'clock but Allgood offered us our first slackpack and how could we refuse! We carried only a water bottle and some snacks for 15 miles and Allgood met at the other end of the trail with our packs which we only carried for a mile. It was awesome! The trailrunners I picked up in Damascus seems like they are gonna do the trick. A couple of my toes are numb on my right foot and one of them hurts really bad still so I had to leave the right one unlaced all day which helped just a little. Once we reached the shelter there were two ladies and one of them's father (Vanessa and Valerie)? I hope those are right. They were very interested in our hike and wanted to know all about it so we were more than happy to talk and tell our story along with the pictures. After only a couple of hours they offered their house up to us in New York City to stay as well as a ride to and from the trail if we were interested in stopping to visit. It is amazing the people on the trail and how nice and warm the hiking community is. If the real world were half as good we would be doing alright. We are not sure what we are gonna do tomorrow but we may get a little ambitious. Reckless
Date: 2010-04-01
From: Lost Mountain

To: Wise shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Well we didn't get as far as we had planned due to the beautiful day we had. The weather was gorgeous and so was this section of the trail. We are in the Grayson Highlands and it to me is the best section of the trail yet. We still ran into a good bit of snow up around Mt. Rogers but hopefully this will be it for a the rest of the trail! As I was walking down the trail this morning I ran into a lost goat wandering on the trail and it was hilarious to me at the time but I hope he/she found their way home The highlight of the day was lunch when we went down to get water we ran into a bunch of wild ponies. I immediately went over to them and made their aquaintence. They were a little skiddish at first but soon let me come up to them and pet and take pictures with them. I had seen pictures of these ponies from other peoples trips and was excited I got a chance to see them. I later found out that they were put on the mountain in 1960 in efforts to control the growth and keep the bald appearance of the mountain (cheap labor). We saw so many people out for day hikes and overnight trips probably close to 40 people or so which is more people than we have seen on the whole trail! After seeing so many people we kind of hoped for an empty shelter which was well received after we arrived to an empty Wise shelter where we decided to stop for the day. We built a fire, ate, made a few phone calls, and sat and listened to some bluegrass music until we were tired enough to turn in around 10. Just at that moment we heard a bunch of noise southbound on the trail and then saw a headlamp and thought dangit here we go. It got worse. As we looked we saw two headlamps, then 3, then 4,5,6,7,8,9, 10, 11, and are you kidding me 12! It was a group of about 12 middle school aged boys and we heard them coming for about two miles they were so loud and as soon as they got to the shelter all began making themselves right at home in the 8 person shelter that me and dave were already in. We were upset to say the least and then around 1 a.m. they were still up yelling and playing soccer in the dark we said forget this, packed up, and left and hiked 6 more miles in the dark to the next shelter. I was madder than an albino hitchhiking in a snowstorm! We got to the shelter around 4 and took a nap. I will add these miles to tomorrows.
Date: 2010-04-02
From: Wise shelter

To: Trimpi shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

We napped at the next shelter after walking in the dark which wasn't too much fun as we were followed by a pack of howling cyotes for about a mile which was extremely unnerving! We did startle some sleeping ponies at one point and thoughts of pony tipping came to my mind but after trying to ride one earlier that day i figured i would have to give them a break, that would be too cruel, although fun. We woke up at 8 with the others there and layed around lazy and left at 11. We had luch at a new shelter just off the trail called Hurricane shleter which was really nice and moved on to Trimpi for the night. There is only one other person here from New York City doing a section hike. Tomorrow is gonna be another big day hopefully!