morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-15
From: Newfound Gap

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My first zero mile day and it was much needed. My feet and legs definately appreciated the break. You would think that on a zero day, I would sleep in a bit, but no dice. I was up at 7:00 again and the free continental breakfast was calling. Like a good patron, I took them for all they were worth!Spent most of the day at the library in Pigeon Forge catching up on my trailjournal. The rest of the day was spent marveling at the tourist trap that is Gatlinburg: complete with overpriced tacky pop-culture museums, arcades, craft stores, the "Space Needle"; and miles of ice cream, funnel cake and fudge/sweet shops. The place was jumping due to a bridge tournament at the convention center and a hot rod show in Pigeon Forge-needless to say they both drew an interesting crowd. Dollywood was only a trolley ride away and I was mildly curious but I couldn't handle any more crowds- or trolleys!I spent the evening doing the usual hotel routine; which involves washing myself, my dishware, and my clothes; talking on the phone and watching a few hours of mindless TV (MTV and VH1 for their high school drama and the residual "I'm so glad I'm not them" feeling. Kept my feet up, finished Cindy's homemade chocolate bunny and was asleep by 11:30. It was a much needed day of rest although sometimes it seems to take as much self-discipline to sit and be still as it does to hike 16 miles. I knew I'd be itching to get back on the trail tomorrow morning, but was glad to have given it a day to let the sun melt the fresh Smoky Mountain snow.
Date: 2004-04-16
From: Gatlinburg

To: Tri Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

It's a tough transition back to the trail after spending 1 1/2 days in town and I need to be mindful of that each time I step off of the trail. Regardless, I caught a ride from a young French couple back to Newfound Gap and was on the trail by 10:00 with almost 16 miles to go. The weather was really excellent though-warm and sunny with very little snow left on the ground. The trail was muddy, but in the patches where the sun was baking the wet ground the forest was deeply fragrant; an earthy, musky smell. It was breathtaking to finally be able to see the Smokies-they're entirely unlike the forests we had been hiking through. Partly due to their high elevation; mostly between 4,000-6,000 feet, they're covered in evergreen trees, firs, pines, hemlock, etc. The vegetation is dense and canopy thick, giving a more enclosed feel, except on the ridges where the view was fantastic, stretching out in nearly all directions. I did feel like I was on top of the world, or at least on top of Tennessee!I caught up with Meanderthal early on and we hiked together on and off throughout the day, chatting here and there and marveling at the blue skies and awesome views. Sometimes casual comapny can really make the day-the miles, fly by and you feel a sense of teamwork. Like by your mere presence, you are each helping to push each other along. Meanderthal is good like that and he carries this contagious sense of excitement that reminds me to appreciate all of the pretty little details we encounter during the day.We arrived at the Tri Corner Knob Shelter at 6:00 and I thoroughly enjoyed cooking my dinner in the sun for the first time in days. The shelter was relatively full-there were some section hikers joining us as well and we managed a small smoky fire despite the damp wood. Ludachris, Chef, and Van Gogh (formerly Chef Too, Never Cash, and Pyro) rolled in at 7:00 and set up camp outside the shelter. They were also coming from Gatlinburg, but had stopped to indulge in Shoney's All You Can Eat breakfast buffet. I was so jealous.That's all to tell. Read more of Cryptonomicon and was fast asleep by 9:30. Oh yeah, I stumbled outside the shelter for my midnight pee and felt totally dizzy and disoriented tripping over the hummocky ground and falling over in my squat stance. I think I need to remember to take my earplugs out when venturing outside half-asleep. Affects the equilibrium!
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Tri Corner Knob Shelter

To: Unnamed woods road
Miles today: 16.0

The weather has turned beautiful these past few days and I'm grateful for the sunshine, but knocked out by the sudden heat. Regardless, I'm still managing good mileage.I was thinking today about how I don't feel like thru-hiker. Its funny, when people ask me if I am hiking thru, I say yes. When they ask me where I am going I say Maine. When I roll into a town, I clear out the AYCE buffets and I stay in hotels that offer thru-hiker rates. I look dirty and smell ripe, just like a thru-hiker. I have blisters, pack rash, heat rash, and chafing like every other thru-hiker. But, for some reason in my own head I feel like some sort of exception-like I'm not really a true thru-hiker. Maybe it's beacause I haven't made it to Katahdin, (yet) or maybe it's because I insist on clinging to a small thread of doubt that I can actually make it all the way to Maine. I don't know when this feeling will change-maybe it won't until I finish.Anyway, all is good today. Did a solid 16 miles with Chef, Van Gogh, and Ludachris. Found some unmarked grassy road to camp on and it was a warm and pleasant night.
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Unnamed woods road

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: clear sky

Whew! What a huge day. I knew I'd be slowly upping the mileage, but this day was a killer! About 15 of the 22.4 miles were uphill, and a fairly steep uphill at that. I hit the trail at 8:00 am and didn't stop hiking until 7:15 pm. By that time it was all I could do to fix my 2 dinners and crawl into my bag. By the end of the day I was hiking in zombie mode, and my legs were tired and my feet were tender. However, rolling into the shelter I felt damn proud of the mileage!I was going to stop at Roaring Fork Shelter, 1.8 miles before Walnut Mountain Shelter, but Deadlung and Stringbean pushed me on by appealing to my ego and pride. I rolled into Roaring Fork and announced my intention to stay for the night. Stringbean and Deadlung were moving on and said to me, "You know it's only 1.8 more miles. And you still have your boots on!" It didn't take more than that and I was back out the door to stumble out the last uphill 1.8 miles. What a sucker!I hope I sleep like a rock tonight, I probably will if my feet don't throb and if Chris doesn't snore...
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Tanyard Gap (past)
Miles today: 19.2

I woke up with Hot Springs calling my name. Hit the trail by 7:45 am, hauled-ass and made the 13.1 miles to Hot Springs by 12:15. The call of town food lit a fire under my butt and I never stopped all morning. Picked up my bounce boxes at the Duckett House and had the strange experience of their dog eagerly licking the salt from my legs as I tried to hold a conversation with the owner of the house. Kinda like trying to talk with someone while their dog is sniffing your crotch. It's like what do you say, where do you look, do you just try to laugh it off? Dogs are so weird like that but I admire their honesty - if they want to sniff crotch they sniff crotch. Simple life. Anyway, I then went straight to the Smoky Mountain Diner where the boys soon joined me for a very satisfying lunch.Puttered at the post offcie for a bit sorting through my bounce box and organizing a box of stuff to send home. Right about now I'd do anything to drop even an ounce from my backpack. With my new food drop my bag weighs in at a hefty 50lbs according to the scale at the outfitters. No drama - I'm being straight. Gotta rethink my food drops a bit - I'm either carrying too much or eating too little. Definitely the former.Called my mom and got homesick. Started crying when I told her how much I missed her. Not my proudest moment, but a sense of homesickness has been building and I need to vent it and get it out. Felt better afterwards, but I do miss my family terribly.Set off with the boys (Chef Ra, Van Gogh, and Ludachris) out of the Springs by 5pm. I soon lost them as I turtled along cursing my 50 lb pack and finally pulled off of the trail around 7:50 to set up camp before the sun set. My first night camping alone. Funny, I've never seen or spoken to one hiker who has seen any bears out here but give me one night of camping alone and I swear I hear them stalking me and my food bag all night long. Anyway I finished the night with adventures in camp firing. I really like finishing off the evening with a campfire, but this particular site didn't have a stone fire ring - just a charred pit surrounded by dry leaves. I cleared the leaves out of the way and hunted for rocks with which to build a ring, but found none. So, using my best judgement I built a fire anyway and spent the next 20 minutes in a panic chasing down embers that got blown away in the wind and extinguishing them before they got a chance to ignite the surrounding leaves. Needless to say my fire didn't last long but at least I didn't get a ticket for buring the forest down.I didn't put the fly on my tent so I fell asleep watching the sky for shooting stars.
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: 1.5 miles past Sams Gap
Miles today: 18.6

I am getting those homesick blues - big time. I feel like my emotions parallel the terrain - I'm up, I'm down, I'm steady, (repeat). I'm not looking for a zoloft fix - I knew that this would be part of the challenge of this hike but I never knew it would be so intense.Had a good people day though. Spent some time hiking with Poppins, a tall and bearded 23 year old from Ohio and recent graduate in plant biology, and his dog Riah, no beard and no degrees. I seem to always get just what I need because by kicking some of this stuff around with Poppins he shined some new perspective on where I'm at. He pointed out that due to the lack of distraction on the trail (no MTV, traffic jams, or Fox 5 News) we tend to be much more focused on what we think and how we feel. It's true - I spend about 10 hours a day alone in the neighborhood of my own head and sometimes I like to cruise the ghettoes of homesickness and self-doubt. But it made me realize that how I think and feel does not have to determine how I act and what I chose to do. In other words, I can be homesick all I want and that doesn't mean that I have to quit or come home. They're just feelings after all. Second, he shared with me that he took a 2 week hiatus in Hot Springs doing a work for stay at Elmer's in Hot Springs. That seriously blew my mind. I've been so focused on getting in the miles and cruising through the days and getting closer to home that I would never have even considered taking that kind of time off from the trail. But then what am I out here for? At first, when I started the trail I didn't really know why I wanted to do this - and I still don't think the "why" is necessarily all that important. But I do think it's important that I start to think about what I want from this trip. Do I want to pinch my nose and choke it down like cough syrup just so I can puff out my chest and say that I hiked the AT, or do I want to squeeze the adventure out of every day and then soak it all up like a sponge? I'm still mulling all of this over, but I think that an "attitude of gratitude" is in order.Then as I was looking for a campsite, I came across Skirt, a twentysomething art history graduate, and we camped together for the night. In addition to building a fire ring and campfire, we spent the night dishing it out about life, family, the trail, and homesickness. A night of girl bonding at its finest and the timing couldn't have been better. I'm so grateful for the people on this trail.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: 1.5 miles past Sams Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: broken clouds

First order of business is to blow up someones spot:Happy Birthday to Eric Losey who is celebrating his 41st today!!!! Just wanted to send you some good BDay vibes and to let you know you were on my mind today. I hope you are having a wonderful day and I wish you luck blowing out all of those candlesAlright - more about me.I'm still homesick.You've got to hear how crazy it has been in my own head. Check this out. All day all I could think about was going home. Actually my thoughts vacillated between "get your butt up this friggin hill" and "go home". At first, I thought I'd roll past the town of Erwin to the hostel where my maildrop was and stay at the hostel for the night and then just press on. By mid morning, I decided I would pick up my maildrop and then head into town for a treat of town food and my own motel room. By the early afternoon the mantra was "go straight home". Do not pass go, collect $200, or even take a damn shower just head straight to town find the nearest bus station and go home. Cry publically if you think it will help you catch a ride. If you hustle you can even make it home for Sopranos on Sunday. You can get mom to rub your feet. It's funny. First of all - I'm coming off of 8 straight days of sweaty hiking with no shower. The fact that I would even consider hoping on a greyhound in that condition reflects a desperation that dwarfs the pretzel incident. Second, it's a catch 22 and I know that. I'd go home, get depressed and think about the trail all of the time - wondering where people are, what they are doing, and probably even craving all of the discomforts I complain about now. Except the pack rash - I'd never miss that.Ugh - it was overwhelming. It's awful to spend the day hiking the trail when every fiber in my body is screaming that I don't want to be there and screaming to go home. I keep holding onto the fact that feelings pass - always. Even the good feelings. I'm just trying to sit still and ride this out and not quit before the miracle happens (so to speak). I met up with some people at the shelter and forced myself to join them for dinner and conversation but I wasn't feeling social. Like a hermit, I soon retreated to the comfort and safety of my tent where I journaled, read my book, and thought about coming into Erwin tomorrow. I didn't fall asleep until after midnight because my mind was holding me hostage and wouldn't shut up.I wish there was some sort of switch where I could just turn my head off for awhile or just put it in neutral. I'll let you know if I manage to work this out.
Date: 2004-04-23
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I could hardly sleep last night because I had Erwin on the brain. Finally dozed off somewhere around 1am, but kept popping up during the night to make sure I didn't oversleep. Isn't that crazy? I'm on the trail - all I have to think about is what to eat and when to sleep and here I am having anxiety attacks about coming into Erwin. I was worried that the Motels would be full or that I would have trouble picking up my food drop or trouble getting rides into town, etc. Ridiculous. I was out of camp by 6:30 in the morning in order to get into Erwin before any other hiker who might threaten to take MY room at the Super 8. The sun was barely up as I hit the trail, and my reward for being the first on the trail is always webface - where you literally clear off the spiderwebs that were spun across the trail during the night using your face, torso, and legs. Sometimes you get lucky and get the web and spider - I got one of those.I was in Erwin by 8:45am, picked up by the motel as soon as I reached the road, shuttled to get my food drop, and in the Super 8 getting a room by 9:15am. All of that anxiety for nothing. I was shuttled into town where I did some laundry, food shopping, an AYCE buffet at Pizza Hut, and called my mom laughing about how homesick I was feeling. I was already feeling a bit better being in town and cleaning my clothes and knowing I was an hour from a shower. I'm glad I didn't get a bus ticket home.The rest of the day was spent feeling human again - shower, phone, TV, etc. I ran over to Miss Janet's House in the afternoon and met up with the boys who were talking about doing some slackpacking (hiking a day at a time without our backpacks) over the next couple of days. I decided to join them - take some nice, easy, and enjoyable days on the trail and still come back to Janet's at night to have a shower and sleep in a bed. Then I retired early to my room and made a ton of phone calls, talking to my friends and family about how I was feeling and what I was struggling with. By bedtime I was feeling better, lighter, and less worried about everything. I decided to check out of the Super 8 in the morning and spend the next couple of days staying at Miss Janet's House, slackpacking, and surrounding myself with other hikers. I think the company of others, especially those sharing this experience with me, is really important right now. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling with some homesickness or just struggling on the trail in general. Besdies, Janet's House is always packed and busy and fun. Good to get out of myself for awhile.
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Erwin, TN (Miss Janet's House)
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

Already feeling much better.Shot over to Janet's house in the AM in time to join them for a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausage and OJ. Breakfast at Janet's is a good time - we all sit outside at picnic tables in the backyard and eat, chat, and eat more. Then we go around the table introducing ourselves, including our trailnames, and answer the question of the day as determined by Janet. It was only 9am and already warm, sunny, and humid outside - I was looking forward to the slackpack and the potential late afternoon thunderstorms. Love those.After breakfast, Janet shuttled Chef Ra, Van Gogh, LudaChris, and myself to Iron Mountain Gap from where we would slackpack the 20 miles back to Erwin. We started off around noon and pulled into Erwin by 7pm. It was a great day, clouds rolled in by the early afternoon blocking the sun and cooling us off. We got rained on for a brief interval of about 20 minutes, big fat raindrops that threatened thunder and lightning by proved benign. It was actually a fun little shower and a nice hike all day. We mostly kept pace together and chatted the day away. Nothing deep (as usual), Chris tried to instigate political debates but I put my foot down, and we finally retired to our usual discussion of high school pranks, TV shows and cartoons, and whatever songs happen to be running through our heads.Janet was waiting for us when we came off the trail in Erwin and shuttled us back to the house. Nearly the entire house cleared out soon after as Janet took everyone to Max Patch Bald for a late night hiker BBQ and beerfest. I opted to stay at the house instead and enjoy the quiet, catch up on email and journaling, and chat more on the phone. It was a really nice night and I had some nice conversation with Oakie, a 2002 thru-hiker, who told me that "the trail is only a figment of your imagination, and sometimes a painful one. It's the people that make it real." It was really useful to talk with him and hear his experience about the trail. I'm still in the process of reevaluating my approach to this hike but have decided that I cannot afford to be so rigid about hiking to a schedule. I think I'll enjoy myself much more if I can be more flexible about milage, taking zero days, and even where I hike. I'm considering flipping about a bit on the trail instead of hiking directly north to south for reasons of timing, convenience, and in order to be able to hit up Traildays - a trail hiker fest in Damascus VA from May 13 - 15th. Stayed up updating this journal until nearly 2 am, but those who went to Max Patch didn't even get in until after 3am or so. I was sleeping hard by then. A good day.
Date: 2004-04-26
From: Erwin, TN (Miss Janet's House)

To: Erwin, TN (Miss Janet's House)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

An unexpected but much welcomed zero day. I had the gall to go back to bed after breakfast due to inclement weather. It was pouring outside and I had zero inclination to hike, much less move around outside. Next thing I knew my lids are getting heavy listening to the rain on the roof and I shuffled off to catch a little bit more shut eye.Turned out that I could have slept all day because none of us left town. The boys are doing a work-for-stay at Miss Janet's house that involves drywalling and spackling the upstairs bathroom. The plan was to finish up by the early afternoon, get a ride to Roan Mtn, and hike to the closest shelter for the night. Never happened. Being analretentive with perfectionist qualities, the boys didn't finish with the bathroom until nearly dinner time at which point they were beat and not much beyond leaving the house, much less hitting the trail. Works for me. I went into town and hit the internet at the library for a bit. Caught up and chit-chatted with Dingle and Skirt while riding with Miss Janet through Johnson City. Had the pleasure of a long conversation with Hopeful when I returned to the house. Hopeful is the thru-hiker, class of 2003, whom I met at his Birthday party on 4/10 at one of the road crossings on the trail. The first night I spent at Miss Janet's, Hopeful showed up and I was thrilled to see him. He's a rather quiet, patient man who speaks very deliberately and thoughtfully with a measured pace choosing each word very carefully. We talked about his experience with the trail and how he addressed his homesickness and the mental/emotional challenges. It was awesome - there was something about hearing his experiences that really resonated with me. Despite all of our personal differences, I could identify with where he was coming from and his words began to wrap around me like a soft blanket - very comforting and much needed. He helped me to take a different mental approach to the hike and assured me that the emotions and challenges I have been experiencing are common to all hikers and part of the whole hike. I never know where it's going to come from or in what currency it will manifest, but somehow I always get what I need. Always.On the trail again tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Laurel Fork

To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 11.0

Today was one of those "hike eagerly because you are staying at a hostel tonight" days. I got moving and left camp before 8am, still without any idea of how far the Moreland Gap Shelter was. After about 2 hours or so, I hit the shelter and felt everything click into place again. I knew wehere I was and there was only 5.8 more miles to Dennis Cove Road where the hostel was. That put a little fire under my step and I reached the road by 1:20.First stop was Kincora hostel where I caught up with Van Gogh (LudaChris was off doing trail maintenance). They had parted ways temporarily with Chef Ra who had to go to a funeral with his family in Michigan. The plan was for him to be off the trail for about 4 days and then back on near Pearisburg, VA in time to hike down to Damascus for traildays. Van Gogh and LudaChris were going to hike up to Damascus and then skip up to Pearisburg in an attempt to catch Chef Ra and then hike back down to Damascus for traildays. I decided not to saty at Kincora that night - I had a mail drop at Laurel Creek Lodge and was not in the mood for a crowd. Kincora was packed, as usual.Next I headed of to Laurel Creek Lodge where I shared the bunkhouse with one other person. Picked up my maildrop, showered, ate, did laundry, made some phone calls, etc. A pretty low key night and much needed. I decided to join the boys at least to Damascus, but I wasn't sure I wanted to flip up to Pearisburg with them. But there was no need to decided any time soon. I figured I could check out of LCL tomorrow and head over to stay at Kincora for the next night where the nightly donation if only $4 and they don't charge for slackpacking.I didn't fall asleep until almost 2am and I don't know why. Entertained myself with fantasies of bringing my Ipod on the trail and entering the Wade Robinson contest.