morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Deep Gap Shelter 

To: Dicks Creek gap ( Hiawassee)
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 08 - Nero Day which means nearly no miles hiked.  Fred and I got up early and headed down the hill.  Sundance and Mia picked us up.  They got here yesterday and got Mia's car.  We had our breakfast  at Hardees then on to the Holiday Inn express for showers and laundry. It was Fred's last day so his wife picked him up. Fred  is a  great hiker and good to hiked with, we need more hiker like him.I did my laundry and rested  a little bit then we  went  to Ingles for the deli food. I got fried chicken that I have been craving. Sundance and Mia will see a movie, I will try to rest more and recover on this short day.  - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-03-31
From: Dicks Creek gap ( Hiawassee)

To: Deep Gap Campsite 
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 09 - And then there were two. We hit the trail at 9am after Mia dropped us off.  Packs were light since we only carried gear for a day hike. Mia met us at deep gap with our stuff. It was a hard day with with a lot of up. We got to the state line at about noon and took pictures with Chipper who started the same day we did.  Wow! Out of Georgia,  13 States to go!North Carolina welcomed us with a few hard climbs and we moved on.  We reached Deep Gap exhausted and found the best trail magic ever! We had dinner of barbeque,  slaw and baked beans with soda. I had to find a tent site,  Sundance and Mia slept in SUV.  - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-01
From: Deep Gap Campsite 

To: Betty creek gap 
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 10 -  Happy Easter!I woke up early and went looking for coffee but with no luck. The great trail magic continued with made to order omelette , fruit, chai tea,  bacon,  biscuits.  It was all wonderful. This group has been doing this  Easter trail magic for  27 years,  Amazing!I left the camp about 1030am stuffed and the pack felt very heavy. Sundance and Mia said goodbyes and he was right behind me. The only real climb of the day was Standing Indian Mountain and it was graded well and not as hard as some.  The trail was good but I felt very tired all day. We made it to the gap about 6pm and found a tent site and got our water for the night.  The area was closed to camping like most of the other spots on the Trail so we tried to comply as best we could.  Chipper stayed at the gap also.The weather was beautiful again so it was a good day for hiking . - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-02
From: Betty creek gap 

To: Winding Stair Gap (Franklin)
Miles today: 12.2

Day 11 - We got up early cause it's a town day and left the camp at about 735. We hit Albert mountain after a couple of miles, it was very steep but short climb. We took pictures and the view was incredible.we hiked steady and the trail was pleasing for several miles. I was having a lot of foot pain and it was hard to keep moving , I felt good and could hike strong but the pain slowed me down. Sundance caught me with a couple miles and he was having trouble also. we reached the gap at about 2pm and called a shuttle. the first thing was a room and that ended up at the Sapphire Inn. I took a shower and ate Mexican food and I went  to my bed at 6. That was a tough 40 miles trail in 3 days.A little much at this stage of the hike. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Winding Stair Gap (Franklin)

To: Winding Stair Gap 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 12 - ZERO Day! no miles hiked. My first one of the hike. we stayed another night at the sapphire Inn  to rest the old bones, lols!We did our normal town chores laundry, resupply, food and so forth.. Ron haven gave us a ride to his hostel to do laundry and picked up our drop boxes.  while we were at the outfitter, we decided to have a consultation with their foot specialist about the foot pain, he measured our feet and checked our feet sitting and standing. we then tried on several kinds of shoes. we both bought shoes with more cushion and Sundance went one size bigger with his.We have not had blisters so I hope the extra cushion does the trick.We ate at McDonalds for lunch and we rested all evening watching TV.A good ZERO  day on the trail. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-04
From: Winding Stair Gap 

To: Stecoah camp past Wayah Shelter 
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 13 - We planned a regular day of hiking from a Zero day, we planned to hike of about 10 miles.  We made a post office run and mailed our shoes that we replaced home. We took a shuttle back to trail after breakfast at McDonald's. We started hiking at about 10am. A long up at Silars bald then down into Wyiah gap then back up for a few miles to Wyiah bald tower. We had a snack then down to the Shelter. All the tent sites were bad with no flat spots for the tent so we got water and walked about a half mile and found a nice Stealth spot. It was too cold to sit outside so we went to bed early . - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Stealth camp past Wyiah Shelter 

To: Rufus Morgan Shelter camping 
Miles today: 15.3

Day 14 - We planned a short day to Wesser Shelter so we got up late after a cold night! The ground was frozen and our water bottles froze under the vestibule.  Burr!We started our hike at 10 thinking low miles North Carolina trails are in need of some help. We got to Wesser Bald Shelter and no campsite available. Too many people out here! We took water and planned to stop at the next good spot . We got to the jump off and still had not found a spot so we dumped the water and decided to hike Rufas Morgan shelter. We reached  the Shelter just before dark and guess what? no flat spots left! I set up my tent on a slope,  ate  cold food and went to bed very tired. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-06
From: Rufus Morgan Shelter camping 

To: NOC
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: light rain

Day 15 - Nero Day. We left the camp about 830 , coffee on my mind  at the NOC but not to be.Nothing open until 11 to eat so we did showers and laundry while we waited.  We had long lunch  watching the Masters Golf tournament,  then checked into our bunk room and rested for a while and ate early dinner  then back to rest again to get ready for the long climb the next day. The weather is supposed to be very cold tomorrow night with some snow. Where are you Spring? - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-07
From: NOC

To: NOC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 16 - Cold weather with rains, snow and ice up on the mountains forced us to stay put another day.. so , another ZERO day for us... warm and dry bunker room won out over cold and wet trail.We had a big breakfast and packed up and it started raining again,  I looked at Sundance and said it's cold out there.  So he runs to the storehouse and reserves our room for another night and we start planning to watch golf some more.I spent some time  talking to an Australian who was pretty funny and some other hikers and went to bed early. We will just make up the miles on a better day.- Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-08
From: NOC

To: Locust Cove campsite
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 17 - We were ready to leave the NOC for sure! We were well rested and charged up the 6.9 miles to the Sasafras gap shelter in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Lots of elevation gain in 6 miles. We had lunch there and moved on. We were ahead of a big group so we pushed hard to get a good campsite, We got to camp at 4pm and set up and cooked our dinner .The big  group came in late at night and set up 7 tents. They wanted to build a fire right between our tents. Sundance encouraged them that it was a bad idea for several reasons and they dropped the  issue which was a good  thing. It was a noisy night and then it  started to rain at about 1am  and it rained for the rest of the evening. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-09
From: Locust Cove campsite

To: Cable Gap Shelter. Camping 
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 18 - We woke up to rain and fog this morning. My phone said 35 degrees and it felt like it. I've waited until 8am for the rain to stopped to start packing up. Changing clothes and packing a pack inside an ultralight one man tent is no small task .After a night of  not much restful sleep because of noise , I felt tired before we even  started . I ate cold cereal and milk and took down a wet tent with very cold hands.  The hike was difficult with slippery rocks mud and bad visibility  for several hours .We got  to camp and looked for  flat spot. We settled for a leaning spot and ate cold food and went to bed. The sun came out late in the day which helped.  I didn't get a chance to take pictures because of cold and miserable conditions. Days on the AT are not all rainbows and unicorns, sometimes it is a pain! - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-10
From: Cable Gap Shelter. Camping 

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 8.2

Day 19 - We woke up to dry cool conditions and clear skies. Some owls made noise during the night  but not too bad. We started  early at about 8am and the trail was not bad. I was still sluggish for some reason , maybe I was a little dehydrated because its hard to drink water when its cold.Sundance caught me at the dam road and we hiked on to the visitor center to reduce the miles tomorrow. We called for a shuttle and got to the lodge about 1pm.Town chores are always tiresome but today was a new record, there was only one working washing machine for all the hikers. We have waited over 3 hours for our turn to start our laundry, 4 hours wasted of  our rest time. The place serves over 50 hikers a day, they could do better.Then we had to get our smoky¢s permits and that is an adventure. Now time for Catfish dinner then bed! - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-11
From: Fontana Dam

To: Russel Field shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 20 - After a good night's sleep we had breakfast at the lodge restaurant. the shuttle left full at 830 and we were hiking by 0840.The climb up to shuckstack was long but good trail and we made good time. Weather was perfect and we made miles.we stopped by Mollies Ridge Shelter for a break and then on to Russel Field for the night. This would be our first night in a shelter and it was full. It will be probably a loud night. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-12
From: Russel Field shelter

To: Double Springs shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 21 - I started the day with cereal and milk and coffee . Another beautiful day in the Smokies for hiking. We climb Rocky top and the view is  amazing. I get a day hiker to snap a picture and keep moving .thunderhead was not much of a climb but the rest of the day was just ridge walking with a lot of ups and down. 16.8 is my longest day so far and pretty long. Sundance hiked to Clingmans Dome to meet Mia.  I decided to not do over 19 miles ending with a climb up Clingmans and just go in tomorrow morning.Two hikers injured their knee and were trying to get off the mountain from Russell field. Just one misstep and the hike is over.the shelter was full of section hikers so I put up my tent and went to bed. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-13
From: Double Springs shelter

To: Indian grave Gap
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: clear sky

day 22 - the plan was to get up early and hike to newfound gap to get picked up by Sundance.I packed up and left camp at 730 but I was really sluggish and moving slow. I got to the top of clingmans at 910am. weather was up great and great views all around.The young hikers left at 5am to watch the sunrise. Just to note they did not ask me if I would like to go with them. I was hurt and I will not ask them to go to McDonald's for senior coffee with me next time, just kidding!I was running late for pick up and when I got there they were doing trail magic. I had a mountain dew, life is getting better.I got a text from Sundance and I asked him to pick me up there because I was pretty tired. He and his friend Jeff picked me up and dropped me at Motel 6 .I owed Sundance a steak so we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. another great day on the AT. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-14
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

Day23 - we all met at the Davy crocket for breakfast and it was delicious. I ordered a postmaster skillet and gave a gallant try but could not finish it.We picked up our boxes at the outfitter and started planning our next few days. The weather doesn't look promising  so looks like 3 days to Standing Bear.we try  to rest as much as possible on zero days but things have to be done so there is some walking. Lots of hikers in town doing town stuff mostly eating . I saw our friend P Dub at the outfitter and he said he is having back trouble. I hope he heals quickly because he is fun to hike around. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-15
From: Indian Grave gap

To: New found Gap
Miles today: 1.7

Day 24 - The weather is awful, raining and cold foggy. we went up to finish the section down to Newfound gap. Sundance walked from Clingmans dome to do the miles he missed Friday and so we would be at the same miles.We had only planned to go as far as ice water spring shelter so we decided to weather the storm in town.It was rough on the mountain so we were glad it was a short day. mia dropped us back at Motel 6 and started for home. - butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-16
From: New found Gap

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 25 - Another Zero Day. We woke up and packed up to leave and found out that the road was closed because o f ice and snow.We are tired of Gatlinburg and ready to move on but nothing is moving up the mountain all day. It will warm up tomorrow and we hope the road will open by lunch. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-17
From: Newfound Gap

To: Pecks corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 26 - The road to the gap reopened after 2 days, we caught a shuttle up at 1030 to the mountain. The First Baptist church of Sevierville runs a shuttle as a ministry and they had 3 vans running because of all the hikers stuck in town.We started hiking at 1130 and it was cold and windy. the first 3 miles are mostly up and the packs were heavy with resupply.a quick stop at ice water springs for water and snack then on to Charlie's Bunion. the views were great and the trail  was well graded but the ice and slushy snow was bad.We got to the shelter at about 5pm and had to look for a flat space for 2 tents. the one we found was in the middle of 3 dead trees and the wind gust were forecast to be 50 miles an hour. we slept light for sure. - butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-18
From: Pecks corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 27 - After a good night's sleep we made a warm breakfast with coffee,  packed slowly and left at 930. We survived the night of wind and dead trees and moved out smartly for another day in the smokes.Trail was good and weather beautiful we moved along well and made good time. This was the best day in the Smokies so far. The wind blew hard all day but you could see 100 miles I think.The only problem was that the hikers got bunched up when the road closed and now the trail is full of people. Competing for Shelter or campsites brings out the bad side of a lot of people. Sundance chose to sleep in the Shelter and fight the mice and people. I spent 20 minutes looking for a camp site and I ended up next to Grasshopper who is a retired doctor from Arizona. It was a good day on  the AT with fair miles and good views.  I wish I could do long days but I am having a lot of heel pain after 8 miles every day and I can't take vitamin I as the hikers call it. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-19
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Green Corner road 
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 28 - The wind blew so  hard , I had a nightmare about my tent blowing away and getting wet from rain but I stayed dry and warm. Sundance had an encounter with a mouse and did not sleep well at all but he was ready to go early. P Dub fell and Injured his wrist yesterday but grasshopper taped him up and he is good to go today.We were out of camp at 8 am and ready to get out of  the Smokies. I got to Standing bear Hostel at 1pm and Sundance and P Dub was already set up. Sundance took an upstairs bed and let me have the one down  stairs to make it easier for me . Thanks Sundance you are  great son. Nice hot showers, hot pizza  and drinks to complete the day. We are doing a 15 mile day tomorrow so I have to get out early . Happy birthday Melissa! Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-20
From: Green Corner road 

To: Roaring fork shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 29 - The day started early with making breakfast in the hostel kitchen. We then paid our tab and started our hike at 8am. A long mile climb up Snowbird then down past Ground Hog Shelter.  There is a lot of ups in this section so I kept pushing hard to get the day done.  There was trail magic at Max patch road so that gave me boost to get over Max patch.I got to the Shelter at 445 and Sundance and P Dub were already setting up camp.  I got a nice level spot right next to the woods and put my tent up.We cooked and ate at the Shelter so we use the table. A reporter for the paper in North Carolina interviewed us and took pictures but I don't remember the town.A lo g day and good trail on the AT.  - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-21
From: Roaring fork shelter 

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 30 - I did not sleep well because I was chilled for some reason. It was a damp night and I had some condensation on the inside of my tent for the first time.  I was last out of camp for our group and I left at 820. It was great trail all day and the miles went quickly. There was an endurance hike going on and I met 75 hikers going southbound during the day. Some of them had no hope of finishing but I did not tell them.   We had a couple of hikers share the camp spot with us and it was a pleasant evening.Tomorrow Hot Springs. - Butch Cassidy.
Date: 2018-04-22
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.4

Day 31 -  We were meeting our friend Jeff this morning so we were up early and moving fast down the mountain.    We hiked all the way to the river while Jeff was setting up to cook breakfast. It was an amazing meal. The Steak was tender and delicious and the eggs and potatoes were just right. It was wonderful trail magic and so appreciated.  After breakfast he drove us to Hemlock Hollow hostel where we did laundry and showers. It had been 6 days since the clothes were pretty rank..  We plan to slack pack back to Hot Springs tomorrow then get shuttled back here tomorrow for the night. We will then head north from here Tuesday. This is a nice hostel and it has been a great day on the Trail. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-23
From: Hot Springs

To: Log cabin drive
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: moderate rain

Day 32 - We slack packed southbound today to break up the hike and go back to hot springs.  We started at 730 in a cold windy rain and it was light rain all day. Miserable conditions all day and not many breaks.  I sat down for 10 minutes at the 12 mile Mark and other than that I was on my feet for 16 miles.    We had a burger before our shuttle back to Hemlock hollow. Great place to stay by the way. I hope the weather is better tomorrow. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-24
From: Log cabin drive

To: JerryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs cabin shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

Day 33 - After the tough slack pack yesterday I decided to do a short day today. It was only 10 miles but it was tough. We had to go over the firescauld ridge. It was wet slippery and dangerous! I don't know who thought it was a good idea to put a trail up there.   I got to the shelter about 3 pm and snagged a spot inside. It starts raining hard about 4 pm and rained off and on for most of the night. The area was full of tents and 8 in the shelter. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-25
From: JerryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs cabin shelter

To: SamÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs gap ( natures inn Hostel )
Miles today: 18.0

Day 34 - The day started out different. I went to the privy at 5 am and when I came back in a cat came in with me.. He was very friendly and woke up everyone. The trail was for a few miles and I made good time.  THEN BEAR !  First time ever I have a very close bear encounter .  I walked into a rotodentrun thicket about a half mile before Flint Mtn shelter. Walking downhill on a soft trail I see movement to my left about 8 meters.  My first thought was , great picture, my second was THATS A BEAR!! I froze and he saw me and turned away from me and sauntered off. It was a full grown beautiful animal about 350 lbs. I think we both scared each other.  After that the day was just long and wet, light rain all day and no sunshine.   We got to Hog Back ridge shelter where we were planning to stay and it was cold so we hiked 2.5 more miles in one hour and went to the hostel.  So warm , dry and full we go to bed. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-26
From: SamÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs gap ( natures inn Hostel )

To: Big bald shelter 
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 35 - We hang  out at the hostel until 9 then caught the shuttle to the gap. A short day because we are setting up to meet my beautiful wife Mrs. Cassidy Saturday morning for a visit.  It has been 35 days since I saw her and I am excited.  Rain again , trail so muddy you are slipping and sliding all day. Sundance is doing a 24 mile day to meet Mia again. I don't know how you do 24 miles in this mud and rain. I hope it went well. P Dub and I got to the shelter at 2 pm and settled in rain all afternoon and thundershowers tonight. 4th rain day in a row.Its getting cold! Where is spring! - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Big bald shelter 

To: Temple gap 
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 36 - Woke up to wet and fog for the 5th day , packed my stuff and left big bald shelter at 730 . Trail was very muddy and difficult. Wind on the ridge cold and miserable.    This went on until about Spivey Gap then the sun came out and the trail got much better. We got trail magic at the gap and then started uphill to no business knob shelter. We Got to the shelter at about 2 pm and it was early so we decided to get closer to town for tomorrow.    I got my water at the shelter and hiked to temple hill gap for the night. Pretty good day overall . Tomorrow, I¢m gonna see my wife. - Butch Cassidy
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Temple gap 

To: Erwin
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 37 - Hello everyone ! Mrs. Cassidy here! I flew in to Tennessee from Texas to see my husband on my golden birthday! I was very excited cause it has been 35 days since I saw Butch Cassidy . He hiked 3.8 miles today and made it to Erwin just in time to meet me at Super 8 at noon. We kissed and said our hellos , then he asked me what do I want for my birthday , I told him the first thing I want is for him to take a bath! lols!There was a cook out of hamburgers and hotdogs done by the church where we had our lunch,  there was a lot of hikers out here I met Peter Pan and P dub and his wife great people to know . Mia was here too to see Sundance . Butch and I went to dollar general from lunch to buy him razors and epson salt , he said he has been having pain on his ankle , epson salt might help lessen the pain and relax his muscle .  Butch picked out the best (suite ) room at Baymont hotel  Where we stayed in Johnson city , after he cleaned up he took me to red lobster for my birthday dinner . We had fresh oysters for starter and I had salmon , lobster and shrimp for dinner . Butch whispered to our server that it¢s my birthday , The crew were so nice to us and I got a free dessert of cheesecake and strawberry and the manager took the oysters out from our bill, they sang happy birthday and took our picture for my birthday souvenir. We went back to our room at about 8 pm and watched turner classic movies and went to bed past 11pm. It was a lovely evening . Butch made it possible that I had a great birthday- Mrs. Cassidy