morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-12-16
From: Damascus, VA

To: Carver's Gap, TN
Miles today: 89.0

The winter has brought an interesting twist to the hike. Yesterday, after hiking most of the way up Roan Mountain, the first mountain over 6,000 feet since Mt. Washington, I gave in to my tiredness and stomach upset that had started in the morning. Hmmm. Maybe a little too much chocolate while making our luscious bars at the Mountain Harbour Hostel. Anyway, I told John that I just needed to stop and rest. We set up the tarp and I got snug and warm in the sleeping bag and slept for three hours! Later, John walked back to the road (1/4 mile) and borrowed someone's phone. He called Bob Peoples at Kincora Hostel which we had left just a few days before. Bob came up in an hour and took us back to his hostel near Hampton, TN. So, here we are again, resting in a warm cabin with a wood stove. A winter storm has set in with snow here at 3000 feet. It looks like we'll need to stay put for a couple of days before Bob will shuttle us back up the mountain. Actually, I'm writing at another hostel just down the road from Kincora - Laurel Fork Lodge. Nice place with internet and a little store. Not many hikers in the last month, though!Since Damascus, the hike has taken us through dense rhododendron forests as well as expansive hardwood forests. I really enjoyed finding water on some of the high ridges and walking by impressive waterfalls lower down. One night,we were hoping to camp near Jone's Falls but we couldn't find a flat spot. I like the sense that there's a really huge forest that I can walk through for days! Remembering our 10 degree morning up on Mt. Rogers inspired us to beef up our clothing and winter gear, so we left Damascus with heavy packs. They were TOO heavy to enjoy, so we stopped off in Hampton and sent off 6 lbs of gear we thought we can get along without - extra batteries, the original game board of my Radical Forgiveness game (I ran down to the pharmacy and had a xerox copy made), extra socks and long johns. Now, the packs feel so much better and we still feel prepared for the mountains.Although hiking in the winter can be a little more challenging, I've really loved walking in the snow, feeling the power of the mountain wind, and especially the clear views. On the nights of Dec. 13 and 14, we watched the Geminid Meteor Shower for a little while from our camp in the woods. What I learned from this last winter storm is that sometimes getting down off the mountain is a good idea and that it's not so hard because a helping hand is easy to find. I'm looking forward to the next section through Erwin, TN, Hot Springs, NC and then into the Smokies around the first of the new year. I'm now within 380 miles of Springer Mountain and still loving this hike and adventure. I'm thankful for all the support from family and friends - some I haven't even met yet!
Date: 2007-12-17
From: Roan Mountain, TN

To: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: few clouds

The two day respite at Kincora has been a wonderful retreat! Hiker John and I have had the place to ourselves - warm, quaint log cabin with wood heat. Cold temperatures and snow kept Bob at Kincora Hostel from taking us back to the trail today, but now this storm has lifted and the sun is shining. The plan now is to get shuttled to Carver's Gap tomorrow morning and hike 10 miles over the summit of Roan High Knob and down to Greasy Creek Gap. Connie at the hostel there is ready for us to stop in for a warm night - and dinner! Can't wait!
Date: 2007-12-21
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Uncle Johnny's, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We received a shuttle from Bob Peoples at Kincora Hostel on Tuesday morning and hiked through white, untrammeled snow to Greasy Creek Friendly. Connie, the owner, calls it a Friendly, not a hostel! We spent a warm night and had two personally prepared meals. Yum! Connie is wonderful and offers warm hospitality.On Wednesday, we hiked up Unaka Mountain, at 5180 feet. Thick, white snow blanketed the hemlock forest in a quiet, winter wonderland. We felt the hush of deep winter. I decided that such a forest was what the deparment store of my youth used for inspiration for their annual WinterWonderland. I was glad to be experiencing the real thing. Tiny Christmas trees blanketed in snow and fox tracks leading us through the forest. We set up the tarp at sunset in an area with little snow and spent a warm and toasty night above 5000 feet. In the morning, we headed south on the trail, thrilled to see numerous sets of bear tracks crossing the trail. It felt like we were seeing the tracks of some mystical mountain creature.As the day wore on we walked to lower elevations and lost the snow, ending the day in thick rhododendron woods at 1800 feet elevation. A fresh, mountain stream lay to the side of the trail, sparkling.We arrived in Erwin at 5 p.m. and stayed at Johnny's Hostel. We bought a huge amount of great food at the store. Johnny will be bringing us a food drop in a few days. Christmas on the trail. What a blessing!Merry Christmas to all!
Date: 2007-12-27
From: Erwin, TN

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 68.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Yippee! We've reached Hot Springs, NC approximately 1870 miles from Mt. Katahdin and a mere 270 or so miles from Springer Mountain! Christmas Day saw us happy on the trail, hiking through hardwood forests and rhododendron from Little Laurel Shelter to Spring Mountain Shelter. This section from Uncle Johnny's in Erwin, TN to Hot Springs, NC took us up and around the mountains of TN and NC, hopping back and forth over the state lines. We celebrated the Winter Solstice on a day when the sun shone only as a "luminous orb" through the clouds and mist. I thought of the many years I had organized a luminaria lighting in my neighborhood in Evansville, IN, feeling blessed to be on the trail for this year's celebration, simple and beautiful. As in other sections, this one brought a variety of weather, from warm sun coming into Hot Springs, blustery mist on top of Bald Mountain, crunchy ice on Little Bald Mountain, and snow on Spring Mountain. Although the shelter registers frequently warn of the lack of water, we have found water at nearly every shelter. Sometimes it's just a trickle or a small pool, but we have never gone thirsty. We are grateful too for the regular caches of water jugs at road crossings. A couple of them have been set up by the families of thru hikers of 2007, Dr. Jekyll and Farsang. That's much appreciated! I certainly have grown to celebrate water, that's for sure!Hot Springs sees us staying for the night at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn. Our gear makes a sharp contrast with the antiques of his historic B&B. Since John and I were the only guests last night, Elmer waived his usual "no kitchen priveleges" practice and let us prepare a lovely salad and also use his equipment for preparing a batch of our favorite cayenne pepper chocolate bars. I loved getting to chop nuts with a big, sharp knife instead of my "toy" pocket knife.Oh yes, we met our first North Bound Thru Hiker as we hiked into Hot Springs. Although he's unusual in having left Springer on Oct. 30, he's out hiking! Good luck, Lightfoot. The meeting of SOBO and NOBO means the continuous stream goes on!The sun is shining and the temperature is in the 50's. Time to get out on the mountains again! Into the Smokies for New Years.Blessings to all!
Date: 2007-12-28
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Roaring Fork Campsite
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: moderate rain

It felt like going home to sleep out in the tarp again at Deer Park Shelter, just 3 miles from Hot Springs. The clear, starry night opened to a cloudy, misty morning. We enjoyed talking with section hikers Ray, Cindy, Travis, and Kaitlin, a family from NC. Ray had hiked the AT in 2003, so we had stories to share.The mist developed into steady rain as we summited Bluff Mountain. Near the summit, we took a break in a little cave, imagining what it would be like to be hermits along the trail. By the time we summited Walnut Mountain a few miles later, the wind was gusting and we hurried to the shelter there. Surprise! There were three hikers already there who had tied a tarp over the open side, trying to block the wind. From our experience on Mt. Rogers, we surmised that conditions would be better at a lower elevation, so we cooked some soup and left the shelter. We felt like "bad ass through-hikers", heading out into the wind and rain two hours before dark. Actually, we had it much easier down below in the rhododendron thicket where we camped because we were out of the worst of the wind. The rain continued through the night, with occasional rumbling thunder and flashes of lightning.
Date: 2007-12-29
From: Roaring Fork Campsite

To: Snowbird MountainCampsite
Miles today: 10.4

We got an early start today and were soon greeted by the shining sun and sparkling water drops on the rhododendrons. The sunlight brightened our climb up a popular summit, Max Patch Bald. We took advantage of the sun and wind to dry out our sleeping bags and tarp. The blowing sleeping bags were like kites without the strings. With dry, fluffy bags in our packs, ready for the next cold night out, we continued up Snowbird Mountain, the last peak before the Smoky Mountains. We could see the Smokies ahead, the next ridge over.On Snowbird Mountain were two remarkable trees, one I call the "Sentinel Tree" towering over a gap just before the summit. The trunk was broad and gnarled, supporting a crown of tender, young branches. It reminded me of an Ent from The Lord of the Rings. Close down the trail another fallen tree conjured up an image of a dragon-like creature with wings and huge jaw. It even had a spot that could be an eye! We noticed, though, that this could only be observed by a southbound hiker. (John was even brave enough to touch it.) Once again, we walked until dark, which by now is around 6 p.m., and made a camp four miles north of Standing Bear Farm, our next resupply.
Date: 2007-12-30
From: Snowbird MountainCampsite

To: Cosby Knob Shelter - GSMNP
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: snow

Rain was the feature of the day! It rained hard until just before noon when we left Standing Bear Farm Hostel with fresh supplies. Although no one was as the hostel, Curtis had generously left the mail drop package on the hostel porch. John Reiter had sent the perfect amount of food for our next four days. We warmed ourselves with a fresh pot of cooked quinoa grain. We called Smoky Mountains National Park for a weather forecast which called for extremely cold temperatures with snow within the next few days. Hiker John picked up an extra pair of warm gloves that were in the hiker box. I added another light fleece shirt, another hiker box gift.Our entrance into the Smokies was a steady climb of 3,000 feet through the clouds,up Mt. Cammerer Ridge. We noticed the forest changing from lush green with rocky waterfalls to thick, spruce forest as the elevation rose from 1900 ft. to 5,000 feet.Just at dark, we walked into Cosby Knob Shelter, where we met Natasha and Joe, who were just starting their hike of the Smokies for a winter break. They were the only other backpackers we had seen today.
Date: 2007-12-31
From: Cosby Knob

To: Peck's Corner Shelter - GSMNP
Miles today: 12.9

The last day of the year saw us walking through dense spruce-fir forest along the Smokies Ridge. The trail skirted Mt.Guyot with easy ups and downs. Although the ground was crunchy and frozen, there were streams running and water trickling out from under the thick moss covering the ground and tree bases. In this thick, upper elevation forest, the trees were so close together that some fallen trees were caught by other trees before touching the ground. It was a delightful, easy day on the ridge, with the impending snow holding off for another day. We met a father-son team at Peck's Corner Shelter and settled in for an early rest. No midnight revelry, but bright stars overhead.
Date: 2008-01-01
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter -GSMNP
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: broken clouds

An early start saw the snow still holding off, but swirling clouds were blowing overhead, blocking the morning stars. Today's hike took us very high along the ridge on a narrow trail with spectacular views on both sides. As we approached Charlies Bunion (what's a bunion?), the winds were picking up and the clouds were coming in. Although the snow was not yet falling on us, we could see that it was already falling on the higher elevation peaks like Mt. LeConte. We crossed Newfound Gap on our way up to Mt. Collins, greeting all the day hikers Happy New Year. It was great seeing so many people out on the mountain welcoming the new year by getting outside. We noticed that the road crossing at Newfound Gap was the windiest and coldest place we encountered that day! The snow held off until just at dusk as we walked down the .5 mile approach trail to Mt.Collins Shelter, one of the highest elevation shelters in the Smokies. We knew we'd be in for a cold, snowy night, so we set to work getting ready. I tied the tarp up across the front of the bunks and Hiker John secured my poncho to the opening of the shelter. We both worked to get a fire going in the shelter fireplace, but had trouble getting the thing to draw up the chimney. After much fanning with my Ensolite sitting pad, a warm fire was finally going. We had hot quinoa and sweet potatoes for dinner.Although this was the coldest night so far on the trail for us, we slept warmly in our double bags, waking to a snowy world in the morning. We had planned to hike up to Clingmans Dome, then hitch a ride to Gatlinburg for resupply. With the snow, we figured that the road would be closed and we'd have to get a ride back at Newfound Gap. A side trail brought us quickly to the Clingmans Dome Road, covered in deep snow with only a line of fox tracks for traffic. We walked in a winter wonderland a few miles down the road. Suddenly, a roaring sound made us jump off the snowy road - out the way of a snow plow! Only later did we learn that the Clingmans Dome Road is always closed, regardless of weather, from December to April. They had just been going up the mountain to fix the radio tower.At Newfound Gap, we discovered that all the roads were closed and no one would be driving over the mountain all day. It turned out that our trail angel network had materialized as the Park Service Road Maintenance crew who radioed for an NPS employee to give us a ride down the mountain. We had a warm ride down the mountain to Gatlinburg.Now, we're relaxing at the Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, getting resupplied to complete our trek across the Smokies and through the last 200 miles of the AT.Happy New Year to all!
Date: 2008-01-16
From: Gatlinburg, TN

To: Dicks Creek Gap, GA
Miles today: 132.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We made it! To Georgia that is. . .with only 66.6 more miles to Springer Mt. This section has brought a mixed batch of weather: cold, snowy days as well as mild, sunny days and some cloudy blustery days too. I noticed that not all snow is the same. In fact I think we must have experienced at least 4 types of snow in this section. I also noticed that the rain would fall very heavily at times but only after dark. We are blessed with an aboundance of water. All the streams are gushing with clear water and the springs have been full. The trail on this section contained the highest peak on the entire A.T. Clingmans Dome. It was very quiet in the stillness of the snow. There have been many other mountain peaks too, each offering its own unique experience. Standing Indian Mountain, Cheoah Bald and Siler Bald are just a few that come to my mind. It is a little sad that my A.T. journey is almost finished. It has been such a memorable experience and a journey that I sometimes wish would never end. We have started to see 2008 North Bound thru hikers already. So maybe it is time for us 2007 Sobos to hand over the A.T. to them in good faith and love.Let's see what these last few miles of the A.T. will hold. All to soon I will be home and have plenty of time to update and finish this trail journal and download some of my favorite pictures. But today I will enjoy my time on the A.T.Best wishes to everyone.
Date: 2008-01-21
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Neels Gap, GA
Miles today: 36.8
Weather: clear sky

We're here at Neels Gap. John and I haven't frozen to death, in fact, we're enjoying the snow on the mountains. It looks like it will be melting while we finish up the last 30 miles to Springer Mountain. Stay tuned, the next entry will be from home!
Date: 2008-01-25
From: Neels Gap, GA

To: Springer Mountain, GA: AT Terminus
Miles today: 29.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Finished! Now, Hiker John and I are both AT Southbound Thruhikers! We summited Springer Mountain today at 11:30 a.m. 8.8 miles more and we reached Amicalola Falls, greeted by Hubbie John, son Simon and two Georgia AT Club maintainers, Lawson and Gary, who applauded us and toasted us with sparkling cider.I'll write more about this wonderful, fantastic, awesome experience in the next few days, as well as posting more pictures, but now, I'm going to the kitchen to eat homemade pizza. Yum!Thanks for following my journal everyone!
Date: 2008-01-30
From: Home

To: Home 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It's been both pleasant and challenging being home. One thing that's made it pleasant is that Hiker John has been visiting since we finished our hike. That sure has made the transition from trail to home easier. Things in the city life seem so complicated! There are so many choices of things to do every day. Trail life sure was a lot simpler! John was reading about post-trip depression in a book about the AT, and I can vouch for that as something I've been feeling. I'm so glad that we've been together to talk about things, look at pictures, go for walks, and prepare special foods. Today, though, he decided to move along down the "trail" and spend some time at his parents house before heading home to Alaska. So, now, once he leaves, the trip will really be over. So, I'm feeling pretty melancholy right now about that. But, there's nothing that will tarnish the memories of the wonderful AT walk we had together.
Date: 2008-02-25
To: PCT in my dreams
Miles today: 0.0

It's been one month since I summited Springer Mountain. What a roller coaster of feelings, and fits and starts of projects! I've been back volunteering some at Living Foods where I love being swept up in positive, creative energy. I keep eating clean, living foods at home, with an occasional dish of homemade comfort foods like waffles or french fries. Hey! When someone else fixes it, I eat it! I've also been taking small steps in getting my RADICAL Forgiveness coaching business set up. Since doing business is new for me, I'm going easy on myself for my ignorance and giving myself time to get this going. The main issue is that I still want to hike, so my enthusiasm for business is lukewarm, even though I know it can happen.   I've been keeping in touch with Hiker John by phone. He's been in Anchorage, Alaska, but will be leaving today to drive to Missoula, MT to take his next steps. I'll defer you to his own Trail Journal when he gets it set up - Hiker John aka Kombuddha PCT 08!I keep changing pictures of my AT hike as my computer wallpaper. The first parts of the new computer that my son is building me have just started to arrive! With the new system, I'll be able to do more with my trip pictures, since I've had no disc drive working. That's why I haven't added any pictures!I've also started gardening some, getting early seeds going in my small garden patch and indoors in a couple of flats.But, here's the big question of the day: do I hike the PCT this year or limit myself to something shorter like the International AT, or a section of the PCT - or go back to do part of the AT?   I am committed to hiking for at least a couple of months! My husband burst forth with a song yesterday - a parody of Rex Harrison singing in My Fair Lady: "I'm an ordinary man.....just contented how I am.......But! LET A HIKER IN YOUR LIFE.....AND YOUR SERENITY IS THROUGH!" What a treasure he is, and a blessing to me!Mssnglnk
Date: 2011-01-25
To: Joyous Prosperity
Miles today: 0.0

Today is my third anniversary of completing my AT Thru-hike! My journey has most definitely continued! Since that snowy day on Spring Mountain I have walked a few thousand more trail miles on three other long trails, started a business to hike in service to others, and worked as an Appalachian Trail Conservancy Ridgerunner in Virginia. In addition, or rather, throughout, these adventures, I've also been navigating and exploring the turbulent waters of the relationship challenges and opportunities initiated by my trail affair with Hiker John and my continued love of long-distance hiking. THAT has grown into a redirecting of my life to learning how to manifest my dream of having a hiking lifestyle.All of that is, of course, a continuing story to tell. What I most want to share at this time is that it's been the principles and tools of Radical Forgiveness and the courses of Landmark Education that have supported me on my way. They give me a place to take all the emotions and questions of this time. They provide tools to recognize the limiting beliefs, the victim stories, and energy blocks that create the drama in my life. Then, these disciplines help me create New Stories and Possibilities for peace, happiness, and prosperity for all concerned. I am grateful to my husband, John, as well, for growing and exploring with me.If you're still reading, I thank you. If you want to read about my other walks on the Pacific Crest Trail, the Benton MacKaye Trail, and the Superior Hiking Trail, please go to them from this site. Those journals are in various stages of completion.I invite you to sign my Trail Journal guestbook. I also invite you to join me in the creation of a Hiking Lifestyle Community - adventurers creating systems to support each other - by joining my list at http://www.forgivenesswalks.comMy mission is to keep hiking in service to others. I support others creating the walks of their dreams, providing pre-hike excuse-busting and planning. I'm also envisioning a Forgiveness Walk of the Appalachian Trail, a 2-year program for women, walking as a personal transformation, in 2012. If you're intrigued by this possibility, please join my list at http://www.forgivenesswalks.comThe journey continues,In joy,Regina "Mssnglnk" Reiter