morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-30
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap - Gatlinburg
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Well I spoke with Robby yesterday afternoon from Gatlinburg. He made it to Newfound Gap by mid afternoon after hiking through the deepest snow yet, waist deep in some places after Clingman's Dome. He caught a ride down to Gatlinburg from a group of guys from Boston. He said a real nice group of young men. They gave him fresh fruit and drink. Arriving in Gatlinburg he found the Smokey Mountain Outfitters and inquired about a cheap place to stay. They told him that he could put his pad and sleeping bag on their back porch for free if he wanted to and he accepted. He met up with a couple of other hikers and they went to the Smokey Mountain Brewery-Restaurant for pizza and beer. One of the guys won a $50 gift certificate in a trivia contest and treated Robby and the other hiker to their meals. What more could you ask for, free lodging and free meal.He has a free shuttle ride back to Newfound Gap tomorrow morning where he will meet back up with Kashmire and Kashmire's parents for another night in Gatlinburg but this time in a cabin with a hot tub.I only spoke with him for a few minutes but hopefully he will have time to update me on more details of the first half of the Smokies and some of the people he has met. He will have internet access in 4 or 5 days when he reaches Standing Bear Farm hostel and can update this journal and upload some photos.-Dale South
Date: 2010-03-31
From: Newfound Gap - Gatlinburg

To: Davenport Gap Shelter
Miles today: 30.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Robby just called me from Pecks Corner Shelter. He said he woke early this morning to beautiful weather. He had a free shuttle back up to Newfound Gap and decided not to waste the good weather. He hit the trail is doing much better. He was just leaving Pecks Corner Shelter where he had stopped for lunch. That is 10.4 miles before lunch. He is headed to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter for the night, only 5.2 miles away. He plans to hike to Davenport Gap Shelter tomorrow, a distance of only 14.8 miles. That will leave him a short 2.8 miles to Standing Bear Farm hostel Friday morning. He has a food mail drop waiting for him there.UPDATE as of 4/1/2010After talking with Robby at Pecks Corner Shelter yesterday, Ronny and a fellow hiker, Mat, hiked into the night to Davenport Gap Shelter, a distance of 30.4 miles.
Date: 2010-04-01
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: clear sky

Robby called me at 9:30 am CDST this morning from Standing Bear Farm He has covered 33.2 miles in just a little over a day. I guess the knee is doing fine now. He said the night hiking was great, so peaceful and quite. The hike down to Davenport Gap was very steep and muddy. He only spoke for a few minutes as he was eager to take advantage of the food in the kitchen at SBF, especially the sweets. Maybe he will be able to get on the internet and fill in the blanks for his trip through the Smokies and the people he has met, stayed in shelters with and hike with.
Date: 2010-04-02
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Robby called this morning to let me know that he had helped plant a garden at SBF and had stayed over last night. A young lady from Wyoming, Cowgirl and her beautiful Border Collie, Kelly came in today. He had fun playing fetch with Kelly. Also Heartwalker arrived yesterday at SBF. He was going to help finish the garden this morning and then start hiking again with the goal of making it to Roaring Fork Shelter tonight. He said the weather was great.Robby called back this afternoon from the top of Snowbird Mountain, 4263 ft. He had stopped for a snack after making the 2500 ft climb in 5 miles and discovered that he had left his long pants with his knife in the pocket back at SBF. So he decided to hike back down even though it meant climbing Snowbird twice. By the time he reached SBF he was too tired and it was too late to start out again so he stayed over another night at SBF. He really likes it there and thinks that Curtis, the owner is a cool guy. Robby, my neighbor and I stayed at SBF about four years ago when we did the Hot Springs back to SBF section hike. It is a neat place, a turn of the century multi-generational farmstead including the original homestead, barns, outbuildings and farmhouse. The outbuildings have now been converted to a bunkhouse and cabin with rustic lodging to hikers and others interested in stepping back from today's hectic lifestyle to a time in America's past when life in rural backcountry Appalachia was considered the "good life". It includes lodging in a rustic bunkhouse or cabin, tent camping, hot showers, laundry, internet, phone, mail-drop, shuttle service, kitchen, fire pits and gas grill.
Date: 2010-04-04
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Campsite north of Hot Springs
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Robby called at noon today. He was in Hot Springs at Bluff Mountain Outfitters. It had only taken him a day and a half from SBF. He was doing well and his knee was great now. He had not decided on his next move yet. He was considering calling a young couple that he had met at SBF who had given him their phone number and asked that he call them when he reached Hot Springs. They bought a small farm outside of Hot Springs and had offered to furnish him with room and board if he wanted to stay a while and help them on the farm. Curtis had also called the Elmer's, the hostel in Hot Springs, and told them to be on the look out for Robby coming through because he had a culinary degree and might be useful as Elmer's serves meals.Robby called again late in the afternoon to tell me that he decided to hike on and after crossing the French Broad River and starting to climb he spotted some hikers camped down by the river and one of them looked like Sofa King. He hiked down to investigate and sure enough it was Sofa King, Gravy and a couple of others. He decided to camp with them and hike along with them to Erwin, TN this week. He was cowboy camping under the stars and said that his sleeping mat was only a few feet from the river.
Date: 2010-04-05
From: Campsite north of Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The people Robby met at SBF sent word by some other NOBO hikers that they really would like for him to work on their farm for a while. As there were predictions of some bad thunderstorms in the area for the next couple of days Robby decided to return to Hot Springs and try is hand at being a farm hand for a bit.
Date: 2010-04-06
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

After speaking with Robby yesterday afternoon, I discovered that he did not make it to the farm to work for a few days. He waited in Hot Springs at the designated street corner for about an hour Monday afternoon but no one showed. A group of hikers that he knew invited him to stay with them on the floor in a room over the Rock Bottom Grill. It was still early in the afternoon and they went down to a spot on the river with large rocks to swim. Some one offered Robby $5 if he would jump from the bridge which he did with an onlooking crowd. After the swim they all went to the bar and grill to eat, drink beer and watch the basketball game.Tuesday morning they all hit the trail again and halfway up the mountain out of Hot Springs Robby discovered that one of his waist belt pockets had slipped off and unfortunately that is where he had his wallet. He panicked and flew back down the steep rocky trail until he took a nasty fall and sprained his ankle. Luckily a wonderful couple from Birmingham, AL, the Hodges, happened along. She was a nurse and said that he had a second degree sprain. He would need to stay off of it for a day or two. They were very kind and helped him back down the trail into Hot Springs where he found his wallet in the room again at the Rock Bottom. He rented the room for the night again and hoped that he could walk by Wednesday morning. When he called me he was pretty low. Said that this was the first day he felt like quitting. I told him to get a good nights sleep and things would look better tomorrow.-Dale South
Date: 2010-04-07
From: Hot Springs

To: Rich Mountain Fire Tower
Miles today: 8.2

I talked with Robby around 1:00 pm today. He sounded in a little better spirits. He had taped his ankle and was hobbling up the trail and trying to make it to the first trail shelter out of Hot Springs before dark. He will contact me later today when he arrives at the shelter if he has cell service.Robby called back around 5:00 pm. He was within about 2 miles of the shelter and was hiking with a hiker named MelloYello and others. They suspected that the shelter was probably full and were looking for a camping spot. He said that his ankle still looked bad but was not hurting him.Upon reaching the Rich Mountain Fire Tower side trail (about a 100 yards up to Fire Tower) there was a sign indicating trail magic at the fire tower. Robby, Mello Yello, and Turtle dropped their packs an climbed the trail to the tower where they found cookies and fruit. Heading back down Robby rolled his ankle again and couldn't walk. He decided to just camp there and hope for the best tomorrow.
Date: 2010-04-08
From: Rich Mountain Fire Tower

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: moderate rain

This morning Robby broke camp in a cold rain and hobbled 2.8 miles to Spring Mountain Shelter where he decided to stay the remainder of the day due to the very cold rain and his ankle. A young couple, Smokestack and Stop-N-Go Panda arrived later in the afternoon and spent the night at the shelter with Robby. They became friends and decided to team up and hike together as Panda was having some problems herself and not able to hike very fast.
Date: 2010-04-09
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Bad ankle an all under better weather Robby, Smokestack and Panda did 15.4 miles to Jerry Cabin Shelter for the night. Robby said that so far this was one of the prettiest sections of the trip but unfortunately Panda was feeling poorly and couldn't eat. Also when they passed Little Laurel Shelter they met a rescue team that had to take Heartwalker, who Robby had met back in Georgia, down to the doctor. He had injured his ankle also and could not walk (Robby learned several days later that it was broken and would keep him off the trail for six weeks at least which is sad.
Date: 2010-04-10
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hog Back Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

They hiked 14.7 miles today. Poor Panda was having a real hard time. Her husband Smokestack had attempted a thru last year but had to leave the trail in Hot Springs due to trench foot. When the reached Devil Fork Gap where the trail crosses NC212 Panda couldn't go on. Shortly a nice couple came along and offered assistance. They offered to take Panda to their home where she could rest in bed until she got to feeling better and would then drop her off up the trail. Of course Smokestack was worried but we pressed on to Hog Back Ridge Shelter where we met up with n8dog again. There was some nice trail magic of apples, bananas, cookies and a sign that there was beer in the stream. Now that is real trail magic.
Date: 2010-04-11
From: Hog Back Ridge Shelter

To: Campsite before Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

The new trio, Robby, Smokestack and n8dog headed off looking forward to today's hike over Big Bald with it's 360o views for over a hundred miles. The skies were clear and the weather was perfect. It was a perfect day to be hiking if only Panda was ok. In about three miles the trail passed under I-26 at Sam's Gap and after crossing the road and starting up the trail on the other side they looked back and spotted a hiker and his dog just ready to cross the road when a car pulled up to him. They just knew that he was going to get some trail magic when a lady in purple slacks hoped out. It was Panda. She had come hoping to catch Smokestack and let him know that she was alright. About that time a hiker named Ash arrived. He had been a medic in Iraq and Panda said to him look at Robby's ankle. I removed my sock and he examined it. He said that i had a lot of tearing. He reached into what must have been an 80 lb pack and pulled out a medical bag as big as Robby's pack. Robby said that he had everything in it including two IV's. He wrapped the ankle and showed Robby how. He gave him two Ace Bandages and some prescription strength Naproxin and then reached into his pack an pulled out two beers for Robby.Smokestack and Panda said their goodbyes and we pushed on to Big Bald Mountain and it was awesome. You could see the Smokies, Table Rock and much, much more. It was simply breathtaking. Robby said that people who ask "why do you do this?" just need to see this and they would understand.Not wanting to leave they finally started the descent to Spivey Gap where the camped at a compsite just before Spivey.
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Campsite before Spivey Gap

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Today was a nice easy hike down into the Nolichucky River basin to Uncle Johnny's Hostel, one of the nicest hostels on the trail. A mail drop with food and some allergy meds were waiting for Robby. He called me to give me an update on the past week and to let me know that he a talked to his friend Mike who was already in Damascus, VA. He had a bad case of blisters and a pulled muscle. A couple was letting him stay with them in exchange for helping around the house. He may wait there for Robby who is about a week away.Robby asked me to meet him in Damascus with Lucy and hike a few days with him. If I can work it out I plan to do just that.Uncle Johnny's has rooms with bunks, some cabins and tent camping anyplace with grass. Robby cowboy camped in the backyard. Free shuttles into Erwin three times a day but Robby decided not to go into town. He said you just spend money in town.
Date: 2010-04-13
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept last night in Uncle Johnny's back yard along with Smokestack, Natedog and others. Natedog was up early after a sleepless night. Smokestack, Natedog and I decided to skip the breakfast shuttle and ate one of our trail breakfasts at the hostel. My mail drop from my grandfather had enough food to last me to Maine lol.We left out around 9:30 and had a flat easy going trail to start. We made it to Curly Maple Gap Shelter for an early lunch. We met some of the hikers from back at the hostel slackpacking southbound.We made it to Beauty Spot Bald by mid-afternoon. We took a break at Deep Gap Spring with great piped mountain spring water.The break with water came at the perfect time as we had another 1000 foot climb up Unaka Mountain and a 1000 foot descent before reaching Cherry Gap Shelter for the night. Staying here tonight with Smokestack, Natedog, Moonpie, Yanni and Walking Man. Very nice group.Natedog and I have both been nursing an ankle problem. He seems to think that his is doing much better and thanks to Ashe mine is not rolling anymore. We are headed out tomorrow to Roan High Knob Shelter a little over 15 miles away.Natedog, Smokestack and I have formed a trio. We are the PCP Trio, Pizza Chomping Posse.
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Natedog snored like a dying rhinoceros according to Smokestack. He hadn't slept well the last couple of nights.We all left out ahead of Natedog but he caught us at Clyde Smith Shelter for lunch.After about an hour lunch and rest we tackled the 2500 foot climb up Roan High Knob. What a lung buster. 2500 foot climb in about 3 miles and to a summit with snow. I thought that I had left all the snow back in the Smokies. Well at least this wasn't postholing snow.At this elevation it was a pretty cool night. This is the highest shelter on the AT at 6,285 feet.
Date: 2010-04-15
From: Raon High Knob Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 15.9

Smokestack and I woke early and started packing up even though it was cold this morning as we were over 6000'. It took Natedog a little longer to emerge from his warm tent but when he did we tried to come up with a plan during breakfast. It was still over 40 miles to Hampton, TN and we were short of food. We decided to let the trail and the weather dictate our decisions. We left out around 9 am and in know time we were hiking in snow. I thought that I wouldn't see that stuff again for a while¢¦ I took a fall fell in some too. Hahah first fall in a while. Smokestack really got a kick out of it. We were out of the snow soon though as we descened to Carvers Gap. We then had several climbs and descents, Little and Big Hump. They were beasts with 800' climbs each in less than a mile.We had a nice break before having to attack the humps at Overmountain Shelter. It is an old barn converted to a 20 person shelter.It has a gorgeous view overlooking a valley and both Little Hump and Big Hump. We took some photos, filled our water bottles and attacked the Humps. The climb was worth it with 360 views of Tennesee, North Carolina and the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests.Going down it was even harder but when I finally got down the descent which I thought would never end I saw the sign for the hostel and my knees told me I had to go there. Mountain Harbour is a great place. Everyone needs to stop there.It is a farmhouse, a real barn with hostel bunks in the barn loft, and a horse paddock for tenting. What Miss mary is doing there is awesome. $8 to tent and $9 for the best homecooked breakfast buffet you have ever seen. I met back up with Natedog and Smokestack here and we are heading out tomorrow after the breakfast that is getting rave reviews from everyone.
Date: 2010-04-16
To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: scattered clouds

After two plates of ham, fresh coffee, french bread-french toast with a pecan-honey syrup, a cinnamon roll bundt cake, scrambled eggs, fruit salad, biscuits w/ sausage gravy and cottage fries we were too full to walk so we just hung around down at the barn and watched the horses play. By the time we pack up it was 11 am. A pretty late start. It was a beautiful day though and we immediately had a climb but within about a mile we realized that we had missed the trail because we could not find any of the familiar 250,00 white blazes that mark the trail on trees, rocks and signs. There were a number of trails converging together and we picked one until we spotted a white blaze at a trail junction and headed off back on the AT. Unfortunately we missed a switchback and walked all the way back to where we started. After correcting our 20 minute navigational error we took off again.I met up with Cowgirl and her dog Kelly after Jones Falls and hiked down to a stream where it looked like a scene from a backpacking magazine. Big beautiful stream with a meadow and one big oak tree where everybody was hanging out. We stopped there and talked about how if the scenery remains like this were never gonna get any hiking done. We chilled there for a while soaking in some sun then I took back off and along the way while talking to Cowgirl I rolled my ankle AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! and I was down for a while. I finally got back up limped to the shelter where I caught back up with Smokestack and Natedog. We planned on doing another 9 miles and it was already 5:30 to the next shelter. As we started off my ankle was bothering me too much so after maybe .1 mile I turned back and stayed at the shelter with Little Brown, Fuzzy, Ready, Kit, Turkey and Thrasher.
Date: 2010-04-17
From: Mountainer Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 1.7

Woke up with swollen ankle and rain, bad combo so i hiked the 1.7 to Walnut Mt Road. I walked for a while till I caught a ride back to US19 then I caught a ride from there to Kincora Hostel were I stayed the night with a bunch of people: Yanni, The Travling Circus, Nobody, Moonpie, Cowgirl, Trukey and Thrasher, and Little Brown. I got my drop box from my granddad and jeeze la weeze lots of snacks..
Date: 2010-04-18
From: Watuga Lake

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 9.7

I woke up this mornign and felt great. I overheard cowgirl saying her box wasnt coming in untill tommrrow so she was gonna do a slackpack from Watuga Lake back to Kincora. I thought what a great idea! We got dropped off with Yanni, Lightning, Ring Leader, and monkey who previously slackedpacked the day before. At the lake we chilled for about an hour, said our good byes and Cowgirl and I and of course Kelly took off to do or slackpack on a very beautiful day. Sure enough soon as we started up the hill here comes Smokestack going "OMG The OLDD Slackpack"¢¦ Smokestack and I had made fun of slackpackers earlier. Smokestack said "What happen to Y man" and I replied "Smartned up a little" so I stopped for a bit to chat with Smokestack and Cowgirl kept going. I eventually caught back up her where we climbed over Pond Flats and then came down into a beautiful Gorge. We followed a stream all the way to a great big waterfall where Cowgirl's crazy butt jumped in because it was warm but not "warm enough for this southern boy" I said. I met back up with Ready, Kit, and Fuzzy and talked for a minute, caught back up with Cowgirl and we finished our hike. We then had a great afternoon in Elizabethtown eating pizza and drinking soda.
Date: 2010-04-19
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Well today was bad day. I started with Cowgirl at Lake Watuga were we left off the day before. About a mile down the trail I realized I left my wallet. I had to hike back to the road and hitched back to Kincora where after searching for an hour I found it it had fallen behind the bunks. I was so frustrated I just thought I would stay another night. I met a cool guy named Beefstick who is an astronomy grad and had a good time talking to him. I split wood and kept the firing going, saw Soul Searcher for the first time since Gatlinburg and thougbht hopefully tomorrow would go better.
Date: 2010-05-04
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

So I made the decison to go home today. I think it would be better to go home and try to build up the funds to have a better trip in the next 2 years. That I way i can do it with my grandfather who will be 65 then. I would enjoy it very much to do it with him... but all in all I have gone farther than I ever thought I would and had a great experience and I will always have the trail.
Date: 2010-01-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Welcome to my journal. My name is Jannie. I have mentally been preparing for a thru-hike for about three years. I did make an attempt to hike the AT in 2008 but gave up because of personal reasons. I hiked From Amicola Park to Gooch Gap. I am now mentally prepared as I can be to make another attempt. I will be hiking north from Georgia to Maine. My personal motto will be"I will walk until I drop, but I will not stop". Life is a journey and I expect this to be a journey of memories to share with my children and grandchildren. So thumbs up to memories of Life's Journey to be shared. I Have an Interesting Quote To Share I recently heard. "LIFE IS A CLIMB BUT THE VIEW IS GREAT"Jannie