morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

I woke up to sunshine this morning! Two days in a row! I can't believe my luck! And, it was really warm. The walk down to Standing Bear Farm went by really fast, and now I'm enjoying an afternoon off. Standing Bear Farm is totally chill, and the company seems really friendly and laid back. Hermes pushed on ahead to Max Patch Bald because of reports of bad weather heading this way--he's determined to camp on it and the weather today is nice. We're hoping to meet up with him soon. Anyway, the hike was gorgeous. Anyone looking to section hike in the south should consider the section from Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap...it's a very mild hike with lots of overlooks and what not.Anyway...I hear UGA dominated Wildlife Conclave AGAIN this year. Go Dawgs! Way to go ya'll!Sometimes when I run into folks on the trail and they find out I'm newlywed and my husband's not with me, I get funny looks. I can understand that to a point. But part of my can't help but think that if I were the husband and left my wife at home, I might get a different kind of look, or maybe even a pat on the back for marrying a wife who would let me saunter off into the wild for 6 months. I know thru hiking during my "newly wed" year isn't the most orthodox move a person can make, but the timing was perfect and you can't compete with that. At our wedding, James and I danced to "Free" by Zac Brown as our last dance. To me, marriage isn't about having a ball and chain (even though I joke about it at times). Marriage is loving someone, and being strong enough of a person and loving that person enough to let them be who they are. I hope that through this experience, James can draw strength from me and I from him. Part of the reason I wanted to do this hike is to improve on myself, and I honestly think this experience is helping me become a better person. At home, James and I watch the Dog Whisperer a lot, and Caesar talks about living in the moment a lot...dogs don't worry about who said what when or where they'll be tomorrow, they enjoy the time they have when they have it. I have no idea how I'm gonna get my next ride when I need one, and I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about whether the crew will group back up again (even though I'd love it if we did!) because I think I fully enjoyed the time when we were all together. I'm hoping to come home from this experience as a more calm person, with lots more faith. I think James (and the rest of my family) will definitely appreciate that!
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

It snowed today. Yes, yes it did. We left Standing Bear Farm thinking the wintery weather would come in tomorrow but it decided to show up early. At first, I thought we were just going to encounter a few flurries here and there. But it started snowing right before lunch and kept on...all day. Sport (aka Wags) and I hiked together all day. We ate lunch together, giggled together, and almost got blown off of Max Patch Bald together. Seriously, there were 60 mph winds blowing in our faces, we leaned into the wind and did not fall over, and we could barely jog in a straight line to get over that bald. I had flashbacks to the tornado scene in the Wizard of Oz and the witch music that plays along with it. Luckily, I think all I lost while climbing over the bald is my pocket knife. I was definitely bummed to lose it, though, because James gave it to me especially for the hike. How can I be a gangsta if I don't have a tool for shankin? I'll have to resort to my fork, I guess.We made it to the shelter and met back up with Chicken Run and Chicken Run Too, Triple C (Michelle), a lady named One Pint, AND (drum roll) Wind Up and Saint rolled in about an hour after we did! OJ, Braid, Red Leg, Old Goat, and Check Six all decided to tent. The snow is floating past our rainflies which are draped across the empty fourth wall, and coming in from all sides. We're huddled together in a puppy pile and are surprisingly warm. We're gonna push the 18 miles into Hot Springs tomorrow to get our of this crazy weather!
Date: 2009-04-07
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

It snowed late into the night. We woke up with a thin layer of snow across our sleeping bags, and it was almost impossible to convince myself to get out of my bag and get packed up. If I had another days worth of food in my food bag, it might have been even harder. But, alas, I mustered the strength of a true gangsta and packed up. The worst part, by far, was putting my boots on. They were covered in snow, and the shoelaces were frozen so I couldn't really tie them. And my "tootsies!" were frozen for a while. A terrible feeling. My camelback hose was also totally frozen, and you better believe I wasn't fixing to pump water. Luckily, Triple C had excess water so she filled up my gatorade bottle. We decided to head out as a group, so everyone from the shelter set off. Because it snowed through then night, all the footprints from the previous day were covered and we had to break new trail. True to my gangsta form, I decided to lead the group and break the trail. I'm proud to say that I didn't make a single wrong turn...pure luck there. It was totally gorgeous, but walking uphill in 6-10 inch deep snow with a 23 pound (yes, I weighed it again to make sure, and that's all it weighs with 2 days worth of food in it!) pack on is actually really hard. Luckily, we just had 2 major climbs that day and then it was mainly downhill into Hot Springs. The downhills were super fun - I've never been downhill skiing, but if it's anything like our day today then it's totally awesome. My hiking poles could have even doubled as ski poles - about 5 inches of ice clumped up on the ends.We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn because all the other places in town were booked with backlogs of hikers who apparently get accurate weather forcasts AND believe them. Sport and I split a very romantic room (no tv!) and the crew (minus Hermes who was enjoying Elmer's vegetarian menu) gathered downstairs at the Iron Horse restaurant for dinner. That was quite a fiasco. They were understaffed and the staff they had were not very...accommodating. Let's put it this way - I was the first of the group to be downstairs (around 6:15) and the very last of the group to actually get my dinner after ordering it not once, but twice. As a result, I had dinner at 8:20 with 4 pints of beer as an appetizer. I didn't get mad about it, though, the beer kept me cheery. True to gangsta style, I even managed to get back to my room and into bed all on my own.
Date: 2009-04-08
From: Hot Springs

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

ZERO DAY! James came to Hot Springs...it was suppose to be a surprise, I think, but boys aren't very stealthy and I figured it out a few days ago. He brought the pups and we headed into Asheville for the day. He wasn't feeling too great, so I offered to drive. Yeah, you know how they say folks sometimes have a hard time adjusting to life after the trail? I believe driving should be on that list. I was totally freaked out. There I was, driving an F150 around this mountain road and people were pulling in and turning off...it took me about 15 minutes to work up the courage to drive the speed limit - 55 mph. Then I drove around Asheville a little to find a Chick-fil-A (yummm! strawberry milkshake time!) and an outfitter. I dropped way more than I should have on a merino wool t-shirt. But it will be worth it. If anyone reading this is thinkin about a thru-hike or a hike in general, if you only listen to one piece of advice from me it's this: DO NOT BUY SYNTHETIC "ODOR-REDUCING" CLOTHING. It's a pile, and not a puppy pile. Get wool. You will not regret it, but your bank account might.I checked my mail, and was delighted to find 5 letters and a package! I felt truly loved, and spoiled, and wonderful as I walked out of the post office. So many thanks!I haven't really had enough computer time to respond to everyone who's written on my guest book even though I wish I did. One person asked me how I got the name "Gangsta." Here it is: I wear a Georgia toboggan (that's a hat or whatever) and Georgia crocs with big black G's on them. And I have a good time entertaining folks around the shelters and what not, making up songs, rambling, telling bad jokes, etc. So Saint, the name giver, decided I should be Gangsta. Not much of a story, but I think it fits.
Date: 2009-04-09
From: Hot Springs

To: spring mtn shelter
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: clear sky

As usal it was hard to leave town. Along with my resupplies i wasweighed down with some emotiona baggage - i had to say bye to james,he was sick and his truck broke down after he left, and my sister hadto have emergency back surgery. One hardship of thru hiking isdefinitely the guilt i feel for not being around when friends andfamily need support. As if to balance out my mental state of mind iwas physically ecstatic because it was a beautiful day. We hikedslowly and took nice breaks in the warm sun. It was great to have thecrew back! When we got to the shelter i climbed up a ridge until i hadcell service and found out jellybean was a ok and james was allpatched up and heading home. The crew camped about 200 yards north ofthe shelter and we had a great fire going. An excellent evening.
Date: 2009-04-10
From: spring mtn shelter

To: jerry cabin shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

i get the feeling we have to atone for our enjoyment of beautifulweather by being greeted with any of a number of weather crises. Assoon as i was all packed up this morning it bgan to lightening andthen hail rained down on us. Great. We waited out the storm in themetal roofed shelter and the headed out...kinda blue. At allen gap wefound a sign directing us towards trail magic at the home of FAL andhercules! We walked up their driveway and were greeted very warmly andthen served belgian waffles, pork stew, and we had a number ofdelicous dessert choices - i had blackberry cobbler a la mode!DELICIOUS! THEN they offered to shuttle us 20 miles north so we couldSOBO to their house, take a shower, be fed AGAIN, andthen go to churchsunday morning for easter. We jumped at the offer. We found ourselvesSOBOing to jerry cabin shelter. Of course the weather cleared up for awhile but storms set in just as we got to a "full" shelter...And got soaking wet. Oh well - to FAL and hercules we go!
Date: 2009-04-11
From: jerry cabin shelter

To: allen gap
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

we had yet another foggy hike today with some apparently beautifulviews...which went unseen by us. However it wasnt raining so it wasnttoo bad. Plus i was super excited about our trail magic! Fal andhercules were amazing! We arrived back at their house around 4, tookshowers, and then ate a delicious mea! I really enjoyed everyonescompany and the conversations we had. I also had my first ever bananasplit - yummmmmm! Fal and hercules are amazing hosts and showed uslots of love and generosity. Many thanks!
Date: 2009-04-12
From: devil fork gap

To: hogback ridge
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: clear sky

we woke up super early this morning to yet another delicious meal fromfal and hercules. Then we headed off to church for easter. I dontthink many of the hikers are christian and some folks seemed to beuncomfortable but all in all i think we had a good time. Theexperience led us to some interesting conversations later. After theservice we went to an AYCE chinese buffet and then said bye to fal andhercules. We had a nice short hike to the shelter. It was sunny andfairly warm - a great day for hiking! We pitched our tents and areenjoying a nice relaxing evening hanging around the fire.
Date: 2009-04-13
From: hogback ridge

To: bald mtn.
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

it sprinkled some last night but not enough to worry me. I slept intill 8 packed up, and headed out into yet another foggy day. We onlydid 10 miles - the miles are definitely passng a lot quicker 4 weeksin. I think i finally havemy trail legs! At a steady pace i do about 3miles perhour. I think im pretty much adjusted to life on the trail!The cold and rain dont bother me as much but im still definitelylooking forward to the summr. We got to the shelter at 2 and have justbeen hanging out - a bunch of folks have shown up in the past fewhours: halfmoon, angie, longhaul, squeegy, miss scarlett, newt, texaschill, dutch, mr t., etc. Its an awesome feeling to be around thistype of community. Off to erwin tomorrow!
Date: 2009-04-14
From: bald mtn.

To: erwin, tn. 
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: light rain

happy anniversary! Its ok that you forgot but i couldnt let this onemonth milestone go uncelebrated. It rained..again. I think its onlyfitting. We hiked the miles into town and the crew is rockin out a hotel room. Yess. I got a guestbook signature asking for advice, and I think that fits in well with an anniversary conversation so hereare 10 things ive learned so far:1. Synthetic odor reducing clothing sucks! Its terrible and dontbelieve a word of it. Get wool - i.e. Icebreaker.2. Candybars are excellent for breakfast.3. Dont leave home without seamsealing your tent.4. Put your sleeing bag in a compression stuff sack and put that in adurable trashbag.5. If its cold and raining out and you're in the shelter make room forother hikers even if the shelter is "full." Seriously, dont be one ofTHOSE people. Forget about personal space in times like those (I have a photo I'll post one day that'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about...you never know, the picture could have YOU in it. Do you really wanna be portrayed as the infamous shelter-jerk on Gangsta's trail journal? Just think about it)6. A tip from my dads friend shepard: rub alcohol on your feet everyday for several weeks before you start hiking. It toughens them up soyou dont get blisters...it definitely worked for me!7.. Dont believe anything anyone tells you. Thats right - the shelteris always a lot farther or closer than the person who's coming the other way says, topomaps are deceiving (the trail is never just "level and down" like Saint told us once), boyscouts dont even pitch their own tents half thetime so dont believe them (or their leaders who do pitch the tents), and the forcast..forget about it. Expectthe unexpected and youll be a ok.8. Great advice i heard from wind up: "never quit on rainy day" agood metaphor for life, too..9. Use trekking poles! They may look pretentious but you'll be glad you did!10. No matter what, keep your pack weight under 35 lbs. You dont needmore than that.next mail drops gonna be in damascus!Nevena martingeneral deliverydamascus, va 24236hold for hikerill probably get there towards the end of next week!
Date: 2009-04-15
From: erwin, tn. 

To: campsite
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

we got a prompt start today and headed out at 3:15. Unconventionalhiking is AWESOME. Seriously. We had to eat breakfast, resupply, hitchthe mile into town (thanks kevin powers!), go to the library to get onthe internet (they were also selling books for 50 cents so i got warand peace...the abridged version), go to the post office and then eatat pickles cafe which was yummmmy! A rough day. Frank higgins, whoowns a furniture store in erwin, gave us a ride back to the trail. Oh!And i met a man in the dollar general who has the record in tennesseefor biggest catfish caught on record. Hes on elderly man named buckand he was kind enough to show me and wags his picture album. Traillife is so cool..i love all the random folks i meet.now we re at a campsite just passed curly maple shelter. The band atour wedding named themselves after that shelter so it was fun to seeit. The crew plus rusticus had a great time hangin out by the firetonite and now im ready to turn in. Hopin for warm and sunny weather tomorrow...hahahaha.wags had an excellent fall the other day and i was lucky enough to beright behind for it. Yessssss! I laughed for a while and she laid facedown laughing while windup tried to help. Good times.also, congrats to tr and anna who welcomed their first kid on eastersunday - baby will is home and happy!
Date: 2009-04-16
From: campsite

To: campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

i awoke to a strange light. Confused, i scrambled, ever so gracefully,out of my tent and saw fire.....in the sky. The SUN woke me up thismorning. What in the world is this craziness?!? We did a blissful 16odd miles today. I didnt wear my rain gear for a second! Hallelujah!so i want to share with you the details of daily life on the trail andill start with gear-gonna go through my backpack layer by layer eachday starting with the bottom. So today ill tell you about my sleepingbag. Yipppee! Its a 20 degree marmot down bag. That means i cansurvive in 20 degree weather and my bag is filled with down feathers.Down is good because its warmer than synthetic but unlike synthetic itwont insulate if its wet - thats why its in a "waterproof" stuff sackand wrapped in a plastic bag. I also have a silk liner that adds about5 degrees of warmth. Tune in tomorrow to see what i eat every day!a special shout out to nicole who had a birthday today! Wish you were here. Because these birds are makin me look foolish in front of my newfriends! I need to brush up on my calls. Anyway, happy birthdaynicole!
Date: 2009-04-17
From: campsite

To: over mtn. shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

what?!? Another sunny day?!? Two in a row?!? AMAZING. Climbing roanmtn...rough. It was worth the climb though. We saw where the cloudlandhotel stood a hundred years ago and even walked over snow from thestorm last week. The balds south of carvers gap were gorgeous too.And overmountain shelter is heaven on earth-its a converted barnstationed in the middle of the valley. A great place to spend theevening. I do have to admit that i was slightly grouchy today - folkssometimes call me G for short so today it stood for grouchy. I gotover it though.now for food: breakfast consists of a breakfast bar and a candy bar (ithink im gonna start eating a cliff bar or something instead of abreakfast bar), morning snack is as much trail mix as i can eat, lunchis pb&js (uncrustables usually) or pepperonni and cheese sandwiches,afternoon snack is a snickers usually and dinner is a variety ofthings: ramens, lipton sides, instant taters, etc. I keep my food in a waterproof stuff sack so if it rains at night when its hanging from the bear cables my food wont get wet. Tomorrow: clothing!
Date: 2009-04-18
From: over mtn. shelter

To: campsite
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

after a gorgeous night i woke up at 6:15 to watch the sky turn. It wasgorgeous-the moon was really bright last night and id wake up everyfew hours to see what it looked like. A very memorable night. Thehike today was great-we went over some more balds, got to hike pastand pet some horses, and we hitched in to roan mtn, tn to resupply. Iate a buffalo chicken sandwich dr pepper potato wedges chocolate milkchug ice cream bar and a delicious banana strawberry milkshake...forlunch. Hiker appetite is kickin! We hitched back to the trail and didacouple more miles to a gorgeous campsite.now, clothes. Bottom to top. I wear a pair of keen boots becausetheyre good for wide feet. I have 3 pairs of smartwool socks and twopairs of sock liners to help prevent blisters. A pair of rain pants, apair of long john bottms (patagonia capilenes...they hold odor prettygood so i didnt bring the top), a pair of shorts, an icebreaker wool tshirt, underarmor longsleeve an rei fleece, a patagonia fleece, a rainjacket and a tabogin (thats ahat to us southerners). I also have a pair of gloves and a pair ofwaterproof mittens. I didnt even have to look in my clothes sack tolist all that - thats the handy thing about hiking! Anyway i tend toget cold pretty easily but ive more or less stayed warm out here!Tomorrow....sleeping pad!
Date: 2009-04-19
From: campsite

To: moreland gap
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

today was a wearing day for us...some folks were feeling good, butsome of us were physically and mentally pooped. We meant to stay at acampsite before the shelter but never saw it but that turned out to bea blessing in disguise-it rained really hard tonight and i was glad tobe in a shelter. We hiked by a gorgeous waterfall today-joneswaterfall. It wasnt the best day but i survived and am warm and full.my sleeping pad is at the top of my pack. I use a thermarest prolite3/4 length. Its an inflatable pad which makes it comfy and warm andthe 3/4 length is great for me for me because im short and squinch up when i sleep. It also cuts downon weight. A ridgerest type pad is nice on the otherhand because youcan roll it out anywhere and sit on it - i cant do that with myinflatable because it might pop! Tomorrow...random things in my pack!
Date: 2009-04-20
From: moreland gap

To: kincora hostel
Miles today: 6.0

we had a pleasantly short hike today. Wags and i hiked together andchatted some. We got to the famous kincora hostel and relaxed. Then wegot a shuttle to town where there was a dollar general, an arbys and aLITTLE CEASARS! me and wags ate a large hot-n-ready pepperonni pizzain ten minutes flat. Delicious. The hostel is fairly crowded withfolks who caught up to us and others im just now meeting. Fun times.random things in my pack: a ziplock with my phone and camera chargers,a ziplock with my books, a ziplock with my wallet (the one jellybeangave me) my earplugs, katahdin token, pen, paper, and mini newtestament, my katadin water filter, tolietry bag,titanium .9 liter cook pot with my etowah outfitter alcohol stove andbear rope and lighter stored inside. I think thats it!Tomorrow...random things on the outside of my pack!
Date: 2009-04-21
From: kincora hostel

To: vendeventer shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: moderate rain

i woke up this morning feeling the need to venture out on my own....oras much as i can be on the at. I hiked solo today, ahead of the crewand unsure of their plans but with a mind to make it a strong mileageday. I past laurel fork falls which were gorgeous and powered throughthe rougher 7 miles at the end of the day. I was excited to meet backup with one pint, doc, and dutch. Then low and behold hermes appeared!The rest of the crew came in a few minutes later. A very nicesurprise! I was glad to have done my own thing today but also glad tobe reunited. It was weird weather wise but i finally settled onwearing my rain pants rolled up to the knee, my tshirt and a fleecewitth the sleeves pulled back. Temperture regulation can be a pain.random thingsOutside my pack: in side pockets i keep my fuel bottle for my stove,thru hiker guide book, 32 oz gatorade bottle, sunscreen and food forthe day. I have my crocs, bear spray and pack cover (my packs raincoat) clipped on my hip belt. I also strap the sack with my tent (msrhubba) body, rainfly and tyvek ground cover to my pack. I keep thepoles inside my pack. I forgot to mention that i keep my headlamp inthe stuff sack with my sleeping pad so its easy to find at night! Andall of that is what i carry on my back and have lived off of for 39 orso days with! Tomorrow ill start profiling my crew members...theentertainment never ends. Yesssss.