morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Cheese Factory

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

This morning coming up Tray Mountain I let a trim 50 something woman pass and she disappeared up the slope like I was standing still. At the top I introduced myself and learned her trailname was "The Walking Stomach". She had earned it as a trail maintainer in Connecticut by outeating her coworkers on a snack break. We ran into each other several times during the day, greeting each other with a jaunty "Hello Stomach!"; "Hello Mouse!".Let's see, back at Neels Gap I resolved to slow down. Ten miles later at Low Gap I was SURE I needed to. Then I went 13 miles yesterday and now I've gone and done it again! I got to Deep Gap just after two and talking to Danny and The Walking Stomach I decided I could go ahead to Dicks Creek Gap in time to get a ride into Hiawassee and sleep in a nice comfy bed. I seem to have misplaced my brain; I was sure it was here someplace, but it seems to be missing My plan worked, but when I got my boots off, ouch ouch ouch! No muscle or tendon problems, but my feet! They felt VERY overused and one heel had a raw spot for good measure despite having been covered with moleskin and ducttape.Still, I'm unrepentant. First it let me play Trail Angel. Two days ago I found a grey stocking cap lying on the Trail, but have been unable to catch up with the owner. Whoever it was almost surely got off here to resupply, so I hung the cap on the Trail sign on the north side of the gap where they would see it getting back on the Trail. And it gave me a shower and a nice comfy bed tonight and a full day of rest tomorrow. A very nice man was waiting to offer a ride to any hikers who showed up. He took me to the Hiawassee Inn, waited until we were sure there was a room for me and offered a ride back to the Trail if I needed it. The innkeeper gushed hospitality and called me "Suger" and "Hon" and offered everything a tired hiker could dream of. After they shuttled us to another of those wonderful under $7 all you can eat southern buffets another hiker named Pirate paid for my dinner as well as his, no matter how much I said I could pay for myself. So much hospitality and niceness! I seem to be getting more than my share of trail magic.
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Hiawassee

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Well, I went and did it again! I meant to stop at Bly Gap and when I got there it was only 1:30 and so now I am at Muskrat Shelter, 3 miles up the Trail with sore feet and achilles tendons. I wonder, will I ever learn?The Trail was crowded with more than one youth group hiking. The first thing into North Carolina were 2 ferocious hills. More and more greenery is appearing in the underbrush including some ferns and scattered wildflowers, and the buds in the trees are showing signs of coming out.Silke is here as well as many others I've been keeping pace with. Some stayed one night in Hiawassee or the Blueberry Patch hostel and some like Silke just hiked right through Dicks Creek Gap. I got a space in the shelter, which is just as well as a cold front is coming through and there could be rain tonight.
Date: 2004-03-29
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

A little rain off and on at night but cleared away by morning. Silke said farewell; she is taking a non-AT shortcut to Standing Indian Campground to call her mother. That puts her so far ahead I probably won't see her again before she gets off north of Franklin.Another long day. (Sorry, feet) Went past Standing Indian Mountain Shelter at 10:30 a.m., and on to the next one. The mountain is the highest so far, about 5,500 feet. The Trail went up 1,500 feet nearly to the top, down again, around the Nantahala River headwaters, then up and over a ridge to the shelter. Once there I found Danny had gone on 4 miles to get a head start on hiking to Rainbow Campground at Wallace Gap. I doubt if I can get there tomorrow. My feet are sore and the Trail leads up what appears to be a very steep ascent at Albert Mountain. So Danny may have outrun me as well.Again I got a spot inside the shelter, meaning less privacy but a faster start in the morning. I ate two days worth of dinners in hopes of reducing the load I have to lug up Albert Mountain.At Deep Gap just before the Mountain a sign warned, "There are reports of a bear ranging between Deep Gap and Wayah Gap taking packs from hikers. It does not exhibit fear of humans. Use extreme caution." Perfect! An ursine Robin Hood stalking the next 30 miles or so of trail. Lovely! I could just imagine it ambushing me and grabbing my pack.It is 6 p.m. and The Walking Stomach just showed up. So I am not totally with strangers.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Wallace Gap
Miles today: 12.8

After hours of rising wind the rain starts at 4:00 a.m., hammering on the tin roof of the shelter. It is still coming down when I glance at my watch at 6:15 a.m. I peek outside my sleeping bag to see Stomach industriously packing away her sleeping bag. In a moment her friend gets up too and I know I HAVE to get up as well. If all the other women are hiking despite the rain, how can I stay behind? I pack up, put on my rainsuit, put the raincover on my pack, and by 7:00 I am on the Trail.The Walking Stomach and I keep passing each other as we head for Albert Mountain. At 10:00 the rain stops. In a covered spot in the rocks I pack away my raingear and change to my long nylon pants, which should hold up to rocks better than the tights I'd worn under my Goretex. As I start off again, Stomach's friend appears and we start up the mountain.The Trail gets steep, breaks into long stairs, then hits sections of rock not really vertical, but too steep for poles. I trail them behind by the straps and climb on all fours, grabbing rocks and trees to pull myself up.Finally I get to the top where I find The Walking Stomach and a young couple from New Paltz. There is a firetower and the clouds have broken enough for a wonderful view of the landscape. I come down just as Stomach's friend arrives and we take some pictures. Her name is Little Tree. By 11:00 a.m. I am back on the Trail. At 11:30 I am at the Big Spring Shelter still going strong, so I make for Wallace Grap.The Walking Stomach passes me. She is going to spend the night at Rock Gap Shelter, a mile short of Wallace Gap. I wave as I pass, then push on to Wallace and turn west on the road. It is one mile to Rainbow Springs campground and hiking on the hard pavement it seems to take forever.At the campground the first person I see is Danny. He has just bought his FOURTH water treatment system in 100 miles. He sent his filter home at Neels Gap to switch to chemicals to save weight. He didn't like the taste so switched to a filter bottle. But he did not like how hard it was to squeeze water through it. So here he went and bought a filter just like the one he had mailed home at Neels Gap! He is having trouble being satisfied with the pros and and cons of the alternatives.The bunkhouse is interesting. It is a yurt with the traditional expanding wood frame, a plastic sheet covering and a plastic dome over the center of the roof. It is crowded with doubledeck bunks. There are so many already here I have to settle for an upper bunk.The Weather channel says heavy thunderstorms just west of here this evening, so tomorrow night be wet. If so, I might stay and give my feet the rest I have been promising them.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Wallace Gap

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: light rain

Talk about short days! I had toyed with staying a day to rest my feet. This morning there were scattered patches of blue sky and EVERYONE was packing to leave, so I decided to head out too. The forecast said rain with possible snow at 3,000 feet and rain Thursday and Friday.The sleet started just before Winding Stair Gap and as we crossed the highway a few flakes had appeared. Before I had hone half a mile, it was snowing lustily. I began to have doubts about making another four miles to the shelter, camping at 5,000 feet, then going on through two more days of rain. Just before rounding a ridge that would have blocked the final view of the road far away, visibility was dropping fast and going on looked like a very dubious proposition. I decided to head down and hole up in Franklin. By the time I got back to the road the ground was covered and I was starting to look like a snowwoman. Along the way I passed Danny and asked him to let everyone know I had gone to Franklin and was not lying frozen somewhere. Then I sternly admonished HIM not to end up lying frozen somewhere! I met three hikers at the road, two going on and one looking for a ride down. In a few moments a car pulled up and an older couple offered us a ride.The other hiker's name was Welsh Walker, and she had the guidebook page for Franklin and got us to a motel with a shuttle back to the Trail. I think tomorrow I can go on. Two days of decreasingly rotten trail weather sounds better than three and with a warming trend slippery looking trail should be less of a danger.For some days my left foot in particular has had a painful bones-popping-out-the-ball-of-the-foot feeling that I get after running ten miles in worn out running shoes. So when the motel offered a shuttle to the local outfitters I came away with Spenco insoles. My old ones were rather thin to begin with and now are mashed flat, ao the new ones made a noticable difference. Now I'm keeping my foot in a bucket of ice trying to soothe away the damage already done. Hopefully that and a little less mileage will make my foot happy again.The rest of me is holding up well. My legs are going stronger, and the raw spots on my feet have healed so I went today without moleskin. If I can just fix the foot problem I will be a happy hiker.
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Silar Bald Shelter
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

The shuttle from the motel dropped me off at Winding Stair Gap at 9:30 am. It is about 40 degrees, cloudy, with snow and sleet. By the time I get to the shelter even the Trail is covered with snow, with just the tracks of the last footprints showing.A couple are there and soon another woman named Katie arrives. We consult and the couple decides to move on to a campsite 4.5 miles away. It is only noon, but the site is 600 feet higher and this will probably be the coldest night, so Katie and I decide to stay here. It was my original destination before the snow hit so I have food. So I am typing this with cold fingers while lying in my sleeping bag trying to stay warm. I feel the heat draining from beneath me. So I try laying out my groundsheet, folded tent and emergeny blanket then put the pad and sleeping bag on top. MUCH better!A number of people show up, but most go on. We end up with six for the night, all men except for Katie and I. Then after supper one more appeared. He was SOUTHBOUND! He'd walked all the way from Roan Mountain Virginia in this weather. He'd started last fall from his home near the Trail at Rockfish Gap then stopped for the winter. When he gets to Springer he will go to Maine and hike south to his home. Hikers call that a "flipflop". I had a good scare during the night. I woke up to find I could not feel or move my left hand and it was sticking out the opening of my sleeping bag. It was just like a lifeless piece of dead weight, a really unnerving phenomenon. "Oh great!" I thought, "I've turned my hand into an iceblock." I frantically pulled my hand in and touched the fingers to my lips. The fingers were warm. Thank goodness! It was not frostbitten, it just had positional numbness, the nerves deadened from pressure applied to them. I straightened my arm and the feeling returned in seconds. What a relief.
Date: 2004-04-04
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: clear sky

First I gathered the last forgotten belongings of the injured hiker to drop off at the office. They include the dog's backpack left on a shelf and her food-dish sitting outside the door. Then I had the first real breakfast since Atlanta: eggs, sausage, potatoes and two cups of hot chocolate. Then I waddled satiatedly back up the hill to pack and got on the Trail by 9:30 am. It was a long climb up out of the Nantahala Gorge. At least it varied, sometimes steep, leaning into the poles and staggering upward, sometimes picking my way through jumbles of rocks, striding quickly when the slope is shallow enough and once in a while going downward. Along the way I realize the key to my room is still in my pocket. What with all the distractions, I've forgotten to put it into the drop box when I left.I come to another path leading to a ledge with a splendid view of the Nantahala Gorge, the cars drifting like tiny little ants 3000 feet below. I hear another locomotive horn and sit to see the train go by but it seems to be heading in the wrong dirrection so after soaking in the vista a bit more I start up again. Right after that I meet two section hikers coming the other way who are willing to take the key back. Assuming they are less forgetful than me, the key will be back in a few hours instead of more than a week.It gets really steep and seems to go on forever. False crest after false crest come and go only to reveal more climbing. I had seen what I thought was Cheoah Bald in the distance, part of tomorrow's hike, only to find myself standing on it with even MORE climbing.Finally I get to the top of Swimm Bald, 4500 feet high and the last crest before I drop down to Sassafras Shelter. Balds are suposed to be mysterious mountains on whose crests trees don't grow, only grass. But every bald I have gone over so far have had trees. Swimm Bald seems as wooded as the rest. But under clumps of rhododendrums I find small patches of snow, reminders of the recent storm.The shelter is large, with two sleeping levels. It begins to fill up. Katie and Crash-Bang appear, but Andrew decided to take a zero day at NOC. Checking the register I find Danny had sped ahead, trying to reach Fontana in time to watch the basketball playoffs.
Date: 2004-04-07
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

One thing you learn on the Trail is that given a little time, nearly every difficulty works itself out. The hill is surmounted, the storm passes, the injury heals and the lost is found. Last night I ended up in a nice comfy room at the Fontana Inn with an AYCE buffet right down the hall. Once I got settled I called the Hiker Inn about my package. The Post Office had just sent it over and they would come pick me up to spend my second night there. What could be nicer?Another thing is that often those difficulties don't smooth away all by themselves. They have help. The Appalachian Trail is lined with thousands of people who make every thru-hike possible and they deserve full credit. Everyone from fellow hikers who share encouragement and supplies to Trail Angels performing countless acts of Trail Magic to Trail maintainers and ridgerunners to towns absolutely full of hospitality to just plain ordinary people being really nice. My thanks go to all of them. In this case to the efficient hospitable innkeepers who made my troubles vanish.Now to prepare for the Smokeys. It is the highest part of the Trail, at 70 miles one of the longest between towns and known for difficult weather. The Hike Inn costs more than hostels at $40 a night and with only 5 rooms it is best to reserve from NOC. But I found it a great place to stay. It is cozy with a capital C, with homey decor, thick comfy quilts and soft linen, and kitchenettes. It has nearly everything a hiker could want. They took my mountain of dirty laundry and brought it back before supper all clean and folded, took us into Robinsville for meals, ATM and buying supplies at a real grocery instead of a camp store picked over by hoards of thru-hikers, provided free shuttle to and from the Trail and even had a supply of backcountry permit forms required to enter Great Smoky Mountains National Park.I got my warm Patagonia R3 fleece jacket from my bounce box and put into the box my used disposable camera, spare eyeglasses and everything else I thought I could spare to compensate for the added weight of the jacket and the six days worth of food I expect to need to get to the other side at Davenport Gap.Tomorrow I get to lug it all from the Dam up to the high spine of the mountains.
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Fontana

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, somewhat to my surprise I made the whole 11 miles from the dam up to the first shelter up on the spine of the Smokies, heavy pack and all. And I got here before 3:30, less than seven hours. It has been perfect hiking weather, cloudy and cool. By noon the lower valleys and hills were blanketed in the mist that gives the Smokies their name, but up on the heights it stayed nice. Then the Trail here is graded for horses, so no four foot high steps or rock scrambles to slow one down.The wildflowers up here have gone crazy. Before, they were scattered about. Here the ground between the trees is absolutely carpeted with little pale purple flowers. Against the green and brown undergrowth they look white, so the ground looks like it did when blanketed with snow but now it is flowers.There is something mysterious up in the mountains. For days now, from time to time I hear a deep thumping sound. It has exactly the quickening cadence and fadeout as a rubber ball bouncing but much deeper; thump   thump   thump thump thumpthump umpumpump... I wonder what it is. Some atmospheric acoustic fluke? Reverberations of recesses all over the world conjoining here? Giants playing jacks? Or maybe the war drums of the Ents, calling the trees to battle?This park is famous for its bears and as soon as I got to the shelter I was greeted by a sign warning sternly "No cooking or eating in or near shelter". Sounds like my main meal might be at midday for now, away from shelters.I was the second person to arrive, meaning that I ought to have a space in the shelter. In theory only the first 4 thru-hikers are assured a space. Section hikers reserve in advance and get priority for the rest of the spots. So if the shelter is full and another section hiker arrives, a thu-hiker has to move to their tent. To make things more confusing, you are not allowed to tent if the shelter is not full, even though you are required to tent if it is full.My feet are a bit sore, but nothing like before I got the new insoles. The rest of me is happy as ever.
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

A warm night and got going at 7:30, the day nice and clear as predicted.The first 5 miles was easy on horse-friendly trail. Then it got more rugged. It was worth it though. The balds here are finally balds with great expanses of thick grass making for comfy rests and great views. The view from Rocky Top was especially nice. You could see almost forever.It was tempting to go on to Silars Bald Shelter 5.5 miles away. But that would mean over 17 miles for the day. My feet are tired and this ground is not the place for setting records.Stopping here is a bit awkward. It is 14.5 miles to the shelter past Clingmans Dome and 7.2 from the shelter this side of it. I think I will get the earliest start I can tomorrow, and when I get to the nearer shelter I will look at the time, the weather and my feet then decide whether to tackle Clingmans or take a short day.
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Derrick Knob

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, I made it over Clingmans Dome. I also made my longest day's hike yet at 14 miles.The day started nice and clear and not too cold, then clouded over. I got to Clingmans dome at about 1:15 in the afternoon. As I approached, the broadleaf trees were replaced by pines. In recent years there has been a major die off and few mature pines are left. So I was glad to see lots and lots of young trees about 12 feet and smaller. I hope they live to replace the ones that died.I think I am lossing my mind. At the obervation tower someone offered me some cheese and I said no thanks. Imagine a thru-hiking Mouse turning down cheese! Coming down, the trail was covered with slushy snow. Three miles of that felt like hiking barefoot in icewater. In the shadows of the pines the overcast sky made it seem late evening instead of mid-afternoon and I could not wait to get to the shelter. Other than that, it was perfect hiking.Expecting the shelter to be full of non-thru-hikers with reservations, I went ahead and set up my tent, finishing just as the long-predicted rain arrived. It was just a shower (so far, that is) but now my tent has officilly been rained on while on the Appalachian Trail.I have also made it halfway through the Great Smokys Park before getting any rain. Since much of the Trail I have passed through here has been a deep rut worn in the ground by so many park visitors and Clingmans is known for being really nasty in bad weather, I am just as happy to have escaped rain until now. I am also just .2 mile short of having hiked 200 miles on the Trail.Now I have to decide whether to hike just 8 miles tomorrow or go on to the next shelter and have to hike 17 miles. I guess I will let my feet decide when I get to the first shelter tomorrow. Most of the others are going in to Gatlinburg tomorrow to eat and resupply. But my food is holding out and it means hitchhiking 16 miles, so I will skip it.
Date: 2004-04-12
From: LeConte Lodge (off the AP)

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: moderate rain

I had a restless night, with lots of nightmares inspired by the sheer drops off the edge of the snowbound trail yesterday. Mice chewed holes in the tops of my socks. To my relief it did not freeze last night so the snowy mess on the trail did not turn into an impassible icy mess. Had that happened I would have been stuck here until it thawed. It was dangerous enough in the snow; ice would have been simply too risky. I got going at 8:00 am to give more time for the snow to melt. It was not as bad as yesterday and within half an hour I was through the snow.After two hours I ran into six hikers who greeted me with "You're going the wrong way!""No kidding!" I replied, and told my tale of woe."But this IS the Appalachian Trail" they responded. I managed to convince them and get them headed back so the Lodge would not get six more unexpected guests. Then I hiked along behind them back to the AT. I had a quick lunch of gorp at the shelter where I ran into Rod, whom I had last seen just after Fontana Dam.All day it was foggy and wet with a fierce chill wind blowing wet mist across the Trail. It gave an air of the wild scottish moors instead of the american woods, especially when the trail perched high on the ridgeline with nothing but fog on either side. It was the same sort of hiking day that Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves took refuge in the cave full of orcs. Whenever I realized I had not seen a white blaze in a while, I nervously scanned the trees until the next blaze would come mercifully into view. This was no weather in which to get lost again!Finally just after three the sign appeared for the trail to Pecks Corner Shelter. To my surprise, there was no one there yet. Checking the log I found there seemed to be few visitors. Odd since it is one of the nice improved ones, just like LeConte Shelter last night. I guess most thru-hikers prefer to go on 5.5 miles to the next one that is right on the AT.But I was wet and cold and tired, my feet hurt and I was glad to stay.About 445 Zipcode showed up and found there was still a fire from last night. He coaxed it to life and then four more showed up. They had all spent the night in Gatlinburg and started this morning at Newfound Gap. Some had been at Mount Collins Shelter with me two days ago. So I have not lagged behind EVERYONE who knows me.