morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-18
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Angel Dome in Burning Town Gap
Miles today: 11.0

Today it rained all day. We crossed a few balds that most likely had beautiful views on a clear day, however it was all misty, very cloudy and rainy. When we were about 1 mile from the next shelter we emerged from the woods and saw this huge dome tent that displayed a sign that ready "Hiker Rest Stop." It seemed a mirage but as we grew closer we were greeted by Apple, a computer engineer from Texas and offered hot dogs, donuts, and hot chocolate. We sat down to relax in the dome. We ended up spending the night there and hosting other hikers so Apple could go into town and rest. It poured rain that night, but we remained faily dry in the dome. Bramble and Chestnut stayed with us in the dome.
Date: 2004-03-19
From: Angel Dome in Burning Town Gap

To: Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

After a great breakfast of cinnamon rolls and Krispy Kremes and Coke, we headed out on a beautiful, sun-shiney morning. It was so great to meet Apple and get to spend the night with Chestnut - we'll be keeping an eye out for his new hostel in Boiling Springs over the next few years -Best of luck to him. We were pretty lazy today just soaking up the sun as much as we could, including a nap on top of the fire tower at Wesser Bald. We stayed at Rufus Morgan Shelter with Bramble and Tailwind.
Date: 2004-03-20
From: Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafrass Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we hit the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) to pick up a maildrop from mom and enjoy a tasty pancake breakfast. We also throughly enjoyed a shower. Hot showers have become the ultimate luxury along the trail. The hike to Sassafrass Shelter was 7 miles, all up hill, and proved to be a very tiring hike. Everytime we thought we were at the top we turned a corner and the mountain kept rising. We made it to the shelter with 6 others. Just before it began to downpour Bramble, Boo's Goose, and Country wandered in. It was a ver fun night in the shelter, lots of energy and chatting. One of our favorite nights so far.
Date: 2004-03-21
From: Sassafrass Shelter

To: Cable Gap
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Bramble went ahead into Fontana Dam today, while we stopped at Cable Cap and stayed with Einstein, Sundance, Skyline, and Beavis & Butthead. Those two crazy kids night hiked through the storm last night 'til four this morning. Tonight has been really cold, so we're looking forward to hot showers in Fontana Dam.
Date: 2004-03-22
From: Cable Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

We thought Bramble would be ahead of us, but when we got into "town" -actually a tiny resort village with nothing open- he was there, so he stayed with us, and introduced us to Grass, who also crashed in our room. Even though there wasn't anything open it turned out to be a great night. We all had a pot luck dinner, and Bramble cooked the two trout he had picked up at the Indian Reservation, and we split the burgers Bramble and Grass picked up at lunch. Then in the middle of our farkle game, Trailwind comes in with his friend who had picked up tons of pizza and beer for us -what awesome trail magic! It was a great night hanging out with Bramble, Grass, Beavis & Butthead, Trailwind, his friend, and Flyboy.
Date: 2004-03-23
From: Fontana Dam

To: Birch Creek Campsite
Miles today: 7.0

We woke up this morning, ate Danishes from the hotel lobby, and lounged around 'til lunch. Since the only restaurant didn't serve food until after 12pm. Fontana Dam Village was sheer disappointment. I am glad we got a good maildrop. We finally hit the trail with our friend Grass. Just before Birch Creek campsite we climbed the fire tower and views were fabulous. Bramble, Beavis & Butthead came into camp later. Bramble had been teaching us how to be stealthy army rangers, about 7pm they came running down into camp. Ambushed! :-)
Date: 2004-03-24
From: Birch Creek Campsite

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

In at Spence Field Shelter. What an awesome day! Nice weather, good hiking, good people. Talking around the campfire tonight with Grass, Bramble, and Beavis & Butthead was really nice. We got here around 3 and had time to enjoy the sun and read. We saw a ranger hog hunting up here tonight to control the hog population. To top off the night, we even had a massage circle, and yogied (sp?) an orange from a section hiker.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today we got an early start and found that at the top of Rocky Top Mountain we had cell service so we call home. Mom sang "Good ol' Rocky Top" over the phone. The day was warm and languid and we found ourselves often dropping the packs to soak up the sun. We hiked slowly in the company of friends and throughly enjoyed the day.
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg)
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today after a leisurely morning and hike up Clingman's Dome on a beautiful day, we had lunch at the top and sunbathed for two hours waiting for Beavis and Butthead to catch up until we decided to go into Gatlinburg and split a hotel. So we hiked down to Newfound Gap and had a wonderful surprise- Papa Smurf & Flame were waiting with cheeseburgers and the most delicious homemade cookies, and tons of laughs and trail advice for us. They gave us a ride into Gatlinburg to the Grand Prix Motel where Bramble was waiting with a room. After laundry and showers, we headed out on the town to go dancing which was fun despite the meat market atmosphere.
Date: 2004-03-27
From: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg)

To: Ice Wather Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning we had breakfast with Bramble, Grass, Push and Shove before hiking across Gatlinburg to the "good" grocery store. We packed hotdogs, buns, and everything for smores to Icewater Springs Shelter for a delicious dinner. Des and Scott from Penn gave us a ride in their van that was nicely converted for camping. The van was named Celia and it overheated going up to the gap, so we all sang "Cecelia" to encourage the van to make it up the mountain. We stopped to chat with Papa Smurf and Flame before heading for the shelter where we fed the entire shelter smores. We each at 5 ourselves!
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Goundhog Creek Shelter

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 23.0

Today the weather was horrible and we hiked like maniacs. We went over a large bald called Maxpatch and the weather started getting bad. It was cold and miserable up on the top so we only stopped for a quick break. We cooked up a hot lunch at Roaring Fork Shelter and we sat shivering as we ate lunch. We decided that we would be warmer if we just kept hiking. So we went over Bluff Mountain. Snow was 2" as we crested the top. I was so cold I ran down the other side. We make it to Deer Park Shelter and crammed 7 people in a 5 person shelter. Everything was damp but we warmed up nicely in our sleeping bags.
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: light rain

We hiked 3 miles into Hot Springs. We had a delicious breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner. We dropped our packs off at Elmer's Sunnybank Hostel, did laundry, took showers, shopped and did email. When you only take a shower once every 5 days it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Elmer, the man that runs the hostel fixes dinner, it is vegetarian but amazing. We had a carrot soup, delicious salad, and a potato-cabbage dish. We headed to the pub and met everone we have been hiking with for a beer.
Date: 2004-04-02
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

This morning we woke up and ate a scrumptions waffle breakfast with granola and soymilk...so good! Then we headed for the hotsprings with Scuba and Grass and Scuba's friend, Chris. It felt so good! then we went to the outfitters to get a stuff sack for my bag and look at new packs for Fauna. then we headed for the ice cream/sandwich shop for malts and wrote our journals home. We stopped at the post office to mail stuff home and send Kevin his birthday present. Then we went to Mass. We stopped and visited Grass at the Cody House. When we got back to Elmer's Mo was leading yoga and that felt so good. Then came dinner of broccoli soup, salad, bread, rice and a bean dish with pecan pie for dessert. We hung out for awhile, called Mom and split a pitcher at the Pub with all our trail friends. We made it home about 11:30--late night for a hiker!
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We showered, breakfasted and left Elmer's this morning. Swung by the payphones and tried to call Kevin but couldn't get him. There were a lot of people hiking out of town today but there was actually room here in the shelter. So we are spending the night with Wolf Cookie, her husband, Dances with Wolf Cookie, Hoss and Honeypie. Rambling Man and Ichabod are also here. They have been a barrel of laughs all night. We built a fire and everyone is quoting old movies and having techno dance parties around the fire. It has been a really fun night. Bramble hike out last night and Grass is just a few miles ahead. The moon will be full in a few nights, thinking about a night hike. It is breezy and chilly tonight. Glad the guys decided to build a fire.
Date: 2004-04-04
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

We hiked 15 miles from Spring Mountain Shelter to Jerry's Cabin shelter. No room in the shelter so we set up our tent in the shelter. The last 7 miles was a bitch over a ridge covered with ice and snow. It was slow going over the snow and ice--7 miles in 5 hours. my toes were frozen and I was miserable.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

We woke up early this morning so that we could pack up the tent and everyone could move about the shelter. The first 5 miles were slick and icy but once we reached the first gap it was warm, sunny and mostly dry. We stopped by the shelter and visited with Georgia Boy and MC then headed for the next shelter. We crossed the road and found a nice grassy area and rolled out the sleeping mats for a relaxing lunch. Leki-less, Camera Crew, and Nuffy passed us as ther were just dropped off. So we booked it to the next shelter and we all ended up squeezing in.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Camel woke us up about 3am for the night hike. We split an energy bar and hit the trail. The moon was so bright we didn't need headlamps. We just hiked like it was daylight. We hoped to make Big Bald for sunrise, but encountered snow and ice on the trail so that slowed us down quite a bit. Once we did make it to the bald the view was spectacular. 360 degrees of mountain and towns. We took some pictures and headed for the shelter where we ate oatmeal and slept for 5 hours. It was an amazing nap. I felt so good when we woke up. We ate tuna and 1/2 a bagel and headed out. The rest of the trail was fairly easy. Once we crossed the road at Spivy Gap we fried the other half of our bagels in butter and it was a delicacy delicious. Bramble passed us and fed us about 300 calories each of chocolate. It was much needed . We hit the shelter right at dusk, cooked dinner and got ready for bed.
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Erwin

To: Curley Maple Gap
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We ate an entire box of cocoa pebbles for breakfast. Miss Janet picked us up and we went to town to the post office, library and grocery store. We got some hot dogs and packed them to the first shelter. Camel brought the chips and we all had dinner. Yummy! It was a nice easy hike--about 4 miles to the shelter. We are here with Georgia, Sweet Cheeks, Willow, Tinder and MC. Country, Dead Man Walking, Love Bug,Rambling Man and Missleman are all in the Shelter. Boo's Goose showed up late. He had gotten off to surprise his girl friend on her birthday.
Date: 2004-04-13
From: Over Mountain Shelter

To: Elk River Camp Site
Miles today: 14.5

We left the barn about 10 am in the rain. We climbed the balds, through the passing fog we caught glimpses of views. The rain let up and out came the sun. We had several hours of sunny weather to dry us out. There was a dog that came up to Overmountain Shelter las night. He is a really pretty pitbull. He followed a group of us out and all the way to Applehouse Shelter. Some other thru-hikers were bringing candy up to the shelter and were going to call animal control. We just wanted him to be OK and hopefully returned home. We continued hiking and stopped at a tenting site along Elk River.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: Kincora

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We had planned to hike out today but there was no fuel, and wouldn't be any till after 6 pm. So we ended up zeroing here at Kincora again. Laundry, eating, a bit of cleaning, a trip to town and baking consumed our day. Planning to do 17 miles tomorrow, only one big up to pond flats. Talked to Kevin, Lisa, and Mom and Dad today--it was nice.The amount of food I consumed today was atrocious! 3 donuts, 4 eggs, 5 pieces of toast, ham, 2 yogurts, banana, candy, 6 cookies, burito, chips and cheese, cheese cake and chocolate toret. I should have eaten half of that! What was I thinking??????
Date: 2004-04-16
From: Kincora

To: Vandeventor Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we hiked about 17 miles out from Kincora to a shleter called Vendeventer. There was a ledger that indicated that this shelter is possible haunted. Supposedly ther is a bird that flies into the shelter every moning at 6 am, but no bird flew in this morning. However, we did see and awesome sunrise from the ledge just behind the shelter. Now we are getting ready to be off for another day's adventure!
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we hiked out of Damascus late this afternoon. We got everything taken care of in town, sent a large group email, mailed Dad his birthday gift. This Saunders shelter is very nice. We are here with Semi Colon, Safari, Camera Crew and Leki. I am glad we are here together, it's much more fun. We had a really lazy day. It was a really nice hike and good to go slow.
Date: 2004-04-20
From: Saunders Shelter

To: White top road
Miles today: 11.7

We slept in nice and late this morning, till 8 am. Sometimes, if no one in the shelter is in a hurry to get somewhere, no one wants to be the first one out of the bag. So we had a nice leisurely morning, followed by a lazy, slow 12 mile walk, with a 1/2 hour lunch in there at the shelter. My feet are hurting so it is nice to take a few short mile days. We were rushing there for awhile and doing about 3 mi/hr. Now that we have slowed down to what feels like a slow pace we are still doing about 2 mi/hr. this evening Semi Colon and we had decided to camp at White Mountain Road and since we were going to be near a road we wanted to be together. Camera Crew, Leki and Satori came up behind us and decided to camp with us. I really like camping with them. They are fun. We are camped just on the side of Whitetop Mountain and the view is amazing. The clouds seem to be dissipating and everything is clearing up. If we wake up in the middle of the night we are going to try to get out and see the meteor shower. Tonight is its zenith.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: Wise Shelter

To: Rocoon branch Shelter
Miles today: 17.6

We were off to an early start today and hiked 6 miles before taking our 1st break. Then another 10 into Troutdale before re-supplying, post officing and eating dinner. We then hiked 1.5 miles back up the trail to racoon branch shelter. Tonight we are here with Bushy and Tinder. The hike was lovely, like hiking through the flint hills--rolling hills with scrubby bushes. Saw 3 ponies in the corral by the scales.
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Rocoon branch Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a very fun day. We slept in and headed out about 9 am. Took our first break at Trimpi shelter. We were going to stop for lunch but it started raining pretty hard so we just kept walking. We snarfed down some cheese and crackers while walking. The rain finally let up and we stopped for a break. After we headed out down the trail Derek came walking up the trail toward us...Fauna was so surprised! As we neared the shelter I met his aunt and uncle and talked to them once I figured out who they were. So Derek is with us for the weekend, Fauna is smitten. We ordered pizza tonight, played farkle and then Camera Crew showed up with beer. It was great! We are all sleeping in the loft. It's been a fun party.
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Darvis Path Shelter
Miles today: 14.3

Today was a nice, leisurely hike, had nice views and hiked through lush pastures that reminded me of Kansas. The hike was fairly easy especially the afternoon. I took off my boots and soaked my feet in the icy water at Chatfield Shelter over lunch. It really seemed to help my feet. We walked into Atkins about 4:30, did laundry, showered in Patrick's room, then had burgers and chicken strips, blizzards, re-supplied and hiked out about 8:30. We hiked in to the next shelter at 9:45. Only one person in the shelter woke up when I got in.
Date: 2004-04-25
From: Darvis Path Shelter

To: VA42
Miles today: 9.0

Today started our with great weather. I hiked on ahead a ways today to the water source. Leki-less joined me, it was fun chatting. We hung out and waited for everyone else to catch up. It was great laying in the sun for a few hours. It clouded up as we headed out and rained off and on until we made it to VA42. Right before we got there the thunder just rolled over us and we knew it was coming. Just as we reached the pavillion it opened up and poured. However we completely lucked out, Mark and Gloria were waiting there and offered to take us back to town with them...we readily agreed. We had a delicious Mexican dinner and a very nice hotel room.
Date: 2004-04-26
From: VA42

To: Chestnut Knob
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: moderate rain

We started off today by devouring the continental breakfast. We then had a few problems with Mark and Gloria's car, the transmission fluid ended up being low, but we still made it to the trail, said our good-byes, and hit the trail by 11. Mark and Gloria are such amazing people. We hiked till about 1:30 in the rain. Everyone except Tinder was held up in Knot Maul Shelter, zeroing due to the rain. We stopped for lunch and headed on to Chestnut Knob about a 12 mile day. This shelter has 4 walls and a door, but they didn't make the best use of space when they put the bunks in. We have commandeered the picnic table as our sleeping platform. Very chilly tonight...glad for the 20 degree bag.
Date: 2004-04-27
From: Chestnut Knob

To: Campground
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up early seeing as how we were sleeping on the picnic table and didn't want to inconvenience others. Leki was pacing inside the shelter shivering. I tried my best to warm him up. He headed out early but we took our picture together with the sunrise. It was a huge hot pink fire ball. Today's walk seemed painful. It feels almost as if I am developing shin splints on the right ankle/mid-shin. We stopped for a late lunch after 10 miles at Jenkins. Stayed for 2 1/2 hours then pushed on to the campground. The morning was sunny and windy with intermittant rain this afternoon, not really enough to get us wet. It's been chilly today. We were wary about camping so close to a road but Sweaty Pig is here too, so we decided to camp close to him. I am going to try to sleep with feet elevated tonight to see how it works.
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Campground

To: Jenny's Kob
Miles today: 19.0

Today started with an easy 7 to the road where we finally got a hitch. Dwayne (our ride) first took us by Dairy Queen where we all got food to go and then dropped us by the Bland IGA. We sat outside and devoured bacon cheeseburgers and blizzards. We then did our shopping, buying bleach because we were out of aqua mira. After we packed up we headed back to the trail and took a big rest at Helveys Mill before hiking to Jennys Knob. We arrived a half hour after dark to find all our friends there. Leki, Grass, Patrick and UB. We squeezed into the shelter with apple pie and we were quite cozy.
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Jenny's Kob

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Today we headed out late--about 10 am and I had my first bear sighting (from 50 yards away as it dashed up the ridge). I got a quick glimpse of its butt. the flowers were really beautiful and smelled delicious today. I found out that the bush with the intoxicating smell is an autumn olive...good to know. The bee's were diggin those. We stopped at mile 8--the waterfall. Large flat rocks framed the creek so it was the perfect place to rest and sit with our feet in the water. I think the bleach is causing me some intestinal peril. Patrick let us use his filter to get some water. Maybe we should try 3 drops of bleach instead of 4 and a higher dose of vitamin C.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we did a big haul in to Pearisburg and stayed at Holy Family Hostel. It was a really great day to hike in the morning. It turned a bit gray in the afternoon and threatened rain, but never did. The hike wasn't bad, lots of rocks but not steep. When I walked out of the woods a man in a truck said, "Where's your friend?" A bit freaky, I must admit, but then he went on to explain that his name was Bill and he ran the Holy Family Hostel. So I told him Fauna was right behind me and we loaded up. He dropped us by the DQ and then took us up to the Hostel. No beds left, so we took the floor. We stopped by Wal-Mart, to which there is a trail through the field that puts you out on the backside of Wal-Mart. Walking in the store was so overwhelming...sensory overload. We got a few supplies, no town dresses to be had, but Fauna did get a pair of hot pink shorts. We got a hitch back to the hostel, ate dinner and went to sleep. All night long I had a fear that we were going to be stepped on by midnight bathroom-goers, but nothing happened.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Another long day. We ended up night hiking into the shelter about 10:45, the last 2 miles took forever. Night hiking over rocks is no fun! We did get to watch the moon rise, right as the sun set. It was really cool and beautiful. Our feet and ankles hurt so from our own night hike that we opted out of night hiking with the boys who left at 3:30 am. Today was really hard to be motivated to hike.
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Again we started out late today and it took us all morning to hike 4 miles, we were dragging sooo hard. We hiked through a lot of pastures, over many stiles, and saw the 300 year old Keefers Oak. It was so awesome, it was enormous. It would be incredible to imagine a forest filled with them. We had planned to make it an addtional 10 but were too tired. When we got to Savoy Cabin Shelter we took a long nap. The 6 mmiles after that included a section over large rocks along a ridge--very hard hiking. I was very thankful to make the shelter right as it got dark.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Niday Shelter

To: Dragon's Tooth
Miles today: 13.4

We had a great morning, we left the shelter by 7:30 and had a great morning for hiking. We did a big up and when we reached the top there was a great bench. We had a nice break there, propping our feet up on our backpacks. We lunched by a nice stream. Walked another 4.5 miles almost all uphill over rocks and in the heat of the day...my lowest point this trip. I was so frustrated. We finally made it so we stayed and camped.