morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Campsite Near Allen Gap
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 29: SilverGirl and I want to thank all of our family, friends, and readers who have been following our progress north. For about a week, SilverGirl was suffering from painful shin splints, and for brief time, we thought that our hike might be coming to an end. With the help of a few days rest along with the prayers and well wishes of many of you, she is now back to 100% and hiking like a machine again. We really appreciate all of your support. It means so much to us. We have enjoyed our zero day in Hot Springs and are ready to be back on the trail. SilverGirl and I begin the day by walking over to the Smoky Mt Diner for breakfast at 7:30. By 8:45, we are back on the trail. Our packs are heavy today because we're carrying enough food for 5 days to get us to Erwin, TN. The day starts out cool and dry, with full sunshine as we head back up into the hills that surround Hot Springs. We pause for a break at a spot called Lovers Leap, where there is a pretty view looking down at the French Broad River and the town of Hot Springs. The miles go by quickly this morning, and by 1:30, we have already covered the 11 miles that we had planned for today. We decide to push on for another couple of hours. Just before 3:30, we cross NC 208 and begin hiking up towards Camp Creek Bald. Within 10 minutes, we decide to stop and camp for the night at a campsite along the side of the trail. At 5:00, Turtle walks by. He and his wife, Snail are from Germany hiking the AT. Snail is having issues with one of her heels and was driven to Erwin this morning by Sparky's wife to recuperate while her husband, Turtle, hikes by himself for the next few days. Hopefully, when he gets to Erwin, her heel will be feeling better. Tomorrow, SilverGirl and I are planning to hike about 16 miles. We've decided to try to make it into Erwin in 5 days instead of 6. Tomorrow, we pass the 300 mile mark of our journey. Hard to believe.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Campsite Near Allen Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

Day 30: Today, we have another long day planned, 17.2 miles to Flint Mt Shelter. We expected rain last night, but it turned out to be a dry and restful night. We slept about as well as could be expected. This morning, we are on the trail at 8:00. Immediately, we begin the long climb up Camp Creek Bald. At 10:00, about half way up, we pass Little Laurel Shelter, where we stop for a water break. Towards noon, we reach the top of Camp Creek Bald. For the next 1.5 miles, the trail becomes very rocky and rough as it traverses the ridgeline near Firescald Knob. This section tires us out, so we stop for lunch about 2/3 of the way through. We see "Y"s Guy up here and he tells us that the forecast is calling for rain by 2:00 PM. As we move off of the ridgeline, the trail becomes much easier and we make good time. By 1:15, we reach Jerry Cabin Shelter. Only another 5.9 miles to go. About a mile past the shelter, we enter into a very pretty section called Bald Ridge, where the trail goes through a long grassy field. Entering back into the woods, the trail follows an old gravel road for a few miles. At 2:00, as we walk along this section, and just as has been predicted, it starts to rain. The rain comes and goes for the rest of the way to Flint Mt Shelter. We get a little wet, but not too bad. As we near the shelter, we pass Turtle. He is putting in some long days so he can get to Erwin quickly to see how his wife is doing. She's holed up at Uncle Johnny's hostel, hoping her heel will get better by the time Turtle gets there. As we arrive at the shelter, it is packed full of a loose collection of about 15 thru-hikers who call themselves the Wolf Pack. They are a young and rowdy bunch. They make room for us to sit in the shelter out of the rain and assure us that they will be moving on pretty soon. One by one, they gradually leave the shelter and move on. The shelter is nice and quiet now, with only a few other section hikers here. SilverGirl and I are sleeping in the shelter tonight, just in case it starts to rain again. We want to keep our tent dry. For the next two days, we plan to hike about 15 miles each day. This will put us in good position for a short day into Erwin on Tuesday. We are tired after the long day today. It feels good to be off of our feet.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap Campsite
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 31: Last night, we slept in the Flint Mountain Shelter, and we're glad we did. It didn't pour during the night, but it did rain enough so that our tent would have been very wet to pack up. We stayed warm and dry in the shelter. This morning starts out with a volatile mixture of blue sky and clouds. One minute it looks like it will be a nice day and the next minute it looks like rain is coming. It is cooler today than yesterday, and we start off hiking with our fleece shirts and pullover jackets. As we get warmed up, we strip down into just shorts and tee shirts. The first few miles are easy and we make good time. Then comes the long, steady climb up Lick Rock which seems to take forever to get up and over. Just after noon, we reach Hogback Ridge Shelter, where we stop for lunch. The temperature is starting to drop fast, so we cook up some instant soup along with the rest of our lunch. There is another hiker here who is with the Wolf Pack, and he informs us that it is supposed to get into the low 30s tonight with a chance of snow. As we move on, the temperature continues to drop and then the wind and rain starts. We don our raincoats and pack covers just before reaching Sams Gap. As we hike the last few miles, we start to see our breath. It must be in the upper 30s or low 40s now. Finally, after a 14.9 mile day, we arrive at Low Gap Campsite. Some of the Wolf Pack are already here, with more on the way. It will be a full campsite tonight since nobody wants to continue on up over Big Bald in this weather. We find a good spot for our tent and set it up very quickly as a light rain falls. Finally, we are inside the tent. The rain continues to fall and the wind is roaring overhead. We are NOT leaving this tent until tomorrow morning. For dinner, I figure out a safe way to cook it inside the closed tent. We enjoy a nice hot dinner in the comfort of our sleeping bags. We are getting very good now at living outside and living with whatever Mother Nature throws at us. It does not do any good getting angry with the weather so we've just learned to roll with it. Life is good out here. That's it for today. We think we are starting to see some frozen precipitation on our rain fly. Time to burrow deeper into the sleeping bags!
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 33:A very relaxing and much needed rest day for us today. We begin the day by going downstairs to the all you can eat breakfast that the hotel provides. I eat about four times the amount of food that I would normally have for breakfast. After breakfast, we do a load of laundry. While SilverGirl tends to the laundry, I bring the tent outside to dry in the cool breeze. Afterwards, we go over to the convenience store next door for some drinks and snacks. Since we started our hike, we have been trying to get to a movie theatre to see The Hunger Games. In Hiawassee, we were at dinner while some of our hiker friends caught a cab to the theatre. In Franklin, the movie theatre was 5 miles out of town and we couldn't get a ride. In Gatlinburg, there were no movie theatres. Finally, here in Erwin, I check for a movie theatre on the internet and see that the Hunger Games is playing in town at 7:00 tonight. We call Miss Janet, a local woman who shuttles hikers all over the place around here for donations, and she agrees to pick us up at 6:00, drop us off at the theatre, and then return us to the hotel after the movie. We take a quick nap, have some leftover trail food for dinner, and then go down to the lobby just as Miss Janet pulls in out front. She drops us off at the theatre, but when we get up to the ticket window, we notice that The Hunger Games is not listed as playing. I ask the lady behind the counter about this and she informs us that their web site is wrong. We are foiled once again. Luckily, Miss Janet is still in town at the Hawg and Dawg Restaurant, so we ask her if we can get a ride back to the hotel. So, here we are again, back at the hotel. We will just have to continue our quest further up the trail in future trail towns. Tomorrow, we head back to the trail. Our plan will be to hike out of Erwin up to a place called Beauty Spot. It is an open, grassy section of the trail where camping is allowed. The views from there are spectacular. We hiked this section of the trail a few years ago and had the joy of camping here as we hiked south. The weather forecast calls for a few showers, but hopefully we can dodge them. Our next major milestone along the trail will be Damascus, VA, which we hope to reach in about 8 or 9 days. On we go!
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Erwin, TN

To: Campsite Beyond Beauty Spot
Miles today: 12.7

Day 34: Today we get back on the trail after a full day off yesterday in Erwin. Last night, it rained almost all night, but thankfully we were indoors in our hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express. As we go down to breakfast, we see that it is still raining outside, but while we eat, the rain stops. After checking out of the hotel just before 9:00, we begin the 1+ mile road walk back towards Uncle Johnny's Hostel, where the trail heads back north. A few cars come by and I try to hitch a ride, but nobody stops. About 2/3 of the way there, as we continue walking,  a car pulls over and out pops Sparky. His brother is driving the car and they offer us a ride the rest of the way. Back at Uncle Johnnys, it is like a reunion. Sparky and PassionFlower are there along with Turtle, Snail, Voltron, and Zip. We socialize for a few minutes before saying goodbye to everyone. Crossing the Chestoa Bridge over the Nolichucky River, we re-enter the woods. The temperature is in the 50s and the skies threaten rain as we begin our climb out of Erwin. After about 4 miles, we reach Curly Maple Gap Shelter, where we stop for an early lunch. While we eat, the sun pokes dimly through the clouds a few times. After lunch, we begin the long ascent up towards Beauty Spot, which is our destination for today. As we get close to Beauty Spot, the sun starts to come out and the air warms up. This lifts our spirits because we were expecting it to rain this afternoon. After a long climb, we break out into an open, grassy field, which the trail winds through all the way to the top. When we reach Beauty Spot, the sun is out and the views are impressive. We can see Erwin off in the distance where we came from this morning. We stop for a break here to enjoy the views and then push on for our final mile or so, which brings us to our campsite in the saddle between Beauty Spot and Unaka Mountain. We are the only ones here. We set the tent up, make dinner, and then retire into the tent at about 5:30. Rain showers are forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so we pull the rain fly up over the tent. Hopefully the forecast will be wrong. Tomorrow, we will go up and over the spruce covered Unaka Mountain and make our way over to the Clyde Smith Shelter, 14 miles from here. Life is good.
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 36: What a difference a day makes! Overnight, it rains just a little and by morning, the sky is beginning to brighten. We are hoping for a nice day since we will be hiking over some of the most beautiful terrain the AT has to offer. After a nice hot breakfast of oatmeal, we walk over about 15 feet from our tent and take a picture of some baby bird hatchlings. They just hatched overnight. Getting off to a rather late start at 9:20, we enjoy about 3 miles of relatively easy walking as we approach Roan Mt. The sun comes out with the temperature at about 60 degrees as we begin the long ascent up 6100 ft  Roan Mt at 10:25. We reach the summit at about 12:10, and stop for lunch on the site of an old hotel that used to stand here until about 1920. The descent down to Carvers gap from Roan is easy, although there is still a lot of running water and mud on the trail from the recent snow and rain storms. Crossing the road at Carvers Gap, we begin the climb up Round Bald, which is an absolutely gorgeous open grassy bald offering panoramic views in all directions. The sun is also shining brightly now which lifts our spirits even higher. Some of the weather during the past couple of weeks has been rather nasty, so we appreciate the sun that much more. After Round Bald, we ascend Jane Bald, with equally gorgeous views. About 5 years ago, SilverGirl and I hiked this whole section from Rt 19E to Erwin going southbound. It is so awesome being back here again now hiking the AT northward. Passing over Grassy Ridge Bald, we enter back into the woods as we begin the descent towards Yellow Gap, where we plan to camp tonight next to the Overmountain Shelter. Our descent is easy and the woods are full of wildflowers and green grass - very pretty. We reach the Overmountain Shelter at 3:45 and set up our tent on the grassy ridge that overlooks Yellow Gap. This is the prettiest campsite we've had yet, and the sky is perfectly clear as I write this. There are about 20 other hikers here with us. Most of them have chosen to stay inside the big old red barn  shelter. We, along with several others, have chosen to tent. After our day from hell yesterday, today has been a wonderful day. SilverGirl and I are pretty much hiking by ourselves now, since many of our previous trail friends have either fallen behind us or are ahead of us. We still know just about eveyone we meet, but we are now just enjoying hiking our own hike instead of trying to keep up with or wait for other hikers whom we have previously met. We know that we will probably run into eveyone again somewhere further up the trail. Tomorrow, we are planning an easy 9.2 mile day up and over Hump Mt (another open, grassy bald) and down to Rt 19E, where we will then walk  .3 miles west to the Mountain Harbor Hostel where we have a room reserved for the night. We are still having a blast out here and look forward to the adventures that each new day brings (except for lost wallet adventures...I can do just fine without those types of adventures).
Date: 2012-04-28
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: 19 E - Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 9.2

Day 37: Last night at 8:45, just as all of us who were tenting were starting to fall asleep, a troop of about 15 Boy Scouts marched into camp like storm troopers. They had no consideration for everyone who was trying to fall asleep, making all kinds of noise and whooping it up. Their leader did nothing. Finally, at about 10:00, I got up and politely told them to keep the noise down since there were a lot of tired hikers trying to sleep. Eventually, they settled down, but by then, neither SilverGirl or I could fall asleep. We probably slept for about 1 hour last night. At 6:15am, it's rise and shine time for tje Boy Scouts. Once again, they make a racket before finally leaving. We are all packed up and on the trail at 8:30. The day starts cool and breezy, with mostly cloudy skies. After about 3 miles, we reach the two balds that we climb over this morning - Little Hump Mt and Hump Mt. The climb up and across these two grassy balds is nothing short of spectacular. I took a couple of pictures, but they do not do justice to what we see in person. After walking for about an hour over these two balds, we re-enter the woods as we begin the descent towards Doll Flats. The descent is a bit slow, with lots of rocks and roots to scramble over. When we reach Doll Flats, we take an early lunch break. As we eat, we enjoy a nice view of distant mountains as a warm sun shines down on us. With the lack of sleep last night, we consider taking a nap after lunch, but settle for a 10 minute rest on our backs. The final 3 miles down to Rt 19E are easy. We think about and discuss all of the foods that we are craving and look forward to going into town tonight for dinner. At about 12:30pm, we finish our 9.2 mile day, arriving at the Mountain Harbour Hostel. We have a semi-private room here with a king sized bed that is set off from a common area. There are 4 more single bunks upstairs. It's a pretty cool place. The hostel owners do our laundry for us as we shower and relax. SilverGirl and I buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, a soda, and we make a bag of free popcorn for ourselves. This is our warmup for dinner in town. At 5:00, about 12 of us frm the hostel take the free shuttle into Roan Mountain. SilverGirl and I have dinner at Subway, then go next door to Bobs Dairyland for hot fudge sundaes. On the way back to the hostel, we enjoy a fun ride in the back of the pickup truck. Nice day today - short mileage, comfortable hostel stay, and lots of good town food. Here tonight with us - The A Team, SnotRocket, All Balls, Brisquet, Lucy and Ricky, FireDancer (he broke his foot yesterday by falling off a waterfall at Jones Falls).
Date: 2012-04-29
From: 19 E - Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Campsite by Laurel Fork
Miles today: 13.4

Day 38: After a comfortable night in a real bed, SilverGirl and I walk up to the house where breakfast is being served for hostel guests. What a breakfast! This is the best breakfast we've had on the trail yet. We highly recommend the Mountain Harbour Hostel to anyone who will be hiking through here. You won't be disappointed. By 9:00, we are back on the trail. It is a beautiful, sunny day that quickly warms up into the upper 70s. During the morning, we enjoy easy terrain and a variety of interesting stops and beautiful views. From a grassy ridge that we pass over, we can look back to where we hiked during the last couple of days - Hump Mt, Jane Bald, Round Bald, and Roan Mt. We walk through a beautiful pine forest stand at one point, that ends with us coming out to a nicely kept small cemetary. Later in the morning, we reach the side trail to Jones Falls, which we walk over to for a short break. A couple of days ago, a hiker fell off the waterfall here and broke his foot. He had to hop on one foot for two miles to get back to the road and the hospital. Looking at the size of this waterfall, he is lucky to be alive. For lunch, we stop alongside Elk River, where we enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine and the gently flowing river next to us. Moving on into the second half of our hike today, we pretty much spend the rest of the day walking through woods, rhododendrun thickets, and many stream crossings over small bridges. During the course of the day, we only see one other long distance hiker. The ranks are really beginning to thin out now. A lot of people have either quit hiking for one reason or another, and those of us who continue on are now quite spread out along the trail. Tonight, we are camped by ourselves beside Laurel Fork. The sky is clear, the sound of the stream is soothing, and we hope for a restful nights sleep. Tomorrow, its on to Dennis Cove Rd, where we will pick up our next mail drop at the Kincora Hostel. Not sure if we'll stay there though. We might just pick up our box and move on if we're feeling good and the weather is good.
Date: 2012-04-30
From: Campsite by Laurel Fork

To: Dennis Cove Rd - Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 11.0

Day 39: A pretty easy day today. We have a mail drop box to pick up at Kincora Hostel, so we're only planning an 11 mile day. The morning is beautiful, with full sunshine. The temperature quickly rises as we pack up and begin hiking by 8:45. The morning is uneventful. We are hiking at lower elevations today, so like yesterday, much of the morning finds us winding in and out of rhododendrun thickets and up and down small hills. We pass Brisque along the way, and then catch up to FireWalker at lunch time. We enjoy a nice relaxing lunch with him on a flat grassy section of the trail. After lunch, we walk with FireWalker for the rest of the afternoon down to Dennis Cove Rd, where we part ways. SilverGirl and I take a left turn on Dennis Cove Rd, while FireWalker pushes on up over Pond Flats towards Watauga Lake. At the hostel, we pick up our mail drop box and decide to stay for the night. The prospect of town food tonight is just too tempting to pass up. At 5:00, Bob Peoples, the owner of Kincora Hostel, drives a bunch of us into Elizabethtown, where SilverGirl and I indulge ourselves at Arbys. Back at the hostel after dinner, I do a quick laundry before we retire to our room for the night. Others remain awake for some time talking in the next room until about 10:30. There is a younger crowd here with us tonight, and we really don't have too much in common with any of them. Looking forward to moving on tomorrow.
Date: 2012-05-01
From: Dennis Cove Rd - Kincora Hostel

To: Sealth Campsite Above Watauga Lake
Miles today: 15.2

Day 40: An interesting and nice day today. We cook our oatmeal for breakfast in the kitchen area of Kincora Hostel along with the other hikers who are here with us. SilverGirl and I also enjoy a whole packae of cinnamon donut holes and a couple of oranges that we bought in town last night. After breakfast, we pack up our stuff and do some vacuuming and general cleaning up in the room where we slept and in the common room. We notice that many of the young kids who stayed here last night are leaving without making any donation to the hostel. It is a bit upsetting to us to see this happening. Bob Peoples only suggests a $5 donation in return for providing a roof and bed, free shower, free laundry, use of the kitchen facilities, etc, and half of these kids are just skipping out without leaving a dime. There are a lot of very nice people out here on the trail, but there are also quite a few who are not giving back what they take from their trail experience. We feel bad for Bob, and leave him a double donation to help make up for the deficit. By 8:45, we are back on the trail. The first 3 miles today leads us alongside Laurel Fork, which is a beautiful, fast flowing river that has carved itself through deep gorges. We stop at Laurel Falls and capture the site with a picture. At about mile 3, the trail veers away from the river and up Pond Flats. Now here is a misnomer if there ever was one. Pond "Flats" is a long, hard climb for the next 1-1/2 hours. With the long, hard climb and the hot weather, we work up quite a sweat. At the top, we pause for a quick break to call our daughter, Molly. She is a sweetheart, sending all of our maildrops to us along the way. As we begin to descend the other side of Pond Flats, we start to get glimpses of Watauga Lake, which is a huge, man made lake/recreation area. At about 12:15, we reach the base of Pond Flats, right next to Watauga Lake. There is a very frendly horse here who seems eager for our attention, so we walk over to him and let him lick our hands for a few minutes. Moving on, we come to a sandy beach along the lake. I can't resist going in for a swim. After, lunch, we decide that we are going to push on a little further than planned today. We were only planning to go another mile or so to the next shelter, but we want to set ourselves up for a short hike into Damascus in a few days, so we'll do a few extra miles today. We cross the big dam on the other side of the lake and then start to climb again. We continue climbing until about 4:00, when we come to a nice flat spot by the side of the trail high along the ridge. Here we are camped tonight. The weather is beautiful, with full sun, light breezes, and a partial view of the lake far below. Should be a restful night.  Time to go make dinner. Oh,  by the way, we saw our first rattlesnake today. He was dead - killed for no reason by another young hiker so he could skin it, eat it, and cut off its tail to make a necklace with its rattle.