morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-04
From: Neels Gap, Walasi-Yi Center

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

Started the day off at the Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap. Left there about 9:00 a.m. The climb out of Neels Gap was long, but not as hard as I anticipated. Crossed over Level Land Mountain and the view was spectacular. I hiked all day with Steady Step, Old Yeller and Miles McDuf. Miles is from Alabama and is 58 years old. The four of us seem to get along very well. We arrived at Low Gap Shelter about 5:00 p.m. All of us are tent camping tonight rather than the shelter because there was only room for 2 or 3. After we set up our tents, there were 3 other tents set up. There are a total of 8 tents now, maybe more will come. The weather today was great. Around 50 degrees, but blue skies and very little wind. The only problem we had today was water. There was no place to replenish our water from Neels Gap to here so we had to be very conservative with our water usage. We could have gone to a shelter in between Neels Gap and here, but it was 1.2 miles off the trail. We could not have gotten here before dark if we had taken that side trail. Its hard to get many miles in because of the extremely slow pace we have going up and down the mountains. I wore my knee brace on my left knee today. My knee had been sore going down the mountains the last couple of days. It felt alot better today. I guess I better get to sleep. It's 7:40 p.m., dark, and getting cold outside.P.S. The phone calls home from the Walasi-Yi were wonderful. It felt so good just to hear my Char's voice. What a pick-up that was. I was also glad to hear my Dad is doing ok. I have worried about that. Don't let Mandy forget Me, Ok Char!
Date: 2005-03-05
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: scattered clouds

It rained a little last night. Got up and hit the trail about 7:00 a.m. Had a pretty good day hiking. The hike today was not too difficult, maybe I'm getting kind of used to it. It was about 40 degrees all day with a pretty strong wind. I hiked all day with Steady Step and Old Yeller. We hiked some with Miles McDuf, but he took off and left us. We aren't the fastest hikers on the trail, but without a doubt, we are the best looking. Ha! Ha! We arrived at Blue Mountain Shelter about 12:10 p.m. this afternoon. We decided to stop for the day even though it was so early. We all felt the need to rest our feet, legs and backs. Also stopped was Miles McDuf. We decided to tent instead of staying in the shelter. Tenting is warmer and there are no mice. I just hope it doesn't rain tonight. So far I only have 2 blisters. They appeared yesterday. I have a very small bister on each of my middle toes. A very small piece of duct tape took care of the problem very well. There isn't a whole lot to do when we stop this early. Mostly we just get in our tents and stay warm. The scenery today was great. We walked most of the day on sharp ridges giving us a good view on both sides.
Date: 2005-03-06
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Had a fairly good nights sleep last night, although it did get cold, about 25 degrees and windy all night. Got up and left this morning about 7:20 a.m. The tent had quite a bit of ice in it due to condensation. The hike today wasn't real bad, although Steady Step had a few problems. His balance was a little off and his stomach was upset about half the day. Leaving Blue Mountain Shelter and going down to Union Gap was pretty rough on the knees. After that the climb up Rocky Mountain was a pretty exhausting climb and the trip down the other side was a real knee acher. Also after an hour or so we went up Tray Mountain which was a pretty tiring climb. Due to being so tired, we arrived at Tray Mountain Shelter at 2:50 p.m. We were all pretty exhausted and ready for the rest. Hard to believe how tired we get just hiking 7.7 miles. The weather turned out to be pretty nice today. It was around 60 degrees and sunny a good part of the day. When we arrived at the shelter I took a wet-wipe and cleaned up a bit. I was getting to where I couldn't stand my smell. I also changed shirts and put my smelly ones in a trash bag to be cleaned whenever possible. We saw some fantastic views today. We stopped at one point on a rock formation over looking the valleys and mountains. We stayed there about a half hour just enjoying the sun and the view. Most of the hikers we have been keeping up with have since passed us by. We're just too slow to keep their pace. There are 6 of us at this shelter tonight. A couple from Utah, a young man from Phoenix, Old Yeller, Steady Step and myself. Steady Step and myself are staying in the shelter while Old Yeller is tenting. Hope it doesn't drop below freezing tonight and hope the wind dies down.
Date: 2005-03-08
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero Day:Woke up this morning and felt great having a day off for rest. This morning the wind was blowing very hard and it was snowing. We went to a restaurant named the Hubble House which was an exact copy of Waffle House. Breakfast was a very welcome experience. After breakfast we went and walked around town and did a few errands. Old Yeller downloaded the pictures he had taken onto CD and gave me a copy. I included the copy in my U.P.S. package going home tomorrow. Later on we went to the library and I used one of their computers to read the messages on my journal sight. The messages were a very welcome connection to my real world. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to write me a message. The 2 gentlemen that run the Inn are fastastic. They could not be any more helpful. I would highly recommend other hikers to stay here at the Hiawassee Inn and to say Hi to Ron and Sam. Ron will shuttle us to the trail at 8:30 in the morning for our next section. Our next stop will be 6 or 7 days from now.
Date: 2005-03-09
From: Dick's Creek Gap

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

Left the Hiawassee Inn at around 8:30 a.m. Ron who runs the Inn shuttled us to the trail head. The weather today was very chilly. The temperature hovered around 30 degrees all day with a 5-10 m.p.h. wind. We left Georgia today and entered North Carolina. Felt pretty good to get into another state. Walking today was from mild to strenuous. We had to go up a couple of pretty hard ups. We're tenting at Muskrat Creek Shelter tonight. There are quite a few hikers here. I would estimate around 20 or so. We expect it to get pretty cold tonight so we are bundled up in about all our clothes. I even have my mittens on my feet to try to keep them warm. This will be my first night in my new tent. There are no level tenting spots. I am already having trouble sliding to the bottom of my tent. The shelter is at 4600 ft. We arrived here at about 4:30 p.m. It is about 6:30 and I am in my sleeping bag writing this trying, to stay warm. Maybe I should have had a 0 degree bag instead of a 15 degree bag.
Date: 2005-03-10
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning to a fresh snow fall. Where we camped it snowed somewhere between 1-3 inches. The ground already had some snow. The temperature this morning was 20 degrees with a high today of around 30 degrees. The walk today was not overly exhausting although it continues to surprise me as to how slow we actually travel. We push ourselves to get the mileage we do make. I used my new tent last night and am using it again tonight. I like the double wall because of the precipitation that forms in a single wall tent, but I do wish my tent had more room for my gear. It would be so much more convenient. We left this morning at about 7:50 a.m. and arrived at about 4:30 p.m. at the Carter Gap Shelter. The new shelter is full and Steady Step and Miles McDuf are staying in the old shelter. There are 5 of us tenting that I know about. I am tenting because it is a little warmer. We have a rather aggressive schedule for the next 7 days until our next scheduled zero day which is at Fontana Dam. I don't know for sure if we can maintain this pace on our feet, legs and backs. I have been able to keep fairly warm for the most part. If we had known we were going to be facing this low of temperatures, we would have either had warmer sleeping bags or scheduled a later start. But, besides the cold weather, we have enjoyed our trip. I could not have asked for better hiking partners than Steady Step and Old Yeller. I feel like I have known Old Yeller all my life. I named some of my gear today. I named my backpack Char. My backpack is my home away from home and therefore it is Char. My left shoe I named Dave and Julie and my right shoe Tim and Amy. I feel they are with me every step of my journey that way. My hiking poles are named Michael and Landen. Whenever I need that little bit of extra support I depend on my poles. It's getting cold and hard to write so I guess I'll quit.
Date: 2005-03-11
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Had a great nights sleep. Slept very comfortable in my tent. Left this morning about 7:30 a.m. Walked about an hour or so and ate breakfast. The hike today was long and hard. Not only did we have to climb Albert Mountain, but my left knee is very painful. The calcium buildup behind my kneecap is really starting to bother me. On top of Albert Mountain there is a fire tower. Steady Step and Old Yeller climbed to tower. It was extremely windy and cold up on top of the mountain. Shortly after we left the top of Albert Mountain we ran into a fairly good snow fall. We put on our pack covers and rain gear and continued to Rock Gap Shelter. We arrived there about 4:00 p.m.The weather was so cold all we could do was eat real quick and get into our sleeping bags. The wind was gusting real bad with snow flying, so we covered the end of our sleeping bags with plastic trash bags to keep them dry.
Date: 2005-03-12
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Haven Motel
Miles today: 3.8

Woke up this morning and left the shelter at around 7:00 a.m. Due to the problem with my knee we decided to hike to Route 64 and hitch a ride to Franklin to rest my knee. The hike was very windy and quite cold. We planned on stopping on the trail to eat breakfast, but could not find a spot out of the wind to eat. We arrived at Route 64 at around 9:00 a.m. Old Yeller called the Haven Motel and they sent a shuttle to pick up Steady Step, Old Yeller, Danger, Gravity and myself. Danger and Gravity are a young couple from Colorado attempting a Thru Hike for the second time. The first time Danger, Gravity's wife, had some medical problems and they had to quit at Harpers Ferry. The shuttle finally came about an hour later. It felt great taking a half warm shower. I ran out of hot water half way into my shower and Steady Step had to take a cold,cold shower. After we cleaned up the three of us went to an all you can eat (Ayce) Restaurant. It was great. After that we went and did our laundry at a local laundromat. The motel shuttle took about ten of us hikers to the laundromat. After that I went back to the motel and read my messages on the journal website. What a great feeling reading all the messages. Thanks all of you, sincerely. I then started going through my gear and getting it organized again. It was a beautiful day down here today and I took my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shoes and stuff sacks and hung them outside to air out. That sleeping bag sure needed it. You just can't imagine how bad something can smell. No wonder I haven't been bothered by wild animals at night, they probably can't stand the smell. We went to Hardees for dinner tonight and I got the largest hamburger I could. I'm going to get a good nights rest tonight and we're taking a zero day tommorrow.
Date: 2005-03-14
From: Haven Motel

To: Camp sight
Miles today: 10.5

We started out the day by taking one last hot shower and then going to breakfast. The three of us, SteadyStep, Oldyeller, and me enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. After we ate we went back to the motel to get our gear and catch the shuttle back to the trail where we left off. The shuttle dropped us off at Winding Stair Gap at around 10:00 am. We put in a rather long day doing 10.5 miles with about 8 of them up hill. We crossed Siler Bald and Wayah Bald mountains. On top of Wayah Bald there was an observation area overlooking much of the terrain we had recently hiked. The view was absolutely spectacular. The weather today was great for hiking. The sky was mostly clear. It was nice enough that I hiked in a t-shirt for most of the day. We stopped at around 5:00 pm for the night at a camp sight along the trail. There are about 11 of us camping here tonight. I don¢t know how cold it will get tonight since we are at about 5000 feet, but I hope not too cold. I am contemplating putting my mittens on my feet tonight. I¢m hoping it won¢t get quite that old although the temperature seems to be dropping rather quick. My knee did pretty well today. Just some minor pain that was very tolerable. This morning I took 2 glucosamine tablets and 800 mg of ibuprofen. This evening I took another glucosamine tablet and 600 mg of ibuprofen or as hikers refer to it, vitamin I. Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to Wesser Bald shelter which is about 11.1 miles from here. The hike shouldn¢t be as strenuous as today so baring bad weather we should make it. My hands are getting cold and numb so I guess I¢ll quite writing now.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.
Date: 2005-03-15
From: Camp sight

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning about 6:30 am with a temperature of about 30 degrees. We didn¢t get any rain last, thank goodness. We left our camp sight at around 7:30 am with the hopes of reaching Wesser Bald shelter. The hike today wasn¢t real bad. Ups and downs weren¢t quite as nasty as yesterday. After about 4 miles today we came upon a dome tent about 25 feet in diameter. The dome belongs to a previous hiker trail named Apple. He set up the dome as a rest for hikers along with many snacks and drinks. He usually has candy, hot dogs and drinks including soft drinks, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. When we arrived he was out of hot dogs so we settle for Reece¢s cups and hot chocolate. What a great breakfast. Our hike continued with mostly sunny skies. When we reached Tellico Gap we saw Ron, the owner of Haven motel. He was there picking up a couple of hikers and warned us of pending bad weather, a forecast of 6 to 8 inches of snow. He told up if we got trapped to give him a call if we could and he come and pick us up no matter where we were at.   I continue to be amazed at his generosity and kindness. We reached Wesser Bald shelter around 4:00 pm. After we arrived 4 more hikers arrived putting us at 7 hikers in the shelter. Tomorrow we expect to arrive at the N.O.C., Nantahala Outdoor Center, for the night. It¢s only about a 5.5 mile hike but I understand it¢s all down hill and extremely difficult terrain. I guess we¢ll just have to see.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.
Date: 2005-03-16
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning to a steady cold rain. It didn¢t snow last night but it did rain all night. I slept pretty good last night and it didn¢t seem too cold. We left the shelter at 7:40 am and had a rather difficult and cautious hike mostly downhill to the N.O.C. There were several places where extreme caution had to be used. This short hike apparently is the most accident prone of the whole AT according to many previous thru-hikers. As a matter of fact, one hiker showed up at our cabin with an extremely bloody nose and other scrapes and bruises. One of his hiking poles broke on the way into the N.O.C. and he took a horrible fall. There are about 15 hikers in this cabin including us with 4 hikers including myself with knee problems. My left knee doesn¢t feel quite as bad as it did when I arrived in Franklin, but it is bothering my. Another hiker here, Stick, is suffering from an extremely bad cold, or maybe worse. I gave him some medicine I had and I hope it helps him. He has already taken more than 1 zero days to heal. There are several hikers here that have taken zero days nursing various problems. We arrived at the N.O.C. at around 11:00 this morning and checked in. We then went to the restaurant for lunch while waiting for our room to get ready. Joining me for lunch was Steady Step, Oldyeller, Shadow, Stick and The Tennessee Walker couple. After lunch we went to our room, cleaned up, did laundry and took care of some personal things. Later this evening a N.O.C. employee, Liz, took Pixie into town for a pizza and beer run. Thanks Liz. Pixie brought back pizza, beer and donuts. What a combination. After several hours of feasting and talking practically everything was consumed, including the donuts. This was the first time most of us had pizza, beer and donuts together, but we seemed to do ok with it. We had a very entertaining evening listening to each others stories. Pacer, Deep Sea Climber, Pine Dragon, Pixie, The Tennessee Walker couple, Stick, Orphan, Mike, Shawn, Eagle Foot, a hiker from Maine, Steady Step, Oldyeller and myself participated in the ¢festivities¢ of the evening. This was possibly the best day so far of the trip. It¢s now about 10:45 pm and I¢m lying in a very comfortable bed writing this journal. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be much like today, rainy with a temperature of about 35 degrees. We have a very strenuous uphill climb out of this valley tomorrow so I hope the weather isn¢t too bad.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.
Date: 2005-03-17
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light snow

I woke up this morning and took a nice hot shower. I didn¢t sleep very well last night. My stomach stayed up set all night, maybe due to too much pizza, beer and donut combination last night. Naw, that couldn¢t be it. Even if it was the problem the fun we had was worth it. We had breakfast this morning at the N.O.C. before hitting the trail. The hike up to Sassafras Shelter was like a nightmare. We started out in a cold rain and soon changed to a steady snow fall. The 7 mile hike was almost all uphill and very physical with some steep segments. I had my rain suite on during the hike and was totally drenched in a combination of water and sweat when we reached the shelter. I was starting to chill real fast when we got there. I got out of my wet clothes as soon as I could while Steady Step made me some hot chocolate. Of course before changing clothes I informed the ladies in the shelter and they turned their heads, I think. I¢m sure they did because I didn¢t hear any chuckles from them. The shelter was one of the nicer shelters we stayed at with 2 levels. It is about 3:00 pm right now and there are already 9 of us here for the night. 6 of us are already in our sleeping bags trying to warm up. This is the coldest I have been mainly because of being so wet. I hope I dry out and warm up during the night.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Sassafras Shelter

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning at about 6:30 am, ate instant oatmeal and packed up. We left the shelter at about 7:15 am and hiked 9.1 miles to Brown Fork Gap shelter for the night. The hike today wasn¢t too bad except for about 0.75 mile just before the shelter which seemed like it was straight up hill. I would guess it was at least a 70 degree incline. We got into the shelter at about 1:30 pm. It¢s about 4:15 pm right now and there are 8 of us here for the night already. The 8 of us are Eagle Foot, Deep Sea Climber, Pacer, Pine Dragon, Pixie, Oldyeller, Steady Step and me. I¢m glad we all hooked back up with Eagle Foot the last couple of nights. He is such a great young man and a pleasure to be around. The 8 of us here all stayed at the same shelter last night. We were all entertained quite humorously a short while ago. Pine Dragon and Pixie wanted to hang their bear bag (food bag used to hang in trees to keep you food out of reach of bears) in a large tree next to the shelter. Because the branch was so high they asked Deep Sea Climber to throw the rock with a rope attached over the branch. When he threw the rock over the limb it went over the targeted limb and wrapped around a lower limb several times thus creating a problem. How are they going to untangle the rock and rope so they can haul up their food bag? This is when the entertainment started. Deep Sea Diver grabbed a large broken limb and tried to unwrap the rock with no success. Next, Pixie climbed up on the shelter and tried many times to unwrap the rock using a smaller limb. She succeeded in unwrapping the rock/rope combination once but ran out of energy and small limbs after that. Meanwhile, Eagle Foot found a smaller long limb and started to try to unwrap the rock from the ground. Between his efforts and the efforts of Pine Dragon they succeeded in unwrapping the rock with the rope attached. We were very well entertained although bleachers and popcorn would have made it even better. The weather was clear today and warmed up to about 50 degrees. It continues to amaze all of us how so few miles wear us out. That is except for the younger hikers, late teens and twenties. They have so much more energy than we do. I would be nice to be young again. On another note, Ramen noodles suck. No matter what we do to them now they are horrible. I thought I could eat them for lunch the entire trip but I can¢t stomach them anymore. At Fontana Dam I am hoping to get some peanut butter, floured tortillas and instant mashed potatoes for lunches. The Jet Boil stove seems to be working fantastic. Although a couple of hikers have had trouble with the lighters on them, my stove has worked flawlessly. It continues to amaze us as to how many boils we get out of a single small canister. And they seem to be working adequately even in the colder weather. We sometimes just have to hold the canister in our hands for a couple of minutes to warm it up before use.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Inn
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning just before dawn. After getting our gear together and eating breakfast we got on the trail about 7:15 am. We hiked from Brown Fork Gap shelter to Cable Gap shelter where we took a lunch break. After lunch we hiked on into Fontana Dam and we are at the Fontana Village Inn for 2 nights, taking a zero day tomorrow to rest my knee. The hike today was fairly typical until the last 3 miles which were a steady strenuous steep downhill. The downhill took its toll on my left knee and right ankle. I seem to be favoring my left knee and putting an undue amount of stress on my right ankle. The weather today was mostly sunny with a temperature of about 40 degrees. After we got to Fontana Dam we called Fontana Village and they sent a shuttle for us. We arrived at the Inn about 3:30 pm. We cleaned up and went to the restaurant for dinner. We had dinner with Danger and Gravity. It was nice to see them again and we talked about our experiences so far on the trail. They are heading out tomorrow morning while we will remain here for our zero day. The Inn we are staying at has an indoor heated swimming pool which we are looking forward to enjoying tomorrow. I am hoping it will help with my knee problem. Today we met Sparkle, a young man who is thru-hiking. He acquired poison oak a few days ago and has been having problems every since. He finally had to go to the doctor and they gave him some medication. He had a negative reaction to the medication and they had to take him to the ER at the local hospital. He now is having his parents come in from Florida to pick him up and he will be taking a few weeks off to recover. I hope everything goes well with him.Good night Char, see you in my dreams.