morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-08
From: Cheese Factory

To: Dick's Creek
Miles today: 13.0

A bunch of us took the shuttle to the local Mexican restaurant last night; justa bunch of friends on a night out. The amazing thing is the most we have knownany of them is SIX DAYS but we are already friends in a manner of speaking. Exchanging stories, trading info and having a few laughs. Today we are headingto different parts and who knows when we will meet again. Bittersweet but partof life on the trail. We slackpacked about 13.5 miles today; backpacks on but only water and lunch inside them. Our friend Joyce the shuttle driver drove us back to where she had picked up two freezing hikers on Monday morning. What a great lady: she loves where she is, who she is and how she spends her time. We should all be as appreciative of our lives as she! The sun was high as we set out, tempeature perfect for a day's hike. On some of the ridges there was maybe an inch or so of snow, some were dry and some were slightly muddy as the icy ground underneath had started to melt. Beautiful views of the mountains all around us. We stopped for lunch at a place called Deep Gap, took a look at the profile map and called to let Tim (our ride back) know we would be to Dick's Creekabout 2:30. Well, true to form, the map did not show all the ups so we ended up having to hustle the last few miles to make it with 5 minutes to spare: 3.75miles in about 1.25 hours.   One last load of laundry for Ron, then pack up for tomorrow's exit from Hiawassee. It's been great but with everyone gone, it sure has gotten quiet here. TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-09
From: dick's creek

To: muskrat creek 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, we literally climbed out of GA into NC today! Yep, we have knocked offour first state. A good feeling which was somewhat lost in the extreme climbsthat followed. Beware any mtn. named Sassafras... True to form, that one waslong and steep. At lunchtime we were happily surprised by Hannah and Mike whomwe had not seen since Whitley Gap. They are camping near us tonight at MuskratCreek. It was nice to see we are not the last of the original 4/1 group butespecially nice to hear young people commenting on today's tough climbs! Weather has turned really nice. We got to camp early and are enjoying taking our time over the usual daily tasks, plus taking time to relax as well. Should be a good night for sleeping.... PS Bido (photo) is NOT hiking trail with us, only Summit Mtn!TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-10
From: muskrat creek 

To: carter gap 
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: moderate rain

Well, we hit the sack before the sun set ... Woke this morning to cool temps as we took apart the campsite and prepared coffee and oatmeal. UH OH! As we finished up and headed out, it started to spit, then pour. I even noticed a few pieces of pea-sized hail!   Luckily, we had anticipated something from the clouds so we did not have to stop to put on our rain gear. It continued to pour with thunder and lightning. I spent most of the time trying to remember if you are supposed to count from the thunder to the lightening or vice versa (1001,1002, 1003...) Anyway, the light show stopped after awhile although the rain pretty much stayed with us until well after lunch. You've got to love peanut butter wraps in a rhododendron grove with water running down your face and hands! We climbed to 5300' today on an old forest road. Hello New England trail blazers, you could learn something from the Ole South! You don't even feel the climb. The sun came out soon after that for about 10 minutes! Birds began to sing and hikers smiled and began to feel warm. Soon after clouds again but no more rain until just as we arrived at Carter Gap Shelter. Fortunately I had spent our last half hour figuring out how we could set up the tent under the rain flap AND .... IT ACTUALLY WORKED!! The rain continued well into the night, with a return of wind, rain, thunder, lightning and hale---just when I had reached JV, Bido and Suss on my cell! When this happens, hikers in tents retire early and make do with any food that does not require cooking. Or - as we discovered later - some hikers stay in the shelter all day, doing a zero: Turns out 15 of them had stayed at Carter Gap that day doing just that! Sometime during the night I woke Italian as I had thought a mouse had run across my face. Not only did I wake him up but made him turn on his headlamp and search throughout the tent for the little rodent! Without success, we turned out the light. TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-11
From: carter gap 

To: rock gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, the mystery of the mouse has been semi-solved! We didn't find thewily rodent but we did find Lady B's camp towel in a chewed up mess OUTSIDETHE TENT. Needless to say, the mouse was never inside the tent in the firstplace. Attention Poppabear, both yesterday's and today's hikes were through anNC bear santuary but none were attracted to Italian's red, white and green!The rain and wind disappeared during the night as the temperature dropped. Could explain the errant mouse behavior: he may have been preparing his nest for winter! Most everything we wore yesterday was wet but we were able to pulltogether enough of an ensemble to keep warm. Shorts and longjohns were theattire of the day! Lady B wore her one dry pair of sox as gloves. The trailcontinued to be nice walking, with occasional slight ups and downs. Then wecame to Mt. Albert! 300' gain in .3 mile. I thought we were in NH orMaine! Ironically, there was a paved forest road that can be used as a badweather route running right along the base. We were unable to convinceourselves that was the case so headed up the occasional hand-over-hand rockscramble to the fire tower. About 30-45 minutes later, back on the rolling NCtrail we were eating lunch and plotting our route for the next few days. Italian came up with the idea of heading into Franklin today to try to get our maildrop. Otherwise,we might not get it until Monday at 10 because of Easter Sunday. SOOOOO.. we contacted the Budget Inn, got a room and a ride, and raced down the last 3-4 miles to meet Ron Haven, the owner and a special guy.This will mean we can get an early start on Monday and make up the 3.7 miles wecut off tomorrow's itinerary. AND we are snug in our beds as another stormthreatens to hit the area! Time to go search for some ice cream! TO BECONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-12
From: rock gap

To: Franklin NC Budget Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Sunday! We are in Frankln on, yes, our second zero day. After hiking and sleeping in the rain for two days, we decided to stay here and DRY OUT!!! That includes the tent, our home away from home. Of course, it is beautiful outside, partly sunny and expected to hit 70 degrees today while tomorrow is a 90% chance of rain but... what the heck! we're hikers and we can stand whatever Mother Nature dishes out, right? Started the day off doing laundry and are now either journaling, emailing or reading the paper and having a second cup of coffee. We managed to get almost everything we needed at the Outfitters: new gaitors for Lady B, glove liners for Lady B and even scored a free pair of Superfeet FOR LADY B from the hiker box. Italian seems to be easier on his equipment and hasn't lost anything either!!! The rest of the day's itinerary includes a good meal and maybe some more relaxation. A few day's ago, Italian turned to me halfway up a steep incline and said he was not worrying about the miles anymore. Guess he was serious! We are going to stop and smell the roses along the way. Seems that is a common theme as most hikers this morning were saying the same sort of thing. We are out here to enjoy this adventure, not beat it down! TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-13
From: rock gap

To: wine spring
Miles today: 11.9

Here I sit, snug in my tent, in my sleeping bag liner, in my sleeping bag with my camp clothes on! The trees and bushes all around us are dripping from the mist that has surrounded us all day long. Much to our surprise it did not rain! Everyone who thinks meteorology is an inexact science, stand up and be heard! Last night it was 100% chance. This morning off and on, heavy at times. Of course, it is only 5:30! Let me tell you a little about Ron Haven. He owns the Budget Inn in Franklin where he provides inexpensive lodging, free Internet, laundry, shuttles to several trailheads in the area for free, daily trip to Walmart, Ingles and the Outfitter at 4 pm, provides all local knowledge on restaurants, bars, stores, clinics, and so on. And best of all - all of this is free and he derives much pleasure from assisting and entertaining hikers. He graduated from high school at 16 and has been following each and everyone of his ideas and dreams ever since. A successful businessman, one-time professional wrestler, restaurant owner and old-fashioned entrepreneur. But most of all a down-to-earth great guy! Well, it is finally getting dark so i better turn in. Pretty big hike tomorrow. TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-14
From: wine spring

To: burnington gap 
Miles today: 6.4

Awoke around 6 am to... Rain...! Better late than never. We are getting pretty good at setting up and breaking camp when there is precip!! We made it to the latrines at Wayah Bald in less than one hour! You have no idea what anincentive that can be! One minor catastrophe - i somehow lost my trustyrainhat. It makes me toohot when it is not raining so i tie it to my packstrap. Only tied a single knot this time. Oh well. It's not like i have been hanging onto things so far. And, that'll be afew less ounces to carry!Bad news! My shoulders, which have been bothering me off and on, mostly atnight, have been getting worse the past few days. I had hoped it was just amatter of building up strength but the ache is now in my bones and does not goaway. By lunch today we decided to dump out at a forest service road and try to reach Ron for a ride into Franklin. We ended up near some houses so stopped at one (no cell signal) and asked to use the phone. As usual in this area the man offered his phone and home while we waited for our ride. We are now at Ron's other motel. Tomorrow he's going to drive us over to urgent careto have me checked out. TO BE CONTINUED
Date: 2009-04-15
From: burnington gap 

To: Going Home
Miles today: 0.0

Sorry for the wait, it's taken me a few days to digest everything. Anyway, here's the deal! When Italian and I headed down that forest road, we pretty much figured the pain in my shoulders was going to end our hike. And we were okay with that. We had hiked 125 miles, in two states, and had a fantastic time doing it. The Urgent Care physician confirmed that I had strained/sprained the tendons that attach to my rotator cuffs. Further daily aggravation with a 30 lb. pack would only lead to serious injury. So there you go. It was not until we were headed back to GA to retrieve our car that the full realization that a thru-hike was not in our future began to sink in. Wow! Almost a year of planning, preparing, eating, drinking and sleeping the details of our proposed 6-month odyssey would now go to waste?!?!??! Well, no... What we plan to do now is retrieve the mail drops we were unable to hike to and distribute those goodies to hiker boxes in NC and TN. We also hope to so do some trail magic at trail crossings on the way home. In the months and years to come, we will travel to sections of the trail where we can do 4-5 day hikes or slack packs to those places we dreamed of hiking. We may still finish this trail!!! We'll unfortunately also be eating a lot of rehydrated food, right at home, but if it was good on the trail then...Most of all, we would like to thank all of you who supported us during the days and miles we were able to hike; you really made our days with all your emails cheering us along! (Yes, even you, Poppabear!) We have uploaded photos we took along the way to share some of our memories with you, so please take a moment or two to view them. We felt like you were all there with us everyday anyway. To those of you we met on the trail, we thoroughly enjoyed your company, will never forget you, and wish you good fortune as you continue on without us. Hike safe and remember: HAVE FUN!!! It is the journey, not the destination! Happy hiking to all, Not a single regret,Lady B and Italian
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Sam's Gap

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: scattered clouds

After attending a family wedding in Asheville over the weekend, Bob & I drove up to Irwin & the Nolichucky Gorge Campground. Fred met us there & we drove down to Sam's Gap, where Fred & I began our hike. It is my 58th birthday! I began a SB hike at Sam's Gap in 2007, but this time I am heading north. Fred has done this section twice before, but is joining me for these first 3 days. Bob will be waiting at the campground.The hike was mostly uphill, with a few downs & level areas sprinkled in. The highlight of the day Big Bald--an open pasture-looking area at 5,516 feet. It had rained off & on all day, necessitating the constant on & off of raingear. I was so hoping for a view on top & not a repeat of my experience of Max Patch, which was all fogged in. It wasn't sunny, but there were panoramic mountain views. There were a lot of birds singing today. They must have been appreciating the rain. Everything is lush & green, & there is plenty of water flowing. It was so nice to have Fred hiking with me for these first few days out. My son, Matt, called to wish me a happy BD. My little grandaughter, Avery, was going to call me tonight, but there's no cell service. Besides Fred, Spider Man, a young male thru-hiker, is sharing this rather yucky shelter. Saw a snake. Will have to describe to Bob for identification.
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

This was a very long day. Fred is doing the best he can, but by the afternoon, we were only making about 1 mph due to the many breaks he needed. Still, how many 83 year olds could do this at all? We left the shelter at 7:45, & didn't arrive at No Business Knob until about 4:30. It rained--no it poured--almost all day. I would gladly have gotten off the trail at Spivey Gap & come back tomorrow & slackpack the remaining 12 miles to Nolichucky, but Fred would have no part of it! Once we finally arrived at the shelter, Shepherd (who had arrived earlier) informed us that the only water source was located 1/2 mile back down the trail by the sign we had passed earlier! You would think Fred would have remembered this since he has stayed here twice before, but that was not the case. So, I trudged down & back up with water for both of us. I was not happy. A few other things to not be happy about:Fresh toilet paper with poop behind a big log that would have been the perfect resting spot right on the trail! Yuck!!! Toilet paper flowers all behind the shelter. Yes, I know there's no privy, but how hard is it to use the heel of your boot and dig a little hole, & then recover so everyone else doesn't have to see where you've been?Shepherd, our shelter mate, smoked right in the shelter--even in his sleeping bag at 2:30 a.m.!!These inconsiderate behaviors make me question why I want to be on the trail.OK...enough ranting. The good things...Water is plentiful--streams are flowing. Mountain Laurel is just starting to bloom. Weather is perfectly cool.Now, if the rain will only stop!
Date: 2009-05-28
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Nolichucky Gorge Campground
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: scattered clouds

My feet hurt! Fred & I left No Business Knob Shelter at 7:30. After a few short, but good climbs, the trail was mostly downhill. But, after awhile--that hurts! My right foot is throbbing--hope it's nothing serious. The mountain laurel were GORGEOUS today! We arrived at the RV at 12:40. Bob had great sandwiches & cold drinks waiting. We said good-bye to Fred, who will head home to Murphy. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, catching up my journal, & reorganizing my pack for tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Nolichucky Gorge Campground

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

My friend, Carol, flew up from Florida & joined me for this part of my journey from Nolichucky CG up to Hwy. 19E--a total distance of 47 miles. It is so nice to have her along. The weather today was perfect--cool, breezy, and sunny. This beautiful day, after so many days of rain, is a gift. We saw mountain laurel, flame azalea, rhododendron, & many other flowers in bloom. We were on the trail by 8:30 after a very cozy night in our RV. I hugged good bye to Bob, who I may not see for a month since I plan to go on after Carol goes back to Florida. The climb out of the gorge was gradual for quite awhile, but several steep climbs challenged us--especially the climb up to Beauty Spot. Beauty Spot is a bald with views back to Irwin. We took a nice long lunch break & managed to give our garbage to some dayhikers, before heading on down the mountain to our camping spot. We are tenting at Deep Gap right next to a road--something I would never do when by myself. Carol brought wine, which we cooled in a spring and enjoyed while sharing pictures from our I-Phones.
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Deep Gap

To: Campsite 1.1 M South of Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Our campsite next to a road in TN proved uneventful, but we could hear a lot of trains ALL night long. But neither the noise or location can be blamed for the fact that I didn't sleep. I just didn't. About 4 a.m. , a huge wind storm blew through. Lightening & thunder, but thankfully, no rain. I listened to the Johnson City weather at 6 which predicted only a 20% chance of rain, but since it was certainly threatening, Carol & I packed up & were heading up Unaka Mountain (5100 ft.) by 7:15 with no breakfast. Our plan was to go 4.9 miles to the Cherry Gap Shelter & have breakfast there--possibly snacking along the way. This was a mistake. I don't do well without breakfast, the mountain took forever to get up and over, & we were totally exhausted and spent by the time we reached the shelter. We did eat & felt somewhat better, but we were both tired all day. Carol wants to go home. I feel like she's angry at me for getting her into this, so we'll be trying to figure out an alternative itinerary. On the positve side, Unaka was lovely with big red spruce trees. It was foggy, but etherial. We finally arrived at a nice campsite just N of Greasy Creek Gap. We chilled our wine & our feet in the little creek, then ate & were in our tents well before dark. I FINALLY slept well!
Date: 2009-06-01
From: Campsite 1.1 M South of Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Carver's Gap
Miles today: 9.0

We mutually agreed to shorten our planned day today. We were able to call Mountain Harbour B & B & arrange to be picked up (& returned tomorrow) at Carver's Gap. We will spend 2 nights at the B & B, instead of one, and slackpack a long 14 miles on Tuesday. Carol left the campsite just a few minutes before me--right around 7:30, after agreeing to meet me 1.1 miles up the trail at the first shelter. I took my time, munching expresso beans as I walked, & knowing that Carol would be flying, but would be ready for a break part way up the first big hill of the day. I reached the turn-off (whoops! I should have told her not to bother going down the blue blazed trail to the shelter), called her name, & when there was no response, headed on down. It didn't occur to me to drop my pack first! I reach the shelter--no Carol. I turn around to go back & I face 2 very identical looking blue-blazed trails. Of course, I chose the wrong one, which took me to the water source. I climbed back up--now thinking, "Why didn't I leave my pack up on the trail??!" Took the other blue-blaze back down to the AT. Still no Carol. At this point, I'm pretty steamed because I have just wasted 20 minutes & a lot of needed energy. A few minutes later, I reach Carol who is sitting on a log. She was apologetic & said she misread the sign & thought it meant that the shelter was .1 mile on up the trail. Oh, well, these things happen. We hiked on & had a long lunch break on top of Roan Mountain next to the Cloudland Hotel ruins. I was a little disappointed in Roan--not much to see. The hike down was over excruciating chunky rocks that covered the path. The balls of my feet were just battered. We finally reached Carver's Gap & were picked up by Terry from Mountain Harbour B & B where we are sharing a gorgeous room with a jacuzzi tub. Sure hope my feet feel better tomorrow!
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Carver's Gap

To: Hwy. 19E & Mountain Harbour B & B
Miles today: 14.2

Today was the most scenic day of hiking I've ever experienced outside of the state of Maine. We were shuttled back to Carver's Gap (after a fabulous breakfast!) & began our day by hiking up a couple of small balds (Jane Bald & Round Bald) that produced panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Later we passed the side trail down to Overmountain Shelter. I had hoped to stay at this much acclaimed converted barn, but there's no time with the new itinerary. We did get a view of it from up the mountain. We stopped to refill our water bottles--it is very warm today--& then started the long climb up Hump Mountain. The climb was arduous, but all you had to do was stop & take a look around while catching your breath & you quickly knew this was special. Once we finally reached the summit, we were disappointed to see a HUGE group (at least 25) of kids hogging the entire summit area. We went down a little & joined a couple of day hikers that we had met on the way up. They kindly shared their celery, carrots, & cheese with us. I never knew carrots & celery to taste so good! We saw the HUGE group preparing to depart & quickly packed up our things in order to get on the trail ahead of them. A group of this size moves slowly & they'd be impossible to get around on the narrow trail below. But, I hated that my time spent enjoying the gorgeous Roan highlands was impacted. We enjoyed the views that I imagine look much like those in Scotland, until we entered the woods & began a slow, rocky descent. We were back at the B & B by 5:00. I think that this is the only day that Carol really enjoyed. At least her part of the trip ended on a high note.