morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-03-25
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.8

Woke up around 5 o¢clock and started packing everything up. I slept terrible last night. The ground wasn¢t level, the guy two tents over was snoring so bad it sounded like an old chainsaw. Joe and I hit the trail around 7:30. We averaged 2 miles an hour with breaks and filtering water. I finally tried my sharp cedar cheese with spicy tuna fish tortilla. Not bad. First day it¢s rained since I¢ve started. Bad as bad as I thought it would be. So the last mile and a half to where I was ending for the day there was a 1000 foot descend from a bunch of wet rocks. It was brutal. I swore this is hit. Both of my knees were screaming. Joe and I hitched a ride to Hiawassee, Ga. The only rooms in town are at a Holiday Inn Express. We ate at a home cooked buffet, pretty good. Took a shower, icing my knee and getting ready for tomorrow.
Date: 2019-03-26
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Addis Camp Site
Miles today: 11.5

Got on the trail at 9:30. Started with a 1000¢ climb into a 1000¢ decline, into 1300¢ climb up Tray mountain. It started pouring right at 3pm like my weather app said it would. The only problem, I didn¢t get to this site until 4:30. Tent is up, wet clothes off and dry ones on. It¢s suppose to rain until 10 or so tonight and then be really nice until Sunday. I¢m cold and hungry. I¢ll write more tomorrow. God Bless
Date: 2019-03-27
From: Addis Camp Site

To: Plumorchard gap shelter. 
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was rough. I hiked in a steady rain for an hour and a half. Set up my tent in the rain. The first thing I did was get out of those wet clothes. I ate a Cliff Bar and went to bed. It stopped raining sometime in the middle of the night. I woke up it was 34 degrees. I quickly put on my wet clothes, broke camp and started hiking. Today overall was a good day. I ate lunch with brothers from Colorado who hitch hiked to St. Louis and caught a Grayhound bus to Atlanta. They were drinking Hamm¢s tall boys with their lunch. I can¢t imagine carrying that extra weight. Oh to be young I guess. Tonight I¢m staying in a 3 story shelter. I¢m really hoping that there are no serious snores here tonight. We¢ll see. Tomorrow I¢ll be leaving Georgia. These mountains have been seriously hard.
Date: 2019-03-29
From: Plumorchard gap shelter. 

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 28.5
Weather: clear sky

First I want to thank all of you for the encouraging messages. Yesterday I made it through Georgia, took a pic and was ready to hit North Carolina. Well the first two mountains were killers. I finished after 12.2 miles and put up my tent. The temperature got down to around freezing. I don¢t get cold, but my nose does. (Listen no nose jokes, I know it¢s big) anyway, I stick my nose under the covers to warm it up. Well my nose smells my 4 days of not showering arm pits and butt. I sleep with a cold nose. Today we (Joe and I) planned on doing 11.2 miles. That would leave us 12 miles into Franklin, NC on Saturday. We got to the campsite at 1:00, we pushed on. We climbed Mt. Albert today (at the end of the day). It was a killer, some 500-600 of incline in a little over a quarter mile. It was worth it, the view from the fire tower at the top was unbelievable. They say you can see the Smokies from the tower and there 65 miles away. As we started coming down Mt. Albert we passed the 100 mile mark. It was a great day.
Date: 2019-03-30
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 7.4

Slept terrible last night, maybe got 3 hours. I would have thought after such a big mile day I¢d slept solid but I can¢t turn my mind off. Anyway, I got on the trail around 7:45 with 7.2 miles to where we¢d hitch hike into Franklin. About 3 miles into today¢s hike, Joe and I started coming down into Rock Gap. It was on a paved road with a paved parking lot. There were a few cars parked, so I said ¢I wonder if they¢ll be any trail magic¢.  Joe said, ¢he hoped someone was handing out Coke¢s. No such luck. But I looked across the parking lot where the trail picks up and there sitting beside the trail was a 12 pack of Coke a Cola. I said look. We both ran to the box. Joe picked it up, there was only one soda. He told me to take it. I said no, he called it, it was his. Joe said let¢s split it. So we did. You would have thought someone gave us a thousand dollars. That one soda from a Trail Angel made our morning. Life is really simple out here. We finished our hike and ended up in Winding Stair Gap. As we came off the trail there was a huge motor home with a couple of Trail Angels making breakfast burritos. We each had one and hitched a ride to Franklin, NC. The car was a compact and three full size guys sat in the backseat. I was in the middle. A mile into a 15 mile ride my knee started hurting. I mean bad, on a scale of 1 to 10 I¢m talking a solid 7. I thought I was going to puke it hurt so bad. Joe noticed and tried to make as much room as possible but nothing helped. This nice family dropped us off right at our motel. Once I got out of the car the pain went right away. Praise God. First things first, I went to Hudle House and ate $16 worth of breakfast, showered and now planning on laundry, shopping and sleeping. Tomorrow I¢ll be zeroing. That¢s just hanging here resting and planning next week.
Date: 2019-03-31
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up in a nice warm bed. Went to Ingel¢s a Local grocery store here to resupply for the next two days until we get to the NOC. As we walked in we found out they sell breakfasts there for $5. Pounded this breakfast and bought just enough food. I¢m starting to get this down a little better. I still have food from ten days ago. I¢m tired of carrying to much. The rest of today will be spent stretching and icing down my knee. Oh and getting ready for the Duke/Michigan State game. Go Big 10. A big shout out to my family at Simple this morning.
Date: 2019-04-02
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald Fire Tower
Miles today: 10.1

Caught a ride back to the trail. Got there around 8:00. It was 27 degrees and sunny when we started. A perfect day to hike. We started a 1200 foot climb right out of the gate. I felt pretty good. A little knee pain but I¢ve had that every day out here. 3 miles in and my knee started really hurting. I was falling back and Joe was gone. About 5 miles in there was Joe filtering water waiting for me. I told him about the knee. We hiked on. A couple of more miles I knew I had to get off the trail and get this looked at. Neither of us had cell service. At 8 miles Joe got service and I called an Uber driver with 4 wheel drive to pick us up at the firetower. (See the picture above, what a view). Joe came with me back to Franklin, I got a room and found a Ortho just 3/4 miles away. I limped to his office. Now it wasn¢t just knee pain but my hip and back were killing me too. I guess I was compensating for my knee Once there the Dr. came in and said he wanted to get some x-rays but first we talked. After talking he said he didn¢t need the x-rays. He said, ¢stop doing what aggravating my knee, rest for three days, ice it and take 800 milligrams of vitamin I 3 times a day¢. I told him that I was thru hiking the AT. He just shrugged his shoulders and said ¢I don¢t think so ¢. I limped back to the hotel in deep thought. I¢m going to take the next couple of days off and maybe try a slack pack (that¢s only carrying the essentials) and see if it¢s any better. This is where Joe and I will separate. Say a prayer for him, he¢s a great kid and maybe one for my knee as well. This isn¢t what I had planned but I knew my knee situation before I left St. Louis. In closing I want to wish good luck to all my friends running in elections today. (Grace, Tim, Bill, Tom, Mike, Orlando and Kevin)
Date: 2019-01-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I know exactly when and where I was when I made the decision to attempt a thru hike. It was July 2015 at the outfitter in Damascus VA with my father and my sister in-laws husband Johnny (trail name "Chief"). We had been riding the mountain road in NC and VA for most of the day and decided to stop in and visit the outfitter. Chief has hiked the entire length of the AT, the MST and hiked several other trails. I reminded my father that Chief had hiked the AT. He had forgotten, as he was caught up examining all the items in the outfitter.  At that point, my father struck up a conversation with Chief about hiking. He was making statements to him such as "If I were younger, I sure would love to hike with you", "If my legs could take it, I would hike", "I'm way too old to even think about hiking now", and other statement like that. At that point I made my decision to attempt an AT thru hike. I told myself that I did not want to be at my fathers age making similar statements that I wished that had done something such as a thru hike attempt. I had gotten caught up following Chief and others on their thru hike attempts back in 2001. I thought to myself about the potential experience, but I was never too serious about those thoughts. That is until I heard my fathers discussion with Chief. So here I am, three years later, retired after 35 years in the corporate world, and ready to begin late February. Wish me luck.
Date: 2019-01-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Where did the trail name Papa Smurf come from? That name was given to me by two separate individuals during two separate, unrelated events.  The first was back in October 2012 when I was taking a 4-day motorcycle safety class. On the third day, one of the guys in the class called me Papa Smurf. He said that it was because I was the oldest person in the class, I had graying hair, a full beard (at that time) and always wore a blue shirt to the classes. We were required to wear long sleeve shirts to the classes. For those that know me, I don't like to wear long sleeves unless I have to. I sacrificed one of my older dress shirts for the class and wore it every day. My camo long sleeve shirts are for hunting.The second event occurred when one of my coworkers called me Papa Smurf at work. She said that it was because of my graying hair/beard and because of my long time experience in the department that we worked.I am adding 2019 to the name because I have heard of a Papa Smurf that hiked the AT in 2018. I wanted to eliminate possible confusion.To my family members that thought that I would take the trail name "Frogman", I am not taking that name because I gave that name to myself. At least Papa Smurf was given to me by others. Maybe not on the trail, but by two separate people.
Date: 2019-02-24
To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: moderate rain

I made it to the Springer Mountain Southern Terminus today. The adventure has begun. I am staying at the Springer Mountain Shelter tonight. That means that I have hiked a whole 0.2 miles of the AT today. I hiked the Approach Trail as well. That is 8.8 miles. But that doesn¢t count because it is not considered part of the AT.Johnny (Chief) and Ed (Hot Sauce) hiked 0.9 miles from the parking lot to the Springer Mountain Shelter, set up to stay in the shelter, then packed it in and headed back to the truck. I want to thank them for picking me up at home and and driving me to Georgia. They picked me up on a 6/23/2019, we drove straight to Neels Gap to drop off my food supply so that it is available when I hike into Neels Gap 4-5 days from now. We stayed in a Motel that evening and they drove me to the visitors center so that I could register and start the Approach Trail. I was registered as NOBO hiker #283 with a pack weight of 32 lbs.After a 9 mile hike today I am tired and ready for bed.THANKS Chief and Hot Sauce. Your help over the past couple of days is greatly appreciated.
Date: 2019-02-24
To: How to Navigate Papa Smurf's Journal
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

HOW TO SEE ALL PAPA SMURF'S PHOTOS, JOURNAL ENTRIES AND SIGN HIS GUEST BOOK.This is "Mama Smurf". I just wanted to give viewers some navigational details to make sure you see all Papa Smurf's journal entries, mileage, photos and guest book.  The entire trail from Georgia to Maine is 2,192.0 miles, through 14 states, and takes the average "thru hiker" about 6 months to complete.*NEW* 3/20/19 - Some journal entries will have links to more pictures--just click on the blue text to see them.Journal entries are displayed by day, and have navigation options beneath the title: first, previous, next, last.  Each entry will show his location, how many miles he hiked that day, and below it is the total miles he's hiked so far. Click on the blue "Entries" button on the left-hand side of the journal, and select the entry you want to see.  To view more photos, click on the blue "Photos" button on the left-hand side of the journal.  Click on a photo to enlarge it for better viewing.  To Leave Papa Smurf a message in his guest book, click the blue "Sign" button on the left-hand side of the journal. (To view his guest book entries, click the blue "View" button.)All fields are not required, but at least enter your name so he'll know who left him the message.The date will automatically be added.Type your message in the "comments" box.Click the "I am not a robot" box/image.  (This is only a security feature to verify you are a person interacting with the computer, and not an automated program.) A green checkmark should appear after a few seconds. If not, you may be prompted to select items from an image before the checkmark appears. Just follow the instructions indicated (usually it will have you click on each image that contains a specific object), then click "verify".Once the "Robot" verification is received (green checkmark), click the blue "Sign Guest Book" button on the lower right to post your message.
Date: 2019-02-25
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

The day got off to a cold start. We heard that the temperature got down to 20 degrees last night. The wind had been blowing and gusting hard all throughout the night. Some spots were iced over on the trail. The trail was mainly flat or down hill the first half of the day. Most of the second half of the day, after Three Forks River, were uphill. I am with most of the same people tonight at Hawk Mountain Shelter.Special note: my journal entries are having to wait till I get to a location with cell service. My cell phone is not connecting to any service in the areas I am traveling now.
Date: 2019-02-26
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started off great. The temperature was chilly, not cold. I hiked without a jacket, it was that mild. I was tired by my the time I made it to Gooch Mountain Shelter. I was greeted by two trail ambassadors named Mother Nature and Smoke Stack. After a couple of hours of conversation, I learned that they both know Chief and his friends Stumpknocker and Christmas. They shared many stories. It¢s a small world, isn¢t it? We also had our first trail magic. A couple that runs a local B&B stopped by the shelter and gave all of us hikers some baked scones. They were good.I tried to give one of the guys in the group his trail name. His name is Tim. I wanted to call him ¢Leaf Blower¢. Because he huffs and puffs so hard on the uphills that he blows all the leaves off the path. I don¢t know if he will accept the name.Getting dark now, time for bed.
Date: 2019-02-27
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

It started raining around midnight and didn¢t stop until we had been on the trail over an hour. There were approximately 16 tents at the shelter with 4-5 people inside the shelter. I counted 6 separate tents that had ¢snorers¢ in them. It would have been 7 if I had been asleep. The loudest tent snorer was right next to my tent. Why not? The trail today wore me out. It was a 12 mile hike with some decent climbs throughout the day. Most, but not all views were obstructed by the clouds and fog.By the way, we had our second trail magic. It was Odie. He is known for publishing the yearly hikers yearbook. He was in a modified short school bus located at Woody Gap. He handed out some fruit, candy bars, pop tarts and fruit paste. It hit the spot.They are calling for rain tomorrow, but it should be a short hike over to Neels Gap.Time for bed.
Date: 2019-02-28
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.6

It started to rain around 6:00 AM. That meant that we all had to break camp in the rain. It was a relatively short hike today. However it was a steep climb up to the top of Blood Mountain. It is the highest mountain in Georgia on the AT and has the oldest shelter on the trail. The decent down from the top of Blood Mountain was very steep and had many, many solid rock sections that had to be managed very carefully due to the wet surfaces. No views available due to the clouds. Well, I got off trail on the wrong trail for the first time during my hike. I was trying to hike along the sides of the rock surfaces to avoid a slip/fall. As a result I missed a white blaze in the middle of the rock (trail). I went down hill approximately 200 yards. I came across a sign that read ¢This is not the AT. Turn around and look for a blaze to your right¢. It took me approximately 20-30 minutes to climb back up to the correct trail, it was that steep. I had a few choice words for that mistake.I made it down to Neels Gap. I teamed up with Frank and Shane (two section hikers) and Dave (thru hiking) and we all split the cost of a cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins. The cost of the stay included laundry. Great deal and cheaper than staying at the nearby hostel. Laundry was not available at the hostel. We had soft drinks, chili and salad for supper at the cabin office. It was GREAT.Time to rest. Time for bed.
Date: 2019-03-01
From: Neels Gap

To: Whitley Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We were planning to leave the cabin this morning at 9:00 so that we could eat a nice hot breakfast before we hit the trail. However, there was a handwritten sign on door stating that they could not open for breakfast until 11:00. We couldn¢t wait that late to start so we fixed something in our cabin, stopped for some supplies at the outfitter and were on the trail 10:15. It rained the entire time we were hiking.Have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode about the Soup Nazi where he says ¢No soup for you¢? I felt like Mother Nature was like the View Nazi. Saying ¢No view for you¢. Due to the clouds and the rain, there were no views at all today. Oh well, we can try again tomorrow.We decided not to go to Whitley Gap Shelter because it was 1.2 miles off the trail. We didn¢t want to add an additional unnecessary 2.4 miles miles to our hike. We decided to stealth camp just off the trail 0.4 miles north of the trail exit for Whitley Gap Shelter. Getting to bed early to try and dry me and everything off.Time for bed just before sunset.
Date: 2019-03-02
From: Mile 38.4 Near Whitley Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is Mama Smurf¢s Birthday. I hate that I am not there for her birthday this year, but if I waited until after her birthday to start the trail, the trail would be overly crowded. These crowds are sometimes referred to as ¢The Bubble¢.Happy Birthday Mama Smurf. I love you.Frank (Tank), Shane (Physical) and I started to break down camp starting around 6:00 AM. We were leaving our stealth site around 7:45 AM. It was very windy and foggy. The fog cleared after approximately 2 hours of daylight. After 2 hours of hiking I ran into Dave (Helluva) heading south bound. After I said good morning to him he realized that he had been hiking in the wrong direction, for the last 1.5 miles. He turned around and headed back in the correct direction. He had accidentally added 3 miles to his day. Needless to say, he cursed himself a few times.I reached the Blue Mountain Shelter by mid afternoon. It was a good hike, but it took absolutely everything out of me. I forced down my supper and prepared for bedtime.Good night Birthday girl.
Date: 2019-03-03
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 2.4

Plans for today include getting into town to wait out the rains expected throughout the day. Return to the trail tomorrow morning and hike for two days. The temperature lows for Tuesday night is expected to be in the single digits. We wanted to assure our gear was dry as we approached these upcoming low temperatures.We got a shuttle into Hiawassee, got cleaned up and ate "real" food.The motel offers free shuttle service back to the trail.
Date: 2019-03-04
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: broken clouds

(See more pictures of the "elevation frost" - click on the "photos" button in the left-hand menu.)The shuttle picked us up at 9:00 and we were back hiking again around 9:30 at Unicoi Gap. The day was cold with the wind blowing constantly. At a certain elevations the trees turned white due to frozen cloud moisture on all limbs and surfaces. It made for some unusual and beautiful views. No pictures could do justice to the scenery. We got to Tray Mountain Shelter by early afternoon. It was only a 6 mile hike today. Everyone at the shelter fixed something warm to eat and drink. Most were in their tents by 5:00 to keep warm. I am wearing just about every stitch of clothing I have to layer and stay warm.Everyone will be sleeping with their electronics and water filters to keep those from freezing.Early bedtime tonight. I dread getting up in sub-freezing temperatures in the morning. Looking forward to starting the hike so that I can keep warm.Good night John Boy.
Date: 2019-03-05
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.0

One of the hikers has a portable weather station kit with him. The temperature atop Tray Mountain was 16 degrees. With the wind chill factor it was 6 degrees. When you get out from under your quilt or sleeping bag it is colder than a well digger's buttocks. I was up at 5:00am and hiking in the dark by 5:30am. Walking helped with the cold. I slept with my electronics, water filter and partially filled water bottle. My water bottle contents froze as I walked.I hiked to Dicks Creek Gap then hiked down to "Top of Georgia" hostel. The staff helped me print my permit for the Smokies. Lots of people at the hostel. I hope for a good nights sleep in a warm setting.
Date: 2019-03-06
From: Top of Georgia Hostel

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0

For those that don¢t know what a zero day is, it is basically taking a day off to rest and advance zero miles along your AT journey. After 10 days and 69.2 miles of hiking my body needed a full day of rest. We were also avoiding night time lows in the single digits. We shuttled from Top of Georgia Hostel into Hiawassee where we went to the Holiday Inn Express. I split a room with Tank and Physical.I went to the Ingles and bought my food for the next section. I also bought enough food for my first section of the Smokies. I mailed my food supply for the Smokies forward to the Fontana Village Lodge in Fontana.Time to eat and rest now. Good night Carl.
Date: 2019-03-07
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: North Carolina
Miles today: 9.0

We caught a shuttle from the hotel after eating a nice hot, all-you-can-eat breakfast. The temperature was chilly, but not too hot or too cold. I had an extra spring in my step after the great rest from the zero day and the large breakfast. We made it to the Georgia/North Carolina state line. One state is now complete. Georgia was no joke.A few yards after the state line, we rounded a corner and up a small hill and we were at the famous Bly Gap tree. We took several pictures and then set up camp at Bly Gap. There are approximately 12 tents at this site tonight.Getting dark. Time for bed.