morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-15
From: Springer

To: Fontana
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Stinger & Swampdawg left Brunswick at 8 am, got to Hiker Hostel 4:15 pm. After taking a wrong turn in Atlanta & going about 30 miles out of their way, they noticed a car ahead of them & thought it was LEIGH SAINT. Sure enough, when she pulled off for gas, they got ahead & when they got to the hostel, she pulled in right after them. She had picked someone up in Atlanta to shuttle them to the hostel. Stinger had told his wife that he would try to meet folks at the hostel before calling her, so when it got sort of late, she started to worry some. She called the hostel, JOSH answered & he assured her that Stinger was standing right in front of him. Stinger can¢t say enough good things about JOSH & LEIGH SAINT. Stinger called again later to tell her some of the names of the folks who are staying at the hostel. OLE MAN & NAVI-GATOR are there, assisting at the hostel again (they have bought the AT Lodge & Cafe in Millinocket, Me. from the COGSWELLS & will have it open by the time the thru-hikers get up there) Some of the other hikers who are there: JOHN & TYLER (section hikers), ANTON (thru), PATRIOT (thru-has 2 knee replacements, is hiking for Mayo Clinic Cancer Research), Dr. JOHN DAVIS (doing scientific survey on hikers, is staying at the hostel, of Alma College in the center of Michigan), HENRY F. (thru, journal, young man in USA 2 years from North York, England), BLUEBELLE & TREE (thru, journal), TERRAPIN FLYER & her dog MURRAY (thru girl), hiking with STITCHES (thru girl), STEALTH BLUE (thru guy), DAVE (thru, age 53, from Council Bluff, Iowa), DAVE B. (thru from Kentucky), NANCYE EIDSON from Lewisburg, Ky.(section lady), she brought BLUEBELLE & TOM to the hostel, SNAKE (young guy) hiking with ALEX (young girl)Stinger
Date: 2007-03-16
From: Springer Mountain

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

Friday, March 16th at the Hiker Hostel, I was up at 5am. JOSH & OLE MAN were starting to cook breakfast & JOSH made my day, gave me a cup of coffee. I am blessed getting up early. It is raining right now. Josh is taking us up to USF Rd. 42. He dropped 3 hikers off at Amicalola & picked up RETRIEVER (man starting his NOBO thru) The rain stopped before we got to the trail-head. Thank the Lord for that. JOSH had loaded my pack already while I was trying to get the COGSWELL¢s Florida address from OLE MAN & my pack cover wasn¢t on.We started hiking at 10 am. Met FLINT (man NOBO) & JUBILEE (woman NOBO) There were about 25 hikers in & around Hawk Mtn. Shelter. Some of them were: JAY LOVE (young man Section), JOHN (section), MIKE-LITTLE ENGINE (SOBO thru), MATHEW (starting SOBO in June), ERIC (NOBO thru), J. P. (guy NOBO thru), SKY 6 (guy NOBO thru), WATERFALL (lady NOBO thru), SHALOME (maybe her trail name, young little lady, NOBO thru)We decided to stay here, it was really getting cold. I was in my zero degree-rated sleeping bag at 5:30 pm & I never did really get warm all night.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-17
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: 3/4 mile past Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: clear sky

Saturday, March 17. I was up at 5:45 am, the temperature is 30 or lower. The Water in my bottle & platypus was frozen, that was with them in the shelter. We left at 7:20. HENRY caught up with us after a couple of miles. A little later, we came up on JIMMY MACK (NOBO thru) We took a break at Gooch Mtn. Here came MOONSHINE (young married girl) & her mother TWISTED KNICKERS (they were SOBO sections), they came up for water. HENRY stopped at Gooch Gap to tent. We went on & by 6:15, we found a good flat spot to tent 34 of a mile past Woody Gap. It is now 7:04 pm, going to brush my teeth & go to sleep. It is very cold & is supposed to get down to 28 or lower tonight. Good Night all.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-18
From: 3/4 mile past Woody Gap

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

March 18th. I sat up in my tent at 5:30, another night below freezing. My water was half-frozen in my tent. We left at 7:10 am, it wasn¢t even light out yet. We took a break at Jarrod Gap, 5 and 12 miles from Neel¢s Gap. Hopefully there will be room for us at the hostel there. DR. JOHN is just passing us, he thru hiked in 2004. I summited Blood Mtn. at 12:45 pm, it warmed up a little & the sun is shining bright. Two SQUADS of RANGERS were going up Blood Mtn. with packs on their backs, we told them we appreciate what they do. We saw VANILLA GORILLA (guy NOBO thru) coming off of Blood Mtn. Arrived at Neel¢s Gap at 3 pm (11 12 miles), there were 6 bunks left, we got 2 of them. Still had no rain.Trail Magic at Walasi-Yi, given by MUD BUTT (lady), BIG MAGURO (guy) KIM CHI (girl) PIRATE & WINTON. We were planning on going to the AYCE buffet but WINTON brought me a bowl of stew & rice. He made me take it, REALLY. I also had a hot dog, hamburger, fritos & a drink. Thanks to all of you for making this hiker very happy. Some of the others here: HENRY F. (NOBO thru), SWAMPFOOT (guy NOBO thru), PIRATE (man NOBO thru), MIKE (NOBO thru), MILES McDUFF (guy NOBO thru), RANGER (guy NOBO thru), MONGO (guy NOBO thru), DONNIE (guy NOBO thru), HURDIE GURDY (guy NOBO thru), BOB CAT (Mike Ennis, NOBO thru), BLUE SKY (guy NOBO thru) & his dog BLUE, CHANCE (guy section), ALI BABA (guy NOBO thru) It will probably be about 3 weeks before I have pictures to add to the hiker's names since we are not supposed to be back home until April 1st.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-19
From: Neel's Gap

To: tenting
Miles today: 12.5

Monday, March 19. At Walasi-Yi Hostel. I was up at 6am. It is a little warmer this morning. We left at 7am, the first to go up the trail. We saw father & son section hikers BIG HORN & LITTLE HORN. A couple of miles later we saw SWAMPFOOT, he caught up to us & went on. We took a 10am break at Wolf Laurel Top. The sky was beautiful & the sun was shining. Went past SAILOR (NOBO thru) who was taking a break, he is a Navy Veteran with 31 years in service. A little later we saw CERTAIN & NICOLE (girl NOBO thrus), SAUCE MASTER (NOBO thru from Indiana)We found a stealth tent site at 5:30pm. It is supposed to be warmer tonight. It is 7:30pm, nearly ¢hiker¢s midnight¢. Goodnite AllStinger
Date: 2007-03-20
From: tenting

To: Steel Trap Gap
Miles today: 14.6

Tuesday, March 20. I sat up in my tent at 5:40 am. It is not cold this morning. My pack was leaning up against a tree & Critters messing around it kept me awake off & on all night.We left at 7:10 am, starting out without any water. We hiked up on SAILOR, NICOLE & CERTAIN¢S tent site in Chattahoochee Gap. We hiked straight ahead thru the Gap, in about 200 yards I saw a blue blaze & I said ¢uh oh¢. The sign for that trail we were on said ¢Brasstown Bald 5 miles¢. Then we got on the right trail. We stopped at Blue Mtn. to take a mid morning break. SWAMPFOOT was breaking camp, WAYNE (NOBO thru) was leaving the shelter, CHRIS & JOSH (College students, section hiking) were also at the shelter. CHRIS¢ goal is to be a Marine Pilot & is in flight school. JOSH also wants to join the military. GOD Bless these 2 young men.We took a short break at Unicoi Gap. I was disappointed, no Trail Magic here. At the Cheese Factory, we came up on HOLLY TROUT (girl, going to the University of Tennessee Medical School) & SLICK B. (2006 NOBO thru hiker with journal) They were doing Trail Magic. They are hiking the John Muir Trail this year as the THRUGRASS. Needless to say, we took another break. LUMPY (guy NOBO thru) was also there. Thank you both, the Magic was great.We had told them that MILES McDUFF & RANGER were coming along pretty soon. Sure enough, as we were putting on our packs, getting ready to go up Tray Mtn., we saw them coming. I asked HOLLY TROUT to call them by name, she did & really surprised them.We hiked to Steel Trap Gap, got there at 6:30 pm & set our tents up. I am going to eat a little snack & then turn out the lights. Goodnite AllStinger
Date: 2007-03-21
From: Steel Trap Gap

To: Cloud 9 Hostel
Miles today: 9.0

Saturday, March 21. I sat up in my tent at 5:30 am. The temperature was mild. We left at 7:02 am & went 9 miles to Dicks Creek Gap. We saw TREE & BLUEBELLE in Addis Gap, they had stopped to cook breakfast. A little later RANGER passed us, said he was timing himself going up Kelly Knob from Addis Gap. He was flying up. We passed him on the knob while he was taking a break. He said it took him 21 minutes, it took us 45 & it took TREE & BLUEBELLE 43 minutes to get there.Swampdawg & I took a break in Deep Gap, it is 3 12 miles to Dicks Creek Gap. TREE, BLUEBLLE, RANGER & MILES McDUFF passed us again. We were all hiking together down to Dicks Creek Gap. We arrived at 12:35 pm, we were hitching & a man in a truck picked me & Swampdawg up in 10 minutes. We went to Cloud 9. The others went to Hiawassee. Cloud 9 & the bunkhouse was full, so one of the owners of the hostel, FRANK JONES put us up in his personal travel trailer. Thank you FRANK. Some of the others here at Cloud 9: STRETCH (girl NOBO), SAUCE MASTER, HOOTY HOOT (man NOBO thru), CRUTCH (hiker, helping out at the hostel) FOCUS (guy NOBO thru), BIG DAVE (NOBO thru) WES (NOBO thru), MR. HANKY? (NOBO thru), LONE WOLF (guy NOBO thru), BLY (guy NOBO thru), KNOCK OUT (guy NOBO, thru), SWAMPFOOT, CORN FLAKES (guy NOBO, thru).As I was finishing my phone call to my wife, Swampdawg came up & said FRANK was cooking us fish for dinner. He cooked trout for all the hikers at the hostel, much better than the AYCE we had planned. FRANK & LAURA, you both are great, you really know how to treat people & we appreciate you. I got my mail drop & FRANK took me, Swampdawg & SWAMPFOOT into Hiawasee to the supermarket. After adding all that new stuff to my food sack, I will be starting tomorrow with a heavy pack once more.It is 9:30 pm now, maybe I can get to bed by 10 pm. Goodnite AllStinger
Date: 2007-03-22
From: Cloud 9 Hostel

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

March 22nd. Thursday. I was awake at 6:35am, got packed up, ate my sausage, egg & cheese biscuit & took my pack over to Cloud 9. CRUTCH made a pot of coffee, Swampdawg & I drank a cup. LAURA came up, she had made us some trout dip but we told her to save it for the others because we had eaten too much the night before. Thank you LAURA. FRANK came up & I took a picture of them standing by the van. We said our goodbyes to LAURA. FRANK then shuttled me, Swampdawg & BIG DAVE (British) to the trail-head.A couple of hours later, BLY passed us, then a little later KNOCKOUT passed us. Then YELLOW HAMMER (SOBO section) passed us, said he had seen some strange lights coming towards his tent the night before. He was tented on the side of a hill, the lights looked like candle lights but never would get closer. He said it was sort of eerie.We took a break about 12 mile before Bly Gap, while there FLY AWAY (guy NOBO thru) walked up. He told us that TREE & BLUEBELLE were taking a zero in Hiawassee. Then he walked on.Swampdawg gave me his extra sausage, egg & cheese biscuit. Thanks SWAMPDAWG. Mrs. Stinger gave me orders to not lose more weight on this hike. I never did regain all I lost on the trip to Maine last August.MILES McDUFF & RANGER passed us while we were taking a break. We are staying at Muskrat Creek Shelter. KNOCKOUT & BLY were there, then FOCUS came up, he is tenting. Then MILES & RANGER came, they are tenting. STRETCH (girl NOBO thru) came up, is staying in the shelter. NOBO HOBO (young guy) & MR. HANKY are tenting. KNOCKOUT & BLY built a nice fire, we sat around it for a while. FGC FIRE (section guy, hiking further north) is also hereI am in my sleeping bag at 8:30pm. Goodnite AllStinger
Date: 2007-03-23
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter, tenting
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

March 23rd Friday. I was up at 6:05am. It was pretty cold last night. We were hiking by 7:12am.We took a break at Yellow Mtn. & hiked up Standing Indian Mtn. KNOCKOUT passed us at the top, then later MILES McDUFF & RANGER passed by, then we see-sawed back & forth for a while. BLY passed us near Beech Gap while we took another break. FGC FIRE also passed us.The sun finally broke through at 12:30pm. We stopped at the old Carter Gap Shelter, Swampdawg went down & got our water. We got to the new Carter Shelter at 4pm where we are tenting tonight. We sleep better tenting & the ground is much softer. BLY, KNOCKOUT & FGC FIRE hiked on. STRETCH is in the shelter & FOCUS is tenting too.I am in my tent, trying to get to sleep at 6:54pm. Goodnite All.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-24
From: Carter Gap Shelter, tenting

To: Winding Stair Gap, tenting
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

March 24th, Saturday. I sat up at 5:35am. It is warm this morning, the first time there is no need for my fleece jacket. We left the tent site at 6:55am, in the dark. We took a break above Mooney Gap on the side of Albert Mtn. at 9:30am. Met COMBAT (guy SOBO thru) he started on July 6th, a couple PAPPY (man section) & FEARLESS LEADER (section lady) They had Trail Magic on the north side of Albert Mtn. Thank you PAPPY & FEARLESS LEADER, it really hit the spot.SARAH & JOHN (young section couple from Atlanta) came off of Albert Mtn.I took a picture of 2 middle-aged couples, it was 2 brothers with their wives. It turned out that the men¢s brother had died & according to his wishes, they were taking his ashes to be scattered at the summit of Albert Mtn. One of the men had a real, white parrot sitting on his shoulder, it¢s name was SNOWFLAKE & the parrot has hiked 450 miles of trail with him.We met CHRIS (section from Atlanta) then saw MOUNTAIN-TOP THINKER (NOBO section) while we were taking a break. He said there was Trail Magic at Winding Stair Gap. We had 4 12 miles to go. We took off at 2:30pm, got there at 5pm. The Trail Angels were gone, I immediately started looking around & found a pretty red apple lying on the grass. I devoured it. Thanks Angels.We then went back a ways & found a stealth site to tent. I cooked my supper, ate plenty too. I am now exhausted & when I went to lie down in my tent, it is leaning to the right & a root is in my rib-cage. So I moved it uphill to a level spot. That little lesson taught me to lie down in my tent & test it before driving the stakes in next time.We are going to try to hitch in the morning or await RON HAVEN to shuttle us to Franklin, NC about 7:30am. So I will say Goodnite All.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-25
From: Winding Stair Gap, tenting

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

March 25th, Sunday. I sat up in my tent at 6:35am. It is mild but chilly this morning. We plan to head straight to McDonalds & eat a big breakfast & drink lots of coffee. We left the tent site & walked down to Winding Stair Gap at 8:02am. Tried hitching & at 9am, Swampdawg called RON HAVEN. He said he would come get us in a little while. I was worried about us missing the breakfast at McDonald¢s. RON got there at 9:45am, then we went by Rock Gap to see if any one was there. There wasn¢t. THEN we went to McDonalds, just in time before they quit serving breakfast, Hooray!We checked in the Haven Budget Inn in Franklin, NC, then went to the laundrymat. We saw BRU (guy NOBO thru) there, also saw CHEEZE (young guy NOBO thru), he & BRU are hiking together, they are from Wisconsin & have been friends since Kindergarten. STRETCH came in last nite, BIG DAVE came in at 2pm. Back at the motel, we met MALA (older guy Section) & his black Labrador TUCKER. He has hiked over 11,000 miles. Also met THIRD TIMES A CHARM (guy NOBO thru, journal) THE PACK HORSE (guy, section from England)Got a picture of RON in front of his bus. We went to the AYCE behind the motel, I can¢t remember the name of the restaurant right now, but I ate like STUMPKNOCKER. RON, his wife MARICELA & their twin sons RYAN & CODY were eating nearby. After getting permission, I got a photo of them. RON is a good friend of hikers & we appreciate all that he does. Really, there are so many wonderful people along the trail that you just can¢t say enough about all of them.It is 8:05pm. I am sitting on my bed in room #19. We are leaving between 9 & 9:30am to start back at Winding Stair Gap northward.So Goodnite All StingerSince this entry was made, Mrs. Stinger's favorite Aunt died. She had to go to the funeral in Valdosta. She wasn't able to talk to Stinger about his days on the trail. He will probably be back home on Friday or Saturday. We will update then & get his pictures on as soon as possible.
Date: 2007-03-26
From: Winding Stair Gap, tenting

To: Licklog Gap 
Miles today: 12.3

March 26th, Monday. I was up at 6:25am. KICK THE ROCK (KTR, section hiker from Long Island, NY) is working for RON HAVEN, he took us to Hardee¢s where we ate breakfast. RON¢s bus left earlier than it was supposed to, so KTR took us to the trail-head at 9:30am. Thank you KTR. RON waved at us from Winding Stair Gap across the highway. Thanks RON for making our stay so enjoyable. A short distance up the trail we saw PIKE COUNTY (guy NOBO thru, he was sitting beside the trail taking a break) and HARVEY GRIFFIN (section) & his dog (did not get his name) On up the trail right before Wayah Gap, a couple CLAY & his wife BRANCH (section hikers) were doing Trail Magic. CLAY had injured his ankle, the Doctor said for him to take a few months off from hiking. Some churches had donated the food & drinks for their Out-Reach Ministries. GOD bless & thank you all for the magic, we really enjoyed ours. VANILLA GORILLA also came up & had some of their magic.We walked up on 3 wolves in Wayah Gap, they were lying in the middle of the trail. They looked really worn out like they had been hunting all night. I took lots of pictures, some from close up. MALA told us he had seen 7 wolves a couple of days before. We took a wide berth around them when we left.Met MR. ED (NOBO thru journal) he lives in Summerville, WV. Also met ZEPHYR (guy section, finished from Springer to Duncannon, Pa., he is going next to Hanover, NH to hike in NH a few weeks) he lives in Franklin, NC, grew up in Athens, Ga. We again saw MR. ED tenting at a site past Wayah Bald. Swampdawg & I set our tents up in Licklog Gap. We had just gotten into our tents when PIKE COUNTY stopped to chat with us, then he went on to hunt water. I am in my sleeping bag at 8:05pm. I will try to go to sleep if this root under my rib-cage doesn¢t keep me awake (it did) Good nite all.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-27
From: Licklog Gap 

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: light rain

March 27th, Tuesday. I sat up in my tent at 5:25am. It is cool this morning. We left our tent-site at 6:50am. MR. ED caught up with us about 8am. We took a break at Cold Spring Shelter. We got to Tellico Gap at 11am & took another break there. FOCUS was there, we chatted a while & he went on. Up came VANILLA GORILLA, LUMPY & SANDWICH (girl NOBO thru from NJ) We started up Wesser Bald at 12pm. We set our tents up near A. Rufus Morgan Shelter .07 miles from Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) Also tenting here are MILES McDUFF & RANGER. We are going to leave our tent-sites at 7am in the morning so we can get to the Rivers End Restaurant at NOC when they open at 8am. It is 7:30pm now. It is my bed time. Good nite all.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-28
From: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

March 28th, Wednesday. I sat up in my tent at 5:31am. It is warm this morning. We left our tent-site at 6:40am, arrived at NOC at 7:15am. MILES McDUFF & RANGER were sitting on the coping by the bridge next to the outfitter¢s, they had left the tent-site about 6am. The River¢s End Restaurant opened about 7:50am, they must have seen us anticipating them opening up. With me & Swampdawg at the restaurant was MILES McDUFF, RANGER, STRETCH, WAFFLE (guy NOBO thru) STITCHES (had first seen her at Hiker Hostel) After we ate we went & took a shower & shaved. We also saw SUBLIME (guy NOBO thru) from Gainesville, Fl. at NOC base camp.We went back to the restaurant at 12pm & ate a big lunch. At 1:20pm we started up Swim Bald, the 6 mile ascent out of Nantahala. We passed VANILLA GORILLA¢S pack in 2.5 miles. He was down the hill, getting water. We had enough water, so we went on. It is warm & the sky is overcast. We met BILLY GOAT (girl NOBO thru) & SHASTA (guy NOBO thru) they are hiking together, they were on a vista on the summit of Swim Bald. VANILLA GORILLA came up, we all chatted a while & then we went on.We were stopped & getting some water at a spring beside the trail a little later. We looked down the mountain about 200 feet & saw what looked like someone¢s sleeping bag in a nice, blue stuff-sack down there. We hope nobody fell off the mountain. We arrived at Sassafras Gap Shelter at 6pm. With Swampdawg & me at the shelter was MICKEY ONE SOCK (guy NOBO with journals) FORGETFUL (hiking with Mickey think it is his brother) BOO BOO (girl NOBO thru) Later BILLY GOAT & SHASTA came in. At the fire pit was LUMPY, SMOKE (girl NOBO thru) & some others who were tenting. It is 8:22pm & I am tired. So Goodnite All.Stinger
Date: 2007-03-29
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

March 29th Thursday. We left Sassafras Gap Shelter at 6:36am. We hiked in the dark for a while. We came up on VANILLA GORILLA¢s camp site about an hour later. His site had a great view but it was sort of hazy today. We stopped, took a break about 8:30am & Swampdawg discovered he had left his cell-phone at the shelter. He was hoping BOO BOO would find it & bring it on. We went on to Stecoah Gap & were really excited to find out that BARE BEAR & JELLYBEAN were having Trail Magic for the hikers.In about 30 minutes, BOO BOO came up with Swampdawg¢s phone & she did find it shoved under her sleeping bag. Swampdawg is notorious for strewing his belongings. He has been known to sleep with his head on anything, even Stinger¢s headlamp one time. He was so glad that she found his phone that he gave her a big hug. Some others at the Trail Magic were BIG OLE BOY (guy NOBO thru) BOO BOO, TWINKLE TOES (girl NOBO thru) DONNY KEYHOTE` (guy NOBO thru) VANILLA GORILLA, FINNEGAN. I mentioned to JELLYBEAN about her outfit she had on when she summited Katahdin last year. She ran to her camper, came back with it on & I got her picture. We thanked BARE BEAR & JELLYBEAN for the great Magic & said our goodbyes.We left Stecoah Gap & went on at 12:40pm. We got to Cable Gap Shelter at 6:30pm. We tented a little ways from the shelter. Also tenting were EASY (guy NOBO thru) GRAMBO (lady NOBO thru) with her little deaf dog (did not get that name) There were several hikers in the shelter. BOO BOO, DONNY KEYHOTE` & more that I probably knew but I did not go over since it was so late.It is 8:20pm & I am exhausted. So Goodnite All