morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

11 March.  Brown Fork Gap to Fontana Dam. 13 miles.   "Today we hiked 13 miles. We got up around 6:00 and left at 6:30. We got to Fontana Dam early and I ate pizza for lunch. It was  very tasty. And dad ate 2 hotdogs. We stayed at a restaurant for a while and went online. Then we did laundry."                ¢Sunshine:-)  FYI, the spider must not have been poisonous, I'm fine.  Not a bad day.  We woke up early and began walking as the sun was coming up.  Sunshine was tired and unmotivated since we have been pushing pretty hard lately.  We had 12 predominantly down hill miles to Fontana Village, so I let her keep a slower pace.  The plan was to get a room at the lodge and spend the rest of the day lazing around.  We arrived in the village at noon.  We picked up our resupply package, ate at the Pit Stop twice, did laundry, but opted to hike one more mile to the Fontana Shelter since it had a free shower.  Well, turns out that it is supposed to freeze tonight so they shut off the showers just before we arrived.  Yep, we pass 2 or 3 privies a day but haven't had a shower in the 11 days we've been out here.  Don't freak out... We've been using a lot of wet wipes to keep from offending drivers while hitching.  However, a hot shower would be very luxurious! We enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park tomorrow, but hope to be through it in 2 days.  We also hope to see some views finally.  Maybe after passing through the Sierra and the North Cascades, my expectations are too high.  Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful place.  I just don't think I could capture that beauty with a camera.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Spence Field Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

"Today we hiked 17 miles.  We walked a wile and then we herd a rumbling noise. We looked around and saw there was a deer. Just 2 yards away. So then we start calling her over this is what we said:    Dad: "come here."   Me: "Come here girl, we won't hurt you."       We did that the whole time and surprisingly she walked right up to us within 3 feet. But then we herd more deer and looked and saw two others!"             ¢Sunshine:-)12 March.  Fontana Dam Shelter to Spence Field Gap Shelter.  17 miles  We are deep into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina.  However, we have been walking along the border between North Carolina and Tennessee for the last 10 miles. In fact we have been in both states several times this afternoon.  Never did see a "Welcome to Tennessee" sign or even "Thanks for visiting North Carolina" sign.  Ha,ha.  We even saw 4 deer today!  They were not timid what so ever.  One even walked to us and stopped 10 feet short as if she expected hand outs.  First time I've been "Yogied" by a deer.  I'm afraid they were probably habituated by thoughtless hikers.  It was a nice cool breezy day.  Perfect for hiking.  We even wore coats and gloves off and on through out the day.  They say it did freeze up here last night in the Smokies, and by how cold it already is now, I believe it will tonight as well.  The park requires everyone to self-issue permits when entering and sleep in or at shelters while in the park.  This pretty much sets our course for us as shelters are aprox. 6 miles apart.   We walked pretty much up hill all 17 miles.  We plan to hike 20 miles to the Collins shelter tomorrow.  This situates us 5 miles from the Gatlingburg hitch.  We have to get into the post office before 11:00am on Saturday or be stuck in town till Monday morning.
Date: 2012-04-13
From: Spence Field Gap Shelter

To: Gatlingburg Tennessee
Miles today: 17.0

13 April.    "Today we hiked 17 miles. We got up at 5:30 and walked at 6:00. It was almost sunrise. So we walked uphill (as a lot of the Smokies has  been) and when we got to the top, the sunrise was extraordinarily beautiful! It had dark blue mountains, and it was then rich red, then faded into a rich orange which melted in to a rich yellow!"            ¢Sunshine:-)We planned to hike 3 more miles to Mt Collins Shelter, but we needed to be more strategic. Our resupply package was waiting for us in Gatlingburg, TN and if we continued, we would have 5 miles to hike tomorrow morning.  Then a 15 mile hitch.  Not bad except the PO closes at 11:00am on Saturdays.  If we didn't get that package Saturday, we would be forced into a zero day and another night in a hotel.  We wanted to save our zero and money for Hotsprings, NC where there is a trail festival.   A friendly ridge runner named Billy suggested we hitch from Clingman's Dome tonight instead. It made sense. If we play our cards right, we can get back on the trail tomorrow and actually hike past where we were originally getting out on that same day.    As we got closer to the road, we met several weekend and day hikers.  We enjoy talking to this group of hikers because they typically know a lot about the local area.  We stopped to visit with a friendly couple, Danny and Kim while still .8 of a mile from the road.  They offered to drive us into town.  Once in town Danny ran us 4 miles to the other side of town so we could pick up our mail.  We arrived at the PO at 5:03 pm.  I peeked inside and saw someone inside the locked door.  I knocked and he answered "we're closed".  I said "can I just pick up a package for an AT hiker"?  To my surprise, he said "sure, what's your name"?   Gatlingburg was busy because of a car show so most rooms were full.  We drove 4 miles back to where the motels and restaurants were.  Danny and Kim insisted on staying with us till we found a room.  We finally checked in and then they bought us dinner at a great little Italian place.  We enjoyed their conversation and they were so unbelievably kind!  Thank you!
Date: 2012-04-14
From: Gatlingburg Tennessee

To: New Found Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

14 April.  Clingsman Dome to New Found Gap 8 milesWe had a lot of business to take care of in town and didn't get out till 3:00pm.  We started hiking at 4:00 and intended to arrive at the Shelter 11.5 miles north just before dark. Well, at mile 8 Sunshine was having some problems that could have been an infection.  The symptoms were confusing.  So we hitched back to town, got a room, picked up some remedies for her at Wallgreens, and treated the problem just in case.  It was very frustrating for both of us.  It cleared up overnight and she was fine in the morning.
Date: 2012-04-15
From: New Found Gap

To: Tri Corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

15 April.  Newfound Gap to Tri-corner Knob Shelter 15 miles "Today we hiked 15 miles and we hiked  with Beacon. He hiked with us a little on the PCT. We talked with him and told stories all day with him. We enjoy talk/walk with other people. We told/heard PCT 2011 stories and we did not stop talking and listening and also talked about the AT so far!  Also Beacon is giving us lots of CDT advice."                    -Sunshine:-)  First, it is important to note that in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, all hikers are required to stay in shelters until it's full.  You can not camp along the trail.  If the shelter is full, you must tent within sight of the shelter.  Some shelters such as this one say no tenting allowed (enforced by a $125 per person fine).  So you have to squeeze in or hike to the next full shelter 8 miles north.  This shelter is designed for 12 and there are at least 25 here.  Thru's are required to give up their spot to section hikers.  Section hikers are require to make reservations. The Park Service says they issue 8 reservations and save 4 spots for Thru's.  There were already 8 section hikers here when 7 more showed up just before dark demanding space.  Clearly someone didn't follow the rules or the Park Service over booked them.  Both just as likely. 7 Thru's volunteered to sleep on the ground inside the entrance.  There are half as many shelters in the Park but twice as many section hikers in comparison to the south along the trail.   We ran into our PCT Friend Beacon today.  If you remember from last year he is the one who lent us his spare GPS making navigating the Sierra possible.  We credit our success last year to this single act of kindness.  We hiked together all day.  It was great catching up and swapping PCT stories.  It was a constant up hill climb but too steep.  All in all, a good day.  Sunshine's problem seemed to be a false alarm, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Tri Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

16 April. Tri-corner Knob Shelter to Standing Bear Farm.  18.5 miles.   "Today we hiked 18.5 miles. We camped with Beacon and walked with him and talked all day(which I enjoyed  a lot)! We are at a Hostel and got a bunk. It was surprisingly down hill almost all day! The Smokies has mostly up hill. Also I listened to my iPod. There are not a lot of views on the AT:-(. Nothing interesting today.  We got out of the Smokies park and now we don't have to carry a permit".             ¢Sunshine:-)It was so crowed last night in the shelter.  I shared part of my mat with Sunshine on one side and Trucker on the other.  Sleeping was rough so we rose at 5:20am and were on the trail by 5:40.  I didn't see Beacon's food bag and his tent was gone.  Beacon had already left.  I was really surprised and confused.  We saw him at first light 1 hour later.  He had told us the day before that the bears here were hunted by dogs and you should bark to scare them off.  So we snuck up from behind and began barking.  I though I would be performing CPR.  It was so funny.  So we spent the day hiking with our PCT friend.  It was a great day.  We put in a good 6 miles while it was still cool and windy.  But, it was very hot and muggy before long.  I thought a thunder storm was coming.  The views in the Smokies have been great.  Especially at sunrise.  We dropped several hundred feet as we left the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Tennessee.  The park had regulations that weren't conducive to Thru-hikers, so we are happy to be done with it.  Sunshine and I were going to camp at the next water source, but Beacon insisted on treating us to the Standing Bear Hostel.  Thanks again Beacon.  It has a great relaxed atmosphere and the hikers are great.  We find that the further north we go the better the hikers.  We are just now seeing some hikers more than once.  Finally, hikers at the same pace as us.  It was frustrating meeting people that started 3-4 weeks ahead of us knowing that we would never see them again.  Now we can start making friends that we'll see again.  33 more miles to Hot Springs NC and our first zero!
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: moderate rain

18 April Walnut Mountain to Hot Springs NC 13 miles 4/18/12 "Today it rained so we packed up in the rain and walked in the rain. So we were going to get up early but because it rained we got up at 7:00am hoping to  wait out the rain. On the way to Hot Springs NC, we saw a big turtle in the middle of the trail.  We got to town for a late lunch. We checked into our cabin that we reserved and hung out!  There are at least 100 hikers in town. www.Minimus.biz sent us 200 packs of Jalepeno cheddar squeezer cheese so we are giving it out to everyone.  It's a great way to meet other hikers.  Who doesn't like cheese? Oh, my American Girl Magazine issue with me in it is out today!  We are zeroing tomorrow!".                   ¢Sunshine:-)
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

20 April. Hot Springs to Little Laurel Shelter 20 miles.  4/20/12 "Today we left Hot Springs NC. Sadly it was all up hill, but I talked with Beacon and I listened to my iPod.  Both of those things help motivate me up those horrible hills.  When we got to a road we saw a sign and went to a couples house and they gave us waffles, soup, and an ice cream brownie dessert. It was incredible! Also they had Orange crush(my favorite soda)!"       ¢Sunshine:-)  We had a great day!  First, hot Springs was a great trail town!  We must have seen well over 100 hikers while zeroing there.  Many were taking multiple zeroes there since the trail festival would be over the weekend.  wwwMinimus.biz sent us a case of 200 packs of squeezer Cheese to pass out and we had no problem emptying the whole case.  www.Minimus.biz caries every sauce, oil, spread, spice, cheese, condiments or flavorings you would ever want to add to your camp meals.  The best thing is you don't have to buy it by the case!  We buy the exact number that we need per trip.  They have saved us from meal time boredom for sure! We use there products to add 200 to 500 calories per meal.    We forgot that we have a friend, Rattler, that lived in a neighboring town to Hot Springs.  It was in fact, the very town we were considering hitching to on our zero.  We decided that it was too time consuming to get go to REI, so instead, we bought a new silk liner at the local outfitter. Then we sent the damaged one (it self-destructed in 3 days) home for Teresa to exchange later.  We are hoping to see Rattler over the next few days.  He's looking for some roads to meet us for slack packing.  We stay true to the Thru by hiking every inch of officially marked trail, but have no qualms with not having full packs every day. We have not had opportunity to slack pack yet this year.    We rolled out of town right at 7:00am, which is an amazing feat of self-discipline. The town tug is a powerful vortex!  But we came here to hike, not laze around town.    At mile 11 there was a sign saying trail magic 360 yards to the east.  It was amazing!  Hercules and Fall (past Thru's) opened their home and fead us all Belgian waffles, a hearty Pork stew, and decedent ice cream deserts.  We were their 380th hikers!  They were very kind and loving Christian folks that just want to show love to others with out being pushy.  Very classy and a great testimony of their faith.  Thank you!     The afternoon proved to be steady up hill but not too bad even with our stuffed bellies.  Beacon and Sunshine just finished bartering and trading food bars that they are growing tired with.  Beacon is very kind to her and gives her the better deal often.  He enjoys seeing her happy.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Hogs Back Shelter
Miles today: 22.5

21 April. To Hogsback shelter. 22.5 miles.   " Today we hiked 22.5.  We got up early and hiked with Passion Flower! We talked all day and learned about ipod apps. We found out we could have a GPS for $3.00! She hiked about my pace so we hiked with her almost all day(and we enjoyed her company)! Then our friend Rattler met us at the shelter(We hiked the PCT with him). He gave us Orange Crush! And many other goodies"!            ¢Sunshine:-)aAll in all, not a bad day.  We hiked with Passion Flower for the first time and Sunshine had a great time chatting with another girl.  We've been mostly around men so it was a great treat for her.  We cooked a hot lunch at a shelter since we had an extra meal because we didn't cook last night because of the awesome trail magic.  It was a beautiful sunny day... Until just after finishing lunch.  It began to pour, so we hunkered down in the shelter till it let up.  Once it eased up we made a run for the last 9 miles of the day.  It rained off and on for the rest of the day, but not too bad.  I didn't put on my rain gear so I got soaked at one point, but dried out fairly quickly.  Sunshine was wise and wore her gear during the heaviest rains.  Our friend Rattler (from the PCT) hiked south 2.5 miles to our shelter with snacks, drinks, and the May-June American Girl Magazine!  Sunshine jumped with joy and enjoyed showing the other hikers her PCT article in the magazine.  It was great catching up and exchanging stories.  It began raining after dinner again so we all hunkered down for bed.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Hogs Back Shelter

To: Hwy 19W to Erwin TN
Miles today: 15.5

22 April. To Hwy 19w. 15.5 miles. 4/22/12  "Today we hiked 15.5 miles. We got up early and hiked the first 2.5 quickly and then Rattler drove us to a restaurant. And then we slack packed 13 miles. It rained a lot and was not fun so when we got to Rattler and his warm car, he drove us to Erwin TN!"         ¢Sunshine:-)We have now been rained on more in the last 3 weeks on the AT than we were on the entire 5 months of the PCT.  Like I always say, If it's not raining, we're not training!  Rattler spent the night with us at (not in) the shelter last night.  We pulled off a 6:30am (now first light) start.  We hiked 2.5 easy miles to his car and drove to a quick breakfast.  He slowed down by the trail head and we jumped out, tucked, and rolled as he sped away.  Just kidding, but we did manage to stay ahead of all the others we camped with last night even after fetching a big breakfast.  We busted out a quick 13 more miles. Blessed miles they were, because our packs were in the back of Rattler's car!  It was cold, windy, and rainy all day.  Not a heavy rain but we were in a clouds the whole time so the wind was pelting us with moisture. Walking in the clouds was a strangely beautiful atmosphere.  It almost felt like we were home in the Pacific NorthWest.   When we arrived to Hwy 19 we decided that we needed to get to town and out of the rain.  Perfect timing!  As we drove away, it began to dump buckets and continued through the evening.  We spread our gear out to dry and did our laundry.  We are now at mile #331.Good luck to all the 2012 PCT thru-hikers starting this week! We wish we were there with you. You are in for the most amazing time of your life! We send special well wishes to Sierra(age 8 right?) and her mother. And Baricuda (age 7) and his mother Granola Girl. And Chili (age 13? They already completed the AT in 2010) and his father Pepper. We would love to have their email addresses if anyone has them so we can send encouragement when needed. Say hi to all our friends from the classes of 2010 and 2011 while at the PCT Kick Off!
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Roan Mountain
Miles today: 25.5
Weather: broken clouds

24 April. Roan High Knob Shelter.  25.5 miles. 6,200 feet. 4/24/12  "Today is very cold. There is a lot of snow and wind.  The faster I walk the warmer I got, so I was not wanting to stop. We walked on snow all day. But we are in a 4 walled shelter(most have only 3 walls). There is not a lot of people out here right now because they are in town waiting for no snow."       ¢Sunshine:-)  Sunshine did great today!  Our new friend Mango (PCT 2010 and 2011) has a cabin on the next Hwy and said we could stay there on Wednesday if we made the 60 miles in 3 days.  Well dinner, bed, and breakfast is all she needed to hear to power up the mountain today. It has been cold and windy all day with some snow flurries. Mango saved the day yesterday by buying Sunshine some new gloves and dropping them off at a hostel just off the trail.  We stopped there yesterday afternoon for a break.  I gave my gloves to her yesterday morning, so having mine back today was literally a Godsend!  It was perfect hiking weather.  We did a lot of layering and unlayering depending on wind exposure or overheating walking up hill.  Our "Darn Tough" Socks keep our feet nice and warm even when damp from the snow.  The gloves and buffs stayed on all day.  We wore the buffs like balaclavas, perfect face protection.  The last 7 miles were all in the snow and up hill, so the closer we got to the shelter, the deeper the snow, and the more fierce the wind became.  The promise of a warm shelter with a door and loft kept Sunshine motivated.  She gobbled down her hot dinner and tea and went straight to bed.
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Roan Mountain

To: 19E
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

25 April. To Hwy 19E. 16 miles.  "Today we hiked 16 miles and they went by fast. Then we met Mango(Thanks Mango!) at a road. He drove us to his cabin and let us spend the night.  He fed us a lot. Also his granddaughter came over. It was awesome to be with her. And Mango took us out in his boat. It was the first non-canoe I have been in."     ¢Sunshine:-)    When we went to bed last night on Roan Mountain in a shelter, we had no idea how blessed we really were.  It dropped well below freezing inside the shelter and we could hear the wind howling madly all night.  We woke at 6:00 am so we could begin walking at first light.  Beacon stepped out side for a minute, and returned with a grim look on his face.  He said it snowed all night and the old tracks in yesterday's snow were completely covered with fresh snow.  Wait a minute... I clearly remember several people telling us that we wouldn't deal with any snow on the AT.  We've had it 3 days in a row now!  Like I always say: if it's not raining, we're not training and if its not snowing we're not going.  We stayed close together through the morning for safety.  We even saw a set of Mountain Lion tracks which kept us even closer together.  As we dropped in elevation, the snow then turned to rain.  Soon the trail was a muddy slushy mess.  We arranged to meet Mango at 3:00pm on the Hwy, so we continued a steady pace despite all our slipping and sliding.  Our legs were black with mud from the knee down.  Once it began to clear, the landscape looked stunning with the rolling hills and the heavy fog blanketing the valley below.   While still in the snow, we met Wrong Way still in his hammock tent. He had lost his fuel the day before.  I offered mine but he didn't have anything to put it in and I needed the empty bottle for the future. Beacon gave him all 8 ozs. of his, bottle and all. Later we ran into Gus who looked completely defeated as we approached. He had forgot his food bag at his camp the morning before.  I realized that this meant he hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday.  I gave him all my remaining food bars and so did Beacon. We didn't mind since we had plenty of food waiting for us in just 6 hours.  He was very grateful.  We felt good to be able to help others today as we have been so blessed on this journey by others too.  It was also a great lesson for Sunshine to witness.   Mango brought us to his beautiful cabin on the lake where we spread out all our wet gear in the sun.  Mama Mango fixed us a wonderful dinner with delicious soup.  Sunshine enjoyed visiting with their 8 year old granddaughter Audrey.  Mango gave the girls a boat ride on the lake while Beacon, Momma Mango, and I visited on the dock in the precious sunlight.  Thank you both for your wonderful Hospitality!  Mango, let me know when you're passing through Oregon on the PCT so I can repay the favor!