morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-23
From: Best Campsite in the World @ Mile 34.1

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we said our last goodbyes to our Tennessee friends. Hopefully we see them again in a few weeks, because they are a couple of really good guys. We hiked from Wolf Laurel Top over to Cowrock Mtn. which had some nice open rock faces, and down into Testnatee (TestyourKnee) Gap... where Tim and I had an interesting experience bushwhacking down from the gap for H20. Hope I don't get poison ivy from that. We did some leapfropping throughout the day with John and Julia?(I think... I'm sorry), and Mumbles, Commando, and their dog Nikki. We all crossed paths at Hogpen Gap where there was a conveniently placed porta potty =) Stopped not long after and ate so many grilled spam/minibagel sandwiches for lunch, I though I was going to POP! We passed up Whitley Mtn Shelter to go on to Low Gap Shelter and got there right before dark. Had a friendly mouse come and climb on my lap when i sat down on the shelter platform and opened a granola bar. Set up camp uphill and away from shelter, had a nice little fire, ate and crawled into our tents for some Z's. Goodnite ATland, I'm beat...my journal says.
Date: 2009-05-24
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: light rain

"OOOh that smell, can you smell that smell" Oh, yeah... it just my socks hanging in the tent with me. Its pouring out right now. I'm seeing little spittles of water in the light of my headlamp, so I may be wet in the morning. Leapfrogged a foursome throughout the day.   Robert & Andrea and Chris & Katelyn. Left knee was bothering me a little bit today. Can't wait for the AYCE Buffet at Daniel's Steakhouse in Hiawassee. It's about all I can think about, that and a good hot shower. Appetite is going crazy!
Date: 2009-05-25
From: Blue Mtn. Shelter

To: Tray Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.8

Wet. Everything. All day... took an awesome spongebath by a stream when the sky cleared up for a bit. So did Jenna. Amazing feeling.... Being naked in the woods that is Went through lots of huge rhododendrons groves. Enchanting to say the least.... To be continued... and once again out of time. I'm here at Fontana Dam, NC right now. That was my attempt to update for the last week or so. Great job, eh?Oh, now I'm in Gatlinburg, TN. @ the public library. Kind of a cool, but tacky kind of a tourist trap of a town bordering the Great Smoky Mountains. Need to get back out on the trail before any more money is spent, so.... here we go.Rocky Mtn. was a really tough climb, then down into Unicoi Gap in a downpour, and up Tray Mtn to the shelter. Near the top the trail became real narrow and winded its way through a tunnel of exotic flowering trees (rhododendrons, mountain laurel, and flame azaleas mostly) When we got to the shelter, there was quite a variety of people there. There was Pastor John and Julia, Wes and Stacy(speedhikers from Tampa), a college student named Greg from NY I think, and a ragtag crew of locals that hiked up shovels, hatchets, axes, and wet sleeping bags strapped uncovered to the outside of their packs. They were able to get a fire going despite everything being soaking wet. My earlier attempts had failed. Everyone there appreciated determination of the locals, and the warmth
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Tray Mtn. Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Not a happy morning for me. Everything still wet, and it was still raining. Decided not to cook breakfast. Just packed up and hit the trail... bad idea. Rocks and sticks kept getting kicked up into my boots, and I had to stop about 6 times in the first couple hours or so to take them off and empty them out. Tim and Jenna both kept their distance from me for most of the morning. When I stopped for lunch, the rain had quit, and I cooked a nice hot meal. Just what I needed to pick me up, and give me some energy to break a smile. Also, I discovered that by zipping my pant legs back on, it kept the sticks and stones from breaking my bones, or at least out of my boots. That afternoon, we climbed up and over Kelly's Knob, which was just a straight up and down spike. We arrived at Deep Gap shelter around 3pm, the sun came out and we laid everything out to dry, including our tents clothing, boot insoles, sleeping bags etc. Thank you sun for drying me out! Since it was still early, instead of staying at the shelter like originally planned, we dedided to hike the 3.5 miles down to Dicks Creek Gap where the road passes through and hitch a ride into the Town of Hiawasse, and that we did. We got a somewhat uncomfortable ride (at least for Tim and Jenna in the back of the truck) with an old coon hunter named Earl. He was a good ol boy from the Georgia hills. He brought us to the Hiawassee Inn, where lives the craziest but nicest innkeeper in maybe the entire world. He checked us in, took our dirty laundry, and then handed us the keys to his van and told us to go down to Daniels Steakhouse and "get yo'selves some buffet". That we did. He brought our clean and dry clothes to our doorstep when we got back. What a deal for $17.50 a piece.
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Hiawasee Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Our first zero day in Hiawassee. Since the day before was Memorial Day, our bounce box had not yet arrived the day before, it came UPS in the early afternoon. We did our grocery shopping, went to the library, and sent our bounce box on ahead to the next town stop. I spent a part of the day talking with an old guy named Tom who was living there at the Inn temporarily. He was an old ridgerunner from VA, and served our country in the Cold War era over in Germany. He lots of good stories and advice to share with me. My favorite was about bears. "If you see a bear with a tag in his ear, look out! A bear with a tag in its ear has been relocated due to previous aggressive or bad behavior. And... if you see a bear with a tag in each ear, you'd better be really careful, maybe even say some prayers." Hope you get your knee back in working condition Tom.
Date: 2009-05-28
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

One state down! We hitched a ride back up to the trail and hiked 9 miles to the GA/NC border.   There was a nice little campsite there by a big old tree. (Insert picture here)We put some miles in and there's not much else to mention about today.
Date: 2009-05-29
From: Bly Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: broken clouds

Lots of easy ups and downs today. Met some section hikers Matt, Eric, and a guy from Essex, UK. Eric was from Chicago, had the same cook pot as me, and was a musician. We hiked a ways together and I enjoyed our talks. The last two miles to the shelter Tim, Jenna, and I got absolutely poured on. It was like walking uphill through a rushing river about 6 inches deep, boots full to the top with water, and lightning bolts coming down all around us. It was a mad dash to the shelter. It was the first night we all actually stayed in the shelter, because the rain just wouldn't quit.
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

Big mile day! Didn't sleep well in the shelter. Mice were running all over and around me all night. They were also climbing around my pack like a jungle gym, which was hung up on a nail on the shelter wall. Lots of snoring and shifting around on the sleeping pads. The section hikers were up and off early. We stuck around a little and let our clothes and stuff hang dry a bit. Leaving the shelter we came across what we believe to be a baby rattlesnake sunning itself on the trail. It didn't have a rattle, so we're not sure. Ended up being a beautiful day and there were lots of good views to be had going up Albert Mtn. and super nice views from the fire tower at the top! There were three friends, two girls and a guy up there drinking a bottle of wine and waiting for the sunset. They asked what I was up to and offered me wine and potato chips and even gave me an apple to take with. My first TRAIL MAGIC!... and it was magic in every way. Stayed for the sunset, which was mostly blocked by clouds. I then walked the last half a mile from the fire tower down the the shelter, with my crocs and headlamp. Sat around the campfire for a bit with Mike, ROFL Dawn and Springer Fever. Decided to give the shelter a try one more time, as I was just too tired and relaxed or maybe even too lazy to set up my tent in the dark.
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: campsite @ mile 108.6
Miles today: 10.0

Didn't sleep at all in the shelter. Between the mice and Dawn rolling around in her tent (set up in the shelter) my eyes were open and closed all night long. I got up around 4am and went back up to the fire tower to watch the sunrise. I got up there around 5am and was still dark. I had to wait an hour and a half for it to rise and it was COLD and WINDY, but very worth the wait. "Springer Fever" joined me right as the sun rose, and we had a nice talk. Got some great pics and video and a sense of peace from up there that morning.Hit the 100 mile marker in the early AM. Yay! Found some girly sunglasses on the trail which I sported with style. Haha. One of the guys we passed a day earlier came down into Rock Gap with a stray hunting dog, that was hungry and weak. He was out of food so we fed her some beef jerky, and other treats. We made it to Winding Stair Gap around 3pm hitched a ride with a local in an old Ford F-250 pickup truck. He gave us a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts (minus the two he had eaten) to share on the way into the town of Franklin. More Trail Magic!   Out of time... To be continued.Ok, lucky got another 1/2 hour extension... I went to the library and had only about 40 mins to update my journals... not enough! Then met Tim and Jenna down at the community center for a shower. Washed some clothes in the shower. Then we went to the AYCE Pizza and Salad buffet at the bowling alley/go kart/arcade/Chucky Cheese/fun center place. Then to Ingles market to get another few days worth of food and we hitched a ride back up to the trail with a nice couple we met in the parking lot of the grocery store. We hiked a mile or so in the dark with our headlamps ON, to the campsite. It wasn't the best as far as finding a level spot to pitch our tents but we made it work. Tim and Jenna set up there tent on this little land bridge right over the river. How nice. We had a nice time around the campfire, which featured a twisted log that looked like a flaming blue dragon when it caught fire.
Date: 2009-06-01
From: campsite @ mile 108.6

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

Woke up late with the sun beating down. Great day. Hiked up and over our first of the "balds" today. Mountains with grassy tops. Took a video of two bunnies on the trail who weren't afraid of me at all. Maybe they didn't know what I was. We made it up to the Wayah Bald parking area and then up to the Wayah Bald observation tower. We stayed up there for a nice sunset. On the way down to the Wayah Shelter Jenna ran into a BEAR! It wouldn't move off the trail when they yelled at it so they came back up the trail to get me. I was still up top taking some pictures. We made it to the shelter after dark, a little excited from the bear, and the three other guys there had their bear bags hung in the shelter. We hung a bear bag line and convinced them to put their food up in the tree with ours. The two guys from Raleigh, NC and an older guy named Eric (Pundit... sleeping in his tent in the eating area of the shelter) were there and shared some time with us around the campfire once we got it going.
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Wayah Shelter

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Another big mileage day for us. The descent down the ridgeline was 5 miles of absolute brutal-ness. All the mountain laurel was in full bloom. It made for a really nice hike. Nantahala Outdoor Center tomorrow was on all our minds. We spent the night around the campfire with Rob and Andrea (Bit and Byte) and this guy Adam and his new girlfriend who he took out for a little overnight stay in the woods that night. They had all the great food that us thru hikers don't have. Potatos, hot dogs, and baked beans. They did share their leftovers with us hungry hikers and we appreciated it very much, as always!
Date: 2009-06-03
From: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: N.O.C.
Miles today: 0.8

Nero Day. Beautiful sunshiney day. Birds woke me up about 7am, got up and walked the 8/10's of of mile down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. A river/trail junction packed full of stuff for the outdoor enthusiast. Bit and Byte left even earlier than me to catch their 9am white water rafting reservation. I received our bounce box from the outfitter store there, and made my way to "base camp" the hostel there. Shower and laundry of course is the first call of duty. When Tim and Jenna arrived we finished laundry and went for a bite to eat and walked down to the store to resupply our food. We hadn't planned on staying there all day but we did. It was just too nice of a place. I never wanted to leave, really. The Sierra Club had a group of volunteers there and one of the river rafting guides Lee Knight, also a musician did a musical presentation in the hostel kitchen. He intertwined local Native American Indian (Cherokee) and early settler type music with lots of history and storytelling. It was really quite the treat. I ended up crashing in one of the hostel bunkhouses with Pundit and we snored each other to sleep... lol
Date: 2009-06-04
From: N.O.C.

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Missed breakfast with the rest of the group. No invitation. So, I had an ice cream sandwich. Then Mike, Tim, Jenna and I all took a raft down the rapids and jumped in the 52 degree water, all before heading back up the trail. 6.9 miles of straight up. Out of time once again... next update will hopefully be in 3 days (June 13) at a Standing Bear Farm hostel or 7 days(June 17) in Hot Springs, NC. Back to the trail. I have 12 miles planned for today, wish me luck Thanks for reading.Here at Standing Bear Farm hostel. Its Saturday Jun 13th about 12pm. Had a great time last night, lots of people here, but more on that later...Mike and I went on ahead to the shelter. When we got way up on the ridge, we were wondering why all the leaves were chewed up and laying all over the forest floor, but right before the shelter and on either side of Swim Bald, we walked through piles of hail covered in leaves. It must have hailed up there earlier that morning or the night before. The forest was decimated. Very bizarre sight. When we got to the shelter there was two guys Wes (from Manchester, TN home of Bonnaroo) and his buddy Travis. Cool guys. The old style outhouse was nothing like the nice new privies they had recently built in Georgia. This this was falling over, full to the brim, and crawling with mice and spiders. Wish I got a picture. It was really something special.
Date: 2009-06-05
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked with Mike all day. We really got to know each other quite a bit better. 15.2 miles in style today. No problem. The hike up to Stecoah Bald from Stecoah Gap was extremely steep and a very tough uphill climb but that was the worst. Bit and Byte, and Wes and Travis were all there at the shelter when we arrived. We got a really nice fire going and like many other times, as soon as it really started going good, down came the rain. Everyone to their tents! OH, we had to hang bear bags first, in the dark. Mike's first try with the rope tied around the rock, aimed up and over a branch failed and came down inches from Bit's head. Couldn't see where it went with the dark, the rain, and the headlamps in each others faces. We got the food hung and went to our tents. Bit and Byte in the shelter. Wes in his hammock and Travis in his tent. I played a little rain lulluby on my harmonica, real softly until drifting off to sleep.
Date: 2009-06-06
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: "Fontana Hilton"
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: few clouds

The rain the rain, oh the lovely rain. It makes everything wet and muddy. Good thing it was only a quick downhill hike into Fontana. Tim and Jenna didn't make it to the shelter the night before, but rolled in right as Mike and I were packing up our wet stuff getting ready to head down. They were stopping in for breakfast, and we took off and planned on meeting up at the "Village". We came out right by the Marina on Fontana Lake. Hitched a ride with a guy nicknamed Casey Jones to The Fontana Village Resort, after helping him rescue some "toadfrogs" out of a vertical PVC pipe that someone left uncovered, with a water valve down in it. He lived in a houseboat on the lake, and was pulling his boat out of the water with his truck when we met him. We hopped in back and he took us the 2 or 3 miles down the road to the village. First call of business there: bacon cheeseburgers and fries at the restaurant. Extremely good, seeing how it was my first cheeseburger in about a month, but really skimpy on the bacon for an extra buck. Don't bother ordering extras there. Next we did laundry, including our tents which were just soaking wet covered with dirt and mud. I got my mail drop box with food from the Post Office (Thanks Mom and Katherine for putting that together for me!) and only had to buy a few little things from the grocery store there. We then went up to the Lodge to use the internet. Had to wait to use the computer for a bit and I maybe got another 45 mins or so of usage. Hardly worth the effort. Updating this journal has been the toughest part of my trip so far by far. haha Climbing mountains with 40+ lbs on yours back is no easy task, but keeping up on this journal is a daunting task. I just keep chipping away at it and thats the best I can do. So, Mike bought a couple bottles of wine there, and everyone else (14 of us hikers) all got some beer and stuff and we all had another mile hike to the "Fontana Hilton". This is a nickname for maybe one of the classiest shelters on the trail. Its huge! Sleeps 24 people, really nice and clean. It had a water fountain and spigot, bathrooms a short walk away, and trash cans! Not to mention waterfront property overlooking Fontana Lake. We had a really nice time around the campfire that night, meeting each other, and talking about our different trail stories. There was a couple from Canada, Matt and Emily "The EH Team", a couple from NC Brian and Megan "Baloo and Sparky", Rob and Andrea from TX (Bit and Byte), Joe and Mackenzie, Kevin from TN, Lee "Good Will Hunting" from Boston, Tim and Jenna "Rockslinger and Tokwe", Mike and myself. We are all hiking up into the Smokies tomorrow!
Date: 2009-06-08
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

Well, my time is up here at Standing Bear Farm's computer. I'll finish updating with my hike through the Smokies when I get to Hot Springs, NC in 2-3 days. I'm about to head back on the trail, just have a few more chores to do. Most everyone else here has left, Tim and Jenna are staying and taking a zero day. Jenna's pretty sore, and afraid she may have shin splints. I think she'll be ok, and she is doing the right thing by taking it easy and resting up. There's some more people that just came in for the night. I can't afford to stay another night, so I must move on. I haven't paid yet, was supposed to be doing a work for stay, but haven't seen the owner all morning. So, I don't know what the deal is. More soon... keep checking in for more exciting happenings from me on the AT (hopefully no more stupidity haha Well, that whole stupiditity thing...Let's just says that sometimes its just unavoidable or part of the game, per se.Anyways, back to business...Woke the morning sore as ever, but once I got moving it worked itself out. I ended up feeling really good, actually. Most of the group went on ahead and I just fell back at a nice easy-going pace. Ran up on Lee "Good Will Hunting" from Boston, and we spent most of the day hiking together. We talked about the importance of taking it easy on yourself, not pushing through pain just because you feel like you need to do more miles, and listening to what your body is telling you. No need for self-punishment out here. We made our way up and over Thunderhead Mtn, where we enjoyed some incredible views, despite the bugs. Made it to Derrick Knob Shelter feeling good, renewed.
Date: 2009-06-09
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Clingman's Dome
Miles today: 10.1

(I'm in Hot Springs now 06/17/09, but don't have time to update the journal. Sorry guys... I'll try again next time. All I can say is that I'm having tons of fun out here!!!   It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but also the simplest. When someone asks me to describe the trail, I say,"Hard but simple."If I can get some to transcribe over the phone in the next few days, I'll have an update for ya. Still heading north...)(Ok, now I'm at Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN. 06.22.09)Back to the Smokies...THE DAY OF MANY ANIMALSLeft the shelter that morning and the first thing I saw a couple hundred yards down the trail was a wild turkey picking through the leaf litter for whatever it was he was picking for. Then, not even a mile more down the trail I ran into a bear. I chased him for a while down the trail before he veered of to the left and down into the brush. Then I saw a chipmunk. Was trucking along, came to a stop to reach back for my water bottle, took a sip, and looked down to see a rabbit about 8 feet in front of me. I stayed real still and watched him munch on trailside vegetation for a while. Then I saw some very loud birds squawking at me, trying to lead me away from their nests. Lastly, I saw four deer right off the side of the trail and I chased them around taking video. This was all in the AM. Then, kept climbing up, up, up to the highest point above sea level on the entire trail, Clingman's Dome @ 6,643'. The "Eh Team" "The B Team" "Bit and Byte" and Mike all hitched from the top down into Gatlinburg, TN. I waited for about 2 hours for Tim and Jenna to show up. When they did, they already had decided that they were going to keep on to the next shelter, and I watched them go. I already had it in my mind to go into Gatlinburg. I was really low on food and ready for a break. So, into Gatlinburg I went. In style. Thanks to two great guys, Kevin and Dave, who gave me a ride 12 miles down the mountain into town. I was only expecting a ride, but Kevin being the coolest guy in the world, said,"You know, what I'm going to treat you to dinner." We went to the Smokey Mtn Brewery Restaurant and ate well. He also treated him and I to a 5 microbrew sampler. Let me tell you about trail magic! This one reigns supreme! Thanks Kevin! I had a really fun night. Tim and Jenna, all I have to say is that you guys missed out on this one. Especially the 3am hottub hopping...
Date: 2009-06-10
From: Clingman's Dome

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 3.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Went to the library in the morning. "Clingman's Dome Anyone?" said my sign that got me a ride back up to Clingman's Dome, where I actually got some views and pics this time. The first time I was up there it was clouded in. Awesome pics. Made my whole trip in the Smokies. Then I pounded out the 3 miles to the next shelter, where a bear would not leave us alone while cooking dinner. We threw rocks at him and he kept coming back. He walked around the campfire ring that was right in front of the shelter all night. Lucky for us this shelter was one of the two shelters (14 total) in the entire park that still had a chain link fence across the front of it. Silly bear...