morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 23- The winds howled all last night on our ridge line campsite and I was sure a tree limb was going to fall on our tent or that an intense thunder and lightening storm was going to blow through. Neither happened, but I didn't sleep well. So at 5:45 I convinced Jim that it was time to get up and start our miles into Hot Springs. We had one good uphill climb today, but most of our 13.2 miles were gently down hill. Halfway through our miles the skies darkened and we heard thunder rolling in the distance. This made me walk faster! About 2.5 miles from Hot Springs the wind became forcefully gusty and then the rain hit. Our umbrellas were useless until we hiked to the other side of the hill where we were protected from the wind. The AT goes right through the small town of Hot Springs. We stopped at the first restaurant we came to, The Smoky Mountain Diner and had a big, hot lunch. Jim's lunch once again included tater tots! We finished our meal with a bowl of their homemade blueberry cobbler! Delicious! We walked around town, checking out the grocery store and outdoor supply store. We also saw thru-hikers VooDoo, Simba, Trucks, and someone else whose name we don't know or cannot remember! I spent part of the afternoon at the Hot Springs Resort and Spa getting a mini-pedicure and a haircut. I am pleased with both and was pleasantly surprised to only have to pay $45 for the two services! Plus I got a free pass for a one-hour soak in the hot springs, which we may use when Jeannie is here tomorrow! Such a deal! Hot Springs has no cell service so if I told you we might call you from here, we cannot. I'm sorry! Tonight we are going to the local tavern for dinner and maybe if we can stay awake we'll get to enjoy the live music that is supposed to happen there tonight. We're hoping to see some other hikers there, but that younger crowd may not come out until later than we want to stay out! We are staying at the Mountain Magnolia Inn here in Hot Springs and it is a lovely place. When I retired my colleagues gave me a gift certificate to this place, knowing that the trail went right through this town. What a perfect and thoughtful gift! We are thrilled to be able to stay in such a nice spot, knowing it is from such great people. Thank you Longridge! Jim reports that we have now hiked one-eighth of the trail! We're looking forward to the next eighth! Zero day tomorrow! All is well.
Date: 2014-04-05
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 24- April 5-Rest days are good days! We started our morning by waking up to the aromas of breakfast cooking in the kitchen below. We had to wait until 8:30 AM to eat but it was worth the wait. It was an all you can eat breakfast and here is what was offered: a variety of fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, scrambled eggs with spinach and peppers, cheesy hash browns, bacon, sausage, and muffins with butter marmalade and honey. It was all delicious. When we finished eating the chef came by to ask if we were staying another night. When we said we were she asked us if we had any requests for tomorrow's breakfast. I suggested something with cinnamon and she said she could make a baked French Toast casserole with cinnamon and I said I though that sounded great. I can hardly wait to smell that baking in the morning! Our Trail Jeannie arrived shortly after 10 and after a short walk around town we headed for the Hot Springs Spa where we had an 11:15 AM reservation for a hot springs soak! And let me tell you, that hour long soak in 104 degree water, in a tub down by the French Broad River was just what our tired hiker bodies needed! We sat there watching the river flow by and the birds flit from tree to tree along the shore. It was delightful! Plus it was free because I got a pass for this hour soak yesterday when I paid for my haircut and pedicure!We returned to our room at the B&B and made some FaceTime calls to family which was awesome. I do miss all of our family and friends which makes seeing Jeannie when she tracks us down to deliver our resupply stuff all the more special! We returned to the Smoky Mountain Diner for lunch and had another good meal at a good price. When we left the diner we found Frank and Nancy who had just arrived in town and were on their way to the laundromat. We may see them later tonight at the tavern, but if not it may be awhile until we see them again as we are leaving town tomorrow and they are going to take two zero days here in Hot Springs. The afternoon was spent sorting through the food and gear that we asked Jeannie to bring. We need 5 days of food to get us to our next resupply point in Erwin, TN. It takes time to get everything planned and organized for the next couple of weeks. Jeannie has already mailed a box to a hostel in Erwin for us to pick up in 5 or 6 days. Jeannie left here around 5:30 and I always feel a bit sad she she leaves. It is so good to see some family occasionally! We are now in a local tavern, eating dinner and watching the basketball fame. Frank and Nancy just came in so as soon as we finish eating we will join them at their table and catch up.All is well.
Date: 2014-04-06
From: Hot Springs

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 25- April 6Last night Nancy and Frank and Peek-a-blue met us at Spring Creek Tavern and we had a delightful evening catching up with them and watching some basketball. They are taking two zeros in Hot Springs and we left this morning so it may be a while until we see them again. Our day started with a delicious , big breakfast at the Mountain Magnolia Inn, including a cinnamony French Toast casserole. Once our bellies were full we hoisted our heavy packs and started the climb out of Hot Springs. This climb was much more manageable than some of the climbs out of other towns. The trail was fairly steep once it left the French Broad River and climbed up to Lovers Leap, but then it settled into a steady uphill. Today we hiked to and around a little pond at Mill Ridge. There was an old dam which backed up a small creek, creating this small pond. There were even 2 benches along the stretch of trail that paralleled the pond. We also did some road walking (gravel and dirt) which has been fairly uncommon since we started the AT. Our destination today as the Spring Mountain Shelter, almost 11 miles from Hot Springs. Before we left the Inn, our Trail Jeannie sent us a message that high winds and rain were forecasted for tonight. So we thought the shelter was a good goal. However when we arrived there we discovered that the winds were blowing directly in the open front of the shelter! That would not help us tonight. Plus, there were no tent sites that would have been out of the wind. A quick look at our guide showed that Deep Gap was just less than 2 miles away and it had a water source so we decided to continue on and see if that would provide a better camping spot. So here we are in Deep Gap, which does seem to be out of the worst of the wind at the moment. We've set up our tent with the low, back end if the tent pointing into the wind and Jim is trying to build a wind screen with some logs to hopefully divert some of the bigger gusts. The two day-hikers we met on top of the mountain with the FAA radar station on it were day hiking through Deep Gap this afternoon and wished us well tonight. There is a small inn with cabins about 3.5 miles from here, but I couldn't convince Jim that we needed to stay there. Hopefully Deep gap has been a good decision. We also know that we will be hiking in rain tomorrow because the forecast is for 1-2 inches to fall! Should be exciting!A correction from yesterday: when we were sitting in the tub at the Hot Springs Spa, the Spring Creek was flowing by us, not the French Broad River. All is well.
Date: 2014-04-07
From: Deep Gap

To: Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: moderate rain

Day 26- April 7We survived our wind and rain in Deep Gap just fine last night. After I posted yesterday's journal entry we collected more logs to build a wind break on one of the long sides of the tent. The winds howled all night long up on the ridge line but the shape of the gap blocked us from the worst of he gusts. Any gusts that made it through were stopped by the wooden fort we erected around our tent! As forecasted the rain started in the middle if the night and continued through the morning. We stayed in the tent as long as we thought we could, until our bladders nearly burst, and the had to pack up in the rain. That is only the second time we've had to break camp in the rain, the first being the morning we climbed Blood Mountain, back on day 4. We hiked in the rain for the first hour, using our umbrellas. Fortunately we were protected from the wind at that point. We had a long climb up to a ridge line today and there would have been spectacular views if we hadn't been walking in a cloud! At one point we had a choice in AT routes- the exposed ridge line trail (with the white blazes) or the lower, bad weather route. The weather wasn't great but it wasn't bad so we went high and are glad we did. This 1.6 mile section climbed up to the rocky, knife-edge of the ridge where the winds were ferocious! Kudos to the trail crews who built and maintain this section because there are many large rock steps in place to help with the ascent and descent -amazing work. It was so windy on top of the ridge line that we had to use both of our hiking sticks to brace ourselves when the gusts blew through. I always had to have at least one stick on the ground/rocks for extra balance and there were times when we'd lift our foot to take a step and the wind would blow our foot to some new spot! As we were descending from this ridge we both decided that the word "exhilarating" best describes these 1.6 miles. The only thing that would have made it better was if the weather was clear so we had some views, but I probably would have fallen off the mountain because I was not looking where I was going. We are staying in a shelter tonight. Jerry's Cabin Shelter is situated so the wind is hitting the back of the shelter and there is a tarp over half of the front. It is much warmer in here, out if the wind! My only concern about tonight is the mice. They can take over a shelter once the sun goes down. I have used the shelter broom to sweep any food particles off the sleeping platform and we will lay down our plastic ground cloth that usually goes under the tent, but I don't think much deters these shelter mice. Today we passed the 300 mile mark! On to 400!All is well.
Date: 2014-04-08
From: Jerry's Cabin Shelter

To: Hog Back Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 27- April 8Another good night in the shelter. I had no encounters with mice (that I know of!) and Jim says he heard them eating out of a box of DeCon that was under the sleeping shelf at some point in the night! We hiked away from the shelter around 7:15 AM heading for a shelter that was 14.7 miles away. We left in the fog and it was rather eerie as we walked across a couple of grassy balds and could never see where the next blaze was but rather blindly followed the path. We passed a bit more civilization than usual today as there were houses near where the trail crossed a couple of roads. We heard children outside of one of the houses and the teacher in me wondered why they weren't in school! NMP (Not My Problem!). We wereable to look down from some of the ridges and see the green fields of local farms and we even saw a few locals out on the trail. We had one long up today and for a while the trail followed a steep-dropping creek with waterfalls of varying heights. It was quite pretty and a nice distraction as I was huffing and puffing my way up the hill. Today we had to walk south for 8 miles! What's up with that?! I wonder what we had to go around? We are at the Hogback Mountain Shelter which sits .1 miles off the AT. At the trail junction there was a sign tied to a stump indicating that tomorrow there would be trail magic at the next gap, 2.4 miles away, starting at 8:30 AM! We are hoping that no one comes up later this afternoon and takes the sign down because the magic was only for today! That would be a cruel joke as all of us here at the shelter right now have our hearts set on the advertised scrambled eggs and hash browns! The most recent weather report we saw indicated that today was supposed to be partly cloudy with some sun. The sun has not made an appearance and it never really warmed up. The forecast we were just able to see is now calling for possible rain tonight and tomorrow morning. We didn't get rained on at all while hiking today which was a pleasant surprise and our tent is drying out nicely from when we had to pack up in the rain two days ago. We are going to sleep in our tent tonight, not the shelter as our tent is our first choice unless the weather is going to be really bad. I gathered up lots of wood while Jim made the side trip for water and he has now built a nice fire, which was no small feat as the wood is pretty wet. The fire helps all of us feel warmer!Stay tuned to see if we get breakfast trail magic! Keep your fingers crossed! All is well.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: Hog Back Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

Day 28- April 9Today was a long day, but special in so many ways. The big news is that we broke the 20-miles-in-a-day mark! And today marks 4 weeks that we've been AT Thru-hikers!Our day started with rain but by the time we had packed up everything in the tent, the rain stopped. We discovered that there was ice on the edge of the tent, where the rain froze after hitting the tent. We ate a quick granola bar and headed out in search of the posted trail magic breakfast-and we found it! Paul (trail name, Quiet Paul, hiked in '07) was setting his table and stove when we arrived at 8:29AM. He offered us fresh baked muffins and oranges while he scrambled up a half dozen eggs for us and stirred the hash browns! In no time we were sitting in chairs eating a fresh hot breakfast which was delicious and a great start to our day. Paul does this trail magic every year for 10 consecutive days in early April. Today was his fifth day and yesterday he served 18 hungry and grateful hikers. Add us to those very grateful hikers. We continue to be in awe of trail magic! Our original 5-day plan was to hike 15 miles today and then 11 tomorrow to a hostel near Erwin, TN, where our Trail Jeannie has sent us a resupply box ( no personal delivery this time : ( ). We also have reserved a cabin at this hostel/outfitter so we are looking forward to showers and a roof over our heads! Squirrel figured if we did 20 today that would leave us with only 6 to walk tomorrow, thereby maximizing our town time without taking a zero. So that is what we did. The trail took us over Big Bald Mountain, where we were in a cloud with cold, blustery winds blowing, again. The locals we've met on the trail have also been complaining about how cold and windy these past 2 weeks have been so I am not alone in my desire for 10 more degrees! There had been a mini-snow storm earlier in the morning on top do Big Bald so in addition to having no views, we had to walk through that dreaded white stuff again! However, as we started down the other side of the mountain the sun started to break through and before too long we had some lovely mountain views and those 10 more degrees I wanted! As usual, we went up and down the rest of the day, with more down as the afternoon progressed. 20.7 miles is a long way to walk with a pack and I am very tired but my feet and legs feel good. We are tenting by the No Business Knob Shelter, which is a small shelter with no cables for hanging our food bags and no privy. Some time I must tell you about the privies that have been at most if the shelters and how they work! Now that is something to look forward to!!!Time to eat a late supper (6:45), clean up, have a snack and go to bed! Tonight's dinner is one of our favorites: ground beef, peas, and beef gravy all over instant mashed potatoes! All is well   z z z.
Date: 2014-04-10
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 29- April 10Today is a "nero" day, meaning it is a "near zero" day. We awoke to a clear, dry morning and were hiking just after 7:30 AM. The 5.8 miles into the town of Erwin, TN were not too challenging and by 10:30 AM I had already had a hot shower at Uncle Johnny's hostel. We are in one of Uncle Johnny's hiker cabins which will be a nice change from our tent. We rented 2 of Uncle Johnny's single-speed bikes and rode 2 miles into town where we took advantage of an AYCE (All You Can Eat) pizza and salad place. The cost was less than $8 each and we got our money's worth! The IGA was right across the street so we made a stop there for some yogurt and bananas to add to our granola bar breakfast and a package of cookies to munch on this afternoon. The bike ride back was very pleasant and used some different muscles!Uncle Johnny's is situated right along the Nolichucky River and supports hikers and rafters. You could book a rafting, tubing or kayaking trip through Uncle Johnny's. It is a pretty big river and appears to be at a fun level river now. We haven't seen any big rapids in the short stretches of river we've seen, but there may be real excitement up or down stream from here. Our Trail Jeannie sent us a resupply box which will take us for about 3 days. We plan 3 seventeen mile days until we resupply again. Our big challenge in these next 3 days will be climbing up and over Roan Mountain, another one just over 6,000 feet. The weather is looking good for the next 3 days which will be a bonus. Our big miles day seems to have caught up with me today as I am really tired. Good thing we have been able to be lazy all afternoon! Uncle Johnny's runs a dinner shuttle into town at 5 PM, which we plan to be on. He then comes back and collects us all at 7 PM. We're not sure what all of our options are for dinner, but if we don't have to rehydrate it, we'll be happy!It has been a beautiful, sunny day and we would be happy to have some more like this!All is well.
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 31- April 12 Cherry Creek Gap Shelter to Stan Murray Shelter, 22.2 milesOur new high daily mileage of 22.2 miles was totally unplanned. We arrived at our planned shelter for the night around 2 PM and were talking to a couple other hikers who stopped there for lunch when a hiker we did not know arrived and was very sick. He said he had a stomach bug with diarrhea and vomiting. Now last year the Noro virus made an appearance on the trail and many people got sick and had to leave the trail. We have tried to be as careful as possible about cleanliness and not sharing food, but seeing the condition this guy was in made us want to move on. It was 5.2 more miles to get to this shelter and we may end up being the only ones here tonight. We had a beautiful day to hike with a couple of shorter climbs early in the day. We ate lunch near Hugh's Gap at the start of the 4.6 mile climb up Roan Mountain, with an elevation gain of 2,200 feet. Our original shelter was right near the top, the highest shelter on the AT. We once again hiked through some lovely, cool groves of spruce trees. The trail after the Roan Mountain shelter was fairly kind to us as we hadn't planned on walking those 5.2 miles until tomorrow. We passed through Carver Gap where there were lots of cars parked. From Carver Gap you can walk up onto several balds via nicely graded trails and enjoy views all around. Since this was a sunny Saturday there were lots of day hikers out enjoying the day. We hiked beyond where most people were hiking and were headed downhill toward our shelter when we saw three guys coming uphill at a pretty good clip. Turns out they were 3 EMT's and someone called in that someone was having a heart attack on the trails! They asked us about the people we had passed but no one seemed in distress so we weren't much help to them. Further along our trail we came to an EMT who was standing by 2 ATV's used to get them all this far up the bald. Shortly after we arrived at the shelter all four guys drove by on the ATV's so we don't know how this excitement was resolved. Two miles from this shelter is a big, old barn that has been converted into a shelter. Backpacker Magazine listed it as having one of the best views from a shelter. I think that most hikers that came this far decided to go a couple more miles and stay there. 22 miles was enough for us so we settled here. All is well.
Date: 2014-04-15
From: Vango Memorial Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: moderate rain

Day 34- April 15 Van-Go Memorial Hostel to Kincora Hostel, 12.6 miles. The predicted storm was pretty much a no-show last night, delivering just a gentle rain most of the night instead thunderstorms. We had a slower start this morning because we had planned to go to a shelter about 14 miles away. We also knew that it was supposed to rain in the morning, stop by mid-afternoon, with the temps dropping throughout the day. The weathermen on all the channels we watched last night and this morning were telling people to cover their plants because record low sub-freezing temps were predicted for tonight and early Wednesday morning. We didn't want to get to the shelter and sit out in cold, damp weather so we didn't hurry to hike. Once we left the hostel, we had 3/10ths of a mile to get back to the trail and then we climbed up and down gentle hills for about 6 miles. When we stopped at the first shelter of the day for a snack and to put on some more layers I suggested that instead of camping in this wintry weather we try to stay at a classic AT hostel, Kincora. Jim agreed to stay in another hostel so after 6 more miles, we walked the 3\10ths of a mile from the trail to see if there was space at the hostel. As we approached the hostel a guy came out on the porch, introduced himself as Lumpy, welcomed us to Kincora, said he had space for us and gave us the tour. We walked by the four showers and a laundry room and into the community room where we found a bunch of hikers, some we knew and some we were glad to meet for the first time. Lumpy asked if we were a couple and when we said yes he said we were in luck because the private room with a double bed was available! Yippee! He did warn us though that if we intended to get to know each other in the Biblical sense, the walls were paper thin!!!The wood stove is keeping the place warm as the snow is now falling outside. A group of hikers who took a zero here today went out and did trail magic and returned with lots of leftovers so we pigged out on some Little Debbie Easter Cakes, fresh fruit and Coke! Nice additions to our PB sandwiches! This hostel has been around for many years and is owned/run by a man named Bob Peoples. He has received many awards for his contributions to the hiking community. He will take us all into town at 5 PM for a trip to the grocery store. I'm glad we have the opportunity to stay here!We stopped walking about 2 miles short of our planned day so tomorrow we will have to do 18 instead of 16 to stay on our schedule. All is well.