morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-04-11
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park today. I do love this place, it is my home, my backyard.   So many people are so anxious to get out and on up the trail. The shelter system in the park requires that thru hikers stay in the shelters which are pretty much in 6 mile increments, so they sort of make the hikers do 6, 12 or 18 mile days and don't allow the freedom to camp wherever you like. It's all for impact reasons of course, but the hikers are a free spirit breed that bristle at rules and regs, so there you go. Most could not wait to get out, but for me it is leaving the familiarity of home and off into new places that I do not know. I need an efficiency expert to analyze my camp procedures because I continue to be THE SLOWEST CAMPER EVER. As usual, last out of camp except for Moment who prides himself on late departures. He passed me on the trail shortly after I got going.   It was a down down down downhill day. Mostly the trail was hardpacked and smooth, not too rocky, so not too hard on my feet. I've decided it's time for new boots which will arrive in Hot Springs. My feet are so swollen at the end of the day that my toes are jammed up in the toe box and it hurts!   Anyway, this day was not as bad because the trail was kinder. I hiked alone most of the day, stopped half way down the hill and had lunch of bean dip with tortilla and cheddar. Yummy it was too.   On to Davenport shelter where I stopped to get water, then out of the Smokies. Had a little bit of road walking under I-40, then up and over a hill to get to Standing Bear Hostel. What an unusual place! In the absolute middle of nowhere, the people here have built a small complex of "rustic" cabins and bunkhouse and everything else necessary to host a bunch of hikers. I washed my socks and undies on a washboard! Now that was new! Supper was pizza with Stickwalker who is now reunited with Belle. She was not the model boarder apparently and the hostel is not sorry to see her go. Lots of howling we hear. I'd say that's part of it if you're going to board dogs for hikers, but that's just my opinion. When I arrived I saw Joe who had also been at Cosby Knob Shelter. We laughed together when he told me he arrived at SB Hostel at 10:00 am and I told him I left Cosby Knob at 10:30 am. Hike your own hike for sure! Hi cousins and happy belated birthday Farko! Thanks again to all for comments in my guestbook, I really appreciate them a lot! Lisa B and Nancy D both did some research on laurel & rhodie hells a while back, to read the varying definitions refer to their posts in the guest book. Thanks ladies!
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

A lovely hike today up and over Snowbird Mtn. Flowers of all sort in bloom, trillium, violets, dandelion even and sedum (but not in bloom). Redbuds (my personal fave) and even saw a dogwood in bloom. Birds singing, butterflies, bees, it was just like a Disney movie! Except for the stinky hot sweaty hiker - me, LOL. Been so lucky with the weather. It was a glorious day.I started out late from SB Farm. Unusual little place but perfect for hikers. I slept in the bunkhouse for about 20 of us. Planned on a leisurely morning so was last out but this time as planned. Cooked up an omelet for myself for breakfast, yummy. Resupplied and got going around 11:00. Hiked alone all day, mostly uphill but not terribly steep, up Snowbird Mtn. At the top is some sort of FAA beacon thing that looks like a rocket ship. Very bizarre to find this unexpectedly. Saw a wild turkey on the way up, pretty cool.Made a hummus burrito for lunch. Yes. Thought it was dehydrated bean dip but I was wrong. It was fine actually, kind of tasty. One guy here on the trail is Willie Walker, an arborist from CT. He thinks the redbud tree is related to pea plants possibly, due to the heart shaped leaves. Anyone want to run that down for me? Thanks!And so tonight here at the shelter is me, Mtn Man, Stickwalker and a very happy Belle, GHippy, BooBoo, Stitch, and Stumblewolf. Then who shows up! None other than Little Aspen and her hubby now named Toothpick! I am so excited to be here with all of these great people.   When I arrived I kind of wanted to push on a few more miles because the next couple of days will be long ones, but I am so glad I stayed.Peacetree has taken up dehydrating hotdogs for Aspen and Toothpick back home in Maine. The knee is on the mend.
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Walnut Mtn Shelter

To: Hot Springs NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: few clouds

This was a long day hiking in to town. Stick, Belle & I were again almost last out of camp, but it was before 9:00 so I'm pretty comfortable with that. Wish I hiked faster than I do, but I am fast enough for me for now. Between his managing Belle and taking pictures it seems we move around the same pace, but if he wasn't doing all this other stuff he would run off and leave me in the dust. The day began with a long uphill but I am strongest in the morning so it wasn't too tough really. Along came Moment, the last one out of camp but a faster hiker so we chatted with him for a bit, then moved on. Passed up some nice water sources. Stickwalker says "Belle, drink" and she does! Also when we break he tells her to rest and she lays down. It's really amazing to me since I've never had such a well trained dog. He let her off leash for a bit and she would run out in front of me with her pack swaying side to side, then run back to make sure he was coming along, so the silly dog was doing double milage. I told her so, but she wouldn't listen to me. We got over Bluff Mountain and down towards Big Rock Spring. My right ankle took a little turn and I went down on my butt, but no harm done. Took a minute to get up, then on we went. At Garenflo Gap we stopped for lunch where we found Aspen, Toothpick & Stitch. Mountain Man had made an early run for town, so we knew we wouldn't see him this day along the trail. Today I had bruschetta on a tortilla with oily cheddar cheese and a granola bar. Yum yum I say. No, I am not kidding, I like this stuff! Actually, the bruschetta might be my very best result of the prehike dehydrating madness. By mid afternoon there goes my right foot again, hurting, but not so bad as yesterday. My Dad had suggested I stick my foot in a bucket of ice (to be found where I'm not sure!) but it was a good suggestion. I resolved that before I go through another afternoon like yesterday I would stop at the first good stream I found for a foot soakin, and so I did, at Deer Park Shelter. Nice little stream, perfect. We agreed, 15 minutes, and what a difference it made! The next hour of hiking was almost pain free! Whoo hoo!!!!! So I will just plan this from now on. From Deer Park Shelter we moved on towards Hot Springs. The afternoon got long and my feet got a bit sore, but it was all tolerable and the views off the side of the mountain were good. Got into town, Stick found Mountain Man already setup with a cabin and I found a very good friend from home waiting for me at the Sunnybank Inn. Got laundry done, ate a fabulous dinner, then went with a bunch of other hikers over to the cabin and we all hung out and had a wonderful evening in town.
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Devils Fork Gap

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: few clouds

The day began with a HUGE breakfast at the Smoky Mtn Diner. I had a skillet breakfast that was way too much food. If you ever find yourself in Hot Springs I totally endorse Elmer Halls Sunnybank Inn. He is a fine fine cook.So one friend who lolled around Hot Springs was on the way home after giving GHippy a ride to Erwin (thanks!), and another friend arrived to hike with me. Logistically it was simpler for us to ride up to Devils Fork Gap and hike southbound into Hot Springs, so after breakfast that's exactly what we did.Hiked in the first couple of miles to Flint Mtn Shelter where I met Red Lobster, Fly Catcher, and Klarity among others. It was a quick stop, then we went on to climb Big Butt Mtn. Along the way we met Skidmark, Freeman, Murph, and others. It was a dry hot climb, my friend joked even the caterpillars had to stop to take breaks!We saw some civil war era gravesites along the way. The top of the mountain was a meadow, very nice. On we went to Jerry Cabin Shelter where we found Moment, Captain Slick and Doppler among others. My friend had packed in wine and a ribeye with portobella mushroom concoction that was really yummy. So nice and thoughtful of him to do that.It was a really good day.
Date: 2010-04-17
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Deep Gap Campsite
Miles today: 13.5

Woke to a rainy morning but got going the best we could, knowing it would be a long day. Even though we were in the clouds we tackled a mile-long rock scramble that included a 10 foot rock wall and various climbing challenges. It was fun! Three people had advised me to take a side trail and avoid it but I am glad we did it. Along the way this day we ran into Sgt Major, Booboo, Mtn Man, Stickwalker and Belle, Stitch, BlueSky, and Aspen and Toothpick. The confusion on many of the faces was pretty funny as we met them hiking southbound.Last I saw Stitch she was headed for the hostel, her ankle had turned on her again. Get better soon girl and contact me, let me know how you are doing!So on we went to Allen Gap, then up Buzzard Roost Ridge to Deep Gap Campsite. It was dusk when we got there and we were good and tired, but on the trail there are always chores to do. Get water, put up tent, cook dinner, bearbag food, clean up as best you can and fall to sleep immediately. It had been a long challenging day of hiking. We covered a lot of ground.
Date: 2010-04-18
From: Deep Gap Campsite

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Another great day on the trail. We met Silverback and Gray at the campsite, then who comes along - none other than JB, Jerry and Kingcrawler!! What fun to see friends along the way! We set off for Hot Springs knowing we had another long day in store. Stopped briefly at Spring Mtn Shelter where we saw Denver and Snook. Booboo had mentioned the day before that the place was trashed and he was right. Someone had left a frying pan and assorted garbage, even a dead fish. We cleaned up some of it to haul out since we were headed to town that night. Some of it we had to leave, including the fish and the frying pan. We hiked up and over Rich Mtn where we ran into the WVa boys who I had hiked with early in my hike. Gouda had shaved and to my embarrassment I did not recognize him... next was Abe, then Noodles. It was great to see them again.We crossed Tanyard Gap and made our way a bit along a gravel road. From there it was back into the woods past a pretty little pond with an ancient dam. Pretty cool. Thru Pump Gap where a sign taught us about a parasite devastation on the hemlock trees. It makes me so sad, they are such magnificent trees. Finally from there we were up on Lovers Leap Ridge and before I knew it we were climbing down the rock face and scree, headed towards town. Terror does not begin to describe how frightened I was, but I got myself off that thing. Hopefully before the hike is over I will learn to enjoy that sort of thing. The last stretch of the day's hike was along the French Broad River which was quite lovely.My friend hiked southbound with me three days and did about 35 miles over all kinds of mountain terrain. I think he did real good.
Date: 2010-04-19
From: Devils Fork Gap

To: Low Gap Campsite
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Back northbound again. My friend took me to Devils Fork Gap where I set out to climb another mountain. It was good to be hiking along, the birds and flowers have been spectacular. Lately the trillium have my attention, I've seen them in white, yellow, pink, and burgundy. Stunning. The view from Big Flat was amazing, I could see I26 from there. Ate a little lunch and enjoyed myself. Still eating cheddar and crackers, but the temps have cooled some, the cheese is not so oily.On to Hogback Ridge Shelter for water and who is there? My friends Mountain Man, Stickwalker and Belle. I hiked part of the afternoon with Stick, we crossed I26 at Sams Gap and he moved on while I gathered water.   It was not a very good source but I was afraid not to fill up while I could, so I did. On I went to Low Gap where the three of us camped. I was happy to be back in my little tent and went right off to sleep.
Date: 2010-04-20
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: Whistling Gap Campsite
Miles today: 7.4

Got my usual start out of camp, MM and SW already gone. Dallied about, the hike was immediately uphill and I took a lot of breaks. Enjoyed the flowers as usual and have taken up whistling back at the birds. How cool would it be to learn their songs!Eventually caught up with SW and Belle in time to go over Big Bald Mtn. Another beauty she is. Clouds were rolling in and it was getting cold, so we moved on quickly to Bald Mtn Shelter for a quick break. Felt like snow, dangit! We hurried off as the rain began, got to a lower elevation where we found MM at Whistling Gap. We set up quick and all into their tents. We decided to just call it a day. Ate cheddar casserole with spinach, mediocre. Going to bed now.
Date: 2010-04-21
From: Whistling Gap Campsite

To: Erwin
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Got a decent start out of the campsite, considering it rained on and off all night, some heavily. Mountain Man was already gone on the run for town and Aspen & Toothpick got an early start as well. Snook had also pulled in to camp and got an early start, so there I sat lingering over tea. I'm slow at the feed sack too which is part of my slowness problem I guess. Well, I'm not in any particular hurry, just need to get done every day that which needs to be done. The hike started with a decent uphill climb that made me wonder what I was doing wearing all my rain gear, but it wasn't quite clear enough to pack it up yet, just enough to make me sweat! Two miles down the trail was Spivey Gap where we had meant to camp the night before, some communication problem and eagerness to get into the tent and out of the rain had me at Whistling Gap, which meant it would be a much longer day into Erwin. No matter, it was a really nice hiking day, in spite of the clouds and occasional drizzle. We crossed Spivey Gap and tackled a decent up-mountian climb along a delightful mountain stream. Haven't seen too much of that to this point, I really enjoyed it. Don't get so much of this at the higher elevations. Stickwalker and Belle were with me and he has taught that dog to "mush" (said moosh with a Georgia accent, LOL!) up the hills, clipped with a caribiner to his pack belt, if you can believe that! He let me try it a bit, it was a very strange sensation to have a Weimereiner pulling me up the hill.   I only let her go maybe 100 feet, but it sure was a strange feeling. We continued to hike on up the hill and it really was a pretty hike. Eventually the skies cleared enough that I shed my fleece and rain pants, so hiked in rain jacket and gaiters the rest of the day. Met Silverback & Gray munching their lunch along the flat, they shared some Nilla Wafers with me! OMG! A new trail delight! We rolled on to the No Business Shelter where we stopped for lunch. Met several hikers there, including KingKrawler. What fun! (Told me Queenkrawler got her a new jacket! Yea for you girl!) Still 5 or 6 miles to go to Erwin, so off we went. No trail of terror, no trail of pain, this hike into town was reasonably gentle with me, thank goodness. Lost Stick at Uncle Johnny's and got a shuttle lift to the Holiday Inn where who was there to meet me? MRS. JOY! She's jumped ahead to hike together again, the next segment should be great fun!!! When I walked into the motel there was a group meeting in the conference room, a group of section hikers from PATC down here to enjoy the trails. They sent me off to my room with cookies, Budweiser, bananas, and more. What a nice group. Asked them if anyone knew my friend Judo, but nobody did. Too bad, but they were a nice group of folks. I was glad to be able to thank them for the trail work they do that makes hiking possible for people like me.
Date: 2010-04-22
From: Erwin

To: Erwin
Miles today: 0.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we're zeroing even though it's not in my plan. Some people had it planned as a zero, Toothpick is battling shin splints, we're all just plain old tired. I could use the rest myself. Had a fun time staying up late chatting with Mrs. Joy last night. Started the morning with the hotel breakfast and the PATC people sent me off with peanut butter, jelly, triscuits, NILLA WAFERS!, graham crackers, by the time they were through with me and I consolidated my mail drop there is no need for me to go to grocery. Wow people! Thank you so much! We hoofed down to Uncle Johnny's to get our Belle fix, then joined the shuttle there for a lunch run with Aspen, Toothpick and others. Had a massive salad bar salad for lunch. It was just exactly the right thing. Spent the afternoon organizing hike stuff and re-seamsealing my tent. Gonna be rain in the next few days, don't want any seam failures if I can help it. Skipping the dinner run in favor of lolling around doing nothing. What decadent luxury it is to do nothing. Oh, and here's the foot update. Since Walnut Mountain and the first downhill into Hot Springs my feet have improved. First, got boots a half size bigger (thanks Mom!). Had a rest day. Not so many long downhills in the last week. Also, a long time ago, my brother suggested that I try to alter my gait as I go downhill, not stutter step on the balls of my feet so much which also puts pressure on the knees, sort of like holding in the clutch and riding the emergency brake instead of downshifting. My friend that I hiked with last weekend made the same suggestion and I think there's a lot to it. As I've impacted the ball of my foot on the downhills, it forces the toes out hard into the toe box of the boot which I think may be causing the pain. So, by consciously trying to alter my gait I think this, along with the larger boots and some rest, have made a big difference.   It's funny though, for now I am slower than ever on the downhills because I really have to concentrate, heel first, heel first, and now I am noticing a bit more strain on the heels, and very tight Achilles tendons up the back of my ankle in the mornings. Or maybe that's just hiker hobble, LOL! Whatever, I'm very happy that for now, the foot pain has decreased a bit, not so close to tears anyway. I think maybe it's too much to hope for that it would go away entirely. Anyway, that's the foot update. Now back to doing nothing!
Date: 2010-04-23
From: Erwin

To: Deep Gap Campsite
Miles today: 12.1

Mrs Joy and I started the day by hiking an unofficial mile from the Holiday Inn back to the trail. Had to pickup alcohol for my stove at Uncle Johnny's hostel which involved a lot of waiting around, but we eventually got going. Mrs Joy headed out, then I a half-hour later with Stickwalker and Belle. Mountain Man was probably half way up the mountain before I even got going! The walk started as a lovely stroll along the Nolichucky River. Wild flowers galore, I am getting so used to these I will miss them as summer comes on. Then we had a good climb along a nice creek. Arrived at Curley Maple Gap Shelter for lunch. Nice spot! Early afternoon was a nice hike, not too tough, then we came to Indian Grave Gap. There we found Jerry and his wife doing trail magic, seriously! Bag of chips, snickers bar, AND beer! Yes, SW put his down immediately but Mrs Joy and I packed ours in for supper.Stick went on and Mrs Joy and I hiked on through a former burn site. Kind of eerie, but the laurel is practically a carpet, it's moving in so thick. Then on to Beauty Spot. Wow, another beautiful bald. Found Stick there, threw down the pack, lolled around in the sun enjoying the view. Life is so sweet!From there, hiked on to Deep Gap where we camped. Made black bean stew and drank that beer. A very very good day.
Date: 2010-04-24
From: Deep Gap Campsite

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hike began today by immediately climbing Unaka Mtn. As I was told later in the day, pronounced "you naked" basically, without the d. The 4 of us agreed on Cherry Gap Shelter for lunch so we stopped there for a bit. Met 4 women hikers out on a loop backpack trip that seemed to be having a good time. We had heard that there was trail magic at Iron Mtn Gap but expected them to be packed up and gone by the time we got there, so no rush. The weather was chancy and supposed to get worse. We were plenty surprised to arrive at the gap to find trail magic extraordinaire! Gorgonzola and Denali, thru hikers 2009. Wow. Beer can chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, beer, white wine! And lots of pictures from their hike last year. So nice of them. What a treat, I had seconds! An hour after lunch!The weather got drippy, so we slogged along in the rain to Greasy Creek Gap. Thunderstorms were in the forecast for the night, so we headed down to Greasy Creek Friendly (as opposed to hostel, hostile, get it?) It got us in out of the weather so mission accomplished. An unusual place for sure, but to be fair she was hosting an overload of hikers due to the weather. Mountain Man was outside in his hammock and apparently happy to be there. I was last one in so I was on the couch and yes, very happy to be there. In the night the wind blew so strong it blew the front door open and scared me silly.
Date: 2010-04-25
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Not too many miles today but definitely an eventful one. The first .6 miles was in getting back to the trail. From there me and Stickwalker and Belle (trailname Belly Rub) headed up, of course, to Little Rock Knob. A nice walk on to Hughes Gap where we caught up with Mrs Joy and sat roadside to eat lunch. Met a few others there, packed up, then headed up Roan Mtn. Going up we met Jerry, Veto (of Wartrace Tn), JB, and Kingkrawler. Seems we're all moving in the same bubble once again. The plan had been to go on to Stan Murray Shelter but by the time we got to Roan High Knob we agreed to stop there. Ate a big dinner and went to bed. Woke to a nasty stomach bug that had me running out of the shelter at least 8 times in the night. Did my best to leave no trace, but overall it was a pretty miserable night. I do believe it was a flu. Nasty bug. One more time I apologize to my shelter mates.
Date: 2010-04-26
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Carvers Gap
Miles today: 1.5

Well, didn't get much done today. Was up all night with flu-like symptoms, yes, both ends. Several times I had to make a run for it out of the shelter. I'm afraid my shelter mates were none too pleased. Well, without sharing all the details, I was quite sick. By morning I was exhausted and Mrs Joy, Mountain Man and Stickwalker all chose to wait around while I slept a few hours. What excellent friends! Before it ended Stick and Mrs Joy both had the same sickness. Many hikers along the way have been ill. Around 1:00 we got moving and hiked the mile and a half to the road. It was all I was up for and them too I think. From the road Mrs Joy and Belle and I got a ride in to Mtn Harbor Hostel where they set us up in an RV for an infirmary. We were sick pups for sure. Poor Mtn Man, putting up with all of us. We three just crashed. It was a miserable day, but I am still the luckiest girl around. End of story.