morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Hot Springs, NC

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

Today was my first zero day in over three weeks of walking, so I definitely think it was well-deserved. And boy, was it nice to not walk for a while!Woke up a little before 8, and went to the Diner for breakfast. Spent most of the morning running errands-- I re-supplied at the Outfitter's Store, which has a section in it that's basically a grocery story stocked for thru-hikers. I also spent some time on the Internet there (they offer free Internet access), but I spent the bulk of my computer time at the library in the afternoon-- 3 hours all said, updating my journal, checking my e-mail, and surfing the web.Went back to the Diner one last time for dinner, where I ate my first hamburger in over three weeks. Then, on the way back from the Diner, who should I run into but Skyline, Sundance, and Tailwind, who I hadn't seen since before the Smokies! It was great to see them again, and later that evening after watching part of a movie, I went over to the pub to see who was there.Sitting in front of the pub was Baltimore Jack, who I had actually met earlier that afternoon at the Outfitter's. He's working there for a couple of months this Spring, but his claim to fame is that he holds the record for most successful consecutive thru-hikes: seven. I said hi, and I was able to sit and talk to him (well, mostly listen to him) for ten or fifteen minutes-- he had lots of information and advice, both on what's coming up on the trail and on hiking the AT in general. It was great to talk to him one-on-one, and it was interesting to hear his take on group psychology on the AT. Definitely a great guy, and it was a real privilege and pleasure to meet him.After that we went in the pub, and sure enough Skyline and Sundance were there, along with a huge group of thru-hikers, only about two-thirds of whom I had met. We laughed and talked, and I was able to catch up with my friends and meet some new people. It was the perfect ending to a great day-- the only downside is the knowledge that Scorpion has set his alarm for 5:15.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Turns out that we didn't wake up quite as early as I had feared-- Scorpion woke me up about 5:30, asking if I wanted to go to breakfast with him, Freedom, and Dave, or if I wanted to sleep in. My bladder made my decision for me, though, and I got up, showered, and we all headed over to the diner for one last hot breakfast before heading out on the trail.It was raining as we headed out this morning, and it was foggy on and off throughout the day. Three or four hours into the hike, the rain turned to sleet, and for brief periods the sleet really came down hard. But sleet is still much better than rain.We hit the first shelter, 11 miles up, at about 1:30 to find it half-full already. But Dave and one of the other people there, Running Bear, decided to move on, and I decided to stay, along with Scorpion and Freedom. About that time it began to snow, and we crawled into our sleeping bags for warmth.The afternoon was mostly full of people coming and going as they found the shelter was already full. Wings and Feathers, a Mom-daughter team, passed through, as well as several people I had not met. They all headed for a road about five more miles down the trail-- some wanted to camp there, and some wanted to hitch back to town. Freedom also decided to go to the road-- he had been having the symptoms of a urinary tract infection since Hot Springs, and he had visited the clinic and gotten some antibiotics, but it didn't help, so he decided to head for a real hospital in Asheville. I hope things turn out all right for him and he can get back on the trail.We eventually ended up with 7 people crammed into the 5-person shelter, including Mickey-One-Sock, who kept us entertained most of the evening, and GG, a great-grandmother who is thru-hiking the trail. Absolutely amazing.The snow continued coming down through the afternoon and evening-- there may be 3 or 4 inches on the ground by morning.
Date: 2004-04-01
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light snow

Today is April Fools' Day.. as in, "You thought winter was over? You fool!" or alternatively, "Only a fool would be out hiking in this!"The snow actually stopped early in the evening yesterday, and there was only an inch or two of snow on the ground-- in fact, the trail was virtually clear. The snow on the ground disappeared as we reached the lower elevations around Allen Gap, though the oppressive fog still hung around.After Allen Gap, it was uphill most of the day. By the time we reached Little Laurel Shelter, about 8.6 miles down the trail, we were seeing snow on the ground again, and there were a couple inches on the trail.Had a brief debate with myself about whether or not to stop for the night, but I don't have a lot of extra food, so I decided to stick to my original schedule and make for the next shelter.The trail soon rose above 4000 feet, and the snow on the trail thickened. Each step was twice the effort, and at one point the trail went a ridge that would have been very pretty with some great views had the weather been nice, but as it was all you could see was a gray infinity off the side of the mountain. It was kind of creepy.The trail was made harder by the fact that all the rhododendron branches and tree branches were weighted down with snow and ice, and I frequently had to force my way through low-hanging branches which blocked the trail.Still, I made it to Jerry Cabins Shelter about 3, and was pleased to find that it was not full. So I settled in for the afternoon and evening.
Date: 2004-04-02
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: snow

I had originally hoped to go about 15 miles today, but the snow had other ideas. I actually made pretty good time in the morning, despite the foot or more of snow that lay on the ground in some places. But after three and a half hours of fighting my way through snow drifts and low-hanging rhododendron branches, I was tired. Plus, the snow had begun falling again, and I knew the conditions would be worse, possibly even dangerous, at the higher elevations that were coming up next on the trail. So Scorpion, Dave and I decided to call it a (very) early day.
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

The short day yesterday meant that food supplies were running low, and I would now have to hitch into Erwin from Sam's Gap, about 25 miles earlier than I had originally planned. So I ate most of my remaining food that morning, then started out toward Sam's Gap 11 miles away.We descended to lower elevations over the first couple miles, and the snow on the ground faded away. Then, as we ascended again, the snow got heavier, but by mid-morning the sun broke through the clouds, and for the rest of the day the trail was muddy and slushy, but passable.Passed a couple of boy scout groups out for weekend trips, and I stopped on the top of aptly-named Frozen Knob to talk to some weekend section hikers. They were very envious of us, but they wished us luck, and when they heard about my food situation they gave Dave and I a couple of extra MREs they were carrying. I accepted them and thanked them, but I still planned to go into Erwin from Sam's Gap.A little while before we reached Sam's Gap, Dave called the local hostel in Erwin, Miss Janet's, to try to get a shuttle to meet us at Sam's Gap. Miss Janet wasn't there-- she was out shuttling hikers, but the person who answered the phone said he would try to pass the message onto Miss Janet to meet us at Sam's Gap at 2 pm.We got to the Gap at 1:30, but Dave couldn't get service on his cell phone there, so we decided to wait until 2:15 for Miss Janet. 2:15 came and went, but no sign of her-- and the road was very quiet, so the chances of hitchhiking into town were pretty much zero. Scorpion said he had enough food to get both me and him to Erwin, especially with the MREs the section hikers gave us, and as much as I didn't wanted to be dependent on someone else for food, I decided to go ahead to Erwin with Scorpion. Dave had enough food as well, but he decided to walk down the road a little way to try to get a cell phone signal so he could get a hold of Miss Janet.Scorpion and I decided to aim for Low Gap, 4 miles further, as a camping point for the night. We walked for a while, and were getting water at a source just short of Low Gap when Dave walked up-- he had gotten a signal, but whoever was answering the phone at Miss Janet's was apparently incompetent, so he had decided to come back up the trail and join us.We reached Low Gap a little after 4, and set up our tents in a breeze on the few spots free of snow we could find. I had an MRE for dinner, and turned in early to get out of the wind.
Date: 2004-04-04
From: Low Gap

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a windy night last night, though I don't think it was as bad as the first night I tented just past Neel's Gap. The wind was still fierce, and it came through the mesh in the tent walls and made it very difficult to stay warm. I slept fairly well, though, and woke up to a cold and windy morning. I packed quickly, not even pausing to eat breakfast in the wind, and was soon off down the trail.The trail was uphill early, and after a couple hours of walking we reached Big Bald at 5500 feet. The view was clear, but the wind was ferocious, and Scorpion and I only stayed up for a minute to take a couple of pictures before moving on.We stopped briefly at Big Bald Shelter to eat breakfast and get out of the wind. Finally, an hour or so later, we began to descend to lower elevations, and the wind began to slacken off and the snow disappeared from the trail.Dave had sped off early trying to get to town in one day, but Scorpion and I took the afternoon a little easier-- we were unwilling to try a twenty-one mile day, especially given the harsh conditions earlier in the day. We pulled into a shelter about six miles from Erwin a little after 4.Gonna be cold tonight-- maybe we should have tried to make it town after all.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: clear sky

Got up early in the cold, and I was walking by 7:30-- which isn't bad, considering the recent change to Daylight Savings Time meant it was more like 6:30 for me.Knocked out the six miles to Erwin in only about two and a half hours. We stopped in briefly at the Nolichucky Outfitters at Uncle Johnny's Hostel, but our destination was the Holiday Inn Express, about a mile up the road. We had thought about staying at Miss Janet's House, but the promise of a private bathroom, phone, TV, and an on-premises laundromat made us decide in favor of the hotel.The downside of the hotel is that it's pretty far outside of town, even though it's closer to the trail. So we decided to try getting a shuttle into town, but of the two shuttle services, one run by Uncle Johnny and the other by Miss Janet, neither was available. So we decided to walk toward town and try to get a hitch.Wrong. Scorpion and I ended up walking the four miles to the Pizza Hut buffet, which could have been worse-- the weather was nice, the ground was level, and we didn't have our packs.After eating our fill at Pizza Hut, we walked about a half mile to Food Lion for groceries that we would need to get to Hampton, about 70 miles down the road.Then, with groceries in hand, we walked another half mile to Miss Janet's House. Our thought was to wait there as long as necessary until we could get a shuttle back to the Holiday Inn, and anyway, I needed to pick up a maildrop there.We missed Miss Janet by about two minutes, but the wife of a hiker named Lucky Dog agreed to give us a ride, and within five minutes of arriving we had left again. We spent the afternoon and evening doing laundry, showering, and relaxing, and for dinner went next door to the A&W and had a hamburger.I wish I had gotten to meet Miss Janet, because I heard a lot of nice things about her, but sometimes things just don't happen the way you plan. And while I'm sure a lot of people have had a great time in Erwin, things just didn't work out for us-- the town was simply too spread out. Ah, well. You win some, you lose some.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Got another early start today-- we were up at 6, we took showers and packed up, and were downstairs eating cinnamon buns at the continental breakfast by quarter 'til 7.We left about 7:15, and walked the mile back to the trailhead and started off. The trail was gentle uphill at first, and we walked parallel to a roaring stream around which a lot of dense vegetation had grown. The trees nearby were thick and tall, and it made me think of a lush, prehistoric forest-- I almost expected to see a dinosaur walking by.Then the trail steepened and we left the stream behind. After a while, we came to an area that had been apparently damaged by fire, and many of the trees were blackened. A lot of the other vegetation was gnarled and twisted, and it was kind of weird-- an interesting contrast from the dense green forest earlier.As we kept going up, we began to see ice and snow on the trail again. The snow and ice deepened until we came to a bald which was free of snow, where we stopped and had lunch-- the weather was beautiful and sunny, and the views were fantastic.The afternoon was fairly uneventful, except for the climb over Unaka Mountain, which took us over 5,000 feet and where the trail was very slushy and icy.Got to the shelter about 5, and as the evening wore on a bunch of thru-hikers pulled in that I didn't know-- Happy Feet, Pez, Dave and Miranda. I never cease to be amazed by how many people are out here.
Date: 2004-04-07
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept in today (7 o' clock), and was out walking by 8. Spent most of the morning hiking near Running Bear, who left the same time as us from Erwin. There were a lot of ups and downs early, but at least the trail was mostly free of snow.I stopped for lunch with Running Bear and Scorpion at Clyde Smith Shelter about 9 miles down the trail, and took a nice long lunch break-- about an hour.I didn't spend all of that time eating, but I did buy food in Erwin with an eye toward increasing how much I eat on the trail-- it seems to be working so far.After lunch, we went another 3 miles before beginning the 2,000-foot ascent up Roan Mountain.The 2,000-foot ascent was spread over less than 3 miles, and parts of it were really steep. The snow and ice made it particularly interesting, and the 3-mile climb ended up taking over 2 hours. I was quite pleased to finally reach the shelter-- at 6,285 feet, it's the highest place I've slept yet, and it's also the highest shelter on the entire A.T.A lot of people from the shelter last night apparently stopped early and decided to camp before Roan Mountain, since it was only Happy Feet, Running Bear, Scorpion and I in the 15-person shelter. It's supposed to rain tonight-- I just hope it doesn't snow.
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 14.7

Today was one of our best days, at least in terms of scenery. We spent most of the day going over the Roan Highlands, which are a series of grassy balds that stretch on and off over several mountains. It was a nice change from walking through forests, and while it was cloudy most of the day, it was still beautiful. As we hit the top of one mountain, Happy Feet (who has hike this section before, and in fact lives less than an hour's drive away) was able to point out several mountains, including Unaka Mountain (which we climbed two days ago), then further away, Grandfather Mountain, Mt. Rogers, and White Top in Virginia, and we could even see Mt. Mitchell, which I believe the highest point in the U.S. east of the Rockies.Most of the balds were free of snow, but the rest of the day (except for the couple miles going down to the shelter) we had to walk through slush and ice, and my socks were soaked for the rest of the day. I've done a pretty good job of drying my socks in my sleeping bag each night, but they still get soaked pretty quick each day (I have two sets, so I can alternate days-- if I can't dry the wet pair in my sleeping bag, then I'll strap them to the back of my pack the next day to air out). Still, hiking in wet socks has apparently taken its toll, as I got two new blisters today-- that's as many as I've gotten in my whole hike up until now. But today should be my last day of hiking through this snow, and for that I'm glad.Been out on the trail for one month as of today-- it feels like it's been longer than that. I had planned on doing a more substantial retrospective, but it's getting dark and I'm tired. So, maybe some other time-- sorry, folks.
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

One of the people in the shelter last night was a fellow called "Out and About", who appeared to be a southbound section hiker. Later Happy Feet mentioned that a month before starting his hike, he had done a section hike in the area, and that Out and About had been in the shelter then, too. Apparently he's been here a while, and does odd jobs in town to support himself. Cool! I've met my first shelter hobo!The walk today was my longest since before Hot Springs-- and also the first day since Hot Springs that I didn't have to walk through any snow. It was a nice change.In the guidebook, it looked like the hike would be mostly flat, but in reality there were a lot of small ups and downs that made the day more difficult.Had lunch by a pretty waterfall, and there was another even more impressive waterfall earlier in the day. In fact, most of the day was spent hiking in valleys near streams, which was kind of a nice change from the usual rocks and forests.Got to the shelter after about 9 hours, and a couple people decided to push on the extra 6 miles to Kincora Hostel. My feet wouldn't make it that far, though, so I settled into the shelter with Scorpion and Running Bear.
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy day today into Kincora for shower, laundry, re-supply, and hopefully a decent restaurant. I needed to stop here to buy more food, but I also wanted to stop here because this hostel has been rumored to be one of the best on the trail, and the owner, Bob Peoples, has been mentioned by several people as one of the nicest people I will have the opportunity to meet out here.Things got off to a less-than-stellar start, though, when I walked through the wrong door into Bob's house instead of the hostel, but he shrugged it off and introduced himself. Definitely seems like a nice guy.Finally, though, I have a day to rest and relax. My feet need the day off-- my toes have been taking a pounding in my boots lately, and I'm not sure why. I may have to get them looked at in Damascus-- I had thought about switching boots there, anyway.So, I've been out here for over a month now. I've met dozens and dozens of people, made friends with many of them, and lost touch with some of them, all in the course of a few weeks.Before I got to Fontana Dam, there were times I thought that was as far as I would go. Before I got to Hot Springs, there were times I thought I wouldn't go any further than that. Now here I am, just three days outside of Damascus, and have no plans to stop (well, except for one or two days).The trail has made me homesick at times, but it has also brought me closer to some people there-- even people I thought I had lost touch with.It's been a wild and crazy month.Okay, enough retrospective-- it was feeling kind of forced, anyway. Bob Peoples took us out to a Chinese buffet in Hampton tonight-- boy, had I missed Chinese food. He sat and ate with us, telling stories-- his reputation as one of the nicest people on the trail is well-deserved.After dinner, we stopped at a Winn-Dixie to re-supply, and when we returned to the hostel I saw a bunch of people who I hadn't seen in a long time-- Skyline, Sundance, and Bramble. Later, Flora and Fauna came in as well. It was great seeing them again, but as it turns out, they hadn't actually caught up to me, they're just in various stages of slackpacking. I would consider sticking around at Kincora to do some slackpacking myself, but I feel the pull of Damascus now-- I'll be meeting Mom there on Tuesday.One other note: I got to meet Seiko, another trail legend. He's been slackpacking Skyline and Sundance, and he has started 19 thru-hikes of the trail (he's successfully completed 13, including one triple flip-flop: start in Maine, go South to Georgia, then back to Maine, and back to Georgia).People are up late tonight, including me. It may be a late start tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Kincora Hiker Hostel

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

Slept in at the hostel today-- didn't roll of bed until quarter 'til 8. I spent a while packing up and getting ready, and left the hostel at quarter 'til 9. This was partly because I just wanted to sleep in, but also because I wanted to test myself, and see if I could do a big mile day after a late start.The first hour or so was spent walking along a very pretty gorge with a fast, clear river running through it. After a couple miles, though, the path rose up and out of the gorge.Over a large mountain, and down to Watauga Lake. I thought about having lunch at a nearby picnic area, but I decided to make for the next shelter, about 1.7 miles away, for lunch, since it had started to rain.About half a mile before the shelter, I saw my first large wildlife of the trip: a deer that was grazing near the trail. I tried to approach quietly, but something made a noise in the woods. The deer ran off to the right, and two other deer I hadn't seen ran to the left, out of sight. The first deer stopped about fifty yards away and watched me warily as I passed. It's good to finally see some wildlife out here-- up 'til now, all I had seen was salamanders and shelter mice.The rest of the day was fairly uneventful-- I crossed over Watauga Dam, which was not nearly as impressive as Fontana Dam. Got to the shelter a little before 5, so I covered the 17.5 miles in about 8 hours-- not bad at all.It had been raining on and off all day, but it was only shortly after Scorpion, Running Bear and I were all at the shelter that the rain really began to come down. The water source for this shelter was over three-tenths of a mile away, so instead of making the long trek for water we took turns putting our water bottles under a couple of spots where water was running off the shelter roof. Worked quite well, actually.
Date: 2004-04-12
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: moderate rain

Woo! Longest day yet today, and my first day over twenty miles. It rained most of the morning and into the afternoon, but the terrain was gentle, and I made good time early-- I hit the 7-mile mark after about two and a half hours of walking, and by early afternoon I was having lunch at a shelter at the 15-mile mark.Things were slower after that-- my feet began to ache, and there was an on-and-off pain in my ankle. The terrain was also more difficult, and so I slowed down a bit, rolling into the shelter about 5. So, despite the slower afternoon, I did 23 miles in about 9.5 hours-- not bad at all.Another not-full shelter tonight-- Scorpion, Running Bear, myself, and a guy named Dharma who I met briefly at Kincora, but has been ahead of us until now. Into Damascus tomorrow!