morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-20
From: Glassmine Gap

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: clear sky

We did a short day to go to town, aka a nearo. Ron Haven runs a shuttle to Winding Stair Gap, Rock Gap and Wallace Gap. At Rock Gap, there was a group out supporting some trail runners. Two guys passed us running on the trail and told both Jasper and I that we looked good. I wasn't really sure if they were referring to our snazzy outfits or good hiking form, pack size or what. I'm sure it was just a general term of encouragment, but just something I've never heard on the trail before. We stopped briefly to chat with them and I recognized David Horton, the ultrarunner who holds the AT and PCT speed records (I think). I had seen him in Squatch's video, and I actually remember being at Kennedy Meadows at the same time in 2005, and Squatch being all excited that David was there and racing off to go interview him.         We had enough time to go a little further to Wallace Gap before the shuttle time, so we opted for that. We got checked in to Haven's Budget Inn, showered and did laundry, then walked down the road to eat Mc Donald's. We ran into Johnny Walker/AfroBlaze and No Tech was there as well. In the afternoon, Ron Haven drove a shuttle around town, we went to the store and the outfitter along with a dozen other hikers. Later we hung out with AfroBlaze and Notech and we all had some beer and the two of them together were a hoot- this is how I remember the trail being- good people, raucous laughter. I love the trail.
Date: 2010-03-21
From: Missouri

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

we caught the latest shuttle out to the trail after being woken up by the hotel , them wanting to know if we were staying another day because a full load of hikers came in on the early shuttle. It seems like this place is the first place they take hikers and then if it fills up, there are the other two hotels Ron Haven owns for overflow. Ron Haven is a genius for getting hiker business- a free ride to town, shuttles around to needed things, shuttles back to the trail, cheap lodging. So we packed up and took the late morning shuttle out- we went back to Wallace Gap and hiked about 7 miles to Siler Bald Shelter. There we ran into Croft, who we hadn't seen since the second day at Stover Creek. She took a couple days off in Hiawassee, but didn't go into Franklin. We also met Friar Tuck at the shelter. After dinner it had started to rain and post dinner we didn't feel like going out in it to hang a bear bag- which pissed Croft off. Oh well. I almost never hung my food in 2001. I think the bears are still hibernating anyway.Along the hike today we passed a sign for Swinging Lick Gap- only the sign had been rather cleverly altered - the L was turned into a D with a sharpie and all the other letters in the carved wood sign were colored into match. At first glance- I thought- I don't remember THAT from 2001! Jasper and I both separately took pictures of the sign.
Date: 2010-03-22
From: Missouri

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

The rain turned to snow overnight, we were in no hurry to leave our warm sleeping bags in the morning. Eventually everyone else left and we were alone in the shelter. We had some extra food- at least a day more than we needed to get to NOC. Hiking seemed like a miserable prospect. Around noon, indecision gave way to what the hell lets stay here. We made some gatorade which started forming crystals. We didn't expect too many visitors as this shelter is half a mile off the trail and there are water sources not too far before and after along the trail. We did have Cowgirl and her dog Kelly stop in though, as well as a young man named Young One stop by for a quick break. Didge had cold toes and ended up making toe warmers out of ramen noodle wrappers.
Date: 2010-03-23
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

During the zero yesterday I had a lot of time to examine the map. The side trail down to Siler Bald shelter runs along an old road bed that is on the map. On the map, it looked like that old road bed continued and would meet back up with the trail at Wayah Gap, thereby avoiding the climb over Siler Bald. It sounded like a good idea and Didge went along with it. For the first mile or so it was- a nice old road bed, I think the AT started out on these back in Earl Shaffer's day and personally, I wish they the trail made more use of old road beds- I love the sections where they follow them- the walking is usually easier and the scenery is the same. To me it seems like the trail maintenance would be less work as well. So we followed this road until it ended, then we bush whacked to another road bed, following that as long it seems to be going where we wanted- eventually we could see the road down in Wayah Gap, see where we needed to be- and did a grueling bushwhack down the hill. It kind of sucked and I wish we had just taken the trail.Why doesn't my husband stop me when I have stupid ideas? I promised him not to do this again and he promised to stop me. Once we hit the road, we had to walk about half a mile back up to the gap to rejoin the trail. There we met Dang it Boy! and Hummingbird. There was a lot of snow on Wayah Bald, so I thought walking up the closed Forest Service road to the summit instead of the trail might be easier walking. For awhile it was, but then the road was covered in 1-2 ft of snow and we postholed a bit. There was one set of footprints going up the road ahead of us. Eventually, we made it to the Wayah Bald stone tower and we took a nice long break in the sun. Didge played didgeridoo inside the stone chamber, it sounded badass. We made it to the new Wayah Bald shelter, it had a nice view, but the area around it was a mudpit and there weren't really any good tent spots, so we ended up staying in the shelter. With us at the shelter were Walking Man, Nobody, Dang it Boy,Hummingbird, Stumblewolf, Joe, Ringleader, Monkey, Lightning and others. Walking Man is another repeat offender and he snored like you wouldn't believe- holy crap.
Date: 2010-03-24
From: Wayah Bald

To: .4 past Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

We didn't get a great night's sleep last night- Walking Man snored like hell. The last folks to come in last night were a threesome- Monkey stayed in the shelter with us and his sister Ringleader and their friend Lightning tented. The three of them are making a documentary and are interviewing hikers along the way, especially women I think, just collecting their stories. Jasper and I sat down and did an interview this morning- talking about my cancer and us getting out here again- what the trail means to us. I can't wait to see the final product! http://appalachiantrail2010.blogspot.com/Mid morning, we had already taken one break as I can't walk much more than an hour still, I was ahead of Didge as he needed to visit the woods. Descending into Burningtown Gap, I heard voices, some familar. Coming closer, I could see down to a truck parked with a quikshade erected and ... a bbq grill! Our first TRAIL MAGIC! how awesome! Grits hiked last year and isn't just out here for a weekend- he's spending a couple weeks here, just cooking out for hikers. Prophet and the documentary people were there, as well as Stumblewolf. The threesome are on a schedule, one of them has to be done in mid August for school and they are already pushing big miles, this morning they were planning a 15 mile day, but getting sucked into the trail magic, they were talking about doing the 10 the rest of us had planned to Wesser Bald Shelter instead. Stumblewolf asked where Didge was I when I showed up and I tried to mumble something non-specific, but a few minutes later when Didge showed up, Stumblewolf had to yell- "does a Didgeridude shit in the woods? " really loud. Great. Nevertheless, having heard stories of trail magic at the hiker gatherings I have taken him to, he was very excited to receive his first bonafide trail magic. The rest of the day was beautiful, everything past Tellico Gap was bonus for me, as when I hiked this in 2001, it was raining. I had no memory of the awesome wide wooden elevated deck that is Wesser Bald Firetower, probably cause I didn't bother to climb it. In warmer months, it would be awesome to sleep up there. We went to the shelter just past and cooked dinner. The shelter was full and I counted 14 tents already set up on sloping crappy spots. I was fortunate in 2001, to never have really felt crowded like this. I feel a lot more annoyed by some of my fellow hikers this time. I'm sure its me that is different, altho I have always been apt to sometimes just be ANNOYED really easily. Sometimes I just want quiet. And quiet was not to be had in that vicintiy. I was grumpy, I needed to eat. So Didge cooked and I sat and tried to block out all the chatter around me and try to discourage anyone from talking to me. After eating , I felt somewhat better, and we walked on past the shelter and found a spot along the trail to pitch.
Date: 2010-03-25
From: .4 past Wesser Bald Shelter

To: campsite past NOC
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: light rain

It was a grayish cool overcast day, but dry. We immediately started the descent into the the Nantahala (means "land of the noon day sun") Gorge. Down and down we went, eventually hearing the whine of traffic through the valley and the rush of the river. The trail pops out of the woods at the Nantahala Outdoor Center aka NOC. Something has been bugging the crap out of me the last few days- people have been referring to NOC as the Knock- I know its semantics- I've just always heard it as En-oh- see, not the Knock. Stupid kids. So you come out into this complex of rustic buildings- a restaurant, an outfitter, a convience store, more buildings across the wooden bridge, there are colorful kayakers bobbing in the rapids. We drop our packs outside the restaurant and go inside and feast on real food. There are other hikers there already so our stench is maybe not so noticable. Afterwards, we pick up our resupply package at the outfitters and sort it outside where Stumblewolf is lamenting the brief little trail family that had formed the last couple nights was disbanding. He and Prophet are drinking beer with the threesome who later come to called the Travelling Circus. Joe (who has a cool dog named Jasper which I find amusing when Joe yells at him), is carrying a notebook computer and N-O-C has wi-fi, so he lets us all check our email. I update my Facebook- I'm at N-O-C! Some hikers have family come visit here, some hikers are staying in the hostel/bunkhouse, others like us are just hanging out for a meal and resupply and plan to hike out, which we finally do. The next shelter is 7 miles and 2500 ft elevation gain away- still a little too much for us- we go another 2.5 miles, 1000 elevation gain to a campsite in the guidebook. It has a big outcropping of rock behind it- it has the ominous look of something that might conceal a bear's den. We camped early enough to have a nice fire, just the two of us.
Date: 2010-03-26
From: Missouri

To: Cody Gap
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: light rain

About 3 miles into our day, we passed by Stecoah Gap where 2009 hikers Will and Way were passing out trail magic- snickers and sodas. There is a nice picnic area there and it was wonderful to sit in the sun and enjoy some sugar, chocolate. Joe is now named Grateful. Jasper is still Jasper. There is a short up to another gap and it is after this gap that there is this climb that I remember from 2001- super steep trail- I climbed it without stopping in 2001 and I was very proud of myself. Its weird, I know I am constantly comparing 2001 and 2010 and part of me wishes I would stop. Luckily Jasper is not easily annoyed, he's a very patient man. I know it some ways it adds to my discouragement with my slow pace this year, knowing I was so much stronger in 2001, but honestly what I feel more strongly is a sense of appreciation for what I did in 2001. Granted I was 27, not 36 and oh yeah, didn't have cancer treatment the year before, but I was almost as overweight as I am now- easily 40-50 lbs overweight- but I just kept plugging away. I was a rock star. I am proud of my 27 year old self.So I stopped to rest on the climb a few times this time, but I still made it. I should admit I am writing this journal after the fact- its october 2010 and I am looking back on our wonderful journey this year, but still coming to terms with the struggles I faced. It was a lot harder for me this time. We ended up camping at Cody Gap with Zipcode. He pointed out a flat spot where he had nearly camped and then moved his bearbag further away from where we camped despite our insistence it was fine where it was.
Date: 2010-03-27
From: campsite past NOC

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

another morning sleeping in and hiking in overcast cool weather. We passed a rock outcrop that reminded me of a giant piece of galena with cubic cleavage. The morning was climbing and more climbing up to Cheoah Bald. I am finally feeling stronger and having to stop less. We reached Sassafras Gap shelter which I thought I had a fairly clear mental memory of , but it did not match my memory at all! I hear Cheoah Bald is a great place to camp- not today- socked in and cold, we kept going 2.4 more miles to Locust Cove Gap where the sun was shining. We shared the campspot with a group of 3 guys and one dog. One of them was social, but the others weren't really.
Date: 2010-03-28
From: Cody Gap

To: Yellow Gap 
Miles today: 2.4

The plan for today had been- hike 9.9 miles by 3 pm to meet River Wizard at Fontana Dam, but we woke up to rain- and we had a cell signal... so we got a hold of River Wizard and arranged for him to meet us sooner at Yellow Creek Gap in just over 2 miles. Due to another landslide (there are currently 3 major highways between TN and NC closed to landslides-including Interstate 40 which has been closed for months), what is normally an hour or so from his place to here is now a 3 hour drive each way. I feel horrible that he drove all this way to come get us. We drove over the Cherohala Skyway (combo of Cherokee and Nantahala?) back to Loudon TN. It was so good to see River Wizard and Di again and be back at their wonderful place that is like a home away from home. They fixed us a totally awesome steak dinner. It has been 8 days since we'd had a shower or laundry and we were totally overdue.
Date: 2010-03-29
From: Yellow Gap 

To: Yellow Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0

had a wonderful breakfast, ran some errands, chilled at the Zen Garden that is the Rightmire's place. I've had these itchy bumps on my legs for weeks now- they started well before the trail. At first I thought they were flea bites, but they persisted long after leaving the cats. Chiggers? I keep getting new sores. They are confined to my shins mostly. I consulted via email with Dr. Murph and we concluded I should go see a doctor. They aren't really keeping me from doing anything- they are just an annoyance. I decided to stop taking one of my medicines thinking it might be contributing to my fatigue. We'll see. River Wizard is driving us back to the trail tomorrow over Newfound Gap- 6 hours roundtrip or more for him again, but he is stopping in Asheville to take care of some business.
Date: 2010-03-30
From: Yellow Creek Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

We got back on at Yellow Creek Gap and hiked the 7.5 miles to the Fontana Hilton. After taking a couple days off, we knew absoultely no one there- it was somewhat bizarre. There were a few thruhikers but probably more section hikers as there was a lot of cotton- very few thruhikers wear cotton anything except bandanas. We did see our first Trillium flower this afternoon- signs of spring! We had some views of Fontana Lake, but it seemed like we took the long way to get there. It was a nice sunset over the lake, it'd be great to stay here with a bunch of hikers I knew, there are also quite a few section hikers here, its spring break time. We cooked dinner in the pea gravel beside the shelter, while sitting there, I realized there had probably been quite a few people go down the side of the shelter to relieve themselves, it had an aroma. Ick.
Date: 2010-03-31
From: Fontana Dam

To: Birch Spring Campsite
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: broken clouds

Getting going this morning seemed really slow, we took a ton of pics around the Dam and made a lot of jokes about big dam drains and since the visitor center was closed, we joked, "I didn't want to go to the dam visitor's center anyway! " Then we stopped on the other side of the dam and took a long break at a picnic table before starting the climb up Shuckstack. I wish I'd taken the side trip out to the firetower, but at the time I didn't feel like it, tho Jasper went part of the way out the side trail thinking I had gone out there, but then realized I didn't. At the time I still had hopes of doing the 11 to Mollies Ridge Shelter and didn't want to add any extra time or mileage to the day. It was late afternoon when we reached Birch Spring Tentsite.There was a shelter here in 2001 and you could still see where the shelter had been. At this point we decided we didn't feel up to another 5.4 miles and 1500 ft of climbing and stopped early at the tentsite here. I felt like I could have done another 3 mi or so, but much more and we would have been pushing darkness. In Great Smoky Mountain National Park you have to stay at designated spots. This is the only spot you can legally tent on the AT. Where there are shelters, you have to stay in the shelter unless its full. Most shelters hold 12 people, 4 of those spots are reserved for thruhikers. If there are more than 4 thruhikers, then and only then, may we tent-camp. We caught up with Stumblewolf and he was camped here tonight as well as some other hikers including Hoof It, a guy from England who lives in FL.
Date: 2010-04-02
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: clear sky

a short day today. We had fantastic weather going over Rocky Top and Thunderhead- and great views- wayyyyyy better than I had in 2001. This is where the Smokies really start to get good I think. We were on the trail a little after 9am, which is actually pretty good for us, perhaps staying in a shelter has its advantages. The trail over Thunderhead has several places that are like balds- grassy areas where the views open up and are tremendous. We opted to cut the day short and stop after 6.3 miles. Again I felt like I could have done 3-4 more, but another 5.5 would have been pushing it. Good thing we have enough food to make it to Newfound Gap/ Gatlinburg- which is about 19 miles away.
Date: 2010-04-03
From: Derrick Knob

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

After yesterday's really short day, we were determined to do a bigger day.   Hoof It and Stumblewolf stopped after 7 miles at Double Spring Gap Shelter, there was some snow on the ground around the shelter which is at 5500 ft. The trail continued to climb and we hit the occasional patch of snow going up the south side of Clingman's. At one point, perhaps half a mile before, you can see the distinctive spiral ramp leading up to the top of the tower. In 2001, all this was socked in. I climbed the tower anyway that year and was surprised to find no one else had!         Just before we hit the side trail to Clingman's, the occasional snow patches got less occasional- more like solid snow 3 foot deep. The trail was easy to follow though, as this is the AT in spring and many had passed before us. So where the footprints went, the snow was compacted for the most part, but keep in mind the last few days have been sunny and gorgeous, 80 degrees or so, so there's lots of melting going on. At one point I had to detour off the compacted trail to go around a blowdown and I post-holed up to my hip. My poles also sunk in deeply, so I didn't have the leverage needed to pull myself out and my foot slipped into a pocket of sorts where I couldn't pull up. Luckily Jasper was a short distance behind me and I called him over. He postholed next to me and I pushed down on his shoulder to get myself out and then helped him out. If I'd had to get out on my own, I would have to take my pack off and wallow around in the snow, possibly have to dig my foot out.        We reached the tower and spent some time up there. There were two young guys that looked like they planned to spend the night - a great idea except it'd be colder than hell. One of the guys just had a fleece sleeping bag. I told him he'd probably freeze his butt off if they stayed up there. He said he'd been okay the night before. I asked him up here or lower down the mountain? He thought about it and they packed up and headed off somewhere else. We headed back to the trail and promptly ran into some dicey snow to manuever. I had to slide down a spot on my butt and I decided now would be a good time to put on pants rather than a skirt with bare legs. So the next three miles down Clingman's was ... fun... hell... beautiful... grueling... challenging... take your pic, all of the above. It took us 4 hours to go the 3.9 miles to the shelter. Nearly all of it was covered in snow on average 3 ft deep. Even crossing High Sierra passes in June I have never postholed this much. We rolled into the Mt Collins Shelter just before dark. We were lucky there were spots in there for us, all the ground around was covered in snow, it would have been hard to find a place to pitch the tent. RR Scott Thomas was there, along with Ethan and Carson whom we hadn't seen in awhile. 13.5 miles! Our longest day by 1.5 miles (if you count the half mile off the AT to get here). It was a long day to say the least.
Date: 2010-04-04
To: Gatlinburg, TN.
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

We slept in as much as its possible to in a shelter, got going around 10am. We had a couple more hours of slow going in snowbound trail until the trail was finally mostly clear closer to Newfound Gap. We passed many extremely large uprooted trees. The trail passed under several places where we were dwarfed by the large root structures. Midway through the day, the RR Scott Thomas passed us and then I leapfrogged with him as he stopped to cut briars along the trail. While climbing up Clingman's yesterday, we finally reached what I think of as the smell-good zone, high elevation spruce forest. While hiking here in 2001, I remember thinking that from now on, the smell of Christmas trees would remind me of the Smokies and not the other way around. Now with a few thousand more miles of hiking under my hipbelt, the smell of pines reminds me of so many more places than the Smokies. When I am walking and inhaling that scent, I experience a multi-layered tapestry of memories of New England, Sierras, Oregon, San Jacintos, San Gabriels, Colorado. I wish I could bottle that smell.We tried hitching for awhile at Newfound Gap, which has a huge amount of traffic. Its a gorgeous day in the spring, the enormous parking lot was full and many cars were coming and going, but we had no love on the hitch until RR Scott Thomas (who had reached the lot and his car before us) pulled over and gave us a ride. He hiked sobo a few years ago, his trail name is T-bone. He dropped us at the hiker friendly Gran Prix hotel where we had dropped off a package last week when we drove through with River Wizard (and given a ride to another hiker). It'd been 6 days without a shower, so we were due. I had an excellent prime rib sandwich at Smoky's Pub and Grille per T-bone's suggestion.