morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-12
From: Katahdin Ironworks Road

To: Cloud Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.7

Mr. Bean awoke during the night with an urgent need that couldn't wait 'till dawn. He had no toilet paper, so he heeded Gin-Gin's request to walk back to the privy in the parking lot, more than half a mile back. We were camped in a stealth site, with no obvious path or trail marking he could use to find his way back to his tent. Being resourceful, he counted his steps to the nearest trail junction so he'd know where to start looking for the tents. It must have been a pretty long walk in the dark, counting 830 steps in each direction. I admire his determination to do the right thing.On the trail today we hit the Chairback Mountains. The elevation profile showed some ups and downs but no huge climbs. The highest elevation was to be our destination at Cloud Pond Lean-to, just 1400 feet higher than our starting point. "Some ups and downs" turned out to be surprisingly difficult, with some very steep sections including a couple of rock scrambles. Even the names of the peaks sound daunting: Chairback Mountain, Columbus Mountain, Third Mountain, Mount Three and a Half, Fourth Mountain, and Barren Mountain. Before the day was out, I felt soreness in my knees, right heel (plantar fasciitis), and left calf (torn muscle in June). We regrouped at lunchtime beside a pretty stream. After lunch, I detoured to West Chairback Pond. By then my body had cooled from the morning's exertion, clouds had rolled in, and the wind had picked up, so I wasn't tempted to swim. However, I was surprised to see four canoes on the shore. The map shows the only access is over the Chairbacks, and I'm sure nobody carried four canoes up and down those scrambles. The pond is too small to land a sea plane, and it's unlikely that the canoes were helicoptered in, so there must be an unmapped trail somewhere.My energy level was low this morning, but it picked up after a pause for a text message exchange with Joanne from the summit of Third Mountain. I overtook several hikers on a long climb/scramble and was the first to arrive at Cloud Pond Lean-to. Cloud Pond looked as idyllic as the name suggests. There was a pretty campsite on a small peninsula, so once again I have a view of the water through my open tent flap. It feels as though it might rain overnight, so I'm going to close up before going to sleep.
Date: 2018-08-13
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Little Wilson Stream
Miles today: 12.3

Fortunately, there weren't too many frogs in the pond last night. Shoelace had, as usual, set up his tent next to mine. Have I mentioned that he snores?We met a rag-tag trio of hikers on the trail yesterday, and they camped near us last night. They said they had hiked from Springer Mtn to Harpers Ferry and were flip-flopping to hike from Katahdin back to Harpers Ferry. (A flip-flop is a thru-hike, but rather than going directly from end to end, flip-flops to cover the entire trail non-consecutively. There are many variations.) These were the most lackadaisical thru-hikers I've ever met. I would have expected them to have shed all but their truly essential gear and to be covering 15-20 or more miles per day at the halfway point of a thru-hike. To my surprise, they were carrying camp chairs (sic) and seemed to be walking only about 8 miles a day. The fact that I blew past all three of them on a steep climb yesterday also seems strange given they had more than 1,000 miles behind them.It was warm and sunny today, but the humidity is starting to build again. I considered taking a quick dip in Cloud Pond this morning, but the sight of leaches dissuaded me. Once on the trail, I felt terrific! It was by far my best day yet on this hike. From the time I left camp (half an hour after the last of the others) until I pulled in for the night (45 minutes before the first of the others), I felt at one with the woods and the trail. No worries about the hike, nor about anything beyond the hike. I splashed across a couple river fords without slowing down or taking off my shoes and socks. It just felt "right." Today I absolutely got what I seek when I backpack: the feeling of being at one with the environment and being totally in the moment. The other guys are talking enthusiastically about "finishing" our hike tomorrow; I feel like going on indefinitely. Just before Wilson Valley Lean-to, the trail ran directly through a huge beaver pond. The dam that created the pond was an impressive feat of beaver engineering, perhaps 4 feet high and 150 feet long. The seepage from the dam rendered Wilson Valley Lean-to damp, clammy, and very unappealing. I warned a couple of NoBo hikers about it later in the day.For our last night, we had an idyllic campsite beside Little Wilson Stream. Nobody else joined us there, and Shoelace pitched his tent a few feet away from mine so I'll be able to enjoy the sounds of the rapids and cascades on the stream.
Date: 2018-08-14
From: Little Wilson Stream

To: ME 15 (Monson)
Miles today: 6.8

Sore quads bothered me last night. So did thoughts of returning to "civilization" after my feel-good day yesterday. I got up at 5:30 and had a leisurely breakfast with the guys. They started up the trail one by one. When I was ready to leave, I realized my glasses were missing. After some frantic searching, I found them on the ground near where my tent had been. I was very relieved to find them, but the incident put me a bit off my rhythm.The trail continued to go up and down, but the climbs/descents were all short and none was exceptionally steep. The weather was overcast and very humid. I sweated profusely even though the temperature was only in the 60s. Light rain started to fall as we neared the finish. This was only the third time that it rained on our ten-day hike.We crossed a few thru-hikers and several people just starting the 100-Mile Wilderness NoBo. They looked and smelled clean and fresh. It didn't take long to reach the end of our hike at the highway to Monson. While we waited for a shuttle ride to the car, a woman named Rowdy offered us each a beer. She was living in, and working on, her van in the parking lot at the trail head. She didn't seem to have much in the way of food or possessions, which made her act of generosity more poignant.We ate lunch in Monson, visited the ATC center, and drove back to Shoelace's for showers, laundry, supper, and sleep. Neon, Mr. Bean, and I are flying home tomorrow morning. Sadly, it's over.
Date: 2018-08-25
To: Chapel Hill, NC
Miles today: 0.0

As I reflect back on my experience a couple weeks later, a few things stand out. First and foremost is the kindness and generosity offered by Shoelace and his family. Campground reservations, shuttle arrangements, food drops, cookouts, slackpacking logistics, food and lodging at his home, drives to and from the airport--they made the hike happen. Second, northern Maine is beautiful! I had driven through many years ago, but you don't get to fully appreciate a place when you're moving at 60 mph. The mountains, lakes, ponds, streams, and forests are enchanting, almost magical. Of course there are more spectacular vistas elsewhere, but at 2 mph I came to appreciate the deep green forests and brilliant blue lakes that don't exist anyplace else. Even the bogs were enchanting.We were fortunate to get great weather. Many days were warm and humid, but they were also sunny. By some stroke of luck, the weather on our Katahdin day was ideal. On very few day are Katahdin climbers treated to light winds and great vistas. The summit can be nasty and even dangerous in bad weather.I'm proud of myself for traversing the Knife Edge on Katahdin. It was the scariest mile I've ever done. I moved at an excruciatingly slow pace, maintaining three points of contact with the rock most of the way. But I didn't resort to crawling or sliding on my butt.The pace of the rest of the hike worked out well. I would probably have covered more trail miles per day had I been alone, but that would have made me more sore. And I wouldn't have been tempted to blue blaze nearly as much as I did. I'm glad I had time to do some off-trail exploration and to sit by a pond or lake in contemplation without worrying about making camp before nightfall. Shoelace, Mr. Bean, and Neon were good hiking companions. All experienced hikers, there were no whiners in the group. I enjoyed their company at the beginning and end of each day. For the most part we walked separately, each at our own pace. But without explicit prearrangement, we found each other at lunchtime almost every day. In addition to the companionship, it was reassuring to know that they had my back in case anything went seriously wrong.Other hikers also contributed to my enjoyment. Just seeing thru-hikers, with more than 2,000 miles behind them, move up and down steep climbs over roots and rocks at 4 mph without even looking down, was awe-inspiring. Still, many took the time to stop and talk with us weekend warriors, offering encouragement or just sharing experiences. I also talked with flip-floppers and neophytes who were just starting their first LASH. The trail provides an instant camaraderie that's hard to find anywhere else. How often do you stop and talk for ten minutes to a stranger on the sidewalk, someone you'll probably never see again? On the trail, it's as common as a head nod.https://youtu.be/Fit0t5qG21E
Date: 2018-02-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

There are less than 6 weeks until my Dad and I start the approach trail at Amicalola Falls. We have our gear settled, and we are going on a shakedown hike soon. All I have left to do is to button down some last details for things I'm leaving behind. It's been difficult to make the decision to stop working and leave for several months. I know this trip is going to be worth it. This is something I've wanted to do for over 9 years, and it's pretty surreal to finally be making the first steps.
Date: 2018-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

After a long day of driving we made it the Amicalola falls lodge. The view is amazing. I didn't realize that the lodge was at the top of the falls and that tomorrow I'm going to the bottom to climb back up. The first day of hiking will be the approach trail to the Springer mountain shelter. I've already read some horror stories about the 609 stairs of the approach trail. It will be an experience either way.
Date: 2018-03-14
To: Springer
Miles today: 9.0

What an intense day. We hiked 9 miles from Amicalola falls visitor center to Springer mountain shelter. 609 stairs was a interesting way to start the hike. We took a few breaks and made it with out too much trouble. That combined with the rest of the trail could go down as one of the most physically demanding things I've done. As I'm writing this I'm laying in my tent trying not to move too much because my legs are angry and cramp at the slightest movement. The plan for tomorrow is a hopefully easy 7 miles to hawk mountain camp site.
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Hawk Mountain campground

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

I didn't have any signal last night at Hawk mountain camp ground. Yesterday had a good amount of climbs. The campground we stayed at was amazing. 30 tent pads going down the hill ending in the water source. Today was pretty intense. There was a good section where to your left is a steep hill and to your right is a rock face. I enjoyed that section a lot. Slowing our pace made climbing a lot less taxing and we didn't have to stop as often. The last half of the day was interesting because the trees changed to pine and some sort of tree that is green right now. It was like a completely different trail. We made it to Gooch mountain shelter and so did a bunch of people that stayed at Hawk mountain.Tomorrow seems like it will be a race to a small camp ground before blood mountain. You are required to have a bear canister for all of the shelters in the blood mountain area so and if you don't stay at this campground, you have to hike through 14 miles. We could do it but with rain forecasted and the soreness of our legs, we would prefer the camp ground. As far as I know there are only 6 tent sites so it will be a race. I think we are getting up early to get there.
Date: 2018-03-17
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance creek 
Miles today: 8.0

We woke up at 5 to try to beat the rush and ended up being the first out of camp. We woke up to light rain and packed our tent up wet. This was our first morning hiking in the dark with head lamps and it was a very cool experience. As the sun rose, we had a nice fog that made for an amazing atmosphere to hike in. It was a pretty tough 8 miles but we both felt stronger and we got to the camp ground at 11 a.m. I guess you could say we won the race but as I had predicted the camp started filling up pretty quickly. The camp ground was really cool and the water source was nice. Tomorrow we hike blood mountain and that's a little daunting for sure.
Date: 2018-03-18
From: Lance creek 

To: Neels gap
Miles today: 8.0

The climb up blood mountain was pretty intense. Lots of stone stairs and we were climbing the whole time. The summit was amazing. It's the second highest point on the trail and the highest point in Georgia. The climb down was kind of intense with a ton of large step downs and rock. We resupplied in town and then had lunch. We did laundry and then stayed at the hostel at Neels gap. That was interesting because it was a lot of people in the small room.
Date: 2018-03-19
From: Neels gap

To: Low gap shelter 
Miles today: 11.0

We started on the trail at 5:30 am. I didn't sleep too well in the hostel. Dad said it was the best sleep he has gotten. The morning was super foggy and it rained a little bit on and off. We decided to hike 11 miles to the deep gap shelter. The last 3 miles we hiked in the rain. We never put our rain jackets on and we were pretty warm the whole time.Today offered some of the worst switch backs we have encountered so far and it was probably more climbing than blood mountain. We got to the shelter and dried off and several other people showed up. At this point we are fitting 7 people in the shelter and at least 2 under. I'm a little uncomfortable but I figure it will be fine and I should get the shelter experience. It's supposed to be bad weather tonight so that will be fun. In true grapevine fashion bad weather turned to tornados.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Low gap shelter 

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today was rough. We did 15 miles through what is considered the toughest part of Georgia. There was so much elevation gain and most of it was in the last 4 miles. Tray Mountain is only 200 feet shy of Blood mountain and I will admit that when we got to the top it was beautiful. We had a 2 hour head start on Blue but he caught up to us in the last mile and smoked us. We set up our tents and we are expecting rain and then snow. We will see how sleeping goes.
Date: 2018-03-21
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.0

We woke up to howling wind and snow. We knew we had to get down from the Top of Tray but we left later than usual because we didn't know if it was going to be slick. Coming down wasn't too bad and for a while the snow was fine. About 3 miles in, the snow and wind kicked up and for the rest of the hike we were getting whipped in the face. My clothing held up and it feels good to know that I have a solid system. I forgot that the tough section was actually Unicoi gap to Dicks Creek Gap. There were times where it felt like we were climbing for twenty minutes on some of the steepest grades that we have encountered. I can confidently say that the last two days have been the most physically challenging things I've ever done. We plan to go into Hiawasee to stay and then take a zero tomorrow. Our knees and heels are hurting and we hope the day off will help.
Date: 2018-03-23
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

After two nights and one zero in Hiawasee, we stepped back on the trail. Our zero was fun and we got a lot of good relation and healing done. Today was hard. It funny to hear that the previous section is the most difficult. So far after blood mountain, it's been a brutal amount of climbing. It was cold all day and there was still snow as we climbed. The snow made it a little sketchy in places and the cold was bone chilling. After what seemed like hours of climbing we made it to the shelter and turned in pretty early. Tomorrow we are trying to make it to Carter Gap.
Date: 2018-03-24
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Another cold one. This section of trail had a lot of climbing but the switch backs were nice and easy. It rained most of the day and it was very cold. The air was foggy and you couldn't see any other mountains. The trail had big rocks that are pretty intense to navigate through. It was muddy and some parts were slushy snow and so you would have very slick shoes when you went to navigate the rocks. We slid quite a bit and it added a little bit of danger to our hike. The forecast for the next week looks like a lot more of the same cold and rain. I hope the winter storm passes soon.We Made it to the shelter and I helped get a fire started and we spent some time socializing with people. It really cool that we have been keeping up with Godfather. He was on Springer the same night as us and he is from Kansas. We put up our bear bags and got in our tents. Right now it's a light rain and I hope it stays light.
Date: 2018-03-25
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: moderate rain

It rained quit a bit last night. I got a little wet from the rain hitting the dirt around my tent and splashing. Dad had standing water in his tent.We hiked about 4 miles to Mooney Gap and mom picked us up. We went to Franklin and had a beer at the Lazy Hiker Brewery. We found a sushi restaurant and had lunch. We then got back on the trail.The next 4 miles was pretty intense. We were feelikng a little full and out of it from lunch and the first thing we encountered was the most intense climb we have faced yet. Part of it was just rock face that you had to very carefully navigate up and it rendered feeling poles useless. After three rock faces like that it turns into little stairs made with logs that are very steep. It all paid off with an amazing view and a fire tower to climb. The last bit was downhill.When we got to the shelter it was pretty full and all of the tent pass were taken except for one. I would hardly call it a tent pad thoughh because it is pretty angled and I see myself sliding all night. The pads are just leveled off areas on a steep hill and dad is sleeping at a worse angle than me. He accidentally got his bear line stuck in a tree and his tent still has a bit of water.
Date: 2018-03-26
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 3.7

Last night was cold. Dad had ice on his sleeping pad where the water in his tent had pooled. I fought the slope all night and Dad said his mat curled over his bag from the slope. We were pretty miserable. We met Mom at Rock Gap and when we got in the van I suggested a few days off because Dads heel was hurting and the inside of my ankle was not feeling so good.We drove into town and got a hotel room for two days.
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Gap
Miles today: 5.9

We woke up and had breakfast and decided to try hiking today. MOM dropped us off at Winding Stair gap and drove to Wayah gap. We wanted to do less miles today and the next shelter is both over 10 miles and a major climb after Wayah gap.The hike wasn't too bad. We are both feeling better but non vascular injuries take longer to heal and we have a bit left. We are hoping that doing some shorter days will help. Tonight we are sleeping in the van at the Wayah Bald trail head. Tomorrow we are going to do the climb back up to Wayah bald.
Date: 2018-03-31
From: Wayah Gap

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 5.1

Today was pretty easy. Mom drove us back down to Wayah gap to start. It was mostly up hill but it didn't kill us. The view from the fire tower was nice and it was cool to read about the benton mackaye trail. The last mile was down hill to the shelter. A ton of people were at the shelter but most people were tenting.
Date: 2018-04-01
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Tellico Gap
Miles today: 8.4

We woke up and packed up and then headed to Burningtown gap to mean Mom. When we got there we were surprised by a whole Easter lunch that she had cooked up. Ham potatoes and green beans. Such a treat. There were some people offering trail magic sandwiches to people and someone had left easter eggs with candy for hikers to find. I ended up picking up around seven Easter eggs that people had opened and just dropped. It's amazing how unwilling people seem to pack out trash. The weird thing is that one of the most common left items we have seen is underwear. The rest of the hike wad pretty nice and we met mom at Tellico gap to stay in the van so that the next day would also be a nice length.
Date: 2018-04-02
From: Tellico Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 7.9

We were woken up by flashing police lights around 10 p.m. A man had been missing for around a week and we ended up parking next to his car. The police officer asked if the vehicle had moved while we were there and if we had seen any missing posters. There was someone camping in a tent near us but he never got out.In the morning we got packed up and as we were leaving, we asked the man who was camping if he ever woke up or talked to the police officer. He said no but that he wanted to because He had found a hammock and backpack with everything pulled out of it and a line of paracord down a steep hill when he was trying to find some where to sleep. He said that if he would have gone down the hill he would have probably found the missing man's body. I hope he gets that information to the right people and I hope he is wrong.The hike down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center was a pretty cool. We were on a very narrow ridge line for a good portion of the hike. The rest was down hill and parts of trail were washed out and took some creativity to navigate. My knees are killing me after the miles of down hill. We ate ate the restaurant at the NOC and then went into town to stay in a hotel.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Locust Grove Gap
Miles today: 10.7

Today was intense.We started back on the trail at the NOC knowing that most of today would be uphill.It wasn't too bad in sections but the amount was what was difficult. We made it to Sassafrass Gap shelter and sat down to eat. We had planned on staying there for the night but another hiker told us there was a camp spot 3 miles away. We decided we could do it and pushed on.That was a hard 3 miles. The first two are all uphill and goes through a section called the jump up. It's true to its name. It was a very steep grade. It felt good to finally get to the top. I think we gained over 4000 feet of elevation today.Locust Grove is full tonight. I think there are around 9 tents in a very limited space. It's supposed to rain all night and then hopefully let up in the morning.We are only 16 miles away from the Smokeys and we can't wait to see Fontana dam.
Date: 2018-04-04
From: Locust Grove Gap

To: Yellow Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.8

We got up before everyone else and started on the trail around 6 am. After about 3 miles we met Mom at Stecoah gap and she made us breakfast tacos.We walked 7 more miles to Yellow Creek Gap and met up with Mom again and decided to drive into Fontana Village to stay the night at the resort. We had some good dinner at the restaurant in the village and checked out the general store. Our plan tomorrow is to slack pack the rest of the way to Fontana marina.