morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-10
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

Here we are in Hiawassee and the quaint little public library, clean and warm and soon on our way to do laundry. Amazing how bad clothes can smell after just a week of wearing them....We were fortunate to be picked up at the parking lot in Dick's Creek Gap for a ride into this town by a minister and his wife - very friendly folks. Strange to see traffic lights and food options. We will have to keep our appetites under control here. There is much talk of shutting down the all-you-can-eat buffets.Healing Carol's poison ivy (yep, that didn't take long) and Yvonne's blister, and we will head back out on Wednesday morning. Sorry it took us a while to update this, but looks like it will be a week or so for each update, depending on where we are. We will let you know how it goes...Thanks for following us, and can't wait to see some of you out here! 66 miles down, about 2,101 to go...CarolP.S. Two points of clarification from Yvonne 1) We stunk so bad that trying to get away from my own stench is what motivated me up most of the hills. (now what are we going to do now that we are clean?) 2) My blisters (4) are so bad that if other hikers complain of blisters, I show them mine just to make them feel better. It works, but I'm hanging in there with them ....it's all part of the journey.
Date: 2003-03-11
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Of Trail Angels and Trail Magic
Miles today: 0.0

The longest hike for breakfast yet, came when 'Guana just had to find the SHONEY'S that was written on her map. We hiked over a mile outside of town over the asphalt trail....otherwise known as yellow blazing (due to the lines in the roads)...to get to the SHONEY's. Their breakfast bar sure beat any bowl of oatmeal that this voyager had been eating. All the same, the walk back was harder as we foraged in the small town for some white fuel needed for our cookstove. This leads me to my next story of Trail Angels.Trail Angels are people who help hikers out just to help hikers out. Yesterday as we descended to this small town we found a jug of orange juice and a jug of gatorade on a rock with a note from a trail angel to the hikers to "enjoy!" This sort of kindness is enough to restore anyone's faith in humans and goes to the hiking philosophy of "pay it forward." We also have seen cans of white fuel left on the trail for hikers to use and have heard stories of cold beers and snickers bars appearing. Although we have not encountered any of those yet, we look forward to learning more about these elusive but earthbound angels.Trail Angels are also a part of what is known as Trail Magic. Carol and I have been experiencing trail magic in various sorts of ways. Off the trail, "trail magic" might be called "grace," that is gifts that you have received through no doing of your own but through the grace of others or that of a greater power. The greater power has definitely blessed us with great weather thus far. The one night when there was a thunderstorm, was the night we were in the hostel at Neals Gap. Today, bright and sunny with no rain in sight. Though we know rain and snow for that fact, may come, we are enjoying the trial magic now. It has certainly made the start of our journey a lot easier.Today, we will be organizing and re-organizing our maildrops, food and trying to lighten our packs. My guitar may have to be sent home.....I am conversing with my guide about it and with my back. We have 7 days, our largest load yet, of food and supplies to carry, so my practical side may speak louder than my guide. We shall see. Still I will have music in my heart. Until next we chat.....Sonic
Date: 2003-03-15
From: A Spontaneous Hot Shower for two drenched gals

To: Rainbow Springs Campground - Franklin, NC
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

Yippeeee...we have made it to the great state of North Carolina!! Yvonne and I ducked into this campground near Franklin, NC (one of our old stomping grounds) to dry out. It has been raining for the past few days and a warm shower and dryer for our clothes was calling our names. Spirits are up and we are having fun - meeting more and more cool people, and getting into the day to day groove. We are just 3 days away from Nantahala Outdoor Center, a river spot that I am looking forward to. We'll see if it is warm enough and we have time to do a little paddling:)Can't write more for now - internet service charged by the minute and I can't type all that fast....Carol - aka 'Guana - cause when we started out at Springer I was looking like one (an iguana) - all dressed in green and grey and coming from the Virgin Islands, it just fit...P.S. From Yvonne - thinking of changing Carol's name to "The Flying Scout" since she scouts ahead for us and sometimes has trouble stopping her feet from moving. She's wonderful at waiting up for me when she can stop her feet....ha, ha.
Date: 2003-03-19
From: Wesser, NC

To: Wesser. NC
Miles today: 0.0

Hello from soggy and not so sunny North Carolina!!Yvonne and I arrived into Nantahala Outdoor Center yesterday, which is near Bryson City, NC, in the far south-western part of NC. What a cool place though - I was feeling right at home at this paddling outfitter. We arrived around 12:30 pm and had a nice lunch at the River's End Restaurant overlooking the river, complete with paddlers and rafters coming by us. How nice it was to sit by the water and sit and have someone serve you while you sit in a nice comfy chair. Have I mentioned how nice it was to sit?? We enjoyed the meal in the company of our new friends Jan Liteshoe and Heather and Andy (aka Smooth Navigator and Fly by Night). After lunch, we sat outside, enjoying the non-rainy moment and watched the whitewater kayakers play in the surf. Very cool!!But alas, you are probably wondering how the HIKE is going...It has been soggy and foggy for the past week or so, but we are hanging in there. It is amazing how heavy things can get when they are wet, especially the tent, so once again, we are trying to dry things out. The official mileage count is now 134, and we have put in a few long days. Two days ago we did 13.4 miles - our longest yet, and we were pretty impressed with ourselves. There are still plenty of young whipper snappers flying by us, but certainly they can't be enjoying the trail as much as we are, right???St Patty's Day had us all longing for cold green beer, but we settled for hot chocolate and climbed into bed around 7:30 pm. For me, knowing that Michele and Jake had made us homemade brownies that were waiting at Nantahala Outdoor Center was all the inspiration I needed!! The 6 mile steep descent from Wesser Bald (4600 feet) to the river (1700 feet) went by in no time!The best part about arriving into Nantahala was the amount of mail we received!! You are all AWESOME!!!!! You have no idea how nice it is to have fan mail when you get to one of these towns...I had gone into the little outfitter store to pick up our resupply box of food and didn't even think to check the other mail box they had there, so about a half hour later, I went back in, just to check, and found another goodie package and about 7 letters and postacards! What an inspiration that is - thank you all for the love and support - it really keeps us going!!From here, we are heading to Fontana Dam ( and as I call it, Fontana Damma) - about 3 days hiking, and we are hoping that the weather will dry out a little bit so we can actually see the views from the tops of these mountains that we are climbing! If anyone is checking our maildrops - please note that we may not be stopping at Mountain Momma's Country Store and Hostel - so please don't send mail there. Hot Springs will be the next big stopover - another cool trail town.So for now, signing off, heading back to the hotel room to finish cleaning gear and eating "real" food. Take care and we'll catch ya at the next stop!!Carol (Guana)
Date: 2003-03-30
To: Nowhere - We're Snowbound!
Miles today: 0.0

Greetings from SNOWY Tennessee/North Carolina!We have offically entered and left the Smoky Mountain National Park area - was a beautiful area, great weather for the most part. We climbed over Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point on the entire Appalachian Trail and had a panoramic view of North Carolina and Tennessee (which is a treat apparently, not too many people actually get a view from up there). Along the ridges in the Smokies we were walking with one foot in North Carolina and one foot in Tennessee - two states at one time!!Lots of stories and memories are being made - too many to pass on in this journal entry. We are currently at Standing Bear Farm - a hostel just outside of the Smokies - arrived 2 days ago to meet up with Michele and Anne for a weekend that we could never have planned if we tried...but here are a few highlights...The hosts here at the hostel own a Mexican restaurant, which we got invited to on Friday night. Live Bluegrass music and Mexican food actually go very well together!! We stayed and watched the locals drink moonshine and dance to Rocky Top (the unofficial state song of Tennessee), and came back to the farm to await the arrival of our pit crew/resupplyers/friends, who arrived at 1:00 am.Yvonne and I had just come off a stretch of hiking for 9 days of over 10 miles a day, so we were in need of a little rest, not to mention that the forecast had thunderstorms and a cold front coming in. We decided to lay low and hang with our friends and eat some good food. Saw a movie in Newport, TN (and by the way, if any of you have seen the movie "Basic" with John Travolta, please drop a line and tell us what really happened in that movie - all 5 of us who went are still not sure...).And today, we woke up to SNOW falling - a beautiful wet snow that just kept falling and falling and falling. Two days ago we were walking in shorts and talking about how hot we were and today there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground! We debated going up the mountain and hiking to the next shelter for several hours, and then a hiker (who has done the trail before) came back down from the area that we were heading to and told us that there was about a FOOT of snow up there and it was pretty crazy...so...we decided to stay here yet another night and play in the snow where we can stay dry, at least for a little while. Mountain weather is very unpredictable -they say it will be 72 degrees in 2 days...It was a wonderful weekend - so great to see some familiar faces after some pretty tough hiking. We have now completed 237.5 miles of the trail, and still feeling good. Looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow morning and heading on. We will be in Hot Springs, NC in a few days and will try to fill in some more stories of our experience in the Smokies when we get there. Until then, thanks for reading and supporting us!GuanaPS - If you ever travel to Newport, TN - check out the Newport Cinema 4, and try - just try to top Anne's high score on the Ms. Pacman machine!
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: broken clouds

So we wrote last from the cool hostel that we were snowbound in for a few days, watched the pretty snowfall, and now had to head out into it! We trudged 7 miles uphill - REALLY - I know this sounds like one of those stories that you get from your grandparents about walking to school in the snow, but this one is true. It was gorgeous scenery, heavy snow all clinging to the trees, it was a true winter wonderland, complete with Yvonne singing Christmas carols for entertainment! It was a rough day though - I never would have thought just a few days ago that we would be hiking in snow - let alone over 12 inches of it!! There were some parts today that it was up to our knees! That does not make for easy walking...But of course, tomorrow's forecast it 60 degrees and we will be dodging the falling snow melting off of those trees. Can't wait...
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: few clouds

...and yet another day of trudgery - icy in the morning, thigh-deep snow by lunch as we climbed up to the top of Max Patch Mountain (with wind gusts that kept knocking me over), and slush most of the afternoon - what an interesting few days this has been!!! Max Patch Mountain was stunning - 360 degree view - well worth the crazy climb to get up there. I felt like we were filming a documentary on Mount Everest!When this snow first fell, we were in awe and couldn't believe how beautiful it was, but now, now we are cursing it, hoping it would just disappear. 7 miles yesterday was tough on the body, and the 11 miles we did today was exhausting. So what does tomorrow hold? Well, we are thinking of pushing out our highest mileage yet - 15 miles and making it to Hot Springs for some hot food and cold beer. We'll see how it goes. With these temperatures now at about 70, the snow must be just about gone!
Date: 2003-04-02
To: Hot Springs!
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

We made it!! Not only did we make it 15 miles, but we were here in town before the post office closed at 4:00! It was a big push, a long day, but there is something about a town that really motivates you. The trail conditions GREATLY improved, just a little wet in the morning and then absolutely no signs that it even snowed at all just 48 hours ago!We are staying at "Elmer's" - a unique place, apparently THE place to stay in this 2-block town. Elmer is a former thru-hiker from the 70's, who has this huge old Victorian house that he rents rooms in for hikers and feeds awesome meals from his organic farm (yes, this coming from a girl who doesn't eat many vegetables). Hot Springs is a great little town - known for the hot mineral baths, which we may just have to check out tonight...Spring has definitely sprung down here in the valley - trees are budding and it smells like spring. Hopefully it will stay that way, but with the way the weather has been, I won't hold my breath on it! One month down and life is good! We are loving life out here...Take care and we'll be back in touch from Erwin, Tennessee....Carol ('Guana)
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Coming to Terms with the Trail

To: Coming to Terms with the Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Since Carol has taken to giving you the blow-by-blow account of our journey, I thought I would take a different angle and give you the Trail terms (some of the names of these terms are fictional so as to protect the individuals involved)They are in almost alphabetical order. Enjoy, Sonic Bly Gap Welcome ¢ the most painful 3 miles that you first encounter when entering North Carolina from Georgia. Chasing the Sun - the urge to do over 5 miles after 4 PM in Winter just to catch up with friends.Crotch Cruncher - When you've sunk about as low in the snow as you can go without it being life-threatening but merely painful.Pole dragging - the Hiker body language which is the dragging of the hiking poles that means you thought you were at the top of a hill, but you turned the bend and the path still keeps going up and up and up.Back slip ¢ when your back foot slides, but it doesn¢t bring you down. Usually you slip due to a wet root or rolliey pollie rock¢¦.it could be in cases of snow or slush too.Knob ¢ most likely a nasty steep little mountain that you will go probably go over the top of ¢ the Knob got its bad name from ¢Kelly Knob¢ in Georgia where a lot of hikers almost gave up and I am sure others did. Holey Foot - in an effort to dry the socks which are wet from sweat or from snow, one may hold the sock too close to a campfire created this effect. One down - the losing of one sock on the trail that makes the other one useless. (On a great day, a thru hiker behind you had the courage to pick the stinky sock up and carry it with them to find you. :) )Overcleanliness is next to holiness ¢ the urge to wash everything clean, including your tent, even though the instructions say not to wash the tent, but you wash it anyways, which creates new holes in your tent¢s structure.Mail drop dash - when it's 2:30 PM and you are 3 miles from the post office and it closes at 4 PM and you don't want to wait another day for your clean clothes that are in your bounce box, or mail, or goodies. Trail side slip ¢ when you almost slide off the side of the mountain because you mistook snow for solid ground. Shelter stacking ¢ When the weather is so cold and the amount of people at your shelter exceeds its capacity that people sleep on the ground under the shelter rather than set up a tent. Sack maneuvers ¢ the ability to get dressed, cook a meal, and eat all without leaving the warmth of your sleeping bag.Tree straddle ¢ A tree is in the path, you can¢t go around it, you can¢t go under it¢¦.gotta go over it. No great feat unless you have over 30 pounds on your back. Tree crawl ¢ Yep, another tree in your path, can¢t go around it, can¢t go over it, gotta go under it. Again, no great feat unless you have over 30 pounds on your back.
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Longest Day Yet

To: Longest Day Yet
Miles today: 16.9

Sonic and Guana in to Miss Janet's hostel after our longest day of 16.6 miles in one day. We also did it in just 9 and 1/2 hours. Got a ride to this fine place which is a hiker's haven. And we'll be here tomorrow to write some more on the journals. We stuffed our faces with burritos, have showered and feel like we should be going to bed now since it is getting dark. But coffee, company and laundry are occupying our evening. Forecast calling for rain and snow in the next couple of days. Gonna figure out our plan. Gotta get off this computer. The line of hikers to use it is amassing. More tomorrow. Sonic
Date: 2003-04-09
From: More Trail Terms

To: More Trail Terms
Miles today: 0.0

More Trail Terms from SonicRotisserie Hiker ¢ when you can turn over on your own axis in your sleep and when in fact you have to because the shelter capacity was 6 and you managed to get 9 people in. (Credit for this term goes to WENCH).Shelter Illusions ¢false sightings of shelters; because you so desperately want to get there your mind can make tree limbs and stumps into outlines of shelters and privies. Your mind also imagines hearing voices and the clank of pans long before it is true. Doubting Thomas or Doubting Thomasina ¢ A person who hasn¢t seen a trail blaze in the past 5 seconds, so they doubt that the trail that they are still walking is really the Appalachian Trail (especially when the trail leads uphill or over snow drifts). Stick ¢Em Up ¢ When a stick gets stuck on one of your feet and while moving the other foot around in the act of walking the stick creates a bridge between your two feet thereby tripping you and almost making you fall flat on your face.Island Illusions ¢ when you mistake a squirrel for a mongoose in the woods of the USA. (Guana is credited to the creation of this term.)Fuzzy Freeloaders ¢ animals, mostly dogs who attach themselves to you along the trail for miles. (Sonic and Guana had three dogs one day.)Snorasauruses ¢ They were once thought extinct, but on the trail snorasauruses can be found in abundance. The only way to keep them at bay is to wear earplugs so you can sleep.Plastic Alarm ¢ the sound of rustling plastic that keeps you awake at night while other hikers prepare to sleep and the sound that wakes you up in the morning as other hikers prepare to depart. (Credited to Jan Liteshoe).Trail Head ¢ when brainwaves no longer flow through your mind due to a lack of stimulus¢¦..branch, tree, grass, hill, rock, branch, tree, grass, hill, rock, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.Stupification ¢ when you can no longer talk due to total exhaustion.(Credit to Liteshoe).Trail Family ¢ any number of people who are hiking your same pace on the trail who you get to know quickly and are sad to see them go when the amount of your zero days in town or the number of relatives and friends visiting do not coincide.Zero Day ¢ when you do not hike any miles on the trail so you supposedly rest, but in fact spend your day usually walking more miles all over town trekking to the library, restaurants, movies, outfitters and more.
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Recovery Zone

To: Recovery Zone
Miles today: 0.0

Dear Hiking Fans - today is a Recovery Zone day for us and for our friend Fly who came down with some sort of bronchial interference. This will be our last week with our hiking friends that we have come to know over the past two months, so we are sticking together. With rain pelting down this morning, it was an easy decision to stay another day in Damascus! And so, come rain or shine, we will be hiking tomorrow to somewhere at some point.I am writing you from the Side Track Cafe who at 11:30 this morning agreed to make us breakfast even though they stopped serving at 11 AM. We met one of the managers in a pharmacy and he accompanied us over personnally to cook us breakfast. What a great town. The more I visit small town America, the more I am impressed with the people who live there - how open they are and how helpful. Truly, they are the heartbeat of America. Okay, sorry to keep this short, but there is a bed with my name on it and with a little more elevation the swelling in my feet might actually subside today. :) Be good to yourselves, Sonic
Date: 2003-04-27
From: From Hiking to Biking to Paddling

To: From Hiking to Biking to Paddling
Miles today: 0.0

It's 4:00 in the morning and I can't sleep. It could be too much stimulus from the television the night before.....or it could be the Mexican food that we had to celebrate Guana's birthday last night.....or it could be I am not sure where I am right now. Yes, it is transition time!!! For the next 4 or so weeks Guana and Sonic have gone AWOL from the Appalachian Trail. Why??? So Guana can train for her annual Canoe Marathon which is Memorial Day in Cooperstown NY. Yep, seventy miles in one day. Although the trail has been a great cardio workout it has not been a great help in developing the upper body strength needed for the race. Oh, and then there is getting in a canoe and making sure you can balance the thing with a canoe partner. (Guana's canoe partner is "Judy" and the team name is "Just Add Water")So in just one short day, we have gone from hiking the AT to biking seventeen miles on the Virginia Creeper Trail (all downhill thank goodness for my aching muscles)and now on to paddling! What a transition! And what a birthday celebration for Guana!! The night before her birthday, some of the hikers mentioned below put together a fine birthday party complete with toilet paper decorations and tasty cakes with candles in them. A bumper sticker found at the Texaco station near the hotel which read "Yield to the Princess" was ideal for Guana's state of mind that she should enjoy the whole birthday weekend and not just one day. The the next day, instead of hiking the 12 miles as was originally planned (ha, ha) - we found ourselves biking the day away with Guana's sister (and friend) Michele and our friend Anne. The 17 miles passed easily with a break about every 3 miles, not because of the exertion but just because it was a gorgeous sunny day and there were many places to stop along the way. Then back to Mt. Airy where we went out to dinner at Chile Verde and ended with Ice Cream at the Dairy Station. Yes, Guana definitely had a unique celebration!We left behind some folks on the AT of whom we have grown fond while hiking the trail for the last few states. So Fly, Smoothie, Wench, Hot Dog and Liteshoe....if you are reading this, yes, we are talking about you. And remember, we will be trying to catch up with you....so you better get moving!!! (ha, ha)We will be keeping you posted over the next weeks on this website - and though we aren't on the trail, we may actually get a litte more time to write to you about our experiences as we utilize home computers rather than the type and dash of the computers we have been using in every library and cyber-cafe across this great land. So, stay tuned, trail fans and race fans....there's a 100% chance of paddling in our future and a good chance we will get on the trail in Pennsylvania to create a fast-forward for ourselves later! Until we type again.....SONIC