morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-10-18
From: Pine Swamp Branch (Trimpi) Shelter

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Slept in to 7:30am as I knew I had a shorter mileage day. Treated myself to coffee to warm up after a cold night, really did the trick.Was in good spirits for my last full day on the trail especially when I hit all the switchbacks and did not have to go straight up the only climb of the day. Beautiful day, cool but not cold with crystal clear skies.Trail had little views till I came to an open area leading to an old apple orchard. There was a forest service biologist looking for raptors in the sky so we talked birds for almost an hour. I pointed out a bald eagle (first one I have seen in VA and I grew up there) and he got pretty excited.I moved on to the orchard and many trees still had fruit but anything within reach looked bad. Oh well, moved on down the trail and took a break at a nice spring and got water as the shelter is dry. Called my parents to confirm we were on for pickup tomorrow and had a few laughs with my dad. Made it to the shelter around 3:45pm and did chores before sitting down to enjoy the view while waiting for dinner. 46° when I climbed into my sleeping bag just after sunset. There is a very cold wind blowing making it much cooler. Glad I am in the shelter tonight out of the wind! Shelter to myself for the third night in a row. Will get to sleep in a bit tomorrow before heading down to meet my parents. Ankle held up but I kept getting the ping I felt the day before reaffirming the decision I made to get off the trail.
Date: 2021-10-19
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: clear sky

Slept in again and watched the sunrise from my sleeping bag. Another cold morning and I did not sleep well as a cold breeze would blow and wake me throughout the night. Price you pay for being in an open field high up with great sunsets and sunrises.Had morning coffee as two french hikers came by. Talked with one for some time before he pushed off down the trail excited about town food.Started my final short day and made good time down the mountain to Pearisburg. Had to walk a mile into town to meet my parents but easier than meeting at the trailhead. They arrived from Richmond 10min before I got there, great timing! Bittersweet day as it was great to see them but sad that I was ending my hike. Had some great experiences, met some wonderful people (you know who you are) and made it through another fun hike.
Date: 2021-04-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The photo I picked for my trail thumbnail is one of my Mom and I working a puzzle together. She just spent a week living at our house after a little more than a year in semi-seclusion due to Covid-times. It was great having her stay with us and she had a great time. I'm "dedicating" my hike to her--Mom, you're AWESOME!
Date: 2021-04-26
From: BLACK GAP SHELTER

To: BLACK GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

Mile -1.5, BLACK GAP SHELTER. After a short night of sleep (had to re-seat a toilet bowl due to a broken bolt) and then finish packing, I had a smooth ride to Atlanta. Met Finder (F) at North Springs station where we got a ride from Ron Brown up to Amicalola Falls State Park. Having been a ranger at AFAP for 8 years and now running an AT shuttle service Ron was a veritable fountain of info. F and I registered and at about 2 pm we set off under clear skies and mid-70s temperatures. Our campsite was 7.3 miles in but 1.5 miles short of the actual start of the AT. That will come tomorrow.
Date: 2021-04-27
From: BLACK GAP SHELTER

To: GOOCH GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Mile 15.7 GOOCH GAP SHELTERWhat an amazing day of hiking! After a breakfast of oatmeal and, of course, coffee, we had a quick 1.5 miles to Springer Mountain, the start of the AT. Photos (have to touch the first blaze), log book entry and selecting a pebble (which is to be carried 2190 miles and delivered to the top of Mount Katahdin) preceded our first AT steps. I felt much better today (I didn¢t mention I had a couple of sessions on the ivory throne before my plane took off¢made for a pretty tough start to the trip), and we passed up our planned campsite and went on a little farther. I¢m going to bed early again trying to catch up on sleep.
Date: 2021-04-28
From: GOOCH GAP SHELTER

To: BULLS GAP
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

M32.4, BULLS GAP.Well, don¢t get too bent out of shape if my numbers don¢t work out. Sometimes Finder and I use AWOL (thank you Ever Forward), but also The Companion Guide to the AT (shout out to Just Paul from REI Reading), and sometimes Guthooks. Today was about 16.7 miles up and over Blood Mountain, the highest point on the AT in Georgia. This mountain was a frequent battle site between the Creek and Cherokee, hence the name. The trail goes right through the Mountain Crossing store so we decided to resupply there rather than going off trail in a couple of days at Dick¢s Gap. Lots of gear and food options and knowledgeable friendly staff; met Bill Hutchinson who runs the place. He also maintains the Creeper Trail near Damascus.
Date: 2021-04-29
From: BULLS GAP

To: BLUE MOUNTAIN SHELTER
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

M 50.1, Blue Mountain Shelter, 17.7 milesMet Tom, our first Trail Angel. Check out his hat in the photo showing him and me¢we asked if he had pie, but apparently he was out! His lemon muffins were awesome! After lunch at Low Gap Shelter the trail gradient and tread reminded me of the PCT¢it was awesome! Made it to the shelter and plan to stay inside¢rain is on the way tonight!
Date: 2021-04-30
From: BLUE MOUNTAIN SHELTER

To: MORELAND GAP
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: light rain

M 68.2, Moreland Gap, 18.1 miles.Today was a day that Pooh Bear would be happy. The wind was blowing all day long. We went up climbing up then running a ridge and then down to a gap. Some people call these PUDS, for pointless ups and downs, but that doesn¢t seem right¢we are getting somewhere! I have some back stories to catch up on but I¢ll give you those later.
Date: 2021-05-01
From: MORELAND GAP

To: STANDING INDIAN SHELTER
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

M 85.9, Standing Indian Shelter, 17.7 miles.Last night we met Kevin from Sturbridge at Moreland Gap, today we left Georgia (one state done!), leaving that red clay behind. Lots of CRGs today, and NC started out tough!Backstory: Ron the shuttle guy¢dependable, timely, full of info, reasonably priced, hang onto your hat for the ride.Backstory: On the day we met Tom the pie guy we also met Speedbump (he says he slows people down)¢he told us about the bird that calls eight times sharply¢it¢s the Ovenbird.Backstory: we found out that the white and pink flower the three peddled one is a Trillium. (see photo in album)
Date: 2021-05-02
From: STANDING INDIAN SHELTER

To: ROCK GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: clear sky

M 105.6, Rock Gap Shelter, 19.7 miles.Most miles in one day, but with less elevation change, it seemed easier. Highlight was the log staircase up to Albert Mountain fire tower¢quite some vertical! Even though it¢s been clouding up the view was great. Photos of the history of the tower were interesting. Sprinkles around 2:30 pm and a forecast for thunderstorms mean we could have a wet entry tomorrow into Franklin for our Nero. Our shelter tonight was built in 1965, is small, and has duct tape on the roof. There were 4 people there when we arrived; I chose to pitch my tent. Looks like I¢ll find out how it does in the rain! My main concern is that the terrain slopes into the tent sites, so I hope I don¢t get flooded out!
Date: 2021-05-03
From: ROCK GAP SHELTER

To: FRANKLIN
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: overcast clouds

M109.4, Nero in Franklin, 3.8 miles Well last night it did sprinkle but it really didn¢t start raining hard until this morning. FINDER and I headed out at about 7:30 AM in the rain and it rained most of the way to Franklin. Chica and Sunsets Hostel was full so we booked a place at Gooder Grove Hostel, but when we got there there were so many people, and only two restrooms and shower facilities, we decide to head out to Sapphire Inn. We heard about it from Cumin, a thru-hiker we met at Rock Gap Shelter last night. After a Mexican lunch at Mi Casa we headed off to do laundry at the community coin laundry call five minutes up the road. This morning was our first rain (during the day) in seven days of hiking and tomorrow and the next day are also supposed to have rain, so will get to test out our rain skills.
Date: 2021-05-04
From: FRANKLIN

To: COLD SPRINGS SHELTER
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

M 125.2, Cold Springs Shelter, 15.8 miles Up at 6 am even though the bus doesn¢t come until 8:30 am. Went to McDonalds for breakfast but the inside area was closed. Tried to drive through but nobody seem to serve us. Fortunately a kind lady in a car rolled up to the speaker phone and we were able to order. After stuffing ourselves with lots of calories we still have plenty of time to make the bus. The skies have gotten darker so it looks like the rains coming, so think like a duck! At 8:45 took the 10 passenger Macon County Transit back to Winding Stair Gap. Light sprinkles in the air. The first shelter 4 miles in is predicted to get 1-2 inches of rain today.It came in quietly. Wind. Sprinkles. Rain. But then torrents. Lightning. Thunder!!! At one point in afternoon a flash exploded right over our heads! The light and sound made it seem like the end of a 4th of July fireworks display! We took ¢lunch¢ at about 1:30 at Wayah Bald Shelter (with 8 other thru-hikers who were holed up) and tried to warm up (my hands were freezing!), but we headed out for Cold Springs Shelter. The shelter is small with a fire pit right in front. The ¢current residents¢ were drying clothes, so rather than deal with the smoke we pitched our tents. It had started to rain so I used my tent footprint, poles and fly to build cover and then set the tent up from underneath (thanks to JP at REI Reading for the cool tip!). Now it¢s time to get dry clothes on, eat and go to bed! PS¢I haven¢t taken a single picture all day!
Date: 2021-05-05
From: COLD SPRINGS SHELTER

To: SASSAFRAS GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: light rain

M 143.8, Sassafras Gap Shelter, 18.6 miles.Started in the light rain at 6:37 am. Today we have about 3000 feet down and then 3000 feet back up. But we did cash in on a quick load of laundry, resupply, lunch and dinner to go at the NOC. And guess who we met at the NOC¢Hannah! She started the same day we did and is in trailjournals.com/hannahvickeryhiking¢very funny! Yesterday and today we were hiking around Smiles and JetPack, two hikers who have already done the PCT and the CDT. Great people and strong hikers. Twice today we had things falling out of the sky. First was a 3 inch diameter branch that would have hit Finder if he hadn¢t heard it falling and stopped. The second was a larger limb but it was farther off trail. Crazy!
Date: 2021-05-06
From: SASSAFRAS GAP SHELTER

To: NC 28 and AT crossing
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: clear sky

M 164.7, NC 28 and AT crossing, 20.9 miles.Got rolling about 6:45 AM just a little bit later than yesterday morning. After a big day of ups and downs yesterday our legs were pretty tired. FINDER did see a rabbit today, and both of us saw a snake but otherwise there hasn¢t been a lot of wildlife. We saw several lady slippers (sorry no picture) and they were beautiful. Rolled into Fontana Dam just when the last shuttle was leaving for town (5 pm), so we headed down to the general store and decided to stay at the resort. Guess who we saw? JetPack was doing laundry next to the General Store¢she and Smiles had taken a room too. I guess thru-hikers think alike?! Had a great taco salad for dinner and ordered a pulled pork sandwich for lunch tomorrow will be up and at it early. My feet feel like I got a bit of trench foot from all the recent hiking in the rain. I¢ll have to elevate them and try to air them out!
Date: 2021-05-07
From: NC 28 and AT crossing

To: SPENCE FIELD SHELTER
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

M 183.7, Spence Field Shelter, 19.0 miles.The Rhoddies are blooming down at about 1700 feet, but not yet up in the mountains. Finders at it again¢this morning, right on the trail, he found a Doobie. The Fontana Dam is amazing. I took a video of Finder commenting on it (he¢s an engineer) which you should check out once I get it posted (which won¢t be until I¢m in town). The trail in the Great Smokies National Park is more of a constant gradient than prior to this point. The tread is also pretty smooth relative to before. Finder and I both took town food with us¢the pulled pork sandwich we had for lunch was outstanding! In the afternoon we met a guy named Goob, short for Goober. He just retired in April after 20 years in the Air Force. Finder and he talked aviation¢it was very interesting and 1.5 hours flew by. We headed out at about 9:20 this morning and got in at about 5:30; a very good, but cool day. But at least it didn¢t snow as was predicted!https://photos.app.goo.gl/GgJcYfkERZyyw5XH7
Date: 2021-05-08
From: SPENCE FIELD SHELTER

To: MT. COLLINS SHELTER
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: few clouds

M 202.4, Mt. Collins Shelter, 18.7 miles.Got a little bit of a late start this morning but we were underway by 7 AM. We were looking forward to getting to Clingmans Dome the highest point in North Carolina and AT. The trail was pretty steep; we had over 5000 vertical feet of gain. We made it to the Mount Collins Shelter by 5:30 PM and are looking forward to another cold night. At least it¢s not raining or snowing.
Date: 2021-05-09
From: MT. COLLINS SHELTER

To: TRI-CORNER SHELTER
Miles today: 21.0

M 223.4, Tri-Corner Shelter, 21.0 miles.Had our best day hiking yet especially after Newfound Gap today. The Trail tread was great, the gradient was good, the views were awesome¢best day yet on the AT.Backstory: Nero the dog¢we met Nero at the Gooder Grove Hostel in Franklin and then again outside of Sassafras Gap Shelter, so Bruce, you can hike with your dog on the AT¢ see you in Asheville?Backstory¢MoJoe the Stumbler. A couple of days ago I stubbed my toe and took my first full-on face plant (I say ¢first¢ because I¢m sure there will be more!). Embarrassing, but fortunately I didn¢t get hurt.
Date: 2021-05-10
From: TRI-CORNER SHELTER

To: STANDING BEAR SHELTER
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: overcast clouds

M 241.8, Standing Bear Shelter, 18.4 miles.Didn¢t get up real early today and when we did we had to walk the maze of bodies on the ground in the shelter due to the heavy rain last night. Got underway about 7 PM and had a mostly downhill day into Standing Bear Farm just on the other side of I-40. The weather was mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles now and then and a generally wet tread that left our feet soaked. At Standing Bear, we did the typical chores laundry shower try to dry out our wet stuff and eat, eat a lot. We ran into Hanna here at Standing Bear Farm but she¢s going off trail for a couple days she has to attending a wedding this coming weekend. The next couple of days could be continued showers on and off¢we¢re looking forward to being in Hot Springs in two days. Not many pictures today¢something drained my phone overnight and I had a dead battery this morning¢so no photos. Will try to get a few pictures of the Hostel we¢re staying at tomorrow morning.
Date: 2021-05-11
From: STANDING BEAR SHELTER

To: WALNUT MOUNTAIN SHELTER
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

M 261.8, Walnut Mountain Shelter, 20.0 miles.Skipped breakfast at Standing Bear, paid the bill and we¢re on the trail by about 7:45 am. Very foggy this morning but by lunchtime it had started to clear and we we got to Max Patch it was a beautiful sunny day and we had great views. Supposedly Max Patch is one of the most popular trails in the southern AT. The trail from Max Patch to Walnut Mountain Shelter was mostly downhill and the tread was good. Got into camp about 5:00 pm.Backstory: Tumbleweed the trail magic man. Yesterday just before we got to Standing Bear Farm a section hiker name Tumbleweed gave us pizza when we cross the dirt road¢boy was that great! He had hurt his shin by rolling his ankle and wanted to take a break because he had an upcoming 100 mile ultramarathon to run In Lawrence, Kansas.
Date: 2021-05-12
From: WALNUT MOUNTAIN SHELTER

To: HOT SPRINGS, NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

M 274.9, Hot Springs, NC, 13.15:15 am. Hard Rain. I rolled over for another 1/2 hour and noticed the rain had let up a little. Packed up, including taking the tent down, under the fly, but ate breakfast at the shelter. We left at about 7 am, in the rain, and had a slippery trip into town. At points it was so ¢greasy¢ I could hardly stay on my feet! I took a tumble on one switchback, landed on my pole, and almost hit a tree! Fortunately the pole wasn¢t bent badly. Even though the trail was tough we made 10 miles by 11 am. Rolled into Elmer Sunnyside Hostel (check out the photos) about 1pm and checked into the room Earl Schafer used twice when he did the AT. We had lunch across the street at the Smoky Mountain Diner and tried to plan the next leg of the trip. There¢s no gas in NC due to the computer hack so Finder¢s sister-in-law may not be able to pick us up for a trip into Asheville. If not, we¢ll have to get more food to make our next resupply point. Had dinner at the SM Diner, and probably tomorrow morning will have breakfast there.
Date: 2021-05-13
From: HOT SPRINGS, NC

To: LITTLE LAUREL SHELTER
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

M 294.5, Little Laurel Shelter, 19.6 miles.Up at 5:30 and over to Smoky Mountain Diner by six for breakfast. We said goodbye to Elmer and to Daniel his caretaker and left Sunnybank hostel at about 7:30 AM. Trail out of Hot Springs went right along the French Broad River and was beautiful and then climbed up the slopes for a spectacular view of Hot Springs. In general the trail north of Hot Springs had good tread ,wasn¢t too steep and we had a sunny day so we had a fantastic time. Ran into Smiles and JetPack again, but we expect that they will be getting ahead of us as we are soon to exit the Trail to go into Asheville to see finder¢s sister-in-law. After dinner we met two experienced hikers, 3rd Monty (73) and Fix-It (81). They¢ve done the PCT twice, the CDT and now they¢re hiking the AT, and they said that the AT is by far the hardest of them all. Nonetheless it doesn¢t seem to keep them from banging out 20+ miles per day! Check out their photo and if you want you can follow them on trailjournals.com/3rdmontyandfixit. Backstory: the $1M bill!! Someone asked about the photo of the $1 million bill¢well, I found it sitting there right on top of the ATM machine in the Smoky Mountain Diner¢can you believe it!!
Date: 2021-05-14
From: LITTLE LAUREL SHELTER

To: HOGBACK RIDGE SHELTER
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: scattered clouds

M 317.3, Hogback Ridge Shelter, 22.8 miles.Arghh! No photos again today! After a full charge, my phone battery drops to 1% in about 2 hours, but recharges back to 85% almost in minutes! I think I need a new battery. It was rather cool last night but it warmed up nicely. In fact it cleared off so well that we got great views from Firescald Bald. We stopped at about 10 AM for water and got hailed on and got hailed on a second time later in the afternoon. Early evening gave us a shower (for about an hour), but we still made the most miles in one day of the trail so far.
Date: 2021-05-15
From: HOGBACK RIDGE SHELTER

To: SAM'S GAP
Miles today: 2.4

M 319.7, Sam¢s Gap, 2.4 miles.We were up at 5:30 for a short walk to Sam¢s Gap. The freeway runs from there into Asheville and FINDER had made arrangements with his sister-in-law Nancy to pick us up for a visit. But due to the gas shortage in NC, car trips can be limited so Nancy got a friend Teresa to help out. Teresa drove me to a phone store for a new battery and then we went to the new house that Nancy and Ted had built recently. Their home has wonderful design aspects and many special appointments which makes it a great place for renewal. We were welcomed and treated with special affection. Lunch was at the White duck¢their specialty is tacos¢and dinner tonight, oh wait we had pie after lunch, and then dinner tonight was, I can¢t remember where, but I had a wonderful prime rib sandwich, sweet curried corn and Keylime pie. But the best news of all is that Nancy got FINDER into her dentist and FINDER got the repair he needed¢yahoo!! What could¢ve been a protracted delay turned into a wonderful stay and after breakfast tomorrow we head back to the trail! Trail Angels Teresa, Nancy and Ted¢we can¢t thank you enough!!
Date: 2021-05-16
From: SAM'S GAP

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

M 338.0, No Business Knob Shelter, 18.3 miles.Ted, Finder and I were out the door at about 7 AM to go to breakfast at A Broken Egg in Arden (near Asheville). It was an awesome breakfast¢all three of our meals looked great and tasted great! if it weren¢t for Finders wife Donna and his sister-in-law Nancy getting us dentist appointments we would still be stuck in town, but we made it out to the trail head about 930. The weather was fairly good, although a little bit overcast, but the trail miles came fairly easily and we made it into camp at No Business Knob Shelter at about 6 PM.https://photos.app.goo.gl/MdRC...Backstory: yesterday we made it to REI and got a few new gear items. Both Finder and I picked up a few things¢it¢s a nice store, 2 Floors, great place!
Date: 2021-05-17
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: overcast clouds

M 361.4, Cherry Gap Shelter, 23.4 miles.Tough day today¢had 6000 feet up and 5000 feet down, and 23.4 miles to get it done. On the way we were treated to great views of Erwin as we dropped into town. And at Beauty Spot, a bald, there were nice 360 degree views all around. We happened on our 3rd trail magic there, this time offered by Billville and Trail Angel Mary¢thanks so much! They had come down from Trail Days in Damascus to offer up a welcome! The last few days on trail seemed fairly secluded, but there are a lot of hikers rolling in tonight at this shelter/campsite. We¢ll have to see how much of a bubble reforms now that Trail Days are over.https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rn5y...Backstory: bears. We haven¢t seen any in the wild but two days ago I saw one on the fairway of the 12th hole a golf course!Backstory: dogs. Yesterday we saw two pairs of red coonhounds with the radio collars walking on the AT. One pair was heading in one direction while the other pair was heading in the opposite direction. Hope the owner gets them back someday.
Date: 2021-05-18
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: overcast clouds

M 384.2, Stan Murray Shelter, 22.8 miles.We were the only 2 people in the shelter last night but there were 11 tents around the shelter. Lots of people on the trail too. The hike up and Roan Mountain was not as tough as going up and over Clingmans Dome. We met 4 people from the Konnarock Trail Crew who were out doing trail maintenance¢thank you!! And we got helped out by 4 Fingers who lightened our load by taking our trash¢thank you!! Tried to make reservations 2 days off for a tiny cabin at Boots Off, but they were full already. Going to be staying at Black Bear Resort. By the weekend we should be at Crazy Larry¢s in Damascus. Almost done with Tennessee!https://photos.app.goo.gl/uTpa...