morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-15
To: Amicolola Falls Lodge
Miles today: 0.0

Tonight is my last night before I start the trail. I am so excited to be starting the adventure. I know that it is going to be tough but I am ready for the challenge. I have had an amazing trip in Atlanta and got to spend a great week with Laura before starting the trail. We spent two amazing days in the lodge at Amicolola Fall State Park. It made me think about the Walk in the Woods movie when they stay in the lodge before starting the trail. A little over a year ago I decided I was going to hike the Appalachian trail. I started to read so many different blogs. I was overwhelmed with all of the information but I knew that I could do it. There were so many questions that I had to answer. I had to figure out what gear I was going to buy and how I was going to do it. I decided that I was going to hike the whole trail with a hammock. This is brand new to me and I am excited to not be sleeping on the ground every night. I was so out of shape for the trail and started to really work so hard to make sure I was in better shape for the trail. In a little over a year I lost over 50 pounds. It has been tough to get to this point but I focused on my goals which kept me pushing forward. I am looking forward to my start tomorrow. Dan
Date: 2016-04-16
From: Akmicolola Falls Lodge

To: hawk mountain shelter 
Miles today: 16.7

What a first day on the trip. I started at the lodge and had to complete the approach trail. It was a tough start since it was all up hill to get to the top of springer mountain. You get so excited since you are starting the Appalachian trail and then you realize you still have to hike 8 miles just to get to the start. It is a little bit of a mood killer first thing in the morning.I reached the top of springer mountain and I was dripping in sweat. It has been a while since I really backpacked much. I am still getting used to all of the gear and getting my body all used to hiking and the gear. After leaving springer I decided I was going to hike to hawk mountain. It was about 8.1 miles away. I really had to start moving since I wanted to make sure I got there before sunset. I was not too bad a first since most of it was down hill but I realized I had to start going back up again to reach the shelter. About half way to the shelter I could start feeling my body hurting a little. It had been awhile and I was pushing myself on the first day. I finally reached the shelter and had about an hour to dark. I was able to cook dinner which I had cheesy pasta side and cubed chicken. It was supposed to be a pasta but it turned into a soup which was so good after the long day. It really warmed me up. I realize I need to back my bag a little different so I am able to reach everything that I need during the day. I am excited for my next day and we will see how far I go. Dan
Date: 2016-04-17
From: hawk mountain shelter 

To: woody gap
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 2. Last night was great. I setup my hammock up and decided to not set up the tarp. I did not set up the tarp mostly for the reason that I has not used it yet and was nervous about setting it up in front of a group. It was nice since the moon was out and there were stars everywhere. Today was a long day. There was so many up and downs. The worst had to be sassafras mountain. The up section felt like it was straight up which was not too bad, but the down was. It was all rock and it was tough to get a solid footing and it was a killer on the knees. The rest of the day was not too badAs I only had a few miles left to get to woods gap the sun went over the side of the mountain and the wind picked up. I was so cold due to my sweaty shirt. I thought with starting the trail so late in the year there will only be a few thru hikers but I am starting to realize that there are a lot of us. I have not really found a group yet to hike will all day. It seems like I am always at a different speed and I have been hiking a lone mostly so far which is not too bad. The one thing I keep hearing is the percent of people that finish. I know that it is a tough adventure but it really brings you down when it is said all of the time. Tomorrow I head towards blood mountain and then on to Neal's Gap. I don't need to stop for food since I still have like 4 more days of it. Depending on how I feel I am looking at doing 15 miles tomorrow. Dan
Date: 2016-04-19
From: wolf laural gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 15.6

Sorry about yesterday. It was a long day of hiking. Last night we camped out on top of Wolf Laural top from the suggestion of Lost who attempted to thru hike in 2014. It was a beautiful spot on top of the ridge and the sunset was amazing. Waking up the next morning to the sunrise was beautiful. You were able to see it thru the trees as it rised over the mountain range. I decided that after a long day the previous day I was going to relax in camp. I did not leave til like 10 am. After hiking down into the first gap there was a surprise of some trail magic. There were two older guys who had all these tables setup and chairs. I was able to get a bag of chips and a cold soda. It was great to have something cold since usually my water is warm after I filter it. After the magic I had to hike up to the top of Wildcat mountain. It was tough. It did not help that I drank a can of soda right before I started up the mountain. It is not always the elevation that is bad but it is always the rocks. There is never a flat surface and when you are climbing up and down on the mountains you have to put so much more effort to lift up your feet. I was taking my time today and was working my way to low gap. There was a beautiful stream that was moving so fast. I thought about staying but it was only 4pm and I thought that I could hike another 7 miles to the next shelter. I was told that it was a somewhat flat hike. As I started up it was not too bad just a long 7 miles at the end of the day. When I got about half way there started to be a lot more steep ups and downs. It was starting to get windy and the sun was on the other side of the mountain. We finally reached the shelter and there were about 12 people already here. Most of the thru hikers. The worst part of the site was the water source. It was a little trickle out the side of a rock. It would take so long to fill up a 1 liter bottle. At one point we had a line of people to get water. Today I meet a person who was planning on stopping their adventure to Maine. He was having really bad knee problems and was not able to move quick. It really made me think about everything. An injury can happen at any point. You work so hard to plan and prepare that an injury could stop all of thatTomorrow I hope to have an easy day. I have been saying that everyday but that is the plan. Have a great nightDan
Date: 2016-04-20
From: Blue Mountain Shelter 

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

So I work up at the Blue Mountain shelter. There was about 15 people there at night and when I got up there was only 3 people left. I was so tired from the previous hike that I wanted a relaxing morning. After hitting the trail I hiked down from Blue Mountain to unicoi gap. On the way down the switch backs I was able to see a tent in the distance. I got excited that there might be some more trail magic. When I finally got down to the bottom of the gap I was right. I could start to smell the hot dogs and hamburgers. The group welcomed me at the bottom of the trail and there was so much food. I found out I was the first one to show up so I guess it was a benefit for sleeping in. I had a hamburger and a hotdog. I have noticed that I really enjoy a cold soda after a long hike. I spent about a half hour with the group talking about college football and hiking. After a great start with some trail magic I had to start making the long hike to the top of Tray mountain. It was a tough hike to the top. Once on top the view was amazing. You were able to see all of the different mountains and landscapes. I spent about an hour on top just relaxing and enjoying the view. I was able to talk to Laura for a while which was amazing and a great pick me up. I still wanted to get some good miles in so I started to head down the mountain. The rest of the hike was not too bad. There were a few ups and down but nothing was too steep. I went thru an area that was called the swag of the blue ridge. I was a relatively flat area and I was able to move quickly. It was starting to get late in the day and I knew that I wanted to get to sassafras gap to setup camp since there was water there. I kept on hiking and I thought I was getting closer but I was not finding the gap. Finally when I was getting tired I saw over the ridge the site and there was about 10 different tents setup. The biggest problem with arriving late to a site with a hammock is finding some good hammock trees. I was able to find a spot and by the time that I got water and setup camp it was dark. I was sitting in the dirt with my headlamp cooking my pasta side with summer sausage. After cooking the food it was amazing to just lay in the hammock and enjoy the hot food. What a dayDan
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Dick Creek Gap
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good day. I started in Sassafras Gap and had a short hike into town today to reapply. It was a super windy night and was knocking my hammock and trap all around last night. I still slept great and did not want to get out of bed since it was so comfortable and relaxing. There was a good climb today to the top of Kelly Knob which was straight up then right back down. After the climb up it was a nice relaxing hike to the bottom of the gap. On the way to the gap I knew that I was going to be staying in town for the night and called the budget inn motel. I was lucky since I was able to get the last room. The only problem was that I was going to get to the gap at 1230 and the next shuttle was not coming til 3. It was a 12 mile hike into town. I did not want to wait so I started to hike into town and I figured I would hitch hike. I guess I was not good looking enough to get a ride. After about a mile hike down the road I figured I would hike back up to the gap since I knew that the shuttle would take me. I wanted to make sure that I had a ride. When I got back up to the gap I saw Lone Star and he asked me what happened. He was going to stay with his aunt and uncle for the night and were nice enough to take me into town. I sat in the back of the pick up to town and saw the beautiful landscape that surrounds Hiawassee. Once in town I arrived at the budget inn. It was a small little motel. It was great to get a nice room with a shower for the night. I was able to resupply in town and got enough food for 6 days which should get me to Fontana Dam right before the smoky mountains.   Well it has been a long day and tomorrow I am back on the adventure north. Dan.
Date: 2016-04-22
From: Dick Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap. 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a tough day mentally. I was not able to charge my powerpack in town last night. For some reason it did not want to charge so I have very little battery for 5 days. Once I left the town back to the trail head it started to rain on the trail. It rained all day. I was so wet and cold. I thought so many times if this for me. I was just thinking how nice it would be to be in a bed under the covers. It was tough to get excited today cMost of the day was rain. I was excited that I officially finished Georgia. It is the fist state down I crossed over and set up camp on the NC side. It was nice to have finish a state and tells you that you are reaching your goals. They say that about 25 % of people do not cross into NC and finish those hike before that point. I was so happy to cross the state but I still know that there is so much to go I am going to keep it short so I can go to bedNightDan
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

Sorry about the delay in my journal. I have not had much battery life the past few days. I am lucky that my amazing girlfriend is going to send me some extra powerpacks to make sure I always have battery. This morning I woke up early to get a good start and I was still one of the last people in camp. I am not sure what time people are starting their hikes. There is usually always one person who is still at camp cooking a high end meal as I walk out with my brown sugar pop tarts. First thing in the morning I had to climb and down winding stairs. It was a tough climb because my ankle is still bothering me and the blister on my heel has not healed yet. Once I got going and my body loosen up I felt better. I was able to talk to Laura around mid morning which was a great pick me up. I finished in winding stair gap there was a lot of people waiting for the shuttle into town for a resupply. I still had three days of food so I did not need to go to town. What I noticed today was that everyone I have been seeing over the past week must have gone into town and I was hiking with a totally different crowd. It was weird. Today was mostly uphill. For the first part of the day it was a nice up hill with gradual slopes. Not too bad. The second part was rough. It was straight up hill and there were so many loose rocks. It was tough to get a solid steps. Once on top it was great. There was this amazing view that overlooked the whole valley. There was a map that showed all of the peaks. The farthest peaks where the smoky mountains. It was crazy how far away they still are. Tomorrow is another dayDan
Date: 2016-05-08
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today I left Hot Springs NC. It was nice to get a day off from the trail but I have realized that my body has become tight from sitting around for the day. I packed my bag for the road and I was able to weigh it before I left. With five days of food and no water my pack was at 33 pounds. With the amount of water that I carry it would be around 41 pounds. After not putting on my pack yesterday it felt so heavy leaving town. Hot springs was an interesting place and was a great place to take a zero. The greatest part of the day was that the sun was out all day and I had to put on some sunscreen. It had been a while at that point that the weather was this nice. I decided that I was only going to do 11 miles and after hanging around the hostel and eating some food I got a late start up to the shelter. It was a rough climb today. Most of the day was up hill and after getting the late start I was pushing myself to get done as quick as I could do that I would have some sunlight let to set up camp. The first part of the climb was cool because it over looked the town and the river below. You were able to seen for such a long distance.So about two weeks ago we all heard about a wild fire that was going on in Hot Springs that had shut down the trail. I was able to hike in the area where the wildfire had gone thru and it was a large area. Almost all day during the 11 miles I was able to see fresh burn marks on trees. I heard that there was a wildfire area and a controlled burn area. It looked like you could tell the difference on the two different burns but besides a few hot spots where it looked like trees were hit hard. It looked like it will really help the forest. Walking thru the woods and being able to smell all of the smoke really made me miss work and conducting prescribed fire. It was so interesting seeing fire in a oak and maple dominated forest compared to Sandhill in Florida. I think the last half mile was the worst because i always thought I was going to see the shelter over ever little hill but there was no luck. Finally after going over one more ridge I was able to see the top of the shelter. I was so happy. I was happy til I realized that the water source was down the ridge side and it was steep. After taking a break before getting water I could feel all of the pain from the hike today and the areas that were fighting up.
Date: 2016-05-09
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

So today was a tough day. It looked easy on the map but it ended up being tough on the body. The morning was mostly down hill which was not bad. There was supposed to be just one hill that I had to climb. The climb was about 5 miles up hill and it seems like it was never going to end. Most of the sections were straight up the mountain and not the usually gradual slope up hill. One I reached the top of the mountain I was covered in sweat. When I got to the top I saw Dregs and ChickenHawk taking a break on the top. The rest of the day was supposed to be easy but it was so tough. The section was mostly rocks and was tough on the knees. I reached a place called whiterock cliff and the view was amazing. You were able to see so far. The next section of the trail looked flat but it was not. I reached a section in the trail where there was two trails. There was detour trail the was labeled the bad weather trail. I was a little worried about how bad the weather could be on the trail. The trail was an amazing ridge walk that took five years to create. There were so many amazing views that you could see 360. The ridge walk was tough on the knees because you had to climb up and down the rocks the whole time and had to pick up your feet. I was so sore from that section on the hike but the views were worth it.
Date: 2016-05-12
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was a little cold. I stayed at the shelter in my hammock just south of the big bald. It was a really windy night. The wind was so strong that it was pushing my tarp up against the hammock and I could feel the cold air most of the night. I was only planning on doing 10 miles today since I had an extra day to get into Erwin TN. I woke up early and wanted to hike quick to the next shelter to make sure that I was able to avoid the rain storm that was coming. I started working my way to the next shelter and there was a .1 side trail to the top of this place called High Rocks. The high to the top was tough since it was just climbing over rocks to get to the top. Once on the top the view was amazing. I was able to see for such a far distance and the sun started to peak thru. I stayed up there for about an hour and half having lunch and relaxing. I talked to Laura for a while and it was nice not being in a rush since I was only doing 10 miles. I started to worry about the rain again and started to make my way to camp. I was working my way down hill and I could start to see the difference in the habitat as I made my way downhill. I was entering an eastern hemlock forest and there were many different streams that were crossing the trail. The trail was getting so wet and was super slippery. There were a few times that I would slide like 3 extra feet with every steep. I could start to hear the thunder in the back ground and could hear the storm coming. I started to make my way up hill again and was walking up this awesome stream bank. There stream was flowing really well and there were a few foot bridges that I had to cross along the trail. It was nice and relaxing this part of the trail. The last section of the trail was nice and had a gradual up hill and down hills.I was almost to the shelter when I looked at the map and there were no water sources at the shelter. So I had to get water about .3 away from the shelter. I was going to get 5 liters of water for camp and I wanted to make sure that I only got water at the closest stream. There was so many streams and I did not want to carry the extra 15 pounds too far. I finally think I found the right stream and got all of my water. The final .3 miles to the shelter were up hill and I was a tough .3. I was tired from the long day and my pack was so heavy. I set up my gear in the shelter since the storm was going to be bad and I wanted to keep everything dry since I am getting off the trail tomorrow for a few days for Caitlin's Med school graduation and getting to see Laura. I am excited to see everyone. It has been a long first month on the trail. Finally
Date: 2016-05-21
From: US 19E

To: Vango Hostel
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

So I left the hostel this morning and the owner gave us a ride back to the trail head. There was 7 people in a single cab pickup truck. It was not too bad at first til the rain started and it was just soaking us. I threw my jacket over my head just to stay warm and dry. When I finally got to the trailhead it was raining so I threw on my rain jacket and pants. Today was not too bad. The first part was working up the mountain after leaving the gap. The slope was not bad but it was all mud so every step I slid back a little. It was tough to get up the hill. The rest of the way was working my way down hill to the next hostel. I decided to stay at a hostel since it is going to pour this night and I wanted to keep all my gear dry. I only hiked 13 miles today but it was so tough since I was hiking in mud all day and took a lot to pick up my feet. I always tried to avoid the mud and walk around it but I would always slid into the mud and I could not avoid it. Everything was covered in mud and my feet felt so heavyToday was a big day since I crossed over the 400 mile mark. Every 100 miles has been an exciting point so far on this trip. Tomorrow I am heading towards Hampton TN.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Vango Hostel

To: un named campsite. 
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Getting out of the hostel was tough this morning since it was warm in the room and cold outside. Staying in the hostels are tough since you don't want to leave and get back to the trail. I got back on the trail and I was rocking my rain pants so that I did not get my pants covered in mud. I was getting tired of my pants covered in mud and then in drying on my pants. The terrain was not too bad in the morning just having to deal with the constant mud and sliding up and down on all of the little hills. There was just so much mud and water it was like soup in many areas that it was hard to avoid the mud. My rain pants were covered in mud and I was so happy that it was not on my pants. Most of morning I was in the valley and there was very little sign of sunlight coming thru. It was a cold windy day but atleast it was not raining. I ate lunch at the shelter and started to work my way uphill and the weather started to get a lot nicer. The sun was out and was becoming a beautiful day. There were some really nice views along the way. After hiking up to the top of the ridge I could start to see some fire damage. There was a recent wildfire that spread across the trail. It looked really recent and you could still smell the fire in the air. I really miss that smell. I made the decent to the road where there were two different hostels. I checked them out and got a soda and a bag of chips before I hit the trail again. I was about 2 miles from camp and started working my way down to the shelter. It was a little tough since it was steps going down and it was hard on the knees. I made my way down and reached the laurel falls. The falls were amazing. It was very relaxing sitting there for a little. I made my way to the shelter and it was on a hill with no camping or any trees to hang my hammock. I made my way down the trail and found an amazing spot on the river. Time for dinner. Dan