morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-03-24
From: Gooch Mountain shelter

To: Lance Creek campsite
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

Very cold morning! Woke up and packed out by about 9:30. I quickly warmed up as I hiked and the temperatures rose. About 2 miles in there was some trail magic at a road crossing from the same group that brought us apples. I grabbed a banana and hung out for a minute as I chatted with a few people. Jake, one of the guys I met, was hiking to the same destination as me so we walked together. He's the same age as me, and we became good friends throughout the day. It was actually really nice having company all day - I was starting to feel a bit lonely without anyone I was actually friends with around the last couple of campsites. We came across some amazing views today, so I got some really cool footage. We hiked to Woody Gap where there was a truck waiting with burgers and hot dogs for thru hikers! What a treat it was to not have to pull out lunch from my pack and be able to eat a burger instead. I also had service, so I was able to post my last two day's journals. I was able to call Hannah and text my parents as well - made my day extra nice! We then kept hiking another short 3 miles and got to Lance Creek at about 2pm. My feet were still hurting from yesterday, so it was nice to be done early. There is a bear canister rule on an upcoming area that only allows campers to use the canisters and not hang a bear bag. Unfortunately, it would have been too far of a hike to do in a single day from where we started, so we are camping at Lance Creek, just short of the bear canister area so we can knock it out tomorrow. Now, because nobody buys bear canisters, there are a TON of hikers that are using the same strategy and staying here tonight. The place is packed, though it is a really neat, beautiful campsite. Because Jake and I were here so early in the day, we had a nice selection of camp spots to choose from. Another couple joined us and pitched in the same fire-pit area, leaving this nice little hangout-spot between the three tents. We were really enjoying the space. At about 6pm, an older man and his high-school aged son came in and noticed our flat hangout spot... They pitched their tent right in the middle. After setting up the tent, the kid introduced himself as "Night-talker". "...and sometimes I scream in my sleep too". Are you kidding me? He talked a million words a minute and had stories about everything that was brought up in anyone's conversation. Really nice kid, but kind of a buzzkill. He did have some really funny comments though, like, "Who do you think invented long-johns? You think his name was John or something?", and, "Why do you think Michael Jackson bleached himself?". I'm just hoping he doesn't live up to his name tonight while I'm trying to sleep.Should be another cold one tonight, but Jake and I decided to move quickly tomorrow and get a move on towards Neel gap to resupply some things. I may even buy new shoes - these boots are hurting. Night!
Date: 2014-03-25
From: Lance Creek campsite

To: Hogpen Gap
Miles today: 14.3

Today was hard! Woke up a bit late to a nice sunrise over the mountain. Night-talker did indeed talk in his sleep, but it was really more entertaining than anything else. Jake and I hit the trail at about 930 and had a great pace going. It was warm and the weather was great, but out of nowhere it started snowing! It got very cold, very fast. We got to the top of Blood Mountain and really enjoyed the views. It was our first real summit on the AT and we felt that we didn't have too much trouble on it, though it was a tough hike. We then walked down and made great time to Neel's Gap. I charged my phone up and updated my journal. I didn't really need to resupply quite yet so I just got a hot dog and a snickers to eat. I also got some blister bandages and a knee brace to help keep my legs working. All of the hikers from the night before quickly booked their place in the hostel. We weren't quite ready to stay in a hostel and I'm not even sure they allowed dogs. People warned us of the cold night it might be, but we figured we were prepared. We then met up with another guy who we hung out with the night before named Landon. He is from Maine, so it's kind of cool to think he is just walking home. We all hiked about 3 miles to the campsite we planned on staying, and found that it was high up on a VERY windy mountain, and the water source looked like a puddle. We decided to try to push forward another 4 miles despite our aching bodies from Blood Mountain's summit. It became very apparent that my body did not like that. Our goal was to reach this shelter, but when we got to the sign, it said the shelter was 2.1 miles off of the trail. We decided that would suck, so we walked down the mountain and found a small creek to pitch our tents next to. It is very cold tonight and I am exhausted from our long day.
Date: 2014-03-26
From: Hogpen Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

Last night was freeeeezing! I was up all night trying to keep Reptar and myself a warm. I got sleep but would wake up every half hour - hour to check on rep and try to warm up. This morning was impossible to pack. My hands were freezing so I would have to wait a bit for them to get warm before I could even pack anything away. Also, all of our water was completely frozen.When we finally got situated, we started hiking to warm up. We became very dehydrated though, as there was no water to drink. About an hour and a half in, my camelback started to unfreeze,And I was able to get Reptar and I hydrated. We hiked all day - the terrain was nothing too special. Just hiking. Made it to a shelter 2 miles out from the road at Unicoi Gap. We are taking the Budget Inn shuttle tomorrow to Hiawassee so we can get some rest and resupply. A recovery is much needed for my feet and knees. The hotel will also be cheap considering there are 3 of us splitting the room. Should be a relaxing time.
Date: 2014-03-27
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

On Thursday we woke up and hiked down to Unicoi Gap to shuttle over to Hiawassee, GA where we stayed two nights at the Budget Inn. My hike down was the slowest two miles. My knees were having a lot of trouble, and they were in terrible pain. I was excited to get to stay in a motel. On Friday it was nice to just sit around and ice. I also had Dairy Queen so that is obviously a plus. This morning we got up and shuttled back to Unicoi gap to continue our hike.What I thought was an adequate amount of recovery time was definitely not. I hiked two miles today and immediately started feeling TERRIBLE knee pain. Every step I took felt like somebody was hitting the sides of my knees with a hammer. I don't know the cause of this, but it feels more like my tendons rather than my knee itself. I can honestly say it was some of the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, and I don't think I'm exaggerating. I had to walk very slow downhill, and tried to keep my legs as straight as possible to avoid pain. The slightest bend in my leg made it hurt. Regardless, because it was pouring down rain and I didn't want to pitch a tent in the rain just to be cold all day, I pushed on 13.1 miles to Deep Gap shelter. I called Hannah to do a quick google search on what could be wrong with my knees and she sent me some possibilities. Hopefully with some basic stretches and a bit of time my knees will be back to normal. I'm still going to hike tomorrow, I'm just going to have to take it slow again.On the bright side, even though I got here late, there was still room in the shelter here for Reptar and I, so we didn't have to pitch a tent In the rain. This is my first night in a shelter and I'm very thankful that nobody minds a dog in the shelter as well. It's not pretty outside!Hopefully my day tomorrow goes a bit better - the weather is supposed to be a bit warmer! Goodnight!
Date: 2014-03-28
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Muskrat Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Sleeping in the shelter last night was nice - though Reptar was tough to keep warm due to the open wind coming in. When we woke up, it was really cold outside - though no snow or frost on the trees. When I finally was ready to hike, we walked about 50 yards to the trail,which was just on the other side of the mountain, and it was covered in snow and ice! It was so windy on the other side of the mountain that all of the rain in the trees froze up and iced over. It was definitely beautiful but yet unbearably cold on that side of the mountain.My knees still did not feel good at all, so about 2 miles in I called the closest hostel. They said they didn't allow dogs, so I felt that was a good reason to keep pushing forward. I popped a generous amount of Alieve and within an hour was feeling great. I ended up hiking 15.5 miles to the shelter where my friends were staying. It was a tough hike. About 3 miles from the shelter, I passed the Georgia/North Carolina line! I made it through my first state! It was very exciting, and I was stoked to only have a 3 mile hike to go. Unfortunately, the 3 mile hike was probably the hardest hiking yet. Two very steep climbs limited me from a decent hiking pace, so I rolled into camp much later than I desired. It was okay though - I still felt good. With the stretches I've been doing and the medicine I've been taking, I hope that my knee pain fades and I can continue strong! Tomorrow we are doing a shorter day around 12.5 miles to get to our next campsite. I'm hoping to get good sleep tonight - I'm exhausted! Goodnight!
Date: 2014-03-31
From: Muskrat Shelter

To: Carter Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: few clouds

Today was great! We woke up this morning and it wasn't freezing! It was a bit brisk, but it was much easier to pack up and get out of camp. Jake and I started hiking together around 9am. The day quickly warmed up, and we were both hiking in just shorts and t-shirts - I think I even got some sun. We walked up a large mountain which fortunately was made up of switchbacks. We had lunch somewhere near the top and kept hiking. It was a nice, easy hike. There were huge rhododendron everywhere, some even creating very cool tunnels to walk through on the trail. We finished out the day around 3pm at Carter Gap shelter. It was still nice out, so I obviously took my shirt off. I set up my tent under a little patch of rhododendron and hung my damp socks and clothes all around. It was a really nice setup. I also found a tiny bit of service while standing on a log, so I got to call Hannah and catch up a bit. It has been really nice being able to keep in touch with her while I'm out here - she's a great motivator and talking to her allows me to not feel as homesick!After making dinner, we built a nice little fire which drew a small crowd from the folks camping around the shelter. It was a lot of fun talking with everybody, and we all got to share some laughs while telling old stories. A lot of people are either similar in age to me, or are significantly older - all of whom enjoyed each other's company. It has definitely been the latest I've stayed up yet out here (9:30pm omg lyk so l8), so I'm headed to bed!
Date: 2014-04-01
From: Carter Gap

To: Rock gap
Miles today: 12.1

Carter Gap Shelter to Rock Gap Shel 12.1Today was another beautiful day. It was nice and warm weather hiking! We hiked about 6 miles and then arrived at Albert Mountain fire tower, which actually marked the 100 mile point on the AT! It was a ridiculously hard hike up to the tower, but the views were so worth it. I didn't take any Alieve and my knees felt great until the last mile - hoping they are all fixed here soon!We continued on through tunnels of rhododendron another 6 miles and arrived at Rock Gap Shelter. There is only 6 sleeping spaces in the shelter, and there is hardly any flat ground around the shelter, so I'm sleeping on somewhat of a slant tonight. One of the women staying here, Jill, was on a reality TV show in 2002 (I'll have to ask the name of it in the morning because I forget right now) that was sort of like survivor. It was very interesting to hear how reality TV works behind the scenes! She said she was very bitter when she was voted off. Tomorrow we are hiking about 4 miles to hitch a ride into Franklin, NC. There is an outfitter there that has a lot of experience in fitting shoes to people, and I'm sick of heavy feet, so I'm going to switch to a lighter shoe. They also have beer on draft, so that's pretty awesome. 106 miles on the trail! It's already flying by!
Date: 2014-04-02
From: Rock gap

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 4.0

Last night was interesting. I slept pretty well thanks to the decent temperature throughout the night, but, there was about an hour or so I couldn't fall back asleep. There was a woman who showed up to the shelter pretty late and insisted on having a space in the shelter even though it was already pretty cramped. Luckily, I set up my tent beside the shelter, so I didn't have to worry about this. Unfortunately for my friends, Lando and Jake, this woman snored louder than a Diesel engine. She also had a terrible smoker's cough that lasted through the night. I only woke up to her once, but my friends said they had little-to-8no sleep. The day was immediately turned around as there was some awesome trail magic right at the parking lot less than a quarter mile away. I had Cheetos, moonpies, and oatmeal cookies for breakfast. We then hiked 4 miles to Winding Stair Gap. We decided that we wanted to hitch hike to save money rather than get a shuttle. This turned out to be much easier than we thought. A young woman immediately picked us up in her Jetta and drove us into Franklin, NC. We went to an outfitter called Outdoor 76 where I was able to buy new hiking shoes. I was professionally fitted to a nice pair of shoes. They are more like trail running shoes, and are extremely lightweight, so I'm pretty excited to hike in them. They are super ugly though!After going out to lunch and resupplying groceries, we headed back to Outdoor 76 to have a couple of beers. They had a small bar on the inside with 6 beers on tap. We had ourselves a couple, and then a group of older people came in from a round of golf and insisted on buying us another round. Another guy also insisted on giving us a ride back to the trail after! The southern hospitality sure did put us in a great mood! We then headed to grab a few more beers for our campsite and pitched our tents on the trail right by the road. There is a really cool small waterfall right by where we are camping, so it hides the sounds of cars driving through the night. All in all, the day was awesome and full of surprises! Tomorrow we plan to walk a little slower and only do about 10 miles. Night!
Date: 2014-04-03
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a simple day. Got to try the new shoes and they felt great! Definitely a big change - they are much lighter than my old boots. We only did around 11 miles, but it was a nice hike. The sun was hot! I was told it got up to 80 in the town nearby! We had some amazing views when we got to the top of Wayah Bald that had a firetower. We could actually see off in the distance a little dot on top of a mountain that was the 100 mile mark Albert Mountain firetower! It was pretty cool to see how much distance we covered on that type of scale. There was also some great trail magic. A nice young couple were cooking hotdogs and handing out chips, cookies, and beer! I had myself a nice cold Miller Lite and enjoyed the views and sun. We hiked only one mile further and arrived at our shelter. I'm staying in the shelter tonight so I don't have to pack up a tent in the morning. We are trying to push out about 16 miles tomorrow but it is supposed to be rainy with scattered thunderstorms. Should be an interesting day!
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up this morning to a very red sky... And as they say, "Red sky at morning, sailor's warning". We knew there was some rain coming, so we packed up quickly, and headed out of camp by 8:15. I pushed myself very quickly to avoid being at high elevations durning the storms that were supposed to hit. It did rain a little, and became very windy, but it never did storm. We hiked 10 miles of up and downs, and arrived at a cool lookout tower. The views were not spectacular as the clouds covered most of the area, but seeing mountains leaninr behind clouds was quite a sight. There was then a 7 mile hike straight down to our destination at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Unfortunately for me, because I pushed myself so quickly, my knees began to hurt on the way down the mountain. I had to take baby steps and really take my time. I did eventually get there, but it hurt. When I arrived at NOC, practically everybody I've met out here was there. We all sat outside of a convenient store and had some beers and talked about the last few days on the trail. The NOC is basically a small business village that caters to tourists. It has ziplines, white water rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, and much more. It also has a bar, restaurant, convenient store, outdoor outfitter, cabins, and a hostel. It's a cool little place with the river running right through the middle. Jake, Lando, and I didn't feel like spending the money on lodging, so we pitched our tents down the river.We got some awesome dinner at the restaurant here, and then hung out with some other thru hikers over some beers. Reptar hung out the whole time, though he wasn't allowed in the restaurant or bar. He got plenty of attention though.He has become pretty famous out here. It seems everybody has heard of Reptar the hiking dog, and apparently everybody is instagramming him!There is a festival going on tomorrow, so we plan to stick around in the morning and have a late start on hiking. Once we get going, we plan to go about 8 miles to camp at a bald that is supposed to be very cool!
Date: 2014-04-05
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: broken clouds

April 56.7 NOC to Sassafras Gap ShelterWe woke up today and hungout at the NOC all morning. I got a coffee and some breakfast and just relaxed with a bunch of other thru hiker friends. It's pretty cool - there's a group of us who have become pretty good friends because we just are always ending up in the same places. It's fun to be from all different places and backgrounds but all share the same agenda. It feels a lot like the dorm during freshman year of college. I got hiking around 1pm. The hike was only 7 miles to the shelter, but it was ALL uphill. It was a bit tough, and my knees didn't love it by the end, but the views were really rewarding. At one point I could even look back and see the road where I was - it was so small from up so high! I got to the shelter around 5 and slowly set up my tent. I'm on a pretty big slant tonight as there are really no good tent spots around here. We had a fire and a few of our friends joined us. A few of us packed in some 24oz cans of beer each to have with dinner - it was definitely a good one after the long uphill hike.Tomorrow should be tough, but looks fun at 15 miles. The sun is supposed to shine!
Date: 2014-04-06
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was quite a day!! Got out of camp at about 9:15 and walked in cool, but very satisfying weather. The plan was to stay at a shelter about 15 miles away, that way we would only have to hike about 7 miles the next day to get to Fontana Dam, or the start of the Smoky Mountains. My mom is coming tomorrow afternoon to pick up Reptar, as he is not allowed in Smoky Mountain National Park. I hiked about 8 miles and arrived at a very steep hill known as "Jacob's Ladder". It was very steep, and a very difficult climb. However, I still felt good after it. I had a quick lunch at another shelter along the 10 mile point and somebody mentioned that it was going to rain tonight. I knew that the forecast predicted 100% of rain for tomorrow, but also didn't really know what time it was supposed to start. I suddenly decided I was just going to keep hiking until I got to Fontana Dam, so that way I didn't have to hike in the rain and could just sleep in and zero all day. When I got to the 15 mile shelter, Jake and Lando had just filled up their water and also had decided to keep going. It was 4pm, and I still had about 7 miles to go. I actually felt really good, and my knees were not hurting because I changed the way I walk a bit - I try not to fully extend my legs and just sit a little lower while going down - it really seems to help. After a couple miles in, I could see Fontana Lake, and even the Dam! Unfortunately, I still had 5 miles of hiking, even though my ending point was in distant sight. I started playing music from my phone around 5:45pm and really got moving fast. I ended up at the" Fontana Hilton" shelter (it has showers and a bathroom up the path) to find it was full, which is what I expected after arriving so late, so I pitched my tent. It's now raining but the sound of it hitting my tent is really pleasant. I'm very excited to sleep after my longest day of hiking yet! 21.8 miles is tough! Reptar killed it, too! He was very tired after, but I thought he would enjoy going out with a "bang" on his last day hiking for a while. I'm also really looking forward to seeing my mom tomorrow. I'll get to stay in a hotel and clean up. Hopefully we have some time to go out to eat and have a couple of drinks! The next day I have to say goodbye to puppy boy for a short period of time!
Date: 2014-04-07
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 0.0

It rained from 8pm last night until about 10am this morning. My tent let water in, and most of my stuff got wet. I was really worried about my sleeping bag getting wet, so I tried to stay away from the tent wall all night to avoid water ruining the down in the bag. It did get pretty damp, but I was able to dry it out quickly today while waiting for my mom to come. I just hung outside the Fontana Village General Store with some other they hikers and did some laundry. Reptar was very happy to see my mom - he welcomed her by peeing all over the parking lot. We then drove into another town 20 miles away that had a hotel that allowed dogs. We got some food at a Mexican restaurant and caught up. We then tried to find a bar to go have a couple of drinks at, only to find it was a dry county. We still were able to have a good time driving around winding roads in search of beer, though we never found any. It was really nice to get to hang out with her, though I'm sure I'll probably feel a bit homesick after saying goodbye again tomorrow. Pretty happy about sleeping in a real bed tonight!