morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-03-08
From: Carter Gap

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 10A day away from town and I can smell it. Woke up very excited knowing that today we would get to climb Mt. Albert, one of my favorite places on the AT. The caravan today consisted of Quick, Shrink, Jelly Ankles, and Cheetah, we had a very enjoyable hike that was fueled with jokes and one liners. As we neared Albert, we could see the observation tower that stands on top, and I offered to buy anyone an ice cream who was brave enough to climb to the top of the tower. ON the trail, ice cream is powerful motivator. Going up is more like rock climbing than hiking and was a lot of fun. As we reached the summit, it was time for everyone to earn their ice cream, which everyone did. The views from up there are absolutely amazing, and are worth every bit of the climb up to 5,250 ft. After, snack time, we headed down the mountain towards Rock Gap. A couple of weeks ago, the shelter there had a tree fall on it during a storm and I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there. On the way we were engulfed with a huge cloud of smoke from a near by fire, after a quick phone call to Ron Haven, I was relieved to know that the fire was under control and that we were not walking into an inferno. Through the smoke I could see a shelter standing in the distance and there was the usual suspects waiting our arrival. It appeared most of the hikers were opting to sleep in their tents and hammocks which left a pretty vacant shelter. Knowing that there would be a shuttle ride waiting for us at 9 at Winding Stair Gap, and taking into consideration that I am not the most eager person to wake up early and pack up camp, I decided it would be in my best interest to sleep in the shelter to save time from having to break down my tent. WRONG. Just after I had my bed made in the shelter, he had a sudden influx of unexpected hikers arriving to camp. They made a B-line for the shelter and all 6 of them wanted to cuddle with me. I slept in my tent...and since all of tenting sites were taken, that left zero flat space for me, so I ended up sleeping on a sloped spot near the water hole. I will admit it is almost impossible to sleep while you feel like your are sliding down the hill. I was glad to hear the owls, knowing it was almost time to hike the 3 miles or so to get into Franklin.
Date: 2016-03-09
From: Rock Gap

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 11Town Day!!!I can't really say that I woke up because I don't think I slept at all, but was glad to get up and on my way to Franklin NC. I have to say that my legs finally felt 100 % and secretly giggled to my self when Quick suggested we sprint to Winding Stair Gap....I left him in my dust. I thoroughly enjoyed the down hill to the gap at a rather fast pace. It felt great to max out and push myself to my limits. I reached the gap to meet up with several hikers who were returning from town and making their way back to the trail. They had their hands filled with 12 packs of soda, which they were leaving behind for fellow hikers...I was a witness to trail magic in the making. The rest of the group made their way down and we had probably had 20 or so hikers there waiting for a ride into town. A local guy named Rodney stopped by with a truck load of awesomeness. He dropped his tailgate and set up a picnic for the hikers which consisted of fresh fruit, home made cookies, and coffee. The cookies didn't last too...It required 2 vehicles to get all of the hikers into town. The first van was driven by the legend Ron Haven himself, with Baltimore Jack riding shotgun. Ron made arrangements with the local transit shuttle bus to help pick up the rest of the hikers, and offered to pay the $3 fee per rider. I shared a room with "Quick" and we set off for all the luxuries that a town has to offer. We had a great time hanging out at the local outfitter, Outdoor 76. A must stop for any hiker in the area. We enjoyed hanging out at the Lazy Hiker Brewery and getting an amazing meal at the Food Truck in the parking lot. We topped the night off hanging out with lots of hikers at Mulligans sports bar.
Date: 2016-03-11
From: Franklin NC

To: Telico Gap
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 13Some times it's hard to crawl outta a perfectly comfortable bed.I finally had a half decent night's sleep. I was perfectly content to lay in bed all morning and see how many zzz's I could catch, but this led me to miss the early shuttle back to Winding Stair gap...oh well. It turned out to be another hot day with a nice climb up right outta the gap. I started noticing a few birds and more green shrubbery, with is a welcomed sight after over a hundred or so miles of looking at the remnants of winters misery.We took a quick detour from the trail to run up Siler's Bald, which was worth the extra effort to see the incredible 360 views. We met "Delightful", who was wrapping up the 3rd trail on her journey to earn her triple crown. We later found out that many of the hikers skipped the steep climb up Siler's Bald to save their legs ...but like most things in life you get what ya pay for and the view was worth it for me. There were many cool views along the way, which I wasn't able to get any pictures of because my phone was all packed away trying to avoid being a casualty of a looming rain cloud. It never rained but sure was a very hot and humid day.Quick and I stopped at Wayah Shelter and met up with the usual hikers who have been in our bubble. We decided to continue on hiking to set ourselves up for a nice stroll into the N.O.C. in case it was going to rain the following morning. We put our headlamps on and walked through the night, stopping around 10:30pm at Telico Gap for a 20 mile day.
Date: 2016-03-12
From: Telico Gap

To: N.O.C.
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 14look what I found.So, after hiking 20 miles I found a perfect spot in the middle of no where land to set up my tent. I was completely worn out, which makes laying on the ground in a sleeping bag an easy thing to do. The temperature was absolutely perfect, which means I was about to drift of into la la land relatively quickly....that is until somebody started shining a a flashlight in my tent!!!! The only other hiker at this spot was Quick, who was in no condition to be shining flashlights into tents...and this wasn't a hikers kinda light either, which means it could only be a local...shining a locally owned flashlight directly into my tent. Clearly, hiking/camping/walking in the woods at night rule # 1 states never ever shine a flash light into somebody's tent in the middle of the night, after they have hiked 20 miles, and are trying to get some sleep....and rule # 2 clearly states that if you are walking in the woods in the middle of the night and stumble across a tent with a tired hiker sleeping in it...don't have an out loud conversation about how you found a tent.I some how managed to get some quality sleep that night, and woke up super ready to go. I was kinda surprised to find my first blister. We had only 7 miles to hike to get down to the N.O.C. On the way we stopped off at the Wesser Bald Observation tower and saw the picturesque views. Up until this point, I would have to award this observation tower with a first place medal for best view on the AT. Heading into the N.O.C. was an almost never ending down hill, which was pretty devastating on my knees. As we crossed the bridge leading into the center, we were greeted with a trail magic picnic where we had burgers and hot dogs. It was very relaxing to just hangout at the river and day dream for a while. We stopped off at the outfitter, grabbed lunch at the restaurant, and got ourselves a room. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Quick, The Lorax, The Mayor, and Schwepps...and had a great time with lots of laughs coming from this bunch of characters.
Date: 2016-03-13
From: N.O.C.

To: N.O.C.
Miles today: 0.0

Day 15Rainy day on the way, and I dont feel like dancing.We heard the word of the day was going to be rain, so we decided to take a zero at the NOC, to avoid getting soaked. There was supposed to be a thunderstorm rolling in, but we didn't see it...weatherman needs to practice more. Quick and I hungout at the restaurant for a while. I was enjoying watching the ducks playing on the river.I managed to find a pretty awesome deal on a new rain jacket..I paid $30 for a brand new $100 jacket at the outfitter...and that helped relieve some of the anxiety I was having about hiking in the rain as I didn't trust the integrity of my other rain jacket to keep me dry. I finally got to take a nap!!! I love taking naps, and miss not being able to take them on the daily.All of the hikers gathered in the community room and threw an impromptu party equipped with a sing a long. It quickly turned into a late night, and I am sure a lot of the hikers were going to feel it in the morning, but not me...I slept like a baby.
Date: 2016-03-14
From: N.O.C.

To: Stecoah Gap
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 16Should I stay or should I go?I woke up at the NOC, grabbed a quick breakfast and off to the trail to tackle a big uphill climb to start the day. It was another hot and humid day with the threat of rain hanging over head. My knee was still giving me problems, but after a while, I felt it get stretched out and it started to feel better. Thankfully. I have to admit that the climb up to Sassafrass Gap took a lot out of me. We got to the first shelter and I was content on staying put, specially with a thunderstorm on the way. Quick and Lorax decided to go on. I spent a bout an hour humming and hawing about wether I should stay put and be dry or be brave and go get wet. After careful deliberations with a determining factor of knowing that this shelter was going to be a mad house, jammed packed with hung over hikers, I decided to test out my new rain jacket. I climbed Cheoah Bald in the pouring rain and had lots of fun doing it. Unfortunately, there weren't any amazing views as there would be on a sunny day. I met up with Quick and Lorax at Stecoah Gap where they were hanging out with "Brave" and "Forward" who were providing trail magic...in the rain..and thats how you earn the designation of trail angel. After eating hot dogs and drinking hot cocoa, we all decided to crash at the Cabin in the Woods Hostel. I felt very fortunate to have made the tough decision of leaving the comforts of a dry shelter to hike in the rain and push myself to go above and beyond ,y comfort levels (I really don't like hiking in the rain), and it pays to be a winner. I would definitely recommend any and every hiker to skip staying at the NOC to make it to The Cabin in the Woods. It's an amazing place run by amazing people.
Date: 2016-03-15
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 17The only easy day was yesterday.Quick, The Lorax, and I caught a ride back to the gap in the morning. Feeling clean and rested I was ready to go, but I wouldn't stay that way for long. The trail was a mess after the rain, and sloshing through the mud wore me out pretty quickly. There seemed to be a lot of ups and downs which were wrecking havoc on my poor little knees...so let's just say the trail was a pain in my knees, and as a result I managed to slip and fall down not once, not twice, but a whopping three times this day!!! According to my calculations and scientific analysis, that is 3 times too many. My knees were causing me to go slow, so the guys were a head of me most of the day. By the time I pulled into Fontana Dam, I was over it. I made the executive decision to get a room at the lodge and call it a day. I made Quick and The Lorax an offer they couldn't refuse and they stayed too. Funny how the threat of a hot shower and comfy pillow can influence a hiker's decisions. This was my first time at the Lodge, and I really enjoyed my stay there. The food was excellent, I had the meatloaf and could really go for another piece right now. I got to meet Carl, a ridgerunner, who was able to give us lots of good intel on the trail through the Smokies. He was aware of the potential Norovirus going around and seemed to be taking it very seriously.After a hour or so of laying in bed with ice on my knees, I was ready to count sheep.
Date: 2016-03-16
From: Fontana Dam

To: Mollies Ridge
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 18Where does the time go?Woke up early and headed off for breakfast, I ordered my standard scrambled eggs, bacon, and grits. I was excited to be entering the Smokies, and couldn't wait to get my hike on. After a quick run down to the General Store to resupply, I was all set and ready to go. Except there seemed to be a delay...it might have had something to do with an exotic car show that was setting up in the parking lot of the lodge? I'm sure a Ferrari and Lamborghini will have that effect on most guys,but not me, I could care less;I just want to see a bear! There were also some arrangements between The Lorax, The Mayor, and Schweps that needed to be worked out about the end of their AT warm up hike for the PCT. So Quick and I were fortunate to be escorted to the entrance of the Smokies by the Mayor and his awesome dog Kitana the catfox. The Mayor just so happens to be the author of a book called "Lost on the AT". He is a real cool guy so checkout his book if you are into the AT...It was around 1 pm before We got rolling which meant we were not going very far that day. To be honest the first day of hiking into the Smokies is just like every other day of hiking we have had up to this point, there are the same boring dead looking trees, and not much else to see. We heard the news that there were several sick hikers at the lodge and weren't taking any chances of staying in the shelter to minimize our risk of catching Noro, so everyone slept out in their tents.
Date: 2016-03-18
From: Icewater Springs Shelter

To: Cosby Knob
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light snow

Day 21Gotta get when the getting is good.The weather turned from perfect to foggy with a serious chance of rain. The views were hidden by a monster cloud of grey which is pretty cool as grey is my favorite color. Quick and I paid no mind to the hazardous weather bypass trail and headed for Charlie's Bunion, which is a outcropping of rocks that require a ridge walk to get to. This is a very cool spot and worth the near death experience of climbing out to see, and it makes perfect sense that there is a sign telling parents to closely supervise children here...Since the views were limited by the thick grey fog rolling in, and rather favorable terrain, we were able to make pretty good mileage today. We were set up for success with an easy 10 miles for the following day when snow was being called for.We pulled into the shelter expecting it to be empty and found it packed full of weekend campers providing trail magic. They heard about the Noro scare and came out and cleaned the shelter and privy for all of the thru hikers. I have to admit that this was a very serious act of selflessness and only a truly awesome person would ever consider cleaning a privy for strangers.
Date: 2016-03-19
From: Cosby Knob

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Day 22So long Smokies!I woke up in a tent that was covered in ice. So basically, I was turned into a hiker popsicle over night. I have to admit trying to pack up an icy tent wasn't too fun, good thing standing bear farm hostel is right around the corner, where I can dry my stuff out. I hiked 10 miles out of the Smokies, which were mostly downhill rather quickly. There is something about getting warm and dry that can motivate you to put the pedal to the metal and get moving. Quick, Coco Ken, and I rented out the cabin and went to work drying our gear out in front of the fireplace. Frozen pizzas don't stand a chance against hungry hikers, and we did our part to devour several of them. It rained pretty much throughout the night and it was neat hearing the rain fall on the tin roof.
Date: 2015-07-14
To: Call of the Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I knew it would call, or soon or late, as it calls the whirring wings; It's the olden lure, it's the golden lure, it's the lure of the timeless things,And to-night, oh, God of the trails untrod, how it whines in my heartstrings!From "The Heart of the Sourdough," by Robert W. ServiceI hit the AT Sunday morning.....
Date: 2015-07-15
To: Mt. Cammerer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

One of my favorite locations just off the AT in the Great Smoky Mtns. - Mt. Cammerer fire tower.   Built by the CCC back in 1937. They built things to last in those days! The work crew used nearby rock and timber for materials. In a really rugged setting. Path to it is strewn with boulders. The fire tower was manned until the mid-1960s, then abandoned. Refurbished in 1996. Bit of a walk thru time to come upon it. Have been there twice. Hope to get there again during the last week of my month-long trek on the AT. After bidding adieu to my daughter Becca and nephew Ben at end of week 3, willswing down to Great Smoky Mtns Nat'l Park. Want to do the whole stretch of the AT along the spine of those Mtns.
Date: 2015-07-15
To: Hiking Partners
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Thought I'd introduce my hiking partners - my youngest daughter and my nephew, Becca and Ben.   Long time buddies themselves! Will be spending the better part of a week with them on AT. Of course, they won't look quite so well groomed. And they'll look a bit older. Both are kicking age 30 in the butt this year. Should be a fun outing with them!
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Hiking Partners

To: First Day
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: few clouds

Life at Calf Mtn hut. Got there about 2:30 pm after starting at Waynesboro. Two women thru-hikers already there, Lil Bean (pictured) and Gaget Girl. Get used to it, everyone uses a trail name in lieu of their real one on the AT. Anyway, Lil Bean and Gaget Girl had started out at Springer Mtn, GA, in mid-April. Planning to flip at Harpers Ferry. Will get off trail and travel to Kathadin in Maine, then finish in Maryland. Avoid the colder and more variable Fall weather in northeast that way.The young man pictured (aka Native) humbled us all. He started at Springer in mid-May after finishing his CPA exam. That means he covered almost 1,000 miles in just over 60 days. He was planning a 26 mile hike the next day (ouch!). Great stories from them all about life on the trail.Got to go. Am covering 13 miles today myself. Just stopped for break and had 2 bars on my phone!
Date: 2015-07-20
From: Call of the Trail

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Got a nice early start on the trail Monday morning. The only one to beat me out of camp was Native. He spoke of hiking 26 miles today. The two young hikers who blew into camp late Sunday (Wheels and Unusual) were still asleep as I left. Gadget Girl felt ill, delaying her start with Lil' Bean. Quiet forest as I hiked along - punctuated at intervals by one beautiful songbird. I had no idea of the variety, but who cares? Sun rays penetrated at odd angles thru the trees. Almost surreal image of trail and surroundings as result. Had the trail to myself for a few hours.Had to hike a full 13 miles to the next shelter, Blackrock Hut. No water source along the way, so I had to carry a full supply, plus a little extra. You see, it was supposed to be another hot one with high humidity. Same as Sunday when I started. The humidity made the air thick. The photo was taken by day hiker in late morning. My clothes were already soaked thru with sweat. And I mean soaked! Glad I brought electrolyte tablets. Also glad that all section and thru hikers stink - because I sure did. But that is part of the experience!Got to Blackrock Hut in late afternoon after arduous climb. Did I mention that Blackrock Hut is a half mile shy of the Blackrock Mtn summit? Steep climb. Had the hut to myself until almost 8:00 in the evening. Then Lil' Bean and the 2 young guys, Wheels and Unusual blew in. Put on headlamps and made their dinners after setting up their own tents. I preferred the shelter (hut), even though a previous hiker had found a copperhead around his shoes in the shelter just a couple of weeks before. No one since had complained of that in the hut's log book.....
Date: 2015-07-21
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Started out early from Blackrock Hut with Lil' Bean, a thru-hiker. Trail north from this hut goes straight up steeply to summit of Blackrock Mtn. Lil' Bean is a full head shorter than me, and a woman and carrying a pack weighing as much as mine. I figured this would be a good test of my hiking abilities. She'd been out on the AT going north since mid-April.At the main trail I bent over to tighten my shoelaces. When I looked up again Lil' Bean was gone. And I mean gone! Figured I'd catch up with her, or at least catch sight of her. The trail up to Blackrock summit goes straight up - no switchbacks. Wrong! A humbling experience as I chugged along the trail.Blackrock summit was awesome! Rocky crest and 270 degree view. Hard to capture that in a photo. And I can only post one photo per journal entry, so I posted one from another overlook.Was headed to Loft Mtn Campground and wayside (read - short order grill) for lunch. The trail along the way got fairly overgrown in parts. The trail maintenance workers hadn't been there in a while. I came upon a plump deer munching the foliage. Darn thing didn't move as I approached. Got within 10 feet of the deer and it finally stepped off the trail - just barely. Then it stared at me as I went past it. Seems deer in this nat'l park are pretty tame. We'll see about the bears.Came to The edge of Loft Mtn Campground and there sat Lil' Bean taking a break at an overlook. While we were chatting, another woman backpacker came up the trail. She started to choke, then cry and feel to the ground sobbing. Of course we went to assist.Seems this other young woman (whom I won't name) had been stung by a wasp on the AT near Waynesboro. Went into anaphylactic shock and was rushed to ER. Was her second day on trail after recovering from that ordeal. Going thru the high grass brought on a panic attack - thinking a wasp would attack her. And she was no hiking novice afraid of her shadow - she was a thru-hiker who had started in GA.We talked her thru it and got her calm. Then we all went to the roadside grill for lunch - hamburgers, fries and a blackberry milkshake. The young lady was still nervous about returning to the trail immediately, so Lil' Bean and I talked her into walking a few miles down Skyline Drive to an intersection with the AT.Did you know that the original AT thru Shennandoah Nat'l Pk was expropriated for Skyline Dr? The current AT is an alternate route that was developed. So it wasn't like we really weren't on the AT when walking on the Drive. While we walked along I took the photo pictured. Caption says all.At the intersection of the AT with the drive, the young woman was prepared to carry on. She and Lil' Bean took the lead. They were out of sight shortly and I resumed my solo hike to Pinefield Hut.