morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-01
From: Russel Field Shelter

To: Double Springs Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: few clouds

Today's 16.4 mile hike felt like a 30 mile hike. The trail was muddy with snow and water all day. You literally take double the steps compared to if the trail was dry. I almost feel like at least every other mile I almost fell. We had a full shelter last night and the guy next to me kept sneezing and coughing right towards me. I felt like crap this morning. I was all congested and slow moving. I left the shelter around 9:30am and it took me a long 6 hours to hike the 9 or so miles to Derrick Knob Shelter. I ate lunch and got water. My feet were soaked and feel terrible. I left the shelter around 4pm to do the 7+ miles to Double Springs Shelter. I did not stop until I arrived at Siler's Bald only to see if I had cell service as it was starting to get dark and already after 7pm. I was dead. I finally made it to the shelter right before dark only to find it already full. I looked just beyond the shelter and everyone was set up for a cowboy camp under the stars and they had saved me a spot on their ground sheets. Have I said I have an awesome trail family? 9 of us slept just beyond the shelter only in our sleeping bags. It was an awesome night for it! It got pretty cold and my feet were soaked so I let them dry out but my socks froze in the tree I left them in to dry out. Good thing I was sleeping with a pair inside my sleeping bag. I have 10 miles to Newfound Gap tomorrow and then it is into Gatlinburg! I ate a few snacks, filled up with water for tomorrow's hike, and went to bed. Early morning tomorrow to try and get into town early enough to hang out for a bit. It was a long day, but an awesome one as well. I loved the hike today!
Date: 2014-04-02
From: Double Springs Gap Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I am now over 200 miles since I left Springer Mountain on March 8th. I woke up around 6:30am and was on the trail by 8am. I hiked straight to Clingmans Dome where I saw Uncle Fool and Cavey. Everyone got there about the same time and we had a great view with many pictures. I hiked the short and easy hike down to Newfound Gap where we ran into awesome trail magic by a couple from Florida. Fresh made sandwiches, chips, snacks, soda, and any medical stuff needed. It was SO COOL! Young Gun and I tried for about 30 minutes for a hitch into town and finally got a ride with a park service employee. Mostly all the tourist looked at us like we were bums and the were probably wondering why in the hell we were on top of that mountain. Many people who visit the area do not know the AT actually crosses at the parking lot. We got dropped off at the same gas station I was dropped off at in 2011. I got some drinks and then walked down the road to the Grand Prix Motel. $50 for 5 of us. It is Young Gun, Pond, Uncle Fool, Cavey, and myself in the room tonight. The shower felt amazing. My feet look like crap and need to by dried out. I split the bottom of my foot from it being so wet for so many days in a row. I also have MAJOR chaffing going on (sorry but it is part of my hike). They need some help and air asap. Lots of food, beer, and rest in the next few hours this evening. I plan to get back on the trail tomorrow and hopefully be in Hot Springs by Sunday/Monday. I am looking forward to a few days off the trail in Hot Springs. I have been planning this since I started so it will be funnnnnn! Rest is in order!
Date: 2014-04-03
From: Newfound Gap

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was rough and the rest I planned for did not happen. After dinner at Mellow Mushroom and a few beers, we came back to the room late, had a few more beers, and then hit the free moonshine testing, not once, but twice right before they closed. I woke up around 6am this morning to get a hold of the shop Miss Janet was broken down at. They had told her 3-4 hours of labor to put 3 bolts in a steering box. After talking to them for a bit they agreed maybe 1-2 hours will do it. They called me a few hours later around 10am and had her all fixed up and ready to go. I put the bill on my card and all of us in Gatlinburg pitched in to do some trail magic for her. Miss Janet and her van were back on the road! 17 of us went to the all-you-can-eat buffet down the road from the motel. We now have 4 or 5 rooms full at the motel and I thought I was going to be hiking today, but that is not going to happen. It is an awesome group here for sure! Some of these people I met a few weeks ago but I honestly feel like I have known them for a lifetime. We hung out all afternoon and resupplied at the general store. I'm really going to rest tonight and that is my plan for sure, but you never know with this group! I'm off to the trail tomorrow and heading for Hot Springs. I am looking forward to it! The hardest part of the Smokies are done. I am ready to see all the balds!
Date: 2014-04-04
From: Gatlinburg

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I felt a lot better this morning compared to the previous morning that is for sure. I slept in until around 8:30am or so and took a hot shower. Storms are moving in and you can hear the thunder all around. After talking to my dad and hearing what the radar looked like, I decided I would wait until the storms passes to hit the trail. We checked out at 11am and hung out in front of the office for a bit before moving to the porch of the outfitter in town. Most already decided to take another zero day and stay in town once a few more people we knew arrived and got a room right when we were checking out. I said no more for me. I'm out of here! After talking to my mom and Tahlor, I am going to slack pack from the I-40 underpass to Hot Springs, NC. I will be there tomorrow evening, go to the house for the night, and then Tahlor and I will hike from I-40 to Max Patch the following day. I have almost been out on the trail for a month which is crazy to think about. I absolutely love every second off it and would not change a thing. I am surrounded by absolutely amazing people. I will be out of the Smokies tomorrow. I am loving every step of this journey!
Date: 2014-04-05
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: I-40 Underpass
Miles today: 25.8

I AM DONE WITH THE GREAT SMOKY NATIONAL PARK! It was a lot easier terrain today but still a long day with a LOT of down hill. My knees felt every step of it that is for sure. The trail is still a lot of mud and water which does not help. I was hiking by sunrise and flew to the I-40 underpass it felt like. I hardly saw anyone I knew today. I definitely did not drink enough water either which was probably not a good thing. I got picked up at the I-40 underpass and was ready for a hot shower and a bed. It is only about 30 miles from my house down I-40 so that is awesome. Jo Cool text me and said B Man and McGyver have the same head cold that I do. Her and Forest are not far behind me. They are going to try and make it to the I-40 underpass late tonight or tomorrow morning. If they do I'll gladly drive to pick them up later and hopefully be able to slack pack them as well. Tomorrow Tahlor and I are going to get dropped off where I got picked up today and hike the 15 miles to Max Patch summit. It will be a blast! I can slack to Hot Springs from I-40 in two days, so bring it on! The section coming up is home to me so I am partial to it, but it is one of my favorite sections in the south! A few days at home will let me get caught up on all my pictures, journals, and gear cleaning. Spring is definitely in the air!
Date: 2014-04-06
From: I-40 Underpass

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was an absolutely great day. My mom picked Tahlor and I up around 8:30am from her house. We got breakfast on the way to the trail and also packed in a few sandwiches for lunch. We got dropped off around 10am and starting hiking. We flew up the first 3 miles to a steam on the side of the trail. We took a short break and continued on to the top of Snowbird Bald which was only 2 more miles away. I felt like I was flying up the trail again with my light weight slack pack. We got to the shelter 2 miles beyond Snowbird Bald around 2pm. We ate lunch and filled up with water. Tahlor did not realize how hungry she would be while hiking and was crushing some food! We had 7 miles to do until we hit Max Patch and we told her parents to pick us up around 6pm. It is all up hill from the shelter as well so I do not think she is going to enjoy this section of today as much...and she didn't. She was positive about the day hike all day, and 15 miles is not joke of a hike for someone who has not been hiking for the last month. We took a break at Brown Gap and met a few day hikers. We only met one thru hiker all day and one section hiker. I was really hoping we would see some people I have been hiking with so she could meet them but they are still a day or two behind me. We finish at Max Patch at 5:30pm. 7.5 hours to do 15 miles was not bad at all! We got picked up by her parents and went home. They have to deal with a sick cow and I have to pick up 7 hikers tonight so let the evening activities begin. I took a quick shower and jumped in the car. I went to Hot Springs first to pick up Uncle Cool, Cavey, Swamp Donkey, and Bouche. After I got them back to the house and settled in, I went back to I-40 to pick up B Man, Jo Cool, and Forest. It was a very fun but long day! Finally in the bed by 1am and plan to sleep in a bit tomorrow!
Date: 2014-04-07
From: Max Patch

To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0

I slept in this morning until around 9am after a long day yesterday. Tahlor is letting me use her truck while she is at work so I can shuttle hikers around and get them where they need to go or be picked up which is a huge help! Around noon, B Man, Forest, and I drove to the I-40 underpass once again (hopefully the last time). Forest is slack packing up to Max Patch to be where I am on the trail. Also, we are picking up Denali there who arrived a few hours ago. After it was all said and done, we finally got back to the house around 4pm. I went and picked up Tahlor at work then she hung out with us at the house for a bit. We took Uncle Fool to the grocery store. He is cooking a massive roast for everyone tonight which is great and a huge help. It's a perfect way to feed all the people at the house. I went and ate dinner (the 1st dinner) with Tahlor and and her family. It is always good to see them when I am home. After dinner, B Man, Denali, and I jumped in my mom's car around 8pm and headed up to Max Patch to retrieve Forest..only to find he was not there. It was pitch black outside and he was no where to be found. After 1.5-2 hours of yelling, searching, and checking all around, he popped out of the woods with a little squeeze light he had. He had sat at Brown Gap without a guide for at least a hour before he realized he was at the wrong gap and was still 3.5 miles away from Max Patch. He ran there in about 45 minutes and it was straight up hill. He made it though! We were worried for sure. There were many thoughts roaming throughout our heads....we are in the backwoods of Western North Carolina after all. We got back to the house around midnight and I was out.
Date: 2014-04-08
From: Asheville

To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I was up by 8am and went to Bruger's Bagel with my mom. She bought everyone breakfast as well as a massive box of coffee. We arrived back to the house to find every hiker there cleaning the house for her, putting dishes away, and picking stuff up. My mom was amazed and very thankful. They also helped her set up her in-home tower garden. She ran to the grocery store after and no sooner after she back in the driveway, hikers were there with her trunk open bringing stuff in for her. She loved it! No leaving the house today which is awesome! It gives me time to update all my journals, upload pictures, and finally just hang out like I came home for a few days to do. My mom is cooking as massive dinner for everyone tonight and we are going to have a fire after thank to my neighbor Chris for telling us to burn some of his wood. It feels good to just hang out at the house today! No hiking. No driving. No worrying. I like it! It will be a fun and chill evening around the house tonight. My mom absolutely LOVES having the hikers here and treats them as if they are her own children. The company here is awesome. We will see what happens, but I am thinking I'll knock out the slack pack hike from Max Patch to Hot Springs tomorrow so it is done and that section is out of the way. Then I head to Pigeon Forge on Thursday with Tahlor's family for a great weekend at the Rod Run. I've been planning this since before I started this hike and it worked out even better then planned. I got help out hikers, slack pack, AND still enjoy the weekend with Tahlor and her family. Not to mention, my body gets a nice break and some time to heal up. I do not care what anyone says, it is GOOD to take breaks and let you body rest. Yes, I still have plenty of time to make it to Maine, Yes, I have probably taken more zeros so far than the normal hiker, but it's my hike, and I love it! I'm still in good timing and some hikers are just starting the trail or haven't started yet, so I am not worried about it. I plan to take every day I can until they close Baxter State Park. I may make it by September or I may make it by October. We will see what cards are dealt later down the trail.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: Asheville

To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was another day spent shuttling and dropping off hikers. I'm glad to be able to help though especially since I had planned to be off the trail for this coming weekend. Everyone was up by 9am and eating all the left overs they could. They were packed up and cleaning the garage/house by 10am. I used Tahlor's Tahoe to bring them back to the trail since there was no way we would all fit in anything else. We left the house around noon and I dropped Uncle Fool, Cavey, Bouche, and Swamp Donkey off in Hot Springs at the Dollar General. Forest resupplied there and then I drove up to Max Patch to drop him off. Since everyone wanted to go back to the trail today, I decided to save my slack pack from Max Patch to Hot Springs for tomorrow. After I got all the hikers dropped off, I went to Tahlor's house and cleaned up her Tahoe (inside and out) since it was nasty from the dirt roads and hikers the last few days. I also helped her dad wash the camper to get it ready for this weekend. We head to Pigeon Forge for the Rod Run tomorrow evening. I have yet to stop running around since I have been home, but the body is certainly getting some rest and it is very happy about that. A easy (terrain wise) slack pack tomorrow and then off again until Monday.
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Asheville

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 20.2

Today was great and makes around the 10th time I have done this hike from Max Patch to Hot Springs. It is longer as far as miles go, but very easy as far as terrain goes. The first 5-6 miles are literally all a gradual down hill. A short up hill and then down again until your only real up hill of the day being Bluff Mountain. The down hill into Hot Springs is also a way to know your feet and knees did something that day though. I left Max Patch around 6am and cruised to Hot Springs. Most of the group I have been hiking with is already in front of me. Today was another beautiful day. I've been extremely lucky as far as weather goes. I have been getting a lot of sun and I can feel it on these hot days. Tahlor's dad did not get off work until 5pm so I had plenty of time. I went back to the house, showered, changed the oil and Tahlor's Tahoe, and got ready to go. B Man and Jo Cool had spent all day cleaning up the house for my mom and getting dirty laundry washed. It is nice to have friends that take care of the things they are offered to use! We all jumped in the Tahoe, went by Dairy Queen (I downed a large blizzard), and then stopped in Hot Springs to drop off B Man and Jo Cool. Tahlor's parents were not too far behind us. They got caught up in traffic so it all worked out great. We got to Pigeon Forge just before dark and set up the camper. I find it very amusing to see the variety of activities that are refereed to as "camping." To many of my friends, this is camping: load up the family, haul the camper to a camp ground, camp all weekend, and then load up and go home. To hikers and many others, camping is living out of your backpack and venturing into the woods. Either way, I enjoy both and this style of camping for the weekend I am very happy with. Old cars everywhere here at the Rod Run and I love it! Tahlor and I spent the evening hanging out with our friends Jeff and Terry along with a couple who went down with them for the weekend. It was a blast! We were in bed by midnight or so and it was still warm outside before going to bed.
Date: 2014-04-11
From: Hot Springs

To: Pigeon Forge
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

REST! I hardly moved today. Woke up, played with a RC rock crawler for a few hours after eating breakfast, then loaded up the cooler and hit the pool. Tahlor and I hung out at the pool with Jeff, Terry, and a few others all day and didn't go back to the camper until around 6pm or so. We had BBQ burgers for dinner then hung out around the fire all night. We stopped by our friends David and Andrea's cabin to say hey and have a beer with them. It was an awesome day of rest, sun, food, beers, and friends.
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Pigeon Forge

To: Pigeon Forge
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

REST! Again... I woke up and had breakfast before loading up the cooler and heading to the pool again. It was humid and hot by 10am. Our friends Gary and Madeline arrived last night as well. We had over 30 people from Asheville around the pool and it was a blast! David, Andrea, Gary, Madeline, Jeff, Terry, Skippy, and all the people that came down with them were there. We did not leave the pool again all day. it was so much fun and so great to see so many friends in one place. We left the pool around 5pm with a trail of kids that became attached to Tahlor (Jeff and Terry's kids along with a few others). They played video games while we took showers. We ate dinner with Jeff and Terry which was awesome. Then hung out with her parents around their fire before heading back to Jeff's camper to hang out around their fire. This weekend has been a blast so far and I am glad I planned to be off the trail. Originally I thought I would be in Gatlinburg for this but I made it to Hot Springs so I am happy about that. Back to Asheville tomorrow for one more night at home then hitting the trail on Monday morning.
Date: 2014-04-13
From: Pigeon Forge

To: Asheville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up around 9am and were pulling out of the campground by 10am. Tahlor and I stopped for lunch and then got a call from Jo Cool who was back in Hot Springs. Apparently all the hikers stayed in Hot Springs for the weekend for the trail festival. Jo Cool said Miss Janet's van was making some weird noises. They knew I had to drive through Hot Springs on my way back so I said I would be by the camp ground in 30 minutes. Tahlor and I stopped by and she got to meet almost every hiker I have been hiking with thus far. I checked out Miss Janet's van. The front driver side wheel is locked up and will not move. I figured it was a locked up wheel bearing or caliper. I told her give me a few hours and I'll be back with the parts and tools to fix it. Pond and Grizz ended up riding back to Asheville with us. Tahlor dropped us off at my house and we used my mom's car to pick up parts and stop a few other places in Asheville that they wanted to see. We all took showers and I loaded the back of my mom's car up with every tool possible needed to fix Miss Janet's van. I picked up a rotor, caliper, and wheel bearing just in case. We got back to Hot Springs around 4pm and I beat on the rotor and caliper to see if I could get it to loosen up. I back the van up and it dropped. Lower ball joint....wish this had happened a few hours ago however, I am thankful it happened in the campground instead of when she was cruising down a mountain back road and lost control of the van. I left the van right where it was and got a hold of my buddy James Murry. He can do it all, anywhere, at anytime, in any weather. He said he'd run down there tomorrow morning sometime and put the lower ball joint in for her and get her back on the road. I figure I'll ride back to Hot Springs with him then and take off after he gets her fixed up. It actually worked out pretty good since both my mom and Tahlor are working tomorrow. I get a ride back to the trail and Miss Janet's van gets fixed. Back on the trail tomorrow! Of course, rain, wind, and thunderstorms for the next few days. I've been spoiled with the weather lately so bring it on. I'm ready to hikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Date: 2014-04-14
From: Asheville

To: Pond Campsite
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: light rain

I was up this morning by 7am waiting on my buddy James to pick me up in the wrecker so he could fix Miss Janet's van. He finally picked me up around 1pm. We dropped off a car on the way to Hot Springs. It started to rain as soon as we arrived at the camp ground. He literally had her van fixed in 30 minutes or so. The lower ball joint on the driver's side had broken in half. Thankfully it happened in a camp ground and not coming down one of the hundreds of steep mountains she drives over daily. Miss Janet along with a few others left as soon as the van was fixed. I picked up another car with James and dropped it off before getting back to the house around 4pm. I got back and helped Tahlor move out of her old hair salon. She starts at a brand new spa in downtown Asheville in a week from today. I had dinner with her and then had my mom drop me off in Hot Springs later that evening. I did the short and fairly easy 5 mile hike to a nice little pond just out of Hot Springs. There are a few others scattered around the area as well. I hope to catch the group I have been hiking with tomorrow. Pond and Grizz should not be too far in front of me. I am going to get out of here as early as possible to try for a big day. My body feels great right now so I'm sure I can stand a few longer days. Everyone is talking about the very cold weather that is supposed to be moving in tomorrow so we will see what happens with that. It is a nice warm night this evening and does not feel like any weather is moving in, but I know very well that means nothing in the Southern Appalachian Mountains! I had an awesome break and it feels good to be back in the woods.