morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-02
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm home. The fire alarms went off last night thanks to a failed battery, and after staying in bed for an hour or so, I gave up and got up. Breakfast was at 7:00 and we got to the visitor center at 8:30 or so and were hiking by nine. I hiked with Ramblin' Man all day and we decided to stay at Springer and hike to either Justus Creek or Gooch tomorrow. We're both easing into the trail and decided to stay here near Springer's summit and see who all showed up. There are five people in the shelter and two or three of us tenting out. No huge crowds. It sounds like Model-T stayed here yesterday, so we should see him within the week. I am in a palace of a tent this time. My one person tarptent isn't mended from last year's adventure, so I'm out in my two-person tarptent. I'm out of shape, but we still passed most everybody on the way up and we were taking it slow and easy. No race here, but it is interesting. I have some hot spots to nu-skin in the morning, but no blisters which is much better than last year. Even better is the fact that my knees feel fine. Last year they started hurting on day one. I feel my ankle a but from the other week yet and that does worry me, but I'll just play it by ear and it should heal up soon enough. My bottom of the arch pain from doing too many stairs seems to be gone, so this is much niver than last year even with the extra weight. I don't have much of an appetite yet, so I forced myself to eat, but it's no big deal at this state in the game either. Three days out from Neels Gap and a week from Hiawassee. Life is good and I'm home. I hope I feel as home on the PCT as I do out there on the AT. Almost hiker midnight and time to sleep.
Date: 2006-04-03
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

At 6:00 AM the thunderstorm rolled in. This caused a late start. We made Hawk for lunch and decided to stay due to predicted bad weather and a hailstorm that went by. Another short day, but we'll go to Woody tomorrow and Neels on the 5th, so we're still on schedule. Hot spots on the feet, but no blisters except for the one from my pole strap. I slept great last night and it's good to be home. My ankle still hurts a bit, so a second easy day isn't the end of the world. There are a lot of green hikers out and Ramblin' Man and I caused a stir cooking dinner on our Pepsi can stoves. Still, it's fun to watch the excitement of the Class of '06. It will be interesting to see who makes it and who doesn't. Hippy Longstockings stopped in to wait out the storm, so for a bit, thru hikers from previous years outnumbered this year's crop. Still, it was a good, if short hike, today and we'll pick up the pace a bit and stay in Neels Gap. As usual, people are trying to do too much too quickkly, but others are hiking smart. I'm really glad to be home again and in about a month, I'll start my PCT adventure in trail shape. I'm pleased with the simple soda can stove I built the other night and it does the job, so I am happy to save 2 ounces over my Brasslite. I may buy a 12 pack of soda and make some for a hiker box. We should catch up with people starting at Neels. It's fun to be here again. It was the right choice to spend a month on the AT and it's icing on the cake that Ramblin' Man started hiking the same day. Life is good.
Date: 2006-04-04
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: clear sky

I slept until about 5:00 and then tossed and turned for a couple more hours. I forced down one nutty bar for breakfast and called it good. My hiker appetite hasn't kicked in yet, but it will soon enough. Ramblin' Man and I were going somewhere between 2.25 and 2.5 mph, so we made it to Gooch shelter for lunch with no problems. We had a nice lunch break of an hour and a half or so and I took the time to tape up a hot spot. We headed out for Woody Gap. We took it nice and easy stopping a couple of times to enjoy the view. When we got to Woody, we thought about heading a mile up the mountain, but we talked ourselves into camping in the gap. We'll be in Neels Gap tomorrow, so the extra mile is not a big deal. We're here with the small group we picked up: Mousehat and Patrick, Skip, Fred, and Marley. My Platy has sprung a leak, so I'll see about getting it replaced at Neels Gap. While sitting near the road Lightning Rod (GA-ME'05) stopped for a day hike. He finished on 9/9 just two days after I did. It sounds like he went up with Scared of the Dark, Thumper, and O'Connor. What a small world it is. He gave me half a bag of dried blueberries and they're awesome! I wonder how many more '05ers I'll see. I should be able to catch Kelly at work tomorrow, and I can't wait to speak with her. Still feeling my ankle, but otherwise, I'm OK. It's funny, but I have more friends on the trail than I do at home. Life is good, and it's great to be home on the trail again.
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: broken clouds

four days to Neels Gap is what I planned and four days is what it took. We ate lunch up on Blood Mtn and were still in by 2:00 PM. I have a few hot spots that I'm taping, but no major blisters and compared to last year, I'm not in major pain and my feet are OK. I'm still being bothered by my training injury the other week, but I don't think it is going to be a show stopper. I experienced a bit of chafe, but nothing too bad. Our little group all made it to Neels Gap with no problems. the outfitter refused to replace my platy citing that they were unable to do so with the number of hikers they see. Considering their jacked up prices, it again shows me why I'll stop at the hostel and buy a little food, but that's it. On the bright side of things, I didn't need to buy much from them food-wise this time, so between the two years, things even out. Mynose feels a little sunburned even though I've been using sunscreen. I'm doing better than last year, so I'm happy, and it's great to be out here again. I've been having fun giving basic advice along the lines of start slow and the like to the hikers. I feel like I'm repaying for the advice I got last year from former thru hikers. We had Domino's Pizza for dinner, as apparently they no longer run the shuttle into town. I was really looking forward to fresh veggies, so this was a let down, but the pizza I split with Marley was good if expensive. Every box came with coupons for better deals, but what are you going to do? Still, it's nice to meet people and to be at Neels Gap and still going. We figure three days of hiking to Hiawassee, one to Low Gap, one to either the Cheese Factory or Tray Mtn and one to the Gap. Well, four down and twenty-six to go on this year's ATA hike. Life is good.
Date: 2006-04-06
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a good day's hike today. We rolled out of the hostel at about 8:15 AM and were hiking between 2.5-3 mph. We took an early lunch up on Cowrock Mtn, and it seems like my hiker hunger is starting to kick in. I ended up hiking closer to 2 mph the rest of the way to the shelter, as Mac, a fellow hiker, looked like she was having a rough day and could use a hiking companion. She quit her job at an airline's ticket counter to come hike the trail. The shelter is full, so I'm tented by Skip. A couple of older gentlemen rolled in and have set up a bit too close to me for my liking. I don't appreciate cooking right next to my FLAMMABLE tent not to mention attracting animals. I enjoy the AT, but some of these people need to learn some manners and some outdoor skills.Anyway, I ended up with a blister under a toenail which I drained, but i epect to lose the nail at some point. Otherwise, my feet are doing fairly well. We're still planning a long day tomorrow to Tray Mtn Shelter. I can't wait till I have my trail legs and I'm on the PCT. I did go ahead and make peace with the guys cooking next door. I know they meant no harm, but my tent is essential equipment. I need to remember not to journal as things happen. It's almost hiker midnight and the rain has started.
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up before the sun, as usual, and we were on the trail by 7:35. It was a good, but long day of hiking. With the heat, I had a hard time staying hydrated, and I drank at least 6L today. I didn't eat enough for lunch at Blue Mtn Shelter, but I ate more at the Cheese Factory Site, and about 1600 calories for dinner here on Tray Mtn. This used to be a short day for me, but this kicked my out of shape butt today. Tomorrow will mark one week on the trail and we'll be in the town of Hiawassee. Four days to Neels Gap and seven days to Hiawassee - right on my lack of schedule calculations. The register at blue M tn went back to when I hiked thru last year. I was beat last year and forgot to sign in, but I found many familiar names and entries. The second half of the day went a bit slower. I rolled my ankle heading into Unicoi Gap and then Rocky Mtn was a very challenging climb. Still, we were in by 3:30 not too early and not too late. Boy Scout Troop 605 gave us cold water and we chatted with them a spell before climbing up Tray. There are supposed to be storms tonight, but it's hard to tell. The shelter is full, but there is a sick lady in there, so I'm happy to be tenting. It's common sense if you're sick to tent rather than infect a shelter but everyone is still too green right now, I guess. I'm tented next to Ramblin' Man and Mousehat is at the next site down. Tomorrow is Ramblin' Man's birthday, so we'll probably have a drink or two to celebrate. Tray Mtn was my one slackpack/sherpa experience last year, as a day hiker asked to carry my packk for training. Less than one year later, I hiked up with full pack. Yeah, life is great right now even with sore feet and some blisters. I'm in worse shape this year fitness wise, but I'm doing better on trail. Another couple of weeks and maybe I'll start feeling like a "lean hiking machine" again. This is the life.
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Tray Mtn Shelter

To: Dicks Gap/Hiawassee
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

It was a fairly easy 10.6 into town today. The climb out of Addis Gap kicked my butt, but we reeled in most all the other hikers from Tray. We waited around in camp until almost 9:00 am in order to let the storms blow through and still made the gap before 2:00. It was a fairly easy but unique hitch, as an RV stopped for us. A nice couple from Indiana, on their way home from wintering in Florida, picked us up. They had never picked up hitchhikers before, but were gracious enough to pick up seven of us. I'm sharing a room at the Holiday Inn with Ramblin' Man and Fred. I bought Ramblin' Man dinner at Daniel's AYCE for his birthday, and we both left stuffed to the gills. I have about one day's food too much. We're doing to near-o, so I'll have a chance to eat some of this food down, but it's going to hurt coming out of the gap anyway. Down into town and back up after town is the hiker's life. I spent quite a bit of time on blister care today. I don't have much in the way of blisters, but the couple I do have were really bugging me, so I popped th em. Keeping the feet healthy is important and I rolled my other ankle today which is a little bit worrisome, but the lighter miles for the next few days into Franklin, NC should help out. Even though I'm not going through on the AT this year, it's still hard to stay in town and slow down. As usual, I'm up late in town. It doesn't matter that we're leaving late, it's still hard to deal with town. Oh well, too much food and all, it's great to be home, and the trail is as much a home as anywhere else. Life is good, and in a few more weeks, I'll be in shape and on the PCT!
Date: 2006-04-09
From: Dicks Gap/Hiawassee

To: Plum Orchard Gap
Miles today: 4.3

A near-o today, so we took our time leaving town. After a few trips downstairs for breakfast, we checked out at about 11:00 AM. Ramblin' Man and I wandered around town for a while. After hanging out at the pavilion for awhile, we sat on a bench letting the world go by. Around 12:30, I decided to head over to the Chinese buffet for lunch. The tables were all taken, but a nice lady shared her table with me. We had a nice coversation for an hour or so, and she picked up the tab after refusing to let me pay. The hitch back to the trail was easy. Five minutes after we decided to hit the trail, we had a ride. It never ceases to amaze me how kind people in trail towns are, as the lady that gave up a ride turned around and went out of her way for us. The hike in wasn't too bad. Two hours of easy hiking and a couple of bumps later and we were here. My right ankle is still bugging me, so a nice easy day was just the thing after about 24 hours in town. We'll head to Standing Indian tomorrow for about a thirteen mile day. I'll cross into NC tomorrow, and GA will be another memory of good times on the trail. I'm still on about the same schedule time wise as last year, but I think that perhaps I'm hiking smarter this year. I'll miss thru-hiking the AT this year, but I still can't really envision myself on the PCT in a month. It will hit me about the time I head out to Campo, I'm sure. I need to work on storytelling. I am not quite where I want to be with that skill. Things are already winding down here and it's only 8:00 PM. There's about 30 more minutes of good light, but everyone seems beat. Life is good.
Date: 2006-04-10
From: Plum Orchard Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

It was a good day of hiking today. We started out around 8:30 AM, had lunch at Muskrat Creek Shelter, and ended the day here at Standing Indian. My ankle is still bugging me, bit it seems to be getting better. We're catching a few other groups right now. It's a mix of stragglers and injured hikers for the most part with a few others thrown in. We'll probably catch a new group after Franklin, as we'll only see these folks for one night. I've noticed a trend by a few of the hikers we're passing to blame their gear rather than themselves.   It amazes me that people "lose confidence" in their good gear and drop hundreds on new equipment rather than admit that they don't know what they're doing. Tomorrow, we'll do about 14.5 miles to the shelter over by Albert Mtn. It's kind of neat to be staying in different places this year, and I think this schedule is a bit better than the one I followed last year. I'm taking the same amount of days to hike to key points, but I'm hiking smarter this year. We'll be in Franklin the day after tomorrow and we'll have about a ten mile day into town, so we'll be in fairly early. The plan is to stay at the Haven again this year, and that's fine by me. My feet are still holding up fairly well. I'm putting a lot of tape on them, but it's mainly for protection, not for foll blown blisters. The Jetboil stoves seem to have caught on this year, but people bring so much cooking junk with them that they seem to defeat the whole purpose of the stove. I'm very pleased with the simple soda can stove I made before this trip. It's light and does the job. I wonder what trail life will be like next month on the PCT? It's going to be hard to switch trails, but I am really looking forward to heading West. Life is still grand here on the trail.
Date: 2006-04-11
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

A longer day today, but good hiking. I'm still dealing with hot spots and blisters, but, compared to last year, my feet are doing well. I'm still feeling the ankle I rolled heading into Unicoi Gap when I hit a rock or root wrong, but I am starting to feel like a hiker again too. It's about ten miles to Winding Stair Gap/Franklin tomorrow. Some of the group wants to stop, and some will push on, but we'll probably all end up at NOC around the same time. If my ankle bugs me too much, I'll take a near-o or a zero. I'm around some great people like Marley, Breeze (Fred), Mousehat, etc., so it would be nice to stay around them, but my PCT hike is the key for this year, and I need to stay healthy for it. I'm in the shelter again tonight. I'm not a huge fan of them, but I won't have them on the PCT and I'm feeling a bit lazy right now. It's hard to believe that my AT hike is about 1/3 over with already. We hit some good footers today -- Standing Indian and Albert. Really the hiking isn't too bad, but people with the maps really seem to freak themselves out over these two mountains. I'm enjoying staying in shelters other than the ones I stopped at last year. The change is nice, but the smarter miles/days makes things nice too. My feet had enough, but it was tempting to hike back to the fire tower for sunset. We're still catching people. In these early days, some blow by doing big miles. Not many of those folks finished last year. Trying to race and do big miles now is just plain silly. I hadn't even left home yet last year, but tomorrow does mark 1 year since I flew to ATL with a thru-hiking dream. Yeah, life rocks!
Date: 2006-04-12
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap/Franklin (Haven Motel)
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

We left camp at about 8:10 and did a fairly fast hike down to Winding Stair Gap. We were at the road by 11:30. A few minutes after getting to the gap, Crutch drove by and shuttled us into town. He has sold out his half of the restaurant and is now "retired" and "trail trash." It was great to catch up on '05ers and see Crutch again. The postcards with finish pictures have helped to fill in some additional information on who finished. We ate lunch at the coffee shop and had AYCE for dinner at the place just down the block from the motel. We took the shuttle out to the outfitter and just enjoyed town. I am happy to have stopped in Franklin again this year.
Date: 2006-04-13
From: Winding Stair Gap/Franklin (Haven Motel)

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We caught the 9:00 shuttle out of Franklin and were hiking by 9:30. A couple and their children had cokes for us up at Wayah Bald. It was fun to hike out of Franklin without 4" of snow on the ground [like last year, adds Kelly]. Today was mostly climbing but it was fun, so life is good. I'm starting to get to know some of the other hikers we're around such as Dirtnap, Nifty, Bill, etc. It's a lot of fun to meet the hikers out this year. We'll head down to NOC tomorrow, and I expect we'll be in somewhere in the early afternoon. A warm day, a campfire, and a full house tonight makes this experience totally different than last year, when there were just three of us here -- me, Moonshine, and Masa. Well, life is good. Today marks one year since I started my '05 thru-hike. I can hardly believe how many wonderful trail experiences I've had over the past year. It has been quite a year with many new friends made, goals met, and I certainly have a new outlook on life these days. I have another couple of weeks here on the AT, and then it's time to try the new life for me and head out West. I don't know if I had been told a year ago what I'd be doing and where I'd be today that I would have believed it. What a year -- the unknown, the accomplishment, the new goals. Yeah, life is good and I'm glad to be alive and I am glad to be hiking.
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: NOC (NOC Bunkhouse)
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

We woke up early thinks to other hikers making a racket and were on the trail by about 8:00.   It was a great hike into NOC today -- no snow, and a nice warm day. We stopped at the tower for pictures and then headed down to the shelter for an early lunch. We walked into NOC by 1:30 or so and grabbed a couple of rooms in the bunkhouse. A shower, a nice soak of my feet in the river, and life sure is good right now. Marley is wearing his "Hike Faster; I Hear Banjo Music" shirt around and is getting plenty of comments about it. I felt the 15.8 miles from yesterday, so I think a near-o may be called for tomorrow. Since I have a maildrop in Fontana, this isn't a bad thing, as I can't get my package until Monday. It doesn't really matter though, as I'm out hiking and life is good. I met a couple of '05 thru-hikers that I missed on the trail last year -- Sam-I-Am and Origami. I had a lot of fun talking with them late into the night. Sam-I-Am is friends with Too Obtuse and Scared of the Dark, so we had plenty of gossip to exchange. Apparently, she had SOTD in a flower costume over Halloween. Yeah, life is good.
Date: 2006-04-15
From: NOC (NOC Bunkhouse)

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

We hung out at NOC this morning. After breakfast, we took out time getting started hiking and left around 10:20 AM. Today was really hot, so the hiking was slow, but we were just heading up to the next shelter, so not a big deal. Sam-I-Am tried to get us to go rafting today, and after sitting in the shelter for a few hours, it sure seemed appealing! I considered hiking up to the bald to bamp, but inertia won. I'll do a 15 miler tomorrow to set up for an easy run itno Fontana on Monday. A lot of the hikers that started at NOC yesterday decided to near-o as well. I both enjoy and despise the social aspects of the AT. I'm now halfway through my AT hike for the year, and it will be interesting to see what the PCT is like. I'm really happy to be out here, as it's refreshment for the soul.
Date: 2006-04-16
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

Easter Sunday --Sassafras Gap Shelter was a dusty place to near-o at yesterday. I feel a bit like PigPen right now, but I'll shower tomorrow at the "Fontana Hilton" shelter. Today was another hot day for hiking, and the climb out of Stecoah Gap was long, hot, and tiring. Still, it was a good day with great company. A large group of us ate lunch at Stecoah Gap, hiked up to Brown Fork Gap Shelter for a break, and took it slow and easy into the Cable Gap Shelter. It wasn't a super long day by last year's thru-hiking standards, but it was a full day of hiking in summer-like hear, so it was nothing to sneeze at. I was hurting a bit today, so the nice easy day tomorrow will help my body heal up. We're still around the 10 miles per day target, so I'm happy with my miles. I would have pushed on yesterday if I didn't have a maildrop, but it's not a big deal at all. There was excitement over at the shelter earlier, as there was a good sized black snake hanging out in it. I took some pictures of it, and I hope at least one turns out. I spent a good portion of the day hiking around Ramblin' Man, Nifty and Lance. The shelter register here goes back to just before I came through last year. It was a hoot to see familiar names, etc. Lady Scarecrow had lost her journal, Linus (the rock) heading to Katahdin, and Too Obtuse all gave me a blast from the past. My entry was nothing to write home about, but it appears that I ate lunch here last year. Yeah, life is good out here hiking. I hope I enjoy the PCT as much as I do the AT. I need to cut some weight from my pack before I hit the West Coast, but at least I'll be close to having some good trail legs when I head out there. I miscalculated how much good I'd eat down here, so my maildrop is a bit big. Now, if I could just be paid to hike.......