morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-03-08
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: broken clouds

Could have done more miles today, but there was no rush. My sister has to get to her car at Neel Gap by tomorrow mid-day, and this was a good stopping point for the day. The requirements to have bear canisters (containers to keep food inside at night that are bear-smashing-biting-clawing-proof) within a 6 mile stretch after Lance Creek also limited us to a short day.Tonight there were some more familiar faces around the campfire, but also a few new ones. Again, sharing some fermented grain mash, new friends were made with the underlying understanding that you may never see one another again. People either go by first names or trail names, so looking people up after meeting them isn't a realistic option and the feeling of detachment is actually kind of refreshing. For this reason, you can be yourself and totally honest with these strangers/friends.Funny story time. Actually this could have ended very badly. As the fire dwindled, so did our numbers around the fire. People said their "good nights" and wandered off to their humble abodes at sporadic intervals. Eventually, one kid got up, said goodnight and blindly started stumbling to where he thought his tent was. Key word: thought. As he started walking, I noticed he hadn't thought to bring his headlamp out before it got dark around the fire. "Hey man, need a light?" I asked. Luckily I didn't even wait for him to answer but decided to turn my light on and shine it in his general direction. I really, really don't like to toot my own horn, but this kid was legitimately power-walking directly towards a rapidly approaching drop-off that led to an extremely steep embankment. Immediately, he changed direction by about 90 degrees and crawled safely into our tent. No words were exchanged until someone eventually said, "Holy shit, I think Johnny would have died...". Laughter erupted. Crisis averted.   Despite some difficult terrain, tomorrow should be a quick day to Neel Gap to drop off my sister at her rental car. I have to convince her to take me to grab some BBQ before going back at it...FYI - Filtering (or treating water in other ways) is a daily task when thru-hiking. Instead of attempting to carry enough water for multiple days, bringing a form of water treatment allows you to refill as needed. Since water weights 2.2 pounds per liter, you don't want to be carrying multiple days worth....I've easily been drinking 4-6 liters per day.
Date: 2016-03-10
From: Bull[shit] Gap

To: Poplar Stamp Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yup. This is going to be a problem. After quickly packing up my tent, pulling down my bear bag of food and trash, and scarfing some food down in the foggy morning light, I had a decision to make. Take a zero day (a term for doing zero miles and resting due to a variety of reasons - this would definitely qualify), retape/moleskin and hope it doesn't get worse, or wear my camp shoes which happen to be ridiculously colored Crocs. Hmmmm. Even the thought of putting on my boots seemed terrible and I knew that I would just continue to make matters worse. And the thought of a zero day, just sitting in my tent feeling sorry for myself so early on wasn't an option either. Crocs it is.I didn't have great expectations for the day but actually cruised to our tenting spot for the night. My feet felt great, my legs felt great and the fact that I didn't have to even think about my blister was a fantastic feeling. It was even better knowing I gave it a full day to heal despite pounding out a 10 mile day. 2 birds, 1 stone.A group at Tesnatee Gap provided us with another bout of fantastic early morning Trail Magic and he claimed that the drop out rate to that point is 40% per year. A mere 7 miles past the outpost where there is a 25-30% rate, and somehow another 10% manage to quit. I guess people spend a night in the hostel, shower, eat real food and convince themselves that they can go out and get back at it. I guess that confidence boost doesn't work very long...Another awesome view and another awesome campfire. Familiar faces are becoming more and more frequent as the days go on and the trail is noticeably less crowded. Hanging a bear bag at Poplar Stamp was nearly impossible. Thousands of trees in every direction, yet none seemed to have any horizontal branches within throwing height. Little bit of a hike...
Date: 2016-03-11
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Another full day in the Crocs. I don't want to, but it's a necessity. If I try to force myself to use my boots again too soon, I'm sure it'll put me out of commission for a day or two. Today, the terrain and small issues people have been having are starting to add up. I feel grateful to still be going strong and that I was able to find a solution to my biggest problem *knock on wood*. Once at Unicoi Gap, there was some Trail Magic in the form of hot dogs, burgers and soda. The temptation to head to town for the night was there since so many people were heading in to take a "nero" (nearly zero day) or an actual zero, but I had no real reason to so I pushed on. As for the campsite, I guess it was an award winning 19th Century Cheese Factory. I was expecting cool ruins and toppled foundations once I got there, but there wasn't even a brick in sight. Another great fire tonight and some conversations with people that are definitely now my friends. We even have a black lab named Jetta to play with. Her owner isn't too fond of Mad Max and one point of conversation revolved around that movie for quite some time. "I live. I die. I LIVE AGAIN!"
Date: 2016-03-12
From: Cheese Factory Site

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Yup. Another Croc day. It really isn't that bad, my feet just get a little sore by the end of the day due to the lack of support. I also have to be deliberate with my steps and take extra caution with my foot placement. People are shocked that I'm doing so many miles in Crocs. At this point, about half my mileage has been in them. They should probably send me free pairs since I'm repping them so well... Hmmmm...Early this morning I rapidly closed distance between myself and another hiker. This wasn't hard to do since they were doubled over with their pack on while dry-heaving. I asked if everything was alright and she said "Not at all". I finally convinced her to sit down and take her pack off and explain the situation. She had started the journey on March 1st and has struggled with various issues up until this point. Now, the big issue was the fact that her original hiking buddies "bailed on her". She met them on Facebook and decided they would hike the AT as a group. Not a good idea for a group of random people to commit to that. Differences in personality, hiking speed, and a million other factors come into play for a strenuous 6 month journey that can tear a group apart. Anyways, the fact that they "bailed" really made her "mad". She was so mad that she stopped eating the proper amount of food and drinking the right amount of water. Makes sense right? It also happened that these people decided to split gear so they all wouldn't have to carry 1 of everything if they could just share. This actually makes sense...until the person with the stove quits and the other two can't cook....Long story short, I forced her to drink water, take a break and even gave her half of my beef jerky which I was soooooooo looking forward to later and a few packages of peanut butter and cheese crackers. She didn't have any food that had a high sodium content which is necessary to retain the water you're drinking when burning a lot of calories. I really hope she was just slightly malnourished and dehydrated and wasn't actually contracting Norovirus which is debilitating and highly contagious on the trail. An ex-paramedic/firefighter was going to keep an eye on her for the remainder of the day. The sense of community and camaraderie among strangers is truly amazing out here. But about that rain. I haven't talked about the weather much since I started and that is because it's been non-stop beautiful. Totally spoiled. But tonight, it's supposed to rain cats and dogs with Zeus tossing lightning bolts. Kelly Knob nearly killed me today. Toughest climb of the trip so far. 822 feet vertical in less than a mile -- pretty steep, but awesome reward at the top.P.s. - I think powdered mashed potatoes are better than the real thing. Definitely bringing bacon bits for next week.
Date: 2016-03-13
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: light rain

Town day to resupply on food. Still had some lingering points from traveling with work to get a free stay at a Holiday Inn. No beer on Sundays here...BOOOOO!Watched the UConn game and ate some pizza and wings. YUM.Back at it tomorrow. I'll probably only be able to update this journal once a week.<3
Date: 2016-03-14
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

After a rejuvenating day in town, I was excited to pump out some miles, but the weather had other plans. Many people decided to stay in Hiawassee for another night due to ominous forecasts calling for severe thunderstorms. Impatient and excited to continue, I called my main girl Sue for a ride back to Dicks Creek Gap. Almost immediately upon exiting her car, I knew I was going to have to dial back my lofty goals. 13 people plus the adorable black lab in a triple-decker shelter was the safe bet since pushing on would have required trekking along an exposed ridge. The hail and pouring rain came and I was thankful for a dry spot in the shelter.P.s. - Sleeping near a dog in the shelter helps significantly with keeping the mice at bay.
Date: 2016-03-15
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

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

GA-NC border woop woop! Hit this mark early this morning and was feeling good. Despite knowing that Georgia was a small section, only 87.3 miles including the approach trail, it was still a great feeling and moral boost. 1 down, 13 to go! I thought the previous two light mileage days had done wonders for my feet, but boy I was wrong...woke up this morning and couldn't even consider sliding my feet into the boots. Crocin' and rollin'Absolutely packed site, met the 4th group of siblings attempting to thru-hike together. Thought it was interesting that there are more siblings than couples so far out here.
Date: 2016-03-16
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: few clouds

I like to think that I handle peer pressure better than the average person, but this was one of those times I definitely caved to the mob mentality. Yet again, the beginning of the day began by slipping on my crocs as I was shaking my head, but quickly turned into cranking out a 16.2 mile day in very high spirits. The St. Patty's excitement was running rampant on the trail and though I had no prior intentions of heading into town, it started to sound pretty damn good. Nothing like green beer and curdled car bombs for some good ole fashioned calorie intake and sloppy fun... Also, I can't keep continuing on with my current foot situation and decided I really need to take a full day off to give the gaping wounds a real chance to heal. Heal heel!Absolutely beautiful view from Albert Mountain. Tough, but quick climb that reminded me a little bit of White Mountain hiking. A few sections of hand-over-hand scrambles up rock faces and boulders.
Date: 2016-03-17
From: Long Branch Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Long Branch Shelter further promoted the idea of a town day. Posted inside were shuttle schedules that pick up hikers from two separate locations with drop-off in Franklin, NC; Rock Gap and Winding Stair Gap. While it is nice to maximize town days, pushing a few extra miles before heading into town is more rewarding to me. It makes the bad habits and bingeing associated with town seemingly more deserved. Most people did a quick 3.5 to catch the 9:30 shuttle out of Rock Gap, but a few of us, the ones I happen to be closest with, all decided to push it 7.3 over some moderate terrain to catch a noon shuttle from Winding Stair Gap. Even 7.3 felt a little lazy to me, but plenty of people are still governing their pace (either voluntary or involuntary) to 7-10 miles a day in order to strengthen the body and hopefully prevent over-use injuries.Putting the blinders on and keeping the greetings brief, we blazed past the lazy bum's at Rock Gap and hustled to Winding Stair. The green beer and car bombs will be well deserved tonight...or will they???I would be hesitant to ask my friends from home, college and work to describe my personality (for the most part I don't think the adjectives would be too terrible...), but most people know my love of (typically idiotic) fun and drinking with a heavy dose of reminiscing. For their own reasons, my new trail companions do not share the passion for drinking. While a little surprised, it certainly didn't make me like them any less. If anything, I weirdly admired their indifference and in one case, the conscious and deliberate avoidance of alcohol during this trek.Interestingly enough, our hotel happened to be outside of the Franklin downtown so this quickly spelled a few beers and floating solo in the pool on St. Patty's Day. It took a lot for me to turn down the bombardment of texts from the rowdy crew that was going buck wild downtown. The 2 mile walk (partially on a highway) was just not enticing enough. Also, catching up on college basketball while afloat was pretty nice anyway.My friend Sara came and joined in the floating while Jetta (the adorable black lab) lay staring jealously as she was tied to the life-ring. Solid night.
Date: 2016-03-18
From: Comfort Inn

To: Comfort Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I was up and ready to go at 7. Unfortunately, this was the first day I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. Sara and Aaron (Saraaron?) decided they didn't need a day of rest and planned on heading out mid-morning. One of Sara's old coworkers met us at the hotel and hand-delivered some much appreciated Dunkin' Donut fare. We had all eaten a full breakfast already, but there is always room to scarf down a few donuts. The blister brigade,(nobody has or ever will refer to us as that), Rachel and I took advantage of our day off and the cheap public transportation in the form of a short-bus who's typical clientele probably hovers around the 70 year old benchmark. Stopped in at an awesome gear store called Outdoor 76 where both of us meandered around debating buying the super-light, super-popular and super-expensive down jackets that 95% of other thru-hikers own. Despite my heaviest layer being a casual fleece and hers being a thin hoodie, the price tags were laughable and we both decided against it. Worst case, I'll crawl into my sleeping bag with every layer of clothing I have. Hopefully that's enough?We then stopped by the bookstore where I picked up a copy of Brave New World and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. It's funny how at least one of these classic works was assigned during my high school career and I had less than no interest in actually reading it. Sparknotes was just too easy. Pretty embarrassing to admit that but at least I'm completing the assignment eventually...better late than never right?Got caught next to a very knowledgeable local that prided himself on his awareness of Franklin, NC history on the public transportation on the way back to the hotel. Rachel expertly avoided the conversation by cracking open her book and creating a forcefield that left me unprotected an vulnerable. I heard all about Shawn Bryson, the football pride of the town that had a very mediocre career in the NFL who eventually came back to his birthplace to open a store called "Goin' Postal" - a competitor to UPS and FedEx when mailing packages. Not sure what I would have done without that gem of information...Back at the hotel, it was time to replenish, repack and refocus on hiking. Knowing that Rachel had extra ziplocks, I offered a trade of a half gallon of chocolate milk for a few bags. With the immediate response of "Haha I will definitely take some chocolate milk", the deal was done.   We also, (barely) remembered to print our Smoky's thru-hiking permit and we were ready to go again. Just needed to figure out a ride back to the trail. After calling a bunch of volunteers from a local hiking group, an older woman agreed to pick us up at 8:30 sharp the next morning.
Date: 2016-03-19
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

After a few phone calls and a little sweet talking, our shuttle driver arrived at the Comfort inn with two ziplock baggies of home-made cookies. This older woman was part of a local hiking group and assists the ATC with trail maintenance. Despite being a free ride, I gave her $10 for the club since she went very far out of her weekend morning to come pick us up and drop us off. With homemade cookies. It was well worth it. After just a few quick miles, I spied a sign "Join us for breakfast" with a very enticing arrow pointing down to a camping area. Immediately, I was asked if I would like a bacon, egg and cheese and either a soda or beer. Trying to start this next section responsibly, I opted for the BEC and soda. After digging through the cooler pretty thoroughly, the girl said, "looks like we've only got PBR left..". It's the thought that counts right (as I crack open the 10 a.m. beer)? Some good conversation with a fellow ex-Rhode Islander led to her current profession in the Wilderness Therapy field. Very interesting career taking groups of, in this case, children into the woods for a full week and teaching them survival skills as well as the importance of nature and fresh air in our lives. Technology advances are great in a large variety of ways, but it has also disconnected many people from actual human interaction and the urge to play outdoors. Definitely plenty of value in this career.Also found out that steeping a raspberry tea bag in a mug of hot chocolate is a killer combo. Going to have to remember that one...
Date: 2016-03-20
From: Wayah Bald Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Yep, broken record time. Another day in the Crocs... The open, pusing wound that was once a blister is continuing to be an issue. Other than that, woke up feeling good and ready to hike. The weather was looking pretty ominous so a push to the Nantahala Outdoor Center was definitely in the back of a lot of our minds. Bunks at this place were $20 which included a hot shower, so the temptation grew as the day became colder and the forecast evolved to include snow and sub-freezing temperatures overnight. The hike down into the NOC is hard to explain, but it was certainly one of the toughest declines on the trek thus far. From a daily high of 5030ft above sea level to 1732ft over rocky and muddy terrain, my feet were screaming at me. Not to mention I had to take extreme caution with every footstep so I wouldn't twist an ankle or slide off a cliff with the casual footwear selection. Called in a reservation from the top of a fire tower - good to know that credit card fraud doesn't question the wrong name on a card... I had given my name for the reservation but used Rachel's card since I had cash to pay her and the guy ran the card under my name. See what happens I guess. Had to rush to get the keys by 5.Arrived at the NOC and the dogs were barking. At the registration I saw my buddy Ben from RI who is joining the trek for a limited amount of time before starting PA school. I was greeted with a beer and the invitation to dinner with a group of familiar/unfamiliar faces. At the waitress' suggestion of dessert, I wasn't initially interested but Rachel looked over and said "split the peach cobbler?" and that was all it took. Absolutely delicious. Aaron (Tea-time) and Sara joined as well and made for great company. The hot shower felt phenomenal until the trek to the bunkhouse in the lightly falling snow had to be completed...Definitely making it a point to come back to the NOC for some rafting/kayaking.Picture is from a spot called "The Jumpoff", the peak before the final decent into the NOC.
Date: 2016-03-21
From: NOC

To: Locust Cove Gap
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

So all of that elevation we lost yesterday? Yup, had to make it all up today. Instead of "The Jumpoff", we had "The Jumpup". Got off to a slow start partially because I was dreading hiking in my boots, but the snow and mud made it a necessity, and partially because Rachel had left her stove behind at the previous shelter by accident. The sense of community out here continues to surprise me. Despite everyone complaining about how much their pack weighs, most people are extremely willing to pack a forgotten/dropped piece of gear and deliver it on down the trail. Through the grapevine of hikers, Rachel had gotten a text that "4-Year", who had gotten his name simply from the conversation of someone asking how long he had been growing his beard, would be arriving at the NOC this morning with her stove. Once getting the stove, we were off. While I'd like to attach a picture of the excessively muddy and snowy trail, I had to post this one instead. By far my favorite view of the trip so far. Cheoah Bald with views of the Great Smoky Mountains, the monsters that I will be tackling in just a few days.Campsite was very crowded tonight, the constant elevation gain of the course of the day prevented most people from attempting another 6 miles to the next shelter. Sara's dog Jetta got into a fight with a section hiker's dog that escalated much further than I thought it would. Resulted in the other owner getting bit by his own dog. Solid 30 seconds of campsite entertainment for the night.P.s. - Jetta clearly won.
Date: 2016-03-22
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Forgot to write in my journal this night so I have absolutely no recollection of what happened today. 11.5 miles of terrible memory...oops.Fontana tomorrow to pick up a package and off to the Smoky's.P.s. - I really have to finish reading one of these books. I'm now carrying three and have yet to finish the first. P.s.s. - Even my camera didn't help jog my memory. Typically when I take pictures of signs, it's because it's funny. Like when someone carved out a "D" into a choice section of "Lick Log Gap".