morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-11
From: Newfound gap

To: Pecks Corner
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Late start getting out of Gatlinburg as shuttle service wasn't around. Hitched out of the city and got a ride pretty fast by a young couple toting their 3 girls. Nice folks. At New Found Gap we saw FDR and Cheez Wiz leaving for a road trip. They said that the we just missed our deaf friends going into Gatlinburg. Had a chance to talk to Philly John and the brother and sister from LA. All going into the city.Got on the trail around 11:30 a sunny beautiful day. Hiked a short distance up and we were soon on the ridge hiking easily along the ridgelines.Always afraid that after a day off that getting on the trail will be hard but it seems our bodies are getting used to this. Even the feet don't seem to have hard time adjusting. Lots of vistas and places to hang out.Great time until right before getting to shelter. I took a bad fall onto hard rock, landed on both knees one bruised the other cut. The shelter was full (family groups) so we tented out nearby. Nice spot though and far away from guitar folk songs. Will get up early to get ahead of them.
Date: 2006-04-12
From: Pecks Corner

To: Cosby Knob
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Cloudy in the morning but by mid day the sun showed itself. Serenaded all day by several warbler species, one with a call that gradually increased in octaves as it also increased in speed. The other was undescribable, a long mish mash of notes that seem to go on forever. Lots of other chirping and single note birds.We are almost out of the Smokies and I will miss them especially since the last two days have afforded wonderful mountaintop views as we walked the ridgelines.I am healing from my fall yesterday (bruises and skinning of knees.I bruised my ego more than anything else.Greg is hiking much faster than I on both the ups and downs, but I am finally feeling better on the downs and flats. Still a lot of pounding on the feet but not a nuisance anymore. Lots of hikers like the downclimbs saying "gravity is their friend." I agree that Gravity is a friend but it is one of those friends that sometimes likes to play tricks on you.Previous though hikers have said that the first third of the hike you build the muscle power you need, the second third you build the lung power you need and the last third you put the two together to finish. I think we're doing ok so far.We got in the shelter fairly early so at 6 pm we're enjoying an evening cocktail as our Noodle/ham /cheese dinner cooks (the food we have picked up in town doesn't compare to the great stuff Crolyn & Calvin have sent so far) 17 miles tomorrow...early night tonight.
Date: 2006-04-13
From: Cosby Knob

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Easy going this morning as we hiked downhill out of the Smokies to Route 40. As we gained the lowlands we hiked along a small creek which exploded with wildflowers, lots we have already seen plus Jack-in-the-pulpits, white trilliums, Solomon's seal and wild geraniums. Since the trail moved from the map we were using onto another, we had failed to check out the trail on the new map. We soon found that the afternoon would be mostly uphill and it was....from 2600 feet Davenport Gap to 4265 to the top of snowbird Mtn. Tough going I think mostly because the last two days we've spent ridge walking. Also it was incredibly warm ,around 80 degrees, so we were dripping with sweat the whole way up.Met up with some folks, the Wanderers, who we lost track of a week or so again. Met Seattle and Riverside at the shelter. Since we should have a full moon and its fairly warm we are camping out.
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up to the sound of 3 different woodpeckers drumming on trees to identify their territory and attract a mate.Today was the first day that Greg had absolutely no pain in his feet. Cloudy morning soon turned clear and sunny as we made our way up Harmon Den Mtn, 2.3 miles eye opener. It was a pretty grueling climb that seemed to go on forever. Came down to a road crossing where a trail angel, Apple, was providing donuts, poptarts and coffee or Hotdogs and drinks.A van came by with Compost, Thin Mint and others who were slackpacking south to the hostel that we passed the day before.It turned into a sunny breezy day as we hiked up to the shelter. Fortunately, up the hill from the shelter were plenty of nice tent sites. It looks to be a breezy, moonlit night then a quick 13 miles down to Hot Springs for showers, laundry, maildrop and Thermal springs for soaking!
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Walnut Mountain

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night at Walnut Mountain we watched a forest fire burn off in the distance. Woke to clear skies and lots of wind up on the ridge. Everyone else that stayed in the shelter had already left, so we packed up, slammed some poptarts and headed for town.Once there, we ran into some folks we had not seen for awhile who told us most places were full up for the night. Eventually found lodging at the Brightleaf Junction Hotel. Nicely fixed up, but a little pricey. Took showers, did the laundry, then had supper at the Smokey Mountain Diner. Dropped off the clothes back at the room then headed across the street to the Paddler's Pub for a few pints.Few pints turned to several as we sat and chatted it up with some locals. Managed to kill the keg of Guiness and 2 other North Carolina brews, and were forced to switch to Red Stripes. Was astonished how fast the time flies as we stumbled back across the street to bed around 2:30!Big mile day tomorrow... yeah, right.
Date: 2006-04-17
From: Hot Springs

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Crowing roosters and train whistles woke us this morning...it was a sunny breezy day that turned cool, cloudy and a bit rainy here and there. Although we thought it was going to be a relatively easy climb but it turned out to be one those hills that just seems to go on forever. We reached the first shelter early (around 2:30) but it was pretty small and we knew that everyone at the campground in town from the night before would be coming up to this first shelter tonight so we took our chances with the weather and hiked on a few more miles to the next gap .
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Deep Gap

To: Jerry's Cabin
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

The day started out pretty normal...cloudy cool with a lot of miles to go. Then we came across a road crossing with a trail magic sign. We had to go off the path about 800 Feet but the sign said that it would be worth it. So we went and it turned out to be at the house of a couple that thru hiked in'99. They were serving breakfast (waffles and a variety of hot drinks ) and lunch (pork stew and a variety of cold drinks) in addition to fresh bread, a fruit salad and 3 different desserts!We ate and talked and tried not to stay long. But it was 11 before we left. What great people. We hiked to the next shelter just to stop for water and snacks....lots of other folks were there doing the same thing on the same schedule. Lots of folks going to be camping out together at the Jerry's cabin site. Greg had a hard time getting up to the first shelter..wasn't feeling right not hiking his normal speed. He had some tea and that seemed to help and we're pretty sure that he was a little dehydrated. The next part of the trail WAS TOUGH . We climbed 1000 feet in elevation in just over a mile (1.3). The sweat was dripping! But soon it turned rocky and we found ourselves walking along a rocky ridge basically hiking along the NC/TN border. It was like being on top of the world. It was sunny clear and we could see forever. Definitely worth the hike up!We got into the shelter site around 6 pm and it was already pretty crowded but Jerico showed us a site away from the shelter under a rhododendron tree that we took. Tonight's dinner...shrimp chowder.
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Jerry's Cabin

To: Hogback Ridge
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

It rained during the night, so we packed up everything wet. We left late (around noon). We trucked passing lots of folks who left before us doing 6 miles in about 2 hours. By the time we hit the next shelter for lunch it was sunny so we (and lots of other hikers) stopped to dry out sleeping bags and tents. Got to camp late ...just set up, ate and went to bed.Hiking the trail is a real challenge not physically but logistically kind of a numbers game overall. We have to have some sort of objective for the day. You have to figure how many hours you have to hike (we've been pretty much hiking 8 hours a day including rest stops and lunch... usually 45 minutes to an hour). But then you also have to look at the weather (rain actually makes us hike faster plus it's no fun just getting to a site and hanging out in the rain might as well walk) and the topography (long ups or downs are very different in terms of tasking your feet and body). Then you roll it all into your attitude for the day ...sometimes we are determined to get to a certain spot ...sometimes we say well we will try to hike to here but if not, that's cool.Then after all that you have wonderful vistas or trail magic events that just say "stay relax have fun" and we do and then we don't care about time or miles. Its wonderful because everyday surprises us!
Date: 2006-04-20
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Whistling Gap
Miles today: 13.4

We left the shelter late giving ourselves the luxury of sleeping in to 8. Eventually we hooked up with our deaf friends Tap Heel, Mute Snail and Hiker Cycler and hiked with them for the day. We had one big mountain today Big Bald at 5500 feet. I was dreading it but it wasn't that bad. Although it was high and some points steep, it was designed so that there were lots of little flat spots along the way, places where one can stand up straight, breathe deep and stretch your legs for a couple steps.After getting over this hump we stopped for a late lunch at an empty shelter. The weather looked alittle cloudy, but it was early so we decided to move on. As we were leaving, the Wanderers came in and told us there was 79% chance of thunderstorms tonight. But it was too late to stay put as two of our group had moved on. So we met them a few miles down at Whistling Gap and set up our tents just in time to hop in before the storms hit.They were short(although one big tree nearby did blow down) and as soon as they blew through Greg made a fire and we all stayed up late finishing our vodka and just having a good time.
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Whistling Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to rain, rained all day as we hiked into town, got a room and dried out. The empty photo area is indicative of the cloudy weather we had. Mananged to bang out some miles in quick time though, knowing we would soon be drying our gear and drinking beer.
Date: 2006-04-22
From: Erwin

To: Erwin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Happy Earth Day! and how did we spend it? In our hotel room taking it easy, cleaning, drying, and repairing our soggy bodies. Rained most of the day. Lots of thru hikers staying here so there's no shortage of good times. We'll be heading out tomorrow morning sometime bound for Hampton. A person I worked with lives down this way and she will be meeting us with vodka to get us to Troutdale. Looking forward to seeing Lisa again.One other thing: I shaved this morning for those wondering. Too much gray in the beard these days makes me look like my father. Sorry Pop. And on this Russian Easter I say XB.
Date: 2006-04-23
From: Erwin

To: Curly Maple Gap
Miles today: 4.2

Had a very hard time getting out of town. We had to get a shuttle to take us to the hostel that had a few letters for us (one from Mom and Pop with pictures of the kids and a hilarious one from Little A.).The trail was not very steep but still very wet from the last two days of rain. I had a very hard time crossing a roaring stream via a downed tree.When we arrived at the shelter, only 2 of our deaf friends were here (Hikercycler and Mute Snail). Tap Heel went home for a week. Anyway when we got there the weather looked really bad...kind of like when we passed up Bald Mtn Shelter and camped in the rain. We decided to just call it a day, stay at the shelter and instead get up early tomorrow and try to hike the 20 miles to Clyde Smith Shelter. It shouldn't be too bad if we take lots of little breaks so our feet don't get too mushy.Lots of people are slackpacking sections of the trail here (that's when you get dropped off ahead of where you last stopped without your backpack and hike back covering a lot of miles fast). Then when you start backpacking again, you've covered a large section and can get ahead...whatever "ahead" means. I guess it depends on how much of a schedule you have to follow. This is our first lazy hiking day. We'll pay for it tomorrow I'm sure.
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Curly Maple Gap

To: Clyde Smith shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

(8:30 to 7:15)Well it was a long haul but that's what we get for slacking yesterday. Our biggest climb today was Unaka 518ft from 3070 feet. It actually wasn't that hard of a climb. Climbs all depend on the topography of the trail.If there are long ups with some flats in between you can kind of rest on flats as opposed to the long long long gradual inclines that go on forever.After summitting we came upon a forest of spruce trees with nothing in the understory. It was cool and REALLY quiet, a beautiful place to camp.We continued on and up and although it was supposed to be easy, turned out to be grueling. We reached the shelter around 7. Of course it was full and there was a small tent city behind, which we quickly joined. There was a small fire. We set up drinks, got dinner cooking and joined 6-9 other hikers.
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Clyde Smith shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: broken clouds

Got up early but still didn't leave the tent city until 8;30. WE had a big hill to climb right off the bat 6100 foot Roan Mountain, basically a 3 mile uphill hike. As it turns out when we fear the worst it turns out ok. The hike though hard wasn't that bad as the trail continued to change and there were lots of places where it flattened out for a few paces. Unfortunately, the rain did not hold off so when we got to the summit, there were no views or vistas as we were basically hiking through the clouds. Still pretty cool.As we stopped at the first shelter for lunch the skies cleared and the sun came out. The entire contingent of 20 some hikers from last night are on the same schedule today so we all lunched at the first shelter and all moved on to the Overmountain shelter, a barn converted to a shelter for 20 people (though it holds more).We hiked down the mountain and up two balds which gave us our views. However going back down the trail to the shelter was tough. A rough gully with lots of trippers. I fell 3 times today.When we reached the spring for Overmountain, we decided to wash socks and legs and feet. It was a muddy day. The view from the lower level of the barn/shelter where Greg and I decided to sleep reminded me of Scotland. We are looking down through a valley of trees (all just leafing out and flowering) south with ridges crisscrossing in the background...awesome!There is a guy here with his dog who I actually met in Hot Springs (met both the dog and his owner) I'm surprised on how good the dog is...not getting into anyone's stuff or food or begging.We'll do a short day tomorrow and get off the trail to get a few provisions and perhaps even a dinner yummy. But tonight its Chili to Go.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Elk River campsite
Miles today: 14.9

Woke up to drizzle and since there were so many people packing up and we were hoping the skies would clear, we took our time getting out of there. However the clouds just swirled continuously around and down from the mountains and balds into the Gap.Put on all our rain gear and headed up and out. We met Hikin Mike who when he heard that we were going to go into Elk or Roan Mountain for food offered us some. He had plenty and was picking up a drop in town. We planned to hook up later in the day.We hiked up to 5500 feet but whether on a bald or mountain the clouds blocked the views. We did get a few cool moments when the clouds would clear alittle and you could see fog/clouds rising up out of the gaps and valleys and then, like a silk curtain being drawn, a cloud would slide by blocking everything from site.When we reached Apple shelter there was a sign about trail magic a half a mile ahead at the road crossing. So we went and caught the last of it...fruit and snacks. Great timing as we hadn't eaten since morning and had hiked for 4 hours straight.Lots of folks from this morning went to the hostel nearby but since the rain had stopped we decided to go on. Brainfreeze also decided to go on so the 3 of us hiked together. It began raining again but that section had some pretty trashy places so it didn't matter that we were hiking it in the rain.We got to a clearing with a couple tents by the river. It was Crazy, Bravefriend, Armsleeve and his dog Bailey) who left Overmountain yesterday evening right before the storm. Apparently they got caught right before the first bald and had to sleep in the woods nearby. We sent up camp under a huge hemlock by the river. So we ate and partied alittle until the rain began then everyone quickly hit their tents just as the skies opened up again!
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Elk River campsite

To: Moreland Gap
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

The rain continued all night. Woke up to clouds and drizzle, but the worst part was putting on still wet socks into still wet boots! We had a quick warm breakfast then packed up our wet tent into our wet packs and hit the trail. At least by hiking we would stay warm. The guys and their dog already left. The river was up and we had to make a few adjustments to river crossings but managed to safely cross without much incident. Brain Freeze did douse her leg on the first crossing.By mid day the few sucker holes turned into blue sky so we finally stripped off our rain gear. Around a road crossing an old guy with his two coons dogs stopped to talk to us. Said there were a lot of bear around but he just hunts racoonsHit 400 mile mark today!When we got to Moreland Gap shelter Hikin Mike, Red Beard and another guy were already there but since we really needed to dry everything out, we tented nearby and a constant breeze soon dried all of our stuff out. Lone Wolf cruised in too.A new trail word: rhodohandron when a rhododendron branch catches you or your pack and won't let go.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Moreland Gap

To: Hampton
Miles today: 15.0

Had fun hiking with Brain Freeze (September)Came up with lots of trail words and definitions such as cartoon moment: when you do something physically stupid (like trip over a root or fall off a log). We try to avoid cartoon moments unless they are happening to someone else. Boot scree: the small rocks and dirt in your bootFly water: the water that accumulates at the bottom of your pack fly after heavy and or continous rain. Warning all fly water should be boiled before use. It was a great weather day, dry and sunny, finally we were drying out. Our objective was to get to town and wash and dry us and our clothes before they bagan moldering in our packs!Pretty easy hike today walking along Laurel Forks which was really up due to the rain. But of course at the end we had one hurdle where we had to hike up 2 miles of switchbacks to get over a mountain and down into town.Stayed at a guesthouse hostel the Braemar and Greg's friend Lisa dropped in with our summer sleeping bags, some vodka and a couple other things. We picked up some beer and pizza and invited the subtitles to join us. Stayed up late talking.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Hampton

To: Blue blaze trail 
Miles today: 8.5

Had a wonderful sleep! Just need to repack our CLEAN clothes and pick up a couple days worth of food before leaving this tiny town. Not looking at getting too far but Damascus is not far away.Had a fantastic breakfast, resupplied at the local market then hitched a ride back to the trail.Most of the day was uphill, continually moving around Watauga Lake. We crossed over the top of the dam that TVA made back in 1939. Although there were some cool views, it seemed that we weren't making much progress getting away from the lake. The fact that we started late after a late night didn't help either.We had to get water down a blue blaze side trail just before the shelter that was half a mile each way and steep down to water and back. After that we hit the shelter which although Lone Wolf said they could squeeze us in , was pretty much full and there was little space for tents and the wind was blowing hard and cold so we went back to the blue blaze trail because we had seen a nice tentsite when we went for water.BrainFreeze caught up but stayed at the shelter. Our site turned out to be THE site, there was little wind, it was much warmer, we had a nice fire ring with plenty of wood and all to ourselves...well we did share it with the woodthrushes who started calling about a week ago!Trail jargon:Trail candy: ibuprofen or other common pain killerSucker hole2: the hole in the ground that envelops your trekking pole tipTrail TVAs the trail turnsATNN NewsCSI: AT
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Blue blaze trail

To: Double Spring Gap
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Started out walking the ridge which was really blowing but after that it was mainly downhill. Stopped at first shelter for lunch. Still cold.Continued to hike with Crazy and BravefriendMet September's friend Chris on the way to meeet.Easy going terrain. Saw a yellow throated warblerCamped in Gap with Crazy and Bravefriend
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Double Spring Gap

To: Damascas
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: broken clouds

Got into town easily by about 2 and starting getting stuff done: showers,laundry, shopping for dinner, getting a room. We stayed at the hiker inn. Actually we were given supplies for 3 days by couple, Brain and Brawn, who over supplied.Bought some steaks, chicken and salad for dinnerWent over to Dave's Hostel to cook them on their grill.Met some weird punk hiker hobos and some pretty cool hikers, Able Jack amd Chainsaw. Hung out, grilled, drank and then went over to the Mexican place for a nightcap of Newcastle on tap with Brave Friend and BrainFreeze.
Date: 2006-05-02
From: Damascas

To: Pond tent site outside Damascas
Miles today: 11.7

Left Damascus town late, around 1 pm, after trying to get a new hip belt for Greg's pack and some other minor stuff.Mostly uphil all the way. Made it to the first sheleter by 4:30 and decided to go on to next campsite. Turned ot to be a nice, flat, pine needle laden site so we made up camp, collected wood, prepared for a thunder storm which passed us by, had a cocttail and dinner then a little picture organizing and journaling then off to bed.