morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-04
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter, NC
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: 0

Cell poor.Last night was warm in the shelter, we were packed like sardines. I woke up to find a cup of water in my right boot. I think my Camelback hose was above it and leaked. I drained it and wiped it with a bandana. I then put my foot into a gallon ziplock and stuck it in my boot. This worked well and about 1pm I removed the ziplock. When I reached this shelter I put the boots out in the sun to dry.We are through the toughest part of the Smokies, the mountains are more gradual and we ridge walked a lot.I don¢t know if I mentioned this yet but I¢ve been hiking with my left foot in Tennessee and my right foot in North Carolina. We¢re walking right on the states borders, some of the time.The weather today was weird, the north and west side of the mountains were windy and cold. The east and south sides were sunny and warm. It was zip up on one side open up on the other. here at the shelter it was warm and sunny until the sun went down, it¢s getting cold now. I¢m in my sleeping bag to stay warm.Goodnight.Old Goat Frost on trees view - Smokies - Click picture to see full sizeFrost on trees view - Smokies - Click picture to see full sizeFrost on trees view - Smokies - Click picture to see full sizeFrost on trees view - Smokies - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Green Corner Road - Standing Bear Farm, TN
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: 0

Cell fair.Today started with dry boots but the morning was cold. Our intent was to hike 7 miles today. We started the same as yesterday windy cold on one side of the mountain, sunny warm on the other.We arrived at Cosby Knob shelter before noon. We ate lunch and then we all decided to press on to Davenport Gap Shelter another 7.1 miles. Well during the hike from Cosby to Davenport we got more antsy. We met a doctor who jogs the trail we were on and he offered to bring us to a hostel / store called Mountain Momma¢s. We rode in and had a huge cheeseburger. At this point I had a dilemma, my resupply was at the hostel down the road at Standing Bear Farm. It is customary to give business to the place that holds your mail, so Die Hard and I got a ride back to the trail and hiked to Standing Bear Farm.We got there about 7:30, we showered and did laundry till 12:30 am. The place is pretty nice and the owner Curtis was very helpful.Now you might have noticed that Snowhoe did not stay with us. Snowhoe was never planning on hiking to Maine. In fact, he was only planning on going through the Smokies, and if time allowed to Hot Springs. Time didn¢t allow and he got off in Davenport Gap. From here on it¢s just Die Hard and me.My thought for today was that I am so tired of being cold, I want the season to leave winter behind. The second part of the thought was the next seasonal phase will be April Showers. Soon I¢ll hate being wet all the time. Oh well if doing a complete end to end thru hike of the Appalachian Trail was easy everyone would do it. I guess that is why it is a great accomplishment.Old GoatView in Smokies - Click picture to see full sizeMountain Momma's - Click picture to see full size Sue's note: A note about the states identified for where Old Goat stays each night. Just North of the GSNP, you'll see that one night Old Goat may have stayed in NC, the next night in TN, then NC....etc. That's because the AT crosses back and forth along the border of those states. Old Goat and Die Hard stayed at Standing Bear Farm this night. Old Goat said that if you go to http://standingbearfarm.tripod.com, the cabin that you see is the actual cabin they stayed in. It's built over a creek. Old Goat and I talked about the nice Guestbook messages you've been writing to him (I read them all to him) and how many lives this experience is touching. The doctor who jogs the AT reminded Old Goat and Die Hard of the same thing - that what they're doing touches so many people. Shortly after they talked with the jogging doctor a person in a white van stopped and told them that they are living his dream - that in a few years he retires and plans to hike the trail.I'm touched by all this as well, and sometimes have tears when I read the entries because they are so beautiful and encouraging to him.
Date: 2006-04-06
From: Green Corner Road - Standing Bear Farm

To: Campsite at mile 251.4, NC
Miles today: 14.1

Cell none.We slept in till about 8:00am after the late laundry night. We were in a neat little cottage built over a brook.We took care of our gear and packed our packs. We had a small problem in that Die Hards maildrop hadn¢t arrived yet. Then fortunatly Curtis came back from the Post Office with it - talk about just in time!We left around 11:30 and immediatly had a 3 hour uphill climb. With the late start we were not sure how far we would go, as it turned out we went 14 miles.At Hawk¢s Roost we met a trail angel named Apple, he was doing trail magic there. We were very late but he still had soda - Sam¢s club grape tasted great and was a nice boost for Max Patch (an upcoming climb). Angel is from Austin Texas and he came out here to do two weeks of trail magic. The trail brotherhood is really special.The final achievment of the day was to climb a bald named Max Patch. It was steep going up at first, but then it was a level walk around it. For some reason there are no trees on it and it only has grassy weeds. The view was nice from the top, you see mountains all around you.We are camped in a hollow on the back side of Max Patch. The wind is picking up and we are expecting a thunder storm either tonight or tomorrow. I guess those April Showers will come my way.Today had rain sprinkles and warm sun. The Beach Boys song ¢The warmth of the sun¢ kept playing in my head.It feels good to sit in the tent and type without freezing unfortunately the wind is picking up and I have to store everythng for a possible wet night.GoodnightOld Goat Trail Angel (Apple) - Click picture to see full sizeMax Patch - Click picture to see full size Sue's note: Old Goat said they (he and Die Hard) made better time in the Smokies than they thought they would. It's colder again, so they hike longer to keep warm. They're glad to be finished with the Smokies now. Because they covered the Smokies faster than planned, Old Goat is carrying extra food that he hasn't eaten. The boxes were set up with so many days of food and he's moved faster than the number of days he had set up for the boxes. We had some days with no communications in the Smokies, so we didn't coordinate quick enough to remove some of the food from the last two boxes before I mailed them. He plans to send some of the extra food home and skip the next dropbox.
Date: 2006-04-06
To: Photo - Old Goat in Snow
Miles today: 0.0

ADMIN NOTE: We've gotten the first photos from old goat recently. I got this via e-mail and will have all soon to post online for you all. Until then, this one is great of Old Goat hiking in the snow. As best I can tell it was taken 3/24/2006 between Standing Indian Shelter and Franklin, NC. Enjoy!!
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Campsite at mile 251.4

To: Deer Park Mtn Shelter, NC
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: 0

Cell none.Today was mail drop marathon. We have a mail drop in Hot Springs and the Post Office is only open from 8:30 to 10:30. We positioned ourselves 3 miles from town, with an early start we can get there in time as it¢s mostly downhill.The day was a beautiful spring day and the sun made everything warm. We had heard to expect thunder storms today so it was a special surprise to have such a nice day. It is so nice not to be freezing.We arrived at this shelter around dinner time so we sat down and had dinner. The other occupants said two more people would fit so I planned on staying in the shelter. As we were laying out our sleeping bags I noticed a gap in the boards that was put there to prevent overcrowding the shelter. Had stayed there I would have been uncomfortable, so I set up my tent and got comfortable. I usually prefer the tent, but we are expecting rain and we want to get going early to be in town before the PO closes. The morning should be interesting.On our way here we passed an area on Walnut mountain where the state is cutting down all the trees and making the mountain more historical. They want it to look like it did as a farm field. It was wierd to see a clearcut mountain. The trail still follows it¢s original route right through the cut down trees.I¢m drawing a blank and I¢m vey tired, sorry for the short report.Old Goat
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Deer Park Mtn Shelter

To: Hot Springs/ Duckett House, NC
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: 0

Cell none.At 11:30 last night the sky decided to rain on us. To insure we were aware of it, we were treated to a loud lighting boom. From then on it poured all night.I awoke at 6:00 am and started to get dressed. I had to get everything done in the tent as the rain was still falling. I had everything done by 7:00am and we were ready to hike. Oh, did I mention the rain had stopped for a while at that time? If we had waited I wouldn¢t have had to take down the tent in the rain.Yesterday was mail drop marathon, today was mail drop sprint day. Well we made it to the PO by 8:45am with plenty of time to get my mail drop.We are staying at the Duckett House bunkhouse, it¢s actually a bed in a room above the workshop. We have access to the common rooms in the B&B and we were able to take a shower, which felt so good.Hot Springs is a quaint little town on the AT. The trail goes right through the town, the trail markers are actually logos in the sidewalk. We had a big breakfast after getting into town to bring our strength up. Oh yea, I weighed myself at the outfitters and I think I lost another 15 pounds since starting the trail! I should be a ¢Lean mean hiking machine¢ someday.Right now we¢re sitting in the living room enjoying watching TV and I¢m typing this entry in comfort for a change, this feels good, too.We are going to have a big dinner tonight again for strength fortification. Tomorrow we are staying here and resting our bodies. We¢ve pushed hard and we need some rest.After our day of rest we¢ll put on a push a 68 mile for Erwin, Tennessee. That should take us 7 days to achieve. Then we¢ll push on for Damascus, Va. By the way, we are back and forth in and out of North Carolina and Tennessee. When we reach Virginia we¢ll have 525 miles before we reach the next state.I¢ll write more tomorrow.Old GoatSue's Note: The cell coverage over the past two days was poor. Old Goat turned on his phone a few times each day, but didn't have any reception. Even Hot Springs doesn't have Cingular reception, so he called from a pay phone.
Date: 2006-04-09
From: Hot Springs/ Duckett House

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

So many things go through my head when I don¢t have the Pocketmail out, then when it¢s out I draw a blank, If only there was a thought activated recording device that I could use.Well today is my second zero day. We pushed hard through the Smokies and beyond to reach here; now it¢s time for some rest. Our bodies are weary and they need replenishment. I¢m carrying a lot of food and I¢m eating a lot, but I¢ve lost weight and I haven¢t had the strength I did when I started.The body needs protein to do work - if it doesn¢t get it by eating, it draws it from your muscles. Eating carbs or sugars will give you energy, but it doesn¢t feed the muscles.I planned my menu to have a lot of protein in it, but I guess I might not have enough. A few days in town, and a few good meat meals, and the body is recharged. Yesterday morning I had a big egg, sausage and pancake breakfast. Lunch was eating excess trail food. Dinner was pulled pork, fried okra [I¢m a strange northerner who likes grits and okra], cucumber salad and a piece of lemon marange pie. Today I¢ll eat well again, too.Hot Springs, NC seems to be a popular weekend destination as well as an AT hiker town. Places to stay are filled quickly and hard to find. Many hikers take a zero miles day here to rest and recharge, and that ties up the rooms an extra day. The hiker community is a moving group, we use a facility one night and move on. We move into the location as the group ahead of us vacates, and so on. When the group ahead stops we log jam. This is particularly true here in the south where the hiker attrition rate hasn¢t fully kicked in. The further north we get, and the more hikers to drop out, the less competition we¢ll have for rooms.Luckily we arrived in town early yesterday and found accomodations in a bunkhouse over the workshed. It¢s afordable and fairly comfortable. We have access to the facilities in the house and we can use the living room to relax. The only drawback is we don¢t have heat and it¢s chilly right now. We¢ll be going to breakfast soon, then we¢ll stay in the house after that.We ate well today - a big breakfast that took over an hour to get served. Lunch was trail excess items and dinner was a big burger at the Paddlers Pub washed down with a beer.I spent the day drying my gear some more and arranged for a neat departure in the morning. The rest was needed and I¢m ready to hit the trail once again. I¢ll continue this saga when I have more to tell.Some folks love Hot Springs, I think it¢s okay.Old GoatSue's Note: Old Goat keeps saying "we." For those who wonder who the "we" are, Old Goat and Die Hard have been staying together for quite a while now because their hiking styles and speed is very compatible.A change in seasons is approaching...Old Goat told me he bought some bug repellant today. Our son did some math regarding the altitude ups and downs Old Goat's doing - he said that in the last 3 days he hiked 23,733 vertical feet of elevation. That means he went up and down the equivalent of 4.5 miles, or the height of a jet in cruise flight. Wow!
Date: 2006-04-12
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mtn Shelter, NC
Miles today: 12.7

Cell none.Another great day of hiking. Die Hard woke me at 6:20am and by the time I was ready to leave it was 7:20am. Die Hard took off about 10 minutes before me and I didn¢t catch up with him until lunch at Jerry¢s Cabin Shelter.Today we hiked some rock scrambles - that means you climb up sections rather than hike them. We went along a ridge line that was pretty exposed to the weather. Fortunately we had a nice day and the views were great. If the weather had not been good, this section has an authorized blue blaze that we could have taken. We are hiking the main AT marked by white blazes; side trails are marked by blue blazes. A true hiker only hikes the white blazes and avoids the blue blazes. Only during certain conditions at certain locations is it okay to hike the blue blaze. As I mentioned earlier, we did not use the alternate trail.The weather is in the high 60s and very comfortable right now. The only drawback is the bugs are starting to come out and the biters will soon follow. I did buy a repellant and I¢ll be applying some to my head to sleep in the shelter.My feet are doing well - no blisters, and the two toenails that departed did me a favor by leaving.Again we have an older crowd at this shelter. The young jack rabbits are doing big miles and they¢re leaving us to fend for ourselves. I met "Iron Wolf" today and we started talking about Viet Nam. It ended up we were both in MAG 11 in Da Nang in 1969. We didn¢t know each other, but what a coincidence.Our goal for tomorrow is to camp part way between two shelters. The next one is too close, and the second too far. We want to do around 12 miles, and that would leave around the same for us to reach Erwin the next day.Our plan is to spend one night in Erwin and head out the next morning. We¢ll reach another hostel part way between Erwin and Damascus,Va., stop there for the night, and press on to Va. We¢ll probably take a zero in Damascus and press on.When we reach Damascus I should have an idea when I¢ll be passing by Peter and Susan in Lynchburg. I¢ll contact them in Damascus to see if a visit will work when I get there.I don¢t know if having visiting family and friends join me on the trail can work. I¢m making good miles, and it would be difficult to keep up with a seasoned hiker. It may also be difficult to arrange meeting me along the trail if I¢m out of cell range. If the phone is working, and we never know when that will be, arrangements would be fairly easy. If I don't have cell coverage, it will be very difficult.With that said, I appreciate the support and desire to share this experience with me. Please stay in contact with Sue and let her know you are there for her.Today's song was ¢I¢ve got you under my skin.¢ I love the Sanatra version and it kept playing in my head. Every now and then ¢Fly me to the moon¢ tried to get in, but wouldn¢t let it get control.My attitude is still positive and The Dream is still alive.A milestone accomplished today - we¢ve passed the 300 mile mark. All I have to do is put one foot in front of the other and the miles will slip away.Old Goat
Date: 2006-04-13
From: Flint Mtn Shelter

To: Bald Mtn Shelter, NC
Miles today: 18.8

Cell none. Had good reception at Hogback.We unintentionally hiked more than planned. We were told there was a good campsite near a stream a few miles back but we didn¢t see one. By the time we crossed Big Bald, the next closest place to stay was the shelter.It¢s almost bed time and Die Hard and I are the only ones here. We¢re settled in and ready for bed. I keep hearing what I think is thunder. We aren¢t sure if it will rain, but with a 10 bunk shelter to ourselves we might as well use it.It seemed like we were hiking south and west a few times today. I had the sun off my left shoulder some of the morning, I read that as going south. We started at 7:20 am and hiked until 11:40 when we reached Hogback Ridge Shelter. The sun was warm and the day was nice. There were some clouds in the sky and the sun would disappear for a while, but it didn¢t rain and it stayed comfortable.We crossed Sams Gap I-26 today. I think this is the highway between Johnson City, TN and Ashville, NC. Chris used to go back and forth to Daytona Beach on this road, as well as Sue and I when Cindy and Chris lived in Waynesville ,NC. Back then the Tennesee side was ready and the North Carolina side wasn¢t. It¢s all finished now, as would be expected 10 years later.We hiked some more and came across some trail magic at Street Gap. Two past thru hikers were serving chili, pasta salad and cokes. We both ate up and I had two cokes. After the magic we started an uphill climb to find a campsite we were told was partway up the hill. We didn¢t find it, nor did we find a site in our Thru-hikers Handbook. By the time we knew we made an error, the trail was going downhill to the shelter so we went on.We¢re no worse for the wear. The magic gave us the energy to make it all the way.I had a short conversation with Sue today and had hoped to connect tonight. Unfortunately no signal tonight. I enjoy our conversations and they help in keeping our relationship good. Oh well, hopefully we¢ll get that long conversation tomorrow.By the way, these entries can only be sent when I have a good signal or when I¢m in town by using a pay phone. Sometimes I update daily other times it may be a long time between entries.Old Goat
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Bald Mtn Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: 0

Cell poor at hostel, fair on hill above hostel, excellent in Erwin, TNToday started with an overcast sky and windy, I thought it was going to rain. Actually I thought it would rain during the night, too. As it ended up, it didn¢t rain either time. Today ended up sunny and hot, I don¢t know what the temperature was but I wouldn¢t be surprised if it was in the 80¢s.The hiking started with a long downhill. We met a young guy coming up and he said it took him an hour and a half, so we figured it would take us less than that, but we took that much to get down from the mountain. The trail was very steep and it had many switchbacks.Once we reached the road at Spivy Gap, we then crossed it and immediately started a very steep climb. I keep thinking these climbs should be getting easier, but they¢re still hard. I bet I am doing better on the hills, but I feel it should be easier.We are once again in a hostel. We need to do this every so often to shower, wash clothes, and eat balanced food. Everyone finds our own body odor offensive after a day on the trail. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I hope I¢ll be able to wipe myself down in the evening and get rid of some odor. I¢m already washing my socks more often. My liner socks dry right away and my heavy socks usually end up hanging from my pack the next day to dry in the sun. This system works pretty well, I¢ve already done my propolyne t-shirt and it dryed quick enough for me to sleep in it that night. These techniques should help in the hygene dept.Erwin Tennessee is close to Johnson City, TN and Brystol,TN/VA. They are called the tri-cities; Erwin is not one, but close. Brystol is no stranger to NASCAR fans - it¢s the site of two very exciting races each year. Today's song was the "Brystol Stomp." ¢The kids in Brystol are sharp as a pistol, when they do the Brystol Stomp¢¦. The place is jumpin when the band¢¦. When they do the BRYSTOL Stomp.¢Old GoatSue's Note: Old Goat told me that some of the young people hiking the AT made a comment today about Old Goat and Die Hard doing well at keeping up with them "for old guys!" :-) He also told me that the guys doing the Trail Magic of chili, pasta salad, and sodas had a projection screen set up. They planned to show movies after it got dark for anyone who wanted to spend the night there. What a nice thing to do! Old Goat and Die Hard decided to keep moving on.
Date: 2006-04-15
To: Admin Note - Photos # 1
Miles today: 0.0

I used Firefox to post the photos and was told by a Microsoft Internet Explorer user that they did not look right. After checking I realized that many of you may have missed the photos if looking at the journal entries with Internet Explorer. I've fixed the problem, please view them again if you missed out, enjoy!!Also you should try Firefox it's a much better web browser.PHOTOS GALORE!!! <-- Admin PostingAfter a lengthy delay (some mine, and some waiting for delivery), I've posted the first batch of Old Goat's photos. There are 46 total! I've added them to their respective journal entries and I suggest you view them there so you can get a feel of what he was thinking/doing on those days. You could also use the link to the left that says PHOTOS, but you'd miss a lot. To make them easy to find I have included links below that will take you to all 46 photos. Enjoy!!--Chris3/15 - Springer Mtn. - 4 photos3/16 - Hawk Mtn. Shelter - 2 photos3/17 - Gooch Mtn. Shelter - 5 photos3/18 - Neels Gap / Hostel - 5 photos3/19 - Neels Gap / Hostel & Low Gap Shelter - 6 photos3/21 - Blue Mtn Shelter - 1 photo3/22 - Tray Mountain Shelter - 2 photos3/23 - Plumorchard Shelter - 2 photos3/24 - Standing Indian Shelter - 2 photos3/25 - Rock Gap, USFS Road 67/ HOTEL - 1 photo3/26 - Rock Gap, USFS Road 67/ HOTEL - 1 photo3/27 - Licklog Gap - Near It - 3 photos3/28 - Wesser Bald Shelter - 5 photos3/29 - Nantahala River - 4 photos3/30 - NC28 near Fontana Dam - 3 photosback date to 4/15/06 0 mileage. This is to get it on the updated today page.