morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-24
From: Jarrard Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept off the trail on an abandoned service road last night that gave us good protection from the wind and the forecasted rain never materialized. Winning.Hiked fairly early to get up and over Blood Mt whose reputation and name far exceeded the actual challenge. It was a gray morning with intermittent rain and most of my wet clothing was attributed to sweat rather than falling water. Made good time to the summit where there was a cool stone shelter but not the kind of place you¢d want to sleep. It was damp, dank, and dirty. I took a quick moment to phone the Blood Mt Cabins to see if there were  any rooms left but no luck, they¢d booked out early this morning. My best hope for a dry bed and avoiding the 100% rain overnight forecast was a bunk in the hostel at Neels Gap. I made quick time down the other side of the mountain and caught up with a familiar face at the bottom who said they still had 4-5 spots left for the night. I hurried inside the outfitter and was able to get one of the remaining spots for the night. The store there also sold Red Baron pizzas which they cooked for you there. You better believe I housed the whole thing in one sitting. After speaking to one of the gear pros there, I bought a much lighter food bag and probably shaved at least two pounds of pack weight by getting rid of the heavier sack I had and a bunch of food I had ovebought. Every outfitter has a hiker box for gear and one for food where you can drop things you don¢t want to carry and pick out stuff you might need. I scooped up some better sock liners and sunscreen from the gear box.After settling my gear on the bunk I was able to get a hot shower and settled in to watch movies with my fellow hikers on the main room. The Phantom Menace is still a garbage flick but watching that on a bean bag chair with a full stomach was heaven. A most unexpected and welcome surprise arrived right at dinner time. A local church group showed up with a full spread of bbq for those of us staying at the hostel. Trail magic! Shredded pork sammies, pork ribs, beans, potato salad and cookies. Second dinner was in full effect. The pastors brother had finished his thru hike last year and now he and his wife and others from the church enjoy surprising hikers with food at the hostel. Really nice people and amazing bbq! Had a chance to charge the electronics and read about 100 pages of Bill Bryson¢s ¢A walk in the woods¢, the book that started me on this crazy idea. It was amusing reading about his adventure through the section of the trail that we¢d just passed through and I¢m relieved to say I¢m making much better time than he did to this point. When he started talking about the steep climbs and demanding peaks that will welcome us in N Carolina in the coming days, I wisely decided to turn in for the night. Hoping to grab another double digit mileage day tomorrow....
Date: 2018-03-25
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: mist

Slept pretty well in the bunk room last night, the symphony of snoring didn¢t keep me awake  at all. Had a leftover philly cheese sandwich from last night for breakfast and hit the trail just before 9. The day was foggy and soupy but not terribly cold. It was a great day to pop in my headphones and jam out while chewing up miles. Stopped for lunch at a cool rock overhang with matt and naps and then hiked solo the remaining 6 miles to Low Gap. The shelter was already full but they had a big campfire going so I popped down and made some hot chocolate and got dry and warm by the fire. I set up my tent a bit higher on the ridge where the wind was persistent but no rain in the forecast so I should be ok. Mostly hung with everyone down by the fire and am happy that so many from my first night at Gooch are still making the same camps each night. Eric was already here when I arrived and shortly after Matt and naps rolled in. A bit later Jamie (now Jukebox), Michael, Girl Scout, Audrey, rambling rose, blue jay, and easy bake all made an appearance. Having trail family makes this a lot easier when we can all discuss plans for the days ahead and commiserate together about the not-so-perfect weather. We are looking toward another decent (13 mile) day tomorrow and hopefully slightly improved weather. Haven¢t really seen the sun in two days so that would be a nice change.
Date: 2018-03-26
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Camp
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night sucked. The wind was roaring all night and it was pretty cold. Restless sleep meant a late start this morning. The trail was really good this morning though and all the steep stuff was later in the day. The climb out of Unicoi Gap was no fun. We set up at Cheese Factory camp tonight, so named because it was a dairy farm in the 19th century. It¢s a cool camp with lots of low trees and there are a lot of us here again. Good campfire and will try for Deep Gap Shelter tomorrow.
Date: 2018-03-27
From: Cheese Factory Camp

To: Deep Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Slept pretty well last night. Temps were much warmer than last night and our camp at Cheese Factory was sheltered by a lot of low trees that kept the wind out. I was sliding toward the bottom of my tent throughout the night but having pitched it with a tree trunk near the base, I was able to use my foot to push against the tree and slide back into position. Gotta use whatever works.The weather was fog soup again today with lots of mist and some light spitting rain. I made good time in the morning getting up and over Tray Mountain but was fairly chilly. I could only stop for a couple minutes to snack before starting to get cold and since I didn¢t want to unpack warmer clothes, I pushed on to camp. The final 2 miles in to Deep Gap Shelter went over Kelly¢s Knob and it was a bitch of a climb. I don¢t know how they differentiate between a knob, hill, or mountain but we all agreed that it was one of the tougher ascents we had seen.A lot of people in Deep Gap Shelter camp but I decided to claim a spot inside the shelter up in the loft, this will be my first time sleeping inside one of these but it seems like a relatively comfortable and dry option. We had a nice campfire again this evening and good company all around. Will do a short day tomorrow and get a ride in to Hiawassee to resupply, eat some town food and have a shower and real bed at the budget inn. Can¢t wait.
Date: 2018-03-28
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Hiawassee GA (via Dicks Creek Gap)
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

God I hate mice. Slept very poorly in the Shelter last night thanks to the nocturnal busy bodies that continue to plague my existence. They were very active last night and I could hear them scratching around in backpacks all night. I was certain they were in my things so I continued to reach over and smack my backpack to scare them off. It¢s a given that they will be a presence in most shelters but I have no idea how anybody can sleep through that shit. When i got my pack off the hook in the morning, sure enough, another small hole had been chewed through one of my upper pockets. They were after the few Rolaids I had in my med kit. Goodbye Rolaids. I was surprised there wasn¢t more damage to my pack until I saw that it was Matt, a fellow bunker who had suffered the most attention from them. His trash bag liner was filled with shredded toilet paper and other nesting material. Apparently the mice thought they¢d found a new home in his pack and this was the noise I was primarily hearing throughout the night. I¢m going to be avoiding shelters from now on unless absolutely necessary. I¢d sooner soak or freeze to death in my tent than lie awake all night listening for those little bastards.The hiking was fast and downhill this morning and by the time we made the road crossing at Dicks Creek, the sun was even threatening to shine. A most welcome sight after not seeing it at all for the past three days. Naturally, it decides to come out on the day we head in to town. Our ride arrived in the form of a rusty old van from the Budget Inn and we piled in, every one of us excited to gorge ourselves on our specific food cravings and to get a hot shower and clean clothes. I showered immediately upon check in and threw my clothes in the washer before joining Eric, Jon, and mike over at Zaxbys chicken for a combo meal that never stood a chance. Popped over to Barney¢s bar and grill after that to drink a few beers while I waited for my laundry to dry and watch a couple fellow thru hikers attempt a 5 minute burger and fry challenge that no one came close to defeating. I then walked down to Ingles grocery with John and proceeded to overbuy on food for the trail yet again. I really need to find a way to cut weight out of my food bag but I want to buy all of the things when I shop!We returned our groceries to the hotel and all headed to a Mexican restaurant at the end of town to celebrate Audrey¢s birthday. Solid meal and margarita and they handled our group of 20 like pros. Fat and happy, we returned to the budget inn where we were able to have a campfire and drink a few more beers before finally turning in. I like town days. Tomorrow we will get a shuttle to get back on the trail and try to make it 10+ miles to the NC border before making camp.
Date: 2018-03-29
From: Hiawassee 

To: Plum Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: light rain

Even a crap mattress in a shitty motel is better than most nights in a tent. Slept well and rolled out of bed at 9:30 to start getting packed and ready for our 11am shuttle back out to the trail. Had been watching the weather forecast and while today looked nice, they were calling for an inch of rain or more tonight . I suggested to the group that we might want to sleep at a shelter site tonight instead of a tent site in case we needed to hide under an actual roof. This would mean holding off on our first state crossing until tomorrow but no one wanted to be soaked for the next three days so we opted to shoot for Plum Orchard Shelter. I grabbed a Subway sandwich just before the shuttle left and scarfed half of it and saved the other half for second lunch. The hike in was somewhat steep but the weather was nice and we arrived at the shelter while there were still some spots up top in the loft. This was the first and only shelter that I know of that has a 3rd level which was kind of cool. I decided to claim a spot despite my trepidation about mice because Id do most anything to avoid an inch or more of rainfall that night. I was further relieved to read the recent entries in the shelter log that specifically mentioned how this one was miraculously mouse-free. I had both my subway sandwich and some leftover fajitas from town which I wrapped in a tortilla and cooked on the fire grate. That combined with some trail magic snacks (banana, brownies, Gatorade) meant I wouldnt lessen my food bag by a single ounce tonight despite it being far too heavy already. Oh well, Ill gladly carry a bit of extra weight if it means I can eat real food instead of camp food. Fingers crossed for a decent night of sleep, the shelter is jam packed as we everyone is anticipating the heavy rain. At the very least Im sure the symphony of snores will be in full effect.
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Plum Orchard Shelter

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

The shelter was relatively good last night. Tight quarters but no sign of mice and the rain did come down hard for a few hours. Was able to sleep well despite some extremely loud snorers. I need to remember to put in ear plugs.This morning we crossed into NC and left GA behind! One state down, only 13 to go! As soon as you cross the border, the trail gets vertical and the weather up high was cold, soupy, windy crap. I was shivering as I pushed through exhaustion to get up and over the hills today. I stopped briefly at muskrat Creek Shelter to eat something but was too cold to stay put. I ran on fumes to get into the camp at Deep Gap. Fortunately, the weather was clearing this afternoon and after I set up my tent, there were clear skies and sunshine. Dragon (a former green beret) was in camp and he started a fire and shortly after we had some trail magic show up in the form of PBR and fresh cantaloupe. Clear skies are expected for tomorrow and a full moon above tonight.
Date: 2018-03-31
From: Deep Gap camp

To: Betty Creek camp
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night was probably the coldest night yet. The sky was totally clear and the moon was full so I burrowed down in my bag to hide from the temperature and blinding moonlight. Had frost all over my pack and outside of the tent this morning. Things got warm as soon as the sun came up and we were visited by a couple more trail angels who brought carrots, hard boiled eggs and cocoa. A church group was setting up a massive hiker feed up at the road crossing where they were going to make omelettes and pack lunches. We decided we couldn¢t wait for them and left camp around 10:30 while they were still setting up. We climbed over Standing Indian Mt this morning and that marked the first time the trail reached over 5000¢ elevation. The hiking was good today and the trail was relatively flat in the afternoon. It was also sunny all day which was great. Made Betty Creek camp around 4 and set up tents in some low trees right by the creek. At dinner, we shocked a section hiker with the amount of food we were demolishing. He just kept staring wide eyed as we finished round after round of food. The hiker hunger is setting in. Tomorrow we will hike another 12 to get into Franklin where we will overnight and then take a zero day in town on Monday. Everyone is eager for a full day of rest.
Date: 2018-04-01
From: Betty Creek

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept pretty well last night although it was still fairly cold. Got an early start so that we could get up and out of camp. Albert Mt was a steep albeit short climb and was greeted with incredible views up top. Climbed up the fire tower for an even better perspective and got some good photos including the 100 mike Mark tagged on the tower stairs. It was so nice that I hung out for a while and eventually the place was getting pretty crowded. Everyone was excited for a sunny Easter Day and many of us had plans to get into Franklin tonight. I high tailed it down the other side of the mountain because there was supposed to be a church group doing mega trail magic at Rock Gap at 2pm. I arrived just before that and waited with my crew until just after 3 but no trail magic materialized. We decided to haul ass for the last 3.5 miles so that we could get into town and enjoy the amenities of regular society. We called Ron Haven from the road crossing and he came up in his van to gather us up.  Ron owns one of the hostels in town and used to own both of the budget inns we stayed at. Ron was a character and one of my favorite people I¢ve met yet. He gave us the run down on all things Franklin as well as helpful info about resupply before the Smokys. After throwing laundry in at the budget inn, I walked with Erik and John to the lazy hiker brewery. It was a perfect evening for some patio beers and we had a couple before they closed. After, we walked to mulligans, the local sports bar for burgers and more beer. Erik devoured a burger about as fast as I¢ve ever seen a human or animal eat anything. He¢s got the hiker hunger for sure. We also stopped off at the gas station for junk food as well as grabbing two pies from Dominoes on the way back to the motel. Suffice to say I was uncomfortably full when I finally laid my head down. Gotta get while the getting is good. Will take a full zero tomorrow and enjoy more decadence in the form of food and drink.
Date: 2018-04-02
From: Franklin NC

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Bed sleep does a body good. It was so good in fact that Head Chef, Butter and I slept right through our alarms and skipped the free pancake breakfast at the Baptist church. It¢s fine, there will be another one tomorrow. The three of us opted instead for a post 10am coffee and breakfast at a diner on Main Street. Head chef had killed his French toast and bacon before I even had a chance to ketchup my hash browns. There is growing concern that he has a tapeworm.After a brief test back at the budget inn, butter and I decided to check out Curahee brewery on the other side of town. Some solid beers there and they went down quickly. We were joined by the gals (ibex, Juke box, Girl Scout and Audrey). After about 5 drinks, we decided to rally and head back across to lazy hiker brewery, stopping quickly first at the dollar general for food resupply. My brilliant (semi-drunken) idea was that if I only bought what my arms could carry, I couldn¢t possibly overbuy. Wrong. Even without shopping cart I did considerable damage and in my slightly toasted state made some questionable nurtrtional choices. It¢s all calories though, right?We had a few more at lazy hiker and reconnected with several folks who had just arrived in Franklin for their rest day. It¢s fun having such a large hiker bubble where you are constantly bumping into friends. The night ended back at Mulligans for a Reuben, yeungling and shot of jager. Not my call but I did it anyway. We will shuttle back to the trail tomorrow and shoot for another double digit day. Solid zero day, definitely drank most of my calories.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Franklin NC

To: Licklog Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

The alarm went off early and I didn¢t particularly want to rise but I knew a free pancake breakfast would be good fuel for a big day. The good people of First Baptist church in Franklin put on a daily shuttle and breakfast for all thru hikers from mid March to mid April. Very generous and was happy to partake. Had a chance to weigh myself and have dropped 4.5 pounds in less than 2 weeks. Not at all surprising when you consider my less than stringent diet and exercise regiment prior to starting.We returned to the budget inn and organized our things ahead of the 11am shuttle back to winding stair road Gap. My pack felt heavy once again after resupply, not to mention the four beers I opted to pack out rather than leave behind. I¢m a glutton for punishment but you can¢t just leave soldiers behind like that. Head chef continues to outdo himself with the food bag, this time finding room for two frozen steaks and two pork chops. He wisely left behind a pound of cornbread mix, not because it was too heavy but because he¢d accidentally bought low fat.Ron Haven, our favorite hostel owner and city councilman gave us a lift back to the trail and rattled off some history about the Native American tribes of the area and a theory about the origin of our planet¢s moon. Ron is a Rennaissance man if I¢ve ever met one. He shook our hands as we headed off and told us to call him anywhere between here and Shenandoah if we get in a jam because he knows everyone between here and there.The hiking was particularly taxing today with a lot of uphill. Temps reached the 70s for the first time since I started and I was absolutely crushing water all day. I doubt the ten drinks I had yesterday had anything to do with it. By the time I reached the fire tower atop Wayah bald, I could barely walk. Still had a couple miles to the planned shelter stop so I didn¢t linger long. When I reached the shelter, butter and the ladies were just watering up and announced their intention to push 1.3 miles to another campsite. I reluctantly agreed and suffered my way the last little bit to camp. The beers in my pack were room temp but still delicious and we settled in to our tents shortly after dinner. Supposed to rain pretty good tonight so fingers crossed we stay somewhat dry.
Date: 2018-04-04
From: Licklog Gap 

To: Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Got my first real taste of rain while tent sleeping last night and it was less than ideal. Pretty steady pouring for a few hours led to some pooling in the corners of my tent. I need to work out some of the finer points of staking my corners to avoid the drips that caused this. On the bright side, I have been questioning why I¢m carrying a camp towel for almost two weeks. Turns out it¢s great for sopping up standing water inside the tent. I awoke to a wet tent, as well as bottom of my sleeping pad and down quilt. Luckily my clothes bag was relocated before anything inside got soaked. It was a really chilly morning and my hands were numb after packing up all my wet gear. We had a lot of miles to trek so I scarfed some cold pop tarts and water and started up the trail. The weather improved as the day wore on and by mid day I was sweating and back down to a T-shirt. We stopped at a road gap before a big uphill climb and met a family from Michigan who were out here for spring break to climb some hills. They offered to share their picnic lunch with us. Big mistake. We descended like locusts on their leftover Easter ham, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers and chips. They didn¢t realize they were offering up trail magic and several more hikers arrived to partake. They were incredibly nice and gracious and the dad kept saying he didn¢t want to take any leftovers back with them. No problem there. I ate my fill, thanked them profusely and started trudging again. The climb to the top of Wesser bald wasn¢t easy but the views from the fire tower up top were worth it. The sun was out and I took the oppprtunity to dry my tent and quilt up on the sunny ridge while enjoying the views for a bit. We still had 5+ miles to go so we couldn¢t linger too long. The end of the day was long and by the time our group staggered into camp, few words were exchanged as we set up tents and got dinner working. It felt good to log a bigger mileage day but we also felt like we paid the price. Hoping to make a stop at nantahala outdoor center a mile down the trail  tomorrow morning for a mini resupply and lunch before an afternoon of big uphills.
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 7.9

Slept well last night and was glad that we had pushed more miles to a lower camp because it was supposedly cooler up high. Arose fairly late but with fewer miles planned, wasn¢t sweating it. The one mile down to Nantahala Outdoor Center was quick and easy. The Nantahala River flows through here and there are options for kayakers and white water rafters to play in the water. Was kinda wishing I could stay. Popped into the general store and got some ibuprofen and then crossed over to the outfitters. Juke box¢s mom had sent her an Easter care package so I indulged on some jelly beans and chocolates first. In the outfitter, I was looking for a couple things. Firstly, my metal belt buckle on my Prana pants had snapped yesterday and I¢m in the market for a new pair. I¢ve had these for over a decade so it may have been foolish to hope they would survive this trek. Unfortunately they have a built in belt without any loopholes for another belt so once they broke, they became kinda worthless. I¢m still carrying enough of a gut that they will stay up but I¢m losing weight by the day. I wasn¢t in love with any of the options in the store so I¢m hoping to make these last until I find another pair that works. I did snag a lightweight quick-dry hoodie as I¢m having trouble finding something that I can wear that is a happy medium between freezing in a T-shirt on the trail and overheating like a sweat pump with my ski performance layer. This should do the trick. We lunched at the restaurant on the river (fish tacos and cherry coke) and then lazily gathered ourselves up before hitting the trail again. It was a mostly uphill afternoon but we made decent time. Juke box, head chef and I had split up a six pack of Lt. Dank IPA and we enjoyed a sunset drink up on the ridge at sassafras Gap. I have a sweet little tent site with beautiful views and it is supposed to be calm and temperate overnight. Nice little day on the trail.