morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-15
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

Day 2 -- Didn't sleep well at all last night. I felt like I was always awake. Five guys (John, a thru hiker and his friends) came in at 1:15 a.m. and set up their tents. They didn't go to bed for a while...and around 5:30ish it was lightning and thunder everywhere. The best I slept was when it was pouring after the thunder died down. Because of the rain and dark morning skies, we didn't get up until 7:45 a.m. We piddled around camp for a while. When Big Foot came into camp from Springer Mountain Shelter, he called us the lazy shelter. Uncle B, out for the weekend, also stopped in to waste some time. We (Solo, Kong, Wing-It and I) didn't get out of camp until alomost 10, and then spent time getting water. Even though there were beautiful skies in the morning, the sky turned grey pretty fast and it rained on us a good amount. We arrived at Hawk Mountain Shelter, soaked, around 1:15--our lunch spot. We spent a good 2 hours trying to dry off, warm up, and get some food in us. We met a lot of people during that time. Uncle B was already there, as was a family of four sectioning SOBO (southbound). Big Foot arrived after me. The couple and three dogs, Carlos, a female section hiker (didn't get her name), Kyle, Red, Aries, and their husbands, Willow Wisp, Cyclops, John and his friends, and many more. After 3 we decided we would try for Gooch Mountain Shelter, our original destination for the day. We changed back into our wet clothes, packed up, and started to head out. We weren't more that 50 feet down the trail when it started hailing. At the same time the closest lightning ever struck. We immediately turned around and went back under cover. At that point we were pretty sure we would have to tent because of how many people were at the shelter. So we decided to wait it out a bit and proceed when safe. We weren't sure if we were going to make Gooch Mountian Shelter anymore but we figured we could camp somewhere down the trail and have gone a bit farther. After a while Kong's shoulder was really bothering him and we decided to call it a day. We set up camp and then waited out another rainstorm. Afterwards, though, the sky cleared and with one hour left of sun combined with the wind, we got some of our clothes dried.
Date: 2008-03-16
From: .5 south of Horse Gap

To: 1 mi south of Woody Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 3 -- Hardly slept last night again...or at least it feels like I'm always up. The wind was blowing our tents' walls and flies all over the place. It was so loud it was constantly waking us up. It reminded me of camping in Shenandoah October last year with a friend. We pretty much packed up and headed out right away--didn't want to bother with breakfast because of the wind. We set a record for take-down and headed out. Before fully being ready to head out though Uncle B, Shadow, Kyle, Aries, and Red came by. It was a beautiful day for hiking--great views...you could see so far. Close to the top of Sassafras we took a break. I ended with my legs all torn up from thorns after using a tree. The guys stayed there to rest and Wing It and I went on. We were on a roll and arrived at Gooch Mountain Selter around 1:30 p.m. We told the guys we'd wait for them there so we got water (we were out) and relaxed and ate with a crowd. Lots of peple came and went. As people arrived, Wing It asked about Kong and Solo. We'd get info and wait some more. About 4 p.m. they arrived. Wing It and I had decided to move on already, but the guys wanted to stay. Our plan was to camp near Woody Gap with either Aries and Red, or two guys we had seen earlier. We saw Red and Aries at Gooch Gap, but being so soon after starting we decided to push on, hoping to find the guys. What we found were Jim and Cary, two locals who hiked with us to a beautiful overlook and took our picture. We hiked on and after some major decision-making we set up camp on top of a mountain, possibly Ramrock. Whatever it is, it's about 1 mile before Woody Gap. Wing It and I are looking forward to sleeping in a shelter tomorrow night.Video:
Date: 2008-03-17
From: 1 mi south of Woody Gap

To: Blood Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 4 -- Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I had the best sleep last night out of the entire trip so far. We went to bed after discussing strategies for if we got an unwanted visitor. After eating a hot breakfast and packing up, we adorned ourselves with shamrocks as well as Red and Shadow when they came along. Wing It and I hiked with Shadow Cast all day, leap-frogging Red and Aries and Big Foot all day. At Woody Gap (see picture) we met up with Caveman and a section-hiker and two high school section hikers. I had a low morale midday--probably resulting from a number of things including not getting as many breaks. Today's pace was a bit faster than the last few days. I was also pretty hungry. So, low on fuel, we stopped for lunch and I dressed my blisters/hot spots (also dragging me down a little) and away we went again. Soon, though, lunch kicked in and I was feeling a lot better. We quickly came across the Jarrard Gap sign, which gave me a pick-me-up knowing we only had 2.6 miles left. We found our water source and filled up knowing Bood Mountain Shelter didn't have any. The climb up Blood Mountain (highest mountain in Georgia on the AT) wasn't as bad as we were dreading it to be. When we got to the top I couldn't believe we were there already. Big Phantom, Shadow Cast, Caveman, and Longstep were already there with Big Foot right behind us. Rambo and Cyclops came in later. We all set up in the back room which, with the windows and the wind, was pretty chilly. We dined in the front room and afterwards Big Foot made me some hot spiced cider--made my day! It warmed me up right away. We went out and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. We had lots of visitors--a skunk and its child, a rat, and a mouse. Looks like we're all heading into Neel's Gap tomorrow...definitely looking forward to that.
Date: 2008-03-18
From: Blood Mountain Shelter

To: Walasi-Yi Hostel
Miles today: 2.4

Day 5 -- Blood Mountain Shelter is a stone stucture in which both rooms have windows on opposite sides. This, coupled with the wind, made for a very sleepy 'bedroom'. Bigfoot and Cyclops covered the windows with their poncho and tent, respectively, which helped tremendously! Someone awoke to use a tree and called us all to check out the nearby town lights. Later he went out again and it was cloudy, and knowing there was going to be bad weather, convinced us to start packing, before it was light. We heard coming down the other side of Blood Mountain is very treacherous when wet and we figured there'd be a lot of people coming into Neel's Gap, so we left pretty early, descended quickly and got spots in the hostel. We found out Pirate was driving people to Blairsville and Wing It had been talking about pizza. So we quick showered and rode to an All You Can Eat (AYCE) Pizza place! It also had AYCE salad! Yeah! I think I enjoyed the salad more than the pizza! When we came back, 6 of us shared laundry duty. We hung out a lot, bought food for the next few days, and talked. A lot of activity centered around Georgia State students cooking free burgers for hikers and Patches, the dog, catching a frisbee. While I was in the outfitter, someone called Peanut. I turned around, and there were Kong and Solo! It felt like so long since I had seen them! Maybe we'll get to hike together tomorrow. I also enjoyed talking to Shutterbug some before dinner. Dinner was AYCE salad, spaghetti, and corn. Back in the bunks there was sharing of contact info and an intervntion with Cyclops re: his fanny pack.
Date: 2008-03-19
From: Neel's Gap

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 6 -- Nice to sleep in a bed! I didn't use the pillow provided, though...didn't want to get used to it again. I think that was a small part of why I didn't sleep well the first few nights (among other differences). Shadow, Big Foot, Rambo, and Cyclops headed out early this morning to avoid a little of the rain, and the huge crowds that were probably going to be leaving Neel's Gap. Wing It and I were planning on having our packs gone through at the outfitter, so we were going to be leaving later. After a great breakfast by Pirate, we headed over and didn't finish with Adam until 1-ish. He helped me get about 6ish pounds out of mine and 7ish out of Wing It's. I feel it already, and I'm zeroing today. We decided to do so because of the rain and a late start and knowing we'd have to tent in it--we stayed with Solo and Kong, who are also zeroing (no trail miles hiked)in the Blood Mountain Cabins. We walked around the cabin areas in the rain, and, of course, it was the last one we came to. We had a nice relaxing evening of movies, pizza, sing-a-longs and laughs.
Date: 2008-03-20
From: Neel's Gap

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

Day 7 -- Up at 7:30, bagels/cream cheese for breakfast courtesy of Solo. Headed up to Walasi-Yi to return the movies and see if they still had Wing It's gaitors, which they didn't. The guys showed up but decided to get a pack shakedown, so we went on ahead, with plans of them showing up later. It was a gorgeous day for hiking and the terrain wasn't too harsh. (I'm sure it was easier with our rested feet.) There were a lot of views and we stopped for lunch at one, where a trail maintenance group was eating also. They had a University of NH student on break working with them. As we were packing up to leave we met Old Turtle, Retread, and Linda and then Matt, Juice, Mouth, and John. Today was one of those days where I had a lot on my mind so I was pretty quiet and distracted. A SOBO told us we were going to be coming up on a packed shelter and to prepare to tent, but only Q and Catwoman were there. Lots of people strolled in throughout the evening including Walkie-Talkie, Bill, Adam, all who we met at lunch and the couple with the baby and teenager. Wing It and I had a great meal of Ramen with chicken in it, with a fantastic spice Q let us try. We started looking for Solo and Kong for a while, knowing they had initially intended to make it here. We were hopeful up until dark. We all gathered around a fire Q made earlier (my first one on this journey). A light in the distance caught my eye, and then Wing It saw it, too. There were two of them, and Wing It yelled to them, "Is that Kong and Solo?" and Solo replied "Yeah!" and ten minutes later (we were down in a valley and they were up on the ridge) they strode into camp! Everyone was excited because they knew how excited we were. We had been mentioning them at different times and how we were going to give them a hard time since they didn't come. We helped them set up and talked around the fire while they made dinner. We all went to bed, squished in the shelter, but very warm.
Date: 2008-03-21
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 8 -- People started stirring around 7:30 a.m. and we got up and slowly got our stuff together. The guys were going into Helen today, so we knew we wouldn't cross paths with them again for a couple of days. The first 2-3 miles were at a very nice grade--a good warm-up for the day. We were planning on doing 15 miles today so we could do 11 tomororrow to get to town and hopefully stay at the Blueberry Patch Hostel and take in an Easter vigil/Easter service Saturday or Sunday. We got a late start but passed most of those who left before us. Wing It and I talked a lot and the morning flew by. We ate lunch at Blue Mountain Shelter with Jordan (hiking to raise money for charity) and then a bunch of people from the last shelter came in too. There were also some day hikers (who included some maintainers and 2,000 milers). Dr. Pepper, one of the bunch, gave us all sorts of goodies (he also gave Wing It a pocket knife after she mentioned that she left hers at Low Gap Shelter). We headed off for the second half of the day, passing the day hikers and another guy we had seen a few days before at Neel's Gap. After stopping for water going up Rocky Mountain, Matt (now known as Mainiac) caught up with us and we pretty much stayed together the rest of the day. We got some trail magic today after climbing Rocky Mountain--Blue Gatorade, a banana, and a Cadbury egg. That helped push us up Tray Mountain to the shelter. Lots of tenters here, so we piled in the shelter, unpacked, ate, and our tuckered out and sore bodies went to bed.
Date: 2008-03-22
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Blueberry Patch Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 10.6

Day 9 -- We set the alarm for 6:15 a.m. because we wanted to get an early start. We knew there were a lot of people in front of/behind/and with us that were planning on heading into town at Dick's Creek Gap. We got to see the sunrise as we were packing and headed out sometime after 7ish. We atarted with headlamps but didn't need them much or for long. We flew down Tray. After about 4 miles I was really starting to feel my knees from the last few days and my body was definitely feeling the effects from pushing the 15-mile day. We passed J & J at The Swag of the Blue Ridge as well as a few others camping along the way. Dirty Harry and Kellie (who were at Tray Mountain Shelter last night) flew past us up a hill. At the Deep Gap Shelter spur we ran into Gentleman Jack and Willow Wisp, which was a real pick-me-up. The rest of the hike seemed to go better, mentally, and then we ran into Red and Aries who we hadn't seen in a couple of days. We finally made it to the road and met up with Mainiac (who we hadn't seen since we started today) and Shutterbug, Hotwheels, and their dog. Wing It used my phone to call the Blueberry Patch Hiker Hostel and Gary came and picked us up (and Red and Aries who had just arrived). We took turns basking in the sun and showering. Gary gave us a ride into Hiawassee to run errands and enjoy an AYCE at Daniel's Steakhouse. I had a chance to call home while I was waiting for others to finish shopping, which was nice. When we returned to the hostel, all had arrived including Kathleen the GA ridge runner, Steel Man, and Hamburgler and Pippi who had actually arrived earlier in the day. We sat around eating Gary's fantastic Hummingbird Cake and sharing stories, and ragging on each other. I'm looking forward to Easter services and a short hiking day tomorrow.
Date: 2008-03-23
From: Blueberry Patch Hiker Hostel

To: Plumorchard Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: few clouds

Day 10 -- Easter Day! Woke up ready for pancakes (with blueberry syrup), eggs, sausage, and Orange Juice! We got our bounce box to send out, and then left for church. We went to the Macedonia Baptist Church...a fantastic group of people--very welcoming, God-filled people. The Spirit moved me many times throughout the service. The line of the song that moved me most was "when I'm dry you fill my cup..." --very powerful. Gary dropped us off at the trail afterward and we sat there eating lunch and greeting hikers as they got to the road. We saw Retreat, Old Turtle, Linda, Leyloni and ___, all of whom seemed to be going to Cloud 9. We eventually got going at a leisurely pace as we knew we were only going 4.5 miles, had plenty of time, and wanted to take it easy since we pushed ourselves so hard the few days before. It was a beautiful Easter day to be hiking, and even though we were going more casually, we still made pretty good time. We hung out and collected firewood. As I was getting water, Fire arrived. We had fun talking to him while we were making dinner. Mouth came in later, and Gutsy even later. Fire and the guys made the fire and we all hung out around the fire and chatted about all sorts of things--a very enjoyable evening.
Date: 2008-03-24
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: broken clouds

Day 11 -- We got up about 7:30 this morning and Fire made us a fire (aka Lola) to warm up. Wing It and I were the last out of camp, with the exception of Mainiac who was fast asleep still. We knew what the profile was going to be for the day so we were prepared for all the ups. We crossed over into North Carolina this morning! We are finished with Georgia! One state down. A mile or two into North Carolina it started to snow...it was pretty and inspired many wintery/snowy/even Christmas songs throughout the day. About .5 before the shelter we ran into Fire who was just getting up from lunch and who was planning on getting to the shelter to start a fire for us when we arrived. Lunch was at Muskrat Creek Shelter with Mouth and Mainiac--so cold. It snowed a good part of the day, but didn't lay much...a little on the trail is where you could see it mostly. It was a nice day overall for hiking. I wasn't in any rush. I was keeping warm enough just hiking. Red, Aries, Fire, Channuk, Maniac, and Michele (Mango) were already there when Wing It and I arrived. They allowed us to squeeze in--hoping to share body heat to keep us warm. It warmed up a little bit and people started coming out of their sleeping bags to hang out. (They earlier had retreated to their sleeping bags to keep warm.) Dinner was made, fire was shared. It started snowing again and again we retreated to the sleeping bags.
Date: 2008-03-26
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 13 -- We all cozied up last night to keep warm and I was actually sweating. I had to take off a couple of layers, which was a nice change from having to put most of my layers on. Fire's alarm went off at 6 a.m. to start the fire, but apparently he didn't hear it for a while...we all did, but didn't want to get up yet. He eventualy got up, which is good since we wanted to make it to the road for Ron's bus to Franklin. He woke us up at 6:30. We were out by 7:30, had a beautiful and quick hike to the road. We passed a stream with Capri Suns in it! That hit the spot and helped us up the mountain. It's nice to have a beverage that is not water sometimes. As we came out of the woods into the parking lot, we were greeted by some men and women from Noweeti Baptist Church, and they offered us some trail magic. I had tea, applesauce, and Pringles. Good stuff! We sat around while waiting for the bus and chatted with them. We were in high spirits as we headed most of the way into town. Something broke on the bus, though, so they had a van drive us the rest of the way into town. KTS drove us in the van--when he introduced himself, his name sounded familiar--turns out he hiked the AT a couple of times and is on the internet, which is probably where I heard of him. Anyway, KTS took us to Three Eagles Outfitters where we got fuel and stuff. Then we headed to The Factory for AYCE pizza and salad for like $4--good stuff. We lolligagged around and headed to Ingles. On the way there a guy in a pick-up stopped, told us he hiked the AT 8 years ago, had nothing to do, and would love to take us around town. We got a ride to Ingles for food, back to the outfitters to pick up our packs, and back to the trail. The Baptist minstry was closing up and we saw Channuk and Mango, and John and Jessie, who ended up getting a ride into town with Double Healer, the man who took us around. The pizza sat in my stomach, with water sloshing around and a full pack. I was going slow. I was also in low spirits. Luckily I caught up with Wing It and we started singing songs and then talking some and my spirits were lifted. In no time we reached the shelter trail (0.5 mi :>( ) and finally the shelter. We met Mainiac before the shelter who was coming up to make sure we took the correct trail--how nice of him! There were a lot of people there including Troutbum, Mainiac, Moss, Fire, and some new people: Grasshopper, Slow Barbara, Long Burn and Top Hat, Mouth, and Cameron (rode back to the trail with us) came in late. It was a great evening full of stories, rolling in the leaves, food, and fun. Mouth gave us a strip of his bandana to use for our wooden white blaze that we got yesterday, so we could wear it as a necklace.
Date: 2008-03-27
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 14 -- I was pretty warm last night, sweating even, but didn't seep well. Breakfast, fire, talking, packing, hiking. A little bit into the hike we came across Siler Bald. Everyone ahead of us was here--looks like some of them went to the top--said it was worth the hike, so I went up. Rolled/airplaned back down and went on. Eventually it was just Wing It and I, really feeling our heels--one of each of our heels is bruised. We believe we struggled for a few miles until we came across Mouth, Top Hat, Mainiac, Fire, and Grasshopper having lunch at the paved path towards Wayah Bald. Wow, did we need a rest, and the company is sure to put a smile on your face and help change poor spirits. Shiloh, whom we had met yesterday at the Outfitter, joined us for the last few minutes of our break. We hiked to the tower with Mainiac. The tower gave great views including Siler Bald, where we were this morning, Albert Mountain, and the Cliffs where we met Mainiac and Mouth. We could also see Clingman's Dome in the Smokeys. We stuck with Mainiac and joined with Mouth later. Their company and the vitamin I (Ibuprofin) I took at lunch really helped the afternoon go by, except the last 1.2 miles which seemed like way more than that. We got into camp early enough that we could all hang out, wash, and chill for a while. Two guys backpacking a loop came by and got water. We cooked dinner, rigged bear bag lines (cables weren't usable) and sat around the fire. We read a couple of short stories from Top Hat's book and played a bunch of games (Who's Got the Pen? Crossed/Uncrossed) and riddles. We're all pretty tired, but are excited for the upcoming Hiker Bash in Franklin that we are getting "bussed" back for. Actually I hear it's going to be a limo--it's cheaper for a bunch of us. We are hoping to do 12 miles, shower, and eat before he comes to pick us up. It's been since Saturday that I had a shower. My hair's all greasy, my hands are nasty, not to mention the "tan" I've gotten on my face and legs!