morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-11-29
From: Long Creek Falls

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: clear sky

Boo-Boo's on Springer!!Boo-Boo's on Springer!!Hurray for Boo-Boo!!My THANKS to these fine Boo-Boo supporters who took the AT HAITI CHALLENGE:Bekki and Eddie OrtizLorell Zachary-MoiseLauralee Bliss Mark and Martha GrowdonTom McCarthyJean HoltGraham Sowa & Scarlett PopeSusan PinesNorma DialAnn and Bill TestermanAnne and Tom O'ConnorMichael CrawfordDavid MilnerCasey and Briana ZacharyPoppie Terry(did I miss anyone?)These folks collectively raised $1,500 in donations and matching funds for Boo-Boo's Haiti Nursing Education Scholarship Fund!!Before Boo-Boo gets around to posting her final journal entry here,I would like to thank some folks who made her hike such a success:First...the US Postal Service men and women. The US Mail was our lifeline to Boo-Boo. They never lost a single care package and every package arrived on-time and undamaged.And the special "bounce box" program they support is just great!And I found that these postal workers really cared about the hikers.In one town a postal clerk welcomed Boo-Boo warmly and told her she had been expecting her. Small town America is still alive and well!To all the people who took the time to sign Boo-Boo's guestbook and offer words of encouragement...THANKS! Each and every entry was special to her.We responded to many of you, and will respond to everyone before too long.And some of you didn't stop with a note of encouragement. You even sent Boo-Boo care packages, which she was always thrilled to get!Speaking of journals, this website, TRAIL JOURNALS, was our other lifeline, a wonderful way to find out how Boo-Boo was doing on the trail, what she was thinking, experiencing and seeing. My thanks to the webmasters!To the people who maintain the AT! What an amazing collection of organizations and volunteers all up and down the trail! At least one group even invited Boo-Boo (and Hedgehog) to join them for dinner! They care about the hikers too!Then there were all of those Trail Angels, from Maine to Georgia! Your trail magic really helped keep the hikers going! Your magic would appear when it was least expected....and most greatly appreciated by all hikers! THANKS!THANKS to Jason and Princess Brat for seeing Boo-Boo across the finish line! And finally, to Music Man and Hedgehog, two guys who got Boo-Boo past the point of no return. She couldn't have done it without you two! (There were many other people along the way who were certainly important to Boo-Boo's hike....other hikers (both SOBO and NOBO), the hostelers, the outfitters, and countless others.I'm grateful to all of you too!)Sincerely,Boo-Boo's dad
Date: 2007-12-03
To: Rain in Seattle
Miles today: 0.0

I arrived back in Seattle early this morning to a downpour. We flew all day in very turbulent weather, and my feet did not like sitting so long dangling from a seated position (I am a little on the short side and my feet do not touch the ground when sitting in an airplane seat). I finished the trail on Thurs Nov 29 but our plane tickets were not until Sunday Dec 2 so we had some time to kill. The day I finished, Princess Brat and Jason were hiking with me. We were picked up at the Springer parking lot by Noodles, a 2007 NOBO I had met earlier in the season at Ore Hill Shelter (seems like a really really long time ago). He had brought goodies for us which was great. He gave a ride to Atlanta where it just so happens my cousin from Oregon just moved there and offered their extra car for us to borrow for a few days. So, within hours of being on the trail I was driving a strange car in a strange place. It actually went surprisingly smoothe, not overwhelming or anything like that. We drove back to Neels Gap that afternoon.The next day (Friday) I went hiking with Princess Brat up Blood Mountain to get some views since the sky was clear. It had been foggy the day I hiked through there and I had wanted to go hiking and get some photos. That night several NOBOs from 2006 showed up (friends of Princess Brat/Alpine's roomate) to get a few hours of sleep before heading out at 4am to hike from Neels Gap to Amicolola State Park visitor's center in one day (AT + Approach Trail), which is about 38.8 miles or so. I pondered joining them but remembered how much my feet would have hurt afterwards, I slept in extra that morning instead.Saturday was a Christmas Party in Franklin, NC that Ron Haven was putting on. I unofficially dubbed it SOBO Trail Days as there were over 10 SOBOs in one place at the same time! It was a great reunion and I met several SOBOs that I had not met before. I had not seen Johnny Appleseed and Puck since Hanover, Sugar since NY, and Whiskers since The Lookout in VT. Pretty wild. I had picked up Sugar at Unicoi Gap and drove him to the party then dropped him back off the next morning.Sunday we drove from Franklin, NC to Neels Gap, then to Alpharetta, GA, got a ride to the MARTA train station, took the train to the Airport, plane to Denver, plane to Seattle, car ride to the ferry boat, ferry to the island, then a car ride home in the dark flooding roads to my parents house, and home for the forseeable future.Today, Monday, starting going through my boxes (all 7 of them) and felt that I had way too much stuff and had this overwhelming urge to get rid of a bunch of it. Other than that going through mail, putting my diploma in the fancy frame, and just getting organized in general. My feet are slightly swollen maybe from flying yesterday and a little achy which I did not expect. At some point today I will find my old clothes and start to wear cotton once again.
Date: 2007-12-17
To: Choices
Miles today: 0.0

So it took about 5 days after getting back to Seattle that it finally hit me - I was done with the trail. I was watching a DVD about the AT that I had probably already watched several times, and as I was listening to some of the thruhikers talk about being finished I was filled with an emotional wave. The feeling was one of finality and sadness for leaving behind my life of the last 5 months. Such a huge transition to make. I am working on polishing my trail stories with each person I talk to, so as to be able to explain to a person my experience when they have no experience with backpacking themselves. Stories are what the people want and what make me an interesting person. I am working on that as a person that tends towards being a listener more than a talker.I then took advantage of my time off and flew down to San Francisco to visit with MusicMan, plus I had never been to S.F. and well I had a free place to live. MusicMan is a person that is infinitely more outgoing and socially oriented than I am. So my week hanging out with him in his world was quite a roller coaster experience for me but I still had a good time. We even went for a 16 mile hike with the Stanford Outing Club up nearby Mt. Diablo and we were both semi-celebrities for the day which was entertaining. Hiking when the "miles don't count" did not feel any different then while on the AT, although I thought that they might have. I must say that SF is a neat city, perhaps I might move there. At this point though I am still overwhelmed by the plethora of choices that I regarding where to live, I just have pick one. But I am finding hard to do so and I feel that this is a side effect of thruhiking - simple living leading to simple choices. Life in the real world can pretend to be almost as simple but will never be. Luckily for the first time all I will have to do in life is work and enjoy my free time off. No school, no planning a thruhike (although I have been casually researching the PCT, ordering books and DVDs, that sort of thing). I have developed a craving to be around people that are at the ready to chat or explore with. I am a bit more outgoing and slightly less shy around strangers which is nice. A bit lazy with the running but I have good intentions. Perhaps tomorrow I will be spurred into action. I go back to work Tuesday which will be nice but tiring as my commute as it stands right now is over 2 hours long (3 buses and 1 ferry ride). Sigh. Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
Date: 2007-12-20
To: 5 pieces of advice
Miles today: 0.0

If you had five pieces of advice to give to an up and coming thru hiker what would they be? (A question I was asked by a person that signed my guestbook recently)1. Take some time and effort to research gear and get your pack weight down BEFORE you get on the trail. We are not talking ultralight here, but maybe it seems ultralight compared to what many people carry while out for a night or two.2. Treat yourself to a few zero days in the first few weeks to let your body heal. Don't worry you are not being wimpy or lazy by doing this.3. Start a workout routine NOW, nothing crazy though. It won't make a difference by the end of the trail but it will make the first 5 weeks much more enjoyable.4. In parts of the trail that you feel are particularly beautiful - slow down and take a lot of breaks to enjoy the places that you are in. Go swimming, take a nap on a warm rock, take extra breaks even though you are not tired.5. Research trail runners before the trail. Shoes was the thing I had the biggest problem with. Go to several outfitters and chat with people at each place, don't let them know you have been somewhere else already. That way you can start to pull together general info about shoes and you can become knowledgeable about what options are out there. Try all of them on, walk around. Then go to another store and do the same thing. Remember your feet will get bigger at least a half size, most likely not in length but in the width of your toe box. Sometimes it was very hard to replace a pair of shoes on the trail because you are in so many small towns with small outfitter stores with limited selection. I ordered shoes online a few times and had them sent to the next town or was able to go to a bigger outfitter when friends took us off trail and to a bigger city/town. 6. Talk to former thruhikers. *OK, I could not quite stick to only 5 *
Date: 2008-01-06
To: Photos from another perspective
Miles today: 0.0

http://flickr.com/photos/eateverything/sets/72157603650033386/These are photos that Jason took during the last 130 miles. Nice photos and a different perspective.More of MusicMan's AT photoshttp://picasaweb.google.com/dana.seidel/ApplachianTrailPart2http://picasaweb.google.com/dana.seidel/ApplachianTrailPart3
Date: 2008-01-20
To: Bird Song from Maine
Miles today: 0.0

I was at a talk tonight about Moxie and Tecumseh's 2007 AT hike and learned the name of the bird that we heard ALL THE TIME in Maine. It was a beautiful song but pretty incessant. So much so that we would find our selves whistling it randomly. We never saw the bird and thus could never identify it - until now. I am off tomorrow to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina for a week long WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course.I present to you the White Throated Sparrow of Maine.http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/640/overview/White-throated_Sparrow.aspx
Date: 2008-10-15
To: SOBO 2007 reunion hike
Miles today: 0.0

This Friday, 5 of us will spend the weekend as section hikers in the Shenandoah National Park, Southbound of course. It will be myself, MusicMan, Hedgehog, SugarBlade and Tengu. Cannot wait!!! We are even going to make a concerted effort to carry extra luxury items so that our packs are ridiculously heavy so that we thoroughly play the partI spend yesterday surprise trail magicking (a new verb) the Vermont Mafia and MusicMan at the first AT crossing of Skyline drive (mile marker 10ish). It was so much fun to do, and I think they enjoyed it as well. I gave MM my backpacker guitar to carry for the next few days and after a long lunch sent them on their way. I then drove (in rental car) down to Front Royal where they said D-wreck was with his non-thruhiking friends. I called and sure enough, I finally got to meet him at the outfitters in town. Thruhikers are such great people!
Date: 2008-11-11
To: Springer. Again!
Miles today: 0.0

I am going to join D-Wreck and the Vermont Mafia for the last 10 days of their 2008 thruhike. I look forward to seeing Springer again, as the two of us will always have a unique relationship (as I am sure others have a similar relationship with Springer as well). This will also be the first time that I will be on the Southern Terminus with other thruhikers, as I did not finish with any thrus last year. Very much looking forward to it and counting the days. Going to be cold, will be testing a few new gear items for potential PCT use next year (Iphone, Patagonia Down Sweater, WM Ultralite down sleeping bag, Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus pack, and general gear sharing to see how that system is going to work out).
Date: 2007-04-04
From: Dockery Lake Trail Campsite

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up around 9 after a real bad storm came through the night before. Ballard was staying in his hammock, everything he had got soaked. He was up all night shivering, trying to keep warm. We finished off the hike to his car, which was parked right down the street from the Walasi-Yi center at Neels Gap. Went to Alpharetta to stay at home over the weekend: Braves home opener, Masters weekend, Easter weekend, celebrating Dad's birthday. To return Monday.
Date: 2007-04-09
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Set out back on the trail this morning on my own -- met up with a few people at the end of the day. Pretty boring day, hiking was pretty tough and by myself. Got to Low Gap shelter at around 4 or 5, met up with Jonathan, Rebel with a Cause, Iceman, Mignon, Usual Suspect, and a few other people. Great to finally have company, it was hard this morning because I was dropped off by my brother David and my dad. It was kind of a rude awakening realizing that I wasn't going to see them for 5-6 months, I knew it was going to be hard but I didn't expect it to be that hard.
Date: 2007-04-10
From: Low Gap

To: Cheese Factory Campsite
Miles today: 13.0

Got up and started hiking a little before 8:30, good hiking, pretty challenging. (Kind of hard to remember, I'm going back and writing these entries up to the 22nd.) Going out of Unicoi Gap was hard (uphill for a good mile and a half), made it to Cheese Factory site and set up camp. Rebel went on to Tray Mtn. Shelter.
Date: 2007-04-11
From: Cheese Factory Campsite

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Started hiking around 9:45 or so. It was very cloudy and windy, and started raining in the early afternoon. Met up with Simarron, the oldest person the complete the A.T. (or was at one point) and is doing it again. He'll turn 85 in August (I think). Got over Kelly Knob, which is about 1.1 miles uphill, very challenging. No breaks. Met up with Rebel and Jonathan at Deep Gap shelter, we all decided to go into town for the night and stay at Cloud 9 hostel.
Date: 2007-04-13
From: Cloud 9 Hostel

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Good day to get back on the trail weatherwise. Went 11.6 miles with Rebel and Jonathan (we're naming him Big Brother now) to get to Muskrat Creek Shelter. Shelter was a bit small but the area was crowded and there were some really great people, too many to remember names but I enjoyed hanging out with all of them.
Date: 2007-04-14
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Put in a somewhat long day, made it to Carter Gap shelter. 12 and a half miles in a little under 5 hours. Met up with a good group of people again later on in the evening. We had a big storm come through after we all went to bed, it was good to listen to under a roof.
Date: 2007-04-15
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light rain

Put in a big day, the original plan was to go 12 miles to Rock Gap but Rebel, Big Brother, and I got there at around 2:00 or so and it was too cold and the weather was going to get worse. We decided to hike the extra 3.7 miles in to stay in Franklin. Glad we did -- had a good dinner, did laundry, got to hang out and enjoy some down time. Got blisters on the backs of my feet but I took care of them.
Date: 2007-04-16
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day in Franklin, went to the post office, outfitters, resupply at Ingles. Hung out and watched the Braves game later on. Met Baltimore Jack, who I didn't realize how big a legend he is out here on the trail. He had thru-hiked 7 times and attempted a thru-hike 6 other times. Really nice guy, I talked to him for about 5 or 10 minutes before realizing who he was. Rebel got a big kick out of it.
Date: 2007-04-19
From: N.O.C.

To: Sassafras Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Only 7 miles today but it was a big uphill pull we had to get over. Not as hard as I was expecting, but very tiring. We were going to keep going anoter 3.5 miles to Locust Cove Gap where there was a campsite we could've stayed at, but a mile after the shelter is Cheoah Bald, which has one of the best views in the southern Appalachians. So we decided to stick around and try to get up early the next morning to catch the sunrise.
Date: 2007-04-20
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

Big mile day, we got up at 5:30 to get to the top of Cheoah Bald in time for the sunrise. We started out nighthiking with headlamps and after a while I was able to turn mine off. Gorgeous view, great sunrise, it was really cold though. Nick and Ryan finished their section at Stecoah Gap at around 10:45 or so and headed out. It was kinda weird being on my own again, I really enjoyed hiking with them. Soon after they left I went up a really steep hill that is unnamed, Nick and Ryan should be really glad they missed it. It was the hardest thing I've done on the trail yet. About .7/mile, incredibly steep. Once I got close to the top where I could see the summit, switchbacks started. Only the second time I've been on the trail and cussed at the mountain. First time was on Kelly Knob, back in Georgia.
Date: 2007-04-21
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: broken clouds

Started hiking around 8:30 or so, got in Fontana Dam a little after 12. Rebel got in touch with Jeff and Nancy at the Hike Inn, a small hotel about 6 miles away from the dam exclusively for hikers. Jeff and Nancy are incredibly nice people, they did laundry for us and shuttled us in to town, but are so enjoyable to be around it made our stay that much more enjoyable. Rebel and Big Brother and I went out to eat at a really good mexican restaurant (I'm eating more than I ever have in my life now -- actually finishing meals instead of leaving a little bit on the plate) then resupplied at Ingles. Went back to the hotel, hung out for the rest of the night. Got my things ready to start up the Smokies.
Date: 2007-04-22
From: Fontana Dam

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Gotta take a zero today. Rebel, Brother, and I got up early this morning to get a good start on the day. We walked across Fontana Dam, got a couple pictures at the "Now Entering Smoky Mountains National Park" sign, then went to put on my pack. I lifted it up, and the right side of my back tightened up like a rope. I couldn't lift it any higher. I tried stretching it out for a good 10 minutes, tried putting the pack back on. Same thing. So now I'm at the Fontana Village Hotel, hung up for the day. I got some Epsom salts and muscle rub, trying to take it easy and get sorted out so I can get back to hiking tomorrow. I'm definitely disappointed, part of me wants to get back out there right now and just hike through the pain but another part is saying to take a day and let it settle down. I don't want to make it worse. Only good thing I can think of to come out of this is that I'll be able to watch the Braves-Mets today. Smoltz-Glavine.
Date: 2007-04-23
From: Fontana Dam

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

After taking a zero day in Fontana because of my back, I was able to start back up on the trail on my own without any problems. The first 10 miles were pretty tough up to Mollie's Ridge, up and down but most of it (probably around 85-90%) was up. Really good views over Fontana Dam, though, good weather. I was able to make it to Spence Field Shelter where I camped out, ending out a 16.5 mile day. Made it there in about 7 & 1/2 hours. (I stopped for lunch...took about 20 minutes.)
Date: 2007-04-24
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Had a slow start to the day, woke up around 8 and took my time getting out. It was raining off and on during the morning, so I waited until it was clear to break down my tent. I got a sudoku book (wish i had a kakuro book) and did a couple of those. I wound up leaving a little before 11 with my goal to get to Double Spring shelter. I met up with this guy, David, who was waiting on his cousin and his cousin's friend. They had started at the north end of the Smokies and were doing the whole 71.5 miles in 35 hours. All they had were camelbaks (water supporters) and energy bars/gels. I eventually met up with them around Rocky Top; they looked exhausted.Went over Rocky Top and Thunderhead in a cloud; apparently those are two of the best views of the Smokies, but not for me that day. I didn't even know I was on Rocky Top; I got to Thunderhead and saw the sign that said I was at Thunderhead and thought "Well hot damn, I missed Rocky Top!" I thought about going back but it was half a mile. I'll catch it next time I'm in the Smokies. The rest of the day was pretty tough, a lot of ups and downs, almost no level hiking. Tough pull getting to Silers Bald Shelter, which was around 11 miles, but then from there the hiking was awesome. Great views, early evening time, and a short hike to Double Springs Shelter. Double Springs is cool, there are a lot of pine trees so the change in scenery is definitely a welcome change. But what's cool is that there are two springs, one on each side of the trail, and no river. It's 5,507 feet up, so you're standing there thinking "Where the hell is this water coming from?"