morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-29
From: CT 55 Gaylordville CT

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept in till 6:30am this morning! The latest I've slept since before I left for my hike. I decided to join my son Andrew for a trip out to Storrs, CT to surprise my dad and stepmom with a visit as they were still unaware I was off trail. We went for breakfast at Dog lane on the UCONN campus followed by a round of Frisbee golf on campus. We used to play all the time on my dad's old 20 acre property in Chaplin Ct., so it was great to have a three generational match. It was tight for a bit, but I pulled away in the end with a score of -1, followed by Andrew at +2 and my dad at +4. The old man has lost some distance off the tee, but we all enjoyed being together.    After that, it was back home to check on all my gear that I had put out in the sun to dry out after my Stormville NY debacle in the rain. Got everything dry and put in a neat pile in our back room. Made an early dinner, of grilled chicken thighs, homemade french fries and zuchinni, as my two younger sons had practices to attend. My wife was very happy to come home from work to a ready to eat meal and quickly accepted my offer for a cocktail. I did the taxi work to and from practices as my wife has been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off while I've been gone. So not regretting taking the extra days at home! My feet were sore all day as I took less pain reliever thinking, I'm not hiking, I won't need as much. Not the case. Great to be home for my first zero since Harper's ferry.Living Proof
Date: 2016-06-30
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept like a rock last night! I can't remember the last time I slept so soundly. Today, the push I've been on finally caught up with me as I was simply exhausted all day. My honey do list was barely touched as the only thing I managed to get done was mow the lawn. By 1pm, I could barely keep my eyes open, so I lied down for power nap. 3 and half hours later I awoke and felt like someone had drugged me. Kathleen, my wife, had plans for us to attend the concert in the park in town with some friends, so I took a shower and managed to get ready by the time she came home from work. Country music at the park, not the biggest fan, but they were pretty good. Home by 8:30, brief visit from my neighbor Hilda, who seem bewildered by the idea of me sleeping outside every night. Picked up my 16 year old Colin from a party with co workers by 10:30pm and off to bed.    I'm still very happy to have taken some extra days at home. It seems I have been hiking on pure adrenaline for the last 70 days. Now that I'm home and able to relax, I'm feeling how totally wiped out I am physically. Nonetheless, I'm really looking forward to getting back on the trail and experiencing the upcoming 738 miles! I'm hearing nothing but amazing things about NH and Maine. Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-03
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

The plan today was breakfast at my dad's house with my two younger sons and my wife followed by another round of frisbee golf on the UCONN campus. I was feeling achy on the way out and thought I may be coming down with a cold or something. We then went to our friend's house, the Tavano's for a picnic. When we got there my body aches had worsened and I had developed the chills. We had been there an hour, when I asked my wife to run me home as I was struggling to even stay awake. Kathleen wanted to take me to the hospital, but I needed to sleep. I got home and slept for the next four hours, woke up for an hour and then slept the rest of the night. As my body pains, fatigue and fever and chills worsened today, the possibility of a Lyme disease DX seemed like a real possibility. I really hope not, but I've never experienced anything quite like this before.Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-04
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I was up around 8:30am and Kathleen brought me to Hartford Hospital ER. After reading up bit on Lyme disease, it seems a foregone conclusion that I have been infected. The hospital did blood work, chest x-ray, pumped me with some fluids and ended up sending me home with a prescription for Docycycline. An anti-biotic used to treat Lyme disease. All I can say about Lyme disease is that it really sucks! Fever and chills, take tylenol, pour sweat out every pore on your body.   Joint and muscles aches making getting out of a chair, couch, or bed a painful experience. Then lastly fatigue. I slept after getting home from the hospital from 5pm to 10 pm, then back to sleep by 11:15pm to 8:30am the next morning. More frustrating, is the fact that there doesn't seem to be a playbook for Lyme disease recovery. Obviously, I will not be doing any hiking until my current symptoms have been alleviated. When that will occur? I really don't know at this point. Some people recover in a couple weeks, while others suffer with symptoms for years. I'm hoping I was infected very recently as that would indicate a quicker recovery, but only time will tell. The good news is that's it's only 7/4! I have a lot time to make to Baxter state park. The chance's of me finishing in August are slim to none now, but that's fine. Just need to get healthy as quickly as possible now.Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-05
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I woke up early this morning to use the bathroom and found my half of the bed absolutely soaked with sweat! Lovely. The cycle of fevers and sweats is the bodies way of killing off the foreign bacteria and then shedding them through your pores. Needless to say, I had laundry to do. I had another healthy sweat reaction when I woke up, but after that, the cycle of chills, fevers and sweats was over. I took antibiotic doses 2 and 3 of 28 today. Joint pain didn't seem quite as bad today, although I did have significant headaches and a really stiff neck. On a positive note, I binge watched Game of thrones season 6 and it didn't disappoint! From what I've read I can expect a full recovery in a week to several months. 739 miles to hike by 10/15 and my health is complete limbo. I should be somewhat conditioned and used to not having the idea that I don't have the illusion of complete control over my health at this point, but it's still rather frustrating. Just going to have to be patient and let this thing play out, the way it's going to play out.Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-06
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Typing 0.0 in the daily miles section of this trail journal is really starting to get under my skin! Poor metaphor, it's better than another tick I suppose? Doses 4 and 5 of 28 of my Doxycycline treatment today. I see my GP Friday and he should have my bloodwork results from ER trip on Monday. I'm not sure what unexpected good news he can give me, still trying to think up something to hope for. Ideally, I would hope to feel well enough to start hiking again next Monday as the humid heat wave we're in will be over by then. That's my hope. My knees, hips and lower back feel like they need a bottle of WD-40 each and I'm still fatigued. Patience really is a virtue and I could definitely be more virtuous! Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-07
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light intensity drizzle

Doses 6 and 7 of my doxycycline today and I continue to feel better with each passing day. Fatigue is lessening with increased energy. My joints are slowly starting to loosen up as well.       The lowlight of my day was driving my son Owen,14, to lacrosse practice at rush hour! I have often spoken to other hikers how any stress of a thru hike is far less stressful than sitting in traffic. Traffic in Hartford was complicated by a Florida/Georgia Line concert in the Hartford area. My task was simple. Drive from Newington through Hartford to Windsor, then drive through Hartford again to attend my monthly Brain tumor support meeting that I was lucky enough to be home for. This journey ended up only taking roughly 70-75 minutes, but I had reached my breaking point shortly after hour into my drive. I thought to myself,"It took a good 8 hours of steady hiking on the worst of PA. rocks for me to lose my shit! Now, I'm sitting in A/C with music, clean, with a full tummy and I'm losing my mind after an hour." Interesting.   Luckily, my next stop was the highlight of my day. Hartford Hospital's brain tumor support group. I have attended these meetings off and on since my diagnosis. They were extremely helpful for me in the first months of my diagnosis. You get to meet other survivors and hear about their struggles and their successes. Your not the only one whose life has been turned upside down and many of these people actually seem happy! Unthinkable and hard to fathom for the newly diagnosed, as it was for me. I was able to meet positive, grateful, and amazing survivor's. It gave me a goal. I wanted to be like them. I was able get there and I give some credit to this group, including it's survivors and caregiver's who attend and the facilitators who run the group.   Last night's group had a very large turnout and everyone shared stories of success or fears about what may lie ahead. I met new attendees and saw other's who had overcome major hurdles since I've last seen them. Very inspiring. I left the meeting feeling energized and my mini meltdown in traffic was a distant memory.    See GP tomorrow, hoping for all good to neutral news. Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-09
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today began with a wait. Apparently it takes a very long time to get your nails done. Who knew? Kathleen got home, new nails and all we headed to West Hartford for a stop at REI. Picked up some new hiking shoes and standard size sawyer water filter as I've reached my limit of patience with the Mini. Quick trip to Whole Foods for chicken and veggies for grilled Kababs later in the day. We had some friends come by and then some more showed up. Impromptu gathering, we'll call it. Some rousing games of Cornhole that I really enjoyed as there is little to no cornhole on the trail Stayed up far later than I had planned as I have to go to a lacrosse tournament in New Haven early in the morning. Plan is set, getting ride back to mile 1455 early Monday morning. My energy level is increasing, but still far from normal and still 8 or 9 days of antibiotic to finish. I'll just do what I can each day and see where that ends up taking me. Got try to stay out of the sun as meds cause severe sunburns. Shouldn't be too tough in the "green tunnel".Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-10
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

After about four hours of sleep, I was up very early to bring my son Owen to his lacrosse tourney at Yale university in New Haven. It was a very long day, but I was glad to see him play as I've been hiking his entire season. It seems the precautions about sun exposure and Doxycycline are true. I really tried to stay in the shade today and what little sun I got, gave me significant color. Kathleen is driving me back to Gaylordsville early tomorrow morning and I'm going to try to meet up with a dad in the afternoon for a short flat section along the Housatonic river. Planning on doing 18 or 22 miles, see how I'm feeling. Keeping it short, gotta sleep.Living Proof
Date: 2016-07-11
From: CT 55

To: Silver hill campsite
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: broken clouds

Day 96CT 55 Gaylordsville to Silver Hill campsite 21.2Total 2016 miles 1477.0   Time to hike! I was up at 5 am and Kathleen woke surprisedly easily as we were up and out by 5:45. Couple stops later we were at the trailhead by 7:15. A hug and a kiss later, I was off. I have to say I wasn't thrilled to be leaving her, so I just ripped off the band aid and bee lined it for the trail. 12 zero days is far too many, my trekking poles felt awkward and it took me a couple hundred yards to get used to them again. The plan was to hike 16 miles and meet my dad at 2:30, so he could hike a few miles with me. Up hills weren't bad, my quads will be a bit sore though. The downhills were my problem today. The time off and residual Lyme effects made some brutal downhills more brutal. Good way to get back into the pain of a thru hike. Why wait, just jump into it. I was only 10 minutes late for my dad, which approximating how long it will take to hike 16 miles isn't an exact science was pretty good. We went to lunch in Kent and got ice cream, then back to the trail for a short hike along the Housatonic river. I appreciated him making the effort to join me, even if for a short section.   We said our goodbyes and I continued on another 3-4 miles. I'm running into many hikers I haven't seen in many states with my 12 zeros. The first group of four I found this morning, I had I met before! I only recognized two and but some memory jogging I remembered the other two. Meet another young who said she met another living proof, to which I said there is only one living proof! Told her I had a Scary beard and hat back then and quickly realized she was talking to the only living proof on trail. Good day, but I'll be sore for the next week. Get my ass to Vermont in the meantime. I ended up gaining 6-7 pounds, but that will be gone quickly. My Weightloss has seemed to plateau at 165, which I can live with. Going to sleep early tonight and give my legs some extra rest after today's reintroduction to the hike. As long as they are back in form by NH, I'll be good.Living Proof
Date: 2017-06-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow! Trail journals site is totally revamped!  I'm resuming my journal and my hike on the AT tomorrow after ending last year's hike in Salisbury Ct.  I have roughly 689 miles to Katadin, not looking forward to getting my "trail legs" back, but at least I've trained a bit.  It's supposed to be super humid tomorrow with severe storms and flash flood warnings on Monday afternoon.  Gotta love it!  Living Proof
Date: 2017-06-18
From: Salisbury US 44

To: Glen Brook
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: broken clouds

I was up at 4:30 am this morning with pre hike jitters.  My dad picked me up at 8:30, little breakfast in Winsted and on the trail by 11 am.  Did 45 minutes with my dad, which was slow, but it was fun listening to him groan up a 4 percent grade.  Thanks dad and happy Father's Day!   Now the real hiking began and it was Humid!  Bear mt, I managed ok,  the next two climbs I really suffered though!  Apparently my cardio training sucked.  I had to stop multiple times on both climbs and take a 20 minute break on each summit! I did have a saving grace by the name of mousedog, who distracted me with talk of the trail.  As we hiked together on flats and downhills.  In all, I survived, but very tough day.  No blisters, no injuries, could have been worse. Tomorrow there is a severe weather warning in mid afternoon, so I'll be up at 4:30 am to make sure I have a roof over my head by 2:00pm.  If I don't I'll likely be caught in hail and high winds and thunderstorms.  That would be bad :( off to sleep.Living Proof
Date: 2017-06-19
From: Glen Brook

To: MA 23
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

I woke at 4:15am to the flash of lightning and claps of thunder.  Luckily, it passed to the north with only light rain where I was.  With severe weather predicted for the afternoon,I was on the trail by 5:10am.  It was fairly flat most of the day and I made really good time the first 10 miles. I had originally planned on stopping at Tom Leonard shelter, but apparently Porcupines also inhabit this shelter.  I was hiking with mousedog again most of the day.  He informed me that was a 10$ retreat center 3.5 miles past the shelter.  The sun was still shining, so I figured I could beat the system moving in.  Wrong!  I ended up roadwalking the last 1.5 miles to the center in a absolute downpour.  A hot shower, pizza and bed for the night was well worth it though.  My body is sore, I'm gonna try to take it slow tomorrow and just see where I end up.  Hopefully some less humid weather in store.  Quick side note, worst day of bugs I've seen on trail, my guess is I have roughly 50 mosquito bites.Living Proof
Date: 2017-06-20
To: Upper Goose Pond 
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day started with a 1.5 mile walk to the trail where I was welcomed by a mile of thick mosquitoes that just devoured my lower legs!  Thankfully the humidity from the past two days was gone, so hiking was much more pleasant.  It was generally flat today with a couple significant climbs.  I'm figuring out my pacing up hills, given my current fitness level it's might look a slo motion video.  I was tearing along the flats today and felt better than the two days.  I hit another swarm of mosquitoes in the afternoon that attacked my arms and neck for about a mile.  In all I must have no less than 50-75 bites at the moment.  Upper goose pond is cool little spot, getting coffee and pancakes in morning, Yum!Living Proof
Date: 2017-06-21
From: Upper Goose Pond 

To: Kay Wood Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 5:30 to assist the caretaker with coffee and pancake prep.  Had 4 pancakes and couple mags of coffee.  Neat place, I'd suggest stopping early in the day and enjoy it. Was on the trail by 7:15 and passed over I-90(mass pike).  Weather was lovely again today as I was treated to cool breezes and no bugs to speak of.  I got a nice view on warner hill where the breeze was so refreshing.  Got to camp and realized my tent had gotten wet in the thunderstorm two days ago, so it's wet and smells like ass.  Letting it air dry for an hour before I go to sleep in the stink.  Into dalton tomorrow morning for town food, resupply and get these damn entries online.Living Proof
Date: 2015-01-07
To: Let's get on with the show....
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I am going to do this. I am going to hike approximately 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine on the Appalacian Trail. My journey is as of right now set to begin on April 1, 2016. This gives me 15 months to transform this life long "bucket list" item into a challenge that I can not only complete, but also enjoy completing. The outdoors are not new to me. I have spent many days and nights in the woods; hunting, trapping and fishing. More recently my time in the woods has been spent on our farm in East Texas performing land stewardship projects, making the place a good place for wildlife. During my outdoor adventures I have spent many nights in tents, can build a fire and things like bears, snakes and the dark don't freak me out. Despite having complete comfort in my outdoors skills, I have very little hiking experience and nothing in the way of hiking and camping over long periods of time. I have now started to purchase my equipment (hunting gear has nothing on ultra light hiking gear). So far I have very little, but this is why I am heading out in 2016. My goal is to have most of my equipment before this April. I plan to do a test hike in the summer of 2015 and pull off a hike/fly fishing boondoggle somewhere out west. I hope you all come along...
Date: 2015-01-08
To: About the AT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I found this overview of the AT on several other blogs... so I figured there was no harm in shamelessly kyping it for my second entry. I thought the overview was good for anyone who was tuning into my blog who was not familiar with the AT. The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest continuously marked footpath in the world, measuring roughly 2,180 miles in length. The Trail goes through fourteen states along the crests and valleys of the Appalachian mountain range from the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia, to the Trail¢s northern terminus at Katahdin, Maine.Known as the ¢A.T.,¢ it has been estimated that 2-3 million people visit the Trail every year and about 1,800¢2,000 people attempt to ¢thru-hike¢ the Trail. People from across the globe are drawn to the A.T. for a variety of reasons: to reconnect with nature, to escape the stress of city life, to meet new people or deepen old friendships, or to experience a simpler life.The A.T. was completed in 1937 and is a unit of the National Park System. The A.T. is managed under a unique partnership between the public and private sectors that includes, among others, the National Park Service (NPS), the USDA Forest Service (USFS), an array of state agencies, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and 31 local Trail-maintaining clubs.Fun Facts¢¢The Trail is roughly 2,180 miles long, passing through 14 states.¢¢Thousands of volunteers contribute roughly 220,000 hours to the A.T. every year.¢¢More than 250 three-sided shelters exist along the Trail.¢¢Virginia is home to the most miles of the Trail (about 550), while West Virginia is home to the least (about 4).¢¢Maryland and West Virginia are the easiest states to hike; New Hampshire and Maine are the hardest.¢¢The total elevation gain of hiking the entire A.T. is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times.¢¢The A.T. is home to an impressive diversity of plants and animals. Some animals you may see include black bears, moose, porcupines, snakes, woodpeckers, and salamanders. Some plants you may encounter include jack-in-the-pulpit, skunk cabbage, and flame azalea.Hikers¢¢About 2 to 3 million visitors walk a portion of the A.T. each year.¢¢The A.T. has hundreds of access points and is within a few hours drive of millions of Americans, making it a popular destination for day-hikers.¢¢¢Thru-hikers¢ walk the entire Trail in a continuous journey. ¢Section-hikers¢ piece the entire Trail together over years. ¢Flip-floppers¢ thru-hike the entire Trail in discontinuous sections to avoid crowds, extremes in weather, or start on easier terrain.¢¢1 in 4 who attempt a thru-hike successfully completes the journey¢¢Most thru-hikers walk north, starting in Georgia in spring and finishing in Maine in fall, taking an average of 6 months.¢¢Foods high in calories and low in water weight, such as Snickers bars and Ramen Noodles, are popular with backpackers, who can burn up to 6,000 calories a day.¢¢Hikers usually adopt ¢trail names¢ while hiking the Trail. They are often descriptive or humorous. Examples are ¢Eternal Optimist,¢ ¢Thunder Chicken,¢ and ¢Crumb-snatcher".
Date: 2015-03-03
To: Preparations put off for a ticket scramble...
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I am back. My preparations were temporarily thrown back by an all hands on deck battle to score tickets for the Grateful Dead's 50 Year Anniversary celebration in Chicago July 3,4 and 5 of this year! Thankfully my hike is not until next year as this would have been a bummer to miss. As it stands I almost missed getting tickets and was rejected in the what will go down in history as the biggest blunder... the mail-order (where 90% of all fans requested tickets were denied). This in turn fanned the flames and put the event in the crosshairs of every scalper, carpet-bagger, scum-bag, opportunist, wanna-be deadhead and toolbox in the nation. Through sheer determination I mustered a small army of relatives and friends to man almost 25 computers last Saturday when the remaining tickets went on sale. At 10:00 am on Saturday February 28th 500,000 fingers touched the "find tickets" button on Ticketmaster's website (more people than who attended Woodstock).By 10:01 am it was over. Either your electronic impulse made it to Ticketmaster's server or it crashed along the way. There was not time for second tries. When the dust settled I was the proud owner of a pair of 3 day passes to the event. Every silver lining does have a touch of grey and my grey comes in the shade of backstage/no view tickets. I have never bought a pair of worse tickets and never have been so happy to get these tickets. At some point you have to smile at life serves you.So back to the AT prep...