morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-05-10
To: Tootsie-Rolls for Dinner 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It¢s 7:50 am and I have just opened the flap of my tent to peek outside. It¢s foggy and a little drizzly, but not bad. I hear all sorts of birds calling to one another: some musical and melodic, others more squawks and screeches. It promises to be a pleasant day, I believe.There¢s a big pile of rice and broccoli sitting on the ground outside of my tent. Last night it was supposed to be my dinner. In fact, I was really proud of myself yesterday for pushing so late into the day. I didn¢t stop hiking until 8:30 pm, because I wanted to put the miles in even though those were some really tough miles. My reward was to be a Knorr Rice Sides dinner: rice and pasta blend with broccoli and chicken flavored broth, into which I was going to add some canned chicken. I¢d been fantasizing about it for the last two miles. I was really looking forward to it! I mad camp in the dwindling light, and settled in to cook my dinner. Sadly, I didn¢t choose a very level spot for my stove and it toppled over, spilling the contents of my cook pot AND spilling the fuel all over the ground. I thought I was going to lose my tent! I grabbed the last of my water and doused the flames. Then I ate about 20 Tootsie-Roll Midges, which was supposed to be my ¢Treat¢ for the next 5 days and instead ended up as dinner, and went to bed in disgust. Now I awaken and open my tent to rediscover last night¢s dinner, a reminder of the meal I missed. Damn, it actually looks good there in the grass! It looks like last night¢s humidity reconstituted it nicely. Gee, I wonder how it would taste¢¦..By the way, yesterday's hike took me along a route called " Exposed Ridgeline Trail." Boy, was it ever tough, but fun. It required a lot of time and concentration to pick my way over the rocks and boulders, and it was pretty exhausting, but it was worth it. A nice change of pace from the roots, dirt, and trees, but definitely tough on the feet. Still, Tessa and I did great and made it to the 300 mile mark. Next goal: Erwin, TN.
Date: 2011-05-13
To: Appalachian Trail Days Hiker Festival 
Miles today: 0.0

I'm sitting in the basement of a church in Damascus, VA, waiting for my turn to take a shower. Hundreds, maybe thousands of hikers and vendors are here for the Trail Days Festival. This is the 25th anniversary of the event, at which AT hikers and vendors come together to celebrate the AT and the hiking lifestyle, buy and sell stuff, eat, drink and be merry. It's kind of crazy. There's a big tent city in which most of us are staying, and it seems like summer camp for grownups. Big fun. Tonight we're going to make hobo dinners on the fire, and I'm looking forward to it. I found a community of friends that I am camped with. I seem to continually encounter this same group of hikers at town stops, shelters, etc., so we are clearly hiking at similar paces. These folks have become the closest thing I have to a trail family. They are the young married couple Hum Dinger/Cyclone (she answers to both) and her pipe-smoking hubby, Sherlock; Verbal and Monster Pack; and Tyvek, Catfish Hunter (Catfish for short) and River Dog (River for short). Cyclone and Sherlock are an adorable young couple who've been married for five years and joke that they want to adopt Tessa as their baby. He's a chef and tortures us with tales of his culinary feats while we consume our miserable trail food. I'm not sure what Cyclone does for a living, but she's a talented musician with a lovely singing voice. This couple made close friends with two fellows, Verbal and Monster Pack, early on, and the foursome are a pretty tight unit. When I encounter them they are almost always together. Verbal is so named because of a character in a movie. I don't know the story. Monster Pack started his trek with a pack that weighed something outrageous, like 75 pounds. He's pared it down, of course, but the name stuck. The other three---Catfish, Tyvek, and River---also met one another early in their respective hikes and struck up a friendship, and have stayed together since. Finally, Meatloaf rounds out our crowd. I see these eight people almost daily, and it's a comfort to know that they are watching out for me. We don't hike together, but as I've said, we see each other on the trail frequently, and we sometimes camp together or spend time together during town stops. I'll tell you more about each of them soon; I believe I'm up for a shower and goodness knows I need it!
Date: 2011-05-17
To: Back on the Trail 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Back on the Trail Trail Days was a blast even though it rained every day and tent city was a huge, sodden, muddy mess. Today I'm back on the trail, doing a 15 mile slackpack day. Naturally it's raining, of course. But slackpacking will be nice, and hopefully I'll get my miles in early and get back here to the hostel where I am staying (Uncle Johnny's), and fill you in on Trail Days and everything else that's going on with me.I love you Pat and miss you like crazy. I'll call you today...I bought a cheapie Verizon phone because I'm sick of not being able to talk to you.
Date: 2011-05-18
To: Stuff and Nonsense 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today's hike was pleasant and low-key. The temperature was a tad on the chilly side, which is perfect once you get your body heat elevated with exercise. The hiking was easy and the miles were relatively fast. Now, gratefully, I have the rare opportunity to sit down to a real computer that actually has a reasonably fast speed. The hotel and hostel computers are generally pretty dismal, and my little computer is slightly hard to use, so on the rare occasions that I get to sit down to a "real" computer, it's a treat.As I make my continual way north, I find that I have lots and lots of time to get completely lost in thought. Sometimes I use my MP3 player to help set a pace with music, or to listen to an audio book, but I'm finding more and more that I like to listen to the trail sounds: birds and insects calling, primarily, but lots of variations on the sound of wind through the trees. And the varying tempo of the falling rain: I'm getting far too familiar with that sound. But sometimes even that is soothing. And I can hear when I'm approaching a water source, and judge the potential quality of it based on the intensity of the sound of the water. And my mind tends to wander all over the place! It's a time of self-discovery for me. My thoughts run the gamut: how a bear can live in the same jungle as a panther, an orangutan, a tiger and a boy; how fragrant the grass smells, sometimes even releasing a surprising and delightful citrus scent; how my family means the world to me; how my feet hurt; how lucky I am to be alive and experiencing this adventure; how that bear poop looks awfully fresh; how heavy my pack is; how this world is pretty amazing in so many ways...I told you that I would share with you the stories of some of the hikers I have met. I'll tell you the story of Tyvek, Catfish and River today, then I should relinquish the computer. I think others are interested in using it.Tyvek and Catfish were some of the first thru-hikers I met that are still here. The stronger hikers are long gone, the weaker, injured, or less dedicated hikers are off the trail. Folks who travel at a similar pace tend to see one another frequently. Such is the case with Tyvek and Catfish. In fact, Catfish is the man who bestowed me with my trail name. I'd been named "Bubbles" by a trail angel, but I hated it. It sounded like an exotic dancer's name to me, or a clown. I've since been reminded that it was the name of Michael Jackson's monkey. Anyway, I hated it, so I told folks I didn't really have a trail name. After a few minutes of chatting, Catfish told me emphatically, "You're Sunshine. That's your name. You're Sunshine." I tried to ditch that name too, but it stuck (and now it's growing on me
Date: 2011-05-18
To: Rain Fly Issue Resolved 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow. Somehow I always manage to get out of scrapes. My friend Tortoise says I must have fairies following me. At any rate, a friend named Minutae happened to have an extra silnylon tarp he's not usinmg, and he's lent it to me until I can get my own back. So, I'll sleep safe and sound after all. Rain? Bring it on.I'm off to do a 10-mile section that will officially get me to Erwin today, then another night at Uncle Johnny's, then back to the trail tomorrow with full gear. I'll be sure to enjoy this light day, because the break is over tomorrow. What shall I think of to keep my spirits up today? Naturally it's gray and damp outside, but at least at the moment it isn't raining. The gray won't get me down. I'll fight it with my own internal sunshine.
Date: 2011-05-18
To: Tootsie Rolls and Daisies 
Miles today: 0.0

I am staying at Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN. I will be here for a couple of days, using Uncle Johnny's as my base of operations while I slackpack a few sections in the immediate area. I did an easy 15 miles yesterday. It felt so great to hike without the cumbersome weight on my back.! Gosh, if I could slackpack every day I could do this trail so much more easily! Those 15 miles with about just 15 pounds rather than 40+ pounds felt wonderful.Despite the lack of weight on my back, yesterday wasn't exactly a walk in the park. The temperature was in the high 30's, and of course it rained all day long, non-stop. Still, I was able to make my miles more pleasant despite the cold and wet by thinking of things that make me happy, such as Tootsie Rolls and daisies. a warm caress, and others of life's simple pleasures. There are no daisies on the trail, and my Tootsie-rolls are gone. A warm caress is currently beyond my reach, but I have my thoughts to keep me warm, and until I can experience the real thing, my thoughts will suffice. Maybe that's why they call me Sunshine. My thoughts help me to keep a smile on my face.I've described my trials with tent camping to you. Some of the challenges are my own fault (such as placing my ground cloth incorrectly), but other challenges are inherent to tent camping. After talking with several "tree-huggers," I have decided to make the switch to hammock sleeping. I believe I'll stay warmer and dryer in the hammock system/ It remains to be seen, and I'll keep you posted.I know that I have several experienced hikers who read my posts, so I'll pose to you a couple of questions: I tend to sleep cold, and need all the warmth I can get. My current sleeping bag (a +25-degree REI down bag) isn't cutting it. In addition, I need another insulating layer under me. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions for me.I have a BIG dilemma I am trying to resolve today. In a classic Tami-move, I accidentally shipped home a critical piece to my hammock system: the rain fly. I was sorting what needed to stay with me vs. what needed to be mailed home, and when I packaged up my no-longer-needed tent, I shipped my rain-fly to the new Hennessy Hammock home. I'm trying to determine a temporary solution until I can get my own fly back, but in the meantime, I am in trouble. I'm not worried, though. Somehow, things always seem to work out for me and I believe a solution will come to me in this situation as well.I've lost several friends from the trail due to injury, and it makes me sad to see them go. Sometimes people drift into your life for such a brief while, but they still leave an indelible mark. I hope my friends are well on the way to recovery. You are in my thoughts.
Date: 2011-05-19
To: Reelin' Ya In
Miles today: 0.0

You know, I thought that...what the hell, while I'm here I'll make another plug for what I'm doing. Even if you donate only because you feel bad for my dilemma, or if you like my blog entries, whatever...If I touch you and my story touches you, please consider making a donation to my foundation, "For Aiden, With Love." I can assure you that all proceeds go toward my future goals, when I get off the trail, of getting involved with some projects involving Safe Sleep education, product safety for infants and children, and helping others who have been through what our family has been through. I promise that I'm taking nada. My trip, with all of its challenges and travails, is on me wholly. Anything I can entreat trusting folks to donate will be used for good things in my grandbaby's honor, I assure you with all of my heart. As I am focused on the trail, so will I be upon my return to making the world a little bit better place...especially for sweet babies. You've got to trust me on this. Surely you do by now, right? Think of it as your magazine subscription. You pay to enjoy it, right? Well, are you enjoying my story? Why not "subscribe" by making a donation (look for the box in the right column below), and know that your "subscription" will help me to try to do the things I intend to do upon my return. You'll have to trust me that I'll carry through, but hopefully if you've hung with me this far you know of my integrity and resolve. And just for added measure, know that my foundation is under the fiscal responsibility of a parent non-profit organization, so your donation is tax-deductible. I'm not in this for a buck. I'm serious. I have plans, and I have lots of time, as I walk and study roots, rocks, and crawling creatures, to contemplate how I might best use the funds raised in this endeavour. There's nothing concrete as to how the funds will be distributed or used, but I see education / crib death prevention as my main focus, and will use the funds toward that endeavour. Even before I left I was in contact with our largest local hospital about Safe Sleep education, and I was and am prepared to, single-handedly if I must, talk personally with as many new and expectant parents as I can about this. So anyway, this is a totally shameless plug for my foundation. Feeling your heartstrings pulling a little? Great. Show me. Make a donation, and know that your money will be used for good things upon my return, in memory of my beautiful grandbaby. Cue violins. But seriously...
Date: 2011-05-19
To: A Bit of Cheer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

A fellow hiker that I've been seeing for the past couple of weeks has arrived here at Uncle Johnny's. He works for stay at most of these places. Lots of hikers do that. They'll pull weeds, help with trash hauling, laundry, clean-up, construction, whatever is needed at a hostel in exchange for stay. (These hostels aren't anything like my Lakeway, TX crowd is likely to have experienced.) At any rate, Grim Pipemaker is here, and he told me about some of Tyvek's most recent trail engineering, and he gave me a gift(Grim just came in here to console me about my bad luck and brought it alll to the surface again. I'm going to take a break while I cry again for a while about my trail violation and how helpless I am feeling. Back later for more.)
Date: 2011-05-19
To: Biding My Time 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm just sitting here killing time, because there's nothing else I can do, while I wait to get my prescriptions filled and to catch a shuttle to town for some cash, because now I am completely broke. I can't even get a soda because it's in a machine. Otherwise the staff here would probably gladly give me one. They have odd things in their fridge, like YooHoo chocolate beverage (it's not even a dairy product. Strange stuff, but delicious with a shot of coffee concentrate, which they also sell here.) At least I have trail food to eat. And Tessa is down to Vienna sausages. Tessa and I have stuff to take care of here for sure, and I'm doing my best but I'm at the mercy of others (hubby, doctor, pharmacy, shuttle driver), so I'm sort of stuck in limbo. In the meantime, I'll tell you more about last night.I hung out here and updated my blog a bit, as you know. I decided to just have a quiet evening here, and I asked some of the other hikers to pick me up some food in town when the shuttle drove in, so that I could stay here. There were numerous other hikers who remained here as well. After a while four people showed up. They made themselves perfectly at home, and at first I thought nothing of it because it's a hostel; hikers are in and out all the time. I assumed, by their behavior, that they were friends of one of the hikers, or Johnny, or someone here. They even kept dropping Johnny's name in conversation, as if the knew him well. Aftera while I began to notice some things that made me uneasy. They hung around the bunkroom and I myself saw all three hanging around right next to my bunk; they couldn't remember folks' names who work here; and they just...well, they just felt wrong. I can't think of a better way to say it. But there was nothing I could do about it by then. The Uncle Johnny's staff was gone on a town shuttle run, and I had no authority or reason to tell them to leave. My suspicions weren't enough.Stupidly I tried to ignore my suspicions. I went to sit outside at the picnic table out front. Lots of hikers were there. One of the trio passed around a bottle of whiskey. The others were gone. That's when I think it happened. I should have remained by my bunk and listened to my instincts.I have never felt that my belongings were in jeapoardy out here on the trail before. We hikers are a family. We have to be able to trust one another, and we do...completely. No one would steal from another hiker. It's the locals who prey on hikers that you have to worry about. I've seen it myself once before, and now I've experienced it, too. I will continue to trust my hiker family, but I'll be sure to at least keep my identification, bank cards, and an emergency sup
Date: 2011-05-19
To: Just a Little Bump in the Road 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

The wheels are in motion to get things resolved as best I can. This will slow me down for a day, but it won't stop me. I'm putting my Sunshine face back on. I have calls happening between the local pharmacy, my physician, and my husband to get my medications taken care of. (By the way, yes it's beautiful out here and I am living an amazing experience, but I do still need the medication for depression. I've had a tough couple of years.) Anyhow, that will be resolved in the next few hours, I expect. And Uncle Johnny's has offered me a cabin to use while I get these things resolved, and to stay here until morning before hiking out. In the meantime, they are going to take me to get some cash. Thankfully, I'd stored my bank card and identification in another pocket, so the scumbags at least didn't get those. I am able to at least access cash. All is not lost. I felt like it was for a little while there, but things are going to be okay. I'm just brokenhearted about the photographs, but such is life sometimes. Thank you for your positive thoughts and well-wishes. I assure you, this will not stop me. I'll be back on the trail first thing tomorrow. Probably while I'm here I'll use the time to get back on this computer and tell you some of the many stories I haven't had time to tell you
Date: 2011-05-19
To: Venting 
Miles today: 0.0

I'm sitting here at a complete loss as to what to do. I've been through freezing rain, sleet, snow, wind, days of being wet, days of having my feet ache, and through it all I have maintained a positive attitude. This, however, is too much. I'm sitting here sobbing my eyes out and I just want to be held. I can't believe this! I have been very fortunate in my life in that Pat and I are financially secure, but even so I do not consider myself a materialistic person. I can replace my cash, the camera batteries, etc. I hate, however, not having my medication. That creates a terrible hardship for me, especially since one of my medications is for depression. But what I will never be able to replace are those photographs, memories I have captured of an amazing episode of my life. Damn those scumbags!!! I will be fine, don't worry about me. I'll get past this episode, but hell...this really sucks.Okay I'm going to try to be done venting now. I'm going to try to stop crying. God how I need a hug.
Date: 2011-05-19
To: A Really Rotten, No Good, Terrible, Bad Day 
Miles today: 0.0

The trail fairies that Tortoise says I have following me have apparently left me. I've been robbed. Last night here at Uncle Johnny's Hostel came a trio of folks who went lurking around the place. They arrived when the folks who work here were gone on a town shuttle. They told us they were friends of Uncle Johnny's and the shuttle driver. I felt suspicious right away, and I asked them the shuttle driver's name. They couldn't remember. They lurked around but there was really nothing I could do about it. All three of them were hanging around near my bunk, onto which I had emptied my pack. Shortly thereafter, the folks who work here returned and it was determined that these folks had no business here. The cops were called, and the trio were escorted from the premises. Later, I discovered that my little stuff sack was missing. I am devastated and it's all I can do not to cry. I don't care about most of the things in it; things are replaceable. The issue is that it creates a hardship for me. All of my prescription medication is in there. All of my money. All of my batteries for my camera. And most importantly of all is a memory card on which there are irreplaceable photographs of a whole segment of my trip, including Trail Days in Damascus and some of my friends whom I likely will never see again. The police are on their way to take a report. In the meantime, I just can't help it...I think I need to go be by myself and cry for a while. For the first time on this trip this is more than I can take without shedding some tears.