morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-31
From: Mollies Ridge

To: Derrick Knob
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

March 31st. 11.7 cold, rainy, windy miles. Really tough trail. My ankle was about twice the normal size at the end of the day. I was afraid that I maight not be able to continue. Pretty depressed about the whole situation. The rain did stop long enough to cook a hot dinner which helped alot. Will just take it one day at a time and hope to be able to continue.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-01
From: Derrick Knob

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

April fool day ! The weather took a turn for the worse today. A cruel joke by the weather gods. Cold, rainy, insanely windy for the first day of April. Would have been blown off the ridge if I wasn't wearing a 40 pound pack. Expecting snow flurries tonight and tomorrow morning.Decided to make today a short day to try to rest the ankle and dry out a little. Only went 7.2 from Derrick Knob to Double Springs Gap today. Ankle wasn't any worse so I guess my foot won't fall off today. Hope that a short day today will help the healing process. Only 3 miles to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the A.T. at 6643ft. Ask Jeff Willingham about our climb up to the Dome a few years ago. We stayed in the same mouse infested shelter on that trip too. Well, the shelter is the same now as then.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-03
From: Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, TN

To: Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I just received a disc with photos from Vitaman's first 3 weeks on the trail. Have patience as I enter them in his photo journal. All dates are approximate as are locations...I'll do my best to figure out where he is. Vitaman and his hiking buddies are still in Gatlinburg waiting for the weather to break in the mountains. They hope to leave tomorrow, April 4, 2005. Next stop will be Hot Springs. Missing Kink
Date: 2005-04-04
From: Grand Prix Motel in Gatlinburg, TN

To: Peck's Corner
Miles today: 10.4

April 4th, Monday...sunny, cool day. 10.4 snowy, slushy, muddy miles. Hiked the ridge line all day with spectacular views all the way. Got pictures of some of the views. My ankle was fine for about 30 minutes, then the pack weight and trail conditions started to take their toll. I limped along the rest of the day. Is becoming clear that the ankle will not get better as long as I keep hiking on it. Am committed to getting out of the Smokies though, which is 2 more days. After that, I don't know. RIC   aka...Vitamann
Date: 2005-04-05
From: Peck's Corner

To: Tri Corner Knob
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Tuesday, April 5th, sunny, breezy and horrible trail conditions. Left Pecks Corner shelter about 8am thinking we would go all the way to Cosby shelter, 13.6 miles away. However, terrible trail conditi ons made us rethink our plan. Because of so much snow/slush on the trail, it was a struggle just to make 1 mph. So when we got to Tri-Corner Knob about
Date: 2005-04-06
From: Tri Corner Knob

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

14.9 miles on this fine April 6th. Sunny, 65 degrees, light breeze. Finally a day with good trail conditions after a disastrous few days trying to get thru the Smokies. Beautiful views, when it wasn't snowing, foggy or raining, which was 5 out of 7 days. Still, got some good pictures to remember the experience by. The price was very high though as my body feels totally worn out from head to toe. Could hardly find the energy to make dinner tonight. Only going 4 miles tomorrow to the Standing Bear hostel. Will reasses what to do from there. Did not have a good time this last week at all with my physical failures and the extreme weather conditions. Would seem my body was not quite ready for this much physical torture to happen in 230 miles worth of hiking. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Lets wait and see what it brings. ( rain is in the forcast for the next three days)                     RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-07
From: Davenport Gap

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: light rain

April 7th. A little rain during the night but just partly cloudy skies during the day. It was 3.7 miles from the shelter to the hostel and the last 2 miles were the most interesting of the trail so far with several different little flowers starting to bloom and the trail crossing a small stream several times as it wound down the hillside. Noticed a few old homesteads where there were crumbled foundations. Just a very pretty part of the trail and I took a bunch of pictures of it all.Will stay the rest of today and tomorrow at the hostel since rain is predicted, then head out for Hot Springs NC. Should get there on Monday the 11th before the post office closes to pick up my next mail drop. At least that is the plan as of now.This, Standing Bear hostel, is an old homestead and has a few small buildings that make up the place. Tim and I were the first ones here so we got to stay in an old, small one room cabin that was built from the lummber of an old barn, with a stream running directly under it. The sound of the water gurgleing as it flowed underneath made for good sleeping. I got a picture of the cabin to show everyone....eventually. There is no electricity in the cabin so we use candles to see with after dark. Pretty unique. The rest of the hikers that showed up had to stay in the bunkhouse, which has 12 bunk platforms in it, so we felt special staying in the cabin. The ankle seems better today. not as sore or swollen, so the duct tape cast I made seems to be working. Just about out of duct tape though so I'll have to ' yogi ' some from the other hikers till we get to Hot Springs where I can get another good supply.RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-09
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 14.0

Saturday, April 9th. Mostly sunny and about 70 degrees. 14 tough miles.Ankle was good today. Seems to be healing nicely with my duct tape cast holding it in place. Went over Snowbird Mountain today and got a couple of good pictures of the Snowbird VOR for all of my air traffic controller friends, that sits on top of the mountain. Been using it for years and never knew the AT goes right by it on top of the mountain.I looked for bullet holes and didn't see any. Think I could bill the FAA for an inspection fee ?Took some pictures of what the trail looks like this time of year in a couple different places and a couple pictures on top of Max Patch Mountain which is totally all grass with great views. Coming up to the mountain, just before the climb up I found some 'trail magic'. Someone had put some cans of coke next to the trail and covered them with ice. What a great surprise just when you need a boost to get to the top of a mountain. I am very gratefull to whoever did it because my butt was really dragging right about then.Very nice sunset tonight so we are hoping for another nice day tomorrow.Must rest up for tomorow. Have a couple of steep 1000 ft climbs and also a couple steep 500 footers to contend with. Will try to get on the trail at dawn to get as much of the climbing done before it gets too hot.Heard it might get near 80 degrees, which is way too hot for climbing mountains. RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-10
From: Max Patch

To: Deer Park Shelter
Miles today: 16.1

A 16.1 mile day. Sunny and hot this April 10th. Near 80 degrees this afternoon. I HATE hot weather. I'm sure I got sunburned a little...again.No spectacular views today, or much of anything really. Some of the parts of the trail did have so many little flowers alongside that it looked like snow from a few feet away. I tried to take a couple pictures of it and hope they turn out.Long hot day and again my entire body hurts, especially my feet. Should get a good 10 hours of sleep tonight then only 3.5 into Hot Springs. Should make it for a big greasy breakfast if we leave at first light !! RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-11
From: Deer Park Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

3.2 miles, mostly down, into Hot Springs this morning. Left the shelter early and got to town at 9am.Just in time for a big breakfast at the local greasy spoon. It was GREAT !! Checked in at the local motel, no TV or phones, to get cleaned up a little......OK, get cleaned up a lot.I got my shower, but Tim from Ohio didn't as the water company shut off the water to fix a leak in the water main across the street. An hour ago, the water company guy said they would be done in 30 minutes. Of course that doesn't include time off for lunch !Post office did not have my supply box in yet so I have to check back with them later this afternoon. Stopped in at the local hiker outfitter to look around and weighed myself on his scale. I started the hike at 225 pounds and today I weighed in at 195. That means after one full month of hiking I have lost 1 pound a day for 30 days. On the surface that may sound great, but actually that is way too much to lose in such a short span of time. I will have to rethink all of this meal planning stuff or I will end up looking like I've been starving in a concentration camp.Total miles so far is 270.7. It feels like a lot farther !!RIC   aka...Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-11
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

3.2 miles, mostly down, into Hot Springs this morning. Left the shelter early and got to town at 9am.Just in time for a big breakfast at the local greasy spoon. It was GREAT !! Checked in at the local motel, no TV or phones, to get cleaned up a little......OK, get cleaned up a lot.I got my shower, but Tim from Ohio didn't as the water company shut off the water to fix a leak in the water main across the street. An hour ago, the water company guy said they would be done in 30 minutes. Of course that doesn't include time off for lunch !Post office did not have my supply box in yet so I have to check back with them later this afternoon. Stopped in at the local hiker outfitter to look around and weighed myself on his scale. I started the hike at 225 pounds and today I weighed in at 195. That means after one full month of hiking I have lost 1 pound a day for 30 days. On the surface that may sound great, but actually that is way too much to lose in such a short span of time. I will have to rethink all of this meal planning stuff or I will end up looking like I've been starving in a concentration camp.Total miles so far is 270.7. It feels like a lot farther !!RIC   aka...Vitaman****transcribers note: the weight lose means we are not sending enough chocolate chip cookies and brownies! If you would like to know where Vitaman will be getting mail, email his journal and I will send that to you...MK
Date: 2005-04-16
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well folks, I have ended my thru hike attempt here in Hot Springs NC. Gone 270.7 miles according to the guide book. Very hard to discribe the experience. Sort of like trying to tell someone what the Grand Canyon looks like. Just can't do it justice. I am soooooo very glad I did this. Amazing experience of a lifetime is about the best I can come up with, even though I barely made it past 10% of the entire trail. According to those who are supposed to know, I hiked the hardest section of the trail though. Met a bunch of really great fellow hikers and trail angels. Experienced some of the most horrific but beautiful weather conditions and saw some of the most rugged and gorgious land this side of the Mississippi.....all on my own two feet. Lost 30 pounds in the 30 day time span for my efforts, which is a good thing for me, except now none of my clothes fit anymore ! Have a ton of pictures and memories that are priseless. A 100% positive learning experience that I most highly recommend for anyone to also do. Can't thank the people who have helped me set up my hike and to do this enough. Just how can you thank someone who has made it possible to have such a life altering experience. Believe me, it was a team effort and as most of you know, I am a " chellenging student " to put it in politically correct language.Those who are still hiking have my highest respect, for I know the level of difficulty that they have faced and are facing each day. But I also know the rewards they are experiencing to make it worth the effort. To show some of what I saw along the way I added a bunch of pictures to the web page of the north side of the Smokies after the blizzard and a few more miles over Snowbird Mountain and into Hot Springs NC. The pictures don't do the views justice of course but give an idea of what the country I was hiking thru was like.Some of the mountains that we hiked up have roads that lead to the top or close to the top and I recommend that when down in the mountains, to take the time to get to the top of some of those mountains. It is a tremendous and humbleing experience to view such vastness. I will leave the web page intact in case anyone has questions or wants to make comments. I now have some trail experience and would be glad to help anyone else set up their own hike. I plan to go back and hike the Hot Springs NC. to Damascus VA. section this fall ( November ). Should take about 3 weeks in case anyone wants to join me.Vitaman
Date: 2005-04-17
From: home

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hey folks, have had a few of my journal watchers wonder why I got off trail when I did. So I will try to explain as best I can with the knowledge that 99% of those who read this won't be able to relate. Well, it was a descision based on my past history of heat related physical problems...........ie, heat stroke. As my hiking partners of the past 10 years or so can attest to, genetically I have an undesirable reaction to temperatures of about 70 degrees or more when under hard physical exertion. I can't get my body to dissapate the heat build up no matter what I try to do. That is why I do most all of my hiking/backpacking/camping in the winter months or go to places that are cool year round like Alaska, Glacier Park, Montana, Yellowstone or the Porcupine Mountains of the upper peninsula of Michigan. I hibernate in the summer and go out to play in the winter. See....I said you wouldn't be able to relate.Anyway, the temps in the south were starting to climb sooner than I had hoped and I was reacting negativly to it. So to me, there was no choice really. I reacted to the way the weather was and how my body was handleing or not handleing it. I knew going in to my hike that heat would be a factor. Just hoped it wouldn't be for a few more weeks or even longer if I was lucky.Now if someone wants to carry my pack and make sure I hike with a cool breeze blowing on me constantly, I could probably suffer thru the rest of the trail.Otherwise, I have to wait till things cool down, probably in November to be able to continue......which I plan to do.Hope that satisfies the curious and maybe even gets me some winter time hiking partners that can relate to the heat problems.Vitaman
Date: 2005-05-28
To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Hello again friends and fellow hikers. My ankle/shin is all healed up so I went back to the trail to make up the sections that I missed back in March when I twisted my ankle and during the blizzard of April 2nd in the Smokies.Had a few days to work with over Memorial Day holiday weekend so on Friday I drove down to The Hike Inn in preparation to do the 15.4 mile section from Stecoah Gap up to Fontana Dam. Got up early on Saturday the 28th and drove the 10 minutes to Stecoah Gap where I parked my car. Jeff ( owner of The Hike Inn ) would come get me when I called him from the Fontana Dam Visitors Center later that afternoon when I finished the section. The weather gods were smiling on me as it was a fairly cool, overcast morning, which are the conditions I like to hike with. Got started up the trail about 7am, and as some of you know, the climb up out of Stecoah is a pretty steep one....although not too awful long. Since I was just doing this section as a day hike, I didn't have a full pack to lug around. Just a light day pack, so the steep climb was reasonably easy.....if there is such a thing. Just as I was starting to get really heated up, and just before I got to the top of the ridge, the sky darkened and a light rain started to fall. Great timing on the weather gods part as I needed to cool down a little. The rain continued off and on till about noon, when it cleared up and the sun came out. But it still stayed pretty cool with very little humidity to deal with. I took a bunch of pictures of the different wild flowers I encountered along the way, a picture of a black butterfly who sat down in the middle of the trail for me and of course some nice panaramic views from the ridge top.Iwill get those posted here on the journal page as soon as I get them organized a little. All in all it was a very enjoyable hike and to top it off there was some trail majic in the parking lot of the marina just a mile before the Fontana Hilton Shelter. My buddy ' Lion King ', whom I met in Gatlinburg and shared pizza with when we all came down from the mountain during the April 2nd blizzard, was just starting southbound from Fontana towards Stecoah with a case of very cold brew. He offered me a cool one, so to help relieve him of some of his liquid weight, I gladly accepted. The soda machine at the marina didn't work, so Lion King's brew was very welcome to my parched lips after over 7 hours on the trail. After leaving the marina parking lot I hiked up to the Fontana Hilton and checked it out and took a picture. Talked for a little while with a couple who had just started their thru hike a couple weeks ago down at Springer Mountain and then hiked down to the Visitors Center and called Jeff to come get me......... a few minutes later Jeff was there and took me to get my car back at Stecoah Gap. It was a great section to hike and a big relief for me to get it done. Tomorrow I will drive over to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park to do the other section I missed, from Clingmans Dome down to Newfound Gap.
Date: 2005-08-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Thought I should make an entry to update those who are following along or interested in my current status. I am still home, all healed up and training to get in some sort of shape to get back ' on trail ' Oct. 3rd. Will be a little strange not having ' Tim from Ohio ' along with me trying to keep me out of trouble. Hopefully I have learned enough from him ( this year was his 4th thru hike ) to be able to handle things on my own. I am very grateful for his teachings and companionship for the first month on the trail. Hope I'll ' do him proud ' as I continue up the trail on my own.I have made arrangements for a ride back down to Hot Springs NC, where I'll start northbound again. I have two months to try to get as far north as I can. Expect the weather to be nice and cool in October and November so heat problems should not be an issue. I have all of the same equipment that I used successfully this spring. Just need to get some good quality mittens, but mittens are a little hard to find in August !Soooooo.......about six more weeks of training and I'll once again be back home on the trail. VITAMAN
Date: 2005-09-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hey folks. I'll be on my way before the sun comes up tomorrow. Ray Folley, a friend I work with will pick me up at 5am and we will head over to Dayton Ohio to pick up my hiking partner, ' Tim from Ohio ', then on down to Hot Springs N.C. where Tim and I will start on the trail northbound once again. Poor Ray has to drive all the way back to Indianapolis so he can be at work monday morning. Long day for Ray and we sure do appreciate his help getting us down there to N.C..We are using all of the same gear we had this spring, except we both have bright orange pack covers since it will be hunting season while we are on the trail and we don't want to be mistaken for anything huntable !! I did rethink and adjust my food though. Will have more fat and protein this time around. Makes for a much heavier food bag but should sustain and even create more energy for my old bones along the way. Also, am taking little packets of liquid vitamin/minerals which add even more weight but is very important to help give my body what it needs for what I will be asking it to do. The iquid is about 100% absorbable verses only 10% for pills and capsules. Plus, I wouldn't be the ' Vitaman ' without my supplements !! Got to practice what I preach if I expect all the other folks who come to me with health issues to do what I recommend. Try to make it a point not to ask someone else to do something I haven't done or am not willing to do myself. Should be in Erwin TN. by this time next week to make another journal entry. Also will try to take lots of pictures along the way...again. Should be really beautiful this time of year hiking along the N.C. and Virginia mountain ridgelines ! I'm so excited about getting back on trail I can hardly sit still enough to make this entry.....or maybe I've had too much B-complex vitamins today !! Either way, I'm more than ready to get back ' on trail '. Talk to you all again soon.         Vitaman
Date: 2005-09-25
From: Indianapolis

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Sun 09-25-05   It was ten minutes till 5am. I had just pushed the garage door opener button, closed the kitchen door and started to walk towards the opening garage door when when I noticed a pair of legs just outside the opening garage door. As it got higher and higher and finally finished opening, the pair of legs slowly turned into Ray Folley, who had just gotten out of his Jeep and walked up to the garage door just at the same time I had pushed the button to open it. What timing !!! We had planned on leaving at 5am sharp and here he was at ten till. Anyway, the day had started out well. I loaded my pack into the trunk of my Honda Civic, Ray and I jumped in and just as planned, we started down the road with the clock showing 2 minutes till 5am. We headed towards Dayton Ohio where we would pick up ' Tim from Ohio ' before heading down to Hot Springs where Tim and I would leave early Monday morning to get back on the A.T.   We got over to Tim's house about 7:20am our time,!which is 8:20am their time. We met Tim's wonderful wife, Susan, got a quick tour of their home they have done a fantastic job of remodeling, threw Tim's pack in the trunk with mine and jumped into the little Honda to head down the road towards Hot Springs. The drive down was mostly uneventful, which is a good thing, and by 2:30pm Indiana time, we arrived at the Alpine Motel in Hot Springs where Tim and I would stay the night before heading out on the trail in the morning. We thanked Ray for getting us down here and watched as he drove away, all the way back to Indianapolis, knowing he wouldn't get back home till very late tonight.Tim and I settled in our room for the night, making last minute checks of equipment and planning the next days hike. We had a very good meal at the Rocky Mountain Cafe and walked a couple blocks down to the local ice cream shop for desert. It will be trail food for the next 6 1\2 days till we get 63 miles up the trail to Erwin TN. to resupply. The weather channel says possible rain showers in the morning, temps in the upper 70s and clearing in the afternoon. Sounds like it will be a pretty good day to me.   RIC   aka...Vitaman