morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Fri 148 8/11 Imp DescentThe two mile descent into Imp Campsite turns out to be quite the nightmare. We are hiking in the clouds. Everything is wet. There are no views and there's just a steady, palpable mist blowing across the landscape. This is a cold, wet descent on slippery, greasy rocks. Everybody's a little beat up from falling the day before. We are moving slowly. I take to calling us nobo slobos. That's Northbound slow hikers. We all think and laugh cuz that does describe us. It's a very difficult descent. Did I say that already? Even Ibex takes a bad fall. We are blessed not to be trying this challenging descent at the end of yesterday. We always like to start out with the toughest climb first thing in the morning. As God would have it, we are starting out with the toughest part of the day as a descent, which is what we needed. Not our plan, but plans are made to be adjusted. After Imp, we have a tough climb up Mount Moriah. It's only about a thousand foot climb, but it's very tough. Then we start a five and a half mile descent down to Gorham, New Hampshire. The hike down off of Moriah levels out. It becomes a nice hike out. Refreshing after such a challenging two days. We get down around two. Gary and Cathy are planning to pick us up around three. We eat, stretch and take naps while waiting. We get picked up and it's nice to go back to the house after such a challenging two days. We get to shower and chill out a little. Part of the hiking challenge is all the chores you do every night just to get ready to go to sleep. You set up the tent, you draw your water, you filter your water, you pour your water into something you're going to drink it out of. Then you eat a rather bland, boring meal of cheese, bars, and other boring food. Then you stretch, blow up your flash sleeping pad. Then maybe you're ready to lay down and stop for the day. It's different when you're in a house with indoor plumbing. It's really a much simpler process. So we try to get to bed because we're going to be up early the next day to do it again.
Date: 2018-08-12
To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 0.0

Sat Day 149 8/12 Gain a FewWe are back hiking on the trail at 6 a.m. Gary has done a great job knowing where to drop us and how long it's going to take to get us there. It's really nice to have this kind of support, particularly at the end of this challenging journey. The mental aspect is really the biggest part of the challenge. You have to make it through. You have to do all the miles. Really though, you have to keep your head in the game. The night before I'd been thanking Gary and explaining that I have been on the trail for better than 6 months to get to this end of this journey. It's a journey I chose, but it does wear on you. There are so many physical challenges, and there are times you'd just like to get back to that simple life at home. The question is, are you going to finish what you started or are you going to quit halfway across the stream? You never feel good if you don't get to the other side. You also end up getting swept away to someplace you weren't prepared to go. They say this year only 12% of those who started will finish the trail, because of the severe weather challenges. They say that this has been the most challenging weather year in the history of the trail. So I was saying to Gary how nice it was to have this kind of support in the last 300 miles. It's the last 15% of the journey. Most of the northbounders you see have a hollowed-out, we're-beaten-down look. Everybody says they're ready to be finished. This is a lot tougher journey than I imagined. You want to finish, but it's a tough finish. Flannel sheets, a refrigerator, and indoor plumbing are very attractive. Instead, this morning we are heading up toward Mount Hayes. We're going from 780 feet up to 2,555 feet. That's a long climb. The good news is we're doing it over four miles. As we continue our day we do not feel as hammered or challenged. We get to the Gentian Pond Campsite ahead of schedule. Ibex came across a site on her women AT hiker Facebook page. It listed stealth sites in the Whites. She says that there's a good stealth site about a mile and a half past the Gentian Pond campsite. This would save us a total of four tenths of a mile in and out of the campsite. If we just hike and stealth, we skip that in and out. So we're feeling very good when suddenly the next two climbs after the Gentian Pond campsite are very challenging. It's only a mile and a half, but suddenly we are hammered. We do find the stealth site, as predicted, and make our camp there for the night. Your feelings can swing dramatically on the trail. Sometimes it seems like you just run out of gas without seeing it coming at all. That may be why I like to try and get done by three or four and be asleep by seven, hiker midnight.
Date: 2018-08-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Tues Day 151 8/14 Mahoosuc ArmWe decided to sleep in and give ourselves a break in the morning. We were ahead of schedule by 4 miles, so we didn't get up until 5:30 and get hiking on the trail until 6:30 a.m. It was very good that we did sleep in cuz everyone was pretty whooped. Six-thirty is late for us. Mahoosuc Arm lived up to its billing. It was a long, tough climb. A lot of hauling yourself up and making decisions as to what is the best way to get up. A lot of long stretches of slab walking. Slab walking is walking up an angled slab of granite that may go up 50 feet, maybe a hundred yards. It's tough on your Achilles cuz you're just going up. Sometimes the pitch changes suddenly. It's much steeper than you realize. We had a couple near misses but nobody fell. A fall is when your body hits the ground. On one of the slab walks, it tricked me. It got steeper without me realizing, my feet went out but my hands hit the slab and not my body. That counts as a slip as opposed to a fall. It was a gray, misty, almost rainy day, so the rocks and roots were moist. There were no views. We came to many places where if it was a clear day you know there'd be a wonderful view. If you're hiking 2000 miles you can't always wait for a sunshiny day. After we got off the Arm we went down and started back up Old Speck Mountain. That was another big climb. There was a fire tower on top of Old Speck that we decided not to hike to because of the foggy day. Then there was a nice, more gradual five miles down to Grafton Notch. When we got down to the parking lot, Kathy was waiting with drinks and treats. We were all pretty done in. On the way back to Gary and Kathy's we stopped at an outfitters. This wasn't a huge outfitter, but they had some of everything. I compared the tread on my Merrell boots. Compared to a new pair of boots, I had no tread at all. So I bought a new pair of boots. I looked at the trekking poles because I had bent mine up on one of my falls. It had cushioned my fall at the price of bending. They didn't have what I wanted in trekking poles. They didn't have pants either. The snap on my pants just fell off. The owner of the store told me that they fix trekking poles. So I got my trekking poles and he mixed and matched and came up with a solution. So now one pole is shorter than the other. It would come to pass that I would be very aware that I had one pole 2 inches shorter than the other. When we got back to the house, everybody showered and fell asleep. Later Gary and Kathy bought pizzas and we had a pizza feast. We are now at mile 1922.6. We have 267 miles to go. After dinner around the table we developed a plan for those 267 miles. If we are able to follow the plan or some close facsimile to it, we should summit on Monday, September 3rd. That would be good because I'd like to be home for the first Eagles game on September 6th.
Date: 2018-01-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I started my trail journal today :)My plan is to through-hike the AT! I will start on March 12 at Springer Mountain, and my brother will be joining me for the first week. Starting in Georgia should be good since I'll have my family there to support me.I've quit my job and bought my plane ticket, so this is very real!!
Date: 2018-02-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This is all becoming real, which is great! Yesterday was my last day at my job.  Things went well, people were nice about me leaving.Not quite sure how I'll use this trail journal, but it will be good to have whether it ends up being daily, weekly, or monthly.  Played with putting in a photo from my GPS on the first entry, and it's a bit clunky but did work.  Next test is to try any of this from a phone since they don't seem to have an app. Worst case I email entries back.2 more weeks in CA, then headed to GA for final preparations. One more big hike planned in Ventana Wilderness outside Big Sur for a couple nights, but otherwise I'm feeling very good training wise and preparation wise.For those who may not know me, I am a 33 year old engineer who lives in San Francisco and has worked at startups my whole career. I decided it was time to take a break, and what better way to use my time than on the AT. I'm an avid backpacker in the California backcountry, but I've never done anything near this long or big before. I grew up in Atlanta, so I've Springer Mountain and Blood Mountain with my Boy Scout troop, so I'd like to think I have some idea how the terrain starts out.  Beyond that, it's been a lot of research, and a ton of questions to one very helpful thru hiker who came before.I'm looking forward to my adventure - I hope you enjoy reading about it!
Date: 2018-03-09
To: Woodstock, GA
Miles today: 0.0

T-Minus 3 days....  I¢m so pumped!!I¢ve been in Georgia this week preparing.  Went to Amicalola Falls State Park and got my hang-tang from registration.  I¢m #680 out of 4,000 registered hikers.  Hopefully that means I¢m a bit ahead of the bubble, but it also means marching into cold and very likely snow next week.  My brother is with me for the first week, and we¢re ready for whatever weather the mountains throw at us.  We¢re only planning to hit Neel¢s Gap (31.1) Miles in 5/6 days, so the slow start should help me ease in and train. Preparation is going well.  I¢ve stocked up a ton of food for the start and drops.  I¢ve been through a few cycles of losing and finding things, so I think I have everything here and no last-minute gear needs.  I had 2 days of indigestion which I think was my body resetting while it knew it could, and also getting used to greasy southern food, which is necessary.I¢m ready.  This is it.  Next entry should be from the trail!
Date: 2018-03-12
From: Springer Mountain

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 1 was a success!  We started the hike in snow.  My mom joined us for the first part to Springer Mountain.  Totally clouded in, no view, and cold, so we made the "start" celebrations pretty small - just a few photos.  John and I made it to the first shelter easy.  It was past the snow line, which felt good.  Shelters are pretty much what I expected in terms of social life.  It will be good to have that once John is gone, but we kept to ourselves for the most part.  It was COLD the first night.  Had to be in the teens or maybe sub-10 considering that the next two nights were much warmer but still froze.  We're on the trail!
Date: 2018-03-13
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: mist

Day 2 was a good start to everything.  Kept it easy ~5 miles.  Still socked in on weather, so no views yet, but at least no hot hiking.  We took a break mid-day and pitched the tent off trail, played war for a couple hours, which felt like we were kids again.
Date: 2018-03-14
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: few clouds

3rd day we finally got some views!  Becoming very real when we started to increase our miles slightly.  Similar shelter scene.  in general, there are a lot of 21-year-old dudes here right out of college and a lot of 65-year-old grandpas, so I do feel a bit lost in the middle.  I've met a few 30-40 year-olds, but I am definitely an outlier.  Lots of female thru-hikers, mostly singletons, which is great to see.  Took another tent-break mid-day, and I proceeded to get lost from John coming back to the trail.  Only 5 minutes lost, but our only time the whole week.
Date: 2018-03-15
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Lance Creek Restoration Area
Miles today: 8.7

Finally hitting some serious mountains.  This campout was also finally a really solid, enjoyable experience for our first night outside the shelter.  4 separate tent sites, so we each had our own little campfire and community.  Finally met some 30-somethings, and just had a very chill night by the fire.  Shelter fires get so crowded, it can be hard to even get heat, so this was great.
Date: 2018-03-16
From: Lance Creek Restoration Area

To: Blood Mountain Cabins
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

Blood Mountain..... so incredibly brutal.  The first big climb of the trail, and we hit it on the first hot day.  That combined with my stupidity in skipping a water spot created a really brutal situation for us trying to get through the mountain quickly.  However, it was all worth it to bomb down the mountain and end up at the cabin I had booked.  I was so physically wiped for the first day ever.  The dehydration set in, and things would have been so much rougher if we didn't have the cabin to end up at.  Got a pizza, cooked some food, and watched the Simpsons.  Took a shower and promptly fell asleep.
Date: 2018-03-17
From: Blood Mountain Cabins

To: Mountain Crossings Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Took my first zero day to catch up after the brutality of Blood Mountain gave me my first blister.  My mom came to pick up my brother, and we went into Blairsville to see A Wrinkle in Time.  About to hit Waffle House, then back to the hostel before I hit the trail again tomorrow!
Date: 2018-03-19
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

So... this is when things have started to get very rough and real on the trail. The weather has been continually getting worse this week, a real risk of starting this early. 2 nights of sleeping in the rain in a row, with no sunshine the day in between to dry anything out, meaning damp, nasty gear.Now, the one plus side of this, that honestly most of my fellow thru's haven't come to appreciate yet, is that today's 10 miles took about 1/4 the energy of the previous day since the sun wasn't beating down on us draining energy. Frankly, hiking through a light rain is the best possible condition to hike - you are being cooled by the rain drops, and the trail is being softened for you.  Now, this can be one bad change from pouring rain and muddy trails, both of which suck. I, luckily, pitched my rainfly for that portion of the day and missed it :)  That was an experience where I learned to just do my own trail, since others were saying "you're crazy, we're pushing to the shelter 2 miles away" meaning they trudged through mud for an hour rather than staying dry like me.So, the nastiness. For perspective, I'm writing this and the next entry from a warm hotel, so don't worry about me, but I would like to share what I've been through.For perspective, this is the CNN article about the weather we slept through Monday night:https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/us/tornadoes-storms-noreaster-severe-weather/index.htmlMost hikers were bailing to town, but I was more worried about the snow Tuesday than one more night of rain, so I stayed.  I camped at a small site with a gentleman from Holland and 2 locals. The local's wife called him and was basically begging him to let her pick him up after the news reports, but we were all determined to stay.  I'll spare you the brutal details of the night and wind, but I will say that I started hiking at 6AM the next day to get the heck out of everything.  More on that in the next entry.
Date: 2018-03-20
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: moderate rain

16 miles. 4K ascent, 5K descent. Rain, wind, sun, hail.This day was truly my biggest test.  I knew I had to go 16 miles to get to the next good place for a shuttle.  This is far beyond what I had hoped to do at this point, but I knew I would be in a hotel that night, so I just kept pushing.  Started at 6AM, 45 minutes of headlamp hiking. 3 separate sections today of having a full 3 hours without seeing another soul, which felt really good compared to the previous crowds.  The photo is of the sunrise, which was so satisfying to see 2 days after it disappeared, and FINALLY dry out some gear. During one of the solo sections on a higher peak, hail started coming down. While this was a bit terrifying to be alone in (and also validated my decision not to camp out if this was the weather at 2:30PM), it actually ended up being an incredibly serene and freeing experience.  I think it slowed people down, because I didn't see anyone for a while, and I just got to be alone in the chilly woods without getting wet.  Perfect hiking weather actually :) The hail continued for ~2 hours, and then things cleared up.  After that, I knew I could make it to the end.So satisfying to be in a hotel, soak in a hot tub, and chill out. Waking up at 3AM sore made me decide to do a zero day, which I'm glad I did because the snow is supposed to get worse tonight.
Date: 2018-03-21
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took a day to re-gear and ship some things home.  See my photo for the process of cutting some weight of the new sleeping pad I got. My inflatable one had popped, which made for even colder nights sleeping in the rain, so I decided to try out a foam mat and sent the other home. I also sent home the book I finished, some cord, and a few small items I haven't been using. Added up to almost 3 pounds altogether.Feeling 100X better today. I'm glad I got a 15+ day under my belt so early, although I don't expect that to become the norm for a while.  It's good to know I can do it and that all of those hours on my bike really did get my legs in shape for the impact.
Date: 2018-03-22
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light snow

Got back on the trail today. Hiked with a guy retiring from the Army and his nephew, who had never spent a night in the woods. It's good to see section hikers like this taking on large chunks - they were doing ~40 miles over the weekend. After that, I hiked a bit with "Sidetrack" and "Trail Mom", which was nice push through the hills. They also pointed out that my poles were ~20% too long - correcting that really helped save energy. We crossed into North Carolina today, which was really exciting!! Making progress.The night was a bit rough, honestly. 2nd coldest night we've had, combined with my first rodent experience with mice running over the top of my tent all night to get to the shelter. I know this will not be my last mice, but combining that with the cold meant very little sleep.
Date: 2018-03-23
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

To be honest, this was my first really bad day. Had a rough night anyway (~2 hours of sleep?), then had my first really bad hiker interaction.  I'll spare the whole story here, but it just reminded me of the bad parts of humanity and that there are people out here for sketchy reasons, when everything so far had really been uplifting and reminding me of the best of humanity. I've moved on, but it honestly hit me at a really bad time after the bad night and sent me into a bad mental space.Other than that, hiking was generally pretty normal.  Way too much snow on the ground right now for my trail runners - really looking forward to the weather warming up!!!
Date: 2018-03-24
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Hauled through the rest of the section to make it to Rock Gap. Trail magic here with a reunion group of 2015 AT thru-hikers. Got there in perfect time right before a shuttle was leaving - 8 hikers + bags on the floor of a big white van.  Met some people from Tulsa - they actually knew many people (including a relative of theirs) who live in Sapulpa, where my family is from.  Small world!! Split a room 4-ways with a few guys I've been hiking with - "Roadkill", "Trail Buck", And "Toasty". Great group of people.  Met up with a few other hikers at a pizza buffet, which ended up being a family-fun-center style place with minigolf, go karts, arcade games, etc. Made friends with the manager, who made us a mac-and-cheese pizza, gave us free arcade games, and then tried to give us free laser tag on the way out.  Super nice guy, and reflective on an experience we've had a few places - walk in, get weird looks, then once someone who knows what we're doing asks "are you thru-hikers?", we tell a few stories, and then they start trying to give us free stuff/food and help us. The locals on the hike have been beyond welcoming, and there seems to be a real awakening in the last decade or so as to the opportunity of thru-hikers for trail towns.
Date: 2018-03-25
From: Franklin, NC

To: Woodstock, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

So, I decided to take a couple of 0 days, and for logistical reasons, ended up just coming back to Woodstock to stay at my mom's for a couple days since she was coming up to visit anyway. My thinking:- Really needed to fully deal with my blister and recover.  Crowded motel room isn't the best place to do this cleanly.- Weather looking nasty this week, skipping a few nights of cold rain can only help.- Still ahead of the bubble, from everything we can tell. 2 days won't matter there.- Smoky Mountains. This is my next push, and I hadn't yet shipped the box I needed to or dealt with some of the smaller logistics. The Smokies knock out a lot of hikers, and I want to make sure I'm ready for this to get through the big push.Plan for the break is REI (another advantage of coming back...), shipping a box, and lots of food!
Date: 2018-03-27
From: Woodstock, GA

To: Wine Spring Campground
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Really good to be back on the trail!!  Had some brutal uphills and then camped in an odd mist.  Not actually ¢raining¢, but so humid that rain was condensing on trees and even condensed inside my tent at night.  Very wet, but very happy to be back on the trail.