morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-30
From: VA Route 605

To: Blackburn Trail Center
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

We crossed the 1,000 mile mark today. No celegration, just a quick picture and a nod to one another before moving on. But I do take great satisfaction in having walked this far. I' not sure I ever thought I could make it this far. I've walked with Moonlight from the base of Springer Mountain, GA, and have walked the last 250 miles with Wingard. And, there are hundreds of people whose path we've crossed, many of whom have gotten off the trail. But I know almost nothing about those whose paths I've crossed, in most cases not even their real names. I'm curious about the people we started with back in Georgia, but in most cases there's no way to know where they are. I've no doubt there are friends who are only 10-20 miles behind, but there's no way to know where or who they are. Every once and a while we run into someone we haven't seen in a month, and it quickly becomes a reunion or sorts. But these occassions are becoming less and less frequent.We had a great lunch today at a real dive called the Horseshoe Curve Restaurant. It's a classic bar with basic burgers, the type of bar that you find almost anywhere. But it's not the kind of bar with lots of picutes of parties past and advertisments about the band for the coming weekend, but it's not what you see in the Washingtron Metro area, and this is on the fringe of D.C. I definitely want to go back sometime when I've got time. The Roller Coaster today was frustratingly long, with seven more serious ups and dozens of lesser ups. We didn't finish the 15 miles until almost 6:00, in part because of the difficult ground and in part because of the 2-hour lunch. We did finally get to the Blackburn Center around 6:00 and settled in. The Blackburn is a large cabin owned and maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. There is a separate bunkhouse for thru-hikers. A husband and wife team manage the center, and they typically provide free dinners for thru-hikers. When we got there, the center was locked up and no one was there. But we settled in on screen porch and enjoyed a very cold beer, courtesy of Doris, who had by then driven up and joined us. Supposedly on a clear night you can see the Washington Monument, but this was not a clear night. Finally the caretakers pulled up from a shopping run and announced they were not cooking tonight -- they were taking a break after a month of preparing dinners every night. The absence of a free meal was fine, as we all still have a lot of food and we get to Harper's Ferry tomorrow. Anyhow, there were only a half-dozen or so hikers, and we were the only thru-hikers, and the caretakers deserve time off every once and a while.
Date: 2009-07-23
From: Washington, D.C.

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I drove to Harper's Ferry, and looked to see which fellow hikers came through after Moonlight and I made it in. There were a number of friends that have come through. These include:- Charlie the Chef: a young girl from Nova Scotia that I hadn't seen since Hot Springs came in on the 16th- Tully: who hurt his leg in southern Virginia made it on July 10th- Blue Eyes came through on the 9th, but without his hiking companion 40 Degrees.-Willow, the lovely Irish Step Dancer from CT made it to Harpers Ferry on the 7th, but without Forrest;Mossey Brown and Gia, the ladies who had the pictures of the orphaned bear cub, came through on the 5th-Toubab, the Peace Corps veteran who started on the same day and Moonlight and I, and who hiked about the same pae for the first 270 miles, got photograpehd at the ATC on the 9th, apparently he had taken a week off somewhere around Roanoake VA;S&P, the woman who continued to hike after her husband was hurt at the Fontana Hilton, also came through-Pilgrim, the mad singing Irishman whose path we crossed only two or three times, made it to Harper's Ferry on the 7th-Kel came through with her dog Gracie on the 4th of July;-Cosimo arrived the day after us.There were others whose path we had crossed, but these are the ones I've mentioned in this journal. I wish them all well.
Date: 2009-07-28
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.75
Weather: scattered clouds

OK, back to the business of hiking. I spent the morning closing up my house. Susan Olson, a neighbor and former co-worker who has been taking my mail dropped off another stack of mail to be sorted and filed. Turned off the water, unplugged the electric, and got out by noon. I drove to Harper's Ferry, parked at the ATC Headquarters, and walked the 3/4 of a mile or so from the trail's cutoff heading toward the ATC, going down as far as the footbridge over the Potomac River.   The footbridge across the river is right at the old federal armory where John Brown seized buildings in 1859 in an attempt to incite a slave rebellion. He is largely blamed for the ensuing unpleasantness, but my guess it it would have occurred regardless. Anyhow, back to the ATC, where I waited for a old college friend, Gordon Cooley, to pick me up to stay at his house tonight. Gordon lives in nearby Maryland, and my hope is that I'll do a couple a easy days in Maryland, staying with friends and getting back into shape. Tomorrow my plan is to hike 17 miles from Route 40 to Harper's Ferry, pick up my car, drive to Gordon's house to stay once again, and repeat the process. We'll see.I hungout with Gordon and his wife Theresa at night, shared my pictures and told a lot of trail stories, and met their grown children Adam and Allison. Very pleasant night, but tomorrow I have to hike.
Date: 2009-07-30
From: Turner's Gap,Alternate Route 40

To: MD Rte 17, Wolfsville Rd
Miles today: 13.5

Overcast and muggy for much of the day, but no rain. However, the skies opened up last night and there was a massive downpour, so there is standing water everywhere.I could barely get up this morning. I am SO SORE. I cannot bed over to tie my shoes. This is what three weeks of laying around gets you. Up at 6:45, and out at 7:45. I followed Robin in my car and dropped my car off at Rte 40, the place that I reached yesterday. Then Robin drove me up to where the trail crosses Rte 17, about 13 miles up. Given how sore I am, big miles are not in the cards.I carried my full pack, about 20 pounds. The pack is relatively comfortable, and the weight is no problem at all, but getting back into the swing of things is a challenge. Even the little hills of Maryland seem formidable, and the pain of walking on rocks is just too familiar. That said, I made good time, there was only one major incline, and that was only 500 feet early in the hike. I must have met about 50 kids, grade schoolers and high school, hiking up to the Annapolis Rocks with climbing gear. I didn't go look, it's a half-mile off the trail, but clearly this seems to be a major summer activity. Lunch at the Pine Knob shelter, where I had the chance to read the shelter journal for the first time in a while. Pine Knob is apparently not a popular shelter, and relatively few people have registered, but I did see a couple of people I knew, including Tully and S&P. Today's hike also had the original Washington monument, built by the good people of Boonesboro in the 1830s to honor our first President. It is made of local stone and resembles a milk bottle. Not surprisingly, it was used as an observation and signal station during the civil war. Interesting, but it was time to move on.Got to my car around 4:00, which meant 13.5 miles in 7 hours. Not bad, not great, but not bad. Still very, very stiff. Tomorrow I will be done with Maryland.
Date: 2009-07-31
From: MD Rte 17, Wolfsville Rd

To: Pen-Mar, MD
Miles today: 10.0

The good folks of Maryland must surely know that I am back on the trail. It rained, and rained, and rained. I light trickle began around 11:30. A massive torrent began around 11:45. It was still going at 4:30, when I got to my destination. Some thunder and lightning, some strong winds, but the accompanying tornado hit about 10 miles south. While hiking I heard a huge branch fall, and the sound was a bit disturbing. After a lazy morning at Edward and Robin's house, and a scenic drive in the Maryland countryside, I left my car at Pen Mar county park and rode back to my starting point with Edward Thompson, who had been my host last night. I got onto the trail about 10:30, which was ok since I only planned 10 miles. We did stop at a roadside produce market, and I got a couple peaches just off the tree. The peach I ate was absolutely fabulous, but I gave the other away. Within minutes of the rain beginning, I was thoroughly soaked, every part of me. I was contemplating just feeling miserable, but then began thinking that at least I was cool, that I wouldn't get dehydrated, that once you're wet you don't have to worry about getting wet (because you already are), and that it beat sitting in an office looking out the window watching the rain. I did 10 miles today -- not much, but I'm still sore from getting back on. At Pen Mar, there was a southbound thruhiker that I talked to for a while as we both got out of the rain. Only saw three other hikers today. Pen Mar is a beautiful site, and a hundred years ago was the location of a major amusement park that drew crouds from Washington and Baltimore. But today it was overcast, rainy, and no views were to be seen.Stopped at the Penn state line, got my car, and drove to Waynesboro. Tomorrow I plan to drive 35 miles to a state park, hike back, and then hitch-hike to get my car. I'm curious to see whether this will work. I continue to be of two minds about my decision to start hiking agin. On the one hand I'm wondering why in the world I stayed off for three weeks and got only minimal exercise. On the other hand, I'm wondering why I don't just stay home and sit by the pool sipping cold drinks and readying cheap novels. I continue to vacilate between the two views, but continue to hike until I make up my mind.
Date: 2008-01-29
To: First entry to get me started
Miles today: 0.0

Dear Friends: My trail name is Repack. I'm from the Central Ohio area and will be attempting a thru-hike on the Appalacian Trail beginning 3/31 or 4/1/08, northbound from Springer Mt., Georgia. I've thought about this thru-hike for a few years and last year realized I could potentially make it a reality. I'm a retired accounts manager for a major consumer foods products company. I started reading about thru-hiking last March and have been constantly studying the process since then. First piece of gear was my Vasque boots (comfortable right out of the box). I then realized this was not going to be an inexpensive project for acquiring good quality gear.NO PAIN, NO RAIN, NO MAINE. (I read that somewhere...) More later.
Date: 2008-01-30
To: Second entry to get me set up and posted
Miles today: 0.0

Today I worked more on my personal profile and learning navigation around this website. I will send in a donation once things get rolling on my journal. In January, I advertised for hiking partners in The AT Concervancy magazine. Have gotten a few responses but so far, none seem to be close to my agenda (and I am trying to be flexible). With my constant reading and learning about the trail, I've been able to refer two folks who have responded to my ad, to other web sites and references they may be able to use. I heard from a 75 year old lady, trail name "Walkin' Woman", (whom I will be calling) and referred her to Wildside Adventures, a hiking organization for women. Then another guy, to another web site such as this, to post/advertise for hiking partnes. He wrote he'd received one email response on the first day.I feel I'm helping others already, even though still a novice.More later.....
Date: 2008-01-31
To: Mentor Acknowlegement
Miles today: 0.0

I want to acknowledge and thank my local mentor, Larry R. (Five-Way), for his willingess and time given me, in helping me along the way to becoming a hiker. We've met countless times and I had my first overnight hike with him. We had to cut that hike short by one day as the first evening, late July 07, we encountered the absolute worst thunder storm of all time! (seemed like it at the time!) Rain came in torrents and the thunder shook the ground for hours, seemed to be right over our heads. I had to hold my hands over my ears to deaden the tremendous noise. Hunkered down in our tents, we were blessed to come through the storm with no harm done, and very little sleep. Five-Way has been hiking all his life and commented he'd NEVER been in such a storm while on a hike.More later.......
Date: 2008-03-15
To: Two weeks to go!
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I haven't had an entry for quite a few weeks now, so time for an update, with only two weeks before departure. I'm well into finishing my hike planning and need to begin buttoning up various aspects. My daily plan is completed. Took forever, maybe too much detail. One more review with Larry and it is done. Next, finalize re-supply plans with mail drops/buys preparation of what, where, and when to send. Preparing a one page recap for easy reference for my super support person, and girl friend, Christine. I've accumulating dinners (mostly freeze dried), snack foods, and lunch items. Breakfast items last minute for freshness. I know I can't have everything I'll need at one time. Thanks to friends for their help in this department. Need to begin box and address label readiness. Two week to go, not a day to waste. Gear review next Saturday.
Date: 2008-03-25
To: One week to go; thanks to friends
Miles today: 0.0

A week from today, about an hour from now, I'll be taking my first few steps on the AT for what I hope to be a very long walk. Excited I am to get started. A lot of talk and preparation, now almost time for action. I've received a ton of support from friends and family. I don't know where to begin to acknowledge but will try: First to Christine without whom this would have been much more difficult; to family, thanks, I'll be fine; to friends at church; at the Touchdown Club; to the guy with the deep voice who sang "Happy Trails" at the karaoke bar last Saturday night; golf, poker, and fishing pals; Jim and Janice; old friends (Dominic, Terry, Lloyd, Charlie and Yerda, Steve, Shaun (get well soon); George, Doug, Tessie, Joel.. thanks very much; Five-Way, coach and mentor; Don, Carol, and Lorraine; Linda and her team; so many more... I hope no one's feeling are hurt without my mentioning you specifically.My living room floor is covered with about 24 mail-drop re-supply boxes. Today I will mail the first one to myself at the Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap, Georgia, about 31 miles from the southern terminus at Springer Mountain. I plan on arriving there mid-day on day #4 after 3 nights on the Trail. I will be doing what many have recommended and what I've read about, taking it easy with distance per day, the first couple weeks. I will be testing my body's durability and stamina, setting limits until it is used to being on the trail and taking the strain I will be giving it. I have plenty of ibuprofin packed and ready.Gotta' get busy... lots of things planned for today. I want to be done with prep on Saturday and spend Sunday with only packing up and relaxing.
Date: 2008-03-30
To: Last day of planning
Miles today: 0.0

The time has come to get going, well, almost. Leave tomorrow for Atlanta, on the trail, along with a few others, Tuesday 4/1. Many thank to all for your prayers and thoughts. See you in the Fall, I hope.I'm flying into Atlanta. Just by chance, as I was paging through the most recent publication of Backpacker Magazine, I noticed an article on gear and airplanes. I had planned on checking my poles, knife, and a few other items I thought the airlines would say no to carry on. The article is titled "Stoves on a Plane". I'm ok in that department as mine is a isobutane pocket rocket, new (new but tested). Airlines don't like dirty stoves or fuel bottles with fumes. I can take one Bic lighter and some matches, but not checked, they must be carried on. Batteries: Who have thunk! Lithium batteries, the lightest in weight and strongest in power, are not allowed to be checked but can be carried on. Then the last the article mentioned was bear sprays (pepper spray). Four ounce is the limit for fluids. I did buy a police type spray, weighs 3 oz. I will check it and hope it makes it. If I had to do this over again, I would have shipped some of this ahead. Another lesson learned and good advise I can pass on to others.Sunday morning now, off to church. Next issue from the trail.
Date: 2008-03-31
From: Columbus, Ohio

To: Atlanta
Miles today: 0.0

Friends: I had a half dozen journal entries in here yesterday. They've disappeared. It was probably my fault as my daughter and I were in the site, crated a test journal and deleted it. We may have deleted them all. I've written to the web keeper and asked if they could restore.The journey begins today. Flying to Atlanta where Don C. will pick-me up and tomorrow, I'm hiking.More later.......... Editing on April 12. Lost entries restored. Many thanks to my most gracious host and his wife Karen for a nice visit and great dinner at their home. Thanks also for running me around the neighborhood for last minute shopping and preparation to hike tomorrow.
Date: 2008-04-01
From: Atlanta

To: Hawk Mt Shelter
Miles today: 8.5

april 1, first day. My friend, Don C. dropped me at the parking lot to get to the trail head at Springer Mt, Ga., 9:22 a.m. We said so long after we hiked about a mile and a couple pictures (we hope to hook up on the trail some where north.)There we greeted people at the start. "Anyone going to Maine"? They hadmy name from the internet, and wished me luck.The trail was wet, rocky, and rooty after the recent showers in the area. But the trail dried out and the day went fine. Lots of mud. Water was plentiful and cool coming from mountain streams. I treated it of course. Got to the shelter at 2:30 with two already there and about 15 more to follow. Most hikers tented, 3 including me stayed in the shelter. Some had trail names and some not. There was: chris, nichole, johnny thunder, trail talker, xanadu, and many other.Didn't sleep at all. More later
Date: 2008-04-02
From: Hawk Mt Shelter

To: Gooch Mt Shelter
Miles today: 8.7

April 2: Hiked 8.7 today. Seemed easier today with longer distance with less severe climbing. Nice and sunny yesterday but windy, rainy, and cold all day and still is now at 8:30 p.m. Hunkered down in tents with loud rain drop hitting the tent cover or fly. Enjoying the early evening hours socializing with other hikers at the shelter area, cooking dinner and telling stories. More later.
Date: 2008-04-03
From: Hawk Mt Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we had our first Trail magic experience. Upon entering Woody Gap, a two lane road crossing with parking lot and a picnic table, we were invited to the table where two grandmothers had it covered with treats. Fruit, sweet rolls, cookies, snacks, pop, cheeses, lunch meats, and other hiker treats were spread from one end to the other. I was with Xanadu. He had a couple sandwiches and more. I was temped to indulge but not eating the food in my pack meant more weight to carry so I had only a banana and a full sugar Pepsi and had lunch from my pack of peanut butter and crackers. Our hostesses names were Lavon, from the area; and a hiker lady from Indiana who introduced herself as Indiana Jones. Indy has hiked the entire AT in sections. No sun today. More later.
Date: 2008-04-04
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap, Walasi Yi Center
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: light rain

Friday 4/4: Last night's shelter and tent sites were not good. Grassless grounds made for muddy packing up especially since it raind all night and most of today. So many of us stopped at Neels Gap hostel and did only a half day on the trail. Showered, did laundry, dried things out as best as we could. It rained heavily all day. Has quit now, late in the evening. We hope to have an 11 mile day tomorrow. More later, hope every one is well.
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Neels Gap, Walasi Yi Center

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: moderate rain

<Saturday, 4/5 Today was the pits. Steady drizzle and windy (depending on which side of the mountain you were on) all day. The trail was again muddy and no fun. Got in 10.8 miles but when we arrived at the shelter, it was full. Pitched tents in the rain. I didn't want to be there. Rumors floating around the campsite of a sunny day. I hope so.
Date: 2008-04-06
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Old Cheese Factory Camp Site
Miles today: 13.0

After 13 miles of hiking today, have completed 54.5 miles. Today was much better on the trail as the sun broke through at daylight. Stayed sunny all day and we finally got some views of the Georgia Chatahoochee Mountains. I've hiked with the same people, more or less, all week. I've sort of hooked up with nice guy from Vermont, goes by Franklin on the trail, his real name is Frank. He's faster on the trail but usually waits up for me ahead. We wanted to test our mettle today for distance so we went for 13 and made it. We hiked along with Sea Bass, Roo, Roo's brother Cool Breeze, and a couple others passed us or we passed them. We're camping away from the shelters tonight. A nice, quite and dry night. Roo and Cool Breeze slept under a big Rhododendron cluster, under the stars. Lucky for them no rain.
Date: 2008-04-07
From: Old Cheese Factory Camp Site

To: Hiawassee, GA, Cloud 9 Hostel
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

Today was another long hike, 13 miles, but lots of up the mountain, down the mountain. Exhausted! We stayed at a hoslel called Clound 9. Nice folks. I rented a roll out queen size sofa in the community room which beat the heck out of a plywood mattress in the bunkhouse. I was tired and feeling down. I've been hiking with a bunch of folks for two-three days now. I'm usually the last in line as my legs and breath don't seem to be as strong and long as the others. I need to disregard others and "hike my own hike" as is a common expression on the trail. Will get an early start tomorrow. As it worked out, some of the folks I've been hiking with took an extra day off to nurse some blisters.   One good thing about today was I got a ride into town to the local Ingles Supermarket and got a sub, a short 6 pack of Bud Light, and a new tooth brush to clean my dirty fingernails. Life on the trail is sometimes muddy and dirty.
Date: 2008-04-08
From: Hiawassee, GA, Cloud 9 Hostel

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

Got a 9:00 start today, on my own. Felt good after some civilization and socialization, and a couple beers shared with new friends. Today I wanted to test and practice uphill technique as I have to stop often to catch my breath. Others I've been hiking with don't stop but just keep plugging along, step after step. So the technique is slow and small steps, pushing off of the hiking poles, and deep breathing, in throught the nose and a big puff out of the mouth when taking a step. Seems to be working although at time I still stop to rest my pounding heart and let it slow down. Said goodbye to the state of Georgia today at the 76.3 mile marker. The border crossing was uneventful, just a wooden sign nailed on a tree. There were a couple other hikers there as I passed so we had a photo opportunity. Finished up a long day with an extra 3.7 miles I wasn't planning on as I arrived at the plan stop at only 3:30. Rested and went on to the shelter where there were other hikers settling in for the night.