morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-08-28
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean To

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean to
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Today, on my Hiking and Haiti initiative, is Andrew G. day. I walked the first three miles starting off in his honor. Thanks, Andrew for your pledge.Got up at 6:15 and on Trail by 10 to 7, a short time (for me) getting ready.I am starting to limit my food, so that I make sure that I have enough food to make it through the 100 Mile Wilderness. For example, usually I prepare two packets of instant oatmeal with some nuts. Today, I had one packet of instant oatmeal, with nothing else. My idea is that it is better to have a little food and have enough, than to eat it all and have none the last day or so.I hiked with John again today. It is rare to find someone on the Trail that you hike at near the same pace. Most people hike by themselves and meet up with hiking buddies at lunch or end of the day. John and I are the same age and we hike about the same pace. He is faster uphill and I'm a bit faster downhill, so it evens out.We were determined to go a longer distance today, as their were no big uphills. It was a cool but sunny day. The Trail was very good, little ups and downs, for the first 15 miles.   After that, he hiked along parallel to a creek for about 5 miles. We have found that when the trail is next to a creek or lake, it is often muddy and covered with roots. This one was no exception and hiking that 5 miles or so was relatively slow.We got to the Lean To close to 6:00 PM. There were two section hikers already there, Padre (a Lutheran Minister) and Fort Defiance, a guy named Doug from Baltimore.   Interestingly, Padre and Fort Defiance were finishing up the entire Appalachian Trail!   They had separately (they met on this hike) hiked sections of the AT over a number of years and this was each of them's finish of the AT. Since John and I were doing the same thing, there were four of us there that were finishing the AT.Later, Trudger and Jeremy, and Luna Moth, came in. Trudger and Luna Moth, again separately, were finishing up the AT from Harper's Ferry to Mt. Katahdin; Trudge as a section hiker and Luna Moth as a thru-hiker (he was going to go after this and hike from Harper's Ferry to Springer Mountain).There was space in the Lean To, but I preferred my tent. I set it up and went to bed at 8:00 PM.We (John and I) had made our day's goal of doing a long hike, with the 21.5 miles.
Date: 2006-08-27
To: SavePluto2
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCXZR8In 1992, David Jewitt of the University of Hawaii and Jane Luu of Harvard began to discover icy bodies just beyond the orbit of Neptune. Since then, nearly a thousand such objects have been discovered with similar properties: They are small, they are icy, they all orbit just beyond Neptune, they have somewhat eccentric paths, and their orbits are tipped out of the plane of the solar system. This new class of objects was duly named the Kuiper belt, in honor of the Dutch-born American astronomer Gerard Kuiper, who in the 1950s advanced the idea that such a belt of comets might exist. Alas, Pluto, which is small and icy and orbits just beyond Neptune and has an eccentric orbit that is tipped out of the plane of the solar system, is none other than a Kuiper belt object¢a leftover comet from the solar system¢s formation. If Pluto¢s orbit were ever altered so that it journeyed as close to the Sun as Earth, Pluto would grow a tail and look like a jumbo comet. No other planet can make this (possibly embarrassing) claim.I must vote¢with a heavy heart¢for demotion.Like Pluto, this cache does not meet with most of the standards used to describe this class of cache. Clearly not a 1.5 star hide (at least not until word gets around and fone-a-spoiler is readily available) and not hardly a micro container. However, cache-wise, this cache clearly exceeds the ¢challenge standard¢ as regulated by the Hoover Cache Council for satisfying caches. We were lucky enough to OBH show up twenty minutes after us to point out the errors of our ways. Traded my now dated book ¢Our Solar System¢ for the mirror-on-a-stick gadget and signed the log. Thanks for the Sunday afternoon hunt.
Date: 2006-09-22
To: BetaMan's Gamma
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCV091This was the eleventh of thirteen hunts in today¢s go-get ¢em bicycle tour ¢Final 50 ¢ miles, that is¢ remedying an oversight. Skipping the mystifying and puzzling multi¢s, today I managed 13 finds in 13 hunts.Back on the 12th I traveled as far south as SuzyQhoo¢s adopted cache ¢I told you I was sick¢. I had not planned to travel that far but I found the Alabaster Cacher¢s Koozie Kache series enjoyable (and NOT a dang micro); and they kept leading me away from home. (Refer to ¢50 The Easy Way; 50 miles by bicycle that is¢ tour.) However, back then, my gps¢r was loaded with caches within 12 miles of home and I didn¢t have any of the caches located south of ¢. . . sick¢Daylight helps, but the better hint works good too. On my first stop here it was plenty dark and spidery and I was limiting my micro hunts to just a few minutes. It turns out that I had looked in all the obvious places the last time including and especially the beaten path to the left. There I had found lots of spiders and not knowing any more about spiders than a I do about trees I quit poking my head into places it didn¢t seem to belong. Not a nifty as Epsilon but it¢s a find.Thanks for the hunt, it looks like your alphabet series paid off, there are lots of caches in Pelham ¢ mostly micros, but still a cache rich environment.
Date: 2006-09-29
To: BetaMan's Zeta
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCWXZXWestside Story, an unintentional two-stage, 60 mile bicycle tour covering the far west-side and far southern end of Helena where I scored 20 finds in 21 hunts. This turned into a day-and-a-half trip because of a major early morning blunder ¢ I had left my 60CSx averaging the coords during midnight find of Wally Got Balls with 3card. Recovering from that boo-boo delayed my start by 90 minutes and then another 60 minutes were lost in my re-refreshing morning shower where the rusty flow control knob came off in my hand - I had to wait until I could report that problem or I would have been bathless upon my return as well as all weekend. I picked the hardest route to get here. That being bad enough I must have smelled like an open can of Alpo Chunky because the backside dogs just would not shut up. I sure hope that this people enjoyed their dog(s) as much as I did. I looked and looked but I wasn¢t prepared for a real night hunt. By now, I was suppose be sitting at the Rave drinking a coke and eating popcorn. I look in the right places and I decide that the cache is harder than rated.Even though there was some activity in the far park, I tire of the yapping dogs and head for the Coosa. My first DNF and that¢s that.
Date: 2006-09-30
To: BetaMan's Zeta
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCWXZXFound as part of the Westside Story, an unintentional two-stage, 60 mile bicycle tour covering the far west-side and far southern end of Helena where I scored 20 finds in 21 hunts. Stage 2: After halting the trip at 46 miles due to darkness on Friday, I restarted the trip on Saturday afternoon picking up right where I was suppose to be BUT even better, I re-started only a 0.2 mile from semi-new bonus cache that had came up overnight.Before coming back to bark at the dogs again, I contacted the owner from the nearby Mickey D¢s. He was out & about and would meet me here.I get here in minutes and have 10 or so to recheck the area in the daylight ¢ I don¢t find it so it appears that there is no hope for me.However, shortly BetaMan flies in with food stuff and drink stuff and a busted garmin stuff. Right off, he declares the cache missing and lets me sign the replacement.After signed, drinked, & storied; I push onward toward the final 4 or 5 hunts before I can break lose and get on to the house.Thanks for coming by and resolving my DNF into a ¢this a muthra of a micro¢.
Date: 2006-10-06
To: Quarry Cache 26
Miles today: 0.0

Quarry Cache ://coord.info/GCYMXQ#300It is a good thing that the cost of fuel has returned to prices I can afford else this would have been pretty expensive; the Garmin sure was lost when it plotted the route to this cache. I think that I do much better when afoot or on my trusty rusty bikcycle. By the way, a barrel of crude oil costs about the same as a half-barrel of Coke-a-cola. It took Nancy and I two trips across the bridge before I called it quits and walked over to it - on my bike, I can usually ride right up these things. Thanks for the hide.
Date: 2006-10-13
To: FROG ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ The Other Green Meat
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCY2RGThis was find #7 of 13 on a chilly Friday the 13th 50 mile Stage 2 bicycle tour down the lower section of Hwy 280. During last Friday¢s 20 mile excursion, I had picked up eight between the ¢Cracker Barrel¢ and the place where Frog caught the Crabs. Today I started way earlier and played much longer before having Rescue 8 collect me and my trusty aluminum two-wheeler from the same Big Blue Store that I had ridden by at 8am. This cache continued the theme for the day. It appears that I have misjudged the pace of OBH; and, I would spend the day making my ¢G¢ under his mark on the log ¢ if only I had started earlier in the month.Thanks for the easy smiley; kind of like the blooming of a flower on the edge of the walkway, many folks don¢t appreciate the beauty of an occasional one star. But then most people don¢t walk a mile just to scribble their mark on a piece of used paper ¢ fewer still will ride twenty-eight.
Date: 2007-04-28
To: Alabama Autobahn 1
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GCPW2MFound while riding down to the M&G at the Tannehill Park on my bicyle ¢ 20+ miles to here from start. I hung around the tree for a good bit before reading the hint. Found, signed, secured, and left a joeFrog trading card to mark the spot for the next hunter.I erred by not picking up #6 on the way down. I hope to finish the series before I leave the area; but it has taken me a while to get down this far.I first-to-fine-ed two, number 13 and 10, while DrFred was logging the others.#1 ¢ Biked #6 ¢ #10 ¢ Walked#13 ¢ Walked#17 ¢ Biked#19 - Walked#23 ¢ walked #27 - Warren of PHAH
Date: 2007-05-14
To: Lazy River
Miles today: 0.0

http://coord.info/GC11AKAFirst of seven finds in seven hunts during a 12 hour forty-five mile Bike, Hike & Cache Tour of the lower region of the Land of PHAH to knock off several caches belonging to the PHAHBear clan.The trip TO this cache was a two-and-half mile out-of-the-way and mostly downhill. Of course, what goes down must come up and that kind of ¢up¢ usually hurts more toward the end of a trip because of effort and the heat later in the day.A bit short of the cache I was caught by the owner who was taking the back road toward 459 to reach one of his important clients.We visited for twenty minutes before moving on ¢ adding to the later day heat. The cache itself was a park & grab ¢ I didn¢t even need to get off of the bicycle; and, this was the only easy find of the day. For the record, this is my third bike ride to this area.Taylor's 1st Cache by BetaMan & Son'sLabor Day Challenge 2006 - Bike & Hike 30. (Thirty miles, that is.) Covering 30 miles starting at GFR; passing near the Met; picking up the Triple Crown (the Abyss, Helen Back, & Fool¢s Float. See 3Card¢s Fool¢s Float for that story and map.BetaMan's NEWT Cache by BetaManWestside Story, an unintentional two-stage, 60 mile bicycle tour covering the far west-side and far southern end of Helena where I scored 20 finds in 21 hunts. See 3Card¢s Skeet, Skeet, Skeet for that story and mapThanks for hunts, but please, place no more cache out this way until the fall season; and, enjoyed the conversation.
Date: 2008-03-01
To: A Walk-About
Miles today: 0.0

It is expected that one day someone will ask, "Just why would you walk to Maine?". I've a ready conversation, one full of wisedom and dodgeful mis-direction.But the truth rings no clearer than those spoken by character named 'Mayo' in the movie "An Officer and A Gentleman""I can't quit, I can't quit because I have no where else to go."And with this first entry, I have started.
Date: 2008-03-02
To: Finding Me
Miles today: 0.0

I like to think of myself as a steady, semi-intelligent man with a slight touch of 'different'. And maybe just a bit of geek.Once upon a time I could google 'Finding Warren" and it would list a page from my blog at the top, just above a music band in Canada named "Finding Warren". I mention this because they had the URL 'www.findingwarren.com'. To make it easy for people to find me, I pondered various website names like 'whereswarren' and 'walkingwarren'. 'whereswarren' and other good names are taken, and while looking for other available sitenames I found that the band has faded away and with it, their URL. So, if someone wants to find me, just go to findingwarren.com. It should always lead you to me, just like google searches for gubbool and gubbool.org.
Date: 2008-03-03
To: The Great Outline Page
Miles today: 0.0

I don't expect to start the A.T. part of trip until mid-April. Planning and variations of the plan will take shape like anyone else's. I will do some of the usual trail journal stuff and will try to make a habit of doing something in the way of 'trail preparation ' everyday.Right up front I found that I need a page to keep a list of things-to-do and a place to store data that I come across while planning.Above, I wrote ¢the A.T. part of trip¢ because I have recently found a journal on a hike from Alabama to Canada. This is that page.Useful Trail JournalsGrey Eagle's 2006 Appalachian Mountains Trail JournalUpdate from The CitizenJeffrey Hunter aka Little Bear's 2004 Alabama Pinhoti Trail Hammock Hanger's 2007 Great Eastern TrailIf you goGreat Eastern Trail: http://www.greateasterntrail.org/.Building the trail: To volunteer with the American Hiking Society to help build the Great Eastern Trail, visit http://www.americanhiking.org/ or call Jeffrey Hunter, 423-266-2507. Volunteer opportunities in 2006 are as follows, with more planned for 2007:In Tennessee, Cumberland Trail State Park, Oct. 15-21, and Lula Lake Land Trust, Sept. 24-Sept. 30.In Kentucky, Pine Mountain Trail, Sept. 17-23 and Oct. 8-14.Portions of the trail that are accessible:Alabama Pinhoti Trail: 140 miles open for hiking, including Mountain Longleaf Pine forest, http://www.hmtc.org/.Tuscarora Trail, 250 miles open in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Maps available from Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, http://www.patc.net.Pennsylvania's Mid State Trail includes part of the Great Eastern Trail. Maps available from http://phoenix.goucher.edu/MSTA/index.htm.Tennessee's Cumberland Trail, 165 miles open, including waterfalls, overlooks and forests on the Cumberland Plateau. Details at http://www.cumberlandtrail.org.Kentucky's Pine Mountain Trail, steep, rugged and beautiful, with elk and other wildlife. Details at http://www.pinemountaintrail.com/.Maryland's Green Ridge State Forest was recently added to the Great Eastern Trail. Maps available from http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/greenridge.html.New York's North Country Trail (http://www.northcountrytrail.org/) and the Florida Trail (http://www.florida-trail.org/) are not technically part of the Great Eastern Trail but abut the trail at its northernmost and southernmost points.© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Date: 2008-03-04
To: The Appalachian Mountain Trail
Miles today: 0.0

The AMT is a series of long distance hiking trails extending from the very base of the Appalachian Mountains at Bulls Gap, Alabama, to the last mountain in the Appalachian chain where the Gasp© Peninsula meets the Atlantic Ocean in Quebec, Canada¢s Parc National Forilllon. A lighthouse atop a rock face called ¢La Vieille¢ marks the end of the trail.The Appalachian Trail is the best-known trail of the AMT. On a good year only about 25% of the thru hikers finish the entire AT. The challenges of completing the entire Appalachian Mountains Trail are formidable. First, the physical challenge is daunting. The first month requires breaking in your body to a high level of trail toughness and endurance. Next, the mental challenge seems to increase with the miles and is the single most reason that hikers leave the trail. Long distance backpacking is not simply hiking and is not just camping. Long distance backpacking involves carrying your entire means of survival (food, water, and shelter) on your back then negotiating rough mountainous terrain in all types of weather. Grey Eagle on the AMT
Date: 2008-03-09
To: Storing Things
Miles today: 0.0

Things! Plenty of things! Too many things! I like to think of me as a man of few ¢things¢. Most of the things that I own were gotten with purpose and most of those purposes have come and gone ¢ leaving me with a ¢things¢ like hammers, drills, and chairs.   br>Other ¢things¢ were given to me and I simply just didn¢t toss it out. The rest of the ¢things¢ are odd ¢things¢ that once had a purpose but that purpose just never developed thus leaving me with ¢things¢.Once upon a time I stored my ¢things¢ in the trash bin at the end of the drive. That way whenever I ever needed ¢things¢ I knew just were they were ¢ long gone. But in the last few years I have grown lazy and begin to store ¢things¢ in the bedroom. And once the bedroom and giant closet filled I started storing the overflow, just temporarily, in the living room. My orderly life changed from carrying ¢things¢ to the trash bin to simply rearranging ¢things¢ between piles of ¢things¢.I don¢t know how long it will take to rid myself of all these ¢things¢ but I know I have better not miss a day thinning my collection of ¢things¢ or I¢ll be paying storage of ¢things¢ I¢ll never have need for.If you're bored with life--if you don't get up in the morning with a burning deisre to do things--you haven't enough goals. - Lou Holtz
Date: 2008-03-10
To: Tent Poles
Miles today: 0.0

Aside from 4 nights, I have slept in the tent continously since September first. Mostly in Oak Mountain State Park at camp site A53, but I have managed to travel around a small bit during my 'homeless-life'. The tent that I have been using for four years is no longer available from REI. I discovered this because I wanted to acquire a spare set of tent poles and have them within a couple of delivery days away.I like the tent ¢ hardly a two-man tent but superior in every other way. Among the positives is the ability to pull the poles while leaving the pad and tent fly fully attached when packing it away. Then setup is a matter of quickly threading the poles and erecting it.The downside of this design is how the tent poles are threaded through the pole guide which is a ¢tube¢. ¢Repaired¢ tent poles could be difficult to push through and there is no way to work with splinted poles inside the tubes. This problem needs to be re-visited. I found a place that creates poles to user¢s spec. Just another thing to do. http://www.polesforyou.com/Another to-do has to do with packing the tent poles and stakes. The tent is free standing and stakes are not required but I should carry couple.I have never figured the best way to pack the poles. They seem to be the only thing in the pack that isn¢t flexible and they like to ¢point¢ out, seemingly trying to poke a hole in bag. Over the long haul, I could see them wearing a hole through the bag or maybe wearing a hole into the hydration bag inside. I like to think that strapping them on the outside would be nice. But then I vision myself arriving at a campsite only to find them missing.The rules will be a way for me to keep myself on the trail when the going gets tough. The first two are ones that I have 'borrowed' from other people but I'm using them as a starting point.1.) I can't quit while in town.2.) I can't quit while it's raining and/or snowing.3.) I can't quit within 24 hours of a fall (unless severly injured).4.) If in pain (but not injured) I can't quit until I've taken 3 zero days.5.) If friends or family visit me, I can't go home with them!amazonwoman 2007
Date: 2008-03-11
To: Goal, Attitude, Purpse
Miles today: 0.0

With little better to do, I have perused several, but yet only a token number of the many journals posted. Seemingly, each journal has at least one worthy gem of personal advice or comfort-of-life tip or story that helps to explain the fascination of the trail. Clich©s on life abound and tips for hiking revolve around Gore-Tex, lighter weight, and food. Being human, I enjoy reading stories of a hiker¢s tenacity when facing suffering heat or cold, constant wet gear, and the poor trail conditions or solitude.Being old, I am wise ¢ but unfortunately not well beyond my years but still wise. To insure that I contribute to the cause, I¢ll offer this simple insight to ¢success¢. Young philosophers and aged scholars can argue if they insist, but this truth is based on fact. Broken into its simplest elements, the likelihood of a successful effort of any and every undertaking is clearly defined with three words:GoalAttitudePurposeAnd it is those three words that I offer. While you are following the trail, walking in the ¢hikers trance¢, ponder this: ¢Is there anything that you have completed to your own high standard of satisfaction and that was worthy of its effort that did not meet the requirements of goal, attitude, and purpose.I¢ll offer:that only those who recognize that the far terminus is merely the destination and not a goal post will be successfulthat those whose traits include self sufficiency and the spirit of the hardy pioneer have the correct attitude for successthat only those that take a defined purpose on their hike will meet with success By the way, I have read where someone plotted a relationship of the completion rate of those over 50 and whether their age was posted within the journal. I am fifty-seven, just in case he is correct.
Date: 2008-03-12
To: First Aid Kit
Miles today: 0.0

All I wanted for Christmas was USEFUL ULTRALIGHT gear. I feel that I already have 98% of the desired gear. The remaining wants fall into either the ¢not needed¢ or ¢very very expensive¢ categories. At the shop, any conversations about my walkabout revolve around warm waterproof gear and gear weight. Some people just don¢t get it. My beta did manage to get me one important item that I hadn¢t addressed ¢ a First Aid Kit. Generally, I think a ¢real¢ kit isn¢t needed. Most minor emergencies can be handled with a dab of Neosporin and a patch of duct tape until one comes across civilization. Major issues will need more tape and a shuttle to real services.However, I am expecting to travel solo between Birmingham and the junction of the Georgia Pinhoti and the Appalachian. I intended to allow for about one pound for emergency gear; things like fail-safe fire starters, emergency blanket, dehydrated super food, and a cookbook with recipes for bear should I get the upper hand in a chance encounter.The First-Aid kit contains a good quantity of the important stuff; and it appears to be only an emergency blanket and a sewing kit away from being perfect. It comes with waterproof matches, but I will add a ¢sure-fire-making¢ kit and a pair of AA batteries. The container is a durable, clear dry bag measuring about 8 by 5 inches featuring a fail safe seal. I did learn something from reading the instructions ¢ get some extra packets of Tincture of Benzoin Topical Adhesive to make sticky stuff stick. (Mole skin, band-aids, and post-em notes)Beta also gave me a combo time & temperature gadget with an electronic compass. The problem with electron toys is the need for so many different types of batteries. I will carry my (2) GPS¢s and if they fail, I¢d rather have a good old fashion compass and a trail map. UL Trailight Paddler 10ozwww.adventuremedicalkits.com