morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-09
To: Arlington, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Preparation continues. On Friday I sent out an e-mail to friends and current and former work colleagues, announcing my plans to my known world. This pretty much locks me in.My departure date now looks to be on or about April 4th. With two more weeks of work, filing my taxes, making sure my retirment process works smoothly, and all the other stuff that seems to need to be done, I don't see how I can leave earlier. My "to do" list keeps getting longer, which doesn't make sense because I keep crossing things off.I seam-sealed my tent over the weekend...managed to seam-seal some hair as well as I leaned the wrong way and my head side-swiped the goop. De-gooping my head cost me clumps of hair I can't afford to sacrifice. I also spent a few hours packing and unpacking my backpack, just getting used to fitting everything in.   It all goes in, but it's a tight fit in a small pack. A relatively small pack (my new Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian is half the size of my old REI external frame behemoth) forces interesting choices. For example, I want to take crocs as my camp shoes -- they are comfortable, fit snugly, are forgiving of blisters, and won't stub my toes. But they probably take up 400 sq. in. of a 3,800 sq. in. pack and weigh 13 oz. Flip flops are not nearly as comfortable, but fill less than 1/2 the space and weight. So far, the crocs have made the cut, but their status may have to be reconsidered if the good folks at REI come up with yet another nifty, "got to have" gadget. Each piece of clothing gets a similar review. Is a second short sleeved shirt really necessary? My nose, and the nose of others would probably say absolutely, but my aching back might say no? And, is there really any reason to have rainpants if you're wearing quick-drying nylon shorts and you're gonna get wet anyway? Anyone who has looked at these trail journals for any length of time will understand that these are the sorts of critical issues that invade a hiker's mind and get discussed over and over. Last night I loaded everthing up, wearing my hiking clothes, and tried hiking a bit around the neighborhood. But walking out the door, I made the mistake of looking at my reflection in the mirror. Was not happy with what I saw.When I started thinking about this hike, I envisioned myself as being a whole lot skinnier than what I was. I'm fully aware this is my own fault. Starting in early fall, I began dieting and exercising, losing a major portion of my gut. But I caught a cold at the end of January and, inexplicably, I embraced the "feed a cold" strategy to a fault, carbo-loading with a vengance. I'd planned on losing another 15 pounds in February and March. Instead, I've managed to gain 10 lbs! Why? Was I subconsciously trying to undermine my planned hike? Was my brain secretly plotting ways to keep me home and watch re-runs of CSI and Star Treck? Who knows? But with 4 weeks to go, I now need to address the damage. Back to the gym tonight.I brought my fancy new digital camera to work today so that at lunch those less technologically challenged can show me how to work it and download pictures.
Date: 2009-03-13
To: Washington, D.C.
Miles today: 0.0

I woke to snow this morning, with expectations of a rainy weekend. Last week we had 6 in. of snow, quickly followed by 3-4 days of wonderful 70 degree clear days, now followed by snow. But it didn't stick for long, and, at least for those not yet hiking, the rain is needed. I'm hoping a wet winter will mean and end of drought in the Southeast and dry springs.Today is my last day at the State Department. Said all my good-byes, passed off all my incomplete projects to others (Government projects, it seems, are never completed,just continued in some form or fashion until people forget it existed.),and am now just going through the mound of paperwork that accompanies outprocessing. I can't complain, everyone has been helpful. More than a bit of mealoncholy in my leaving -- there's so much more that could be done, but now just is not the right time for me. My outprocessing will take all of next week, but I'll no longer be at my desk. Good work-out last night, to be followed by another this evening.
Date: 2009-03-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

One more day of outprocessing and I will be done with work! Coming into Washington this morning, being shoved and prodded in an overcrowded subway, I looked around at the other people headed for work. Each was absorbed in their own thoughts and everyone conspicuously avoiding any acknowledgment of those around them. I greatly look forward talking and listening to complete strangers whom I meet while hiking. Final doctor's appointments today and I should be good to go. I've now got my transportation from my parents home in South Carolina to Atlanta and on to Springer Mountain. April 4th or 5th is looking more and more doable.
Date: 2009-03-30
To: Arlington, VA
Miles today: 0.0

This is my last full day before heading out!! I still plan to get to Springer Mtn. on Sunday, April 5. Taking care of shutting down my home, packing up and storing various stuff, making final purchases and tying up loose ends has been a frustrating process. But things are pretty much taken care of.Why is it that, when you're gonna' to be gone for six months, there is a compelling need to leave the house as clean as possible? This morning I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor, and scouring the toilet. Anyone who knows me understands I'm not obsessed about cleanliness; quite the opposite...unfortunately. So, why the sudden obsession with being neat? I suspect I've got a secret fear that, after I've been eaten by a bear, complete strangers will come into my house and sigh disapprovingly at my messy home. "Yes, it's a shame about his being eaten by a bear, but it's not surprising, he left his bed unmade." they'll say. Anyhow, not much time left so I'd better go put just one more coat of wax on my dining room table.
Date: 2009-04-03
To: Camden, S.C.
Miles today: 0.0

I'm preparing to leave for Atlanta tomorrow morning. For the past 3 days I've been at the family home in Camden, South Carolina. It's been relaxing. Lots of food and lots of family. I've gone on hikes each day with an almost fully loaded pack. Two days in the rain (one of which was driving rain), and one day of perfect 60 degree weather with a slight breeze. Eighteen miles total on a relatively flat stretch. I've discovered a couple things, the most important of which is that going to the gym two or three times a week does not prepare one for walking around with 30 pounds on your back. My wind is fine, my legs are fine, the knees and ankles are good. But my back tightens up when I stop, and blisters have mysteriously appeared on my feet -- neither of which is a good sign. I've got a pair of healthy sized blisters on my outer heels. I may be rethinking my medium weight boots, and probably need to buy more blister treatment. Now, none of this is particularly surprising, but I was kinda sorta hoping I would magically adapt to hiking without discomfort....wrong.It occurred to me earlier this week that I should cut out the cokes and coffee several days before starting the hike, so no caffeine since Tuesday afternoon. My caffeine withdrawall headache is perceptible, but not out of control. A while back I cut out caffine and suffered blinding headaches, so bad that I thought about going to the doctor.   At the time, I was pretty well convinced I had a brain tumor, since I'd never heard of caffeine withdrawall. This time it has been nowhere near as bad and the headache is mild, but I'm still glad I started when I did. My nephew Joel, who lives in Atlanta, has come to Camden to drive us to Atlanta tomorrow, Saturday, and then on to Springer on Sunday. I'm hoping he'll be able to post some pictures when he gets back from Springer.
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Springer Moutnain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: few clouds

Beautiful day to start. Up at 5:30 at my nephew Joel's house in Altanta. Off by 6:15. At Amacolola Falls to register at 8:30. I am #504 for the year. Took a look at the falls and then snuck around to the short cut on USFS trail #42, the parting lot being .9 miles from the top of Springer. Up to the top with Joel, signed in at the top with "Many Sleeps", then starting my hike officeally at 11:30. Back down to the parking lot by noon. There I met Archie King, AKA Moonlight, who hiked with myself and Joel. Joel turned back after a couple miles, and Moonlight and I plodded on to Hawk Mountain Shelted. At the shelter there were perhaps 25 campers, most nervous and a lot of folks new to this kind of adventure. Getting water at the shelter I slipped in the mud and fell flat on my fannie. I managed to do this in front of a couple of very athletic younger guys debating the merits of climbing Mt. Ranier vs. the big mountain at Yosemiti. Hugely embarrassing.Blisters seem to be healing, but I've got a runny nose, a backache, and headache. The only thing that surprises me is that the blisters are healing. Got to go, the computer is in demand.I now have picutes, but need someone to show me how to upload them.
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Long night of constant light rain.. Cold, cold, cold. But I managed to get my clothes wet from sweat. I started the morning with Karma and Moonlight, and we seem to make a good group so far. Karma, AKA Brian from West Palm Beach, is younger and has hiked several hundred miles of the trail. Archie "Moonlight" King is my age and like me, a mildly out of shape recent retiree. Moonlight is from Ann Arbor MI, and hikes at my general pace. They make good company.I'm in better shape than I anticipated. My body is not yet rebelling. but it's thinking about a rebellion. Interestingly, my middle back, just under my sholder blades is what's bothering me. Clearly, a heavy pack does not agree with my back. I can keep up, barely with the people I started out with this morning. It's snowing lightly, so they are making sure I'm not left behind. My blisters aren't getting any worse, but I need to take better care of my feet.
Date: 2009-04-07
From: Gooch Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light snow

Very nasty night last night. Temps got down to 20, the wind was howling, and an inch of snow. My water bladder was frozen despite resting beside me most of the night. I'd gotten to bed at 7:00 p.m., only to wake up at 3:30 and unable to get back to sleep. Started walking at 8:15 with the trio of Moonlight, Karma and myself. The snow came furiously at times, and tapered off other times. After two miles I announced to the others that I intended to head in to town for the night, for tonight is supposed to get down into the teens with a wind advisory (I've never heard of a wind advisory, but I'd never heard wind howl until Sunday night either). It took no encouragement for them to agree, and we are sharing a room at the Super 8 Motel in Dolenagah Ga. Turns out we aren't the only hikes who had the same idea, there must be 30 hikes at the hotel, so internet time is at a premium.Wonderful ride from a guy named Jason, just back from Iraq and due to be stationed in Honolulu next month. Incredibly nice guy, just being nice. Took my breath away.Everything I own is wet and smells, so I'd washing in the room tonight.New Lesson: It seems I shuffle my feet more than I had realized. When working in an office, shuffling is not a big deal, but shuffling while hiking leads to ramming one's foot into roots and rocks. Do that a hundred times in a day and your toes start to object... strenuously. I am now learning to walk all over again.
Date: 2009-04-08
From: Woody Gap

To: Slaughter Creek Campsite
Miles today: 7.4

An excellent day to hike. We were picked up by our angel at 8:30 from the hotel, driven to Woody Gap where we got off, and started hiking. We ended the day at 7.4 miles, at Slaughter Creek, at the base of Blood Mountain. Blood Mountain gets its name from ancient Indian stories of a great battle between the local Cherokee and neighboring Creek, where the battle was so horrifice that blood soaked the mountain. Slaughter Creek, the location of my camsite, suggests that ugly things happened on that site. But no ghosts were seen tonight.Set up camp at 4:00, ate, and was in bed by 7:30. I woke up at 12:30 and realized that if I had to, I could get up and begin the day before the Letterman show was over. Blood Mountain is the tallest peak on the AT in GA, and has a terrible reputation for destroying hikes. We'll worry about that tomorrow.I've concluded that hiking is like being on a stairmaster for 6-8 hours a day, with a 3 year old child on your back with a will of his own. Often I find myself wanting to go one way, and the pack deciding to go in another direction. Usually, I win, but not always.I've started to run into day hikers who are genuinely interested in thru-hiking. I have yet to adjust to the fact that I actually am a thru-hiker, but it's becoming clear I actually am one, and need to feel more comfortable about talking about it.
Date: 2009-04-09
From: Slaughter Creek Campsite

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Blood Mountain was conquered and I'm wondering what the big fuss was all about. Blod Mountain is supposed to be the worst mountain in GA, but we went up with little fifficulty. Up to the top in 40 minutes, then down two miles to the Wasili-yi Outfitter and Hostel. Resupplied, got fuel, got my feet treated. Got a shower and shaved!! First time I'd used a 19 cent razor in a decade (they are now 79 cents), and they still rip my face up just like they used to. Pizza tonight, and up early tomorrow. We need to do 10-11 miles, because there is a local brown bear that has lost his fear of man and has figured out how to knock down hung bear bags. So a long day to get past him.My pants are already getting loose. That's a good sign. But I'm not eating enough. Who'da ever thunk that? At the end of a day, I've got to force myself to eat as much as possible. Again, who'da thunk it? Thus far, everyone I've met who is hiking is exceptionally nice and helpful. More later, the single computer terminal is in demand.
Date: 2009-04-10
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

First a quick note: In reading the journals of others in past years, I was always surprised at the typos and bad spelling in personal journals. Now I understand. You have 20 minutes on a strange computer, with another hiker leaning over you asking "Dude, when you gonna be done?" Hence the typooos and disjointed language. I'm actually far more clever and leterate. Please forgive.The first double diget day - 10.8 miles. Rain, hail, thunder, lightning, all day below 50 degrees. Weighed my pack before leaving Neels gap, and was at 34 lbs. Not bad at all.Left at 9:00 am Up up and more up. No views because everyting was in a fog. We passed by a tree, 18 in. in diameter, that had been chewed neaqr in half by a bear trying to get grubs. Actually kinda frightening since this is the are where the rogue bear is located.At 5 miles we got to Tenatee Gap, where a local church group wos offering cokes and cookies. Had a Fanta (I've never had one before) and a coke. Coffee would have been more appreciated however. Trail majic on Good Friday.Got to Low Gap at 4:30. Sut up camp. then the rain came. Then the hail came. A river flowed under my tent. A river flowed in my tent!!. I have a tarplet, which is half tent and half tarp. I have found it is not made for driving rain and 40+ mph winds. My vestibule flew open. Just barely kept my sleeping bag dry. Rain finally stopped at 8:00. I'd have been miserable if it wasn't so comical.Slept very, very well.
Date: 2009-04-11
From: Low Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Windy, very very windy. Overcast. Fog. Got out of camp late. I'd never appreciated the wind before. In the gaps it howls, on mountaintops it blows unforgivingly. Only when the trail is on the downside, below the ridgeline are you away from the wind. Of course, that is the exception rather than the rule.Out by 10:00 am. I felt strong and led our tiny group of three all day. At 2:00 I was truly and righteously exhausted. Reached Blue Mountain shelter at 2:30. Hung all my we stuff out to dry, but in the mist and fog, there wasn't a lot of drying to be had. Camped with Larry from Cinci, Vodoo, Bluto, Windmill, AT73, Willow and Chef. Bluto is an interesting character. A good ol boy from Texas, a 30-something construction sub-contractor who decided to take six months off to hike since no one was calling him for work, he wants to lose 75+ lbs on the trail and get in shape. But the boy can hike. AT73 is 73 years old and trying to make his second complete thru-hike, having completed a previous hike in 1994. Willow is also a repeat thru-hiker; she's hiking with a friend and they go at their own pace. Anyone who knows me uinderstands that I have no sense of rythem, am tone deaf, and can't follow a tune. That said, I have three melody's running through my head. On the straight-aways, the first movement of Mendelson's "Italian Symphony" runs throughy my head. On the downhills, it's "Fat Bottomed Girls", on the nasty uphills, it's David Alan Coes "Perfect Country and Western Song" ("I got drunk the day my ma' got outta prison, and I went to pick her up in the rain, but before I got get to the station in my pick-up truck......) Admittedly, a very strange combination of tunes. No idea why they are stuck in my head, but there they reside.Losing weight fast.Our general group was joined by 2-Bob, a former Peace Corps volunteer who served two years in Mali (where 2-Bob is Malian for "white guy", hence the name), and is joining the military in the fall. Nice guy.In bed at 7:00
Date: 2009-04-12
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Addis Gap
Miles today: 13.4

Brilliant sunrise on Easter Sunday!!! Very cold night but slept warm. Out at 9:00 am. Massive ups, nasty downs. At Indian Grave Gap we stopped and at lunch. Joined by a hiker, a retired fella from N.C. hiking to NY to see his grandkids. He complained that his sock had bunched up in his boot and needed an adjustment. He took off his boot to find that the bunched up sock was actually a dead mouse that he had been hiking with for four miles!! His train mane is now "Mouse House"!Because the weather was so nice and because the weather tomorrow is going to be nasty, we move on passed Try Mountain shelter to Addis Gap, and addition 3-4 miles. Utterly drained when I got there. I am not ready to do 13 miles again seen. I understand these distances don't sound like much, but my heart is beating at 130+ beats per minute on the uphills, for hour after hour, and it just doesn't end. We now have a joke, whenever anyone asks how far anything is, we just asy "a quarter mile". This has become hikerese for "explitive deleted!"Set up camp at 7:30 and just barely beat the rain once again. My tarplet held up better this time, but the bottom of my bag got we again. GENERAL ASSESSEMENT: Hiking poles are not just good, they are great. They are the poles to my tarp-tent. They get my arms into the effort to propel one up a hill. They keep you from slipping on the downhills. I don't know how anyone functions without them. Moonlight carries only one poll, and I firmly believe he is one pole short.
Date: 2009-04-13
From: Addis Gap

To: Haiwassi Inn, Haiwassi GA
Miles today: 5.4

Awoke cold and wet. Out by 8:15. Hiking with Karma, Moonlight, and Bluto. The trail started with 1100 feet straight up. Took 50 minutes to go less than a mile. Deep Gap shelter by 10:00, where we got water. Dicks Creek Gap at 11:30, and a ride into town. Staying at the Haiwassi Inn which is full of hikers. $28 for a shared room (only 2 of us this time), laundry, and a ride to the all you can eat diner. Such a deal. Spent the afternoon resupplying with food, toiletries, and first aid stuff. Organizing my pack and strealining. I weighed in on the scales this afternoon to find I've lost 12 lbs. since starting!! Of course, half of that came back on at the all you can eat place, but still...In terms of my health, the good and the bad:GOOD: My legs are in great shape, knees are great, my wind is getting much better. 2 of tthe 3 blisters with which I started the hike have disappeared, and the third is getting better. Blood pressure is down. No head or chest colds despite being constantly wet, cold and hungry.Bad: My back still objects to being asked to carry 35 lbs for 8-10 hours a day. I've managed to compress a nerve between my 3rd and 4th toes on my right foot, which I will try to address with inserts. I've had a shooting pain a couple time on my left ankle, which I'm not sure how worried to be about.GENERAL ASSESSMENT: Far better than I had any right to expect given my sitting behind a desk for 30 years.A quick word about the women who are hiking on this trail: About three quarters of the hikers are men. There have been 4 or 5 women in the general group that is moving at about my pace. These are very, very impressive women. They seem unfailingly upbeat. "Vodoo", a young girl from Michigan, has horrible blisters on both feet, but always has a sunny disposition and a kind word, and she keeps up. "Chef", a young DJ from Halifax Nova Scotia, is just a wisp of a girl, but she's absolutely fearless, much more so that most guys. It seems the women have more self confidence than most guys. Ask a girl where she's heading, and she'll say "All the way to Maine". Most guys will say, "Well, we'll see."
Date: 2009-04-14
From: Haiwassi Inn, Haiwassi GA

To: Haiwassi Inn, GA
Miles today: 0.0

A zero day...didn't realize how much this was needed until the call came at 7:30 a.m. for a ride back to the trail. Morning working on the journal, washing stuff, sorting through stuff, and hanging out. I'm hoping my back starts feeling better. Among the dozen of so hikers that are traveling at my same general pace, we all seem to have developed a "hiker stoop", where, even without packs, we sort of hunch over as we walk. It takes a while to unlimber the muscles. We are quite identifiable. Thus far, all the locals in GA have been very tolerant of us. This is much appreciated at least by myself, for hikers can at times be an imposition, because we come in with specific needs, because we smell (oh, God, do we smell!), and we have a strange vacant look in our eyes that suggest we may be serial killers. We also seem to talk in a distinct language, composed largely of grunts, a lot of pointing, and vaguely distinguishable words like "Sweet", "Dude", "Food", "Beer", etc. I realize that other journals include quotes from folks like Thoreau and Emerson, but the gang that is travelling at my pace doesn't use any extra words if they can avoid it.LESSON: I have found that the Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian pack was a good choice. It is helpful for organizational purposes, which for anyone who knows me understands I desperately need. My sleeping bag, clothes, food, med kit and various sundry stuff fits comfortably in the body of the pack. At the top of the pack are the big things I might need, i.e., my outer shell/jacket, my fleece, a short-sleeved shirt. Then there is a top compartment of things that I need every day,my headlamp, my Aqua Mira water drops (more on them later), my noon snack, an absorbant bandana, and my trail guide. I tried a half dozen packs on at REI, and as soon as I put it on, I decided this was it. Listed at 3 lbs 7 oz, but more like 3 lbs 12 oz (ounces matter), it rides comfortably without stressing my shoulders or back too much. ADDITIONAL LESSON: God bless the people at REI who told me I'd be an idiot if if didn't get a water bladder. I always thought it was a bit to gimmicky, looking like an urban adventurer trying too hard, and had planned to use three Gatorade bottles. But they work wonderfully. It is far easier to take a quick sip from the bladder hose, hence you increase the liklihood of staying well hydrated. I carry one full Gatorade bottle for emergency back-up, but thus-far, with the torrential rain, we have yet to find a spring that is dry.TOMORROW I ENTER NORTH CAROLINA!!!Outta time on the computer, gotta go.