morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 8.2

   Our day began with a television crew from Johnson City, TN, filming our breakfast and doing thru-hikers interviews. GG became our TV star. Then, off to the Indian Grave Gap and four potato blasts. Well, three blasts and one spud dud. The star today was Jones Branch. What a large, clean branch it is with small water falls! Perfect! The trail along the branch was lined with rhododendrons. While stopping by Curley Maple Gap Shelter we met a gentleman section hiking, who is going to post our photographs on Whiteblaze.com. Our hike today included Miss Janet's dog, Fabian, her youngest daughter, who is a freshman in high school, GG and Woody. The dog, Fabian, spends most of his day smelling for squirrels. Fabian hikes the AT sections around Erwin, TN so much he believes that it is the Appalachian Trail. It was a also good to see Ash Tray. I had hiked with Ash Tray two years ago on the AT. He is called Ash Tray because he picks up cigarette butts he finds on the trail. He is from Vermont. We met several thru-hikers today. After returning to Erwin the Presbyterian minister invited us to church on Easter Sunday. There are two churches across the street from Miss Janet's. One is a Methodist church and the other one is a Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian minister said that hikers were very welcome in his church. Big plans are being made at Miss Janet's for Easter dinner. Thru-hikers from up and down the trail will flock to her backyard at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday for ham and turkey. It will be a feast for her hiker family. Burn is also at Miss Janet's. He is a wonderful gentleman.
Date: 2004-04-10
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

   On our way to Iron Mountain Gap we went by the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel. GG had two drop boxes and some mail that we needed to pick up. Miss Janet then delivered us to Iron Mountain Gap at noon. We stopped at the Cherry Gap Shelter at 1:30 for a snack. Then, we began our long climb up Unaka Mountain from 3,900 feet to 5,180 feet. The cool weather made the climb pleasant. The top of Unaka Mountain is a thick forest of evergreens. If you left the trail it would be very easy to become disoriented. I sat on a log to eat a candy bar and then we continued the walk to Beauty Spot. Beauty Spot is a huge grassy bald with great views in all directions. Someone had covered their afternoon campfire with snow prior to our crossing. The snow was very patchy thus presenting no problems on the trail. Our shuttle was to pick us up at 6:00 so our pace had to quicken. We arrived at Indian Grave Gap at 6:01. This is a pretty walk, but has only one mountain view which is at Beauty Spot. The trail is well-maintained and is enjoyable to hike. On my return to Erwin, TN, things were being organized for the famous Sunday dinner at Miss Janet's Hostel. She will cook for a small army and will do an all night in the kitchen. Miss Janet goes out of her way to make Easter special and I am honored that I will be a part of the celebration.
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Miss Janet's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Miss Janet finally got to bed at 4:00 a.m. GG was in the kitchen at 2:00 a.m. preparing the homemade rolls. By 9:00 a.m. the kitchen was busy with many hikers finishing all the preparations. GG, Woody and I went to the First Presbyterian Church for Easter services. We were treated with respect and made to feel welcome. A big thanks to the pastor and the wonderful congregation for making us feel that way. Rubber camp shoes and hiker clothes seemed to not matter in such a friendly church environment. The pastor said his only requirement was that we had bathed in the last week. Even though we had bathed and washed clothes on Saturday night, I don't think you can wash the stink out of our clothes.At one o'clock prayer was said by a hiker and we ate a feast of turkey and dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, seven-layer salad, pecan pie and so much more I need not mention. We ate on tables in Miss Janet's backyard. It was good to see Jan Liteshoe and Stumpknocker. VQ, who I had hiked with in 2002, lives two-blocks from Miss Janet's House. Ash Tray was with us in 2002. After lunch, I walked down to McDonald's for a coffee and to watch The Masters Golf Tournament on TV. Tomorrow, back on the trail.
Date: 2004-02-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I had a moment of clarity the other evening. My father's old best friend, Jama (short for James. only in greater boston.), has always been one of the more vocal fans of my journeys. "I bet you've got some GREAT stories, that must be AWESOME," is the kind of thing he says to me wide-eyed every time he sees me. He nods and smiles while I pull out the "bear story," ("NO WAY!) the "mount whitney story," ("thats somethin!") the "hurricane story," ("sheesh!") and all the sound bites i have in my head about walking every day, the kindness of strangers, and the culture of hiking. They all seem to miss the point for me, but they are the best I can do to sum up the ocean of experience that ebbs in my mind.   Well, Jama was over for dinner and he said to me, multiple times, that he would love to read about my adventures yet I sat there and bit my tounge, knowing that the neurotic musings that i called my trail journal would not exactly be up this straight-shooter's alley. Jama's enthusiasm brought many things to light that i had been taking for granted. It can be tough to put it all in perspective, its a fast world. And I have the tendency to be a headcase. I realized that in deciding to go back to the AT, i had denied myself the real reason. I said I just wanted to go back because I liked it, because nothing else was working, because i missed the south, to spite myself and my career. All had some truth to them, but I denied myself the fact that the AT is a grand adventure. What a danger to forget that! To take it for granted, how special it is to walk hundreds of miles over mountains, to meet new friends from all walks of life, to see pure nature at all times of day, in all kinds of weather, to find the overwhelming kindness of strangers, to live in the southern appalachians, to meet and overcome huge physical and mental challenges. I mean not to toot my own horn here, thats just a heck of a thing to take lightly. To think I had called it old hat. All the more reason for me to return, open to the fantastic experience which is the AT. And commited to tell the story right, not caught up in my mental whining, to share the adventure that i am so priveledged to take with all those who can't take it right now and who inspire me to go on, freewheelin. (hee hee)."I settled at Cold Mountain long ago, Already it seems years and years.Freely drifting, I prowl the woods and streamsAnd linger watching things themselves.Men don't get this far into the mountains, White clouds gather and billow.The grass does for a matress, The blue sky makes a good quilt.Happy with a stone underheadLet heaven and earth go about their changes." -han-shan, translated by gary snyder
Date: 2004-03-31
To: procrastination-i just cant resist
Miles today: 0.0

The title is a shout to all yall Tom Waits fans.Check it- it is quiet and drizzling, it is 11AM and i am at the bottom of my second cup of coffee. The last day is sort of paralyzing.Which I suppose is not good, considering the following to do list:-Call in sundays hours-Write letters to those who took the time to write references for me gracefully explaining that whatever the reason i was rejected, it certainly couldnt have been my fantastic references. Seriously.-assemble first aid kit-clean car. for some reason i dont think this is going to happen.-file taxes.-print and affix mailing labels to the two drops. will only take 5 minuites, but its just one more thing to do.-beat the video game "desert storm II, back to bahgdad." crazy ass game.And yet i thought it was a good time to rock another entry. mainly because i was outside having a smoke when i realized that the journal would be a great place to use the phrase "and tonight were going to hike like its 1999." So witty. It had to be here. This trip is officially dubbed "nostalgia tour '04." It is crucial to document that before I set out.Other crucial items: My favorite piece of boston slang- when there is an accident, but it is well off the road, not technically impeding traffic, and yet traffic is backed up anyway just because people are staring, it is called a "gawka blawka" Gawker Blocker. Fantastic. It makes them easier to bear when upon seeing the unimpeding scene you can yell "its a gawka blawka, a gawka blawka. come on!"Also i would like to take this time to let everyone know that I have landed a job as a ridgerunner on the AT in MA and CT. I am essentially getting paid to hike. Pick up trash, preach leave no trace, calm down panicing novices, etc... It starts May 25. I am hella pumped. So hella pumped that I am willing to let my language degrade into graceless slang. Now thats hella pumped.I need to do crap. Maybe i will start with the last item on the list. Auvoir! Merci!
Date: 2004-04-01
From: boston

To: hiker hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

smooth sailing via the ferry and a couple flights. Atlantas public transit is aggresively nice. Before a stop, a computer voice announces the name of the stop and notable or not so noteable things in the area like "georgia state college, geargia state dormitory, home depot, the postcard meauseam, tom jones fountain, tom jones fountain square, two krispy kremes, and a waffle house." alright, alright, you are a world class city, i will hold my convention here. Will you just be quiet?On the train, i was a bit aprehensive about the upcoming journey. I was worried that I was not that excited, that this would be lackluster. All the butterflys were quiet and so was I.Was picked up by leigh from the hostel, and brought back to the beautiful new place. Its a log cabin nestled in the GA hills. Everything a weary traveler could want. Great folks.Went to bed early, exhausted, wondering what the days ahead would bring.
Date: 2004-04-02
From: hiker hostel

To: justice creek
Miles today: 15.0

I arose at 5:45 this morning with a cup of coffee (sweet, sweet nectar) and some cereal. And so ended my brief stay at the hiker hostel. Ready, a past AT and PCT thru hiker, drove me the one hour on dirt roads to the trailhead. Ready is a delight. She had a CD on which a musician-¢Tacoma Ted¢-had put to music some of Earl Schaefer¢s poetry. Earl was the first to hike the AT continuously in 1948. He is a hardened man with a warm, warm heart and his poems were reminiscent of classic American folk heroes like Guthrie and Muir. Simple, terse sentences expressed simplicity and nature bringing true joy to a weathered heart. A great way to begin my journey.I briskly walked the .7 miles up to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus. The first time I was up there, some five years ago, all I saw was fog, some sort of plaque, and then I got lost. This time it was 8 AM and mighty cold, but the sun was shining brightly on the humble summit. It was green grass and rock outcroppings littered with gnarly trees big and small. Really, I was stunned at how gorgeous it was. I paced all about the unassuming, round summit, took a few pictures, and was on my way.It was a cold day. Very cold.The brisk sunny walk was, well I am running out of adjectives fast. Shortly after springer the trail descended into a pine forest. Soft tread and a distinct smell. And about two miles in it was rhododendron city. They clustered about cricks, brooks, streams, and rivers- shining green and leaning towards the water and sun, bowing in exultation.Other trees are still barren, which affords me the view, over the rhododendrons, to the next ridge lined with trees against the backdrop of a blue sky. Further, the distant ridges are midnight blue. It was a very quiet day.I was a bit torn about this trip before I left, feeling like it was a step backwards. Being out here now, such contemplations are nonsense. All that is out here is all that is on my mind. I breathe, I walk, I enjoy the walk. No place for regret in a landscape packed with so much. The second half of the day was cloudy and a biting wind was humming in the air. I don¢t hike with poles or sticks any longer, so all I could hear was my own faint footprints and the slight rustling of the wind. Eerie.I will talk of the people I¢ve met and any other ruminations tomorrow. Now, my hands are numb and the sleeping bag calls. Its great to be out here.
Date: 2004-04-04
From: woods hole shelter

To: neel's gap
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

Trains....why are there trains....cold....face is cold... Oh god it is windy! That was about 10pm last night. It was whipping like i have hardly ever seen. Bitter cold wind. Managed to let it slip out of the realm of concern and sleep through it with every item of clothing on and zipped, my hat over my face, and the hood of my bag scrunched so that only my mouth was exposed, exhaling sleep into the wind.Its decided, im sleeping somewhere warm. Despite the wind, had a glorious hike up blood mountain. For some reason the adreniline was flowing and i was hooting and clapping up the trail. Got up there, the highest point in GA, and the hills spread out before me. I hooted. Descending over huge slabs of rock and gnarly little mountain laurel, the views kept coming, and i sounded like Michael Jackson. Hee Hee. Fun. I was running down that trail, boi.Got to neels gap and spied the Hiker Hostel suburban, took a quick look at the accomodations at Neels gap, and it was decided. An hour later, i was getting out of a warm shower, putting on my rain gear since everything else was in the wash, and walking over to the pot of coffee. coffee. Put my legs up on the couch. Well alright then.Went to dinner in the cute town of delhonega (i butchered the spelling). A true georgia native, a friend of Josh's mother, joined us. He sure had a lust for life, a clog dancer, a square dancer, a fisher, a painter, a sweet talking georgia boy. The quote that stuck with me was "a moving target is hard to kill." right on. I love the regions of America. How am i ever supposed to settle down? If anyone is reading this in Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, and needs any help on a farm or something this winter, look a brother up. I love your country.And Ill walk some more of it tomorrow.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: neel's gap

To: Low Gap shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke at the hiker hostel, seemed like a nice cool day. but when i got out of the car at neels gap, whooo boy! that whipping wind! fumbled manicly for my socks which are also gloves, my hat, then decided to go pace around the store. hey, people. lots of them, buying stuff. Neels gap is where half the people who quit, quit, and where the rest streamline their loads at outrageous prices. give them three days to carry those packs and all of a sudden they understand the importance of a light pack. Had to duck for cover, there was so much money flying around. i had nothing to buy, so i went back into the wind. hooooo boy. got to admit i am getting weary of this.... called my sister and complained, and then paced a bit and hell, gotta walk. its what i know how to do. one step followed another until everything quieted down a bit and i was on an incline, getting the body heat up. my mind got a bit calmer. the trail has a knack for that.I like to wax idylic about this experience but let me be clear, this trail is hard. I was wondering if the GA trail was as trying as i remembered it, now that i have a larger perspective. believe me, boy, it is. I plod, heaving, for a good part of the day. i hardly notice the downhills, and then it is straight, straight up another small climb. plod, plod, plod. i breathe heavy sometimes to the rythms of miscelaneous popular songs. sweating like a mutha. this is a vacation?Classic georgia AT: cross a road, hike a ridiculous climb up to a "mountain" with the road below, decend back to the same road. What kind of maladjusted operation are they running here? let me be clear, i am not complaining. I love it.However, just after the afore mentioned head-scratcher, the trail got, brace yourself, well graded! and the weather got, no joke, warm! well glory be. there was some good company at Low gap shelter. Captain keefer, 22 from montana, and i chatted about public radio, homeboy, 60's from PA, gave a hearty laugh at any oportunity, j.b.,40's from alabama, reiterated the weather bi-hourly, and trucker,20's from georgia, painted a nice picture of the south for me. i tried in the evening to cram all this into my journal somehow.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Low Gap shelter

To: beer and brauts, helen georgia!
Miles today: 8.0

12:30 PMGlorious, glorious, morning. woke up and it was warm. what a miracle. started hiking in shorts, just cool enough to not be sweating, cruising along the well-graded trail which was on an old railroad bed. the trail was lined with grass, contouring around hills, with a small valley below which showed no signs of cicilization. just trees, some green strips of pine, gently forming the valley. the baby blue sky was spotted with clouds.Less than a mile in i spotted t-dot, baby blue, and redman (cliff) and they were schemin. 8 miles to a road, then we hitch into helen georgia, a kitchy "alpine" tourist town for brauts and beer. this short day would leave 10 tomorrow to addis gap, the site of a rumored hiker feed of epic proportions. so i groan at the bastards and admit they are on to something and that i am going to have to join them. tough life.And as i cruised on down the trail I thought wow those boys are catching on quick, but then i knew: loon. Loon put them up to this. I caught up to the man, and it was confirmed. there is no substitute for experience. Here at blue mountain shelter the sun is shining strongly and i am just milling around loving the day, gazing into the rolling hills, loving the life, waiting around for these crazy fools.
Date: 2004-04-07
From: beer and brauts, helen georgia!

To: Hiker feed supreme, Addis gap!
Miles today: 12.0

1:30 PMWell, the beer and brauts scheme came through, but a bit late. after flying like only hiker trash motivated my town food can fly, with 8 miles in three hours, i sort of came to and realized that my compadres were not as, um, crazy. in other words i had some milling around to do, which is really no obstacle for true hiker trash. So they came off the mountain at 3:30, and so a lunch break turned into an overnight stay. alas, the intentions were good.I have failed to mention Loon's hiking partner, verne, or "eastwind." He is 65 and retired from the coast guard, has been to all crners of the world, and is now the most easy going good humored guy you could come across. it was a real pleasure to kick around helen with these two elders. I have much to learn from thier gentle spirits and knack for livin'good. After a couple becks dark and the coveted brauts, they got a bit animated, ribbing eachother about wives and snoring and such. only on the trail. fun as hell.Writing in the journal at lunchtime seems a good idea since at the end of the day my mind is sort of numb. today it is a particularly good idea considering the rumored two kegs of beer at addis gap. look out. sure is a primitive wilderness experience i am having. this morning i climbed the formidable tray mountain, the first significant climb on the trail. enjoyed great 360 views from the tiny rock pile summit in the sky, catching my breath.6 miles to beer. journal over.
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Hiker feed supreme, Addis gap!

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

6 miles to beer. not as easy as it sounds. It was hot. and it was classic PUDs (pointless ups and downs) and maybe I wasted too much energy sprinting, but 3 miles through I had to collapse in the shade and breathe, eyes closed. It was a low. lows happen when you walk 8-10 hours a day. I've been there before. I was able to plod on with perspective, aided by visions of beer.And then I saw a sign. a neon one, advertising food. and another advertising drink. These signs were strung to trees with string lining the trail to addis gap. Oh... My... lord... when finally the camp was spread out before me I moved as if on a conveyor belt. I was in shock, on autopilot.And when I was there, in front of the food, well I couldn't handle it. I needed to just sit on the grass with Dead Lung and have a smoke. whew.Then it was a sandwich - or 5 - waiting on the chowder. There were about 15-20 of us getting cozy in the place with big smiles, gathering around the fire, tending to foil-wrapped baked potatoes. for some reason, it was all 20-somethings, all but one maile. And Bunmp, whisper, and Moo, who are the ones responsible for this "trail magic" for the last 11 years. I just looked at the amazing spread, the hikers around me, relaxed, laughed, ate, drank, and thought boy this is some lifestyle. Woke up and milled around soaking in the last of this particular string of perfect moments, slowly eating unholy amounts of various breakfast foods.Hit the trail at 10:30. 14 miles to North Carolina. Making headway.Most hikers go into hiawasee, but since I had gone to Helen, I pushed through, putting me with the group that was a day ahead of me. More good people, smiling faces, as we set up camp here at windy blu gap. The landmark here is a fantastic big old tree. Most of its thick old trunk is lying on the ground, perpendicular. Then what has braved the wind reaching for the sun, looks like two wrists tied together, with dislocated fingers grabbing the air.Sitting .2 miles into the new state, cooking dinner behind my tarp, broadside to the wind and staked to the ground, I can see bigger, fuller mountains ahead. and over the tarp's ridgeline I watch lights in the valley come on as night encroaches.I am sitting against the big tree now, with four chipper college grads blocking the wind, thinking about another full day. and another new state. Its good to put the tree to utilitarian use.