morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-07
From: ME15, Monson

To: Wilson Valley Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

After an enormous and delicious breakfast this morning, which involved me eating more breakfast meat than any one person should consume, I had to take care of town chores. Snake had convinced me to get rid of everything in my pack that I wouldn¢t need in the next week, and I ended up sending home 4.5 pounds of worthless stuff including, but not limited to, a paintbrush. I might be teased about that forever. Doogie¢s family came up to visit, and his brother was going to hike with him over the next few days. His mom offered to drive us all to the real grocery store in the next town over, and so we all packed into the van. Now I¢m used to carrying six days worth of food and a heavy pack, but some of my fellow hikers were dismayed by the amount of food they had when we left the store, I¢m sure the next couple days will be a bit of a struggle for them. I was just excited because I had found my favorite candy bar, Harry and David¢s Moose Munch Bar, at this tiny little grocery store in this tiny little town in the middle of Maine. We went back to the boarding house, sorted and packed like we have at every town stop, and then made one last lunch trip to the gas station for lunch. And then there we were, in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Snake, Granite, Grizzly and I walked together for a while looking for the sign that should mark our arrival, but either none of us saw it or it didn¢t exist. I guess a lot of signs have gone missing along the trail. It didn¢t really matter to me, I was happy just to know that I had made it to the last stage of my journey. I no longer doubted that I would make it to the end, that wasn¢t even an option anymore. When we got to Little Wilson Falls we found Doogie who asked us where Shawn, his brother, was. The concerning part was that none of us had seen him. Hoping that somehow he had stealthily passed by Doogie, we set out in search. By the time Snake and I had reached the next shelter Doogie, Granite and Shawn were nowhere to be seen, it had started to rain, and we were tired. No one had left a message telling us if they¢d found Shawn and Grizzly was now missing. So even though it was my better judgment and our schedule was not as flexible as it once was, Snake convinced me to stop for the night. Grizzly finally showed up and told us that some southbounders had seen Shawn, and Snake and I figured out some alternate hike plans for the next few days. Now my only worry is that Granite might think that we ditched her.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Wilson Valley Lean-to

To: West Branch of Pleasant River
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Let me take a minute to explain the Hundred Mile Wilderness I¢ve been talking about. The last 100 miles of trail between Monson and Baxter State Park, which is where Katahdin is located, used to be a pristine wilderness with no access to, well¢¦anything. Sadly, logging roads have recently been run through it giving the general public access to what used to be a secluded forest with secluded ponds. This didn¢t make the Wilderness any less beautiful, or less quiet, but it added to the volume of people, especially day and weekend hikers. I think we are all more easily annoyed with outside people as we near the end of our trip since they have such an impact on our day and don¢t really understand what we¢ve gone through, so it was kind of a shock to realize we weren¢t going to be the only ones in the woods for the rest of the journey. As for today, Snake and I had a couple of plans for how to get to Katahdin on time, and both branched off of what we would be able to do today. We were going to go to the Chairback Gap Lean-to and then decide if we had enough energy and time to go on. I had what I think was my most comical fall today and I ended up on my butt in a little stream. Luckily, even though my shorts got wet, my backpack somehow stayed dry. There were more ups and downs today than I expected and it began to take its toll on us by lunchtime. Snake started to get really stressed out about not being able to make it 26 miles for the day, even though we had started with the wait and see approach, and this started to get me really stressed out too. The only times I¢ve ever been worried about not making it somewhere on time were in the snowstorm and then on Mt. Madison. I certainly wasn¢t worried about today ¢ I knew we would be fine, but I couldn¢t convince Snake. don¢t like to see people unhappy and he has been so worried about making his flight lately that he has gotten really down on himself. I finally got tired of being dragged down and hiked off at record speed. I cooled off quickly and we passed each other back and forth before he finally called for a break and a truce. This was when he decided to take a proactive measure to relax, take more breaks and enjoy what was left of the adventure. So we ended up walking to the Pleasant River, which was located in-between our two target shelters, and where Doogie and Grizzly were camped for the night. I¢m still worried about Granite, but it would have been really dark if I had hiked on. By the way, Snake told me today that I would have to walk in front from now on because being in front adds to his stress ¢ it took him almost 1000 miles of hiking together to tell me¢¦who knew?
Date: 2006-08-09
From: West Branch of Pleasant River

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.3

Sadly enough I¢ve gotten way behind on my journal writing once again, and the no-see-ums are viciously attacking me in this shelter, but I want to accurately capture how I was feeling today so I¢ll power through it. Today, like yesterday, it was perfectly clear and beautiful out and we took our time enjoying it. I had a bit of a tummy ache in the morning so we stopped at the Sidney Tappan campsite for an early lunch break. When we went down to the spring for water we heard a loud noise in the woods and through the undergrowth we could see an enormous bull-moose, his 3¢ wide rack covered in velvet. We got our water, ate some lunch and returned to the trail. The climax of the day happened on the top of Whitecap Mountain where, rising out of a carpet of forest and ponds, Katahdin loomed gigantic in the distance. I don¢t know if it¢s just the anticipation I¢ve had to see this particular mountain for the past 2000 miles, but it was the most beautiful mountain I¢ve ever seen. Snake and I relaxed for a while with our goal right in front of our eyes. It¢s truly magnificent to be this close. Granite, Doogie, Shawn, Grizzly, Blistah, and Rocket Man are at the shelter tonight. The bittersweet thing about this journey nearing its end is that soon all my new friends will go their separate ways. Tonight will probably be the last night Snake and I will be with this group on the trail.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 29.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We were almost ninja hikers this morning (this is what I call hikers that get up and out before daylight), and I didn¢t get to say goodbye to anyone except for Doogie. The funny thing was that Doogie and his brother were the only people we saw today. The terrain was flat and easy. Really easy, not even rocks or roots to deal with. It reminded me of the dismaying day that Tater had driven me into Hiawassee and when I asked when the hiking gets flat he had said, ¢about 2 days before Katahdin.¢ True that. We walked at about 3 miles an hour to the Cooper Brook shelter where we took our first break. As I¢d said many times since we¢ve been in Maine, I commented that if it were hot I¢d go swimming, because the shelter had the most awesome swimming hole I¢d ever seen right in front of it. I¢m not a big swimmer unless it¢s hot. Doogie and Bro showed up shortly after and Doogie said he had decided to summit Katahdin with us. Hah! We won him over to the cool kids side. Doogie¢s mom had driven out to pick up Shawn just a few miles after this shelter, and since she had brought a bunch of drinks and snacks we decided it was a lovely spot to sit and have lunch. It wasn¢t quite noon and we¢d already walked 12 miles. Sadly, it started to rain a few hours later and almost persuaded us to walk through the mud to the White House Landing hostel where we¢d been told delicious food awaited, but we felt so good that we kept on going. My feet were really ready to quit hiking about 4 miles before the shelter, but Snake was doing great, and we straggled in around 7:30. To our dismay the shelter was full! And on top of that, everyone was already asleep! Where did all of these people come from? And where was Doogie? We found a place to set up our tents and I pondered these questions as I listened to the rain hit my tent.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: The Birches
Miles today: 13.4

This morning my pack was lighter than it¢s ever been and I did the fastest 3.4 miles ever to reach the Abol Bridge Campground where I scarfed down 5 donuts and a cheese Danish. Even though the view of Katahdin from the bridge was obscured by rain clouds so that I couldn¢t take a picture I felt like I was so close I could practically reach out a touch it. I was almost there and I was immensely happy. We found out that Jump-Start and Ramble On are also going to summit tomorrow, and then Snake, Doogie, Longhaul and I set out to walk our last 10 non-Katahdin miles. I dropped behind the group after a little while because, for the first time in 3 months, I actually wanted to walk alone. I took my time and enjoyed the peacefulness of the woods and the river. How the wind sounded when it blew through the trees and how the carpet of dead pine needles beneath my feet smelled. I¢d been here so many times before on my adventure, although each time has been a little different ¢ different sights, different trees, different friends. I though back to all of these times with a vividness that caught me by surprise and I realized I would be leaving a piece of my heart on this trail. I love the woods, and even though the pain of missing my other half has sometimes made me deny it, I have absolutely loved having the opportunity to live amongst the trees, birds, and even mice for the past 5 months. I will sorely miss it. After I snapped out of my reverie I caught up to Snake for lunch and we finished up our walk together just like we¢ve done for the past two months. We had one slight incident at a river crossing when he got caught on a rope wile shimmying across some logs and I had to initiate a rescue, but all parties involved came out unscathed. We made it to the ¢thru-hikers only¢ campsite around 4:00 and have been enjoying the fact that we¢re finally here and relaxing ever since. I had enough time to play Uno, eat a humongous dinner, and write in my journal. Amazing.
Date: 2006-08-31
To: Life after the trail
Miles today: 0.0

They should put some sort of warning label on the trail: ¢Warning: Life will take some adjusting to.¢ I miss my friends. Horribly. Every day I wake up and I feel like something is missing. And I feel like I¢ve lost my goal. Oh, I have a new goal ¢ I need to get a job, but it¢s a lot less straightforward than point your feet north and walk. I¢m left with so many questions about what I want to do with my life, and this void where the woods and my friends used to be. I know that this will get better with time, and once I get a job I¢ll have a lot less time to think about my trip, but right now I live for the evening and weekends when Robert is home so I can stop feeling this emptiness. I long to be out in the woods. I¢ve started training for a marathon because Doogie said that if I do I can keep eating like I had been on the trail. That has been another adjustment. On the trail I could pick out whatever I was hungry for and eat it, if it was available. Here, everything is available, but if I eat what I want I won¢t be able to keep my svelt size 2 figure. In fact, if I ate what I wanted I would be roughly the size of a hippo. Sigh¢¦ahhhh, getting back into the real world.
Date: 2006-02-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Getting more ready every day. Guess it's time to get the trail journal started. Most of my major equipment has been purchased. I'm expecting my new down sleeping bag to be at the outfitters tomorrow.Expecting to get on the trail mid March. The starting will be at Wayah Gap in NC where I left off a few years back. Should luck be with me and I make it to Maine I will return and redo Georgia and the first few miles of NC. thereby getting the whole thing in one year. That section could really be done as late as December as the weather is not so bad then.I will make a list of gear with pictures.
Date: 2006-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Rosie and I ran into Peacemaker and Bull in town (Hiawassee, where we live) and they stopped over the house today. Peacemaker is headed back on the trail to day, however Bull had to have some minor foot surgery and he will be in town long enough for some healing to take place.Good luck to Peacemaker....nice weather to get back on trail, the sun is actually shining and it is 51 degrees here in town at 11:30am.I'm hoping my sleeping bag will be in today. If it is Bull and I will take a ride up to Neel's gap ,Mountain Crossings.
Date: 2006-02-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Have been really busy the last few days between getting gear and information together for my hike. I live in Hiawassee, GA and thru hikers are coming into town all the time. My wife and I keep tabs on them here on trail journal. We were driving thru town and my wife was telling me about a hiker "Bull" that had a foot problem and was going to get it taken care of at the hospital. Well right in front of me was a hiker headed toward the hospital with a bad limp. I pulled into the front of the hospital just as he was headed in and yelled "I bet you're Bull" and I waved him over. Thru him I met Peacemaker who was laid up in town for a day or so. They came over the house and visited with Rosie and I. Next day "yesterday" Peacemaker got back on the trail and continued on his way. He should be at Muskrat shelter tonight. Bull and I have been running around the area doing various trail related chores. Mountain Crossing yesterday for a number of small items and check on the delivery of my new sleeping bag.........booooo, it didn't ship from Western Mountaineering as it should have. In fact it won't ship until next Monday. That is going to delay my getting on the trail. I guess this wasn't the right time for me to start. I'll get on when it comes weather permitting.Today Rosie, Bull and I took a ride to Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser and from there to Fontana Dam to look things over. I have done trail from Springer to Wayah Gap so I'm thinking of starting out at Fontana Dam to get the Smokies behind me than catching the section from Wayah Gap to Fontana Dam and continuing on from Davenport Gap. The reason for jumping around is to get thru the Smokies before the shelters get heavy use. It's not a problem to jump around down here because it's so close to home. That will change from there on north.Today Bull brought "Gung Ho" and her 2 small dogs. She is doing a section hike in the area and just finished all of GA and into North Carolina to Deep Gap, north of Muskrat Shelter. We all went out for dinner and had a great time jawing about the AT and gear and friends met related to hiking.She heads home tomorrow. What a pleasure meeting her. She has a couple of postings here on Trail Journals in 2005. Truly a spitfire! Gung Ho is a perfect fit as a trail name. Will post some photos of those above.
Date: 2006-02-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We received some bad news today. Here on Trail Journals we learned that Peacemaker, mentioned in my last post has left the trail due to knee pain and swelling. I know this was a very difficult call but those downhills can sure do some punishment. I spoke to Bull on the phone late this afternoon and learned that he too has decided to get off the trail. Apparently his foot issues were not responding as well as he had hoped and he could not go on. The minor surgery he had to remove a toenail has proven again that "minor" and "surgery" don't belong in the same sentence. Don & Paul I'm so sorry to you had to make this decision but I'm glad you had the courage to make the right choice rather than doing some permenant physical damage or putting yourself in an emergency situation on the trail. Get well and perhaps give it another shot at a later time. (see photos on http://ozzyo.com )Well today I was back up at Neel's Gap to see the guys at Mountain Crossings. I decided switch my sleeping bag to a better choice. I went with a Big Agnes 15 degree, down bag with a waterproof outer lining. The bag has a pocket on the underside that tightly holds a 2 1/2" thick full length insulated inflatable pad. The pad is 24 oz. and the bag is 2# 4 oz. The total weight and volume is much less that what I had and only slightly more that the ultra light bag I previously selected. One significant feature of the bag is a large diameter that will allow rolling over in the bag and room to stretch out. It is in transit.
Date: 2006-03-04
To: Tray Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

2006-03-04 Tray Mountain and a lot more thru hikersBack to Indian Grave Gap for another conditioning hike. This time I went to Tray Mountain Shelter and back. Actually that is a pretty short hike, only about 5.6 miles, but its over 2000 feet of climbing and logically over 2000 feet decent. I have to start slow or I won't get to head north at all. I figure about another two weeks of this and I should be able to start the journey.I ran into more people on the way back to the car then I ever remember. Unfortunately I was too lazy or preoccupied with my own hike to interview the thru hikers. Some of them didn't particularly want to talk. I passed 8 thru hikers and about 4 or 5 day hikers and a whole flock of boy scouts and their leaders. Glad I'm not staying at that shelter tonight. Just before I got back to the Jeep I met "Happy Feet" and "Swiss, the Chocolate Bandito" who were very friendly and happy to spend a few minutes chatting. I don't know how they managed it but both were dressed for summer with shorts, and short sleeves and sleeveless top. They were moving fast and climbing so that would explain it to some degree.........hard to beat being young. As I have learned since checking out their journals both have spent a whole lot of time on the trail before. Swiss made it to Great Barrington, Mass in 2004 before running out of time and money. That's pretty close to home plate. I stole a current picture of her off Happy Feet's journal ( thank you). So as long as I stole one I might as well steal one of Happy Feet as well. That's him below and right.Happy Feet made it to just north of Damascus, Virginia last year and had to get off for awhile and got back on for about 3 more weeks of Virginia. I'd say they are a couple of experienced hikers. Good luck to both of you, and I hope you make it all the way. If not, there will be a lot of years you can try again. I'll email them so they can see their stolen pictures on my site.You know that works pretty well. If I can keep stealing pictures I won't have to carry my camera any more and I don't have to carry a notebook because I stole most of that story from their journals. See, that's what we are talking about when we say "reducing pack weight". Works for me!Oh, just and aside, I looked a Moleman's journal today and he had a picture of himself there that I took and placed on my site. I guess it works both ways. I'm glad he liked it. If anyone on wants any of the photos I have taken just e-mail me at at@ozzyo.com and I will send you a high resolution copy suitable for enlargement and printing. Otherwise just steal a low resolution copy from this sight with my blessings.Here's an update on Peacemaker: He is back here in the south, and will be starting back on the trail early next week. I also got a phone call from Bull and he wants to get back on the trail. He was trying to get in touch with Peacemaker to see if they could work out meeting on the trail.photos on ozzyo.com
Date: 2006-03-05
To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

2006-03-06 The long story on the sleeping bagToday I hiked over to Neel's Gap from Hogpen gap on the Richard Russell Scenic Highway. The start was from the highest point on the Scenic Highway and as it often is, it was shrouded in a heavy fog. It was misty and cool so on went the rain gear. That came off in a short time climbing out of Tesnatee Gap.The sun came out and it was a beautiful day reaching well into the 60's. Here is a neat spot Digger picked for us to have some lunch. Ahhh, Ramen Noodles, what would I do without them and Cliff bars?The Bull said that hike was all down hill. He had better check the guide book on that. It did have fewer ups and downs than most days out, however. A fairly easy 6.5 miles in all. I hated the walk from Neel's gap down to the parking lot. I'd rather walk several miles in the woods than 1/2 mile along the road.So here's the story on the Big Agnes Deep Creek 15 degree sleeping bag. When I was last at Mountain Crossings Winton recommended the sleeping system when I told him my requirements. Safety, warm enough and waterproof followed by comfort, room to move around as I sleep on my side and I'm a little claustrophobic in a tight bag. We tried one that was in stock that happened to be a 6' 6" bag. I liked it and he sent me home with an insulated inflatable pad of 6' length.An order was placed for the shorter bag, I kind of assumed that would be a 6' bag to match the 6' pad that goes inside it. Well don't "assume". I got caught in an assumption again. The bag came in today and it is a 5' 10" bag. Who would manufacture a system with a 6' pad to go into a 5' 10" bag?Go figure! It is just to short, I don't fit in it.Winton quickly placed an order for a new 6' 6" bag with a new 6' 6" pad. Now I go through another wait cycle. It's pretty clear that somebody up there thinks it's too early for me to start on the trail.Recognize that Winston has made every effort to expedite this transaction and to insure my satisfaction.I spoke to Bull today and he has given up on the idea of thru hiking. I think he is all fired up about the potential of getting back on the golf coarse. I know all the comforts of home figure pretty strongly in the equation too. Sounds like Mama takes pretty good care of him. Sure glad I'm not spoiled. :=) heh heh ! He wished me the best on my upcoming adventure and said he will be watching my journal. The best to you, Bull. Let's keep in touch. (Don't tell me how long you had to study that picture to see any fuzzy stuff)photos on ozzyo.com
Date: 2006-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Tomorrow is a big day for me as I will be starting on the trail at Wayah Gap for my journey northward. All my gear has been checked out to the best of my ability and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get any surprises.Keep an eye on my journal and I will try to keep it updated at the earliest opportunity.Wish me luck,Oz