morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-28
From: Daleville

To: London, KY
Miles today: 10.0

Todays hike was a short section we missed last year in April. My toe became numb and I decided to sit out a day. Of course I soon found out numb toes were very common and now I'm kicking myself for not just going on. Oh well.We got on the AT via the Andy Layne Trail. I thought I remembered it being a two mile access trail, but it seemed more like three. It was wet, soggy and very slippery at points. At the beginning we were walking next to a flooded creek when MacGyver decided it was time to swim. Unfortunately his leash was attached to me. If it wasn't for a small pine tree he got wrapped around we would have both been swimming. He is such a Golden... he sees water and looses his head. At least he is a very strong swimmer.We finally made it to the top a little later than we thought. We were meeting our friend Terri in Daleville when we finished hiking so we sent her a text saying we thought we'd be late. About that time the sun came out and we started walking a gentle sloped trail down into Daleville.Our first stop was at Lambert shelter. Soaring had done this hike about a month earlier with our friend Splinter and had left word to check the log book for a note to us. We found the note. They apparently had a wet hike as well. We didn't stay long. There were no hikers there but Roo kept growling at the woods, so we decided to move on. The rest of the morning was uneventful, a very nice hike. We made the best time we have yet and made it into Daleville early. Terri wouldn't arrive for about 45 minutes. So we hit the Sunoco station for some sodas and sat on the benches outside to wait. Sitting there covered in mud we looked pretty pitiful. But with two beautiful Golden Retrievers, we still had people stopping to pet them and ask how they are doing. I guess I was clear how we were doing. Terri showed up and helped us retrieve our car at the Andy Layne trailhead, then we were off to Roanoke for some lunch. Terri was one of our amazing Trail Angels from last year. It was so good to catch up with her again. We went back to her apartment and took showers to wash off all the mud before getting back in the car to drive some more.We managed to arrive at Greg's parents house in my hometown of London, Ky by 10:30pm. Now for a break from hiking for a day or two and then on to the next section.
Date: 2009-06-03
From: Low Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I am trying to fill in my trail journal as quickly as I can when I can. Our plans have taken a turn. After hiking in Tennessee and Virginia we traveled to Kentucky to my brother's wedding. After the wedding my mother had a serious car accident. She and two of my nephews are in the hospital. We lost my aunt in the accident. Right now we are in Lexington... just waiting. The boys are doing well, Mom is struggling with some issues. I got the night off and a few spare minutes on my brothers computer to start typing in our journal from last week. I didn't get it all posted yet, it was a good week. I'll post the rest later, right now we've got to get back to the hospital.I'm not sure where our hike plans go from here. Our window of opportunity... at least for what we had planned, is narrowing. We'll see what happens. Prayers are appreciated.
Date: 2009-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It's time to continue moving on. Both of my nephews are out of the hospital. Ethan had surgery and is recovering. Ben's spleen was damaged, but they didn't have to remove it. He will however be very limited to what he can do for the summer. For a 14 year old boy who had big summer plans that's a real bummer. Mom's still in the hospital. She won't be able to walk for a couple months because of a broken right ankle and left hip. But she is recovering well.Owl and I have been helping out where we can between the hospital and at home with Dad. I think we have done all we can here. We are going to try to get in a little more hiking before we need to head back to Colorado. We were to be hiking in New Hampshire and Maine over the next couple of weeks. We decided since we can't get it all done we will just do a little, then head back south.Our original plan was to finish the trail, then Owl was going to pick a site on the trail where she would like to have her high school graduation. Now we won't have the entire trail finished, but we are going to do the graduation anyway. She had several favorite places to pick from, but decided to have the graduation on top of Max Patch in North Carolina. It's one of her favorite spots, but it's also close enough for grandparents (except for my Mom who will still be in the hospital) to make it. So that's the plan... New Hamphire for a few days, Max Patch for graduation and then home to Colorado. Hopefully I'll be able to get computer access along the way to post the rest of this adventure.OH... and Thank you all sooo much for all the guest book entries and well wishes. You're encouraging words mean so much to us.
Date: 2009-06-13
To: Lehigh Gap
Miles today: 13.0

We regrouped again. Greg figured out a way to change his flight. We were heading to New Hampshire because that's where he was set to fly into. But he was able to fly into Pennsylvania instead so we are going to finish the small section we have here. That way we will only have everything south of Glencliff finished on the trail. And we'll try to do the Whites all together later.So we are in PA. We skipped about 60 miles last year when Owl came down with a really bad cold. We supported Soaring as she hiked on. Last year 60 miles was just three days, but those hiking legs are gone. Most of all, all those callouses we had on the bottoms of our feet are gone... we really need them here!We hiked from 309 to Leihigh Gap. The map says 13 miles, but the sign at the end of the trail says 15... felt like 15, but it was probably just the rocks. The first part of the day was beautiful. The Mountain Laurel is blooming, very pretty. The rocks at Knife Edge and Bear Rock gave MacGyver some trouble. He wants to follow Roo rock hopping, but he doesn't have her grace. He has gangley teenage boy legs that just don't cooperate. I was afraid for him a couple times. I tried to show him the safer way, but he was determined to follow Roo. With about five miles to finish we started hearing thunder. We tried to pick up the pace, but there is only so much we could do on those rocks. About a mile later it started. The lightening was striking so close we decided to hunker down under our poncho tarps for awhile (poncho tarp from backcountry.com...still one of my favorite pieces of gear!) The rain finally eased up and we hiked on, finishing soaked to the bone... as usual.It's not supposed to rain tomorrow. We'll see.
Date: 2009-06-19
To: PA
Miles today: 63.0
Weather: fog

I really had every intention of journaling each day while in Pennsylvania. But after a tough day walking I would just chill out, relax and completely forget about it.To sum it up... rocks. No, really in all fairness there were a couple of days that I was surprised at what a lovely dirt path we walked on. At one point I even felt confident enough to look up from my feet to see the forest I was walking through and it was very pretty! At the end of the day though the soles of my feet were tingling. We didn't meet many through hikers in this section. I'm guessing the majority of them are still in Virginia. We met a few though, but most of the folks we met were section hikers. We left a cooler at Swatara Gap and refilled it each day with trail magic, but there didn't seem to be many folks taking it. It took us five days to complete this section. It would have only taken us three days back when we had our hiker legs... and tough feet. We enjoyed the time though. We spent the first couple of nights with my Uncle Ellis in Slatington, then the rest of the time at the KOA at Pine Grove. What an excellent facility! It worked perfect for what we were doing.After finishing off PA we drove south. We won't have time to complete the last few miles we have in New Hampshire and Maine this summer so we decided to use the time we have left and celebrate Owl's high school graduation. Last year we had talked as we walked along about where she would like to have her graduation. There are several places along the trail that are her favorites, but she decided on Max Patch. Last year we hiked over Max Patch on a beautiful day in June (see last years journal 06/08). We sat down at the top to have lunch and watched a family come up the hill, unpack their backpacks and pull out kites. We ate lunch and watched the colorful kites flying in the sky. That was a great memory. And that's what she would like to do for her graduation.So we are back in the south. Tomorrow we will be joined by several family members and we will walk up Max Patch, have a special little ceremony, a picnic... and fly a kite. (hopefully without rain)
Date: 2009-02-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Actually this is my first entry as I am trying to refresh my memory on using this site. I haven't been in here since last summer when I did a stint on the Superior Hiking trail. You can find that journal elsewhere on this site. Just do a search for "RadioFreq". I'll probably have one or two more entries before I actually get to Springer Mountain on March 2nd. My next entries should have some pics.
Date: 2009-02-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hmmmmm....my trek is not getting off to a good start. It's Saturday night and I was scheduled to leave MSP for Atlanta via Detroit at 6am tomorrow morning. However I just found out my flight from Detroit to Atlanta has been canceled, apparently because of the expected snow and sleet that will be hitting Atlanta just about the time my flight was to arrive. Northwest has now moved me to a non-stop flight, but it doesn't leave until Monday morning. And so it goes.
Date: 2009-03-02
To: Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: snow

Finally got out of town at 6:30am. Did not expect to find snow on the ground when I arrived in Atlanta...but I did. After cooling my heals at the airport for a few hours I took the local mass transit system (MARTA) to North Springs where I met fellow hiker Steve aka Big Boots. Eventually our hosts picked us up and we arrived at the Hiker Hostel. After checking out my gear that I had sent here a week earlier I spent the evening trading hiking stories and during a pizza party with Tom and Eryn (father/daugher), Tagless and Tagalong (husband/wife), Southside and Big Boots. As I type this we are still awaiting the arrival of Cimarron and Bear Bag. Until a few years ago Cimarron was the oldest person to complete a through hike, which he did in his early 80s. But someone older has now done it and Cimarron is coming out to reclaim his title.I was a bit miffed with the one-day delay in getting on the trail but in retrospect I think this will work out better. It is supposed to be well below freezing up on the mountains tonight and the forecast calls for gradual warming all through the week.I will be on the approach trail tomorrow morning and should be standing at the beginning of the AT on Springer Mtn. tomorrow afternoon.
Date: 2009-03-03
From: Hiker Hostel

To: Springer Mtn.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

And so it begins...well technically it doesn't until I get to the top of Springer Mtn. And that is 8.8 miles away. I could have been dropped off near the top of Springer about a mile from the top but being the glutton for punishment that I am I decided to tackle the Approach Trail. Temps are in the 30s with lots of sunshine as I am dropped off with Big Boots and another young man (who just arrived this morning). As soon as you leave the Arch (see pic) you hike a paved trail to the base of Amicalola Falls where you then climb over 600 steps up a stairway to the top. Big Boots and the other "kid" are long gone. I try to tell myself, "This is good training for what's to come." This becomes my mantra for the rest of the day as I go over Frost Mtn. and Black Mtn. before climbing Springer. There are only a few people up here tonight and we are all prepping for a cold night.
Date: 2009-03-04
From: Springer Mtn.

To: Hawk Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

Up at 7am, on the trail at 8:45. Temps in the mid 20s under clear skies when I crawled out of my sleeping bag. Today looks to be a bit easier than yesterday as there is a long descent (approx. 4.5 miles) to Three Forks before a not quite so long ascent (about 2.5 miles) to the top of Hawk Mtn. Then an easy bit to the shelter. Arrived at the Hawk Mtn. Shelter at 4pm. The atmosphere (socially) tonight is a lot different from last night. There are a bunch of hikers scattered around the area including Mule, Pokeweed, Groovy, Alone at the Summit and some others that don't have trail names yet.
Date: 2009-03-05
From: Hawk Mtn. Shelter

To: Gooch Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

Up at 6am, on the trail at 8. Temps in the mid 30s, will rise to the mid 50s, partly cloudy all day. Have been forewarned that there is one tough climb today...Sassafrass Mtn. About 700 feet in a little less than a mile. It would be an understatement to say that Sassafrass kicked my.....butt. Then right after that there is a sharp descent to Cooper Gap, a sharp ascent up Justis Mtn, a quick down-and-up to Phyllis Spur, then a long, hard descent to Justis Creek before crawling into the Gooch Mtn. Shelter at 2pm. Among those met today at Gooch include Brickyard, Q-Tip, Montana Mac and Co. Mustard.You may have been wondering how or why many people on the trail have trailnames. I guess it has something to do with doing something that is so foreign to your normal life that you need a different name to go along with the adventure. Or not. Part of the fun is giving un-named folks their new trail names. Let's take a look at how a retired school teacher from near Alpena, MI got his new trail name:He began at Springer with 4 young college girls (Storm, Rocket, Grommet and one I forget) who collectively call themselves Packadivas. During a conversation the teacher says something along the line of, "I'm clueless." One of the divas says that should be his new trailname. But they then decide that that's too common so they continue to ruminate on the "clueless" theme. Suddenly one of them says, "Hey, Clue was a great board game." And immediately the retired teacher who was wearing an military baseball cap became Col. Mustard. Unbeknownst to the girls was the fact that he was a colonel when he left the Army.Tomorrow I go for my first double-digit day.
Date: 2009-03-06
From: Gooch Mtn. Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Up at 7am, on the trail at 8:15. Temps in the lo 40s when I got up, rose into the mid 50s, cloudy all day. An ideal day to make some miles. There were several small and steep ups-and-downs, plus Big Cedar Mtn. but all-in-all the day wasn't real tough. Spent most of the hike passing and being passed by Q-Tip and Col. Mustard. Arrived at the Woods Hole Shelter 4pm. My confidence is growing every day as I feel a little stronger and a little less beat at the end of each day. Everybody has a story....Here's Q-Tip's: About a year ago he went into the hospital for shoulder surgery. While on the table he had a reaction to the annesthetic and flat-lined. The doctors had to zap him back to life. I get the impression he now treats every day as a gift.Tomorrow....TRAIL MAGIC.
Date: 2009-03-08
From: Bull Gap campsite

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 7:30am, on the trail at 9. (No, I wasn't running late because of the previous evening's beer. Daylight saving kicked in last night.) Temps in the low 40s this morning...would reach near 80 this afternoon under mostly sunny skies. There has been no problems with water sources so far, which is a good thing because today was very dry. NOAA was putting the humidity at around 20%. Only really strenuous climb of the day was at Wildcat Mtn. On the way I met Chestnut. I swear this guy looks just like the psychologist on The Simpson's. He is not hiking to Maine...he is going all the way to Quebec. Spent the entire day walking with Q-tip. Right now we seem to be keeping the same pace. Arrived at Low Gap at about 3:30pm. Mule and Speedway showed up and along with Chestnut told us stories about the party at Mountain Crossing the night before. And Speedway had some bad news. That morning he left the Mountain Crossing Outfitters hostel with Col. Mustard. CM took just one step up the stairs behind the building leading to the trail....and stopped. His knee was just too sore. He will be going to see a doctor but I fear his trek is over.
Date: 2009-03-09
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Top of Rocky Mtn
Miles today: 10.7

Up at 7am, on the trail at 8:30. Mostly cloudy with lows near 50 this morning, high today would be in the mid 70s...and still very dry.Q-Tip wasn't ready so I left alone planning to get to at least the Blue Mtn. Shelter. Got there at noon so I decided to press on to the top of Rocky Mtn. A large chunk of the trail this morning was an old railroad bed so all the grades were shallow. Got to the top of Rocky Mtn. at 3:30pm and decided to use the campsite there. A lot of people had talked about staying there earlier in the day but they all decided to go 2 miles farther on to the next campsite, the "Cheese Factory". I liked the view and the idea of camping on top of a mountain so I stayed, assuming I would be the only one up there. That assumption was dashed when Quatro arrived just before dark. I had met him along with his brother and his brother's girlfriend a few days earlier. The three of them were taking a year to hike. After about a week the brother and the girlfriend had decided this wasn't for them. Quatro said the girlfriend was heavy into health foods, but by the end of the week she was scarfing down whatever they had. The two of them had bailed at Neels Gap. During my free time on Rocky Mtn. I came to the shocking discovery that I hadforgotten to buy toilet paper at the outfitter's. I think if I ration my TP (whens the last time you had to ration TP?) I will have enough to reach Hiawassee. This discovery also got me to thinking about an old joke related to the Kevin Costner movie, "Dances With Wolves". In the movie the Indians gave the Costner character the name Dances With Wolves because that was the first thing they saw him doing. The joke was that if the Indians had shown up 5 minutes earlier they would have named him Wipes With Leaves. I am hoping that doesn't become my new trail name.
Date: 2009-03-10
From: Top of Rocky Mtn

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 7:15am, on the trail at 8:15. Low this morning around 50 under mostly cloudy skies. High today in the mid 70s again and still very dry.I have been hearing ugly rumors about the climb over Kelly Knob. It is close to 900' over about 1 mile on the ascent and about 700' over about 3/4 of a mile on the descent. People coming south say it's rough. And if I tackle it today it won't be until the hottest part of the afternoon. But I would really like to get over it today to the Deep Gap Shelter so I can make the relatively short descent into Dick's Creek Gap to catch a ride to Hiawassee tomorrow.When I get to Cheese Factory I see no cheese or any factory. Must be a story there. I just don't know it. I decide to delay lunch until I get to Addis Gap, the base of Kelly. I will use water and energy bars to get me there. It works. I arrive at Addis Gap at 4pm, wolf down my lunch, "camel up" close to 2 liters of water and attack Kelly Knob at 4:30. As I begin my climb I feel very bloated. Within 15 minutes I no longer feel bloated. It is hot, it is dry and it is steep. I am hoping to reach the Deep Gap shelter sometime between 6 and 6:30pm. And maybe it would have taken that long if it hadn't been for the "Air Show".About half-way up I begin to hear the roar of what is obviously a low flying jet. Turns out to be a pair of USAF jet fighters flying about a mile apart down the valley behind me. That was pretty neat. About 5 minutes later I hear one of them coming back...and this time it is a lot louder...really loud....UNBELIEVEABLY LOUD! I look up to see one of them bearing down on my position. I know it is above me but it still looks like it's coming right at me. And just before it gets to Kelly Knob the pilot stands it on its left wing, pulling some serious Gs. If he had been any closer I could have read the label on his underwear. (Okay, maybe I'm exagerating just a bit...but not much.) The whole knob was shaking and my ears were ringing long after he was gone. Perhaps it was the adrenaline but I completed the ascent in 45 minutes and the descent in 30 and arrive at the Deep Gap Shelter at 5:45pm Now if I can just arrange with the USAF to pull that stunt every time I have a hard climb I might complete this hike by, say, June?
Date: 2009-03-11
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee Inn, Hiawassee, GA)
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 7:45am, on the trail at 8:30. Lows this morning around 50 under cloudy skies. The afternoon temps didn't really matter because I was in town.The descent into Dick's Creek Gap is very steep at some spots but I arrived there at just after 10am. Our ride showed up just before 11. There were so many of us there that the owner's of the Hiawassee Inn had to make two trips (11 miles one-way) to get us all into town. Our hosts Ron and Sam did the laundry while I showered. Then it was over to the AYCE (All You Can Eat) Chinese place next door. Of course I overdid it, but an hour later I was hungry again. (After typing that I realized that's an old joke re: chinese food. But it wasn't meant to be...I really was hungry again.) Found out our host was lending us one of his van's for anyone interested in going to another AYCE place called Daniel's for supper at 6pm. Daniel's turned out to be a great eatery with a "Gone With the Wind" decor. Photos, posters, knicknacks, you name it, it all referenced the movie. And you did not go to the "restroom" to wash your hands. You went to the "necessary" room. Here's the list of the 10 of us who crammed into one minivan:RadioFreq - St. Paul, MNWhitey - Anchorage, AKGroovy - Big Bear, CAAndy *(NTNY) - Baltimore, MDL-Train - Boston, MAStephen Spielberg - Mt. Barrington, MABroadcast - Charlotte, NCBrickyard - Speedway, INMaggie *(NTNY) - Berkley, CAGrampa Hugh - Pelham, AL*(NTNY = No Trail Name Yet)And as we were leaving Daniel's we met Q-tip who was staying at the Holiday Inn Express across the parking lot.Spent a quiet evening in my room catching up on my ESPN fix.
Date: 2009-03-12
From: Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee Inn, Hiawassee, GA)

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Slept well. When I got up there was a bit of a commotion. Sam was wandering by sarcastically talking about the joy of motel ownership. Ron was over staring into room 103 and shaking his head saying, "This is about the worst I've ever seen." I walked over and looked in. The room was trashed. Bed linens, chair cushions and garbage strewn all about. And in the bathroom was some blood and hair. Whitey (more on him later) was in the next room and said there was quite a lot of noise coming from that room until about 1am. Ron called the cops and as soon as the officer saw the blood he said, "I'll bet that's from the guy who was admitted into the hospital around 1:30 this morning." County sheriff's deputys also showed up, pics were taken, evidence was gathered. It turns out the guy in the room with his girlfriend was on crystal meth and decided to shave his head with a sharp instrument that was not a razor.Spent the rest of the day updating this journal at the library, buying groceries and watching basketball with General, Bumblebee (his sister) and Broadcast. Fell asleep during the 6 overtime game b/n Syracuse and UCONN.