morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Carratunk(Northern Outdoors Resort)

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It is with a sad heart that I must tell you all that Jeff "Tree" Jackson has decided to leave the trail. After nearly 200 miles and a trip through the 100 mile wilderness he has decided that he needs to head home. Family and friends will be happy to hear that they are the reason he must return back their way. Thanks Jeff. You will be missed.We are currently in Stratton at the Stratton Hostel. Heading out one man short in the morning. I am going to move out and see if I can finish this for the both of us. I plan to hike for awhile with the Austin Trio and see if I can keep up with those young'uns.Posted a bunch of pictures. They cannot even begin to capture the beauty of Maine.Miss you all!Patrick
Date: 2008-07-23
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Stratton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Decided to take a much needed zero day here in Rangeley and what a good idea it was. I'm staying at the Gull Pond Lodge hostel run by Bob O'Brian. What a cool cat. Rangeley is a small vacation town with some of the best fishing in Maine. It's really a neat little town. The three guys from Austin that I was hiking with decided to move on down the trail. Jon and Quarters are planning to get off in Hanover but I think Holla will be going on a bit longer. Possibly to Springer. I really enjoyed hiking with them but I needed to reign it in a bit to make sure that I would get through S. Maine and New Hampshire healthy. Once I'm through Hanover the mountains of New England will be behind me.I now have a trail name. Jon hiked up behind me the day after Tree's departure and told me he had been working on it and had finally come up with one. Smokey... "for your mountains, your Volunteers, and you kinda look like a big 'ole bear with that beard." Perfect!I have about five more days left of Maine. As much as I have loved hiking here it will be nice to finally have ONE state done. Maine has the second most miles of the trail behind Virginia.If you would like to send a package I will be in Gorham in about seven days and Hanover after that. I will include the post office addresses in the mail drop list.Hope everyone is doing great!Smokey
Date: 2008-08-15
From: Hanover

To: Rutland
Miles today: 0.0

So I lied. No entry the other morning. The weather was beautiful for a change so I had to hit the trail. Did my first 20 mile day and followed it up with a 24 miler into Hanover. So nice to be out of the Whites and the weather!New Hampshire... New Hampshire was a grind I am sorry to say. When I have asked former thru hikers what their favorite part of the trail was the answer is almost always the White Mountains in New Hampshire because of the views. I wouldn't know. I had terrible weather the entire time. It is what it is. Off to Vermont this afternoon. Ran into a local here in Hanover who saw the grungy guy with a packpack and offered to buy me a cup of coffee knowing that I was a thru hiker. I asked about the outfitters in town as I had to replace my trail runners. He gave me a ride about 20mins to another town that had an Eastern Mountain Sports. Roger, a thousand thanks for your kindness.And that's kind of the way it goes. The trail can be a swamp. The wind chill can be 35 degrees (Mount Washington). I always wind up running into the nicest folks both on and off the trail. Things should start moving a bit quicker with the change in trail conditions. It's on!Hope everyone is doing well!Patrick
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Manchester

To: Mass
Miles today: 0.0

HolaFinally got over the 500 mile hump yeterday! Looks like the next 500 should take a bit less time considering the weather and the trails.I made it into Manchester this morning after spending the night on top of Bromely Mt at the ski patrol hut. Beautiful sunset and sunrise. Hitched into town with a ride from former thru hiker Brett who also let me use his laptop to check email. Seems I run into folks like this everywhere I stop.Had some equipment issues in Rutland. My pack was literally falling apart. I had safety pins holding much of it together for the last couple of weeks. Finally had an opportunity to do something about it in town. My phone call to the Gregory corporate office what I would call encouraging. As soon as I got off the phone with the customer service rep I went over to the Rutland Eastern Mountain Sports to see if they could help me out. And help me out they did! They swapped out my pack for a new one, no questions asked. Customer service is a rare thing these days but these folks had it in bushels! Thanks guys.My body feels great. The knees are not as creaky since the Whites. I've lost about 35lbs so far. Need to drink more beer but just can't seem to find the time!Heard the Brendon James Wright and the Wrongs show at the Bijou was a hit! For those of you not in the know... check these guys out on myspace... I know the singer.Hope everyone is well!Patrick
Date: 2008-09-01
From: Great Barrington, Massachusetts

To: Connecticut
Miles today: 0.0

Rough day. Hiked about 10 miles into Great Barrington this morning to a hotel with cable to watch the game tonight. Must absorb as much sportscenter as possible before gametime. It really hasn't been too difficult.Happy birthday Sarah!! You have two(2) children. Just thought that I would remind you. Mooooving on. All of my family in south Louisiana have been in my thoughts the last couple of days. I hope to get some news from you all before I head back to the trail. As it is, all of the phone lines are jammed up. I hope everyone made it through Gustav ok and that damage was at a minimum.The trail has been amazing. No big events good or bad. Just blue skies and dry trails. I couldn't ask for much more.I am currently hiking alone as our group has split due to different itineraries. After this nero here I have to put in some big miles before my trip into NYC to meet the folks. I spoke to my friend Seth who is moving to the city on the 5th. We are going to try and get together a few days before Mom and Dad get in.The new pack has failed in the same place as the first. I will contact Gregory tomorrow and try and get the situation remedied. Gotta have something to not go according to plan, right? Crazy thing is... it all works out in the end. So far...I really want to thank you all who have signed the guest book and sent such encouraging messages. They really do touch and motivate me!Hang in there GUM! Got NOLA on my mind!Much Love
Date: 2008-09-06
From: Connecticut

To: New York
Miles today: 0.0

Arrived in Kent yesterday to pick up my pack which did not arrive. Should be here by this afternoon. The situation has become pretty frustrating but hopefully I can be on my way tomorrow. We are expecting some bad weather this evening so we will wait out the storm at a shelter close by.It is hard to believe that I have hiked through four states already! The group has come back together in the last couple of days. We will see how long that lasts. Should be in New York tomorrow.I will probably bypass my New York trip in order to put in some serious miles. With these storms coming in back to back to back, it makes good sense to plod away while the trails are clear. Should be through New York in a week. New Jersey a little less than that. It is good to hear that everyone came through Gustav alright. Can't say that about the Vols.
Date: 2008-09-07
From: New York

To: Nashville
Miles today: 0.0

I am currently off of the trail. I developed some strange leg injury hiking out of Pawling on Monday. My right leg just above the ankle is swollen along with some wonderful shooting pains. I had to make the decision to come off Tuesday morning. A few days of recuperation should do me good. I plan to pick up where I left off sometime around the 25th of this month. Once again the hospitality of folks in the towns along the trail shined. Thanks again for the ride Don. In the meantime, I plan to get as many hugs and kisses from the Wilson girls as well as sharing many homebrews with Brad. Should really help with the rehab!
Date: 2008-09-19
From: Knoxville

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Doctor's diagnosis: TendonitisGot some steroids and plenty of pain killers. The leg seems to be responding well. Hopefully it is to the steroids and not the painkillers. I am actually quite relieved. I was sure that it was something much more serious. So my spirits are high and I am anticipating a return to the trail before the end of the month! Sorry there are no recent pictures. My camera was stolen in NYC. Go figure.
Date: 2008-02-22
From: San Francisco

To: South Carolina
Miles today: 0.0

So I'm sitting here in my almost empty room in San Francisco. My posters, pictures, and personal affects are now all in boxes getting ready to be shipped back to good ol' South Carolina.I sometimes like to think about how I got this crazy idea to hike the AT in the first place, and it all goes back to the summer of 2002. I had this summer internship with this company and for the most part, I just read about hiking and the AT all summer long. I kept on asking for work to help out with, but since I wasn't given any I thought I would read up on more important issues.By the end of the summer I wanted to see how well I could handle a whole week on the trail before school started. So here I am, the beginning of August in Georgia, hiking with a black long sleeve shirt, a boot cut Dockers pants with cargo pockets, and no hiking partner. Of course I decided to do this during a drought.I learned a lot of things that week...first of all, not to carry 8 cans of food to hike with, but most importantly, that I know I can hike the whole trail.So after multiple other hiking trips, finishing school, and saving money with a "real" job, I'm finally going to make my attempt. These last few days in San Francisco are bittersweet. I really fell in love with this city, but my mind and energies have moved forward to the soul of the Appalachian Mountains.I just can't wait!
Date: 2008-03-03
From: Columbia

To: Columbia
Miles today: 0.0

The Surreal Life. In the past 4 days I have quit my job, said good-bye to my friends and life I have known in California, briefly caught up with a few friends in Atlanta, and had a nice Sunday cook out with my family before going back to Columbia with my parents in the trusty green mini-van.I returned to the room where I lived the first 18 years of my life knowing that soon the comforts of my bed and my parent's hospitality will all be replaced with a different reality. March 19th will be the day I start hiking and I have a lot to get done before I leave, and I have to say the nervous butterfly feeling began last night. I don't anticipate this nervousness to go away until I start hiking and spend my first night out in the woods.Oh boy, I have a feeling the next two weeks are going to be tough.
Date: 2008-03-05
To: Pisgah National Forest
Miles today: 0.0

Defeated again! So this past weekend I went up to Pisgah National Forest right outside Asheville, NC to reacclimatize to Appalachian trails and weather. By that I mean cold, wet, hypothermic rain, wind, and snow.I wanted to hike up to Cold Mountain since my last attempt with my brother a few years ago failed miserably. My tent (REI Half Dome) got destroyed by the hurricane like winds on the ridge. Granted this was late December.So I begin hiking in the rain on Friday and reminded myself what trails are like out east. Namely they take the most direct route up a mountain which is straight up! After about 5 miles I got to the ridge line, set up camp, and dove into my sleeping bag because I was very cold and wet.The whole night you could hear the downpour going on inches from my face in the tent, which wasn't even the worst part. The way the ridge is situated, you have winds coming in from all sides of the mountain. So about 30 seconds before this howling wind attached my tent, you could hear the energy of the wind building up until its climax reaching my tent trying to destroy it.My trusty tent however took this beating all night and kept me warm and dry. The next morning I was given the pleasure of snowfall until noon. Since all my hiking clothes were soaking wet, I decided to hole in for the day and read the book I brought with me, "Road Trip." It's a great book about these couple of guys in 1987 that drove from Tierra de Fuego in Argentina to North Alaska in less than 24 days. This included Nicaragua which was having a war at the time. Their record is in the Gunnies Book of World Records.Sunday came along and it was a beautiful day...a day that reminds you why you want to be outside in the mountains in the first place. So I spent the next hour searching for the trail to Cold Mountain.Now I don't consider myself a dumb person; I know how to read a map, compass, and where I should be going to hike to Cold Mountain, but I couldn't find this stupid trail. You see the trail began at this intersection of 5 different trails, but there were only 4 different directions to go on this particular intersection.There was this group of 3 girls that were on this rock outcrop that I asked for help. The "lead" girl acted like she knew what she was talking about, but after poking holes in her explanation based on what I already knew, if was obvious she knew even less than I did. Walking down the mountain I had to run into this group of girls several times, and the amount of times they had to look at the map with a confused look on their face confirmed for me that they were no help at all.Sooo....I never made it to Cold Mountain, but I did gain the experience I was looking for. I have to push out my date to start the AT by one day, but I just can't wait to get started.I'm done with being at home and done thinking about hiking, I just want to start and get this dream going.
Date: 2008-03-18
From: Columbia

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So the past 3 days I have been focusing on one of the most important pieces of gear...music.Now I know what some people might be saying, "What about Mother Nature's soundtrack?" Well I don't intend on hiking the entire time listening to the music I bring, but I am a realist, sometimes you get bored during the PUDs or the monotony of the trail once the leaves come in. These are the Appalachians and you are only rewarded with views once you've reach a peak...sometimes.That's why I recently got a small mp3 player and have been diligently scrutinizing what artists and songs I'll be taking with me. It's hard to imagine that 350 songs aren't enough, but with my picky taste, it's really not enough.You see I'm the kind of person that doesn't like to listen to just one song of a band, but multiple songs of a band...namely from an entire show. With this restriction in place, you can only choose a handful of shows before you've reached the limits of the mp3 player. So I've had to make many sacrifices, but there are a few key artists that I will make certain that I carry a few songs:1) Allman Brothers2) Michael Jackson (Bille Jean, oh yeah)3) Guns N' Roses4) AC/DC (good inspiration for a long, steep climb)5) James Brown (gotta have soul with me brotha) - edited by aDubbs
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 164.0
Weather: light rain

The Melting Pot.Imagine starting High School again at your current age, but only this time you have people from the ages of 17 - 80. That's kinda what it is like on the AT. You have this huge mix of people from all over the country and the world that converge on this one journey.You have your college professors, people hiking for a self imposed drug rehab, college and high school graduates, blue and white collar workers, and the ever fun mountain bums.I have to say that my favorite of this big mix of people are the mountain bums. Now don't take the word bum and quickly dismiss these individuals because they are a vital part of the trail. Not only do they know more about the backpacking than anyone else you will meet, but know the trail and the community of AT hikers better than anyone else.They have stories that quickly break the ice when a new group of people converge together and really bring the "community" sense of this trip to life. I'm only two weeks into this trip, but already I can see how deep of a soul exists here on the AT.You have "Trail Angels" that either feed you along the way with grilled hot dogs or hamburgers, pick you up on the roads so you can get a ride into town, or pass vital information to help you out on the next section of the trail.These individuals don't do these actions for money or recognition, but for the love of helping other people and keeping the spirit of hiking alive as many of these "Angels" have hiked the entire trail and understand the culture which inspires so many people to throw on a pack and start hiking.Of course you have the many Christian folk that help you out as well, but that's a whole other topic that I'll discuss later. You meet many types of Christian folk on the trail, some nice and understanding, other's very forceful with their reading materials.So till next time. For now it is time to enjoy my first day off, drink some well deserved beer, and watch some basketball. Go Tar Heels!
Date: 2008-05-06
From: Damascus, VA

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 162.9

Grayson HighlandsIf you ever want to expereince the rolling mountains of Rohan from the movie "Lord of the Rings" but don't really want to pay the air fare to get to New Zealand, then I highly recommend visigin Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia.You are surrounded by rolling bald mountains with rock outcroppings scattered throughout the place. Anyone with a moderate interest in climbing would enjoy these rocks as they are not hard to climb, but still provide tons of fun.Of course if climbing is not your favorite activity, then at least you have the "wild" ponies to entertain you. These ponies are protected by the state park and are free to roam around. If you have a carrot or apple in your hand, then you will quickly gain a popular audience with the local pack.The group and I were having so much fun, that after a 5 mile hike we dedicded to call it a day and cowboy camp on one of the ridges so that we could have views of the ponies, sunset, and rock outcroppins while being entertained by the calming sounds of the ukeleli next to a fire.The next morning I awoke at 5am to sounds or horse grazing less than 15 feet away. There wasn't just one pony, but I had a sympony of grass being grazed since the heard decided I was a nice center piece. It was a lot to take in at the time...not only because I just woke up, but also because the early pre-dawn light provided just enough light so you could see the silloute of the ponies around me.After a starring contest with one of the ponies who came up next to me I went back to sleep only to be awoken about an hour later. This was a much more threatnening sound than grazing though...it was the sound of a stampede.I quickly bolted upright ready to jump out of my sleeping bag and dive behind some rocks until I saw the direction that the herd was moving towards. It was lighter than it was the first time I awoke, but the morning still had the pre-dawn light that gave everything around you a magical quality. When the stampede moved in front of me, I realized it wasn't a stampede, but rather one particular poney who was out for a morning delight to start off the day. Needless to say, once everyone realized the scene that was unfolding around them, there was a roar of laughter...we have just witness some live action pony porn.---------So I'm in PPearishburg, VA but am getting a ride back to Damascus, VA for Trail Days. It's an AT Hiker festival where lots of fun and merriment are had with the aid of mountain moonshine. Still hikin' and smilin'.(side note - I am a horrible speller and this computer doesn't have any word processing tool to check my spelling so I apoligize in advance to my buchering of the English language.)peace,Alberto
Date: 2008-07-20
From: New Jersey

To: New York
Miles today: 290.6

I love New JerseyThe moment you cross the state line into New Jersey you can immediately feel a difference. The first initial treat is a glacier fed pond which looks like an oasis in the middle of a desert as the hot July hot is beating down on you.After cooling off for a little while, you hike a few more miles to where you can buy sandwiches and cokes. While eating your lunch, one of the other thru-hikers treated us to his musical talents by playing on the piano. Once we were all fed, we went swimming at the next pond we were at.We were having fun playing baseball in the lake until some "unhappy" clouds were moving in. Hiking out in the rain we found shelter in a fire tower that was actually used. There were two Park Rangers and 8 thru-hikers crammed into this small tower hiding from the rain which we were treated to a lesson on how New Jersey has started using their fire towers again instead of airplanes to scout for fire. The fuel crunch affects everything.After the rain died down were started up again, and in no time the heat/humidity came out and sucked out our energy again. I pushed it to the next town were instead of craving a beer, all I really wanted was unlimited Dr. Pepper at the bar. Arriving at the bar, they not only did not have Dr. Pepper but they didn't even have free refills! Oh and I didn't know this until after I got my 2nd drink and ordered BBQ wings. To make matters worse, the bartender was giving us attitude and basically kicked us outside because the locals didn't want us around.Luckily there was a local couple who saw this, bought us a beer and offered to take us to their house to swim in their lake since it was so warm. There was 4 of us at the time and little did we realize what were getting into. Before we reached their house, we got treated to ice cream at Dairy Queen. When we arrived at their house, we were promptly given more beer, showed where the kayaks were, and paddled to the other side of the lake were we swam on the beach.If that wasn't enough, pizza was ordered and we conversed over cheese and crackers and fruit while the pizza was coming. Here was the best part though, I got to sleep in a bed with A/C! It was probably the best sleep in my life.The next day we were dropped off at the trail after breakfast. I wanted to push it to the next town where rumor was it that the mayor put you up in his house. It was a hard day of hiking too...we're talking about 95 degree day, 2 hours of afternoon T-storms, humidity after the rain that made you more wet than the actual rain, and chaffing in the most awful places.Once I got to the mayor's house, I was treated like a king, along with the other 12 hikers that were already there. You get fed dinner, breakfast, talk trash with the mayor, and watch TV. Currently I've seen a couple of Batman movies where I'm going to try to catch the new Batman movie in town today.So yes, I love New Jersey. There is always a new treat around the corner which is much needed as the trail become more challenging mentally as the weather keeps on heating up and the bugs attack relentlessly.
Date: 2008-08-12
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 305.3

VermudVermont is known to everyone as Vermud. Apparently this state is expereinceing one of the rainiest summers in it's recorded history. When you look at the weather report, it's just T-Storm after T-Storm, so you really don't do any hiking.Instead you kind of slide around in the mud or swim through the rivers that were once trail. At least I'm giving my arms a workout.Besides the fact that I'm always wet, I'm a happy hiker. The trails here are gorgous, people are friendly in the small town, and I'm getting closer to the White Mountians!Next weekend there'll be a hiker festival in Rutland, VT. The festival is called the "Long Trail Festival" which is think will be overrun by AT hikers. The cool thing about the AT here in Vermud is that the Long Trail and AT are the same trail the first 100 miles in Vermont, so you get to see a few Long Trail thru-hikers here and there. Some are from Dartmouth College and the others that I met go to UVM in Burlington. I much prefer the crowd from UVM.peace,Snackies