morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-11-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I came off the trail 19 days ago. When I first returned home, I really struggled. I was sad, and overwhelmed with the many things waiting for my attention. I was so happy to see family and friends and my dogs. But I missed the trail routine, the slow steady pace and seconds that each step counted off. I missed the beauty of the flora and the views. I missed the simple interaction with others on the trail. I missed the physical activity and the clear sense of accomplishment and progress.  After talking to others, it's pretty clear that I wasn't alone feeling this way. It's a shockingly harsh adjustment coming off the trail and reentering a normal routine consisting of chores and work and family. I really seemed to be following the normal 5 stages of grief. And thus it's no surprise that the feeling of loss and sadness did go down over time.I've been really busy since I returned home, and time is once again moving very quickly. The days pass in a blink, and I'm not experiencing each step, each breath. The memories of hurting and being uncomfortable are quickly fading but what remains are the many incredible experiences I had. The joy, the sense of accomplishment, the simple moments shared with others are what I'm remembering now as I look back.I learned so much on the trip, about myself, about how to embrace and thrive in the challenges that we all face. I learned what you can accomplish with a direction and a simple step, and then another, and another. I learned that pace is important, while periods of respite can be so healing. I learned that even when we think we're alone, that we're really not. I experienced kindness and fellowship when I did not expect it. I saw hope and courage and laughter when things were feeling pretty grim. I saw helping hands in times of need and it was wonderful.I don't know what's next, but it's clear to me that it's time to start planning the next chapter.Thank you all for taking the time to share the ups and downs of this journey with me. I love you all.
Date: 2018-10-06
To: The Trail!!!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

42 days of food will barley fit into 6 large USPS flat rate boxes, hopefully they will make my 4/6 weeks on the trail more enjoyable. The sweet lady who is responsible for me being able to go on this adventure and living the dream will be mailing me a food box weekly...trying to keep the mandate deadlines on this trip to a minimum except for the food resupply every week.
Date: 2018-10-15
To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: few clouds

Left out on the trail at 8:30 this morning, hiked 3 miles in less than an hour, the next 3.4 miles took 2.5 hours.Yogi the bear is still out in the woods setting traps for the hikers.On my way to Gooch Mountain shelter, maybe a little further tonight.
Date: 2018-10-18
To: Neal's Gap
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked 3 miles and then caught a shuttle into Neal's Gap to buy a new pair of shoes, took a near zero.Ate a frozen pizza for early dinner. I forgot how good they could taste, or maybe I was just hungry.  First time since Saturday night that I had food that didn't take water to prepare.The pictures are boots from the hikers that quit the trail.
Date: 2018-10-19
From: Neal's Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Had my best mileage day today and a couple of buddies saved me a spot in the shelter. Life can't be much better on the trail, the views are amazing...maybe one day I'll be able to take some future grandkids.....Getting late on the trail as a hiker, nearly 7:30
Date: 2018-10-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Not a full day hiking, rain is moving back in the picture so I'm trying to time the rain with a Hostel stay. Temps are in the low30's at night with wind chill making it 6 to8 degrees lower... I really didn't think about the shelters being above 3400 feet....my sleeping bag is rated at 20 degrees and it is doing it's job so far....Staying at Troy Mountain Shelter tonight, supposedly I will be able to see the lights of Atlanta, that is if I am still awake.
Date: 2018-10-26
From: Top of Georgia hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 9 thru Day 13 stops along the trail.     Blue Mountain Shelter  2.3 miles         Cheese Factory Site     6.1 miles         Troy Mountain Shelter   2 miles          Dee Gap Shelter          7.4 miles          Dick's Creek Gap          3.6 miles
Date: 2018-10-27
From: Dick's Creek

To: Muskrat Creek
Miles today: 9.0

Left Dick's Creek at 8:30 am and got to Bly's Gap at 2:30 pm (mile 78).  Decided to try to get to Muskrat Creek Shelter (mile 80.1)got pushed back to Bly's Gap due to wet and cold night.Crossed into the state of North Carolina.
Date: 2018-10-28
From: Bly's Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up in Bly Gap (Mile 78) to another wet/cool day. Had to pack up the tent etc. with quite a bit of wetness, hopefully I can make it to a shelter before nightfall so I can get it hung out to dry.  It was cool so I made good time hiking, had to keep moving to stay warm, by the afternoon things had warmed up enough where only one jacket was needed to stay warm...In an earlier post I mentioned falling, well I got the first fall out of the way, nearly face planted.  The good old shoulder took the blunt of the fall, nothing hurts except the pride:).  Lucky me no rocks got in the way and I managed to stay on the footpath, 75% of the time so far the width of the trail is big enough for one person and trail etiquette dictates the person going uphill has the right of way.Spent the night at Standing Indian Shelter (mile 85.7).   Picture is of the actual trail as it turns to the right of the big rock.
Date: 2018-10-30
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

11:00 to 4:40 for 7.6 miles. The Hiker Hunger is starting to kick in, craving sweets big time.....The first week I was barely eating, now I am making up for it...probably sneaking into town, Franklin, NC., sometime really soon. Friday morning predicting 32 degrees in town, up in the mountains will be closer to 26 or so. Tomorrow I should pass the 100 mile mark on the trail, I'm starting to wonder why, as one of my friends did earlier....Staying at Carter Gap Shelter tonight, seen 3 waterfalls on the hike today.  Did 7.6 miles today which is good for me, would really like to be up to 2 mph..next trip I will be:)...
Date: 2018-10-31
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

Traveled 8.7 miles and spending the night at Long Branch Shelter. Crossed the 100 mile mark, the views were very nice today.  A lot of the hike today was on a very narrow path with drops straight down on the sides... First really cold weather hitting in the next day or two, might be opting out for a Hostel stay in Franklin, NC for one night. Pictures near Franklin, NC.  The white blazes mark the AT trail, I had 4 of these rock climbs today, most of them I crawled up on my hand & knees.  The fire tower marks the first 100 miles of the trail...
Date: 2018-11-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Rain day and I am too old/cold to be hiking in it, it was nice hiking in the rain when the temps were higher - something to offset the perspiration.. the first time I hiked when it was cooler in the rain it took me three hours to warm up. When I was first planning this I figured that my time would be limited by the cooler weather and it appears to be approaching faster by a few weeks than what I had expected. The temps will be below freezing for the next few mornings and then a few warmer days and then a chance of snow a week and half out.....I've started evaluating what my strategy will be getting back home, more to follow in the next day or two.
Date: 2018-11-04
From: Franklin, NC

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Cold weather arrived a few weeks early than I had hope for, made the decision to call my adventure complete. My main object was to test my gear & ability in preparation for a future thru hike, a few more gear tweaks and mental, physical prep and I should be good. Only big surprised that I had was the issue of physical nourishment while on the trail, I knew that I wasn't getting enough calories but the amount of weight lost really surprised me. I had read how most hikers are not hungry the first week but than the "hungry mode" kicks in, I do believe this had started happening. A big thanks to Benton MacKaye for having a vision "The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan¢called "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning"[11]¢shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. MacKaye's idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers." that has brought joy to thousands.
Date: 2018-06-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

For a full list of what I will be taking along with how much everything weighs, check out my lighterpack below:lighterpack linkThis is what I've ended up with as my kit after several years of backpacking in scouts.Things to note:Not pictured: bear bag system, sunscreen/bug spray, alcohol stove fuel (we use Heet), ATC guidebook (used along with guthook's maps on my phone for navigation), the mountain of calorie-dense food in our living room.Only half the tent is shown because my brother opted to carry the poles and stakes while he's with me.Stove is a pop can stove like from zenstoves.net, along with an old girl scout cookset pot. I've also got a little setup made of titanium that provides extra support to the pot since the stove itself isn't very wide or stable.The Nemo tent is 2 person but that's definitely a backpacking 2 person. Overall I love it though, Nemo packs a lot of smart and helpful little features into their tents, and it's the right balance of size and weight for my purposes.Backpack is an Osprey Exos 48, towards the lighter end of traditional packs with frames. I like what Osprey does with their gear as well.We treated all of our clothes with Permethrin to combat the ticks, which are apparently pretty bad this year. I'm also bringing tweezers for the inevitable tick-removal process.We will be filtering all of our water with a Katadyn Befree, which should get rid of everything but viruses. We bought a ton of Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tablets to take care of viruses since we'd really rather not get caught in the Norovirus breakout that sometimes spreads along the AT.I'm taking my phone for pictures on this trip but NOT my Nikon DSLR (which I have taken to Philmont and other trips) because my phone takes good enough pictures, the DSLR setup is heavy, and I want to focus on being in the moment rather than always trying to catch the best photo of every moment along the trail.The dark bags at the upper right are my Enlightened Equipment revelation 30° 850fp quilt (which I highly recommend) along with my Thermarest neoair xtherm pad. This is a pretty warm weather setup but it's also fairly light so I don't mind taking it, even if some nights it will be too hot for the quilt at all.The bag and stuff in the upper middle between the filter, camelbak, and claritin is my bath setup. A flat-bottomed waterproof bag from a local store, a washcloth, a sponge, and concentrated campsuds (plus some water) is everything I need to get rinsed off after a hot day of hiking.Boots are the Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX. We'll see if my feet get too hot but I want the extra support for my ankles as we pass through the rocky areas of the trail.That should cover it all. Max weight with 4 liters of water and a full resupply of food should be a bit over 30lbs - I'll confirm on start day. That means most days my weight will be fluctuating in the twenties.
Date: 2018-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was travel day. We slept in a little this morning to rest up before the long car ride (9 hours +). We went through a bit of rain and fog and some traffic slow downs but overall made it safe. The first hotel we were going to stay at had no hot water and we did NOT want our last shower before the trail to be cold so we found another hotel. We are finally all packed and ready to go for the trail tomorrow. I'm excited to start making mileage entries!
Date: 2018-06-11
From: Delaware Water Gap (mile 1294.7)

To: Tentsite at mile 1308.2
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

Today we completed our first miles on the trail. After checking one last time to make sure we didn't leave anything important out of our backpacks and taking the last warm shower for a while at the hotel, we drove out to Delaware Water Gap. Our parents walked with us across the bridge over the Delaware River, which is also the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border. The first thing we noticed about the trail is that the rocks suck. We're both glad we skipped Rocksylvania. My feet hurt and my boot soles are thick, I don't know how Eric is surviving in his less supportive boots.We also saw some cool balancing rock gardens today. We had lunch at Sunfish pond where we used our water purifying system for the first time (the lake water tasted alright) and met some flipfloppers. Due to our start location and date we're a bit ahead of the main bubble but in the flipflopper bubble (or "flubble", as another hiker called it). We saw a helicopter fly real low above us along one of the many ridge lines we've been walking.Late in the afternoon we stopped at the Catfish Fire Tower and talked with AMFog and Carl. We decided to hike a little shorter than planned that so we could camp closer to water. Our first bear bag hang was a success too.New wildlife seen: A toad, salamanders, lots of robins and squirrels, a tiny snail, snakes, millipedes
Date: 2018-06-12
From: Tentsite at mile 1308.2

To:  Brink Road shelter (mile 1319.5)
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We (meaning me) were a little slow to get ready this morning, but we needed the rest last night after a long first day. We started out with a quick 4 miles without too many rocks (which I liked and Eric loved). We also passed some beaver ponds and dams this morning, and a cool rock section that was a lot more bouldering-like than anything else we've seen. We ate lunch at Crater lake, where we could air our feet out and watch frogs jump around in the weeds in front of us for a relaxing break. The helicopter from yesterday flew over again.A little later we met Poobear and listened to her false broken bone story with Produce and Chili Dog, who definitely have their legs by now and are a bit faster than us. The climb up Rattlesnake Mountain was steep but short and came with a wide open view at the top. We decided to stop at the Brink Road Shelter (which is known for its mosquito problem) since we're sore from yesterday. We went to the tent before sunset to avoid the worst of the mosquitoes! I enjoyed looking at the shelter log before heading to bed. I'm typing this while stuck in the tent hiding from the bugs trying not to pass out from the smell of the socks we have hanging in here. Eric says mine smell worse... much worse.New wildlife seen: Frogs, too many mosquitoes, ticks
Date: 2018-06-13
From:  Brink Road shelter (mile 1319.5)

To: Rutherford shelter (mile 1334.5)
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in again this morning, and thankfully the rain that came while we were packing up was very light. First few miles there was a lot of fog and it was very humid. On our way through Branchville we stopped at Gyp's Tavern for some nice greasy burgers and to try to find more fuel for our stove (we use Heet antifreeze cause it's essentially ethanol). A friend of Poobear (Veneve?) said she was planning on sending her alcohol stove home so she gave us what she had left. One of the tavern workers also heard our search for fuel and mentioned her husband was making a stop in the next town over which has an autozone. He was able to pick up some Heet for us before he drove back, for which we were very thankful.On the way out of town we passed another fire tower. The stone pavilion at the top of Sunrise Mountain was cool, both to look at and temperaturewise from the wind!We passed the Mashipacong shelter and talked to Fox (who we had seen a lot before but not learned his trail name), Mariposa, and some more section hikers. We also saw some old decrepit rock walls scattered throughout the woods. We filled up at the wrong steam at the Rutherford shelter but it turned out alright after filtering. A storm is approaching and we expect a long day tomorrow so we've battened down the hatches and are trying to get some good sleep in.New wildlife seen: Some deer we spooked, at least a hundred chipmunks, some small orange salamanders (or geckos? or maybe newts? what's the difference?), and a fox!
Date: 2018-06-14
From: Rutherford shelter (mile 1334.5)

To: Unionville, NY (mile 1346.2)
Miles today: 11.7

Though it stormed last night it was a beautiful sunny morning while we packed up. This morning we also learned what a "moldering" privy was. We talked with Sunshine and Summer Breeze, and their awesome dog Nelly Wilson before heading out. Soon after leaving we crossed Dutch Shoe Rock. It was a nice view, even though we didn't find any rocks that looked like shoes, let alone Dutch ones. We also started crossing pastures today, including mini wooden ladders that lead humans over the dividing fences. We passed the High Point state park HQ before lunch, and took the (steep!) side trail to get to New Jersey's high point later in the day for some great views and a better quad workout. We also passed the "Secret Shelter" in the afternoon but didn't stop by to save time. We met another flip flopper heading there who called us LASHers - Long Ass Section Hikers!In the evening we reached the small village of Unionville, where we were able to buy a little more food at a general store named Horler's. We then positively stuffed ourselves on a large Sicilian pizza from Annabelle's, the local pizza joint (and still had leftovers!). We talked with Fox for a while and many of the town locals. We had mentioned to Fox earlier that we didn't have trail names yet, and he suggested The Wright Brothers, as we're two brothers from Dayton. We like the name so far but we'll see what other suggestions come up before confirming.Today is both the highest and lowest we've been on our trip, besides our start in Delaware Water Gap.
Date: 2018-06-15
From: Unionville, NY (mile 1346.2)

To: Wawayanda shelter (mile 1363.0)
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a nice start to our day with breakfast sandwiches from the village deli, then headed back to the trail from town. The miles today continued along the NJ-NY border. There's so much flora here that the shade in the woods is often tinted green by the sun. We walked through/around the Walkill Wildlife Refuge which was unshaded and hot in the sun, but thankfully we got some good miles in because it was so flat. Plus we saw swans hiding in the marshes, and plenty of other loud wetland birds. We then took the tough climb up Pochuck Mountain (and past many snakes) and stayed at elevation for a while before dropping back down to Vernon Valley. In the valley we walked on several lengthy boardwalks while planes headed west out of NYC for the weekend passed overhead. We saw some cows on the way to Heaven Hill Farms for a nice ice cream break. We needed it, because the "Stairway to Heaven" climb afterwards really wore us down. We talked more about our trail names and decided that I'll be Orville and Eric will be Wilbur (of the Wright Brothers) since Wilbur was older and taller.Upon entering the Wawayanda shelter camp we got to know Ole better, who we had met yesterday. The shelter was open so we set up our tent in it and enjoyed the extra space to lay things out. I have some blisters on my left foot but hopefully they'll go away with the moleskin and lotion I put on.
Date: 2018-06-16
From: Wawayanda shelter (mile 1363.0)

To: Warwick Motel (mile 1363.5)
Miles today: 0.5

We had a nice relaxed start to our day and slept in since we knew we were taking a nero day. A minibear (as the chipmunks are called at Philmont) visited us during breakfast wanting snacks. The ones we see along the trail chirp at us all the time like we've surprised them! We hiked the 0.5 miles to Warwick Turnpike to be picked up by Josie's taxi. There was a bit of confusion on where we were getting picked up, so Wilbur made a small rock tower like like the ones we've been seeing to pass the time. Josie was very friendly and told stories of past hikers she's driven as well as gave us info on Warwick. We checked into the motel and partook in the standard hiker refresh of a hot shower, laundry, and not walking a step more than we had to for a few hours. We then walked through town to get to the local Thai place for dinner and took a ride to restock before relaxing for the evening and checking in with home base. I also stayed up too late catching up on trail journaling...
Date: 2018-06-17
From: Warwick Motel (mile 1363.5)

To: Wildcat shelter (mile 1375.2)
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We ate a quick breakfast and tried to catch up on the vitamin C and dairy we've been missing on the trail before taking Josie's back to the trail. We crossed into NY and took a break to celebrate by eating some cookies. Soon after at Prospect Rock we got a view of the NYC skyline in the distance and saw plenty of planes heading in for the work week. The rocks continue into New York but now are more bouldering than foot stabbing, which both Wilbur and I enjoy more. We passed Furnace Brook, which forms a mini waterfall and was about the only natural source of water that was flowing today. It has been hot today and will only be worse tomorrow. Pushed by hazy dreams of cold ice cream in the heat, we found an oasis at Bellvale Creamery, which had a charging station, water spigot (no purification needed!), and some seriously good "Bellvale Bog" ice cream. Refueled after a siesta/food coma, we quickly made it to the Wildcat shelter. We talked with Old Scout before he took a nap, and Sunshine and Summer Breeze showed up as well. We're leaving the fly off tonight in the hopes that it'll help keep us cool.