morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-30
From: Symm's Gap

To: VA 635
Miles today: 6.5

I woke up this morning at 5 am, looked out the foot of my hammock at a beautiful sunrise. It was so peaceful. The sound of a cow mooing off in the distant valley drifted up to the campsite.Before going to bed last night I had decided I needed to get off the trail as soon as possible. It is apparent that I am not feeling quite right and have been losing strength and energy over the last few weeks. I need to get some lab work done and see why I am feeling so poorly. But when I woke up, I felt a little better and began to second guess my decision.After breakfast we loaded up and set off. It didn't take long to realize that I really did need an exit plan, and soon. One of the hikers at camp last night recommended a shuttle driver. I called him and made arangements to be picked up. Unfortunately I still had to hike the 6.5 miles out to the road, the nearest accessible area. Again, Kangapard had to tow me up hill and down dale. We took a mandatory rest break every hour. There was no water in this stretch of trail so we had to both ration our water. This was not a great position to be in on another warm, humid day. Finally we got to the trailhead to the parking lot and I thanked Kangapard for her care and patience, and stumbled down the path to the waiting shuttle. Kangapard continued on the trail, now unfettered.My ride dropped me at a moted. I am in Pearisburg once again! I spent the remainder of the afternoon making phone calls and figuring out how to best resolve this. After many consultations with family and friends, the plan is in place. My sister and her husband are coming to pick me up, take me home with them and see that I get the proper medical evaluation as well as some needed R and R.Am I off the trail for good? I hope not!I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, Readers, for following my journey and for your unwavering support. Also many, many thanks to the Trail Angels that have assisted me along the way so far: Chris, Diane, Sarah, Shane, Trina, Jules, Rambunny. Your assistance, support and generosity helped get me this far! I hope you will check back in a couple of weeks for the continuation of this adventure.............
Date: 2016-06-20
From: Rochester NY

To: Buffalo, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Such sad news I received while off the trail these last two weeks. I first met Sonja and Bernd back in the Smokies. They came from Germany to hike from Springer to Harper's Ferry after which they were to travel through the US to see the country before their visa ran out. Our paths crossed numerous times, sharing shelters, forest fires in Hot Springs, leapfrogging our way up the trail. They are both strong hikers and moved along quickly, so they outdistanced me by a week by the time we got to Virginia. The sad news is that Bernd passed away in his sleep while on an overnight at a motel in Daleville, VA. My friend, Pops, was a day north of Daleville when he got the call from Sonja. He was sitting trailside processing this horrible news, trying to figure out a way back to Daleville quickly, when along comes another hiker, LoudMouth (who is anything but that!) and LoudMouth says "come on, my parents are picking me up at the road in 5 miles and we can give you a ride". Off they flew down the trail, and in a relatively short period of time, Pops was delivered to Sonja's motel to help her tackle the funeral arrangements, rental car and flight back to Germany. Isn't it wonderful how good things come along to soften the blow of the bad.I feel so fortunate to have known Bernd, even for such a short time, and I will miss him. His command of English was minimal, but he always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile, as he tried to makes jokes in English. He didn't particularly enjoy the backpacking like Sonja did, but he loved her, so there he was. That is true love.On a happier note, after what will be 21 days of rest and eating, I have regained enough weight to return to the trail! Hooray! My sister and her husband took great care of me, feeding me constantly (reminding me of the way parent birds feed their young!) and forcing me to rest. I am so grateful for their assistance and support. I did get in some walking, a couple of exercise classes and some practice hikes with my pack. Now it is time to put myself to the test. I am headed back to Virginia, picking up at Elkwallow Wayside in the Shenandoahs, for a 4 day section. This area allows for a couple of good bail out points, if needed. Hopefully, all will go well and I will continue northward towards Harper's Ferry. Stay tuned¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦..
Date: 2016-07-21
From: Florida

To: Tennessee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I am so excited! Today I drove to Tennessee to the home of Sheepdog, my trail angel who helped me so much by opening her home to me and slackpacking not only me, but 3 others, from Erwin, Tn to Damascus, Va back in early May. Crumpet is coming from SC and tomorrow we will drive to Pearisburg, Va to do a 4 day hike from Bland to Pearisburg. While I have already hiked part of this section, I missed the middle mileage due to food poisoning, so I am looking forward to seeing Dismal Falls. I remember the terrain for the first and last day and it will be fun to hike it again. This time out I am going to take my tent instead of the hammock, just to mix it up a bit. Also my low back has been acting up and I think sleeping flat might help it recover more quickly. Let¢s see what happens¢¦¢¦..
Date: 2016-01-01
To: Jedi Night
Miles today: 0.0

HI everyone. Happy New Year. My name is Jedi Night. I am a 2 1/2 year old black Lab so I guess that makes me a teenager in human years. I come from from a long line of Jedi masters. I am as black as the Arizona desert night sky. I am part of an extended human family. I live with Papa Will and RoadRunner. And like them, I love to hike. Will and RoadRunner always wanted a dog but their penchant for wandering the long trails of the American west made it impractical until RR approached my other human Papa, Matt (Will's youngest), with the grand idea of sharing a dog. This allows them to go on their long distance hikes. When they are gone hiking I stay with Papa Matt and his girlfriend Alyssa.   Here is a picture of me on my first day at my new house. I was only 8 weeks old. I was scared but only for a day or so. I loved my new home.    I can hike 15-20 miles a day. I love to run. I like it when it rains out here in Arizona so I can run through the mud puddles. I don't like the heat. When it gets too hot I head to the pool. When the sun beats down on my black coat I start looking for the shade. I thought about going on this AT hike but as much as I love to hike, I think I like to sleep just as much. When I am done with our hikes I like a good meal and a nice soft piece of carpet for a good 4 hour nap. I am not sure if I would like to hike 20 miles day after day. So I will be hanging out at Papa Matt's (Here's a pic of Papa Matt) while Papa Will and RR head north on the AT.      When I am at Papa Matt's I hang out with my little sister Rosalita. Rosie is Alyssa's and Matt's dog.    She likes to play all day long. If I need a rest, I head to the pool for a swim. Rosie doesn't like the water, the pool is my little oasis in the desert.   I have a lot of friends. Everyone is my friend. Recently I got a girlfriend. Here name is Molly. Here's a picture of Moll.    Isn't she a cutey? She's a little German Shepherd pupster. She got to stay with us for a couple of weeks when her mom and pop went to Mexico. She has the biggest ears I have ever seen on a dog. I like tugging on them.   Papa Matt says that he will take care of me for 4 months. So they have 4 months to complete their hike. I'll be following their progress in this journal. When it starts to heat up here in Arizona this spring, I'll be at my favorite watering hole chillin' with the gang at the pool. Gotta keep cool.    May the force be with youJedi Night
Date: 2016-01-04
To: 'All In' on the AT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Jedi has become a big part of our family. Now that you have met him, I'd like to to introduce the rest of the family. At home, I go by Will. It is a nickname. I was given the trail name Desert Nomad by a friend out here in Arizona. I like the name. It seems appropriate for the deserts of the southwest but not so much for a trail like the AT. So for now, I'll go with my nickname Will.   My hiking partner of the last 19 years is RoadRunner. That is her trail name and the name she goes by in trail community. However whether we are at home or on trail, I almost never call her RoadRunner unless other hikers are around. To me she is my dear Annie. Another nickname (see Sleepless in Seattle). But for journaling purposes I sometimes flip flop back and forth between RR and Annie.   Now that I have the introductions out of the way, let's get on to our 2016 hike on the AT. When we returned to Arizona last September after hiking the GDT in Canada, we sat down and discussed some ideas for future hikes. We have a list of hikes that we would eventually like to do. We have a sense of urgency as age and health become factors.   So focusing on the immediate future, we both decided we wanted to do as much hiking in 2016 as possible. The more time on the trails the better. While the GDT ended up being a great hike, we would have liked more time on the trail and more continuity. At times our hike last summer seemed a bit disjointed.   We wanted to try to get in an early season hike. I floated the idea of rehiking the Arizona trail and then completing the western portion of the Hayduke route. Annie had enough of the Hayduke the first time around, so that was out. The weather forecasts are calling for an El Nino winter with heavy snow accumulations out in the western mountain regions of the US. With that in mind, we decided to look eastward and do some research on the AT.   Although we have spent most of our time hiking in the western US, the AT looked appealing. After all it is the oldest continuous footpath in the US. We would be hiking through 14 states and many of those states were the foundation of the US from early colonial times. There is a lot of history there. And it would give us both a chance to see a different part of the country. A part which neither of us has explored. We have only hiked small portions of the AT in Georgia, the Smokies and Shenandoah NP.   We gave ourselves a December 1st deadline. After taking time for consideration, we decided to give it a whirl. So now we are 'all in' on the AT. We have been planning and training for the last 6 weeks.   Our son Matt has given us the OK from his end. He is willing to watch Jedi for 4 months. So our next decision was which 4 months? Will
Date: 2016-01-07
To: A Winter Hike
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I don't necessarily like the cold. I don't do well in the cold. We have had a couple of close calls with hypothermia on our long distance hikes. It is scary how fast conditions can turn from bad to worse.   Cold weather and long periods of grey skies led us to flee Michigan for the warmer climate of the Arizona desert. So you might ask why are we planning on a winter start for our AT hike? We have our airline tickets for Atlanta. We are leaving February 24th.   We plan to spend a few days visiting with Annie's Mom, brothers, and children Wendy and Justin who all live in the Atlanta-Gainesville area. We will take a few days to gather up a few resupply boxes that will help us get through the first part of the trail. Then we will head out to the Amicalola Falls approach trail. We plan to be at Springer Mountain by March 1st.   After carefully considering our start date, we decided that a March 1st start date had some advantages even with all the cold weather that start date entails. Some of the benefits: less bugs initially, the possibility of more solitude, less crowds as the greater majority of hikers start after March 15th. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is expecting record numbers of hikers this year with over 3000 hikers attempting a thruhike. They have encouraged hikers to consider alternate start dates, flip flop hikes or going southbound to decrease trail congestion. We would like to do our part.    Finally we have a 4 month window to complete our hike. That means we have to be back in Arizona by July 1st. This gives us the option of a late summer hike in the Sierra or Wind River Range. So in the end it was all or nothing; either March 1st or stay home. We know that it will be a tough hike starting in winter. We will hope for mild weather but make plans for worst case scenario. I'll talk about some of our gear choices and plans next time.Will
Date: 2016-01-10
To: Winter Gear
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Hoping for the best, expecting the worst. We are expecting rain, a lot of rain. With a March 1st start we could see temps and wind chills down to zero degrees. The big question is can we stay warm and avoid getting hypothermic. We have run into winter conditions on some of our previous hikes during the shoulder season. Unfortunately we had 3 season gear, when we needed 4 season gear. It cost us a thruhike of the PCT in 2013 when we ran into a blizzard in northern Washington that dumped 4 feet of snow on the trail in 48 hours. We were a 125 miles from the border. We ended up going back the next year to finish. Disappointing.   Our system has changed somewhat since I provided a gear list for our 2013 PCT hike. If interested go back and check out our gear list. Here is what has changed: We have switched from a tarp to a HMG Cuben fiber Pyramid tent. We call it the 'Palace'.    Huge. Plenty of room for us, our gear and our dog. It is absolutely bombproof in the rain.   We will switch out to our heavier sleeping bags. We have the Montbell Down Spiral Hugger 15 degree bags. We bought new NeoAir xlites to replace our old NeoAirs. Great comfort and insulating properties. We have added Exped UL pillows. More comfort. We may need them as we may be wearing more of our clothes at night to stay warm.   For rain protection we will carry our GoLite umbrellas. Annie bought a new Outdoor Reasearch women's Aspire rain jacket. I splurged on an Arc'teryx Theta LT rain jacket. Still looking for something that will keep us relatively dry in a downpour.   We will be going with our heavier and puffier Westen Mountaineering Flight down jackets along with extra layers: Montane wind shirt and Ibex merino wool hoodies and an extra fleece. We will have two sets of gloves: one will stay dry at all times for night time sleeping and one will be for hiking in foul weather. I bought a pair of North Face gortex mittens and some hand warmers.   It sounds like a lot of extra gear and it is. We aren't taking any chances.   It will definitely be extra weight in our packs but we will try to resupply often thereby carrying less food. Hopefully it will even out somewhat. If we have milder weather, hey we'll take it.   Finally we will be carrying Kahtoola Microspikes when necessary for icy trail conditions. I think that covers most of the major changes. If anyone has any other ideas, drop us a line. We are open to suggestions.Will
Date: 2016-01-12
To: I Love My Life
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

People spend a lot of time in the pursuit of happiness. Have you ever noticed? And yet very few people in this group (which is comprised of pretty much everyone) ever truly grab hold of it, at least not for very long. Even though they throw a lot of money and time trying to find happiness.You're probably wondering why I'm bringing this up right? Well, simply put, I'm in a place in my life where I feel really happy. And not just fleetingly. I'm not sure when I realized it. Maybe a couple of years ago. People would ask me about how things were going, how my hike had gone or how work was going. I would tell them; and then I would say, 'I love my life!'. They would usually give me a look and say 'I love your life too!'I love my split life. Hiking and living life out of a backpack for half of the year. And sleeping on my King sized pillow top bed, cantering through the desert on my horse Cheyenne or looking at cute little babies still in the uterus with Ultrasound for the other half of the year.It helps that I have an amazing, adventurous husband, a great family and awesome friends of course.   They are a big part of my whole 'I love my life' expression. But really, happiness is within you as they say. I have come to a place where I am happy in all my skins. I am happy as a long distance hiker, and I am grateful to have the health to be attempting the Appalachian Trail.   I am happy as a wife, mom, friend and Sonographer. And I am blessed to have these people and this job in my life.Does this mean I am never unhappy? You betcha, every moment of every day I am happy, happy, happy!   Ha! Just kidding! Of course there are times when things happen and I am not so happy. But I'm talking about the big picture here.And right now that picture includes me with my backpack, hiking down the Appalachian Trail with my husband by my side. Like I said, I love my life!Road Runner
Date: 2016-01-14
To: The Two Me's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

It occurred to me the other day as I looked into the mirror, that there are really two me's. I had just finished getting ready. Makeup on, hair blown out and styled and dressed up to go out. The reflection looking back at me was, well, alright. I don't think there is a woman on this planet that looks at herself and says, dahling, you look absolutely perfect! Even the ones that do look perfect from our viewpoint find something wrong from theirs. But alright is pretty high praise coming from me. And just at that moment, as I was still looking at my reflection, it came to me that in about a month I would look nothing like this me. I would look like the other me. The one with no make up, barely combed dirty hair (hidden under a hat) dirty stinky hiking clothes and an unwashed body.   I ask you, how many women are willing to go to that space for 4 to 6 months?   But I love being that me. Oh, not the unkempt, less made up part so much. But the me that sets a goal to hike a couple thousand miles and reaches that goal. The me that spends every day wandering down a trail being blown away by the views. Or the me that sits out in nature just plain 'being', nothing else, just occupying that moment of time.   I think we all want other people to look at us with approval. Women especially. That's why a lot more women wear makeup then men (well there ARE some men who wear makeup ). But if I am honest, I am more my true self out on the trail. Sans the make up, au natural.   Nothing to cover up my faults. Just me, as I truly am. And it's much less time consuming, I'll tell you that much! So I'm okay with both me's. The city girl me and long distance backpacking me.   But if you chance to meet us on the Appalachian Trail and take our picture, could you make sure I get good lighting? And no close ups please! Road Runner
Date: 2016-01-17
To: On the Clock: The Tyranny of a Schedule
Miles today: 0.0

There are two elements of a long distance hike which characterize the essence of the journey: simplicity and freedom. Life is simple. We carry everything we need on our back. We sleep, we eat, we hike. We revel in the beauty of the natural world. I find myself shifting into a more contemplative dimension. There is joy in being.In looking back on our other longer hikes, I would say that they were pretty much free flowing affairs. No schedules, put in our miles. Hike on! Last year on our GDT hike there were certain areas where it was mandatory that we camp in designated campsites. Initially it kind of grated on me. It was the first time where I felt that we were on a schedule. Quite frankly in my workaday life I had enough of schedules and regimentation.I love the freedom of a long distance hike. We have 4 months to complete the AT. So this hike will definitely be more structured. I would even go so far to say that we will have a 'loose' schedule. We really thought long and hard about even attempting the AT.   But in the end, we decided on a thruhike. All or nothing. We definitely will need to catch a few breaks along the way with decent weather, good health and avoidance of injury.   I always found Salvador Dali's paintings interesting; especially the ones with the warped clocks. Have you ever noticed how our experience of time is so subjective? There are moments when time moves ever so slowly. Time stands still. Where did the time go? Our preparation and training has moved to the forefront. We are trying to put together a plan. We are only a little more than a month away from heading out to Georgia. That is hard to believe. The clock is ticking. This year we are on the clock.Will
Date: 2016-01-19
To: Journalistically Speaking
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The other day I looked at the sidebar of our Appalachian Trail Journals entry and was startled to see that this years journal will be our 10th. I know, I know, I shouldn't really be startled at the number of journals on my own page. And yet I was. I guess I never really thought about it, or didn't bother to count. I think the thing that made me take a look was, that while we were on a training hike a couple days ago, Will had sort of wondered out loud if we had anything left to say in a journal after all the journal pages we have cranked out over the years. My response to him then was, yes but this is a whole nother trail that we have never hiked and we will have unique trail experiences to share. But will we? I mean there are a ton of people hiking the trail this year. Thousands, and while not every hiker will keep a journal, a whole bunch of them will. What will make our journal worth the space it takes up on Trailjournals.com? It made me stop and think about why we keep a journal in the first place. There are several reasons actually. I think the first one is so that our close family and friends can sort of keep tabs on us and know that we are safe (most of the time). The other is so that people in the hiking community can come along vicariously, or maybe glean a few tips about hiking a better hike, either from the things we got right, or the mistakes we made along the way. And the last reason, is for ourselves. Our first journal we didn't really think of that. We were doing it mostly for our family and friends. But when we got home, we realized that there was absolutely no way we would have remembered so many fine details and feelings from our hike had we not journaled them. We have cross referenced our journals many times, or maybe just spent part of a day soaking in the memories of a certain hike.I believe that no two people ever have the same experience, because, well, they are two different people. So while we may walk the same stretch of trail as hundreds of other people, we bring our own unique upbringing, values, skills set, literary ability, trail experience and knowledge. Ten journals worth of trails versus someone else who is taking their maiden voyage on the Appalachian Trail, is told in a vastly different way.So we invite you to come along with us on our journey(Journey/Journal, sound alot alike don't they?) We will try and make it worth the effort and the time you invest in it. But if we're less than perfect, I am okay with that, because as in a true journal, it's just me and Will writing about things as we see and experience them.. Journalistically speaking that is.RoadRunner