morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-17
From: The New Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

My knee felt and looked like a watermelon on the end of a toothpick (okay a bit exaggeration there, but it was swollen and it hurt to the touch). I decided to wait for Messenger and rest my obese knee. Matthewski and I hung out talked about life and random things while waiting around till about noontime when Julie Ann and her dog came by. She had not seen Messenger¢¦ urgh.. I had no clue where he was now. We all decided to go only about 5 miles up the trail to Walnut Mountain Shelter. I still saw no sign of Messenger in the log book and was utterly baffled at where he could be.
Date: 2006-03-18
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: A little past Rich Mountain Fire Tower
Miles today: 21.3

I hiked 13.1 miles into Hot Springs and found out from some other hikers that Messenger had been through there a day and a half ago! Oh geez. I had no clue what was going on. I just knew I had to continue on. I got some groceries and a hot meal and headed back out. I was depressed and once again lost in the unknown to the situation. I had no clue why he wasn't waiting for me? My internal battles continued while walked out of Hot Springs. I passed a few stray dogs and one started following me. He kept following me and following me. The mountain got steeper and steeper about 7 1/2 miles up. This took me forever. I started to enjoy the dogs company; it gave me a companion, as I was feeling pretty alone. I put my bandana on it and named it Scout. ¢Maybe this dog will follow me all the way to Maine.¢ I thought. We had fun as I talked to it about my problems and encouraged it along, as he looked more tired than I was. It was dark and I knew I had to find a campsite. I ran into some college guys that were camping over the hill. So I hung out with them and we had a great time. We made fun of the dog for a while as some of it psychological issues started to come out. It had some boundary, personal space issues. If you got near it and loved on it, it would take advantage of your kindness and start using all of it's strength to lay and lick all over you. Cute yes for a little while as I am a dog lover but after some time of this constant pushing on you, it got old and annoying. This dog wouldn't stop. I ate some food, we fed the dog, the guys and me had some good conversation and I went into my tent for the night. I wanted the dog to sleep under the tarp of my tent. I opened the tent and the dog powered its way into my tent. I have the smallest one-man tent ever and I tried to lay down with the dog in there. It was not going to work. I tried to put it right outside the tent under the tarp and zipped my tent up real quick and it started eating my tent! Just going to town on my tent door! The guys said they would take it back to Hot Springs in the morning. So I tried, but this relationship was not going to work out and we were going to have to go our separate ways. But I still felt like the dog was sent to me in a time of need to provide the hope that I needed to press on. Our human K-9 relationship was short yet meaningful.
Date: 2006-03-19
From: A little past Rich Mountain Fire Tower

To: Side of Frozen Knob
Miles today: 28.2

I left about 7:30am and kept hiking. Ran into Dreamer again. After about 12 miles of hiking. I still didn't see any sign of Messenger but knew he was ahead somewhere. I hike 6 more miles to Jerry Cabin shelter and saw that Messenger signed a journal entry in the log that he was going 14 more miles that day. So afer 18 miles it was about 5pm. I ate some snack and kept going. I made it to Flint Mountain shelter 6 miles up at about 8pm, and ate some food. Chris was staying there and he told me that Messenger was about 8 more miles up at Hogback Ridge Shelter. I knew I had to go on if I was ever going to catch him. I wanted to find out what was going on. I hiked 26.3 miles and made it to Devil Fork Gap. I sat by the road, exhausted. I pleaded to God for phone service and I finally got a little. I talk to some of my friends. It was awesome. People energize me so much. I made it about 2 more miles and just collasped down by a stream and cowboy camped (sleeping bag under the stars) and hoped it didn't rain. 28 miles. My body felt like it grew roots and connected me with the ground that I layed on. I hurt all over. I was only 4 more miles away from the shelter, but I could not go on anymore. I decided to wake up around 4 and start hiking again. I had to catch up. I awoke to something running past my head. I looked up and it was some type of stray dog or coyote and gave me a pretty good scare. But I eventaully fell back to sleep.
Date: 2006-03-20
From: Side of Frozen Knob

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke around 4am and left around 4:23am and continued up the mountain. I passed the shelter around 7am where I thought he may be, but I didn't hear any movement, and thought Sam's Gap would be a good meeting place. I went a couple more miles and ate. I waited for about an hour, the snow started to fall. "Guns of Jesus" and "Taco" came by and told me he was on his way. Jason and Jess came next who had hiked there from FL! We found a dryer place underneath the bridge. Then I finally saw my long lost companion off in the distance. It was a good reunion as I had told him the hellish stuff I had been going through. He was so glad to see that I was all right and he told me his thought process throughout the entire thing. As he was praying for guidance on what the right thing to do. He said he thought I was in front for a while or I just had to get off the trail for an emergency. Then he didn't have enough food, so he had to press on. Then said he waited for me in Hot Springs for 6hrs, then camped right outside. He heard I was going 21 miles a day so he thought I would soon catch up. Then he hiked one big mile day because of bad weather prediction and he wanted to stay with Taco who had a phone so he could call me. So though I think the situation sucked for me more than him, we both learned a lot. God took us away, and taught us things we may have never learned while together. We hiked about 8 more miles. It snowed and rained all day. We were wet and freezing. Bald Mountain Shelter is one of the highest in elevation on the entire AT. So to say it was a cold night would be a great understatement. We stayed with Jason and Jess, the Traveling Dingleberries and ole Willie.
Date: 2006-03-21
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Miss Janet's
Miles today: 16.9

Morning was rough, cold and snowy. But it warmed up and turned into a great hiking day. Our feet were hurting pretty bad as we rolled into Erwin. We got a hitch into town and landed at Miss Janet's. We have had a blast here. "Nuts" cooked us all a huge gourmet feast and the house was packed with great people.So this week has been quite the week I'd say. I think I have learned more this week than any other. It was been tough I am not going to lie. I felt defeated most of the week. But I know I am stronger. I know I have a greater confidence in myself. I actually learned how to hike. I have come to a greater understanding of my need for relationship. I know I am wired for people. At times it is great to go into the silence alone, but more deeply I know God created me for you and you for me. We need each other, some more than others, but the principle remains true. I just did about the same distance this week as I did the first 3 weeks I was out here. Am I hardcore mountaineer now? I don't think so. Though I am hairy and quite smelly, I am still just trying to figure this trail and this life out one day at a time.  Thank you guys for all the love and encouragement. Continue to leave encouraging messages in my guest book, I love reading them and if you want a letter in the mail would be sweet. Just click the mail drop button to your left to see roughly where I will be. Thanks. Much Love.
Date: 2006-03-22
From: Miss Janet's in Erwin, TN

To: Curley Maple Gap 
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: clear sky

We had a great day today. I woke up in a warm full sized bed at Miss Janet's Hostel walked a few feet to a breakfast feast. About 15 of us at breakfast talking about the trail and this and that. We then went to the PO, library and grocery store. Messenger and I then went to Elms dinner because we heard about this famous burger...oh man¢¦this burger looked like two Frisbees laying on top of each other¢¦the biggest burger I have ever seen. We owned this burger and all the waitress's were amazed..."No body ever finishes this thing, except for hikers" one girl said. I am now proud to admit that every meal I eat as much as 3 grown men. Well we finally got back on the trail at dark and made it up to the next shelter. 4 guys from FL were already there with a warm fire built. I decided to sleep outside under the stars. It was peaceful as I looked up into the billions of billions of stars. I wondered what was next in this wild adventure. I just lay there in expectancy about the upcoming day. What will I learn? How will I grow? What could possibly happen next? I fell asleep in my excitement.
Date: 2006-03-23
From: Curley Maple Gap 

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: broken clouds

Not to much to the hike today..just alot of ups and downs.. here is something that I was thinking about:Mr 1:12 ¢Immediately the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the WILDERNESS.Mr 1:35 - The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the WILDERNESS to pray. Lu 4:42 - Early the next morning Jesus went out into the WILDERNESS. Lu 5:16 - But Jesus often withdrew to the WILDERNESS for prayer. Over and over Jesus retreats from society into the wilderness. Many times he seeks solace and answers to deep questioning of his own. (Mt 26:39) Still at other times he¢s led out to the wild to be tempted and tested by the devil (Mark 1:12-13). This leads me to believe that there is something furiously holy about the wild, something vastly unique. When God calls us to be in this place it may not look pretty (my being lost, the deathly icy cold snow, my physical pain of all sorts, the dealings with my tender emotions) but it is necessary and more importantly it is good. This is the reason that I am out here. I want to be whole. I want to be healed. I want to be the man that God has called me to be. Complete, confident in who I am and who the pure God is. I have to remember that without tragedy there can be no redemption.
Date: 2006-03-24
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Carvers Gap
Miles today: 7.2

I don't know why but I had one of the best nights sleep I have had all journey. I awoke rested but once I unzipped my bag, I saw the snow, everywhere. No green, no brown, just white.."Oh crap I thought, another cold, wet day. We were planning on doing another 21 miler today but the snow always slows us down and we still had to go about 2000 ft up over Roan Mountain. We set off to see just how far we would get. I started hiking up and about 4 hrs later I was still hiking up. Everytime I took a step forward the snow and ice would slide me back. The snow continued to fall all day and the tempature dropped another 12 degree's as we continued our climb..it was like we were walking up a vertical ice skating rink. At one point both of my feet slipped out from under me and before I smashed my face on the ice I got my elbows out to brake my fall. We finally made it up to Roan High Shelter for lunch. We were wet and cold and the snow just kept falling. We were shaking and yelling trying to stay warm but nothing seemed to work. We knew we had to get off the mountain. We were only 1.5 miles away from Carver's Gap where there was a road. The winds blew hard and the snow blew on us at a 90deg. angle. I finally got phone service in one spot in the woods and got a hold of Miss Janet's house and she was on her way to get us from Erwin..we were about an hours drive from Erwin. So there we were just waiting. Freezing. We stood behind a sign for about 20 minutes just to block the wind. My face already had wind burn. Finally we met a man that was cross country skiing (this should give you an idea of what type of weather we were in) He aloud us to sit in his warm truck and wait for Miss J. We finally drove slowly down the road for about 20 minutes we finally saw Miss J and the VW van and waved her down out the window. She had tried the other side of the mountain but the roads were too bad to make it up. So we landed at Miss Janet's again but with 31 more miles further under our belt. There were about 20 other cold hikers there so we were not the only smart ones that had made an emergency exit off the mountains. We have decided to wait here till things warm up a little before we head out again. Stumbling Forward -
Date: 2006-03-25
To: 0 day in Erwin
Miles today: 0.0

"Adventure is a deeply spiritual longing in the heart of every man. Adventure requires something of us, puts us to the test. Though wemay fear the test, at the same time we yearn to be tested, to discover we havewhat it takes." -Eldredge0 day today. Snow. cold and miserable. Going to Johnson City with a bunch of hikers to a movie and Wal-mart and the outfitters. We will try to get back at it tomorrow. Come on out SUN and shine baby shine...
Date: 2006-03-26
From: Another snowy day

To: Pastor's house
Miles today: 0.0

The snow continued to fall today despite all of our hopes against it. Miss Janet called up one of her pastor friends (Phillip) and told him we wanted to go to his church. His son picked us up in the morning and took us to church. We had fun then went to lunch with some them. We then decided against hiking because it was still snowy! This was like 24hrs straight and we were now in the valley and on the mountain we knew it was much worse. We stayed with Pastor Phillip and his family who were incredibly gracious and fun... they even had a hot tub! Pastor and I hung out in the hot tub as I rested my wounds and we talked about the mysteries of God and this faith thing that we believe. It was truly a special moment for me. Anytime I can hang out with an older man I feel like I am a bystander, watching, so close, trying to learn something, anything true and anything real. I still look to others to father me.
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Pastor's house

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: few clouds

Phillip dropped us off at Carvers Gap the snow had stopped falling but the damage was still done, the earth was complete white as far as the eye could see. We trudged up the mountain, in certain spots the snow was coming as high up as my knees! There was about a 1 12 ft. of snow in certain places. I don¢t know if you have ever hiked much in the snow but it¢s not fun. You use twice the effort and you go half the distance. We only made it 5 miles. And I was exhausted. On a little more disturbing note¢¦ I have been thinking a lot about prayer and how little I know about it. I feel when I open my mouth I am just sort of spitting up on myself. I feel as if nothing gets accomplished. I feel as though God is tired of only hearing my demands. When I pray it is a wish list. Like God is my slave or something. ¢Give me, Give me¢ like a greedy little child I ask and beg. I try to pray for others and I only end up pleading for self preservation. So how do I pray? How do I stop begging and start listening? I want to be God¢s audience and shut up for awhile... George Macdonald says this about prayer which makes some sense to me as I wonder about this prayer stuff. He says ¢What if He knows prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God¢s idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need- the need of Himself? Hunger may drive the runaway child home, and he may or may not be fed at once, but he needs his mother more than his dinner. Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other need: Prayer is the beginning of that communion, and some need is the motive of that prayer. So beginning a communion, a talking with God, a coming-to-one with Him¢¦is the sole end of prayer.¢ Communion with Him. Oneness. That is what I long for. The depth of love like no other love. That is true prayer. So my need may not all be bad, but it can¢t ever be the center of my call to Him. I think?
Date: 2006-03-28
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Roan Mountain, TN
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: light rain

Still lots of snow. Big surprise huh. We had some pretty sights today over big and little hump. Beauty still catching me time and time again. Something that I found even more amazing than the beauty was something that Donald Miller said when he was talking about the grandeur of the stars one night as he peered into the billions and billions of them he said something like this ¢God not only made all that is beautiful but he also made us with the ability to appreciate that beauty, and that is a whole another level of genius!¢ How true is that? That surpasses greatness. I guess that is just what God does. Well we finally made it to 19E where Dragon Slayer a 2004 thru-hiker was there in her car with tons of food and snacks for hikers and no one had come through all day! So she hooked us up with all we could eat. Cheese cake, chips, soda, brownies¢¦man it was good. We then got a ride from ¢Saco¢ (who has thru-hiked 14 different times!!!) to Kincora which was a sweet hostel.
Date: 2006-03-29
From: Roan Mountain, TN

To: Kincora
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: broken clouds

Bob dropped us back off in the morning where we left off that day and we set out for our first long day in awhile. The weather was awesome and I finally got to wear shorts and see my tree-trunk sized legs for the first time in awhile. We hiked a few hours in the dark and finally made it back to Kincora after a long and wearing day.
Date: 2006-03-30
From: Kincora

To: Vandevener Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Donald Miller said that ¢We as humanity were designed for something outside of us to name us (God)¢ This got me thinking. My entire life I have be on a subconscious mission to be defined or named by something. To somehow prove to myself and to the world that I am enough. I have exploited many different people to give me meaning. I have used my talents and my gifts for selfish gain and to give me purpose. Many times I have done things that were foolish just to see if I were man enough¢¦This is not right. I can¢t continue to go through life always trying to prove myself as a man. I will always fail to find my answer there. There will never be a hazardous enough adventure to name me. And that should never be the purpose of any adventure or any risk that we take. I desperately do not want this plight to turn into that. My motive for this journey cannot be to define me or give me meaning. If it morphs into that it will only lead to further emptiness and added disappointment. Only God can tell me who I truly am and I so frantically need him too, so I can survive. I just have to be. I have to rest in His answer. Somehow I still have this deep unsettling that I am not enough, or that I just do not add up. I think there is a fine line between desperate pride and deep insecurities and I know I straddle that line too often.
Date: 2006-03-31
From: Vandevener Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: broken clouds

The terrain was beautiful. Long, straight rolling hills, just the way an amateur hiker likes it. A pretty easy stroll. But after about 8 miles the bottoms of my feet began to hurt, badly. Sharp pains throughout both. This is not good for a hiker. I pressed on but the pain did not subside. For 8 more hours I hiked. The pain almost unbearable at times. I tried to walk on my toes; I tried to curl my feet as I limped along. Nothing worked. Around 9 pm I felt like I could not go on any longer. I was literally just leaning on my poles for balance and falling forward. I was angry, I was miserable and I felt like my feet had been in a blender. This did not just happen though. I had begun to have pain in my feet for the past couple of days, but this was just a new level. I finally arrived at the shelter and a tear came to my eye as I knew I could finally get off my feet. Messenger was feeling polar opposite of me and he pressed on even though it was 10 o¢clock. We decided to meet up at the PO in Damascus at 10am the next morning. I rubbed my feet for awhile and was out.
Date: 2006-04-01
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

¢What shall I do Lord?¢ I asked. ¢Get up,¢ the Lord said, ¢and go into DAMASCUS. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.¢¢ Acts 22:10I woke up around 5:20am did a few things around camp and got to walking around 6am. I limped most the way as my feet felt like my feet had a constant cramp. But I made it. I made it past GA. I have made it past NC, I have now made it past TN and I finally walked into VA and boy did that feel good. We did all of our errands. I found a pair of trail runners 1/2 off at Sun Dog outfitters in hope that they will help my foot pain. We met some great people here. Kim and Britt, Suzy and Jill all on saturday. I got a great story to tell you about "Sicily's" when I get home...haha everyone should have a good laugh.
Date: 2006-04-02
From: Damascus, VA

To: Straight Branch
Miles today: 5.6

Short day hike today. We went to church. I actaully went to two different ones this morning. Then we knocked out a few miles and hitched back into town. We did laundry and I went to two more night services! haha.. FBC invited us to a church 70's party afterwards. So we went and had a blast. A bunch of college aged kids playing music under the stars and eating fries and burgers its hard to top that. It was another awesome night tonight...just beautiful. We then went back and hung out with Kim and Muhaammed at "Sicily's" and I showed off some of my dance moves as we had the juke box jamming.
Date: 2006-04-03
From: Straight Branch

To: Summit Cut, Va
Miles today: 11.3

We decided to do another shorter hike and hitch back into Damascus today. Not a bad hike. We finally got to the empty road and hung out for about 30 minutes with only a few cars giving us nods. Finally after an 1hr and about 15 minutes a trunk stopped and we told him we were going to Damascus and he told us we were hitching the wrong way! There had been so many cars going the other way too..haha.. oh man well we made up some silly games to pass the time and we finally got picked up by a couple from Mich. This leads me here now. In the Damascus library. Tommorrow Messenger's Dad is meeting us here late morning and plans on hiking with us for awhile, so that should be cool to have another in the party. I want to thank you all again for all your love and support. God is doing wonderful things in my life. I am learning and growing, it hurts buts its beautiful.
Date: 2006-04-04
From: Summit Cut, Va

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: few clouds

Joe (Messenger's Dad) came into Damascus around 11:00 then some of his friends brought us back out to the trailhead where we left off. We ended up being at the bottom of 2000ft. climb and we knew it would be brutal on him. We planned on meeting at the shelter 9 miles up the trail. So I went ahead and enjoyed the day the climb wasn¢t as intense as expected. I realized after awhile that the shelter wasn¢t 9 but 11.1 miles away (my math skills at work once again) and it was all mostly up hill. I got to the shelter near dark and knew the fellows probably would end up a little short. My feet were still quite sore. I climbed into the top level of the shelter and made it my home I decided to sleep in and wait till they arrived.