morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Cove Mountain

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I think that the bugs like my tarp because a lot of them were sleeping with me last night. At one point I went to adjust the head part of my sleeping bag and a centipede crawled into my hand which freaked me out and instinct took over as I launched the sucker out and away. Other than that, I slept pretty good. I woke up this morning and called Keri and wished her a good say. I love this phone right now. It enable me to talk to the girl I love.Speaking of love, I'm learning much about it. I'm finding that love is an action and a choice. And I'm starting to fall away from the idea that people "Fall in Love" but rather "Fall into attraction", which then makes people say all sorts of promises.One thing that I'm struggling with is the part of myself that I gave to Amanda. I did love her, I truly did. I thought I was going to marry that girl. And if love is a choice then I chose to love her and the truer that love is and was then the harder it is to let go of. Now, I should have never gotten as close as I did with her, I do feel that I didn't guard my heart very well. Thus, now, since my love was true with her and deep, I have a hard time letting go. Even though it has been six years, the tone still rings. Which sucks. They say you will always remember your first love. Well, I wish I could forget, because that past relationship is keeping me from giving my best to the current relationship that I'm in. I've always known that complete healing would occur for me when Amanda would finally get married, which is now only 4 days away. I think my attachment is spawned from years of praying that God would bring us back together and that day that he told me to end the relationship only to stand as a test of where my alligence stood. And now I'm learning, and someday will be grateful, that His will be done, and not mine.Anyways, hiking was pretty ugly today. I took a long lunch and soaked my feet, readying myself for the 3,000 foot incline I had to do, which was pretty treacherous. But one foot in front of the other and you'll eventually get there. There was a pretty cool radar tower on top of Apple Orchard mountain, other than that it was quite anticlimatical.I continued on, only to get lost for about 20 minutes and then finally found my way to Thunder Hill shelter. I saw a Jehovah's witness flyer in the register that I read while I waited on Braveheart. Man they have some interesting views. So I used the thing for fire starter when I was done. Turns out when I read the register that Braveheart was ahead of me and continued on. I would have joined him had I read the register sooner and not had gotten lost. So the shelter is all mine tonight. I'm going to enjoy the quietness and my blazing fire.Oh! Met a guy named Half Dome and he gave me a snickers and 4 slim jims and offered to help us out when we got near his home town. He gave me his cell number so I could call him when we drew near.raisen bagels with jelly x3---PB&J on tortilla x2---oriental ramen noodle, 1 liter hot chocolate
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Didn't sleep too good. I think I swatted a mouse sniffing at my hair. Mice were everywhere. They even knocked over one of my water bottles.I got a late start today, left around 10am. My mission was to try to catch up to Braveheart wherever he is. The first part of the day wasn't too bad. I was able to bust out 12 miles in 4 hours. But after that was a different story. I did enjoy a 3 mile stretch that went along side a bunch of creeks. I just love the sound of that water flowing. I got to go across the longest foot bridge on the A.T. today - so I did that. But after my little jaunt in the woods by the creeks I had 8 miles of steep climbing. Iknew it was going to be bad. I even called Keri and told her to pray for me. And so I went.Let me tell you, strength wasn't something I had at all. The non-stop uphill drained me so quickly, it came to the point where I had to take breaks every 3 minutes and I could barely support my own weight. I prayed my heart out, I couldn't go on. And that's when the rain came - and lightning. I tell you what, that lit a spark under me in a hurry. It's amazing what adrenaline can do.So I got to the shelter around 8:15pm and found Braveheart. He had been pushing forward very quickly because he thought that I was ahead of him. I called Keri and left her a message thanking her for praying for me.So in my book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis has been talking about pride and how it alone is the worst of all sin, or rather, the hardest to conquer. He goes on to describe it as having a competitive nature. You see, pride says, "I want to be better than everyone, have more money than everyone, have more power than everyone...ect." Liking to have more money isn't a bad thing, but want more money so you can say you have more than someone else is a matter of pride. I think that guys probably have the hardest time with pride because, I believe, mosst guys are competative by nature and I'm sure that their competiveness and pride can intermingle more than they realise. Just my thoughts.blueberry oatmeal with gorp---PB&J on tortilla x2---chicken teriyaki with rice - mountain houseMRE mashed potatoes x2
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Hog Camp Gap
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We got a late start due to being fogged in and it just being down right cold. So we left the shelter at 11am. Our thinking was we'd go 10 miles, go into town to resupply and eat, then continue on hiking. Well, that would have worked had we been able to get an easy hitch. We actually had to get a ride in with Tom, he called a shuttle.We ate, resupplied, and then I ate again at Hardee's. I was moved to tears at lunch though when a couple we had been talking to paid for our meal. I told them, "Wow, I'm tearing up, thank you so much." The lady said that if we had made it this far then we were obviously going to be a little stretched for cash. Boy was she right.But, not being full, we stopped by Hardee's and I got more food. I even was able to get a free burger just for being nice. While I was in there waiting, 4 people wanted their money back and another guy threw his fries all over the counter because he said they were too cold, even though the lady offered to give him fresh fries, but the man just tossed them and walked away. What a tool. More like something else I can't say. What man would ever treat a woman in such a way? No man at all really, but rather a person born out of wedlock, if you know what I mean.We hitched a ride with "Williams", an old man that gives hikers a ride into Beuna Vista, and soon we were off hiking again. Went about 6 more miles in the dark and camped at Hog Camp gap.Oh! had some more MRE mashed potatoes I found at the shelter for breakfast. Those things are stout and hardy.MRE mashed potatoes x3 with chicken---super delux stromboli - Italian restauranthamburgers x2 - Hardee's---six dollar burger - Hardee's
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Hog Camp Gap

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's getting harder and harder to sleep at night. My body is so exhausted. It wants rest but is so beat up that it can't relax. The day I can go through a night without waking up in the middle will be the first night after I'm done with this trail.So the race to get our free lunch at the "Dutch Haus" began early. We planned on getting picked up at the fish hatchery at 11:30am or 12:30pm to be taken to the "Dutch Haus" for a hiker lunch, free of charge. The one detail we didn't read was in order to get to the fish hatchery parking lot we had to go a mile downhill, out of our way. Braveheart left at 7:40am to go 10 miles to the point where we go downhill to the parking lot. I left at 8:15am and somehow I beat him there by 30 minutes. I have no clue how I passed him.So we got picked up, taken to the "Haus", and get served our free meal. The house was very cool, log cabin style. So we ate, checked our email, and just enjoyed the house. I got an email from both Dale and Mary, the Sunday School teacher. Both were very encouraging. Mary read all my journals that afternoon and had a comment about my posting of wanting to be closer to God. She said that when Moses wanted to get close to God and see Him, He closed Moses' eyes and had him open them at the right time to see a glimpse of His back - and it stunned him. But Mary said that sometimes God closes our eyes so that when we open them we can appreciate Him all the more. You will love and appreciate Light all the more when you first have to experience darkness. I thought that was kinda cool.So I've been thinking a lot today about Amanda getting married tomorrow. Part of me dreads it, part of me can't wait till its over. It's like holding on to a balloon before you let it go, part of you wants to just hold it, but eventually you'll let it go. It's tough right now.Coming down from Priest mountain I sang "Amazing Grace" a lot. Every time I came to the verse: "Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, twas grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.", I would well up with tears. How true it is. Grace got me through some tough crap, and now grace will do it again. I'll most likely be writing a poem about this whole situation, it always helps with the stress. I wish I could call Keri and have her pray for me, but no service all day long. It looks like God wants this one all to Himself.I rolled into Harpers Creek shelter at 8:30pm, Braveheart showed up much later. I burned my nice fleece pants from a spark out of the fire, so that sucks. Tomorrow hopefully will be another big day as we continue our "20 mile marathon", our 20 miles a day till we leave from graduation.honey buns x2, peacan rolls x2---sloppy joes x2, corn, baked pasta with ham, cake, coffee, pink lemonade - Dutch Haus---chicken, rice, mashed potatoes
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Mill Creek, Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Sleeping was again rough. All I could think about is Amanda and how she's getting married today. My prayer for her is that if it is out of God's will then He would stop it, but if it's in His will then for God to bless the marriage tremendously. I prayed that prayer a lot while we hiked today. I couldn't get it off my mind. Love is weird like that. Here I am, still attached, somehow, to a girl that I broke up with six years ago. Granted, I didn't want to break up with her at all but was told by God to do so, but the attachment I have still is quite amazing. If I have this kind of bond or loyalty for a girl I'm not even dating then my bond and committment to my future wife is going to be outstanding.I wish love, or affection, or whatever you want to call that deep attachment I have, was a matter of the will. But rather it seems a bit more like depression: A sane person can very much feel and be depressed and would love to be out of that mind state, but cannot for some reason pull themselves out of it alone. The same is true with what I'm dealing with. No matter how bad I wish to break that bond of hope to Amanda, I can't. It isn't something of the will, or if it is then I don't have enough will power.I was able to talk to Keri about it today - she is amazing, she is so understanding. Definitely wise beyond her years. I'm enjoying being able to open up to her more often. Before in relationships, I had always felt that if I appeared weak than they would leave me in a moment, or be upset with me at the least. This though process is obviously the devil toying with me.Speaking of, I have been under some heavy fire recently. On top of Amanda getting married, in the past two days I lost another beanie, burned some holes into my fleece pants, broke a piece off my knife, and just some more bad luck things of that sort.So hiking today sucked. People said this section was going to be flat but it wasn't in the least bit flat. the first part of the day was 3,000 feet of climbing. It was just a nasty day and my body is feeling the gring of it all.It's 10:30pm right now. Amanda has said her vows. All is done. That bit of hope that my heart had clung to for the past six years is now like a dieing coal, resting in the fire pit, being put out slowly by the cold wind. Tonight I sleep in sorrow, but tomorrow I rise up from the ashes like a Phoenix.peaches and cream and regular oatmeal---tuna on tortilla x2, chicken on tortilla x2---beef stroganov with noodles - mountain house, chicken flavored pasta
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Mill Creek, Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Ok, who put us in a refrigerator? It was freezing this morning but we managed to get hiking by 8am. We had town on our mind which included the Pizza Hut buffet. We have been craving that for over 3 weeks now. The last one we went to only had the salad bar but this one definitely had the buffet.So we finished the hike, hitched into town, went to the post office, then the library, then the grocery store, where I got way too much food - the product of shopping on an empty stomach. Then we headed over to Pizza Hut to celebrate my rising from the ashes like Phoenix.We hiked across town, starving, and arrived at the Hut, only to find that the buffet isn't served on the weekend. You don't understand what kind of let down that is. Think about the movie Nation Lampoon's Vaction and when the family goes through hell and finally arrives at Wally World only to find it closed for maintanence and that would come close to how pissed we felt.So we ended up going to another All-you-can-eat place, but it wasn't the same. But we ran into Dreamer there and his wife. It was great to see him again. After we ate he actually ended up giving us a ride to the outfitter and then to the trail. We said goodbye and then headed out.Now, we entered in to the Shenandoah mountains and from all the crap we've heard about this part of the trail, it better be flat and easy. Well, so far it isn't flat.I was thinking today of how I seclude myself in tough times and how I am trying to break that. Well, I found myself doing it again, spiritually. Though I have been talking more and more about how hard this Amanda situation has been, I have felt myself shy away from God and prayer. So I tried to pray harder, pushing through that wall. I hope Amanda is happy now, I really wish her an amazing marriage. She deserves that, she's a great girl.So I rolled into the shelter - only to find two boy scout troops there and a bunch of section hikers. Probably about 30 people total. Luckily the scouts were tenting so there was still room in the shelter. Braveheart showed up later, in obvious pain. His feet are getting worse. We prayed tonight for them that God would heal his feet, grace is the only way I think he's going to make it. He is just in so much pain. God, heal his feet please. Let him rise up tomorrow with fresh legs and feet. And may glory be given to you and your kingdom. That is my prayer.snickers marathon bar, honey bun---hamburger, fries, mountain dew, buffet - Gaven's restaurant---cheesy potatoes, chicken, mexican rice
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up last night a few times due to one of the younger boy scouts complaining that he was too cold. Poor guy. He must have been only 12 years old and come to find out, this was his first camping trip. He didn't have any of the right gear. Finally, one of the scout leaders helped him out and back to sleep I went - till I woke up for good to go hike.So I said bye to all the scouts and headed out. The hiking was pretty easy today, not much of a challege, which I'm all about. The only thing that was hold me back was my pack, I definitely bought way too much food. I snacked about every 30 minutes just to help get that weight down.I saw a lot of section hikers today, so that was a highlite, but other then that it was pretty borring. I did get a chance to talk to Momma and Pop Briggs so that was fun. They are totally cool about me coming to stay with them two Tuesdays from now so I can surprise Keri by showing up early. I can't wait! I really enjoy how her parents care for me. When I got on the phone with Pop he cut to the chase and was like, "How are you feeling son? Do you need food? Do you need money? How are your boots?" It was awesome. I feel like he really means to help, not just someone that would say those types of things just for conversation.Anyways, had a little interesting encouter with some winged insects at one of the shelters today. I was using the privy when something kept ramming my...area down below. It kept ramming me trying to get out from below. Freaked out, I scurried to set him free by standing up. But then bloodlust raged through me when I saw wasp nests all on the inside of the privy. Lucky for them there was a can of "Kill-All" wasp and hornet killer in the shelter. I grabbed it and went Anikin Skywalker all over those wasps, it was a lot of fun.So I kept going, trotting along. I passed Braveheart with about 6 miles left in the day. He seemed a bit down, in obvious pain. God, if it be your will, please heal him.So I pulled in to the shelter and found Elizabeth and Lewis, haven't seen them since GA.Krispy Kream donuts, banana---tuna and pepperoni on tortilla---cheesy potatoes, chicken, mexican rice
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Lewis Mountain Campground
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: clear sky

It shouldn't be this cold out. It's May and I'm wearing all my winter gear, lovely. Today the plan was going to be that Harlan, my aunts brother-in-law, would pick us up at Lewis mountain campground and we'd hand with him for a while. Well, we played phone tag with him all day and it ended up not working out. I did however have another goal: to make it to the campground store before it closed at 7pm.I hiked so hard, got there at 6:45pm, but guess what, it was closed. My book had the wrong time - wonderful. Right before I started to cry, not really, a guy named Dave yelled, "You are thru-hiker?" The rest is history. He and the group he was with, Ron, Linda, and Elisha, fed me with anything I wanted. It was awesome. I told them that Braveheart would be behind me so we made a sign and put it on the trail so he would come join us, and he did.And he looked so beat up - the worst I've seen him yet. Poor guy. He has been battling that foot condition like a champ and now all of the sudden it jumped to a new level. I fear for the worst with him. So we ate, drank, and enjoyed the company. They even gave us money for the pay showers! Rock on!Braveheart later came to the conclusion that his feet need a break so he isn't going to hike for about 2 weeks in hopes that they get better. Dave and his wife offered to give him a ride to Front Royal. I don't know why God is having it this way but He is - now we get to figure out what he has planned for us. We ended up staying the night with them. I slept under the tarp setup.Krispy Kream donuts---tuna and pepperoni on tortilaa---hot dogs x2, brautwurst, grapes, sierra mist, turkey and ham sanwhich, doritos
Date: 2006-05-02
From: Lewis Mountain Campground

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 27.5
Weather: clear sky

Saying bye to Braveheart this morning was tough. We had just finished some of the hardest stuff on the A.T. but now when we get to this part where we could cruise he goes down. I saw it in his face, he hated not being able to go on. I hope he gets better so he can join me after graduation.The first part of hiking today was a breeze, it was the flat stuff we kept hearing about. I treated myself to a nice lunch at this lodge that was up on a hill, boy that was good. The rest of the day sucked. A lot of climbs and a lot of rocks. Throughout the day I was able to look across the mountain range and see a forrest fire developing. That was neat. Smoke was everywhere.So recently I've been praying that I would be a Light for God out on the trail. I had my chance today but I feel like I blew it. I came across a tour group and they all stopped me and gawked at me like I was some sort of Rock Star. They asked me questions like, "What has been one of your experiences?" and "Why are you out here?" - That was my chance but I blew it. I told them about how there are such things as good people and I'm out here to think, which is all true but - I didn't take full advantage of such a great opportunity. God help me be a Light for you. Open my spiritual eyes.strawberry and cream oatmeal x2---steak and cheese, fries, blueberry sundae---Thai noodle x2
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 22.7

The couple that shared the shelter with me wok up at 5am, and woke me up in the process. I guess it was a good thing because I ended up having a nice early start on the day. I saw in the ledger that Spiritual Pilgrim planned on staying at Terrapin hostel so I looked it up and it was just the right amount of miles away I was looking for. So I headed out.I was up so early that I was able to eat breakfast at Elkwallow wayside. There I set up plans at the hostel, ate breakfast, then lunch, and then off hiking to finish off the day.Today I thought a great deal on purpose. And not in the sense of the deep, philosophical questions like, "what is the purpose of life?", but rather my purpose for a lot of things I ask God for when I pray. And I quickly realized how vital it was to really understand the reason why I ask Him for something. For instance, if on ewere to pray, "God, help me be a good person." there is a "why" question that must be asked of why you are asking God for that sort of thing. If your answer is becuase you don't like the consequences of being bad, or you hate getting caught, or that you want to make a good impression on people, or that you want people to like you, then you are fooling yourself and the devil is enjoying those selfish reasons. The focus there is on you, not God. You just turned God from your heavenly Father, to your Dad at home to whom you sit on his lap, bat your eyes, and ask for money so you can hang out with your friends tonight.Now granted, wanting to be a better person, or not being a bad person, or wanting to make a good impression on people can all be good things but only if you are going after them for the glory of God, otherwise they are selfish thoughts from a corrupt heart. If our purpose for everything isn't to advance the Kingdom of God, then we must be careful because we might be close to gracing the fires of hell. God's Kingdom must be our purpose for everything, if it isn't then we are putting the focus on us and therefore being as self-centered as we usually are as fallen man.So I got the hostel, which was 2 miles further then I thought it was, and was greeted by B-Man. He showed me around. I took a shower, did some laundry, then B-Man dropped me off in Front Royal for dinner. I tore up that All-you-can-eat. Interesting people were at this restaurant. There was one lady, probably 35 years old, that had an enormous hole in her jeans, located convienently at her left butt cheek, gross.So Mike, the owner of the hostel, and B-Man picked me up and took me to the grocery store. Then we headed back to the hostel where I watched some playoff hockey with B-Man and then called Mom and then Keri. Those girls keep me up so late.tuna---egg muffin x2, sobe energy drink - Elkwallow wayside---steak and cheese sandwhich, sobe energy drink - Elkwallow wayside---buffet - Victoria's