morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFTKiUB-s_8I learned that at least a few people read this yesterday! Which is good to know. I got a small set of question from one reader that I tried to answer today in a wonderful, rambling video. The link is up at the top.The main discussion of the day is Nobo vs Sobo. I'll give a quick Pro vs Con hereNobo Pros:1) Lots of people to hang out with and meet2) Easier miles at start, along with easier resupplies and gear changing stops3) Hard stuff is all later on, more in shape4) Much more trail magic5) You get to walk to KathadinNobo Cons:1) Lots of people and bubbles. Big groups are a turn off for me personally. Can also impact resupply/shelter stays2) Scenery can be a little duller - you don't really see as much season change.3) Weather usually very wet4) It's what Everyone else doesSobo Pros: 1)You get to be different2) Once you get done with Maine, everything seems super easy3) Get to meet everyone coming North4) Less people overall. That can be good if you like alone timeSobo Cons:1) Not as many people. You don't have as big of a social experience as Nobos do usually. But that can also mean you don't get stuck in party vortex as easily2) Weather dependent more than Nobo. An early winter can ruin your hike.3) You have to carry more food out of the gateAll of that being said, I wouldn't trade my Sobo for anything. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It taught me that I was capable of just about anything, and directly led to me coming back this year and heading north. Drop me a line if you have any other questions, or want me to get into any other topics! Drop in edit- I realized I only hit half of your questions Robyn! I'll get the rest tomorrow! Whoops on my part!
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

A zero day. A dentist day. I hate the dentist. Having someone poke and prod around your teeth with metal instruments is not my idea of fun. The positive to the whole experience was that my dental hygenist was a wonderfully cute and funny lady who had gone to my college. Of course she was 5 years younger than me. I think I busted parties she had gone to when I was working for the college police department. On the real plus side though, no cavities and no problems. Pretty good for someone who hasn't been to a dentist in 3 years! Apparently drinking water all day everyday stops buildup from occurring on your teeth. Who knew?
Date: 2013-06-29
From: Washington, DC

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Invictus still isn't better. Took her to the doctor and she got some antibiotics for Lyme. We don't actually know if it is Lyme but she wanted to be safer rather than sorry. Spent some time talking with Roadkill and man, is she one hell of a lady. Real fun girl.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

I kind of never want to zero again....Invictus is still not doing well. Roadkill is chomping at the bit to get back to the trail but doesn't want to leave Invictus alone. She's also talking about doing hard 20s through PA. If she does she'll be hiking near me I think, which would be quite enjoyable. Who knows though. The Trail is full of all kinds of people to meet
Date: 2013-07-05
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Pine Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: light rain

It feels so good to be back. It feels right and good and like I'm right where I should be.Wait. No. I should be 2 weeks ahead of here! One of the biggest disadvantages of that many zero days is the simple fact that you come back and know no one. Yesterday was awesome because it showed me that there were still people i knew in the area.Banged out some good miles though today, despite a late start. Was hoping to catch up to Roadkill and Acorn as they are about a day ahead but I learned this evening that Roadkill went back to Harpers. Her foot was really hurting her bad apparently and she is a little worried it might be broken.I've really come to like Roadkill, she's fun and interesting so if you could add her to your list of positive karma thoughts and prayers for hikers that would be awesome. Don't forget the others either! People like Invictus, Standup etc. We all could use a little positive thinking in our general direction.Also when did this humidity show up? This was not here when I got off. I guess summer really and truly has arrived. It's hard to believe that I was praying for heat back in the smokies when it was frozen every night. Now I'm sitting in my sleeping bag lined sweating to death.Oh how the times change (and yet stay completely the same)
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Pine Knob Shelter 

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

One of the nicest things about trail magic is just how unexpected it is. I know I've said this before but I just can't belabor this enough. When you don't expect it everything seems amazing.especially when it is.Today I walked into Ensign Cowall shelter at 11am, after doing about 9 miles. I was planning on watering up and pushing forward to penmar park and beyond. As I was getting ready to leave a group shows up. Carrying food. Lots of it."Hungry? Want a burrito? Chips and salsa? An ice cold beer?" And with those words my motivation left me in favor of people and food. Copperhead and Huckleberry were there as well, with their dog lilly. I hadn't seen them since dismal falls so we talked and ate. The group that put the magic on consisted of 3 09 thru hikers and several of their friends including a wonderful lady from Japan named Souki (I have not the slightest clue how to spell out of course...). She rolled burritos perfectly- she once worked in a burrito joint. Turns out they'd all gone to school together in Buffalo.It was a marvelous afternoon in the shade which was good because it was another day of 94 degree heat with stupid humidity. One of the big pluses of my southbound? No stupid humidity like this.Talked to Roadkill today, she got picked up by the awesome Miss Janet and was spending the day off her foot. She can walk on it done without a pack but it sounds like with the pack is an issue. I hope she stays on trail, Im seeing too many people I care about getting off. Also may catch up to Acorn tomorrow, which would be awesome because I've been playing catch up with her for forever. But then who knows what tomorrow brings. I'm just happy as a clam to still be out here.And seriously, are clams really that happy? Anyone?
Date: 2013-07-07
From: Raven Rock Shelter

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 23.2

Since I wasn't doing the 4 state challenge I wasn't expecting to see anyone roll into Raven Rocks while I was asleep, since it was so close to the border. Imagine my surprise when Rambles and his crowd came on by at 10pm. They were heading to the park just to be in PA.The next morning I got up early to beat the heat And humidity. I was at PenMar by around 8 and was dumbstruck by who awaited me there.Talker and Delorean!I haven't seen either of these characters since Marion VA. There were hugs and backslaps all around and we traded trail gossip. I learned of more people who had gotten off and they told me that Saga and Peewee German were just up ahead.Trail gossip goes hand in hand with trail registers when it comes to relaying information to all the hikers out there. It always seems like trail gossip outpaces cell phone coverage at times.Then plan was to push to Caledonia because Acorn had told me that there was trail magic of epic proportions there. Boy was she right! There was a whole uhaul trailer full of food there and for dinner they were serving chicken parmigiana!There were also a number of people I hadn't seen in forever. In addition to Talker and Delorean, Saga and Peewee, there was Chief Hike-a-trail, Rainbow Bright, Bear cloud and many others.One of those people was Acorn. Acorn started about 2 weeks ahead of me and I had set a long term goal of eventually catching up to her, as we had both had to take off time at around the same time. Acorn has a great blog over st Acornhikes.com so go check it out!
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Talker's Cabin (Pine Grove Furnace Park)
Miles today: 19.1

Whoa! We're halfway there!Whoooooa! We're living on the trail!Take my hand, we'll make it I swear!Whoa! Living on the trail!We punched out miles today to the halfway marker! It was quite amazing to think that we are halfway done with the AT.Of course, it's only been about 40% of the effort buy we'll be moving into the fun stuff shortly. Talker let us stay at his families cabin here which was awesome. Ms Janet even dropped by tonight and hung out. Overall a beautiful day. I won't describe the half gallon challenge I did today because it still hurts and is so fresh in my memory
Date: 2013-07-09
From: Talker's Cabin (Pine Grove Furnace Park)

To: Talker's Cabin (Pine Grove Furnace Park)
Miles today: 0.0

We zeroed. Why did we zero? Because we can.Let's talk about the half gallon challenge. Of really the half a pint short of a half gallon. It hurt. A lot. Like a lot a lot. Things you shouldn't do with chocolate Chip cookie dough. Because if you do, you'll end up with a big pile of cookie dough bits at the bottom.Which I what I had.Just ow
Date: 2013-07-10
From: Talker's Cabin (Pine Grove Furnace Park)

To: James Fry (Tagg Run) Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: light rain

One thing I love about leaving in the afternoon is how your expectations continually are lowered the longer you wait. "Were doing 18 today!""Eh let's go to the second shelter. Like 15." "Let's head out. We'll do like 6 to the first shelter""Screw it. We're camping right here."Can you guess which stage we were at towards the end of the afternoon? Our expectations were extremely low by 4pm.The whole crowd got out of town though. Except for Talker who is down with a foot issue. There is a possibility of this being a stress fracture but at the least its tendinitis. Hopefully its the later because that will only mean a week off.
Date: 2013-07-11
From: James Fry (Tagg Run) Shelter

To: Stealth Site near PA 994
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: overcast clouds

One of the most jarring transitions in my opinion is the jump from forest to field that we have upon entering the Cumberland Valley. At around 15 miles, the Cumberland Valley is flat, fast and it has a tendency to get HOT in the summer, due to the limited tree cover and the plethora of fields. Luckily in the middle lies the little town of Boiling Springs. Towns mean a rest stop, food, and most importantly - Ice Cream.I find it a little amusing that I'm already talking about ice cream again so soon after the Half-Gallon Challenge, when I said that I'd be taking a break from ice cream for awhile. Nope. I got to Cafe 101 and ate a buffalo chicken salad and then had a double scoop of rainbow sherbert. Delicious.We had a late dinner at the Scott Work Center, where we were treated to a beautiful sunset from over the barn. The plan was to night hike into the Darlington Shelter, only a few miles away from the work center, but we got on the trail and realized something.We were a little short on lights. The conversation went a little like this...Saga: Hey guys, my headlamp is a little dim, does someone else want to lead? Delorean?Delorean: Ummmm.... My headlamp doesn't have any batteries. So no.Peewee: I think mine is dead as well. Whoops.Dimples: Doc can you get up front? You are all a little faster than me.I gave Delorean my Steripen with the light turned on to hike with, and we pulled off on to a stealth site after only 2 miles of night hiking.Yep. Worst night hikers ever.
Date: 2013-07-12
From: Stealth Site near PA 994

To: The Doyle, Duncannon PA
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: clear sky

Ahhhh the Doyle. The Best Worst Hotel you'll ever fall in love with as Hiker Trash.Pat and Vickey run the Doyle, which is a historic building and have kept it open and running for hikertrash for many years now. It's the unofficial headquarters for Billville as well - which is the reason I made it here on the time frame I did.You see, Billville was having a hiker feed. Billville loves to confuse and bewilder the humorless (and have been doing so for many years now)and they also love to take care of hikers.Trail Angel Mary and Jester, the King of Billville, join forces to put this Red Blaze of Freedom Feed on.It's truly a joy. We hiked on into the Doyle and I split a room with Peewee German, since the feed didn't officially kick off until tomorrow. Actually it started tonight, but I love to patronize the Doyle, as it's the only Hiker Centric hotel on the Trail. So I got to eat the delicious food out of the kitchen (Chuckwagon burger if you were wondering- I know you were) and had a super cheap beer (oh it's grand to be near the Yuengling Brewery.)Why do I love the Doyle? Because you have all of the characters there. Baltimore Jack, Jester, Mathewski, The Dude, Can-Du and every other Red Blaze Billville Brigade member.It makes you feel amazing to just be a part of the group for just a little while
Date: 2013-07-13
From: The Doyle, Duncannon PA

To: The Doyle, Duncannon PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

I realized today I've taken a lot of zeroes already in PA. I don't care. I'm with the people I love.One of those people is Jester. Jester is a triple crowner, someone who has completed all three long distance hikes in the USA - the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. That means he's one hardcore dude. He's also a hilarious person, and a great filmaker. At the hiker feed today he gave us a viewing of his new film about the PCT the followed his hike, called "Embrace the Brutality". It was deliciously good and followed his story as he grappled with the monster that is the CDT. He also has done an amazing one on the PCT as well, called "Wizards of the PCT" which is also hilarious. Basically check his movies out. www.tbwproductions.com/He currently has a great deal that lets you get both trail movies for a $5 discount ($35! What a steal) and in my opinion, is one of the better movies about long distance trail hiking (Maybe I'm biased, so sue me).The feed was great, I got to do laundry and see amazing people all over again. Have I mentioned I love being a NoBo and seeing people all the time? I even got to see Spark2Fire again! I haven't seen her since Damascus/Trail Days (http://spark2fire.wordpress.com/)and it was great to see her again.I could go on and on about all kinds of things but I think the whole night is best described by my reaction to the Duncannon winery bottle that Jester brought with him."I've licked hobos that taste better than this wine."Thank you all for reading. Much love to all.
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Duncannon thru PA

To: Vernon, Nj
Miles today: 210.1
Weather: light rain

It's August 2nd.I know I haven't updated in a bit and a half, and for many that usually means they have gotten off, but I'm still on.I'm in New York.I survived the rocks of Pennsylvania, the rocks of Jersey and now I'm in another new state rolling onwards. So ill try and fill you in on the last bit of journaling I've not gotten up.The real important thing is I'm mostly healthy. I came out of PA unscathed, and up until a week ago I hadn't had any type of pain or injury at all. Than my plantar fascia started acting up a bit. Nothing too terrible but it was a bit of a hindrance. It's slowed me down quite a bit, enough that I took a two day off in Vernon NJ at Dimples house.Another reason I've been going a little slower is I've been hiking with someone else. That someone else happens to be a wonderful lady who I have come to care about quite a bit. She came back from an injury to involving her ankle and foot and has been a little slower than what I was usually doing.I care enough about her to alter my hike. If that's not love I don't know what is.I think I want to go to Katahdin with this lady. That in itself is scary to me. When I came back this was going to be my journey, my hike. I now care so much about someone it hurts,and I'm letting them into my life, and my hike.Most of you don't know me in any capacity beyond this Trail Journal, so you may not have noticed that I'm a bit of a control freak, as well as having commitment issues. So this is a bit of a big step for me to acknowledge.I want to write more about this whole thing, but my time is running short. There are so many important things to mention, like terrain,new shoes that are coming, the support I've been getting from my parents, the side trips I've taken. Instead of all that (and there is quite a bunch) I'll leave you with this.We don't chose who we fall in love with. It just happens sometimes. When it does you have to hold on tight because it's something worth keeping.Will update more soon! Much love
Date: 2013-08-13
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 54.8
Weather: light intensity drizzle

I'm sitting in a hospital. I'm fine. Roadkill is not. She hasn't been for a 6 days. Serious GI problems all around.We're both pretty sure she has Giardia. No fun.This is no fun at all. Giardia does terrible things to your body, you don't want to mess with this stuff. It's one of several water borne parasites or bacteria that hikers are always warned about. After a while though you begin to get complacent. "This water is moving fast, it's clear! Should be safe to drink without filtering it!" Treating your water can be a hassle, and this lackadaisical attitude grows.And then someone ends up Giardia. I'll spare you the gruesome details, if you want them, go check out Wikipedia. The kicker of getting Giardia though is treating it. It's fairly simple enough- massive antibiotics dosage, rest and water. Kill it and flush it. The problem here? Roadkill has no health insurance.WhoopsSo a day ago we jumped up to Great Barrington because we were told there was a free clinic here. Thanks to everyone by the way who responded to our cry for help on Facebook. However, turns out the fire clinic? Not so free after all."You don't live in Massachusetts? You don't have insurance? We can't help you. Go to the hospital. Its only a mile away. You do have a car right?"That was about 15 seconds after we had explained we were hikers.So to the hospital we went! Roadkill got the most expensive antibiotics ever from there! Wheeee. At least she got them right?Moving on to other things that resulted from our time in town.I go myself a kite, which I am planning on flying from the tops of balds and peaks. I've been thinking about doing this for a few hundred miles or so now, having been inspired by Jester to do this wonderfully silly thing. I love it.Also of other important news is the fact that I'm in Massachusetts! I'm in the New England states again, and I'm loving it. The mountains up here are one of the big reasons I came back. I fell in love with these mountains and the views they gave me last year. I fell in love with the pain and suffering they caused my body in climbing them. I fell in love with the work they forced me to do, and the sense of achievement they gave me on the tops of them.I'm thrilled to be back. I know I said I'd be posting on here regularly last time, and I didn't. Well I will be from now on. Journaling is going back into my daily routine. It did me well in the south and I missed it for quite awhile. So now I'm buckling back down to it. Much love everyone.
Date: 2013-08-14
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Money is hard to talk about.I don't know a single person who finds it easy to discuss their financial situation with others.Actually as soon as I typed that I realized that I do know people who find it easy to talk about their money. Usually it's because they grew up with buckets of it.For me at least,money is difficult. I haven't always been on top of it, and i certainly haven't had a lot of it ever in my life it feels like.On this hike,and last years as well, I've learned quite a bit about living even cheaper than I ever imagined. I've learned what I really need in life and what is a luxury. What I still haven't learned all the way is how to save all the money I really needed for this trip.So now I'm turning to you. Every single one of you for a little help. I'm hoping that all the positive trail karma I've built up will help. I'm hoping the trail will provide.I'm hoping that I can finish the last 668.2 miles of this journey.How can you help me?You can go over to your couch and dive for change. And then donate that change to this hike.http://www.gofundme.com/nobospiceThe realist in me doesn't expect much from people I've never met. Why would you help someone youve never met,on a journey that isn't yours,with a problem of his own creation.The hiker in me,and the dreamer has seen what people do out here. How they help each other all the time. How it all works out.I remember that, and I remember how the trail provides. And then I know it'll all be all right in the end.Much love to everyone out there.
Date: 2013-08-16
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 19.1

I left Roadkill today. We'll see each other again. Hopefully in Bennington in a few days. She really was not feeling well this morning and I hope she is feeling better.I did miles though. I feel like I haven't done many miles lately at all. It was nice to stretch my legs and empty my mind and hike as fast as I could. The miles were just eaten up by day, and before I knew it I was at upper goose pond. Upper goose is a wonderful cabin in the woods. It sits right on a pond and you can even order pizza to a dock, and as long as you canoe to it you can pick it up. I didn't even have to though-the caretakers had made beef and vegetables stew. Delicious. It's weird writing everyday again. Remembering everything that goes on in the day and thinking about what to write about, the things I leave out sometimes seem more important than the things I do write about.Maybe tomorrow will all be inner thoughts
Date: 2013-08-17
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

I think there is a direct correlation between what time I get up and what time I leave. Anytime I can get up and early, and more importantly moving before 8am I have a tendency to do big miles. Anytime I wait around, dilly dally and generally screw around, it do small miles.Ergo, today I didn't leave Upper Goose Pond until 2pm. I got to 9 miles or so and called it quits for the day.There are good reasons I left late! They had blueberry pancakes (delicious!) and canoes to paddle around in (my shoulders hurt) and people to talk to all over (I really like talking to Uke, he's such a trip!) so that I didn't feel bad at all hanging around. That is not to say that I didn't have moments where I knew I needed to be hiking. I'm supposed to meet my mom for a pickup in a few days in Bennington, VT and only doing 9 miles means I'll have to do some stupid miles to get there. Oh well, very worth it in my opinion. I got to October Mountain and found several weekender families and a couple from Richmond, VA! The man is a math teacher in one of the adjoining counties and the lady is a adminstrator at the community college system. It's always awesome to run into people from the home town areas.Which continued when Bon Air and Jolly Rancher showed up, with Zach Galifinakis! Both Bon Air and Jolly are also from Richmond, so it's like a big old Richmond reunion. It was great to see ZG again, and he continues to be a riot no matter what. It was even more amazing because it was Bon Air's birthday today! We celebrated with some little debbies.It's amazing to me still, how amazing something like a brownie can make you feel.It feels like heaven.