morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-02-20
To: Some points IÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂd like to make while on the A.T.
Miles today: 0.0

Sixteen years ago today, Alex Jarrett, practicing with his new G.P.S. unit, noticed he was not far away from the imaginary point where the 43 North Latitude line crossed the 72 West Longitude line. He wondered what the spot (or ¢confluence¢ of a whole integer latitude ¢ longitude, as he called it) might look like. So, he and a buddy ¢bicycled 10 miles and walked one more through the woods to a nondescript spot by a swamp.¢ Sure enough, he saw ten zeroes on his GPS!Back home, he decided it would be neat if he could start a website to record a systematic snapshot of Planet Earth, a series of photos taken facing N, E, S, and W at each of these confluence points. Early on, his ¢Degree Confluence Project¢ was selected as one of the¢100 Most Useless Websites.¢ But since then, more than 12,000 people have recorded 6,692 ¢Confluence¢ visits in 184 countries, posting 99,646 pictures along the way!To commemorate Alex¢s initial visit, since 2004 I have declared February 20th as ¢International Confluence Day,¢ and tried to visit a confluence in as many different states as possible on each anniversary date. In 2010, my eccentric adventures took me to New England on ICD, where I was able to record visits in NH, VT, NY, CT, and MA (there are no such points in tiny RI).Pictured here is the 43o N, 73o W confluence point, which other than that notoriety, would be a just another non-descript spot in the Vermont woods. Well, OK, even with that notoriety, it is still a non-descript spot in the Vermont woods¢¦ But 43o N, 73o W is one of only about three such confluences that are Close Encounters with the A.T. (two others are in VA and NH; and when you think about it, even with a 2,000 mile trail, what are the odds of exactly hitting one of these widely spaced imaginary points???). 43N 73W is about three miles ESE and about 800¢ lower than the Kid Gore Shelter on the Appalachian Trail. Following the drainage of the Glastenbury River down from the trail would bring you within 1,000 yards of the cp. At this point a north-bound thru hiker would have just about 34 of his 2184 mile trip behind him. I¢m keeping this in mind as this is one of several such points I¢d like to make while on the A.T. in 2012...-N
Date: 2012-02-21
To: Preparing for the same day over and over and over
Miles today: 0.0

Somebody asked me today, "N, if you could be anywhere in the world, where would you like to be?" And I said to him, "Prob'ly right here ¢ Woodstock, Illinois, sunny skies and upper 30s today." Out in California, they're gonna have some warm weather tomorrow, gang wars, and some *very* overpriced real estate. Up in the Pacific Northwest, as you can see, they're gonna have some very, very tall trees.¢-N Trovert, Paraphrasing "the talent" in a movie classic...Getting ready for the physical demands of the Appalachian Trail is tough enough, but how do you prepare for the equally demanding mental challenges. Specifically getting ready to deal with the ¢Long Green Tunnel,¢ having to get up every day for months on end, and having to do the same thing, over and over and over¢¦ Well, it occurred to us that if you were going to repeat the exact same day¢s routine again and again, there was no better model to copy than the 1993 movie ¢Groundhog Day¢ staring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Bill Murray plays Pittsburg weatherman Phil Connors who reluctantly travels to Punxsutawney PA to cover the February 2nd festivities, and winds up having to relive the same day hundreds (probably thousands? Maybe hundreds of thousands??) of times, before getting it right.The movie was actually filmed in Woodstock IL, northwest of Chicago, so when International Confluence Day brought us to the area for the weekend, we decided we had to spend some time at some of the town¢s prominent locations from the movie. Unfortunately, the private home which was shown as the Cherry Street Inn B & B in the movie, and which has since become a B & B in real life was already full for the weekend. So we only had our one day to practice for repetition on the actual set of Groundhog Day. It may not be enough to help, but it probably couldn¢t hurt either¢¦-N
Date: 2012-02-22
To: Day 5: Final Shakedown Hike in September 2011
Miles today: 0.0

[After a brief hiatus for our observance of "International Confluence Day," we return to Day 5 of our 2011 preparation hike: September 25th ¢ in three states, including the state of confident renewal] After spending an extra night in Franklin so X could let her heel blisters recover a little more, we were a day behind schedule. Some may say we skipped a 24 mile section of the A.T. We prefer to say we decided to save the excitement of the infamous Albert Mountain (5250¢) for our thru hike. And we¢d already conquered mile-high mountains on this trip, so there was no compelling reason not to bypass the 5498¢ Standing Indian Mountain this time, as well. In any case, Kathy Miller shuttled us to the end of Forest Service Road 71, and we rejoined the A.T. at Deep Gap.We were passed by two hunters in camo gear on the day¢s first climb (at least their dog and pistol indicated they were hunters¢¦), then got back in our stride as we approached Chunky Gal Trail. We met a NOBO¢er whose tale of woe was that mice had gotten in his large (and only) bag of GORP the previous night at the Muskrat Creek Shelter. And indeed when we arrived at the very trashy shelter, we found a huge pile of (good old) raisins, peanuts, and M&M¢s in the fire ring. It would be days before another local mouse had to gnaw through a food package to procure a meal¢¦We were quite excited to reach the Georgia ¢ North Carolina line at Bly Gap, and satisfied to call it a day at Plumorchard Gap.-N
Date: 2012-02-24
To: Day 7: Final Shakedown Hike in September 2011
Miles today: 0.0

[Our 2011 preparation hike continues:September 27th ¢ South of Sassafras Gap: Climbing Tray, Rocky, & Blue Mountains] My memories of this day are colored by the losing battle we fought against the mice of Blue Mountain Shelter. Their speed and agility at passing barriers on the bear cables is truly a wonder to behold, if it didn¢t mean the following morning you¢d have to deal with a food bag full of holes. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!But I digress.We packed up a wet tent in the morning, and walked a trail heavy with rain droplets and dew. As things turned out, it rained on us in some form or fashion the first five days of our SDH, but from here on out the rain was over and we had nothing but beautiful, blue-sky days. Early on we found the path blocked by a truly spectacular spider web. If the Blue Mountain mice could take up such a hobby, and weave such art, instead of indulging in pack vandalism, it would save hikers much aggravation.But, again, I digress.We had three separate 1,000¢ climbs to deal with, and were glad when we topped Climb #3 to find Blue Mountain Shelter. The shelter sits along the spine of Blue Mountain offering up spectacular views to the east and to the west. Because of the combination of the views, the gentle breeze and cloudless night sky, it turned out to be a great spot to call it a day. We ran the still damp tent up the bear cables, and with the nice breeze blowing, it was dry in no time. We had seen few hikers all day, and so we had Blue Mountain to ourselves for the evening.Although, as already mentioned, we did wind up sharing it with the mice¢¦-N
Date: 2012-02-25
To: Day 8: Final Shakedown Hike in September 2011
Miles today: 0.0

[Our 2011 preparation hike continues: September 28th ¢ A day with many friendly people and one grouse] There are days when it seems you can¢t get eye contact, must less a ¢hello,¢ from passing hikers. This was not one of those days. Just one congenial person after another¢¦ And every one of them with an interesting story. Many like us, thinking and planning and practicing for a much longer A.T. hike in the future.The hike from Blue Mountain to Low Gap featured a lot of wide, level trail and was much appreciated. We surveyed everyone we met on water conditions ahead, and decided taking on the weight of some extra water at Low Gap Shelter was the smart move. Later we were glad we had. The water source at Hogpen Gap was not even a wet spot on the ground.Wildcat Mountain was a very quick up-and-down, but just as we started the descent, we scared up a grouse just in front of a switch-back. Very close and very dramatic. Once again, an amazing sight came and went with our cameras tucked away¢¦At Hogpen Gap, a man had told us he had passed an older hiker who was a little strange. We reached Tesnatee Gap at the same time this gentleman did. He was out of water, and so bundled up in clothes only his face showed. He had to be hot. We encouraged him to stay at the road, as a passing car would probably be his best source of help, given the dry trail conditions ahead. We did not linger, but kept an eye on him as we headed up and around to Cowrock Mountain. We were relieved to see a truck stop within two minutes, offer him a Gatorade, and then give him a ride to town.Just after cresting Cowrock, we found an open level campsite with a great view to the east. We set up the tent without using the fly, rationed our water, cooked our dinner, and settled in for the night. What a pleasant evening on the A.T. -X
Date: 2012-02-26
To: Day 9: Final Shakedown Hike in September 2011
Miles today: 0.0

[Our 2011 preparation hike continues with A Stop at the Walasi-Yi Center]From Cowrock Mountain, we has an easy five mile, mostly downhill jaunt to Neels Gap and the wonder¢s of Winton Porter¢s Mountain Crossings. Somewhere along here we encountered one of our more interesting passers-by: a 40-something who looked like he¢d made a spur of the moment trip to his garage, and loaded up the first 50 pounds he encountered. He said with his life in transition (I think he meant crisis) ¢ he¢d lost his wife, lost his job; he¢d decided to hike the trail with his plan ¢to go north until it got too cold, or he ran out of money.¢ So far, he¢d only been averaging about five miles a day. I¢ve since often wondered how far he made it¢¦We heard traffic from U.S. 19 well before our arrival, but finally there was the famous archway that makes this the only place where the A.T. goes through a building. We made arrangements to stay overnight in the hostel (we asked ¢any room left?¢ but in fact were the only guests for the evening.) And of course there was some looking around the store. Which led to some questions with George (who, as her father is a rep for Granite Gear, is a second generation outdoor equipment expert). Which led to the full examination of our packs we had envisioned back when planning this trip. George (Thankfully) could find little in our gear she would put in the ¢surplus/ unnecessary¢ category, but she did have some good advice on stuffing our tent away each morning to save both time and space, rather than carefully folding everything as was our custom. In addition to a new waterproof stuff sack for said tent, George convinced me into trying a hiking skirt (a kilt no less!), which looks promising for the warmer months. She also introduced us to a new brand of freeze dried food.Although we had the place to ourselves, our host ¢Pirate¢ offered to cook us dinner and we happily accepted. Chicken and rice, and a salad. Quite tasty! (N: ¢Pirate, when was the last time you were on the A.T.?¢ Pirate: ¢Why just today I did the entire width of the trail twelve times.¢) We both resisted the urge to ask Pirate about the famous tale of his selecting music for Manuel Noriega¢¦Fed, showered, and tired, we turned in early and slept well.-X
Date: 2012-02-27
To: Day 10: Final Shakedown Hike in September 2011
Miles today: 0.0

[Our 2011 preparation hike comes to an end: September 30th ¢ back to Dahlonega] Although we had added a few items the day before, thanks to leaving a ¢pick up later¢ box with the good folks at Mountain Crossings, for the final leg from Neels Gap to Woody Gap, we were traveling so light it was more like slack packing. Thus we didn¢t mind starting the final day with a steep climb. On top of Blood Mountain, the wind chill reinforced there had been a change in the weather, and when we weren¢t moving, it felt downright cold. By mid morning, the sun was both out and up, and the temperature was no longer an issue. We called the Hiker Hostel from the crest above Woody Gap and in a matter of minutes after we got to the parking lot, Nature Boy was there to pick us up; and after retrieving our car, I made it back to Mountain Crossings before they closed for the day to pick up the rest of our stuff. I was also able to get an autographed copy of Winton Porter¢s ¢Just Passin¢ Thru.¢With X now in charge of tracking down good local restaurants, we got advice at the Hiker Hostel, and enjoyed a pleasant meal overlooking a rehearsal dinner at the Oar House Restaurant east of town. Back from an early dinner, a number of folks sat around the table, with Josh providing us his insights on hitchhiking and the A.T.. We hadn¢t considered hitching as that much of a trail necessity, but after an hour of listening to his strategy and tips, we had pretty much altered our plans for the Spring to include more thumbing for a ride.We were not anxious to be heading home the next morning. We did much additional planning on the drive home, trying to wrap our heads around the notion that, although it was six months away, the next time we stepped on the trail we¢d be walking all the way to Maine¢¦-N
Date: 2012-02-29
To: Part 1: How the Whites Kicked our Butts
Miles today: 0.0

How the Whites Kicked our Butts in 2009: Pinkham Notch (Hermit Lake, Tuckerman Ravine) to Mt. Washington (and back)When I was a child, my mother was forever planning and organizing family camping trips for my father, my older brother and me. Since she was not a ¢beach person,¢ those camping trips always involved mountains and, and since I grew up in southern Chester County PA, to find mountains we were usually headed to the New England states. I can remember two occasions when we spent time in the White Mountains. What I do not remember is how tough it is hiking in them! [How is it possible for me to forget something like that?!]In August 2009, I had a conference at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, New Hampshire. Lulled by my dis-remembrance of the Challenge of the Whites, I came up with the absolutely brilliant plan of going up the previous weekend and doing a few days hike near Mt. Washington (Pickham Notch to Crawford Notch). Then, N would continue solo on to Franconia Notch, while I attended the meeting. Back in March we had conquered the Mt. Everest basecamp, so certainly some piddling little ole USA mountain wouldn¢t cause us in problems¢¦ However, over the summer we had gotten soft (that¢s a polite word for ¢fat¢), and lost our Nepal hiking trim. The result was over the next six days, the White Mountains kicked our collective butts!!! The trail up Mt. Washington from Pinkham Notch through Tuckerman Ravine is rocky and not easy-going. You need to pick and choose your foot placement. (...but which does give you an excuse to stop and catch your breath!) The trail criss-crosses a drainage, which I imagine can get pretty wet on rainy days. It was humid when we set out on August 23, 2009. We set up our tent at Hermit Lake, where we grabbed a quick snack, left our gear, and made our way up Tuckerman¢s Ravine to the top of Mount Washington. At 6,288¢, Washington is a serious climb and one needs to be prepared for all types of weather. Just because it might be clear below, doesn¢t mean there won¢t be clouds, rain, and wind on top. And before we had climbed out of the Ravine, that¢s indeed what we had¢¦ Perhaps it was a good thing we climbed in the fog, as the uphill sight of the trail could have completely destroyed our morale. We finally arrived on top to find the facilities there were about to close for the day. We rushed to find a warm drink and a snack, write and mail a few hasty postcards, and then get directions from a sales clerk on how to find the summit sign. We were so ¢socked in¢ on top, we didn¢t have a clue about locating it on our own¢¦Realizing it was already past time when we should have started back down, we decided to take a different route, and come down Lion Head Trail. Big mistake! Worse than the other! And about half way down off of Lion Head, very hairy as we descended in the dark. What a relief to find our tent. If we hadn¢t left our car at Crawford Notch and caught the shuttle around, we¢d have called it quits right then¢¦-X
Date: 2012-03-01
To: Part 2: How the Whites Kicked our Butts 
Miles today: 0.0

How the Whites Kicked our Butts in 2009:Tuckerman Ravine (Davis Path) to Lake of the Clouds to Nauman TentsiteWaking up to chilly, dreary weather at Hermit Lake Camp, one of our choices was retracing our route from the previous day back up to the A.T. But we said, surely to goodness, any other trail out of Tuckerman Ravine would have to be easier! So, we decided to try the climb up to the Davis Path on the opposite side of the ravine.And quickly discovered how wrong we were. This route was even worse! We were already chewed up and spit out by the time we got up the 1,300¢ to the ridge, and headed over towards the Lake of the Clouds Hut. We stopped in to look around, and, more importantly, warm ourselves up. It¢s amazing how good a bowl of soup can taste at 5,125¢ if you¢re out of the elements.As we bypassed the summit of Mt. Monroe, cold rain with sleet mixed in was blowing past us sideways. The precip eased up as we slowly made our way pass Mt. Franklin, Mt. Eisenhower, and Mt. Pierce/ Clinton (for Gov. DeWitt, not Pres. Bill). The elevation trend was generally level or downhill, but you sure couldn¢t tell it from our pace. By the time we got to the sharp drop down to the Mispah Springs Hut, it was already getting dark, but we were able to find an empty space in the neighboring Nauman tentsite.For those of you keeping score at home, however many rounds there were today, they all went to the Presedential Range...-N
Date: 2012-03-02
To: Part 3: How the Whites Kicked our Butts 
Miles today: 0.0

How the Whites Kicked our Butts in 2009:Mizpah Spring Hut to Webster Cliff to Crawford Notch2009 was a year with some great A.T. trail journal writers, and all summer we had read several with relish: Gangsta and Wags, Ned the Fed, Tagless & Tag-along, Bark & Berry. So when we decided to do six days in the White Mountains, we wanted to hike southbound and see if we might run into any of the folks we¢d been following online. After getting back home, we found out we had had a couple of near misses, but just as we were starting down from the top of Webster Cliff, low and behold, who do we run into but Ned the Fed and Waterboy! Why it was almost like running into some big movie star at your local grocery store. We were in such a state of awe, we couldn¢t think of what to say, much less get an autograph. But it was certainly a highlight of the trip¢¦And beyond that, the day was by far the best of my three in the Presidentials. Once we gained some elevation past Mizpah, we were treated to some really great views, all the way back to Mt. Washington. And even if they were mostly boggy, there were a few almost level sections.I know it¢s called the ¢Webster Cliff Trail,¢ but by my definition, if it¢s so steep you can¢t see the next step in front of you, it¢s too steep to be a trail. That¢s a climb. Many trees along the way were well polished by the many hands using them to keep balance on the way down. When we reached the car, I did not envy N for having three more days of the trip ahead of him.-X
Date: 2012-03-03
To: Part 4: How the Whites Kicked our Butts 
Miles today: 0.0

How the Whites Kicked our Butts in 2009:Ethan Pond Shelter ¢ Guyot ShelterFirst, to follow up on yesterday after coming down off the Webster Cliff: I intellectually knew X was having to leave to go to her meeting at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, but it didn¢t really hit home until she started handing me her half of the communal gear: a tent fly, tent stakes, the stove ¢ why, the list just goes on and on¢¦ Well, when you¢re already carrying a staggering amount of weight, what¢s a few more pounds??? It¢s a few more pounds of weight, that¢s what!Looking at my pack and remembering how crummy the picture taking weather had been so far, I quickly decided I could get by with ¢mental pictures¢ for the next three days and left the one pound camera out. Perhaps that is what guaranteed the daily perfect early morning weather that followed me all the way to Franconia Ridge.I had a 1,500¢ climb out of Crawford Notch, and then another surprise when I had to rock hop across the lower end of Ethan Pond to reach a campsite. With all the new weight, I wasn¢t able to do much hopping¢¦Anyway, back to today: Much of the early hike followed an old railroad grade, and for almost three miles the walking was easy. What a hidden gem! Then the A.T. climbs a waterfall to reach Zealand Falls Hut. I was glad the spigot for the falls was only partially opened today. After a break at the hut, it was back to business as usual in the Whites, with another 1,500¢ climb to Zealand Ridge. The last two miles of the day were rough, as the wind picked up and the clouds rolled back in. Although I was glad to be camping below the tree line, the 7/10 mile hike down to Guyot Shelter was both a mental and physical drain. A good crowd of people were already there when I arrived, but I found a little space left to squeeze in. My hot dinner tasted so good I won¢t complain anymore about the weight of the stove.-N
Date: 2012-03-04
To: Part 5: How the Whites Kicked our Butts 
Miles today: 0.0

How the WhitesKicked our Butts in 2009:From Guyot Shelter toGarfield Ridge ShelterThe powers of the human brain are truly amazing! There are some long stretches of my three day hike through the Presidential Range about which I have absolutely no recollection. Like most of today¢¦ I can only conclude these must have involved some very traumatic, negative events that my mind is now completely blocking from my memory. This is a good thing, as otherwise I would certainly not be willing to repeat this section of the A.T. in 2012.I do recall the early climb from Guyot Shelter back up to the trail was extremely slow going, and the climb up South Twin Mountain was no piece of cake. But, other than that, about all I remember is some very good left over cookies for sale at the Garfield Ridge Shelter. I¢m surprised I didn¢t eat my weight in them. But, then again, maybe I did and just don¢t remember¢¦-N